How the IBS recipes work

They work just like the other freezer recipes, but each one is built to avoid the most common IBS and reflux triggers: no chilli, no tomato base and only a little garlic and onion. Gentle on your gut explains the rules.

Every recipe makes 15 to 28 blocks. Two blocks make a light lunch; three make a proper dinner with rice, quinoa, a wrap or a jacket potato. Batches cost about £2 to £11 to make, so a three-block meal usually comes in under a pound and a half, and the plant-based ones well under a pound.

The recipes, all in the IBS-friendly collection, cover chicken and turkey, pork and beef, and plant-based dishes. Each one tells you how long it takes, how many blocks it makes, what a block costs, and roughly what is in it, including the fibre.

Making your blocks

1. Get a tray. A silicone “soup cube” or large ice-cube tray with cells of about 70ml. Three 8-cell trays hold most batches.
2. Cool fast. Spread the cooked dish out in a wide, shallow dish so it cools within 1–2 hours.
3. Portion. Spoon about 70g into each cell. Weigh the first few until you know what 70g looks like.
4. Freeze. Freeze flat overnight, pop the blocks out and bag them, labelled with the dish and date. They keep for 3 months.
5. Reheat from frozen. Microwave about 1 minute per block plus 1 minute, covered, stirring halfway, or warm them in a pan with a splash of water. Heat until piping hot and never refreeze once thawed.

Cooking notes

Soften means a medium heat, brown means medium-high, and simmer means small, steady bubbles. A large, heavy pan or casserole suits every recipe.

Where a recipe says season, start with ½ tsp salt for the whole batch, taste, and add more a pinch at a time. Freezing dulls salt and spice a little, so season slightly more boldly than you would for eating straight away.

Good first batches

Times are prep plus cooking.

• Ginger-Soy Turkey & Green Beans: the quickest of the fifty. 35 min, 19 blocks.
• Carrot & Red Lentil Dal: mild and creamy, at 15p a block. 45 min, 15 blocks.
• Chicken, Potato & Sweetcorn Stew: a chowder-style stew the whole table can share. 45 min, 23 blocks.
• Mild Turkey Taco Mince: taco night with cumin and smoked paprika, and no chilli. 45 min, 20 blocks.
• Miso Butter Beans: plant-based, with ginger, spinach and light coconut. 40 min, 22 blocks.
• Gentle Chicken Korma: sweet potato and carrot blended in for body and fibre. 1 hr, 25 blocks.
• Turkey & Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Mince: top with mash, or eat it as it is. 1 hr 10 min, 23 blocks.

To cook four in one go, try the IBS-friendly batch-cook day, Turkey mince day or Plant-based day.