Nutritiously Naughty is a food blog specialising in delicious, Coeliac friendly gluten free, low FODMAP recipes. The majority of my recipes are influenced by the low-FODMAP diet which is well known for making life with digestive disorders and food allergies more manageable. You will find a lot of the recipes can be created within 30 minutes making them perfect for after work, busy parents or people simply looking for quick and nutritious meals. Vegetarian and vegan recipes also feature regularly for those looking to avoid animal products.
I was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease in 2012 and it completely changed my view of food. I knew I already liked to cook and didn’t eat large amounts of junk food but I didn’t eat a lot of fruit and veg either. I found that the gluten free options offered on prescription in supermarkets were limited, tasteless, stodgy and full of sugar (this has changed so much in recent years!) I really started to miss flavoursome food and was running out of things to cook so decided to explore the world of healthy eating and became obsessed with fruit and veg!
There are so many amazing recipe books out there now promoting this lifestyle. It is unbelievable how many delicious recipes you can create at home with basic ingredients such as courgettes or bananas which have become staples in my kitchen.
Coeliac Disease is NOT an allergy it is an autoimmune disease which causes the body to react to gluten which is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. When ingested it causes damage to the lining of the intestines and restricts the body’s ability to absorb essential nutrients. This causes a variety of symptoms and can lead to being undernourishment. There isn’t a cure for Coeliac Disease but it can be managed effectively if the sufferer completely eliminates gluten from their diet.
If you have recently been diagnosed with Coeliac Disease I cannot recommend the Coeliac UK website www.coeliac.org.uk more. There is so much information available on their website and if you join for around £20 a year they send you regular magazines, vouchers and information on upcoming products. You also get unlimited free tickets to the annual Allergy & Free From Shows (www.allergyshow.co.uk) which always has so many amazing stalls and products.
Although I felt a lot better after removing gluten from diet I still knew that something wasn’t right so after several tests (some unpleasant!) I was told I also have food-related IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). I am a fan of the NHS and found that when I was first diagnosed with Coeliac Disease they were so helpful, providing me with a lot of information and referring me for check ups. In contrast, when I was told I had IBS I felt like they saw it as a minor condition that doesn’t need attention. I was told to look at IBS websites and to take tablets that either did nothing for me or made things worse.
That is when i discovered the Low FODMAP Diet which is scientifically proven to help digestive disorders like IBS. FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides And Polyols. At first you eliminate quite a few things from your diet then slowly reintroduce some of them to work out which ones are trigger foods. I was surprised to find that food I thought was making me feel ill were fine and it was actually what I was eating with them that was the culprit. As well as gluten there were a few other things I found I had to avoid before I found the FODMAP programme, refined sugar being the worst one for symptoms. I have found over time that I need to avoid other foods whereas ingredients I thought were causing a problem were fine when I avoided the high-FODMAP foods I was pairing with them. The result after following the Low Fodmap Diet is different for everyone, some people may be fine with food that cause other people problems and vice versa.
I am not a nutritionist or dietitian, I am simply someone who loves to eat delicious, healthy, clean food! Ironically I love food more now that my diet is limited than I ever have!
I am a firm believer in everything in moderation, obviously my choices are limited but i will never say no to something chocolatey or a glass of prosecco at the weekend! I have a major sweet tooth so looked into ways to satisfy it with natural and nutritious ingredients that taste like they shouldn’t be good for you. I definitely prefer them to the over-processed sugar laden foods found in supermarkets!
