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CrohnsHobo

CrohnsHobo

Joined
Nov 4, 2009
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871
I do all of the cooking for myself and my girlfriend and I work full time Monday through Friday. I love to cook, but I am finding myself very frustrated as of late with eating in general.

When I am feeling better I tend to think I can eat what I want and then I get myself sick again. Seeing as I prepare all our food you'd think it would be easy to avoid this.

The last two days have not been good, not sure what set it off, but just been very blah the last two days with D returning. Somewhat back to normal today.

There is so many foods that I don't digest well that I should be on a Gluten Free/SCD restricted type diet.

BUT . . . all those foods either sound bland, a pain in the ass to cook after working all day, or my girlfriend won't eat. (She is a bit of a picky eater)

Just finding the prospect of having to live off bland food frustrating and a tad disappointing. To me dealing with food is one of the most aggravating things about this disease. I would almost rather not eat then eat some of the so called 'approved' foods.
 
Aw Chris

I feel your pain! It's one of the most frustrating things about this disease. When I feel off or sick, I have to cook separate from my kids, they won't eat the 'crap' I have to eat, they really kick off! And I have to sit and watch them tuck into chips, McDonalds, KFC and all sorts of lovely stuff.
I love food, eating out, and cooking so it makes me depressed when I can't.
Hope you're feeling better soon
xx
 
I don't know how people cook different meals. I barely have the energy to come home from work and prep and cook one, let alone too. Then doing the dishes, bleh.

My GF does not eat fast food, I would live off it if I could, but I gave that up a long time ago. Wish there was good tasting easy prep food for us. Argghh!
 
Chris
I have always said that if I ever win the Lottery, I would hire a cook! It would be bliss to come home from work and have it ready for me, instead of cooking loads of different meals for everyone, and my house being treated like a hotel!
But that's teenagers for ya!
 
OMG Joan, I would not be doing that! Since moving back to Ontario I've been cooking the meals for the family. I told them all that this is not a restaurant, you can't order off a menu and always get what you want. You eat what I cook, or you don't eat. It's been working well so far...now I just need someone to do the dishes after...lol I wouldn't have the patience or kindness to cook something different for everyone.

I'm off the hook for tonight though...it's leftover night...I love leftover night! Reheating in the microwave is easy!

Chris...have you tried doing your cooking on the weekend and just reheating during the week? I used to do that when I worked weirdo hours. Found I ate better that way (otherwise I was spending alot of time and money on fast food).

Good luck to you! Hope you find something that works for both you and your gf.
 
I actually make something different almost every night of the week. I don't cook on Wednesday nights because I have a regular social engagement. So that is usually left over/fend for yourself night.


I also rarely cook on Friday/Saturday nights. Usually a date night, or something quick.

The problem I am having is finding foods that are Chron's safe for me, delicious and not time consuming. Just so much of the SCD/Gluten Free stuff either sounds foul, or is a pain in the arse to cook. Even then a lot of the ingredients are roughage or spices that go through me.

Just finding that I am having to eat things like broiled plain meats and nothing.
 
Hi Chris,
I know what you mean. I hate cooking and I hate even more that I have to think about everything I eat. I work full-time too so I haven't got the energy to cook when I get home. And I hate having to eat bland food.......so..... I've just bought a slow cooker. I thought to myself - it's easy (just bung everything in the pot and leave it to cook all day so it's ready when I come home from work), it's nutritious (because no nutrients are lost in the cooking process), there's no nasty hidden ingredients in there (cos I made it from scratch), and even though the ingredients are pretty bland and safe, the slow cooker does maximise the taste as it all cooks together in the pot.
Mind you - I might get sick of casseroles after a while!!! I bought a slow cooker recipe book though so maybe I'll get creative with practice.
Gail
 
Yes Cindy
You're sooooo right
One will be leaving soon for Uni, 'Hurrah!!'
Need to put me foot down, and have a dicky fit!!
 
I know how you feel. I plan out the whole week's worth of meals so I know I can eat the food. My husband doesn't really seem to understand sometimes when I'm agonizing over finding one more meal for the week and he'll say "Let's just do one of our staple meals" forgetting that a lot of our "staple" meals involve things like beans, spices, and some other things I haven't been brave enough to add back into my diet yet. He does help with preparing meals, but I do feel bad when there are days that I feel off, so I stick to a bland diet and he basically starves because he doesn't know what to eat around the house, haha!

I have found myself altering a lot of recipes I find online, Chris, to make it Crohn's friendly. Do you normally find your recipes online or do you make things up off the top of your head? If it's the latter, perhaps you could aid from websites like marthastewart.com or foodnetwork.com that have recipes. It does take some effort to find ones that are easier to modify, but maybe it could minimize it. I'm not sure what sorts of things tend to upset you, but I'd be willing to suggest some of my recipes if you'd like. :)
 
I take them all from online or cookbooks. I am finding now that just about all veggis come out looking the same way they went in except . I don't do well with a lot of grains. A lot of fruits don't sit well with me. Even things like dried basil or parsley don't digest. Don't do well with most dairy products either. I do fine with all meats grilled or broiled.

These foods are not killing me, but I know if I didn't just eat whatever I would probably be able to get off some of these meds. Being such foodie I have a hard time with temptation for delicious things.

Tonight I will probably just pick up one of those rotisserie chickens from the grocery store. Should handle that well.
 
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Hedgehog said:
Hi Chris,
I know what you mean. I hate cooking and I hate even more that I have to think about everything I eat. I work full-time too so I haven't got the energy to cook when I get home. And I hate having to eat bland food.......so..... I've just bought a slow cooker. I thought to myself - it's easy (just bung everything in the pot and leave it to cook all day so it's ready when I come home from work), it's nutritious (because no nutrients are lost in the cooking process), there's no nasty hidden ingredients in there (cos I made it from scratch), and even though the ingredients are pretty bland and safe, the slow cooker does maximise the taste as it all cooks together in the pot.
Mind you - I might get sick of casseroles after a while!!! I bought a slow cooker recipe book though so maybe I'll get creative with practice.
Gail
Click to expand...


I actually use the slow cooker at least once a week and have a few books. But it usually comes down to the ingredients/processed foods (soup bases to go with whatever is in the crock pot) that do me in.
 
Hmm...you are right. It sounds like your body is limiting your diet very much. What about a juicer for veggies and fruits? Would that help with possibly absorbing more minus the needing to break it down? I've been using rice milk instead of cow's milk for the most part. I do not have a dairy intolerance that I know of, but switched to rice milk after reading an article on certain bacteria found in it. Sorry I couldn't be more help. I do find it amazing how there is a lack of true Crohn's friendly cookbooks.
 
The problem with Crohn's friendly cookbooks is that our diets differ so much. Some can tolerate dairy, some can't. Some can tolerate cooked veggies, but not raw ones. Some can eat fruit, some can't. It's all incredibly individual. Unfortunately I think it's going to be about trial and error for most of us.
 
Yeah...I wish there were cookbooks though that had alternative ingredients or something for the things that tend to cause more problems.
 
I had a good handle on it, been doing trial and error for 15 years. Though it seems as years go buy the list of OK foods is getting smaller and smaller.

I hear ya Nyx on the cookbooks. It is the same with SCD diet. I look at recipes and I can just visual the mess they would cause me.

I can deal with the D, pain, and drugs but after all this time I still can't seem to get on a proper diet.
 
Hi Chris - This is such a tough topic. I'm sure we all wish we were one of those people that just doesn't care about food, only eat to live.

Well, I LIVE to EAT and sounds like most of you do, too!

And that food has such a major social component to it makes it that much more difficult. When my doctor recommended a vegan diet, I was in shock. I told him I would "f***ing die if I can't eat sushi." And no cheese?? <faints>

I also do all of the cooking in my house, and work full time as well. Meal planning and detailed shopping lists are a must for my sanity and health. There is much less of a chance of eating out/takeout or "dangerous" foods if I have it all planned out. Also, it's much more time and cost efficient to do it that way.

It sounds like a lot of foods are causing you issues right now. That sucks!!! Maybe you can try these to make the low res diet more exciting:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/dining/28flavor.html?_r=1

Hang in there! -Amy
 
Thanks Amy.

I figure I will just eat meat and potatoes. I do fine with those always. Probably not the most healthy thing, but about all I can do now.

I was a Vegetarian for about six years and did well with my Crohn's during that time, though now any roughage outside of potatoes does not digest.

Interesting article, never heard of such a thing.
 
I went vegan for about 8 months in effort to control my crohns. I learned how to cook a lot of delicious versions of my favourite meals. I say write a list of your favourite staple meals and find the gluten free version of the recipe. I find that if you taste them of their own merits they are pretty good. I did that for vegan recipes.

Being vegan really helped me for about 4-5 months, but then my disease went out of control. Then I tried to avoid wheat and that helped but I found it too hard to be vegan and gluten free so I chose gluten free. I now limit my dairy and wheat intake but its not completely restricted. I still eat vegetarian about 3 days out of the week. Its very economical.

Diets are a PITA so I can symapathize.
 
I did the gluten free thing last year for about four months with no help at all. Actually got worse in that time.

Odd how so many foods effect us so differently. My body is just adverse to anything but candy and meat. =p
 
hi
i echo what ameslouise said about meal planning... try to plan your meals out a week in advance so you know what's coming up... and then you can prep most of the stuff the day before, so when you get home you just have to put it together. when i get home from the grocery store and wash and chop everything for the next few days (mostly).

also, i remember a while back coming across a computer program where you input the ingrdients you had in your fridge/cupboard, and it would tell you what dishes you could make. so, if you put in only the foods you can eat, it should give you a list of only recipes that you would digest!! i can't remember the name at the moment, but if i find it i will definitely post the link for you!!
 
Oh sorry, I misunderstood.

There is so many foods that I don't digest well that I should be on a Gluten Free/SCD restricted type diet.

BUT . . . all those foods either sound bland, a pain in the ass to cook after working all day, or my girlfriend won't eat. (She is a bit of a picky eater)
Click to expand...
 
Food...something that use to be easy and now is so complicated. I feel your pain. I haven't found a good solution myself. I end up eating the same things over and over. Luckily my husband isn't picky. For the most part I only buy foods that I can eat. If I buy my husband stuff I shouldn't eat I will get into it. How can I resist a bag of flaming hot Cheetos? Hopefully you can find meals that with just a few adjustments you can eat. We still eat tacos but now we don't fry the shells and they are chicken or ground Turkey only. Good luck!
 
Well she eats what I cook, just options are getting limited. I love meat and potatoes but it gets old. Not being able to dive in to a big salad anymore bums me out.
 
pizza?? make some pizza bases (30mins total) you can add whatever you want for each pizza and make a garlic bread from it as well. Loads of fun and can eat whatever you want for toppings (if you want a recipe pm me anyone)
 
If you can't do dairy, I find that rice cheese is a decent substitute and melts better than soy cheese.

Can you eat corn products? I make a lot of interesting casseroles with polenta on the bottom and topped with whatever suits me that day!

Can you do ANY fruits or juices? I make a good shake for b-fast using pomegranate juice, almond milk and bananas, strawberries, mango, or pineapple. Vanilla flavored almond milk is really good.

Maybe we can try hypnosis to make us not love food so much!
 
Outside of some cheese here and there I try to stay away from Dairy. It does not ruin me, just makes me super gassy and feeling gross.

I try not to eat corn products, but usually fail as it appears corn products are in EVERYTHING. I do fine with Polenta/Corn Bread.

I do fine with most fruits/juices.



Those of you that do all of your cooking on Sundays/beginning of the week. Do you just do a bunch of caseroles and re-heat them? What sorts of things do you prep early that are still good come Thurs/Fri?
 

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