Endo belly friendly olive oil chocolate mousse

Last week I shared a podcast episode (305) on using evidence based foods for constipation with endo, as so many people within our community suffer with this symptom.

I thought it would be helpful to share a couple of recipes that not only use these foods in a fun way, but are also less likely to cause bloating and help to heal the gut!

This mousse is:

• Rich in healthy fats and protein, making it a great breakfast option for stable blood sugar levels.

• Includes good fat from olive oil, yoghurt and eggs, which helps trigger large gut motility.

• Contains chia seeds, an evidenced based food for constipation. You can swap for flax, which has more research behind it. Listen to podcast for how to use both of these foods for endo in a way that suits your body.

• Is high in good bacteria to help support a healthy microbiome - re-establishing a healthy microbiome is essential for reducing endo belly.

• Uses low fodmap serving sizes, so less likely to cause bloating and also safer for SIBO peeps and people with IBS (though low FODMAP is not always effective for either groups). However, you can increase serving sizes and I am not suggesting we all go low FODMAP! I’m just making this as endo belly friendly as possible.

• Contains prebiotics from the chia seeds to feed good gut bacteria.

• Is rich in polyphenols from cacao, olive oil and flax (if you use it), antioxidants which are fantastic for gut health and overall health.

• Is a source of potassium thanks to the dates, a nutrient which is essential for the muscle contractions of the bowel.

• Is low in naturally occurring sugar, and contains fat, fibre and protein to slow down carbohydrate release, to prevent blood sugar and inflammation spikes.

• Can be made vegan!

A few notes -

Lactose free dairy yoghurt is low FODMAP up to 170g per serving. If you do not tolerate dairy and choose not to eat it for ethical reasons, etc. then you can use a low FODMAP yoghurt, though this may be lower in fat and/or protein, depending on the type. Please check Monash app. dairy free options.

Dairy and endo is a little nuanced and depends on the individual, you can find out more about it in my Nutrition for Endo Masterclass.

This recipe contains raw eggs for protein and healthy fats, just like real chocolate mousse does (some use egg yolks, some use whites, some both), the difference is, we’re not whipping or folding the eggs in, they just go straight in the blender with everything else. You could whip your eggs if you’d like to, but the primary focus of this recipe is to give you a quick and tasty breakfast that can help with gut problems, so it’s not particularly time consuming or fancy!

Most countries now test their eggs for salmonella, but if your country doesn’t, it would be safer to remove these. Of course, if you’re vegan or allergic/intolerant to eggs, they can be removed. If the idea of raw egg grosses you out, I get it and you can omit! Just be aware it will have less protein and may be less effective for constipation.

The low FODMAP serving size for chia is 24g per person. However, I recommend my clients start lower, at 15g, as sometimes that’s all we need per day to get the bowels moving, and it may take their bodies time to adjust to the extra fibre, so we build up slowly. Additionally, depending on your gut issues, chia may be better tolerated at lower levels. Remember, if you have SIBO, just because something is low FODMAP, does not mean it won’t trigger symptoms, so always check your tolerance levels. So, that being said, you could start with 30g for this recipe, which will give you 15g per serve and will create a runnier (but not runny) mousse, the higher the serving of chia, the thicker it will be. Many recipes for chocolate mousse use about 30g per person, this creates a very thick mousse, but personally, my gut can’t handle it!

I tend to steer clear of using lots of dates in my recipes, because dates like medjool dates are high in sugar (about 18g per date) and can cause quite big blood sugar spikes. Managing blood sugar is one of key strategies for reducing inflammation with endo. Instead, I’ve used deglet noor dates, which are much lower in sugar, at about 4-5g per date. The addition of chia will really slow down the carb content anyway, due to its fibre content. I’ve offered 2-4 dates as suggestion, so you can tailor to sweetness. If you’d like to add more, you of course can.

This mousse contains a low fodmap serving of cacao, so it is chocolatey, but not super rich and the yoghurt taste comes through. If you don’t need to go low fodmap, you can up the amount to taste.

Always remember to drink an extra 150ml water with chia or flax, as they are both very absorbent and need water to create the slippery gel that helps with constipation. If you don’t drink much water, they can actually dry things up and worsen this gut problem.

Finally, it’s worth noting that whilst this may be the trick to get things moving again, it often takes consistent daily use of chia, fats, etc. to see a difference, and even then, if you have more going on with your gut health, you might need extra help.

If you’re struggling with your gut health, you might find my courses and one to one coaching helpful. You can find out more here.