My Favorite Snack Ideas for Eating with Crohn's Disease
Diet and IBD is a complicated subject and one that cannot possibly fit the scope of one blog post. But today I thought I'd talk about snacking, aka my favorite activity if I'm honest with you! Snacking with Crohn's can cause issues.
For one, I find that if I overeat my stomach is in pain. I found this out the hard way yesterday by eating a whole easter egg and, yes I know it is only January! Of course, a lot of snack foods (like chocolate and crisps) tend to be high in fat; another potential trigger. If you love to snack as much as me, I thought I'd share my top ten "safe" (only in my experience of course) snack ideas for eating with Crohn's disease.
My favorite Crohn's-friendly snacks
1. Rice cakes
We all know a bowl of rice is an almost universal Crohn's-friendly food (I'm hoping I'm right but let me know if I'm not?!) so I'm also a big fan of rice cakes or crackers for when I'm craving some crunch. I find these work well with all sorts of toppings: smooth peanut butter (although I only have a spoonful of this to avoid too much fat/fiber); mashed avocado or dipped into hummus. Topping with tuna and a little mayo makes a great lunch option too.
2. Bananas
Bananas are one of the few safe fruits for me and they're perfect to pop in your handbag. As well as eating au naturel, I love mashing banana to provide a smooth, comforting dessert type treat. In summer, frozen banana is a great base for dairy-free yogurt.
3. Corn tortilla chips
Corn chips (especially made in the oven rather than fried ones) are low in fiber and make a great snacking companion. If you can eat gluten, pretzels work well for this too!
4. Apple sauce
Stewed apples that have a thin sauce consistency are really soft and delicious. You can buy these in little pots so they make great snacks when out and about too.
5. Boiled egg
I can't personally eat egg but I know lots of IBD folk swear by snacking on a boiled egg.
6. Snack bars
There's quite a few gluten and dairy-free snack bars-like LARA bars-that I find are perfect for traveling. They are usually a blend of dried fruit and nuts and whilst relatively high in fiber, I find they're quite smooshed together so are usually safe.
7. Chia pudding
If you're looking for a desert style snack, why not try making chia pudding. Chia seeds swell when added to liquid (you could use things like coconut or plant-based milk) and is a good source of soluble fiber. It turns into a gloopy mix which is thought to be quite soothing on the gut compared to most other seeds.
8. Bone broth
This one's not really a snack but if I'm hungry and don't really feel I could handle a meal, I'll sip on cups of bone broth instead.
9. Chicken
A bit boring and bland but tucking into bits of chicken is a good way of getting some extra protein. Lean white meat is usually a pretty safe bet for IBD from experience.
10. Oatmeal pots
Readymade oatmeal pots (that you just add water to) are pretty great for snacking on the go. I'm usually pretty happy with oats as long as they're gluten-free.
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