As fun as the festive season is, it isn’t always the most gut-friendly, especially when you have IBD. We over-indulge and might eat foods which can make us feel not so great.
Another bowel charity, Bowel & Cancer Research, have teamed up with chef Tonia Buxton, The Gut Stuff founders The Mac Twins and nutritionist and Bowel & Cancer Research ambassador Lily Soutter to create the ultimate gut-friendly ‘Alternative Christmas Dinner’.
Food & Crohn’s & Colitis
Food and IBD is a tricky one. Everyone you meet seems to have an opinion and it’s so frustrating.
Something which can cause flares and be a total no no to one person can be absolutely fine for another. This is why it would always grate on me when people said different foods can cause/cure IBD.
Whilst I don’t believe they can cure it, anyone who has IBD knows that isn’t true, certain foods and diets can help alleviate symptoms.
For me, eating raw fruit and veggies caused a lot of pain and fatty foods would cause me to flare. That meant all my faves (McDonalds, fish & chips etc) were a no-go the majority of the time.
However, foods which wouldn’t cause me as much pain were soups, yoghurt and anything which didn’t need to be digested too much.
Something which actually helped me a little bit was manuka honey. My IBD nurse recommended it to me and I used to have it in my yoghurt. I mean, it didn’t do major things but it soothed slightly and didn’t leave me in pain which is always a good thing!
Crohn’s & Colitis UK have an amazing resource for helping you with diet and IBD as well which you can find here.
A winter-warming soup
For me, soup is something which has always been great with my ulcerative colitis. It’s a great way to try and get veg and nutrients into my diet without being too harsh on my gut.
After surgery, it was all I could eat for the first few days as well! I love the sound of this recipe which is part of the gut-friendly Christmas dinner from Bowel and Cancer Research.
To see their other recipes, head over to their website!
Tonia’s winter warmer soup
a gut-friendly soup perfect for a cold winters day
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 3 tsp coriander seeds crushed
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 red onion chopped
- 2 carrot roughly chopped
- 1 fennel roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic or garlic infused oil if garlic affects your gut
- 1 ½ pts vegetable stock
- 1 x 400g plum tomatoes or fresh grated tomatoes
- 1 x 200g cans chickpeas drained
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- bunch coriander (chopped.)
- Greek yogurt or coconut yogurt if dairy intolerant.
- In a large saucepan dry fry the cumin and coriander till they start to jump
- Add the oil and onion and gently fry till transparent but not browned.
- Add carrots & fennel
- Add tomatoes
- Add the stock
- Simmer for 30-40 minutes. Until all the veg is soft.
- Blintz the soup to a smooth texture
- Add the chickpeas, and simmer for another 5 minutes
- Taste and season.
- Serve hot with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkling of coriander, and lots of bread for dipping.
What’s your go to food when you’re flaring? Do you find certain foods cause more pain than others?
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