Put linseeds in your brekkie and you'll live forever!

13 February 2012 the mighty Sue Perkins tweeted (@sueperkins):

"Mate: 'put linseeds in your brekkie, you'll live forever'. Great, an eternity of eating porridge that tastes like a liquidised cricket bat"

Now lets just pretend the second half of that tweet was one big typo and YES! Linseeds are in fact the philosopher's stone of seeds. In ones quest for immortality, linseeds are the answer!

Disclaimer: Linseeds to my knowledge do not hold any magical and or hold any life lengthening properties...sorry.

But linseeds are good for your tummy. So good in fact the NHS actually recommends them. 

So my number one, ultimate, all time favourite morning breakfast is the simple, sturdy and under appreciated.... 

Porridge with linseeds

Ingredients:

• Porridge
• 2 tbs of ground linseeds
• Rice Milk (or whatever milk you can tolerate)

Additional extras:

• Brown sugar (unless you are already sweet enough...)

OR if you don't fancy being quite so hands on, the lovely people at Flax Farm have mixed it all up for you and is available to buy online.

1. Grind linseeds! For this you have two options, manual or electric.

Manual: This is where I started. I liked the pestle and mortar. It made me feel all fancy, professional even, like I was making my Gran proud. But you know what I didn't like? The pure PAIN and arm ache this brought to my morning routine. Initially though I stuck with it, imagining I'd soon have toned arms to rival Michelle Obama. But I was weak, I couldn't handle the 15 minutes bashing routine and my arms remained less than spectacular. Plus I'm not a morning person, so this really did not help.

So I admitted defeat and tapped "seed grinder" into Google and low and behold....

Electric: Hello mini grinder! It's little, kinda looks like a bullet, and this baby is packing 150W. I've had it since August 2011 and it's yet to fail me. So for £15 I think it is very reasonable.

And it transforms my linseeds...

The more you bash em, whizz em, crunch em, the better they are for your belly. So I whizz up a whole packet, put them in a container and dispense each and every morning into my bowl. Simple!

2. Mix linseeds with however much porridge your morning appetite dictates.

3. Add appropriate amount of rice milk.

4. Heat in microwave for approximately 2 minutes. Or simmer on stove on a low heat for 5 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent it from burning.

Now if anyone at this point mutters "It kinda looks like sick...", hit them. Give them a loving thawk from me. Because they are a limited breakfast eating individual. Just because it doesn't have Tony the Tiger roaring "It's grrrrrrrrrrreat" over it, doesn't mean its not. 

This breakfast has transformed how my tummy feels in the morning. And it fills me up till lunch! I don't snack at all, just gimmie a cuppa tea around 11am and I'm good till lunch. So you know what that means? Not only is your tummy happy, but you are looking good and healthy due to having no desire for naughty mid morning snacks. Win win people!

But don't just take my word for it, a wise, wise man called David Nicholson once said: 

"Ground flaxseeds...are the best form of fibre for IBS sufferers. The fibre in the outer husk is able to absorb very large amounts of water, causing it to swell and form a soothing gel. Within the inner seed of flax there is a good supply of omega-3 essential fatty acids, which are known to support the immune and digestive systems. The flaxseed should be ground, otherwise the outer husk will not be broken down and the EFAs will pass out of the body."

So this does mean it is important to have a large glass of water or whatever your preferred morning liquid is with your brekkie. But this is no bad thing (the health benefits really do come thick and fast with this breakfast), as a large glass of water in the morning:

• Flushes out the kidneys. 
• Prepares the stomach for food by stimulating the glands on its walls. 
• Helps the bowels move regularly and naturally. 

This ritual is one to stick with, because it helps give you clear skin too. See, I told you this breakfast was good.

Anyway so back to the breakfast...

Eat, enjoy and have a great day!

But before I go, I will leave you with one final linseed fun fact:

"A mere table spoon of linseed is the health equivalent in lignans, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants of 30 cups of broccoli"

30 CUPS OF BROCCOLI! Can you imagine eating 30 cups of broccoli every day! Well of course not, as broccoli falls into the 'restricted' section of the FODMAP diet...but still! Linseeds are a powerhouse of nutrition, and I think they're great.

Love,

FODMAP free 

x

P.s. What's your 'go-to' breakfast? Do you have the arm power to handle the pestle and mortar?

Keep Reading

Well if it's on the telly it must be good...

"OOH LOOK YOUR FUNNY DIET IS ON THE TELLY!!!" 

...is what was subtly shrieked by one of my pals on the 20th December 2011. And sure enough there it was! Poor Laura had IBS, poor Laura had to let the whole nation know that she was partial to a "trump" in public, poor Laura had to get her belly rubbed on telly. Oh Laura. 

But it was all worth it as Gio and Lucy brought the "exciting new food diet" that is the low FODMAP diet into her life! And *voila* lovely Laura was cured! Her darling daughter will consequently lead a better life and we can all go back to believing the widely accepted theory that girls don't "trump". Oh Channel 4 you hero, we do love a happy ending.

The Food Hospital website then provided some excellent information explaining the diet and it's history.

But FODMAP is not a diet limited to Laura and other IBS sufferers. It can have a positive impact on those with complex food intolerances in general, those wanting to live a healthy lifestyle; making you healthy on the inside, as well as helping you to look good on the outside. As well as those with gastroenterological problems due to being on long-term medication. Basically a low FODMAP diet is the answer to everything...well maybe not quite, but it sure sounds like a simple yet effective solution eh!?

So FODMAPs gone big time. It's been on our British telly boxes so they'll be no holding it back. Well I hope so, and about time too. The clever clogs in Australia have been chatting about it since 2001, and dear Patsy mentions in her book which was published in 2009 (I have it by the way - great read). So it's about time the United Kingdom jumped on the bandwagon.  

So I personally would like to thank Laura for taking one for the team, bringing her less than desirable bowels to our attention and consequently catapulting the low FODMAP diet to stardom. We owe you one chick.

Love

FODMAP free 

x

Keep Reading

What is the FODMAP diet?

Fermentable, Oligo-saccharides, Di-saccharides, Mono-saccharides And Polyols are dietary carbohydrates which are poorly absorbed in the small intestine and fermented in the large intestine.

Sounds lovely hey! To put it simply, if you, along with roughly 15% of the UK population, have what is politely termed as a ‘sensitive gut’, and suffer from IBS-like symptoms and/or food intolerances, then research suggests that 76% of people improve significantly on this diet. A pretty impressive stat in my opinion. And a far more enticing way of gaining symptom relief then popping pills till you rattle more than the average child’s toy.

However as with all restricted or refined diets, it seems everything and anything is out of bounds. When initially dunked into my FODMAP free lifestyle I often found myself in the position of weighing up how much I wanted to eat that thing, and suffer the consequences; or opt out, and be left disgruntled and bitter to all those tucking in around me. As the mantra says: you always want what you can’t have.

So I decided to make it my mission to learn and adapt, keeping to my diet without compromising on taste, choice or convenience. Food is more than just sustenance, it should be enjoyed and fun, not seen as a mission on how to juggle the next meal. 

And I feel I've cracked it! I am able to conjure up simple, fun meals with no taste difference, despite complex requirements; enjoying convenient snacks, and eating out with family and friends!

So now I wish to share what I have learnt so others can benefit. 

FODMAP is the brain child of an Australian dietitian, but is filtering through to the UK as more dietitians become FODMAP-trained. If you feel the diet could benefit you, your first stop is to hook yourself up with one of these wonderful people. They will ensure the diet is individualised appropriately and that it is nutritionally adequate and is not unnecessarily restricted. So once you’ve made a new friend and you have your ‘safe’ and ‘restricted’ lists, come back and chat favourite recipes, top tips and indulge in all other sorts of foody fun!

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