Tag: ulcerative colitis recipes

What is the ‘residue’ in a low residue diet?

Being a science major I thought for sure ‘residue’ was implying some sort of metabolic by-product produced by certain foods that would upset the lining of my colon. Nope… the residue is simply the poop mass. Not very technical at all. And therefore the diet is geared around reducing the amount of poop that is produced after all the nutrients are absorbed into your body. Specifically, reducing the fiber in your diet helps to reduce the poop mass and therefore controls the pain and inflammation associated during flare ups.

As I am on a low reside diet as we speak, I dont have to tell you how boring it can get. However, lets go over the things that are in the safe zone so that there is no confusion.

  • bread  – white, unwholesome bread with no whole wheat. The wheat is a no no.
  • bananas – not only nice and mushy but if you feel dizzy from the meds it could be from low potassium so its nice to just have bananas on hand.
  • pasta – not the fancy kind. Just the unwholesome, ‘things your two year old loves to throw at walls’ kind of pasta.
  • avocado – you will come to love avocado. They are very gentle on your stomach while providing some nutritional value. Great on toast, great on things, with things, or on its own.
  • apple sauce – not the greatest sweet thing BUT the grocery store as the school snack version where there are variations of apple sauce. Apple with blueberry, apple with peach, apple and carrot. Fill your boots. At this consistency you are golden.
  • squash – take this one with a grain of salt … not literally. I find squash while in flare up mode is good as a soup or a mash but not ‘as is’. So those fancy squash boats might upset your stomach if you introduce it too quickly.
  • rice – the end all be all to the flare up diet. Some days all you will feel like is rice. Other days, you will want to jazz it up with some broth or some chicken. It is the saviour of your flare up.
  • meat – you can do chicken, pork or turkey but it should be low fat, and cooked as is, with some seasoning or nothing at all.

The diet lies on the framework of the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, apple sauce, toast) as this is what would help you reduce your diarrhoea if you had an infection. Same theory, but allowing some more flexibility as your stool begins to form while your colon is still swollen. It is recommended to have small portions of foods with low fiber and therefore would create low residue. Stay tuned, I have some great recipes that got me through so far.

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Rolled Eggplant with gluten-free Capellini

Ever feel like adding a little spin on a pasta dish? I did. And I found this recipe and loved it. I claim it as my own now simply because – as always – I made some modifications. Note that this recipe can be made with substitute cheeses if you find good ones. 

What you will need:

Filling

  • 1 cup sauce (meat sauce or not, your choice)
  • 4 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
  • pinch of salt
  • pinch of ground black pepper
  • pinch of dried oregano (or some fresh oregano if you have some on hand)
  • 1/2 pound gluten free capellini or angel hair pasta.

Eggplant

  • 1 large elongated eggplant
  • 1 cup gluten free flour (to dust the eggplant)
  • 2 cups olive oil for frying
  • 1 cup tomato sauce
  • chili flakes
  • vegan sliced mozzarella (optional) 

To make the filling… if you choose to use meat in your sauce, cook the meat and mix with the cup of tomato sauce.

In a bowl combine the tomato/meat sauce (1 cup), basil, salt, pepper, and oregano. Stir to combine.

Meanwhile in a large crock pot cook the pasta (half the box roughly) until al dente. Remove from heat and drain.

Add the pasta to the mixture and mix until all the pasta is coated. With tongs and a knife, cut the pasta mixture in thirds so the strands of pasta are much shorter to work with. Mix again.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Thinly slice the eggplant lengthwise about 1/4 inch thick. dust each slice in flour and fry in a shallow frying pan until golden brown on each side. Remove finished slices and drain on paper towel. Continue process for all slices.

Line up slices and spoon about 1 tbsp (sloppily) of filling in the center of each slice. Roll each eggplant slice around the filling and place the roll into a baking dish. Once complete pour the tomato sauce (second cup) over the rolls. Top each roll with chili flakes and vegan sliced mozzarella (optional).

Bake for about 10 minutes (yup thats all!) or until cheese is golden brown. Remove from oven and serve.

As I have said before, I really dont like pasta that is made with corn because it isnt digested well so try to find something like chic pea or brown rice. 

This recipe is so delicious, and easy to make!

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Cabbage Soup

I got on a cabbage kick when I first cut wheat out of my diet. I wanted to make sure that I wasnt replacing wheat with crap, so I looked for very healthy, very pure recipes. Like most soups you make at home, it will last for a long time (the amount, not the shelf life) so make sure to choose soups you like. And you can always freeze them.

For this soup, which I chose to keep vegetarian, is very endo-friendly.

What you will need:

  • 5 carrots, chopped (or halved if baby carrots)
  • 1 head cabbage, grated or cut into very thin slices
  • (2 medium white onions, or 1 of those ridiculously large ones, chopped)
  • 2 celery stocks, chopped
  • 1 leek, chopped
  • 2 lemons, squeezed
  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 6-8 small garlic cloves
  • 1 tbsp turmeric powder
  • cayenne and/or black pepper to taste
  • chili flakes to taste
  • 2-3 liters of water

Pour olive oil in a large soup on high. Add garlic, onions, leek, salt and turmeric, and let cook until onions are soft.

Add carrots and celery, stirring occasionally. Add lemon juice.

When vegetables are getting soft add the cabbage.

After a few minutes add the water. Add seasoning to taste.

Bring to a boil and let simmer 1.5-2 hours.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and grated cheddar cheese 🙂

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Easy Meaty tomato sauce

There are tons of substitutes for pasta dishes using eggplant, zucchini or gluten-free pasta. But what makes a meaty pasta dish divine is the sauce. Sorry to my endo sisters who dont eat meat, but if you do, this sauce is going to stick around in my family for life. So simple and intuitive and endo-friendly from a gluten perspective.

What you need for this sauce (serves enough for a whole lasagna):

  • 1 package lean ground beef
  • (1 large onion, diced)
  • (8 small mushrooms, sliced)
  • 1 jar tomato sauce (or a homemade tomato sauce of your choice)
  • Italian seasoning
  • (chili flakes)
  • crushed garlic
  • salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet cook the ground beef. Set beef aside in dish (its up to you if you want the drippings or not. Its healthier without but very flavorful with).

In the same pan, cook the onions and sliced mushrooms. No need to add oil as you are using the drippings from the beef. Once the onions are clear, add garlic and then the beef.

Add the jar of tomato sauce and all the seasoning to taste. Cook covered on low for 30min. Add seasoning along the way as needed.

Below is a picture of eggplant lasagna that I used with this sauce.

IMG_3942
By the way this pic is of a cold slice – I avoided taking a pic of the hot one cus it looked kinda sloppy.

To make this recipe:

Slice the eggplant width-wise to form circles rather than lengthwise. Sprinkle the slices on both sides with olive oil and salt, and roast in the oven on a parchment lined baking sheet for 10min at 375F.

The rest of the recipe is the same as my zucchini lasagna recipe.

Enjoy!

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Zucchini Lasagna with non-cow cheeses

I have tried eggplant lasagna but wanted to try something new. Instead I worked my way up to zucchini lasagna. If you have ever made traditional lasagna before this is quite similar with the exception of zucchini slices to substitute pasta. This recipe does call for some cheese but we erred on the side of non-cow’s cheese.

Ingredients:

  • 1 can tomato sauce or homemade sauce of your choice
  • 5-6 zucchini
  • 1 cup cottage cheese
  • 1 cup goat cheese
  • 1/2 cup vegan mozzarella cheese
  • seasoning
  • Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preheat your oven to 375F.

Combine cottage cheese, goat cheese and vegan mozzarella in a bowl and mix in seasoning to taste. Put aside until needed.

Slice the zucchini into as thin slices as you can. Line the baking dish with a thin layer of sauce (your choice – meat or otherwise). Make one layer of zucchini slices. Top the zucchini with the cheese mixture and then top with sauce. Repeat this until you have 2-3 layers of each.

Top the last layer with Parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven for 30 min covered and 10 min uncovered.

With zucchini slices in place of pasta this is a more soggy alternative, so you will want the lasagna to set for a while until serving.

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