I have purchased some Fodmapped sauces and soups to try, so I thought I would give you the low down. I bought them through the IBS Network website so that they would benefit from the purchase – were you aware that if you buy a starter pack you get membership covered for 1 year? The sauce was really tasty and gave an added advantage to tomato pasta sauces as you could really pick out the flavour of the aubergine – one of my favourite vegetables. Shortlisted for the Free From Food Awards I would say they are a great contender and tremendous to see a low fodmap product being reviewed. Any drawbacks? Yes, the price – the sauces are expensive compared to other sauces but they are onion and garlic free, which most ready made sauces (except plain passata and some pure tomato based pasta sauces) are not. Sometimes following the low fodmap diet can mean dry food unless you make your own stocks and sauces, you could argue that this needs to be done, but not everyone has the time. You could make a very simple roasted vegetable sauce yourself, however if time pushed these products are certainly a consideration. Putting additional pressures on busy lifestyles by making everything from scratch is sometimes unhelpful to symptoms. The packet gave a serving for 2 people. I have made an Italian dish, a comforting winter recipe, and in the process increased the portion size to 4!
Ingredients
500g lean minced beef
1 egg
100g gluten free breadcrumbs
10g of basil leaves
10g oregano
1 packet of Fodmap Easy roasted vegetable pasta sauce
200g of dry polenta
60g parmesan
Seasoning
Method
Place the mince in a bowl and add chopped herbs, egg and breadcrumbs and some seasoning, mix well. Roll into even sized meatballs – I made about 14 from the full mix. Set them aside.
Fry the meatballs in a dry non stick frying pan till browned.
Add the meatballs to a casserole dish with the sauce mix and 300mls of water. Place in an oven at gas mark 5 or 190 degrees C. Cook for 1 hour.
Using the directions on the packet for 200g of polenta add water to a pan and bring to the boil and pour in the polenta whilst stirring. Add extra liquid if needed to form a thick sauce, add parmesan (retain a small amount for serving) and seasoning (not much salt needed here!) to taste.
Serve
Serves 4 for a main meal.
