A Week in the Life: My Crohn's Diet

Let me preface this by saying that my current 'diet' has nothing to do with diet trends. It has nothing to do with a list of recommended foods or anything that any social media influencer says or comments about what someone should or shouldn't eat during a Crohn's flare. 

This diet is based on MY body, and mine alone. Every single disease presentation is different - with different triggers and different foods that are either good or bad. This 'diet' is based on over two decades of trial and error - and each flare is also different. 

When my Crohn's gets really bad, I cut out most foods. I go down to a liquid diet - usually consisting of tea, water, popsicles, maybe a few bites of jello or a few spoonfulls of broth. 

Then I move on to adding in milk. If my body tolerates it, this opens up my dietary choices quite a bit - including creamy soups, yogurt, Boost or other nutritional supplements, ice cream, peanut butter, cheese, milkshakes, pudding. 

Then come the soft foods that MY body tolerates well. So I start to add in some eggs, starches and carbs. 

This is week 21 of being on a restricted diet. This is what an average week looks like for me: 

Monday: 

- yogurt

- peanut butter sandwich

- pudding

- mashed potatoes

- chocolate muffin

Tuesday

- French toast

- yogurt

- eggs

- cream of potato soup

Wednesday

- Boost

- yogurt

- pasta with alfredo sauce 

- rice pudding

Thursday

- yogurt

- eggs

- poutine

Friday

- eggs and toast

- yogurt

- roasted potatoes

- ice cream with chocolate chips

Saturday

- yogurt

- grilled cheese sandwich

- pan-fried sweet potatoes

Sunday

- yogurt

- cheese pizza 

Obviously there is room for some variation. Plus, over the past week I was able to successfully add fish AND avocado into my diet - so I have had a couple of tuna sandwiches, some avocado toast, I've had breaded haddock, and some sole in cream sauce at a buffet (along with scalloped and roasted potatoes). And it still holds true on this kind of diet - restaurant potatoes always seem better. I also tried having a fresh fruit smoothie (no seeds). 

Every few weeks I try adding something new. So I have tried adding some other vegetables - like carrots and cucumbers - or some meats, but my body did not respond well. What that means is that it is often painful the entire way through my digestive system, followed by intestinal bleeding for 2-3 days from one meal. 

It's a slow process. 

Luckily for me, my body tolerates potatoes, eggs, and cheese quite well right now (it's not always the case), and these foods can be prepared in multiple ways. 

Mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, roasted potatoes, pan-fried potatoes, baked potatoes, hashbrowns, latkes, fries, poutine, potato skins... 

Fried eggs, hard-boiled eggs, eggs benedict (minus the ham), soft-boiled eggs, deviled eggs, scrambled eggs, egg and cheese omelet, egg and cheese quiche, poached eggs... 

Bread, toast, pancakes, french toast, naan bread, croissants, english muffins, cake, muffins, cupcakes, brownies, tuna sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, avocado toast (as of this week), grilled cheese... 

SO much better than the most menial clear fluid diet.