My passion for cooking
I first learnt to cook when my mum was unfortunately ill with cancer, just before I moved to university. She taught me how to make really comforting homecooked meals and I have loved to cook ever since. My best friend and I still claim we were probably some of the best-fed students on campus! It was a team effort as we both loved cooking for each other.
Coming out of university into the adult world, cooking became my headspace.
Elisabeth
Living with Colitis
After long days at work or dealing with other life challenges, spending an hour cooking a homecooked meal relaxes me, especially when I know I am cooking for loved ones. I live with my partner, Jamie, and our Cocker Spaniel, Indie. Although I am the main cook in our house, Jamie loves food and we enjoy trying new food and recipes together.
Colitis changed everything
When I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in January 2020, the impact it had on my appetite and food choices was very difficult to deal with. Food and Colitis is so different for every individual person that it's hard to get advice. My consultant had warned me that three common triggers for people are often dairy, spices and alcohol, but that I'd have to work out my own triggers for myself. For me, this was really difficult. Short of eating one type of food on its own for each meal, it is hard to work out what is triggering. As well as dairy, spices, and alcohol I now avoid most green vegetables, brown onion (but spring onion and red onion are fine!), cauliflower, sweetcorn, any high fibre cereal, and tea (which I think is an unusual one?).
I think this is a good place to highlight the effects steroids can have on your relationship with food.
At a time when I was trying to figure out what I could eat, I was also craving every food under the sun and had a short temper to go alongside it. Steroids suck, even when they work – hang in there, it will get easier.
Pre-diagnosis I loved plant-based food. If there was a bowl of superfood on a menu then chances were I would order it. The problem with this? Fibre. This type of food almost always includes lots of beans and vegetables, many of which I can’t tolerate much of. I was also a big coffee drinker, which I have managed to adapt now by drinking one caffeinated coffee when I wake up. Then, if I fancy another one during the day, I drink decaf – I love the taste of coffee more than anything, I think.
Learning to adapt
A year on from surgery, I feel confident I have worked out most of my triggers, both food related and not. Mentally, a chronic illness diagnosis is tough and most days I still have to work on this.
Of my trigger foods, I think the one I miss the most is some of the green vegetables I can’t eat, which probably sounds a bit strange when you think I also don’t have chocolate, cake, or gin! However, for most of my other trigger foods there are good alternatives. For example, I replace all dairy with plant-based alternatives including dark chocolate and vegan cheese. Not drinking alcohol doesn’t bother me, and nor does tea. I drink a lot of squash, both hot and cold, and am very happy with this!
You can get really good plant-based cream and crème fraiche to cook with.
Colitis has also had to change the way I cook as I now have to be a lot more careful with what I put in food. There are no more creamy pastas or big bowls of veg! At times it has been a challenge. I could get quite selfish and cook things that were a safe option for me but definitely boring and bland to Jamie!
Of course, there are days when I hate it all.
I throw strops that I can’t eat what I want or that I must think about what I am eating all the time. However, these pass and I remind myself that it is ok to not be ok all of the time. I have also learnt how important it is to listen to your body. Sleep when it tells you to, eat what it is asking for and just slow down.
Meals that work for both of us
Once my health started to improve and I had more energy to cook we started experimenting with recipes and adapting them so they are safe for me to eat, nutritious and tasty. Some of our favourite recipes are a Thai curry, made with coconut milk and hardly any spice. We tend to have this with either mixed seafood or prawns. Burritos are a hit in our house, especially for a quick weeknight meal. Chicken and rice are great for my stomach and I top it with vegan cheese, while Jamie can add dairy cheese, sour cream, or some salsa. We also love a ‘fakeaway’ which feels like a naughty treat but we know what is in it. Homemade fish and chips and duck pancakes are our favourites. I also have to admit, we are a sucker for a Nando’s, particularly during lockdown. My stomach loves triple-carbing!
We have also found recipes that, with minimal effort, can be made into two different meals.
Making a quick Bolognese sauce can be put into a creamy and cheesy lasagne for Jamie and stirred into some pasta and topped with vegan cheese for me. This probably takes 2 minutes extra to assemble the lasagne but means Jamie can eat something that doesn’t have to work for me.
Adapting our food has been a challenge: I have thrown strops, we have argued and there have been some absolute failures of recipes I have tried to cook or adapt. I once made the worst homemade pizzas, the dough was horrible, the cheese didn’t melt and the kitchen was a mess. The worst bit was, I put in so much effort and ended up eating toast! However, it has been a good challenge for us and, in the process, we have found some great food that we both love to eat.
A final note
Writing this blog has made me realise how far I have come in terms of food and cooking. When I was first diagnosed it was all so daunting, I thought I would be living on chicken and rice for the rest of my life and not be able to enjoy cooking. But even though food does impact my Colitis and I do have to watch what I eat, it definitely isn’t ruled by it and I have learnt so much about me, my body, and my mind.
