I’ve been gluten-free for four years due to health reasons. Two years ago I had a bad reaction to prescription anti-biotics and pain killers, which has in addition left me intolerant to both dairy and fructose. The umbrella name for this is IBS and unfortunately it does affect me on a daily basis, but more so if I have eaten something I am intolerant to. This is especially difficult when I go out for meals or find myself in a tiny shop in the middle of nowhere. The latter happens quite frequently - peanuts are my best friend. Either way, I am very grateful that people do try to be accommodating where they can.

Fructose is the most troubling as it is the sugar found in fruit and veg. When I initially became ill this meant giving up fruit and vegetables. I would have a reaction to as little as half a banana, and onion powder in a soup could knock me down for over 2 weeks. Thankfully, over the last few years my body has been able to recover a little and so I can now manage 1 whole banana without becoming ill (silver linings!), and I have identified the vegetables and fruit that I react to.

The elimination diet has been the true saviour in my being able to understand what my trigger foods are. I would recommend doing this alongside a dietician and read up on this as you do not want to make yourself more ill with malnutrition. A book I have found very helpful is “Guide & Cook book, Food Intolerances: Fructose malabsorption, lactose intolerance, histamine intolerance” by Zechmann and Masterman. It explains about eliminating the problem food for 2-4 weeks. It gives you tricks on testing for levels of tolerance with various foods. Then understanding what your permanent diet should be.

At the time of writing this, I have been dairy-free, gluten-free, onion and tomato-free for about six months. Especially at the beginning, I missed having a sneaky treat or flavoursome meal. This encouraged me to be a little more creative in the kitchen to experiment making recipes that I could enjoy, that would not make me ill. I have collated some of my favourite recipes to help others in a similar situation as me.

I hope it helps!