**This post was developed and written by Nancy Gammack, RD when she was a dietetic intern and volunteer for Ignite Nutrition.
Made with lean ground beef, butternut squash and pre-made rice, these low FODMAP burritos are both quick to make and good for you! A terrific lunch or dinner recipe for low FODMAP meal prep, the burritos freeze and reheat exceptionally well, saving you precious time down the road.
Struggling with Meal Prep & Planning?
Picture this – you come home from a long day at work and you don’t have much energy left. You know that the kids need to be fed and you only have 30 minutes before they need to be out the door off to sport practice or music lessons and you are stressing again about what to cook. You look for something in your fridge that is quick but probably something that could be a lot healthier. You know that you just need to quickly get something in their stomachs before rushing them off to practice.
Did I just describe your nightly routine?
My night often resembles this description, and I don’t even have kids to worry about! I understand it can be stressful finding any time to spend in the kitchen when we are rushing from commitment to commitment. Plus, if we add another complicated layer to that – the low FODMAP diet – it can feel impossible to get everyone fed!
If we enter the kitchen already hungry and short on time, there is a higher chance that we will choose whatever dish we can make in the shortest amount of time! Our brains are telling us we are hungry and often at this point nutrition goes right out the window! As a registered dietitian, I hear this story time and time again from my clients.
So how do we listen to the signals from our brain but also prioritize the healthier options? Drum roll please…. meal prep! Don’t worry, it’s not too time-consuming. You don’t even have to cook every night of the week! However, meal prepping does make a big difference! This is especially helpful if you’re following an elimination diet like the low FODMAP diet. Imagine coming home to pre-made low FODMAP tacos, or low FODMAP mac and cheese. Sounds pretty fantastic right?
One of the most important steps in making the healthy choices the easy choice is making sure you have healthy dishes easily accessible at home. Then, when your brain is telling you to grab whatever is the quickest, the healthier option will be the quick choice too!
How do I make low FODMAP meal prep easy?
First, pick one day of the week that you can carve out some time to cook. It doesn’t even need to be a night, but perhaps a Sunday morning. Use that time to make a dish but double or triple the recipe! This will leave you with planned leftovers that will serve you well on those busy days.
Dietitian Pro tip: double or triple a recipe to have planned leftovers. Bonus if it’s freezer friendly and you can pack in individual servings!
Next, pre-portion the leftovers into multiple smaller containers that resemble the portion you typically would want at a meal. That way you don’t have to worry about thawing half a container. Just simply take out one smaller container and pop it into the microwave or oven.
So what types of recipes make for great low FODMAP freezer meals? Well, these spiced burritos or a simple low FODMAP chicken stir fry are a great place to start! The burritos in this recipe freeze well, but most importantly they reheat exceptionally well! By wrapping them individually, you will have many quick dinners ready to go. If you have the time to reheat one in the oven, just simply place the wrapped burrito in the oven. The best part is that the tortilla will become nice and crispy. If you don’t have as much time, unwrap the burrito from the tin foil and warm up in the microwave. They still taste great and the microwave helps cut down time significantly. Both reheating from frozen or from the fridge works great!
Most of us are living really busy lives and often healthy food choices are what get compromised. By taking a little extra time on one day to do some low FODMAP meal prep for the week we can assure that when our brain is telling us we are over hungry, the healthier option is the quick and easy choice too!
Love this low FODMAP dinner recipe as much as we do? Our collection of low FODMAP recipes were created to help you navigate the low FODMAP diet. Many of our patients have tried implementing the low FODMAP diet on their own. However, this diet should be conducted with the support of a registered dietitian. At Ignite Nutrition we offer one-on-one nutrition counselling to help you start on the low FODMAP diet with guidance.
Low FODMAP Meal Prep Burritos (Freezer Friendly!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups of pre-made rice, or other grain of choice
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- One small butternut squash, chopped (no more than ¼ cup in each burrito for Low FODMAP)
- 1 orange pepper, chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 3 leaves of kale, chopped fine
- 500 grams lean ground beef
- 1 tbsp chilli powder
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 3 green onion, chopped (Include only the green parts for Low FODMAP)
- 2 cups grated cheese (such as cheddar or mozzarella)
- 6 wraps (if Low FODMAP, we use the rice-based wraps as they fold nicely)
Instructions
- If do not have leftover rice, follow instructions on packaging to make 2 cups of cooked rice.
- Line baking sheet with tin foil and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Peel butternut squash. Dice butternut squash, green and orange pepper and place on lined baking sheet trying to keep the squash separate.
- Add 2 tbsp. of canola oil and mix so that all food is lightly coated.
- Roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
- Finely chop kale and add to the veggie pan and roast for an additional 5 minutes watching carefully not to burn kale. Remove pan from oven and set aside.
- While veggies are roasting, warm a frying pan on medium heat and cook ground beef until no longer pink.
- Chop green onions (use only the green parts for Low FODMAP) and add to the ground beef.
- Assemble taco spices by sprinkling chilli powder, paprika, cumin, and black pepper on the ground beef.
- Once ground beef is cooked through turn off frying pan, add soy sauce and stir.
- Assemble the burritos by placing a small amount of squash, pepper, kale, beef, and grated cheese in the center of each burrito. Roll up burrito by tightly folding over two sides of the wrap, grabbing the front part of the wrap closest to you and pulling it all the way over to the other side to close off the wrap. Before completely closing, line the final flap with a layer of cheese and squeeze closed. Once the cheese melts in the oven, this will serve as “glue” to hold the burrito together.
- To serve, assemble burritos in a covered oven safe pan, or wrap individually in tin foil. Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese melts and tortilla is warmed. (*If you are not eating right away, simply wrap each burrito individually in tin foil and store in fridge or freezer for later)
Notes
- To keep this recipe Low FODMAP, assure that the maximum portion of butternut squash per burrito is ¼ cup
- only the green parts of the green onion are used
- Swap wheat tortilla wraps for rice-based ones
- To reheat from frozen place burrito into oven and cook for 1 hour at 400 degrees F, or remove burrito from tin foil, place a paper towel around it and reheat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.
- To reheat from the fridge: place burrito into oven and cook for 20 minutes at 400 degrees F, or remove burrito from tin foil, place a paper towel around it and reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
- Need more meal prep ideas? Many of Ignite recipes will reheat well from frozen. Try Low FODMAP Lemon Teriyaki Tofu Stir Fry, or Low FODMAP Beef Fennel Stew.
Categorized: Healthy Eating, Low FODMAP, Main Dish, Nut-Free
This recipe has made it into regular rotation in our house. I usually double the recipe so that I get extra burritos to throw in the freezer for those evenings when I just can’t do another thing. I often add corn, sautéed zucchini, and black olives. This is an excellent base recipe and I imagine it will be a regular for years to come!