IBS-Friendly Smoothies: Try These Low FODMAP Healthy Drinks

It’s easy as an IBS sufferer to struggle to say YES to foods. Even the good stuff that we all know to be healthy, like fruits & vegetables, can sometimes be problematic.

However, you don’t want to be completely running scared and eradicating the essential vitamins and minerals from your diet which you would otherwise be getting from these foods. So try making a smoothie and see how it makes you feel!

Instead, look to have the low FODMAP fruits & veg in small quantities and often… and the best way to do this is with smoothies. Smoothies are easily digestible and ensure you’re getting the nutrients you crave. You can have both green vegetable smoothies & citrus fruit smoothies without any nasty abdominal pain afterwards, but ONLY if you’re selecting the correct low FODMAP fruit & veg which you know for a fact don’t trigger flare-ups (this varies for different people, so don’t assume all low FODMAP foods are going to work for you – the FODMAP diet is simply a guide which you must adapt to your own digestive system).

Keep portions low (limit yourself to around 2/3 fruits/veg per smoothie) and aim to avoid combining with dairy (although natural yoghurt tends to go down fine for me). Firstly, experiment with small smoothies with definite no-trigger fruits/veg. Once you know these work, you can start adding other ingredients to it for a variation of your favourites J

See below for the best Low FODMAP fruits, with those in bold some of the best for IBS sufferers in particular…

Low-FODMAP Fruits:

– Bananas (Ripened)
– Berries (Blueberries, Cranberries, Raspberries, Strawberries
– Citrus (Oranges, Grapefruits, Tangelos, Lemons, Limes)
– Kiwi
– Melons (Melon, Watermelon)
– Passion Fruit
– Pineapple
– Star Fruit

Low-FODMAP Vegetables:

– Broccoli
– Spinach
– Carrots
– Celery
– Cucumber
– Lettuce
– Pumpkin
– Tomato

My favourite IBS-friendly low FODMAP smoothies

This selection comprises of some of my favourites. Best of all, if you don’t have all of this fresh fruit readily available to you, simply substitute the fruits selected with a Love Your Blender smoothie mix instead! These mixes are completely natural and made with 100% whole ingredients like nuts, fruits and seeds in mostly powdered form. Simply add direct to your blender 🙂

Juicy Blue smoothie

• 50g watermelon
• 1 handful fresh blueberries
• 3 tbsp natural yoghurt
• Squirt of lime juice

Love Your Blender version:

• LYB Super Berry sachet (http://www.loveyourblender.com/shop/smoothies/super-berry/)
• 3 tbsp natural yoghurt
• squirt of lime juice

Energy Exotica smoothie

• 1 ripe banana
• 8 pineapple chunks
• 100ml water
• ½ tsp ginger

Citrus Greens smoothie

• 2 handfuls spinach
• 10 cucumber slices
• 1 orange, peeled
• 100ml coconut water

LoveYourBlender version:

• LYB Bright Greens sachet (http://www.loveyourblender.com/shop/smoothies/bright-greens/)
• 100ml coconut water

Strawberry Kiwi Booster smoothie

• 6 fresh strawberries
• 1 kiwi, peeled
• 1 tsp lime juice
• Handful of ice cubes
• 1 tbsp honey (optional – if you need any added sweetness)
• 50ml water (or 50ml nut milk)