FAQs
If one person is wondering it, maybe others are too…so here you have it.
Reader’s Request Series:
my go-to dinners (five fast meals)
how do I make my significant other/family member vegetarian?
natural / green hygiene products
WTF ingredients:
Tutorials:
Meal prepping for the work week
Packing bring-to-work meals / BYO lunchbox
Keeping your work place healthy
[More tutorials continued here...]
Etc:
Have a question not covered above? Ask away!
Why no labels?
Because I’m a person, not a diet.
IBS dictates enough of my life, I don’t want how I eat to define me. That said, this is a food blog, so it’s expected that you’d wonder why I eat what I eat.
For health reasons I choose a mostly plant based, low FODMAP diet. Real food. Wholesome ingredients.
{ 59 comments… read them below or add one }
This is quite the Tab! Everything, well many things, I anyone could ever want to know and more! LOVE IT!
i just spent like 20 minutes reading through this, and realize i love you even more. mwah!
This is the best Q and A ever. How have I not read your blog before?
Just found your blog! Love what I’ve read so far! I am a nurse and I also struggle with IBS (more the constipation kind, sorry TMI)…Honestly, I have only recently discovered a connection in my carb/processed food laden diet and how I feel physically. I don’t remember having problems with my GI system before I became a nurse…so I’m sure that the stress has something to do with it, too. I know you are wanting to take a blogging break and by all means, do what you need to do. I hope it isn’t for long though, I enjoy what you have to say!
thanks tammy!! so nice to hear…glad you enjoy (but im sorry that you can relate – ha)
I just clicked onto your blog from julie go lean and I love it! I read through your Q & A and it was fantastic, I’ll go read some posts now! -Katie
thanks and welcome!
Love all of this!
Hi!!! I am a huge fan
I was wondering (if it’s not too personal) if you’d mind sharing how many visitors you get on your site each day. I bet it’s a ton!
I just stumbled across your blog and wanted to say hello! Our “GI histories” are so similar – I also suffer from lactose intolerance and IBS and have (after a long period of experimentation and discovery of the food blog community) settled into a 90% vegan diet, with the occasional seafood or eggs. Your blog is great and I’ll definitely be stopping by more often!
P.S. I also play the French horn!
Hey Diana, It sounds like we have very similar GI issues with equally similar solutions…glad you found a diet that works for you, and glad you found my blog, too. Thanks for stopping by and saying hello! Hope you keep reading
Hi Elise! Its ok if you don’t want to answer my question from above, but I just wanted to make sure you saw it?
Hey Michelle,
I am pretty sure I emailed you back when I first got your Q (I didn’t want to post the answer), but my blog hits vary. I don’t know why you are so curious but they range from 1000-2000 a day.
Happy Monday, Elise
Oh sorry, you can take it down! It might have gone to my spam!
Elise do you have a recipe book you have published?
Nope.
On an SF TV news report recently they showed a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk holding up a sign saying “HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPPIE”.
No lie.
WHAT!!! haha
Hey Hippie
Just found your blog recently and I love it. It’s very down to earth and user-friendly, especially your posts about incorporating wholesome vegan eats into portable lunch foods–love that. Keep up the good work.
Thanks Lindsay! I appreciate the kind comment and your support
can i say that i love this?!?! okay, i didnt become vegan for the love of animals or saving the planet, although that is what i intend to do. my mom grew up in a hippie, meat free household. so thats all she knew. she raised us on carrots and asparagus. literally, corn and broccoli is my favorite food. meat was such a rarity in my house, the only time we had it was when my dad made a steak for himself. when i was younger and i would go to friends houses, their parents would make snark remarks because of my “weird” eating habits. it wasnt my fault that my mom was a tree hugging, granola crunching hippie. and looking back on it, i wouldnt have it any other way. like you, ive never had a beef hotdog, nor have i even had a hamburger, mcdonalds =yuck. oh well. so that took care of taking all meat out of my life…, when i was in highschool i was always sick with sever cramps and stomache aches and breathing problems and blah blah blah. the entire nine yards. turns out, i have severe dairy allergies, im allergic to the whey and casein in milk products and eggs. thus, my mom calls me the accidental vegan. i think stumbling upon veganism this way has taught me alot about foods and such that i probably wouldnt have known otherwise. i became obsessed with books on foods and eliminating processed foods from my diet. im so glad we have so many similarities! ive never found a blog or another person where their bodies chose veganism for them, not the other way around!
hey lindsey! thanks for the comment. i love that you grew up in a hippie household too. how great that you already loved vegan food…probably made it much easier to handle the fact that your body couldnt tolerated whey or casein. glad you found my blog!
Hi there,
I stumbled upon your blog and I couldn’t be more glad that I did!
I have been a vegetarian for about 5 years now, and it has taken the 5 years to really be conscious about what I’m putting into my body.
I became excited about meat substitutes, and I’ll add them to any salad for the most part, but through reading your blog and other food related blogs as well, I am seeing that soy-processed “meat substitute” foods are not that good for you?
I was curious if you could share more insight on that, or knew of any links for research for me, as I am always looking for healthier ways to take care of my body within this lifestyle.
Thanks so much!
p.s. I LOVE hummus too!
so glad you found me! as far as mock meats are concerned i think its all relative. obviously there are some that are fairly processed and arent AS GOOD for you (im talking about the fake deli slices and meat substitutes you can buy from a package), but they still arent necessarily BAD for you. in my opinion. compare that to eating a fatty burger full of artery clogging cholesterol and blood pressure spiking sodium (and those are just the tip of the iceberg in negative effects on your body), well, ill take the fake meat. but that is my personal choice. that said, i would prefer to make a veggie burger from real whole foods and avoid (or use very sparingly) the mock meats.
if you are talking about tempeh, tofu and seitan, however, i have a different opinion. and bear in mind this is my personal opinion, so i dont want you to take my word as the end all be all. however, my GI system is whack and so ive dont quite a bit of research in how to eat right without sacrificing my health or missing out on nutrients. and i have found those vegan non-meat proteins to be fine in moderation. i know theres controversy over tofu, but asian countries have been eating it forever and i trust the test of time. have you ever read the china study? its an eye opener for sure.
anyway, i hope that helps. if nothing else just keep on enjoying the hummus, right?
Hi Elise! I was so happy to find your blog because I, too, suffer from IBS. Your description of it is wonderful- I find it very hard to describe my issues to other people because there is a lot of “gray” with IBS. I’m 18 and about to leave for college, and I was wondering if you could share any tips for how to manage the IBS while living in dorms? I cook my own food most of the time and am scared to not have that luxury anymore! Thanks,
Melanie
hi melanie! its so nice to have a community of others with common GI issues. having people to share ideas and solutions and whatnot is so helpful. im glad you found me! dorm life was rough, but i remember the cafeteria having many things that were easy on my digestive system. if you’re looking for things to keep on hand in your room check out my readers request post on stocking up my work locker. it will have much of the same info for you in the dorms.
Thank you so much- I checked out the other post and it gave me some great ideas! Oatmeal is easily something I can make in my room, and it’s definitely one of my favorite foods. I appreciate your advice- if I have more questions or come up with some tricks of my own, I will be sure to share!
Hi Elise!
I wanted to email you about something but could not for the life of me find it your email address on here. Am I missing it?
its EDIEDEN at GMAIL dot COM
Hi, have you ever tried *Matchmeats* products ?
I´m writing to you from Santiago , Chile and I´m very curious about this faux meat company and their products.
Thank you 1
never tried them or heard of them…where have you seen them?
Hi Elise :
I read about the company some time ago and have always wondered about their products and ideas. I cannot get a frozen sample (they offered to send me samples but within the US- they are nice people-) here so far away from everything but surely YOU can and write about it
http://www.matchmeats.com/
Best
Andrés
From Santiago, Chile .
Thanks so much for the info Elise.
And also, thanks for returning my email so fast as i am on the way to the store after work. I feel like i am about to birth 3 rhinos and look that way too so i am excited about maybe finding a treatable solution to my ibs, gerd and birthing baby rhinos…lol
Your site was given to my by the University of Va dietician this morning and i appreciate your help so much! I hope i see reaction soon, some folks say they can tell a difference in a few days so pray i do.
Thanks again!
Sherri
saw your post on spaghetti squash–THANK YOU!!
no prob! glad to help.
This is really great information. How did you find about your intolerance? Are there particular symptoms?
Thanks
yup. check out the other tabs and fodmaps posts.
Just came across your blog (hello..where have I been???) and I’m so glad I did! I’m also an RN, vegan mom (living with a meat-n-potatoes hubby) and always trying to get my kiddos on board with plant-based foods so I can’t wait to check out your recipes for some new ideas! I’m actually back in school to become a certified health coach…hoping to get my blog/website up and running soon..for now I have a Facebook page…Green + Simple Wellness…check it out! PS-I may or may not have a huge addiction for apples and hummus…best foods ever!
hi danielle! so much in common!! congrats on your site too.
so you do speak to this in the IBS section, but do you think you could write a post (or maybe i could just email you?) on what you were experiencing before you knew you had IBS, and when you finally decided to see a doctor about it? it’s really hard to interpret an unpredictable digestive system on a day to day basis, and to know if it’s just acting up because of stress/something random you ate, or if it’s part of a larger problem that deserves more attention. it’s even harder to figure out what foods are irritating your system (or again, if it’s just stress or something else)…
any insights would be much appreciated!
hi sheila – check out this post: http://fodmapsdiet.com/2012/02/07/my-catch-22/
also if you google the rome criteria for IBS, youll have an idea of how your symptoms match up.
Love your recipes!! I, too have suffered with bouts of IBS, and find that Culturelle is the solution for me. It is a wonderful probiotic!!
ill look into it – thanks!!
Your recipes helped me SO much when i went vegetarian nine months ago, thank you so so so much for putting them up!
thats so great to hear! im so glad you you found me ivanra
I was excited to see some of your great FODMAP recipes! Then I came across recipes with seitan, peaches, beans, garbanzos. Definitely NOT FODMAP. So, I’m assuming this is a FODMAP/Vegan blog and not 100% FODMAP?
correct.
Hi Elise,
Thanks for pointing me to the FOODMAP list. Does your book contain pictures of the dishes as they should look like when finished? I just find I work better with pics in the kitchen and need them for inspiration. I would love to buy your book if that is the case. I am not a member of Smashwords and live in the UK could I order the book over amazone or anothe way?
Thanks, Sandy
no photos. sorry. you dont have to join smashwords. thats the only site i sell through. once you buy it you can download it in any format. kindle, pdf, etc.
You’re awesome rockstar. Awesome. SO psyched I came across your blog! Fellow fitness lover and nurse here, so I’m a major fan!
thanks electra! i love finding other healthy RNs with blogs. yay!!
Hi Elise,
Love the blog!
Just wondering where you got your awesome personalised chopping board, in the photo?
my sister gave it to me as a wedding gift. its awesome right? ill ask her if she can remember the website she ordered it from.
It really is! After something like this for my sis for Christmas
ok, heres the site:
http://www.PersonalizationMall.com/
Recently found your blog and love it. Also purchased your book re Fodmap vegetarian diet as I am trying to figure out the best diet for my IBS mostly vegetarian gut! Cain’t wait to try your recipes. I do have a question about the creamy cashew Dijon sauce. Can I substitute tahini for the whole cashews and if so what amount would I use? Also what is the best way to follow UR blog without missing any posts…is there a direct email option?
Thanks for all of your insight and sharing the recipes.
ok, so i dont think subbing tahini will be as good (or similar to my sauce at all), but if you want to try it, feel free, and let me know how it goes.
its hard for me to guess the amount because the nuts blend from whole nuts, so im not completely sure what amount will substitute. youll also need to add some extra liquid too because tahini is more thick and dense than cashews pureed with liquid. maybe start with 1/2 cup with 1-2 tbsp of extra water?
good luck and let me know how it goes
Hey Elise! I love your Blog….and I also have IBS and have been following a Low Fodmaps diet. And it definitely works in reducing my symptoms! Do you notice you still have some symptoms while following the diet…and when are they worse for you? Mine seem to be more annoying right when I wake up and get moving but go away after a BM. But overall my symptoms are way less annoying when I’m careful with following a low Fodmaps. Thank you for your yummy recipes!
while on the elimination diet i was nearly symptoms free, but on a low fodmaps diet i do have symptoms every once in a while. they are generally milder and usually occur when i mess up and have too much of a certain fodmap or each something without knowing it has fodmap sources in it. hard to say when they are worse, but at least now i know how to get back on track (elimination diet). i do notice some relief post-BM as well.
{ 7 trackbacks }