Does it ever get better? Slight tmi

doittoitgirl

We are vegetarian and used to cook with alot of notoriously gassy foods often such as garlic, onions, beans, raw peppers ,etc. They didn't bother us much. We fell off the wagon when I went back to school and relied on a lot of ready-meals, takeout, and mac and cheese out of quickness and convenience. Over the winter break we decided to hop back on the wagon with the spare time and precook meals again. I try to ease back in and take it a little easy on the veg and such, but it seems even a sprinkle of garlic powder or two slices of bell pepper upsets my stomach. I don't think it'd be good to rely on stomach pills constantly to relieve it, but I don't know what to do! It's been a month with no change. Any cooking tips or spice replacement ideas to help us get through this transition?

kshama2001

Have you tried Beano?

ccsernica

I used to be a devout Eastern Orthodox Christian, and that church mandates several fasting periods throughout the year where eating animal products is forbidden, including Lent and Advent. So for many years I was always going off and on a vegan diet depending on the time of year. Generally speaking I'd find myself adjusting to it by the fifth week or so -- just in time to be done with the fast. But everyone is a little different. Going back onto meat was always very easy for me, for instance, but a friend of mine had to pop acidophilus pills all day on Easter.

Acidophilus might not be a bad idea, if there's a chance the problem is an incorrect population of gut flora for a vegetarian diet. Or allow yourself some good live culture yogurt just to help things along.

As far as beans go, this is how to take most of the gas out of them: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/09/19/narsai-david-the-usda-recommended-way-to-degas-beans/