Low FODMAP Root Vegetable Mash
This is another recipe that I have modified and adapted. The original recipe was for ‘bangers and mash’, which I found on the NHS Change 4 Life website, which stubbornly refuses to let me link to it! That recipe called only for the veg and potatoes, but this does not produce a particularly nice consistency, so I have added the Lactofree milk (cow’s milk with the lactose removed), and Pure sunflower oil spread (this is the only butter substitute that I have found that is both lactose and soya free, and therefore low FODMAP). I usually use butternut squash for this recipe, as it is often all that is available in store.
Again, this meal will count for 2 of your ‘Five a Day’, as well as a full serving of carbohydrates, so all you need to add is some kind of meat or meat substitute to make it an officially ‘balanced’ meal (it is NHS approved after all). This means that it can be a great way of getting vegetables into people who don’t like them, especially if you serve with gravy.
I have included instructions for the ‘low spoon’** method of cooking squash and other equally tough vegetables. For many spoonies who tire easily, have weak wrists, etc. it can be difficult to chop veg, and ones like squash are particularly resistant. Using the microwave instead softens the veg before chopping. You can choose to microwave it until it is completely cooked, or only do it part-way until it is soft enough to work with, and then you can throw it into the boiling water with the rest of the vegetables.
Serves: 3 to 4
Ingredients:
300g or 4 medium carrots
700g potatoes
300g swede, turnip, or butternut squash
1 knob Pure sunflower oil spread
A dash of Lactofree semi-skimmed milk
Cooking Time: 25 minutes approximately
Calories: 330 approximately
Method:
1. Peel the potatoes and carrots, and then chop into thin slices, or dice, and put in a large saucepan.
2. Cover in boiling water and boil for approximately 20 minutes, until soft.
3. If you are using butternut squash, chop it approximately in half, and weigh, to ensure you have cut off the correct quantity. As swedes and turnips are smaller, you will hopefully not have to cut them at all.
4. Pierce the skin of the squash* and microwave on full for approximately 15 minutes (if your microwave has preset functions you can enter the weight and use a vegetable setting).
5. Once the squash is cooked, remove from the microwave to cool.
6. Once cool enough, you can peel the squash using a sharp knife, stabilising it with a fork. (At this point it will still be too hot to handle).
7. Dice the squash and put into a large mixing bowl.
8. Drain the potatoes and carrots and put into the same bowl.
9. Put a knob of Pure spread, and a dash of milk into the bowl, and mash until you achieve the desired consistency.
10. Serve with gluten-free sausages, or as an accompaniment to any other high protein item (meat or meat-substitute).
*or swede or similar (I will henceforth be using ‘squash’ as a catch-all term for ease
**see The Spoon Theory if you don’t know what a spoonie is
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