Holiday Eating with an Ileostomy: Finding Balance

So this isn't really a question but an observation. A lot of holiday foods are things I cannot eat. And those I can, I would not eat. So where do I find the happy middle ground? I can't just eat cookies. And let me clarify that it is cookies without nuts in them. And breads without nuts or seeds on top. And no green bean casserole. Maybe a small bit of turkey. But I am not a big fan of turkey. Mashed potatoes if they don't have horseradish in them, as I am allergic. (My uncle used to always put horseradish in his mashed potatoes.) The list goes on. Unidentifiable foods. Shellfish allergies. Happy food holiday to me. What should I eat? Should I just pack my own lunch and be weird?

Be thankful you’re alive and can eat, it’s all about the mindset. 

A jello mold. Pack some of your own stuff so that you do not starve.

My wife had an uncle who was a lacto-vegetarian. Every Thanksgiving and Christmas, he would bring a cooler full of his "food." It was great... more yummy stuff for the rest of us.

So, pack a cooler with foods you can eat.

And have a Merry Christmas and a healthy New Year.

Sounds like a good time to dye some crackers red/green and enjoy every last one of them. 👍

My Ostomy Journey: April | Hollister

Who says you can't just eat cookies??  I mean, it's only once a year!

Terry

Cookies, pumpkin pie, cheesecake, crunchy fudge sandwiches, fudge, yummmm

Ham was always the tradition in my family (we were usually turkey'd out from Thanksgiving).

Dressing (without nuts), rice with gravy, hot buns fresh from the oven with butter

I'm getting so hungry now. Lol

Nothing better than warm buns and butter. I always tell myself, "Just eat 2... not 2 dozen."

You're very experienced with the time you've had dietary problems and having ileo as well. Now, what do you usually eat at Christmas? Take your own food with you if it makes you feel more comfortable.

Turns out Mom wants to stay home rather than go to a family gathering. I wonder if she is doing that because of me. She said it tonight at church. We're staying home and having a turkey breast and mashed potatoes, with no horseradish in them. And she is making apple crisp tomorrow without oats in it. So she is doing her best to make a holiday meal, and I am going to do my best to enjoy it, even without the extended family.

Turns out we're not going to the family gathering. So no cooler necessary. 

We're having cinnamon rolls for breakfast, does that count?

No just eating cookies. But we do have gingerbread cookies. Mom made them today.

You come up with the darndest things...

Turns out I don't have to pack any food. As we aren't going to any gatherings.

I'm just going to fill up on mashed potatoes at home, it would seem.

Yeah I know. It's always a worry with me. But I like to start discussions. 

Hi. I think people are in a food coma already, foaming at the mouth, reading and writing, suggesting "eats"... when the real point is...

Bless your mom! What a saint. (What time shall we all arrive?) Ask her that. She'll probably faint.

I'm planning to arrive early morning and stay until I can't eat anymore.  😉

Heard it from a good source and it works. Oatmeal and raisin cookies. Yummy for tummy and, um, er... output. 👍

(Misplaced this comment. Oops.)

I can't eat the food either. You just have to get creative and eat what you know you can eat. Make a grilled cheese or sandwich, toast whatever you can and want to eat. It sucks, I know, but it's not about the food; it's about the people around you. Enjoy being with your friends and family, and shoot, who cares? Eat the cookies; it's Christmas.

You do what you need to do! Surely the people that you're celebrating with will understand that you have allergies and food limitations—it's not weird to want to enjoy yourself and be able to eat what you can. Happy holidays.

I had a lovely dinner at home, just me and my mom. We had turkey and mashed potatoes, zucchini, and apple crisp with French vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce on top. It was really good. I didn't even mind the turkey. I didn't eat a lot of it, but I didn't mind it as much as I usually do. It wasn't a whole bird; I can't stand to look at a whole bird. It looks like it should be alive. It was just a turkey breast. And my mom cut it up into bite-sized pieces, and that was okay. So it all worked out. It's still different not to be around people and watching what I put in my mouth. I enjoyed the food we had.

I think they would understand because my aunt usually takes me for a picnic for my birthday, and she always lets me order what I can eat from wherever she gets the food, and she knows I will know what I can and cannot have. So that is at least one family member that knows I have limitations.

Since your mom cuts your turkey into bite sized pieces, you should try those pieces mixed with white gravy over the mashed potatoes….probably the best school cafeteria lunch ever created. 😋 

We didn't have any gravy, just butter on the mashed potatoes. Real butter, though, not I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. Sometimes my mom is funny. She cuts up her meat, so she cuts up mine. Not always, but a lot of the time. Then she cuts up all the leftovers. She is cute.