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[jodiegirl]

Hello,

I am new to this forum and this is my first post, hello everyone. .

My husband has Celiac disease along with Crohn's disease. After several years of non-stop stomach problems and countless doctor visits, we determined on our own that he was gluten intolerant. The tests always came back negative, but he has a grandmother with it and the symptoms were identical, except he never lost weight, he would gain it. After cutting out the gluten for two days, he was better and wasn't in the bathroom for five hours (at least) a day anymore and felt like a new man. At this time, he could not tolerate lactose either, over time this improved and he can have some diary products as long as he does not overdo it. He got better and better, with the occasional bout now and then, then a few years later things started to go down hill again. Long story short, he was diagnosed with Crohn's and has battled through the medications and things eventually settled down again, that was about two years ago. The Crohn's took away the fresh salads, most of the fresh fruit, nuts, seeds, beans and other staples from his already limited diet.

Now, he is back to gaining a couple pounds a week, he was slightly overweight to begin with. He is getting very frustrated, irritated and depressed with his condition, I am not sure what to do anymore either. He doesn't seem to eat much for someone his size (6'2", 250-ish) and he has a very physical outdoor job, so it not like he lays around all day. He used to love salad and fresh fruit, but his Crohn's cannot tolerate the fiber and he cannot have any citrus with his current medications.

His typical day is as follows; for breakfast he usually has a bowl of gluten-free corn flakes with soy milk or PBJ toast and coffee, lunch: a turkey or ham sandwich and a couple bananas, and for dinner: usually baked or grilled chicken breasts (or fish), steamed jasmine rice (or an occasional baked potato) and well-cooked carrots (or spinach). He either drinks soy milk, water, or the occasional juice, but no pop. Desserts, if any, consist of Jello with Cool Whip or canned peaches or pears. Snacks, if any, is a piece of cheddar cheese, yogurt, a banana, or hull-less popcorn puffs. This is not every day of the week, but it our basic meal plan for over half the week. On bad tummy-days, he will just eat a bowl of rice for dinner as that is the only thing we have found that doesn't cause a ruckus down below. I have not bought gluten-free cookies, cakes or other goodies in the past year or so, as they would dissappear too quickly.

There is not a lot of variety for him. I am trying to come up with some new meals that he can tolerate and that will satisfy him that won't add inches to his waistline. I love to cook, but my hearty Midwestern style of cooking doesn't lend itself to his needs. Also, we both work away from the home, so time is an important factor. I have run out of ideas and I need some fresh input, can anyone help me? Many thanks.

[lorka150]

I don't know much about a Crohn's diet, but here are some low fibre, healthy ideas.

green and yellow beans, spinach, squashes eggplant and potatoes without the skin, beets and carrots, all cooked.

ripe bananas and melons.

white rice based noodles (both asian and pasta) or other rices (like basmati). wild rice, too.

eggs, white toast

all fish, shell fish...

applesauce or other fruit 'sauces' made without skin

any meats

dairy that he can handle

what about soups, stews, casseroles? homemade baked goods in advance he can take out of the freezer for on the go?

[Susanna]

Hey--sorry your husband is having such a tough time. Here are some ideas:

gluten-free noodles (Tinkyada pasta is the best), tossed with a little olive oil, a little Parmesean cheese, and those good Emeril Chicken sausages cut up and tossed in? Does your man tolerate onions? Sauteed onions tossed in would be good too. You could also toss the pasta with Classico Alfredo sauce, or Classico pesto sauce--these will not be as low fat, but you know, he's probably feeling pretty deprived, so he DOES need to take breaks from the low cal/low fat diet sometimes--this provides a HUGE emotional boost in sticking with a diet. I once heard a dietician say that if you can stick to your diet 90% of the time, it's OK, even recommended to splurge 10% of the time so you can enjoy life, and jump-start your metabolism.

What if you tried pizza? You can get good pizza crust thru the mail from Kinnickinnick, or there are some good gluten-free pizza crust mixes you can get at most health food stores. You could top the pizza with a thin layer of Classico Alfredo sauce, then sprinkle on whatever your man tolerates: feta cheese, again the low fat Emeril sausage (or grilled chicken, or salami, etc.)--you can make this low cal if you are creative with your toppings, and stay away from regular cheese, but use feta or soy cheese.

How 'bout grilled portabella mushrooms? You could brush them with italian salad dressing and grill, then serve on a piece of toasted gluten-free bread. YUM! Or, serve with sauteed mushrooms, and put a baked potato on the side.

Gluten Free Pantry sells a terrific angel food cake mix. I found it on www.amazon .com. It is fat free, and with a little cool whip or canned fruit, that would be a wonderful dessert for your guy.

Also, in the kosher section of your regular grocery store, look for the kosher macaroons--read the labels, but they're usually gluten-free, and small, so if you put say 4 of them in his lunch, he has a treat, but he also has portion control--and I've heard coconut is even good for twitchy guts.

Good luck,

Susanna

[Susanna]

Oh, Jodiegirl--I thought of one more idea:

Low fat omelet: whisk together one whole egg, 2 egg whites, salt, pepper, maybe a little chopped chives and cook in an omelet skillet with just a teaspoon of butter or margarine. Fill the omelet with one slice of Veggie Singles soy cheese, which actually tastes pretty good and melts nicely, and fill with whatever he likes or can tolerate (spinach? sauteed mushrooms? canned chili? A lot of people on these boards use Hormel chili--read labels). Pesto sauce is GREAT on omelets.

Let us know how it goes.

Susanna

[jodiegirl]

Thanks for the great ideas, they should help me out a bit of the rut I am in. The really tough thing to stay away from is Fiber (which he cannot tolerate at all at the present time), especially when I try to use fresh ingredients. I did try grilling Portabellos for him once, he really loved them, but they really tore him up (he probably just over-indulged), so I have been shying away from that. I will try to find that GFP Angel Food Cake mix, sounds like he would love it. Thanks again for your suggestions, if you have any more, please let me know- all are appreciated.