5 Low FODMAP Snacks for your Packed Lunch

Best Snacks for IBS – Irritable Bowel Syndrome

“What are the best low FODMAP snacks for IBS that I can take on the go?”  This question comes up frequently when I am speaking with people trying the Low FODMAP diet. For people with IBS, the Low FODMAP diet can do wonders to identify their food-related triggers, but at the same time this elimination diet can feel quite restrictive.

Sometimes finding low FODMAP snack foods you can eat but that are also portable and easy to pack can feel like a challenge. These five snacks below can hopefully help spark some ideas of digestive friendly things you can pack in your lunch.

Low FODMAP Fruit

Fruit is a great snack, especially if you are craving something light, fresh and a little sweet. Fruit is generally easy to pack (it may require a bit of pre cutting) and keeps well in a packed lunch. Low FODMAP fruits that make great snacks include:

• Cantaloupe (¾ cup) and Honeydew (½ cup) melons
• Red and Green Grapes*
• Kiwi (2 small)
• Mandarin* oranges or Navel* orange
• Pineapple (1 cup)
• Strawberries*
• Raspberries (30 berries)
• Blueberries (¼ cup)
• Bananas – yellow, without black spots (1 medium)
• Papaya*

Monash University recommends limiting fruit to 1 serving per sitting, up to 2 times per day. In other words, 2 pieces of per day but spread out (at least 3 hours apart). If you are really craving fruit and want some extra, stick to the FODMAP “free” fruits as indicated by the asterisk (*) above.

Lactose-Free Yogurt

Love yogurt but worried that it’s a no-no on the Low FODMAP diet because its lactose content? Well, you are in luck as there are some options that will be easy on your digestive system.

• Lactose-free yogurt – as these yogurts are lactose-free, you can eat them freely. That is, as long as there are no other high FODMAP ingredients in them. If you want a flavoured lactose-free yogurt, look for a vanilla or a low FODMAP fruit flavour, like strawberry. I do find the flavour selection of lactose-free yogurts to be pretty sparse so if all you can find is plain, you can jazz it up with chopped up low FODMAP fruits or even a drizzle of maple syrup.
• Coconut yogurt – per Monash a safe serving of coconut yogurt is 125g or a “small tub”. Again, as long as there aren’t any high FODMAP ingredients or flavours in your coconut yogurt, it’s a go!

Hard Boiled Eggs

Hard boiled eggs are a great quick low FODMAP snack. Eggs are high in protein and packed with nutrients.

For packed lunches, you can pre-boil a bunch of eggs beforehand and keep a supply of hard-boiled eggs in the fridge. This way you can easily grab a pre-boiled egg and pop it in your lunch bag.

Popcorn

Homemade popcorn is a great low FODMAP snack and is safe at a serving size of 7 cups. Top with butter, salt or nutritional yeast (contains only trace amounts of FODMAPs, can be eaten freely) to dress up this classic snack.

For your convenience, you can pre-portion a batch of popcorn in individual airtight containers, so that you can enjoy this snack for multiple days in a row.

Low Fodmap Nuts

While you do have to be careful with nuts, they are such a good low FODMAP snack that they shouldn’t be totally discounted. The trick with nuts while on the elimination portion of this diet is to choose the right ones and watch the portion size. Nuts are easy to overeat, take care to note the safe serving sizes below.

• • Macadamia nuts: 20 nuts*
  • Pecans: 10 halves
  • Almonds: 10 nuts
  • Hazelnuts: 10 nuts
  • Peanuts: 32 nuts
  • Walnuts: 10 halves

*although the safe serving of macadamia nuts is 20 nuts, they are quite an oily nut. Large portions of these nuts may irritate your IBS.

As you can see, many of these portions aren’t that large but if you enjoy nuts in conjunction with other snacks, like low FODMAP fruit, they can be a part of a satisfying snack.

Want to read more about a low FODMAP diet? Start with these previous articles:

• 3 Things I Leanred Doing the Low FODMAP Diet 
• How the Low FODMAP Diet May help IBS & Digestion Issues 
• Before You Start the low FODMAP Diet Read This

For more information on dietitian nutrition counseling for digestion issues such as IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), the low FODMAP diet, constipation, diarrhea, celiac disease, crohn’s disease, colitis and other digestive health concerns CONTACT US and book an appointment with Calgary dietitian Kate Chury. Kate can see you in our local Calgary nutritionist office or by phone or video conferencing for virtual dietitian nutrition counseling.

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