5 Quick Tips for Eating Out on a Low-FODMAP Vegan Diet

Dietary restrictions can make eating out a challenge. You might feel like it’s impossible to learn how to eat out on a low-FODMAP vegan diet, but it can be done with the right planning. Here’s what you need to know when making reservations with friends and family. 

What Is a Low-FODMAP Vegan Diet?

Defining each component separately makes it easier to understand the challenges of how to eat out on a low-FODMAP vegan diet. Vegans eschew all animal products, including eggs and cheese — many of them also shun leather and other goods that originate from animals. Even innocuous-seeming dishes such as spaghetti may be off the menu if the chef includes a sprinkle of parmesan. 

FODMAPs stand for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols. These foods can affect the bowels of sensitive individuals, causing symptoms like bloating, gas and irregular movements. Some folks end up rushing to the bathroom multiple times while others grow constipated. 

Unfortunately for vegans, many high-FODMAP foods are plant-based, further limiting their dining choices. Common high-FODMAP foods include the following: 

• Wheat products — found in many breads, pastas and other baked goods

• Garlic

• Onions 

• Some fruits, including apples, pears and mangoes

• Some vegetables, including cauliflower, asparagus and artichoke

As you can see, a low-FODMAP vegan diet is quite restrictive. While it’s still possible to meet your nutritional needs, doing so becomes more complex. 

For example, many vegans struggle to get enough protein, as they must combine various foods to get all nine essential amino acids without consuming animal products. One common way to do so is through combining pasta and beans, as in vegan chilli. However, many beans are high FODMAP, as is wheat. 

However, not everyone who eats a low-FODMAP diet is sensitive to the same ingredients. Therefore, you may find it easier to eat out on a low-FODMAP diet than you think by doing a bit of research.

How to Eat Out on a Low-FODMAP Diet

Despite these restrictions, it’s still possible to learn how to eat out on a low-FODMAP diet. The following strategies can help you pick a restaurant and enjoy an evening out with loved ones. 

1. Work the Internet 

Thanks to technology, it’s now possible to learn more about what many restaurants include in their ingredients list without a phone call. Begin by researching menus online, seeking those that have meals you could eat as presented. If there are no such selections, you might need to pick up the phone after all. Ask if the chef accepts substitutions — some do not — and if so, which ones are available. 

2. Seek Vegan Establishments 

As more people go vegan for ethical reasons, more like-minded restaurants have opened to meet the rising demand. Seeking these out can often result in meals you can eat. For example, jackfruit is a popular meat substitute that also qualifies as low-FODMAP. Many such establishments may offer several items that you’ll find safe and thoroughly enjoyable. 

3. Try International Cuisines 

You might also have considerable luck finding appropriate offerings at Asian restaurants, as many of them opt for rice as a starch instead of wheat. Others, such as Ethiopian cuisine, use ancient grains such as teff that are gluten-free and low-FODMAP. 

4. Hold the Sauce 

Sauces can add flavor, but many of them contain high-FODMAP ingredients. For example, many pasta sauces include a hefty dose of onion and garlic. Many Asian sauces contain wheat gluten. One alternative is a mild salsa verde made with jalapenos, green peppers and tomatillos, all of which are safe low-FODMAP vegan foods. 

5. Snack on the Sly 

Sometimes, you may have no choice but to say yes to that Italian joint if it's what everybody in your group craves. In such cases, it helps to snack on safe foods before you go out so you aren’t famished at the table. Feeling hungry while being unable to eat will put a damper on your mood, making socializing difficult. Furthermore, please apply the first tip on this list — there may be one or two things on the menu you can eat, with or without modifications. 

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Beth, the Managing Editor and content manager at Body+Mind, is well-respected in the mental health, nutrition and fitness spaces. In her spare time, Beth enjoys cooking and going for runs with her dog.