SCD Appetizers and Ulcerative Coltis:
Looking at a menu is a different type of event now that I have ulcerative colitis. One of my most common questions to the doctor was “What should I be eating for my ulcerative Colitis?” Is that common for everyone? There definitely was no class in high school about what to eat for UC…?
The hope is that by going through some examples of items on different menus, some of the underlying parts of the diet will come to life for anyone who is reading these pages.
I will show some examples, and then write a brief yes/no on whether I think it works for my ulcerative colitis. Surely quite a few people on UC diets will disagree on some items, or at least that is what I expect. But until people start sending me emails with their ideas (you can do that to ihaveuc@ihaveuc.com) I’ll put my thoughts up for now.
Possible Meals/Appetizers and side comments on whether I eat them or not
Fried Calamari (with garlic dip and cocktail sauce)
just a tiny bit, lots of breaded stuff on the batter. I used to love this stuff so much, still do actually, but I know there is alot of breaded stuff, so only a few pieces for me these days.
Buffalo Wings(usually with ranch, blue cheese, celery and carrots. also usually has a spicy/sweet sauce to it.)
I don’t eat this anymore. I can remember eating this type of stuff back in the day prior to changing my diet in August 2009, and it always ended up in multiple bathroom runs not long after going through some wings. Sure were tasty though, not hard to see why they are popular.
Eggrolls from Chinese restaurants
Again, used to eat these all the time. But not anymore. I think that eggroll wrap part is filled with flour and grain type of stuff that my colitis doesn’t like. I used to dip them in that sweet red sauce too, definitely tons of sugar in that, so I don’t eat these anymore at all.
Sweet Corn tamales (mexican appetizers, usually with some type of salsa)
Oh yeah, I eat this stuff all the time now without any problem. its all corn, no flour in this stuff, so it works fine for me. definitely not throwing on heaps of sour cream, but this works for me.
Nachos (with beans, cheddar cheese, jalapenos, salsa, beef, CORN tortilla chips)
This is good stuff. Basically the chips must be from corn, flour tortilla chips don’t work at all and make this appetizer totally different. Also, I try to go lite on the cheese, but according to the diet, cheddar cheese is not all too bad, so I moderate that. For the beans, I tolerate them well, not pounding pounds every day, and as for salsa, no matter how spicy it seems to work great with me.
Fried Shrimp
I don’t eat this much anymore, maybe just one if its on the table. This stuff is bigtime breaded before being deep fried, so that is why I stay away.
French Fries
I can’t lie, I eat these things all the time still. Definitely not as much as before, but probably once a week. One thing that is different from before is I don’t every put ketchup on anymore. Not for anything. If you read the labels, that stuff is filled with sugar and high fructose corn syrup, which is a no no for me. I put a bunch of salt on though, not sure if that is good or not, but seems to work.
Onion Rings
I don’t eat these anymore. They are usually heavily breaded with flour before being deep fried, and that flour is a no-no for me and my ulcerative colitis.
Deviled Eggs
If anyone has heard of the Dutch Goose in Menlo Park, CA well that is where I eat these about once a week. Deviled eggs I think have mustard, and mayo in them, I don’t eat Mayo with anything else at all, so only when eating deviled eggs. Mustard is usually very minimal, so not a problem here. And eggs are great for the diet, so my book says go right along with these.
Table Bread
To me, this is a BIG NO-NO if not the biggest. Quite possibly the biggest reason my UC is better is because I cut out bread completely from my diet. It used to be a bagel in the morning with cream cheese, sandwich for lunch, and toast when I got home with butter, you know the story. No, if at a restaurant and free bread is on the table, I don’t grab it. Used to be that I would fill up so much on that stuff just wouldn’t even have room for dinner. Some how, the big temptation along with wanting to dip the bread in balsamic vinegar and oil when at Italian places is just a temptation now, I don’t live out that dream. Easier said than done, and truthfully maybe once every two months I break that rule just a TINY TINY bit, but not much at all. Bread was my major downfall I think in hindsight. For me bread and ulcerative colitis don’t mix well.
***Let me get one thing straight, above are all foods that people can get at typical restaurants. If you are like most of us, you don’t eat at restaurnatns all the time, but I wanted to give some examples of what I think when looking at a menu the one or two times a month that it comes up.
My best friend works at a restaurant as the head chef, and I used to and still do go and hang out in back and talk with him all the time. back in the old days prior to the diet change, I would talk with him and snack on the table bread they gave to guests ALL THE TIME. Pretty much filling up on that stuff.(don’t tell the owners since they would probably be pissed if they knew this) Anyways, I cut that out, its that simple. Sure tasted good, but my body could not handle that stuff. it was good bread too, all baked daily from the ACME bread company in San Francisco and delivered each day. But I just can’t do that anymore. That stuff was killing me. I could go on and on about how I miss bread and other stuff made from flour. Let’s face it, anybody like pancakes in the morning on the weekend? Put me down as a YES. Does my colitis like pancakes? Put down a big NO. What could possibly be better than rolling into the Santa Cruz Diner and ordering an Omlette with bacon and the waiter asking what you would like for toast “would you like toast or pancakes?” of course pancakes mr. waiter. And then I would squeeze the syrup container until it was almost empty, not knowing that I was loading on all kinds of high fructose corn syrup, the real maple is too expensive for all places to carry. Those were the good old days of ordering without recognizing my colitis, and those days are over too. Please tell me there are a ton of others who saw changes after cutting out bread and high fructose corn syrup 95% of the time!
Good Luck, and please email if there is something you would like me to ramble about. ihaveuc@ihaveuc.com
Also, you can read the ebook I wrote with the accompanying eCookbook for UC’ers here
Best of luck with your health and colon,
Adam
I started site shortly after being diagnosed in October of 2008 with severe pancolitis (when my whole colon was inflamed).
For me, it was a very rough start with severe symptoms. Getting bounced from medication to medication was not easy or too helpful. But, I did meet another UC’er, changes several parts of my diet, and of course the rest is history.
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I’ve written 2 different ulcerative colitis ebooks, you can check them out here.
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