Passover 2019

I have to be honest- I usually don’t keep Passover. Keeping the holiday means not eating anything with yeast in it. This mostly means staying away from bread for eight days. For most people, this would be easy, as it’s a quick way to lose weight. People will just switch over to eating lettuce for those days. Well, those are for the people who don’t have IBD issues. Then there is Paul Richman, me! I cannot do salads. That is the one food that I really don’t do well with. I would be in the bathroom for the entire day. So what was I going to eat? It was time to turn to the food scientist.

A food scientist? First off, who knows one? I sure do. My wife of six months (yes yesterday was our six month anniversary) is a food scientist. Before she went into research and development, she completed culinary school in California. Let’s just say that I do all the dishes. Welp, this year, like many years, I did not want to keep the Passover holiday, because like I stated before, IBD patients and Matzo for a week don’t do so well.

Trying different food options for Passover

So I brought this up to my wife. Marriage is all about compromises, and I didn’t agree that we should get rid of everything with yeast in it for eight days. She insisted that I should trust her that I won't go hungry. I made my wife make me a promise that she would not make me eat only vegetables. Well after arguing back and forth, I agreed to follow the Passover holiday. The week began...

The first two nights are easy because you go to a Sedar at a family member’s house and eat meat and products that contain Matzo. At this point, it still tastes good, and you aren’t tired of it. I knew my stomach would not be great after the Sedar because of the amount of red meat, but it is only two nights a year. The other six nights is when you have to great creative.

I was successful with these new food choices

I was so wrong about not having enough food for the week that I would agree with. I guess I underestimated my wife’s cooking. During the week, I had lots of meat that wasn’t steak. I ate turkey meatloaf, duck, and chicken. Instead of tons of vegetables, I did have a normal portion but switched out rice for a few spoonfuls of mash potatoes. Did I go to bed hungrier than I usually do? Sure thing, but I was able to take two pounds off. I was successful during the Passover holiday.

Patients with IBD can observe their holidays’ food rules; you just have to do your homework. You will have to get creative, which means probably spending more of your food budget but it is possible. Just like any day, you have to watch what you eat. Certain foods will trigger IBD. Usually, holiday food as a whole is heavier, but you don’t have to starve to have a good time. Just be cautious. And yes Passover ended last night. I sure did miss bread haha.