Products: Breakfast items

Forage Gluten Free Porridge
Purchased from: GloHealth Elsternwick $11.20

The tricky thing about GF cereals, mueslis and porridges is they try to bulk out the nutrition panel with other high fodmap items (looking at you dried fruit and nut varieties). Forage have a plain option, which is very helpful. They have all the disclaimers on the box that you ahve to add things to make it a complete breakfast, but they haven't done it for you, so you can add the things that are going to work for you.

Of course I took the photo the morning of shopping day so I have a pretty incomplete breakfast here, oopsies, but I have my chocolate spice mix, which I find masks the quinoa/amaranth flavour very well, without having to add sugar), some strawberries and some lactose free milk. Other things I like to add to it include bananas (still a bit green, of course), macadamias, Liddells yoghurt, cinnamon, passionfruit, chia seeds and sunflower seeds.


Genius Crumpets
Purchased from: Coles $6

I am so so happy that Coles have brought these in. They've been around for a little while and I previously found one IGA that stocked them (at $7.99), but now they're quite widely available among larger Coles stores (I have noticed that two smaller Coles stores around me do not stock them, I'm not sure how widespread this is, but both are former BiLo sites and never stock a full Coles range).
This may be a controversial option, but I think these are better than the "regular" crumpets that supermarkets offer. They have less of a manufactured taste, they're really light and fluffy and don't have the rubbery-ness that the regular supermarket ones tend to have. I like them with stewed strawberries (can you tell I'm a bit obsessive about strawberries?), rhubarb or just butter. I also have this wonderful grand plan of having some topped with diced pineapple, passionfruit and plain Liddell's yoghurt on a really hot day this summer, but I will have to get back to you on how that one tastes.

Supermarkets: Multiple Locations

Aldi
Aldi Aldi Aldi! Where to begin? I'll start with the regular items. The bread. When I first started trying wheat free breads, Aldi bread wasn't great, they have since changed bakers and I have no proof of this, but I'm pretty sure Country Life is their new baker. It's the same shape and size, it smells the same and it tastes the same, only it's $3.99, compared to $6 for Country Life from Coles.

The Thai style prawn skewers are also a sneaky LowFodmap, unfortunately their other prawn skewer flavours contain garlic, and of course it's always best to make your own, but let's be realistic, if you're like me and you work all day and have a one hour commute each way, sometimes that's just not going to happen, so it's really convenient to have something that cooks so quickly, that tastes good, that doesn't have garlic in it.

The pastas are cornflour based and are LowFodmap, but they are an acquired taste. I find I can tolerate them with a strong sauce (if I go with a bolognaise with olives, eggplant, some fresh rocket mixed through, yes) but lighter sauces like some seafood and white wine, I can't do it. But you may find you really like the taste, so it's worth a try, and they are cheaper than a lot of other GF pasta brands.

The GF flour is fabulous, I've added a picture of my homemade pikelets made with the Aldi GF SRF, I'm very proud of them and as my daughter would exclaim "they taste normal though?!" Not all GF flours are equal and this is a very good all purpose, and, like the bread and the pasta, it's cheaper than the name brand options. I've made cakes, biscuits, slices, homemade ravioli, damper, pizza bases, used it to coat fish and it works.

The real gems are in the middle aisle when they do their gluten free sales though. Some of my favourites that I'm hoping come back for a second time around are the rice crumbs, the tiger bread mix, the gingerbread loaf and the lemon mousse cake (which can be made LowFodmap by using lactose free milk).

Which reminds me, their lactose free milk is also cheaper than most of the other ones you will find around.


Gerwuzhaus

Locations: Carlton, Hawksburn Village, The Block Arcade, Queen Victoria Market, Chadstone

This isn't a supermarket, it's a specialty spice shop, but they really are worth a visit. They don't specifically mark LowFodmap items, but if you know what you can't have (or if you have the Monash app in hand) every spice is clearly labelled with the ingredients, and you scoop out as much as you want yourself. I've found a lot of suprmarket blend spices have onion and garlic, and again, yeah I can make my own spice blends, but I have other things going on and sometimes I just want to put some good flavour in there as quickly as possible.
If you can't get to one of the stores, they also have an online store here, but you can only get the large(ish) jars:
https://gewurzhaus.com.au

A few of my favourites from here are:
South Indian seafood masala, Australian macadamia dukkah, Chocolate spice (I often add this to gluten free porridge mixes and it masks the quinoa/amaranth taste), Raj's majestic chai masala.

Products: Sauces and Marinades

Some Foods: Butter Chicken

Purchased from: GloHealth in Elsternwick
Price: $11.95
Availability: Available from many specialty health food stores, one of the more easily found products in the range

The first thing I said after using this sauce was "This actually tastes like the thing it's supposed to taste like!" and I feel that says something. Many brands do a LowFODMAP butter chicken, this, I feel, is the closest. It's definitely not the cheapest, but it's worth the price. Some Foods haven't avoided spice in this, it is mild, but there is a little something there unlike other brands, if you find spices flare your IBS, this wouldn't be the choice for you, but if spices don't effect you, give this a try.
It would easily make 4 serves, I was using what was left in the back of the fridge the day before a grocery shop, so I only made enough for 3, with a lot of extra sauce, but I won't make that mistake next time. I added japla pumpkin, zucchini and green beans to mine, because as someone with C-IBS, the more fiber the better, and this sauce works with the extra vegetables very well, I find sometimes the sauces can be a little too sweet to work well with veggies, but this one takes very well.
It froze well too, I put the other two serves in the freezer for night when I get home from work late and pre-IBS would have grabbed some takeaway, and they defrosted well.

Dining Out: Great Ocean Road

Lorne Hotel
Location: 176 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne
Ordered: Greek salad (no onion) with chicken tenderloins
Other options: Eye fillet, Scotch fillet, Wagyu rump, Fish and chips

The Lorne Hotel were very accommodating of dietary requirements and very knowledgeable. They were happy to make an onion-free Greek salad, and used a homemade dressing of olive oil, salt and various fresh herbs. The dressing was fabulous, lots of fresh dill and parsley. The photo actually doesn't do it justice, there was more chicken than that, it was just mixed in underneath the salad.


Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery
Location: Corner of Great Ocean Road and Elkington Road, Bellbrae
Ordered/Purchased: Peppermint tea, Wild Lemon Myrtle Dark Bar, Great Balls of Australian Macadmia Nuts Dark.

Most of the dark chocolate products here are milk-free, just be careful of any other FODMAPs in filled products. The cafe has a wide range of teas, and also offers lactose free, rice and almond milks. I very strongly recommend the Wild Lemon Myrtle Dark Bar, that one is just fabulous.

Dining Out: South East

Four Seasons Cafe
Location: Store S5, Pakenham Central Marketplace, Pakenham
Ordered: Jacket potato of the day (altered)

This was an interesting one and I was very grateful for the lovely staff here. It was one of those times where I looked at the menu and could order nothing, but I did notice that they had a create your own sandwich option (no gluten free bread though), and a jacket potato of the day, which did include things such as sour cream, avocado, onion and so on. I asked, and they were happy to cater. I ended up with a FODMAP-friendly jacket potato that was delicious.
I think places that go out of their way to accommodate dietary requirements without making you feel like you're a major inconvenience are really worth noting, and this is one of those places that doesn't make you feel like the worst person ever for making a change. So even though their menu doesn't specifically contain FODMAP-friendly items, they definitely deserve a shoutout.


Pakenham Hotel
Location: 153 Main Street, Pakenham
Ordered: Gluten free salt and pepper calamari
Also available: Crispy chicken salad (no yoghurt dressing, no onion), Caesar salad (GFO), Roast of the day

I'm finding some very understanding wait staff in Pakenham, I have to say. They were very happy and willing to check on potential garlic/onion powder in the calamari blend used, and they offered up, without really being asked about it information on how the gluten free option of their crumbed items are prepared, and I have to say, these were some very crispy calamari for a gluten free coating. Apologies about the lighting in this photo, it was a very sunny day.

G'Day Coffee
Location: 2 Station Street, Pakenham
Ordered: Gluten free toast with smoked salmon, spinach and tomato
Also available: (as sides): Eggs, bacon, hollandaise, feta (as meals): Ham, cheese and tomato omelette, Eggs royale (GF bread), Egg and bacon sandwich (GF bread), BLT (GF bread), build your own sandwiches

I always imagine that LowFodmap life must be easier if you can eat eggs, I'm not allergic to them, but ever since I was a baby they just don't stay down. Another little Pakenham gem where onion/garlic questions (in relation to the spinach and tomato, it may seem like overkill that I always ask this, but I have been caught out before) were no big deal. Standard suburban cafe fare, but lovely staff who are happy to answer questions.


The Vista Cafe
Location: Lakeside Boulevard, Pakenham
Ordered: Steak sandwich on GF bread, minus the majority of the ingredients

Also available: A range of GF cakes in the display, but I did not ask about the other ingredients

Here's the downside to LowFodmap life, it's not all crispy calamari and on the spot potato creations. The menu in the cafe and the menu in Zomato do not match up here, going on the Zomato menu there were a few options, then when we arrived I learned that the menu has been reduced. This is what I was served- prompting laughs from my husband.

The plus is that the steak was cooked very well, the negative is that well, it was steak, lettuce, tomato and bread with nothing else. It was one of those defeated feeling meals, but you win some, you lose some. I will be going back for tea and to try one of their cakes though, because it really is a lovely location, a lovely cafe, and the staff were sympathetic. I probably won't do another lunch there though.

Supermarkets: Outer East

Ritchies Supa IGA Rowville

Wellington Village Shopping Centre
18/1100 Wellington Road
Rowville

This is a hidden gem. At the time these photos were taken the store was being refurbished and things were moved around, so I won't comment too much on the location of the items, but the range is HUGE, especially for such a small supermarket. Brands range from Ceres, Schar, Fodmapped For You, Well and Good, Ceres, Freedom Foods, Simply Wize, Rick Grants, Food for Health and many many more. Worth noting is that harder to find products in popular ranges can be found here, in particular I bought Genius crumpets, and they had quite a few packs in stock. They also stock the entire Some foods range (I've found many places only stock the butter chicken and Thai green curries, but I've found Malaysian Peanut Sauce and Yemeni Spiced Sauce here). FODMAP friendly foods can be found in both shelf-stable, refrigerated and frozen and the pricing is reasonable.




Go Vita

Westfield Knox
1063/425 Burwood Highway
Wantirna South

Go Vita is located on the lower level, across from Bakers Delight. It is a very narrow store, so I wouldn't recommend taking a trolley or a pram through there, but it is possible if you need to do it. They have a good range of products, but being a small boutique style store, some of the items can be found at a lower price elsewhere. However, brands like Schar, Well and Good, Simply Wize and Bon Appetito seem to be on par with pricing elsewhere.
Their range seems to be limited to shelf-stable products, they have refrigerated and freezer sections, but they are very small and seem to have more of a vegan product lean.

Dining Out: Bayside

The Goathouse
Location: 3-6 Elsternwick Place, Elsternwick
Time of day: Dinner – Weekday
Ordered: Gippsland Beef steak (chips omitted due to flour coating)
Other options: Lemon pepper calamari salad GF option (onions omitted) 

Sorry for the dodgy photo on this one, this was on a dinner out with work friends and I did not want to be the weird person taking photos of their food, I had my phone out under the guide of "consulting my FODMAP app", haha. 
I requested no onion no garlic and was assured that they are not added to the steak and the vegetables I received were a very good mix. I left the broccolini on my plate, but otherwise I could eat the others. They brought out a "complimentary salad" to compensate for the chips being omitted, but it had an unknown dressing and I wasn't too fussed about it, so I didn't ask and let one of my friends eat it. I had some serious food envy here though, the foods I couldn't eat looked amazing, and I have to admit, if I went here right at the start of my FODMAP journey, when I was still not used to being the one missing out, I would have been upset. 



Healthy Point
Location: 287 Glen Huntly Road, Elsternwick
Time of day: Lunch – Weekday
Ordered: Create your own spud
Other options: Create your own salad

They have a wide range of LowFODMAP toppings for your potato. The serving portions are large, so don’t order too many, they will just cram them in there, it's fabulous value for money. 

Milanos
Location: 4 The Esplanade, Brighton
Time of day: Lunch - Weekday
Ordered: Grilled barramundi with chips and salad (no onion specified, later no dressing specified)
Other options: Gummy shark, flatheat, salmon, steak

When I first received the meal it came out covered in a honey mustard dressing. I wasn't expecting that and had to request a dressing-free plate, so I would advise asking about what dressing is used first, and either ask with it without, or on the side. My second plate was enjoyable. It's your typical bistro offering, but it was nice to have a choice of fish.
 

Dining Out: Multiple Locations

Grill’d 

Locations: Balaclava, Burwood, Camberwell, Carlton, Carnegie, Casey Central, Chadstone, Collingwood, Degraves Street, Doncaster, Eastland, Elsternwick, Fairfield, Flinders Lane, Fountain Gate, Frankston, Hawthorn, Highpoint, Knox, Little Bourke Street, Malvern, Melbourne Central, Moonee Ponds, Northland, Plenty Valley, Point Cook, QV, Richmond- Bridge Rd, Richmond- Swan Street, South Melbourne, Southern Cross, Southgate, Southland, St Kilda, Watergardens, Werribee, Windsor, Yarraville Ordered: Create your own burger with grilled chicken, pineapple, tomato, lettuce and cheese on a gluten free bun, chips

The beef patties contain their relish, which contains onion, but their grilled chicken does not have a marinade. The cranberry sauce is LowFodmap, as is many of their salad ingredients. The chips (regular potato) are gluten free and LowFODMAP, the seasoning used is just salt and rosemary.




La Porchetta
Ordered: Salmon with Italian salad (onions omitted)
Locations: Altona Meadows, Ballarat, Bayswater, Bentleigh East, Berwick, Broadmeadows, Carlton North, Caroline Springs, Colac, Cragieburn Central, Cranbourne, Doreen, Donvale, Frankston, Geelong, Glen Waverley, Greensborough, Hastings, Highpoint, Ivanhow, Lilydale, Melton, Mentone, Mill Park, Niddrie, North Melbourne, Pakenham, Phillip Island, Reservoir, Rosebud, Rowville, Sale, Seymour, Shepparton, South Yarra, Sunshine, Sydenham, Traralgon, Werribee

Gluten free pizza bases are available, however the tinned tomatoes they use contain onion powder (the tin was shown to me by a staff member). Some locations offer GF pasta, but all of their sauces contain either garlic, onion and/or cream. The safest bet is their salmon or steak with the Italian salad with onions omitted, the seasonal vegetables contain cauliflower and the chips have a flour coating. Unfortunately, the salad dressing also contains garlic powder, so this does make for a very bland meal, but if you do have to eat there, there is a safe option.


Gluten Free 4 U
Ordered: Vienna loaf, Ham and cheese scroll, Fructose friendly sausage rolls, Chocolate mud cake
Locations: Boronia, Frankston, Geelong, Kew, Moorabbin

This is a bakery with a cafe. The entire store is gluten free and fructose friendly options are clearly marked. They have a very wide selection of your typical and not so typical bakery items (one day I will have to try their fresh pasta). The vienna loaf is very close to a regular wheat version and is very large for the price, the sausage rolls are onion and garlic free and the ham and cheese scrolls are delicious. The chocolate mud cake loaf tastes exactly like the Coles/Woolworths mud cake. They also make gluten free and fructose friendly birthday cakes to order. They offer online orders of bread items. 







Spudbar
Ordered: Create your own, regular potato
Locations: Melbourne- Commercial Road, Fitzroy, Richmond, St Kilda, South Yarra, Hawthorn, South Melbourne, Doncaster, Werribee, Frankston, Ashburton, Southland, Eastland, Geelong

They use scissors to cut the potato and cut it after butter has been added, as they offer a garlic butter, explain that you cannot have garlic, and ask them to wash the scissors before cutting your potato.


Thr1ve
Ordered: Create your own bowl (Brown rice and red quinoa mix, grilled salmon, green beans, broccoli and nori)
Locations: Chadstone, Collins Place, Emporium

The create your own bowls offer many options, they also are very open to dietary considerations and will make extra effort to ensure no contamination occurs. GF penne, quinoa, amaranth noodles and brown rice, chicken, tuna, eggs and salmon and a variety of vegetables are available.

 
Sumo Salad
Ordered: Create your own salad (Spinach, carrot, capsicum, rice vermicelli, grilled chicken, parsley, lemon juice)
Locations: Geelong, Watergardens, Airport West, Melbourne Airport Terminal 2, Northland, Doncaster, Eastland, Knox, Fountain Gate, Monash Clayton, Southland, Melbourne Central, QV, Collins Place, Victoria Gardens, Shrine of Remembrance

The grilled chicken is cooked without a marinade and there is a large list of LowFODMAP items to add to your salad.




Subway
Ordered: Salad- Steak with lettuce, spinach, capsicum, tomato, pineapple and olives
Location: Just about everywhere

Both the steak and the grilled chicken are LowFODMAP and do not contain any onions or garlic. I have seen some outlets (Fountain Gate and Belgrave) advertise gluten free wraps available, but I haven't tried them. Hopefully those become a standard menu item.






Ikea
Locations: Springvale, Richmond 
Ordered: Chips and salad
Also available: Salmon, jelly
 
Yes, this was my lunch one day. In theory you can get a decent LowFodmap feed at Ikea, you're not going to expect a fabulous meal, but you can get a complete meal... as long as it's not the one day ever that they don't have their baked salmon. If, like me, you choose to go wander through the furniture maze on that exact say, then you get chips and salad.

So, the pros are that the chips aren't coated and you can build your own salad. The cons are that if they run out of something, you end up with this... while watching your kid who gets to eat meatballs AND go in the ball pit eat the meatballs and talk about going in the ball pit.