The Best Cooking Ingredients for Those with Ulcerative Colitis

I love to cook. Sometimes, I have to get creative to find ways to make recipes work with my ulcerative colitis. It has taken me some time to discover what ingredients and spices make my ulcerative colitis flare up. I had to make my foods pretty bland for a while because when I was trying to isolate problem spices, I could only use one spice at a time at each meal.

I cannot use fresh garlic without having the potential for a flare up. I discovered that I can use garlic powder without a problem unless I use a lot at one meal. I am not sure why this is but, I know for a fact that in my case, this is a good substitution.

It is almost the same thing with onions. If I use real onions, I am almost guaranteed to have a flare up. I can use onion powder or green onion tops in recipes without having a flare up.

I have discovered that excess salt aggravates my ulcerative colitis. Plus, a lot of salt is not healthy for anyone. Because of this, I try to use only low sodium seasonings in everything that I cook.

I usually season my foods using individual spices. I have found a few premixed spices that I can use without the fear of a flare up. Tony Chachere Low Sodium is a Cajun seasoning that I can safely use. I am from Louisiana so, being able to enjoy Cajun food and spices is very important to me.

I can also use a wide variety of the Mrs. Dash seasonings. These are all low sodium and most of the seasonings have a very good flavor. Mrs. Dash has a lot of different flavors to choose from that can season pretty much anything.

Before my grandmother passed away, she gave me her recipe for Crawfish Etoufee. I have modified it a little to make it work for me and my family. This is a very easy dish to make. It takes longer to cook the rice than it does to make the etoufee. This recipe will make enough etoufee for three to four adults.

Start your rice cooking in either a rice cooker or a pot on the stove. To do this, follow the directions on the rice. You can use brown rice if you want to. I usually use long grain white rice.

To make the etoufee, you need a soup pot. This pot does not have to be huge but, it should cover the entire eye on the stove. It should be at least four inches deep.

Melt 1 stick of butter or butter substitute in the pan. Add 1 cup of chopped green onion tops. Add Tony Chachere Low Sodium seasoning sparingly. You can always add more to taste later. Cook this down until the butter is almost completely melted.

Next, add a can of cream of mushroom soup. Once again, I usually use the low sodium variety. Add a half can of water. Cook this until the cream of mushroom soup is warm.

Add one bag of crawfish tails. These usually come in 14 to 16 ounce packages and can be found in the freezer section of most major grocery chain. In Jonesboro, where I live, Kroger is the store that has them most of the time.

Cook the mixture only until the crawfish is heated. Cooking the crawfish for too long will make it tough. You can add a squeeze of lemon juice if you want. That will help eliminate the fishy taste. Do not do that if lemon is a trigger for you.

Finally, you serve the mixture over warm rice. Some people add a slice of American cheese for extra flavor. If cheese is a trigger food for you, do not do this.

Like every aspect of ulcerative colitis, you may have to try some adjustments to this recipe to make it work for you. This is just what I can tolerate.

Ulcerative colitis is a difficult disease to live with but, with some creative thinking and trial and error, you can overcome most of the perceived limitations of this condition.