Eat your veggies!

I love running. As mad as that may sound. I really love it.

And it isn't just an excuse to lounge around in activewear. (Because, seriously, who needs an excuse??) 

Running is simple. You pick up one foot, move it forward through the air, place it on the ground again, and repeat. For a more advanced version, you do this quickly. 

But while running is straightforward, running nutrition is not. 

There is a lot of conflicting information out there about what you should eat, how much, and when. 

At one point I tried to understand and synthesize all this information, but I soon gave up. I decided that the best piece of advice I had heard - and the only one I really needed - was this: "Eat your veggies".

Pretty great life advice in general, really! 

But alas, vegetables can be a little bit problematic on a low-FODMAP diet. Gone are the days of being fussy about what vegetables I will eat, that's for sure!

Admittedly, my days of fussiness are now over, almost exclusively because I am unable to tolerate peas. Some have speculated that my adoption of the low-FODMAP diet is actually an elaborate plan to avoid my culinary nemesis, such is the extent of my loathing. However, I am simply not that cunning. 

Besides, irritable bowel syndrome has to have some perks!

And indeed, there are some pretty exciting, delicious vegetable options that FODMAP-averse foodies can sink their teeth into. 

To help me make the most of them, I've compiled a wee table of common low-FODMAP vegetable options by season (similar to the post I put together on low-FODMAP fruit). 

All of the veggies I have been eating will surely help me smash my half-marathon next weekend. Well, the veggies, months of training, and, of course, my shoes. 

Little known fact: pink shoes make you run faster.

Low-FODMAP vegetables by season

This guide was put together using the Monash University app and Healthy Food Guide. 

This list is not extensive. A range of other vegetables may also be suitable, depending on the portion size and your tolerance to different FODMAPs.

Some of these vegetables listed below (and denoted by asteriks) are high in FODMAPs when large quantities, or certain varieties or parts of the vegetable are consumed. See the app for details. Blue denotes that the vegetable is imported at that time of year.  

Prepared for flight

It's been a slow start to the year, at least as far as this blog is concerned. 

But, in every other way, it has been a hectic, fast-paced start to the year for us.

This year Ross and I are starting a new adventure. We have accepted two-year secondments, working at the Reserve Bank of Australia so we will be moving to Sydney on the 10th of March. We have absolutely loved our time in Wellington, but it's time for us to take this amazing opportunity and do something a bit different. 

Much about our lives in Australia will be very new, including the food we will be eating - so this blog will be coming along for the ride. There'll certainly be lots of new experiences to write about - and hopefully there'll be some great food to try!  

But, first things first, we need to get there.

So for the past month we have been drowning in our ever-expanding to-do list. And every item we tick off leads to three new things that we need to add to the list - oh, and each of those things takes about twice as long as you would expect. 

But we are getting through it. In fact, this weekend we booked our flights and accommodation for when we arrive in Sydney. I also submitted my passport application. So, all going to plan, we are prepared for flight. 

To celebrate that - and because long weekends are the BEST - Ross and I decided to take some time this morning and head to one of the cafes that we intend to visit before we leave. 

(The list of such cafes is about as long as, but a hundred times more exciting than, my cleaning to-do list, and similarly seems to be growing by the day!)

So, to take a break and digest the fact that we have purchased our one-way tickets, we decided to celebrate with brunch at the aptly named Flight Hangar.

Our sensational brunch at Flight Hangar.

Flight Hangar is one of Wellington's trendiest cafes of the moment - it's edgy and cool, while being fresh and welcoming. There are a number of other hipster cafes in Wellington, some of which are overrated, pretty stale, and have been getting away with average customer service for way too long. Flight Hangar should be giving them a thing or two to worry about.

And don't just believe me - it's super popular. We arrived at about 8:45am to avoid it being busy and the environment was vibrant yet relaxed. But by the time we left, the place was buzzing. 

An observation that is perhaps unsurprising once you try the coffee.   

Flight coffee is run by a family of self-confessed coffee nerds and it really is outstanding Flight Hangar has a coffee menu where you can pick your roast of choice, and the brew is made with love and expert precision.  

Made with love.

The menu, with its range of gluten-free options, is extensive too. There were some delicious-sounding healthy choices we could have made, but I was feeling indulgent - and not even remotely guilty, since I completed my last half-marathon long run yesterday (yay, taper time!). 

So (armed with lactase tablets) I ordered a regular flat white and gluten-free french toast. 

Now, this wasn't just old egg-soaked-white-vogels french toast, either. It was made with soft, fluffy gluten-free brioche that had been laced with cinnamon and brown sugar, drenched in blueberry syrup, and smothered in creme fraiche. It was absolutely magical. 

French toast.

Ross had the honey roasted strawberries on toasted brioche and vanilla mascarpone. This was less FODMAP-friendly than the French toast, so I couldn't steal some (lucky for Ross), but he tells me it was yum - sweet and exquisite from what I can imagine! 

Honey roasted strawberries.

Overall, we had delicious brunch at Flight Hangar for a relaxing wee break - with excellent food, coffee and service. Exactly what we needed. 

Sadly, we won't have much time to try more of their yummy options before we take flight. 

But I may just have to add it to my to-do list...