I've always eaten a balanced diet and believe in moderation. But gastro-intestinal problems that turned out to be Crohn's Disease have shaken up how I eat and the choices I make. Raw veggies are a no-no now. I can't eat salads full of them. And I'm supposed to cook my veggies to mush and eat canned fruit. Ewwww.
Probably the biggest change comes in the number of times I eat every day. For much of my life, I'd skipped breakfast, eaten something simple for lunch and then had a regular supper. I can't do that anymore. Now, I graze and I've had to find easy but nutritious foods to eat throughout the day since I really don't have the desire or energy to be cooking all of the time.
It's difficult. Salads are simple but my intestines can't tolerate them. Applesauce and yogurt work well but I get tired of them. Crohn's brings cyclical constipation and then going to the bathroom constantly which can make you not want to eat much at all if you're not careful. Like most people who don't even deal with autoimmune stuff, it's easy to get stuck in a food rut, tired of everything.
So, I was looking for ideas when a new Natural Grocers store opened recently in my town. I've been shopping there and have become very excited about the different, healthy food options available! There is no way I could afford to buy strictly organic and natural foods but the store is a big help in finding healthier products I can use to make my food options more interesting.
I am utterly addicted to their Sweet Pea snacks. A handful of those provides a great little pick-me-up any time of day! I'm also using the shirataki tofu noodles as a substitute for regular pasta sometimes. A little goes a long way if you have Crohn's, though, because they are chockful of fiber and make you feel very full. The store also has a good selection of ethnic foods, and I've picked up some Indian and Thai sauces that are excellent! Very nice selection of cereals, too, way beyond Kashi, which I've tried in the past and hated.
What seems to work for me now is to have grains for breakfast (through cereal with fruit or whole grain toast), some sort of veggie, fruit, or soup for lunch, an afternoon snack (handful of sweet pea snacks, for instance), lean meat and veg or rice/pasta for dinner, and then another evening snack of fruit or veggie crisps. Oh, lest I forget, I really MUST have dessert after dinner. I need something fun and sweet. Usually, I'll have some ice cream, a couple of cookies or a piece of cake if I've baked. That is non-negotiable and I pity any doctor who tells me I can't have dessert!
One thing that MAY be negotiable, though, is the source of the sweets. I recently got a free sample pack of soy pudding that I intend to try within the next few days. If it's good and reasonably priced, I will buy it and add it to my dessert options. If it's awful, then forget it. But, sorry, I will never give up cake or real ice cream completely unless a healthy option emerges that involves absolutely NO sacrifice in taste and texture.
Plus, I have really horrible reactions to alternative sweeteners which I discovered entirely by accident. I wish they'd stop sneaking those into "healthy" options because I now have to read the labels on products very, very carefully or discover the hard way later that I'd unwittingly ingested a food or beverage made with aspartame.
What products do you enjoy and recommend? How have you changed your eating habits?
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