(food) Looking for suggestions!

[vg_ford]

I posted this to my weight-loss comm, but I'll post it here as well. I'm having an issue finding snacks that I can eat right now, because my Crohn's is acting up a bit, so I thought I'd draw on the wisdom of the internets.

Here's what I can't eat AT ALL right now:

- Corn (except cornmeal or something like corn Chex)
- High Fructose Corn Syrup
- Nuts (except smooth nut butters)
- Seeds

Here's what I can't eat A LOT OF right now:

- Fresh fruits or veggies
- Fried foods
- Juices
- Dairy - this one is a hit or miss. I can't have straight milk or ice cream. Cheese is okay in small doses - and I seem to do better with soft cheese than hard. Cottage cheese depends on the day and how the rest of my system is doing.

So, now that I've eliminated about 3/4 of the healthy foods out there, what do you folks like to snack on? Please, help me, Internets!

Updated to add in the dairy - I'm so unused to eating it that I forgot about it!

Comments

[amcnh.livejournal.com]

What about smoothies? Lots of ice, flavored with some fruit with yogurt.

[vg-ford.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I need to get my blender working again. smoothies are a good idea.

Thanks! :D

[macfrode.livejournal.com]

Home made hummus with the veggies or on a rice cake? I know that at some stores you can get plain rice cakes that are just rice.

Basic hummus

1 can chick peas (I keep the liquid from the can in it)
1 clove garlic
1 table spoon lemon juice

put it all in a blender, blend until smooth.

You can add things like chopped olives, or spinich, or artichoke hearts or any spices or herbs you like. Chives would taste good I would think though I never tried it.

[vg-ford.livejournal.com]

Mmm, hummus. See blender comment above.

Thanks! :)

[utilitygeek.livejournal.com]

Hummus can also be made in a food processor.

I'm guessing from your lists and the comments so far that you are vegetarian, but not vegan. Correct?

[vg-ford.livejournal.com]

Not really, actually. I just have to limit the protein - too much and my stomach rebels.

[starlitears.livejournal.com]

can you eat dried fruit?

[vg-ford.livejournal.com]

Some. It depends on the day. I adore banana chips, but I can only do things like raisins or apricots sparingly.

[amcnh.livejournal.com]

What about dairy? I love cottage cheese.
Oh try a small can of tuna fish with some Balsamic vinaigrette. Yummo. Good for high protein and taste. Careful not to eat too much tuna in a week. Mercury levels aren't good.

[vg-ford.livejournal.com]

I have to be careful with dairy - that's another one that depending on the day can be good or bad.

The joys of trying to eat healthy with Crohns. *sigh*

[gerriwritinglog.livejournal.com]

Can you have beans? Edamame, or fresh soypeas, are awesome with a bit of salt. You can even get the shelled ones for ease of use. I've been known to toss a bit of chili oil and other spices on them, too, but the best is just salt.

[vg-ford.livejournal.com]

I can do little bits of beans - I adore edamame, but it doesn't adore me in large quantities.

[shade53.livejournal.com]

my two best suggestions were snatched up already - hummus and yogurt both - yummy goodness. I like the first with baked pita chips - I could eat that by the bukket full.

[vg-ford.livejournal.com]

Yogurt is something I need to start eating more of. It tends to die in my fridge, unfortunately.

[mooseythehut.livejournal.com]

Yoplait has fridge packs with I think 12 individual cups. Usually there are two flavors a box. They're easy to take to work and more likely to get eaten before they expire.

There's always dry cereal.

If you can do boiled eggs and oatmeal, those are great filler-up ers. And if you can do flour, small baked things (scones, muffins, mini-pies). These are more mini-meals than snacks, but maybe you can do smaller, more frequent meals?

[vg-ford.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, most of the yogurts out there use HFCS in them, so I tend to shy away from anything that's not plain yogurt.

I keep forgetting about oatmeal!!! Thanks for the reminder!

[ynfytyn.livejournal.com]

At first glance, for a quick and filling protein snack I'd try:

eggs
soy (baked tofu, etc.)

Can you do grains? Oatmeal, quinoa, couscous, amaranth, barley....

Do you eat meat? Seafood is a good light protein for meals, you could maybe do a plain meat jerky for snacks.

Can you handle fermented foods? That might be a lot easier for you to digest, especially for veggies. Kombucha for probiotics and amino acids, ginger tea to help soothe intestinal inflammation, maybe kefir if you're jonesing for some dairy and want something easy on the system.

Let's see. More snack food ideas. Dried fruits, hummus, alt. dairy? Like goat milk cheese, buffalo milk yogurt, coconut milk-based yogurt.

[vg-ford.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I should definitely look into the alternate grains - I'm not familiar with many of them.

Eggs I can't do every day, but I'm trying to work them in every other day.

I need to do more with soy as well.

Fermented foods are kind of a hit or miss. It depends on the day.

And I really think I need to get out to the alternative grocery store more. I'd never heard of some of those alternative dairies! *is sheltered*

Thanks!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Someone suggested rice cakes, which seem like a good idea as something that's starchy, bulky, and not on your no-go list. Then for flavor, you could add peanut butter (it being a smooth nut butter) or, going on someone else's rec, how about marinated artichoke hearts (assuming the marinated-ness and cooked-ness makes it possible to eat them okay). I'm thinking other roasted and pickled veggies (e.g., roasted, pickled red peppers) would be tasty and maybe digestible.

Toast looks like it's okay? And you could get really nice olive oil and dip it in that, to make up for having to miss out on butter...

[vg-ford.livejournal.com]

Ooh, that would be yummy.

Yep, toast is good. There have been days that I've lived on nothing but the BRAT diet:

Bananas
Rice
Applesauce
Toast

It's SO not fun, but when I'm in a flare, it's the only thing that stays down.

Fruit Salsa....

[cr-wchi-f.livejournal.com]

1 Granny Smith Apple
1 Cup Strawberries
1 Kiwi
1 Tablespoon Orange Juice
2 Tablespoons Apple Jelly
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar

Either chop everything fine or toss in a food processor. I used to use Cinnamon Wheat Thins, but can't find them anymore. The hubby likes it with Apple Chips. I know they have cinnamon tortilla chips at Sam's Club, but not sure if you're a member. Tastey, tastey stuff. Good luck!