I would like to say hello to the people on this board who helped me more that I can say AND I would like to say hello to all new participants.
March will be the two-year mark since my Microscopic Colitis Flood. I was diagnosed and treated about three months later.
Dealing with permanent extreme dietary restrictions has been a challenge but it's working out. I now understand why Tex says that many MC'ers don't eat out. Restaurant staff are rarely trained or equipped to deal with our needs. They think they can accommodate us but it's usually not the case. I've found two places to eat out. The food is very plain but I'm fine with that. Plain food is better than diarrhea and being sick. One of the two locations is a local place and the other is Red Lobster in my location. The waitress either had some experience of her own or was very well trained. She told me that the cook could make salmon cooked in a clean frying pan with only water. They also had baked potatoes and plain veggies. I felt safe and I didn't have any issues after. On the rare occasion when I eat out, I carry my own "extras" such as cocktail sauce or margerine.
With my sensitivity list, baked goods are almost impossible. I bought expensive mixes and learned that I can't have xanthan gum or tapioca, so in the trash they went. I altered a GF recipe for bread and came up with a very heavy loaf that is free of all the foods I've eliminated. It's not great but I occasionally make crunchy toast with it. For the most part, I use tortilla chips and rice cakes in place of bread. Tuna salad with tortilla chips is a nice lunch. Hellmans has a canola mayonnaise that is free of many things. If you have an Aldi's store in your area, they have many nice GF products for a much lower price than other stores. They also have nitrate-free bacon and ham.
Homemade soup is a huge standby in my house. I make a stockpot of it every Sunday. I can't eat chicken or most legumes so my standbys are turkey, beef, and seafood soups. They freeze well and my husband and I bring them to work nearly daily.
Someone on this board mentioned that some people who can't eat legumes (soy, peanuts, garbonzo beans, kidney beans, etc.) can sometimes eat the kind of beans in canned baked beans (called small white beans). I eventually tried small white beans and I can eat them
They can be found as prepared baked beans or plain beans in cans where kidney beans and garbonzo beans are found in the market. I can eat tahini (pureed sesame seeds) so I make a great tasting hummus. It's really not much trouble and it's great with tortilla chips or rice crackers. My husband loves it with raw veggies but I can't eat raw veggies (maybe someday). In my case, maintaining stability requires strict elimination of the foods I'm sensitive to. I spent decades with churning guts. Now, I often don't sense churning at all. I had forgotten what it feels like to have quiet intestines. I'll continue to learn to work around the sensitivities. It's worth it.
I would also like to share that my exhaustion lessens as time passes.
Thank you, everyone!
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I was thinking the other day how nice it would be to be able to eat a fresh tomato...you give me hope!
