The British classic that usually wrecks sensitive guts, rebuilt from scratch
Hey {{first_name}},
At the time my IBS started flaring up I was having a tin of baked beans everyday. I had no clue that they were one of my biggest triggers which made for a fun daily routine.
They're packed full with the FODMAPs GOS, fructans, and fructose. They're all healthy but they're also the reason you may have heard of "beans beans the more you eat the more you toot"
So I built my own version. Same comfort, same hit of warmth and sweetness from the sauce, none of the consequences.
The trick is using butter beans and giving them a proper rinse and a quick boil before they go anywhere near the pan. That one step washes out a huge chunk of the GOS that would otherwise have your stomach in bits.
The recipe
Serves: 4 (start small and see where your tolerance sits)
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Ingredients:
400g butter beans (canned)
1 slice of sourdough bread (Gluten free or spelt flour is best especially as the rest of the meal is a bit harder than the others I’ve made)
1 tbsp grate cheddar cheese
15g butter
1/2 tbsp garlic infused olive oil
1 tbsp tomato purée
240ml passata
50ml water
2 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp white vinegar
1/3 tsp mustard
salt
Black pepper
Method:
Drain and rinse the butter beans, then tip them into a pan of fresh water, bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes. This is the step that pulls out a big chunk of the gas-causing oligosaccharides, so don't skip it. Drain and set aside.
In a separate pan, melt the butter with the garlic-infused olive oil over medium heat.
Add the tomato purée and cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring so it doesn't catch.
Pour in the passata and water, then stir in the sugar, vinegar, mustard, salt and black pepper.
Bring to a simmer and let it cook uncovered for 8–10 minutes so the sauce thickens up.
Add the beans and simmer for another 5–7 minutes until everything's coated and warm through.
Give it a final stir with the garlic-infused olive oil, taste and adjust the seasoning if it needs it.
Let it sit for 5 minutes off the heat so the sauce settles.
Serve over sourdough toast with a bit of cheddar grated on top.
MOST IMPORTANT: get rid of the water you boiled the beans in
Why it works for your gut
Butter beans are lower FODMAP at around 40g canned and drained per serve, and the rinse-and-boil step strips out even more of the GOS that builds up in the canning liquid. So while a normal portion of canned baked beans would batter most sensitive guts, this version keeps you well inside the safer zone.
The garlic-infused olive oil does all the savoury heavy lifting on flavour. Fructans aren't oil-soluble, so you get the garlic taste without the trigger. The passata and tomato purée are kept within lower FODMAP serving sizes too, so nothing is quietly stacking up on you.
Sourdough is your friend here. The long fermentation process breaks down a chunk of the fructans in the wheat, which is why a lot of people who can't touch normal bread get on completely fine with proper sourdough. Cheddar is naturally very low in lactose so a sprinkle on top is fine for sensitive guts.
Make it yours
Swap the garlic-infused oil for regular garlic and chuck in some chopped onion at the start if you tolerate fructans
Use as much passata and tomato purée as you like if fructose isn't a trigger for you
Gluten free sourdough or your usual gluten free bread works fine if you're avoiding gluten too
Add a fried or poached egg on top for a proper protein hit
Macros
Carbs: 44g
Protein: 13g
Fat: 8g
Kcals: 290
Fibre: 5.2g
Somethings coming…
Do you struggle with eating out? I know for me I used to ask my self these questions when eating meals I didn’t cook, either at restaurants or at a friends house, and it was incredibly stressful. Will this trigger my gut? Does this food normally contain my triggers? what do I even pick off the menu ? How can I make this me friendly without ruining it for anyone else?
All incredibly valid questions because the consequences are real.
Which is why I’ve been creating an app that has a camera function where all you need to do is take photo of a meal and it will tell you what is likely to trigger you in that meal, then what to swap or eat less of specifically tailored to your triggers.
Not only that but if you take a photo of a menu it will rank the meals from best to worst so you don’t have to spend ages reading and wondering what to chose (it also works if the menu is in a different language).
But what about the days you just want to pop to the shop for a quick snack? The camera sorts that out too. Just take a quick photo of the ingredients and how much you plan to eat and let the app guide you in understanding if its likely to trigger your gut.
If you’d like to feel more confident eating out and less out of control with your food, this app is for you.
Im really excited to release it anyways 😄