About Me

Welcome to Loveable Lemons! I'm Venessa Mandelkow, and I have been cooking, baking, and meal planning for over thirty years. As a preteen while everyone was watching Saved By The Bell, I was watching Julia Child on PBS. I loved baking and teaching in 4H, going to the Minnesota State Fair as a teen presenting my award winning projects and food creations to a panel of judges.

My Diagnosis

In 2017, I was diagnosed at Mayo Clinic with Fructose Malabsorption. I have been successfully, or learning by trial and error, following a low FODMAP diet for more than seven years. Next, I met with a dietician and started an elimination diet following the Low FODMAP guidelines by both Mayo Clinic Nutrition and the Monash University App.

My last “regular” meal was a cheeseburger with a soft, buttery bun from Hansich Bakery on the Fourth of July that year. Not only did I say goodbye to wheat, but I also said goodbye to onions, garlic, high fructose corn syrup, and so, so much more.

What is a Low FODMAP Diet?

Basically, my body cannot absorb fructose, fructans, or sugar alcohol (FODMAPs). My sweet tooth and I are no longer friends. My love for all things food turned sour. It took me years to figure out how to eat food that tasted good and didn't make me sick. For a more detailed information review, What is a Low FODMAP diet and Monash University’s information about a Low FODMAP diet.

Education & Work Experience

Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Communication and minor in Media Studies, University of Minnesota-Duluth
Over 17 years of financial marketing experience for White Rock Bank and Mayo Credit Union. I have created hundreds of marketing campaigns while listening to food and meal planning podcasts. I have also written countless financial articles on budgeting and meal planning- they were my favorites to write, surprise, surprise.

Where To Find Me

Teaching meal planning, meal prep, and cooking classes for Community Education. Interested in attending or having me teach? Contact me!

Find me hanging out on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest. Come and say hello!

Feeding My Family

Out of necessity, two hungry kids are not quiet; I quickly learned how to adapt my family's favorite recipes to make them delicious and safe for me, all while still feeding my family. For over seven years, I have been navigating how to feed myself and my family delicious low FODMAP meals. Some meals require a different bread choice and careful ingredient selections, like Low FODMAP Cuban sandwiches. In other instances, the entire family will eat Low FODMAP Minestrone soup - and they enjoy it!

You Are Not Alone

Here is the deal, folks, when I first started this low FODMAP food journey, I felt isolated and alone. I struggled with disordered eating. Choosing to starve rather than risk getting sick.

My ability to sit at a restaurant and order whatever I wanted from the menu was gone. Grocery stores became some odd version of torture, showing me ALL the things I could no longer eat. Events became awkward and terrifying - do I eat, do I ask for accommodations, do I bring my own food, or do I just skip it?

Truth be told, all of the above things still have their challenges because what doesn't in life. However, in my little corner of the vast world wide web, I want to help. We can learn together, support each other, and make food taste good again.

Join me on an informational food journey to the world of adapted low FODMAP recipes. It's what happens when a diagnosis becomes like a sour lemon and adjusting recipes to make them loveable again.