food avoidance/food missed..

The only thing I am still not eating is raw vegetables. I never thought I would say it but I miss my daily salads. I also am a bit leery eating fresh berries, even though I eat frozen ones. I'm sure there's no big difference but somehow in my mind it's a step further. Oh, corn on the cob. One of my favourite foods of all. I'd be eating the fresh local corn at this time of year but I am avoiding it. I think corn is hard to digest for anyone and would be more so for me right now.

Yesterday I did eat some raw zucchini as a test - so far so good - so I might start trying other raw veggies and see what happens.

I also avoid alcohol during a flare, but have "cheated" with some wine on my anniversary and a couple glasses of beer on my birthday. I guess that makes it my "cheat food".

During remission there is nothing I avoid, at least not for the sake of my IBD. Alcohol is a good thing to minimize for general health reasons, same with a lot of sugary stuff.

What did I give up: Lay's potato chips (classic & barbecue) and "real Coke", boohoo! What do I miss most: the Szechuan dish spicy chicken with peanuts, also spicy Asian-Indian food, the occasional rum-and-Coke, hot fudge sundaes with whipped cream, cheese cake with sour cream top layer, raspberries. The spicy, creamy, and carbonated, plus seeded or caffeine-containing really give me troubles, even in remission, so I try my best to avoid them. What is my favorite "cheat food": semi-sweet or dark chocolate, so divine, and an occasional Milky Way Midnight candy bar!!!!!! We did a thread on enduring chocolate-love a few years ago which got many confessions here on the forum! What I generally miss more than anything is the freedom to "grab a quick bite" wherever/whenever fast food looks fresh and appetizing. / Old Hat (40+ yrs with left-sided UC; in remission taking Colazal)

Do any of you notice the difference in where you do your "cheat food"?.

Initially I craved burgers and fries.... McDonalds made me so sick that even 8 weeks later just the thought of a burger made me gag... Then I tried BK... Same thing... Then went to In n out and I was ok. I don't know what the difference is only that for me there is one. Same thing with Chick Fila. I can usually eat their sandwich... Dry... And I don't get in trouble... But let me try a chicken sandwich someplace else and all heck breaks loose...

I wonder if it's psychosomatic?

I eat salads, but don't eat raw cruciferous veggies (except coleslaw) because I don't like the taste and get horrible gasssss..not because of having UC. When I flare, I'm always nauseated, and I basically eat normally except limit the amount of foods that don't appeal to me in the moment. Sometimes just smelling certain food makes me more nauseated. I've never stopped eating nor have done a liquid diet...even when I was at my worst.

q

I’m fairly new to this game and haven’t been able to figure out what actually causes things to get worse. Still struggling to understand if how I feel this morning is from breakfast, lunch, or dinner yesterday (or the day before?) I keep a food diary but still haven’t really found a pattern. That said, I avoid raw veggies, many cooked veggies, anything with peel, the beloved corn on the cob (which really was a problem before even) and anything with a lot of seeds or high fibre. We haven’t eaten red meat since my husband had prostate cancer some years back so it’s mostly poultry, fish and eggs for protein. Pasta is a regular occurrence here. I’m definitely not eating as healthily as I used to (lots of white bread, few veggies etc and am probably overly cautious. I drink lactose free milk because with that I can tell, within an hour or so that regular milk makes me uncomfortable (and always has). I avoid wine except on special occasions. This discussion has made me hungry.

Chef salads, lettuce gives me the trots, same with Olathe sweet corn from Colorado, we only get it here a few weeks in August, all veggies cooked to nearly mush. No fried foods, I cook most of our meat outside on the grill.

It took me a few years to figure out what to eat that worked for me.

I seem to react only to fiber rich foods so as long as I keep those low, then I am fine. I have to avoid the cruciferous veggies totally and beans and corn. Basically, anything gas inducing but small amounts of nuts/seeds are ok. I have had to go to the hospital twice for eating a bowl of raspberries haha they made me stay overnight each time and do a colonoscopy prep!
I really try to eat healthy for me 80% of the time but I have a deep love for cake, cookies and doughnuts (I could live off krispy kreme and almond torte cake). Luckily, junk food like that doesn't mess up my belly at all but it does make me puffy and swollen. If its between broccoli and cake, then I am thankful I can eat the cake.