Salad Dressings

Several clients have asked me to suggest commercial salad dressings or marinades that might fit the requirements of the FODMAPS elimination diet. This is a tough one, because virtually every salad dressing on the shelf contains onions or garlic in some form, to say nothing of high fructose corn syrup, buttermilk, soy sauce or honey. Here are my thoughts:

• Dried, dehydrated, or powdered garlic or onions, usually used in smaller quantity than fresh, are allowed during the elimination phase. 
• Hard cheeses such as parmesan and romano should be OK.
  
• Ingredients on any food label are listed in descending order, by weight. So if we see dried, dehydrated, or powdered garlic or onions at the very end of a list of ingredients in a dressing, that is probably better than one with those ingredients listed closer to the beginning of the list of ingredients. A dressing with a big pile of "chunks" settled out on the bottom half of the bottle is probably a bad bet.
  
• Third, we know that foods with miniscule amounts of FODMAPS are allowed in small portions on the elimination phase (such as small servings of sour cream, cream cheese, or certain fruits).

I would go with one of the dressings that has all allowed ingredients except for a statement at the end along the lines of "contains 2% or less of the following ingredients: onion powder, garlic powder..."

Some of the Marie's Vinagrettes look promising. Their web page doesn't list ingredients, but there were a couple in the produce section of my local Hannaford that fit the bill. There must be others that fit the bill, but they are hard to find. Please email me your ideas!

Meanwhile, a simple oil and vineger sprinkled on salad continues to be the most straightforward solution. Try flavored vinegars, including balsamic, for variety, or sprinkle on a bit of salt, pepper, granulated sugar, fresh or dried herbs and enjoy!

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Comments

[Marie Valentino-Cook]

Hi Patsy,
I just bought your book.There are so many foods not listed. Where do I find the list of what foods we can eat? Can we eat chocolate?

I'm so excited.
thanks, marie

[Patsy Catsos]

Marie, you'll find the lists of foods you can eat on pages 44-55 of the book. Excellent questions. I plan to build my next blog posting around them, so check back, or subscribe to this blog's feed, for more in-depth answers!

[Candie Schaal]

Hi Patsy,

I just bought your book and it has been a lifesaver. I have a few questions: 1. What kind of yogurt can I have? Do you know what organic milled sugar is?

2. Is balsamic vinegar safe? I would love to mix some with olive oil for a salad dressing? I was under the impression that it wasn't safe.

Thanks,
Candie

[Steve]

Hi Patsy,

I like the way you've simplified the confusion over ingredients that are not allowed on the elimination phase in relation to their volume/weight in a specific product.

I have recently reintroduced some fructans (predominantly wheat; bread & pasta) and seem to be tolerating these OK so far.

To the best of my knowledge, correct me if I'm wrong, the volume/amount of fructans you would ingest in a portion of pasta (e.g 100 grams) would far exceed the volume of fructans in say a few cloves of fresh garlic?

However, the addition of the fresh garlic, with say onions, in addition to the pasta would likely push you over the safe limit of fructans to consume in one sitting/day.

In relation to 'condiments', what are your thoughts on the suitability of garlic infused olive-oil as a substitute for fresh garlic?

Kind Regards

Steven

[Patsy Catsos]

Your line of thinking is right on target. During the elimination phase, to keep things simple, we try to avoid onions, garlic, and pasta completely (during this phase, garlic oil would be fine, as long as youre not eating the flesh of the garlic). But after the challenge phase, when you are trying to work out how much FODMAPS you can handle, you have to think about both the quantiy of FODMAPS in the food AND how much of it we eat.

For example, if you compare the FODMAPS in 100 grams (about 3 ounces) of garlic v. 100 grams of onion, the garlic has 50% more fructans in it. But, when was the last time you ate 3 ounces of garlic? Because we tend to eat just a smidge of garlic in our food, but might eat several ounces of grilled or sauteed onions, we are more likely to consume problematic amounts of FODMAPS from onions.

As you note, its the big picture overall FODMAPS content of the meal, considering pasta, garlic and onions, that counts. You might have decent luck with a small portion of white pasta (1 cup), and a sauce that contained, say, a tablespoon of onion, 1/4 teaspoon fresh garlic, and fresh tomatoes.

[Steve]

Many thanks for your response. I truly appreciate the time and effort you’ve dedicated to providing a research/evidence based study into the effects of diet on IBS. Particularly when some/majority of GPs advice, where diet is concerned, is minimum or outdated. I think you’re FODMAP approach to diet is a key component in the management of IBS symptoms. I’ve personally found it a useful tool, combined with complementary dietary, medication and lifestyle adaptations in the fight to control my IBS symptoms.

I don’t know if you’ve seen this already, it probably doesn’t tell you anything you don’t already know, but I found it informative and I guess other professionals and patients may be interested.

Many Thanks,

Steven

http://www.researchchannel.org/prog/displayevent.aspx?rID=26275&fID=1698

[Patsy Catsos]

Thanks, Steve, and hey! I wouldn't be averse to seeing a copy of your appreciative comments as a review on Amazon.com if you haven't done so already :)

[Steve]

Hi,

Ha! I may have already done so, as there's a good chance that's where I purchased your book. I'll have a look, and if I've not done so I would be happy to add my comments as a review.

Best Wishes

Steven