Gut-friendly food scores for a fuller life.
Eat with a little
more confidence.
Toots & Trots scores how gentle a food or meal is likely to be for life with a J-pouch — and other sensitive guts (ostomy, IBD, IBS) — so you can plan, shop and eat with less second-guessing.
Modelled estimates, not medical advice. Everyone's gut is different.
How a food might score
- White rice, boiledGo for it
- Porridge oatsOK in moderation
- SweetcornSmall amounts
- Raw onionApproach cautiously
Lower is gentler. Shape and word as well as colour.
Check it before you eat it
You don't have to look up every ingredient. Paste a recipe, scan a packet, or snap your plate — and see how gentle it's likely to be in seconds.
How you cook it changes everything
The same food can be harsh or gentle depending on how it's prepared. Take onion:
Browse foods by score
Every food, scored for how gentle it's likely to be — lower is gentler. Here's a gentler and a harder pick from across the food groups. Browse the full list — by category and searchable — on the foods page.
Gentler foods
Harder foods
- Jerusalem artichokeVegetables8.3Approach cautiously
- HazelnutsNuts & Seeds8.0Approach cautiously
- Sugar-free / sweetened dessertDesserts & Sweets7.4Approach cautiously
- Figs (dried)Fruits7.3Approach cautiously
- Wheat bran cerealGrains & Starches7.3Approach cautiously
- Baked beans (in sauce)Legumes & Pulses6.9Small amounts
Recipes
Recipes, scored for your pouch.
Original Toots & Trots recipes, each rated with the GASP Score — with the harsher ingredients flagged and gentler swaps built in. Browse by meal, cuisine, dietary need or gentleness. Got a recipe from somewhere else? Check its score too.
Gentle Lasagne (or no-pasta, moussaka-style)
1.5/ 10A rich beef lasagne built on our onion- and garlic-free stock, garlic-infused oil and just a little tomato paste, layered with a lower-lactose cheese sauce. Have it with pasta, or skip the sheets for soft eggplant layers.
Serves 6 · 75 min
Gentle Spaghetti Bolognese
1.6/ 10A rich, slow-simmered bolognese that skips the onion and garlic but keeps all the savoury depth — built on our onion-free stock, garlic-infused oil and a little tomato paste. A weeknight staple the whole table can share.
Serves 6 · 55 min
Gentle Spaghetti & Meatballs
1.7/ 10Soft, herby beef-and-pork meatballs in a gentle tomato sauce over white spaghetti — onion- and garlic-free, but full of flavour. A proper family dinner that won't cost you the night.
Serves 5 · 45 min
Three ways we score every food
Gentle on your gut. Good for you. Still a joy to eat. Eating “green” isn't the whole story — the gentlest foods aren't always the most nourishing, so we score all three and let you balance them.
Gentle
the GASP scoreHow easy a food is likely to be on your gut — gas, irritation, looseness and roughage. Lower is gentler.
Nourishing
the Health scoreHow nutrient-dense it is, shown in stars. Because gentle isn't the same as healthy — white rice is gentle, but you still need balance.
Tasty
the Flavour scoreHow much flavour it brings, from bland to bam. Because a fuller life means food you actually enjoy, not a beige plate.
Inside the Gentle score
The gentleness number — the GASP Score — weighs the things that tend to matter most for a sensitive gut.
Gas
fermentation, bloating and wind
Agitation
irritation and stimulant-driven urgency
Stool-loosening / Speed
looser, faster, more urgent output
Particle load
coarse, undigested residue
Bindingprotective
protective — thickens and calms output
Meal prep & flavour prep
Onion-free stock, infused oils, batch-cooked basics — ways to make gentler food still taste like food.
Explore meal prep →Who it's for
Made for adults living with a J-pouch, especially the unpredictable months after takedown — with guidance for ostomy, IBD and IBS too.
Who it's for →Our story
“This started as my own way to get through the hardest weeks after pouch surgery — a way to score my food and calm things down. It helped me enough that I wanted to put it in other people's hands.”
— Robin, who lives with a J-pouch
Read our story →Common questions
Is a low score a “safe” food?
No — it's a gentler estimate, not a verdict. There are no good or bad foods, and everyone's gut is different.
Does cooking change the score?
Often, yes. Boiling, peeling, draining or infusing can all make the same food gentler — we score the preparation, not just the food.
Is this medical advice?
No. It's a modelled guide to experiment with, alongside your own medical team — not a diagnosis or a treatment.
Missing a food? Got a question?
Tell us what to add or fix. We read everything, and your suggestions help shape the scores.