Need some help

I'm not familiar with what you can't eat with colitis or the IBS, so forgive me if I suggest something that is off limits to you, but I will offer some suggestions for things that I make and maybe it gives you some ideas. I've been in that stuck place before, and it's no fun at all. I did find it got easier, the longer I was GF. I have been GF now since Nov '08.

There are quite a few cereals available in health food stores that are GF. Vanilla hemp milk tastes pretty good as a substitute for milk, and my dairy intolerant step son says it is much better than soy. I have to agree, although I have tried them, I don't have to be dairy free. I don't know if they are available where you live, but Van's makes great GF waffles, and Kinnikinnick has fantastic pancake/waffle mix that can be mixed up dairy free- even my non-gf family members love them and say they would never know the difference. Just be careful of the fake syrups. I stick to genuine maple syrup, honey or agave now after having a bad reaction to a fake syrup.

Boars head deli meats are gluten free and I use veganaise for a mayo substitute, since I don't like miracle whip type taste, but that is a matter of preference. I use Udi's bread for sandwiches because it tastes like real bread and doesn't need to be toasted to taste good. I also make pasta salads using Ancient Harvenst quinoa pasta because it doesn't fall apart like rice pasta, and again I use the veganaise if I want a creamy based salad. Or fresh veggies, quinoa pasta and an italian or greek style dressing makes a nice change of pace. You can also throw in some diced chicken or GF cold cuts and make that a complete meal if you want.

Dinners are a little more thrown together for us, since I'm the only GF one. We do a lot of grilling. I can't eat chicken, so I eat something else when I make that for everyone else. Burgers are popular with my kids, of course. Or I make myself a separate GF meal if the family wants something I can't have or I'm not very hungry. Sometimes a simple baked sweet potato with some butter, or in your case non dairy butter substitute and a little brown sugar and a salad makes a great dinner for me. Or I saute some veggies and toss with some quinoa pasta. I don't always eat meat with my meals either.

I hope that give you a few ideas, and that at least a few are agreeable to your other dietary restrictions. Best wishes and good luck to you in escaping your dietary boredom! I know it can be tough.

Nor_tx, hmm. Sorry I couldn't be of more help! My family is kind of all over the place with food, and I have a few picky eaters as well. I'll eat almost anything, so my problem is finding something that satisfies the picky ones without boring me. Sometimes I feel like a short order cook! My husband thinks he is easy to cook for, but in reality he is difficult because he likes so few things. I have a little one whose diet consists of chicken, noodles, pancakes, eggs and crackers and cheese and the occasional quesadilla. One son who like me will eat almost anything, and a grown step son who is only slightly less picky than his father. And me, who has to eat GF and can't eat chicken ( a sensitivity that appeared after the gluten issue).

I had the opposite result going GF. I lost 35 lbs that had refused to go anywhere no matter what I did, exercise, calorie restriction - nothing worked. Rather perplexing to me because weight was something I have had to struggle with my entire life until discovering the gluten issue. But I know that is an issue with GF and I did notice that many of the GF equivalents to non-GF foods are much higher in calories, and cost. I didn't replace the prepared foods in my diet with GF prepared foods, outside of the pastas. I went to fruits, veggies and meats, and occasionally crackers once I found some that tasted okay. So I was relatively low-carb, outside of the naturally occurring carbs in the fruits and veggies. Maybe that had something to do with it. I hope you are able to find something to break your monotony! Good luck, and best wishes.