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picky teenager ---- need ideas for meals

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 2/22/2010 2:33 PM (GMT 0)
My son is 16 and just diagnosed with Crohn's disease. The doctor said he needed to be on a low fat diet with this. But, being a teenager he is very picky. Does anyone have any ideas for meals. Maybe someone with small children that refuses to eat fruit and veggies haha

Thanks
Wendy
Posted 2/22/2010 2:56 PM (GMT 0)
Diet is tremenously individual with this disease. I am suprised your doctor said low fat, because generally it is eat what you can tolerate. There are very few of us who are overweight (I am one of them). Generally start with simple food like how you would introduce foods to a child.
There are several diets common with crohns: low residue, vegan, SCD, and the makers, etc.

This is a safe food thread you might want to see if that will help him.

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=17&p=1&m=1669119

Posted 2/22/2010 3:08 PM (GMT 0)
The only time I was told about going on a low fat diet was when my gallbladder was removed.  I would say, let him eat what he can tolerate.  He will have to figure out for himself the safe foods.
Posted 2/22/2010 3:15 PM (GMT 0)
I also would say that it is very common for crohnie's not to be able to eat veggies due to their inablility to digest them. For example spinach comes out less then two hours later looking just like it when in except now they have my bite marks on them.
Posted 2/22/2010 3:16 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks thats what i thought too. pretty much trial and error. My son used to way about 170 pounds and is now 120. They said he needed to get his weight up but wasn't too sure about the low fat thing. I think mainly for the dr. he was thinking fatty foods because they can cause flare ups as well as fried foods. I dunno.
Posted 2/22/2010 3:28 PM (GMT 0)
I love peanut butter. Some fats can slow the digestive track and help ease d. But the greasier foods have a tendency to shoot thru me.
Posted 2/22/2010 3:31 PM (GMT 0)
I think I might get what your doctor is saying, the things that bother my stomach the most tend to be fried, greasy fatty foods, alot of sugar, and processed foods. I think that I just don't digest fat very well, so it gives me a bit of a stomach ache. But there are healthy fats that are very easy for me to incorporate into my diet (peanut butter, salmon, avocados) and I eat alot of those... Another way to get weight up a bit more is to add meal replacement drinks with extra calories or protein.
I'm a picky teenager myself so I know what he's going through! I went from about 130 pounds to around 100... now I'm about 115 (on prednisone). Diet is so individual with this disease, you just have to go with trial and error and keep a food diary in order to figure out what works for you as an individual.
Posted 2/22/2010 3:44 PM (GMT 0)
yes we our keeping a food diary. started that soon as he came home from the hospital. they said that it looked like he has had this for a very long time and that we got him to the specialist just in time. his intestines were so badly inflamed they were afraid that they would burst. I guess it was such and embarrassing subject. We knew he was constantly in the bathroom but didn't realize he was having bleeding and he got to the point where he stopped eating because of the stomach cramps.

They have him on 3 prednisone twice a day, nexium and flagel (not sure of the spelling of that thing haha) He had gotten C Diff and that was when he got so extreme. I guess the C Diff was a blessing in disguise because if not for that we wouldn't have known exactly how bad he was.

Yes trial and error haha everyone is different. because nuts (peanut butter) was another thing he told us to stay away from. oh well. I'm just going to play it by ear or should i say stomach :)
Posted 2/22/2010 4:00 PM (GMT 0)
Wendy,

When my son was diagnosed at age 11, his GI put him on a low residue diet.  Ben is also a picky eater, and was actually happy because now I couldn't force him to eat vegetables!  I still have a copy of the diet, so I will give you some highlights, but I'm sure you can find this information online.  Generally safe foods are white toast, low fiber cereals such as rice krispies, rice chex, kix (without milk), oatmeal (without milk), bagels, english muffins, white rice, pasta without spaghetti sauce, pretzels, animal crackers, tuna packed in water, chicken, eggs, potato, canned fruit (except those containing grapes, pineapple, fruit cocktail).  When my son is flaring he eats mainly chicken and rice and I have him drink lactaid instead of milk and also the lactose free ice cream, and no fresh fruit.  When he is doing better he can tolerate milk and milk products and eat fruits like bananas, pears, and cantelope, although he does peel the skin off the pears.   Citrus fruits upset his stomach.   It is a lot of trial and error.  We found that Ben cannot eat corn, even in tortilla chips.  Also some brands of spaghetti sauce bothered him while others were fine.

Hope your son feels better soon.

Take care,

Nancy (son Ben, 15, CD; Remicade, Milk Thistle, Probiotic, Multi-vitamin)

Posted 2/22/2010 4:01 PM (GMT 0)
Wendy, how tall is your son? My 23 year old son has Crohns. He's 6'1'. He used to be a big strapping guy, but he's lost a lot of weight. He gets Remicade every six weeks, but around the 4th to 5th week, he starts having problems again. He loses his appetite and everything he eats bothers him. He's so skinny, it scares me.
Posted 2/22/2010 4:12 PM (GMT 0)
my son is 5 foot 5 and 120 now. yes i know what you mean about worrying about it. my sons arms look like a skeleton.

Bensmom,
yes i have found some websites that tell you some things, the dietitian gave us a print out at the hospital also but on one page it would say don't eat this and you flip the page an it says we recommend you eat this and it would be the same thing that the previous page says. Everything contradicts itself.

Plus the food they brought him at the hospital was like hamburgers, spaghetti with sauce, milk etc. it gets confusing.
Posted 2/22/2010 4:22 PM (GMT 0)
My son got that same list you're talking about. I agree, it's very confusing. It would be so much easier if everybody could eat the same things wouldn't it? What gets me is how skinny he is in his peck area. When before you couldn't find his ribs, now they stick out.
Posted 2/22/2010 4:23 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Wendy!
I am a very picky eater myself, and I find it hard to find things I can and WILL eat. I eat a lot of plain pasta with just salt, crackers and cheese, cottage cheese (thankfully dairy doesn'y bother me), oatmeal, baked potatoes, scrambled eggs, peanut butter (I am guessing your dr meant not to eat nuts--thats kind of a universal no-no--but most nut butters are ok for us), applesauce, toast, bagels, chicken, rice, salmon, and bananas. As many others have said, it is really an individual thing and even sometimes there are foods that I can tolerate just fine one day, but the next time I have them its horrible. Its going to take a lot of trial and error. Keeping a food journal is a good idea. My doctor usually just says for me to eat whatever I can tolerate. You can always try carnation instant breakfast or Ensure-type of drinks if you're looking for extra calories and he can stomach them. I am picky but don't mind the taste of those.
Posted 2/22/2010 6:10 PM (GMT 0)
Wendy,

I know it's frustrating at the beginning because you want to do the right thing for your child and you're not sure what that right thing is.  I spent so many hours on the internet researching Crohn's disease when my son was first diagnosed.  It DOES get easier.

Does your son's GI practice have a nutrition counselor affiliated with the practice?  Ours does and we met with her soon after his diagnosis so we could ask questions about his diet.

The Carnation Instant Breakfast and Ensure or Boost is a great suggestion.  It sound like your son needs to put on some weight and that will help him get some extra nutrition.  I would mix the Carnation with Lactaid instead of regular milk, at least at first.

There are things that your son will eventually be able to eat that he probably should not eat now until his inflammation gets under control.  I would be kind of strict about his diet right now, but let him know that it is not a life sentence.  Sure there are some things he won't be able to eat (maybe forever), but he probably will be able to tolerate most foods, at least in moderation, when he is in remission.  

You also might want to check out   http://www.dragonpack.com/ibdsupport/parents/    which is a website for parents of children with IBD.  This site and the dragonpack site have been an invaluable resource for me, not to mention a great source of support when you need it.

Take care,

Nancy (son Ben, 15, CD; Remicade, Milk Thistle, Probiotic, Multi-vitamin)

Posted 2/22/2010 7:54 PM (GMT 0)

Wendy,

I totally know where you are coming from, we could almost be talking about the same boys (even down to the height 5'5 smile )

You should of seen the smile on my son's face when the consultant told him minimal fruit/veg! My son was weighing under 98lb when diagnosed. He was put on an elemental diet for about 7 weeks (no weight gain) and has now been back on solid food for about 16 days. 

There seems to be so much conflicting advice on foods but we were told by dietician that fatty foods were ok because he needed to gain the weight and the consultant said no brown/wholemeal foods-white all the way! Typically high sugar/low fibre cereals are good too-it feels really weird food shopping as I now tend to go for the typically 'unhealthy'(for most of us anyway) foods.Since the elemental diet his taste buds have almost done a 360 turnaround and things that he wouldn't have eaten before he now wants several times a week(fish/eggs are an example) there are a few old favourites lurking like burgers, spaghetti and pizza though. In addition to his normal food he is also on a liquid energy drink and a high calorie shake (mixed with full fat milk)every day to give him even more calories. One of the shakes comes in a neutral  flavour which is handy because mixed with milk it can be added to anything that needs milk as an ingredient.During these  past 16 days he has put on 14lb!! He is also on entecort at the moment so that may also be a contributing factor to his increasing  appetite/and or weight gain.

If your son likes milk shakes I would highly recommend the calorie shakes(we have chocolate, strawberry, banana, vanilla and neutral flavours) They certainly taste goodwink You could also add ice cream to it to boost the calorie content even more(if you/son ok with taking milk)

I would let him eat what he feels like-I am sure that him (and my son) not eating much fruit and veg isn't simply a "don't like it" thing-they(or their bodies) just somehow know that it isn't right for them

He will get there!

Posted 2/22/2010 10:13 PM (GMT 0)
well the dietitian at the hospital has set me up with the cafeteria so that i can purchase a case (75 pints) of what they call Healthy Shake which comes in vanilla and chocolate. you can keep it in the freezer until you are ready for it. then you just thaw it out and drink it. Its pretty much the equivalent of a protein drink i believe with lots of calories. He loves the vanilla and dont cost anywhere near as much as the boost.

He had a little bit of roid rage this afternoon which scared me to death. but he calmed down a bit after i had a talk with him about it. Not used to seeing him like that. He is taking in 60 mg of prednisone a day. But, had only had 30 mg today when this happened. Just hope he doesn't go off like that at school.

vixen, did your son's grades start dropping at school before you found out that he had Crohn's? Or anyone else for that matter. For the past year mine has gotten steadily worse and am hoping :) that maybe this was the cause of it. haha I know wishful thinking. I just dont see how they can concentrate while going thru the cramping etc. My son said that the teachers wouldn't even let him go to the bathroom when he needed to but his doctor said he was putting a stop to that :)
Posted 2/22/2010 10:44 PM (GMT 0)
You've gotten some really good advice so far. I did want to recommend a really good book for you though. "Cooking Well for the Unwell" by Eileen Behan. She is a dietitian and the book has chapters and recipes that explain pretty much every type of diet your son might get put on through out his CD life. From clear liquids, full liquids, low residue, extra calories.... She has lots of tips on how to make the food appealing to someone who is getting over an illness and doesn't feel like eating, or how to add calories when you've lost weight, and she really explains in easy to understand terms why certain foods work and others don't. The book is out of print, but used copies are available on Amazon for about $4. It is well worth it.
Posted 2/22/2010 10:47 PM (GMT 0)
It is quite normal to have academic issues with crohns simply from the issues of pain, illness, and sometimes malnutrition can cause cognitive issues. It might be a good idea to get a tutor/home study teacher from his school because full days can be real hard.
"Riod rages" are a little different and depending on what happened might be time to get some help with that, because rarely steriods can cause psychosis (not to scare you, just for you to be aware).
I would not buy a case of anything until you know if he "really" likes it and can tolerate it. Some times they add sorbital in those shakes which can make d worse.

I certainly did not mean to suggest crunchy pb (because wow that would hurt!), but pb is a decent survival food. (Unless they think that food allergies/sugar etc are making his problems worse? Which those can have inflammitory issues.) Plus I like it in my ice cream/milk shakes and smoothies.

This disease is highly individual especially when it comes to diet, because everyone is different, and it is very much a trial and error process.
Using some generic print off is somewhat questionable to me.
Posted 2/22/2010 11:10 PM (GMT 0)
well the healthy shakes that i got; they gave him in the hospital. he loves them and said they are way better than the boost. haha he hates those.

well his grades have been suffering this year and has been our with this for over 2 weeks now. have been getting work for him to do at home but is hard on almost all of it considering he wasn't there to know how to do it.
Posted 2/22/2010 11:17 PM (GMT 0)
That is good that he loves those shakes, that is a real helpful thing to have a "safe food." It depends on his current state and if he feels up to working on homework. When he does, I would call his school and see about having someone come to teach/tutor him. So he does not fall so far behind that he loses a grade.
Posted 2/23/2010 7:18 AM (GMT 0)

scoolLots of good advice here WendyG. There's currently a post called 'what are your safe foods' by MMMNavy that will help you alot today it's on the first forum page. But you can search it if it's not there still. I'm not going to add much except smooth peanut butter is a safe food for many. I 'will warn you of some foods though. nonoNO nuts, seeds or whole corn. That includes unfortunately sesamie seeds, which makes buying hamburgers annoying at most fast food stores. Wendy's is the exception. The idea is that small particles can get stuck in sores or lesions in the intestines and get infected and cause swelling which leads to flare ups. So while your son can't eat corn on the cob, tortillas should be ok, unless like bensmon son he can't tollerate any corn. Rob

Posted 2/23/2010 9:19 AM (GMT 0)

Hi Wendy,

You must have a big freezer! What we have(as in the calories shakes) comes in a sachet and we just add it to the milk each day-never got through so much milk in my life. The calshakes taste far better than the energy drinks (which to me smell like SMA baby milk!)

He had Crohns undiagnosed for a good two years plus and he was going into his GCSE exams(here in UK they are the exams at the end of 'compulsory' schooling') doubled up in pain, but despite this got good grades. he has now gone on to do his A levels(another two years schooling) at a different school, within 6 weeks of starting  there he had lost loads of days due to appointments, tests, illness etc and his grades have nose dived(seriously nose dived!)

These last couple of weeks though he is looking so much better and obviously feeling so much better and his grades are begining to come up again. I am sure that once your son starts getting some nutrients into his system and the pain dies down he will begin to focus again.

I think the problem with most unaffected people(including teachers) is that they do not understand this disease and how it can affect the body(malnourished, anaemic, easily tired, pain. toilet issues etc) they just don't get it!! I went onto the NACC web site(National Crohns and Colitis Association) and printed off a information sheet(lol or should I say about 10) that is produced specifically for schools detailing the condition, it's affects and what the school can do to help from allowing use of a fridge for keeping energy drinks cold, allowing the pupil not to have to request going to the toilet when they need to go-they just go!, special provison for exams, home schooling and the effects that prescriptive drugs can have on a person and issues they may face such as bullying and self esteem issues.

It may be worth giving the school a copy so that they can  be educated wink

Things will turn around, hang in there

Post Edited (vixen) : 2/23/2010 2:24:39 AM (GMT-7)

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