IC- diet

[lizzie_71]

Hi everyone,
Diagnosed in 11-10 / Got serious with the diet in March 2011, However, like others I feel like the party pooper because I can't go out to eat. Or, every several take home meals.
Like the past Saturday, Went out for Mexican food. (family of 4) I had 2 small cacidias (chicken) 1 bite of spanish rice, and 3-4 bites of refried beans , drank H20. Today's Monday, still paying for it. Both Sat. and Sun. night's up about 8 times to pee with increase of pain and increase of needing to self-cath. Oh I hate this.
Back to oatmeal, cottege cheese. watermelon. and not alot else. I have the diet plan from this site. I don't get excited about cooking large meals I just want to eat and forget it. I know , I know, It's one of the main things that is helping me. ( IC diet)
lizzie_71

[Hayley5412]

Hi there. I was recently diagnosed, and only recently have I actually realized that it has narrowed down my diet.
All in all, its not the easiest process. My friends recently have been doing the "trial and error" method of offering me food they make. Most of which, of course, I must reject. My family is having the same issue. When they go out to eat, its difficult for me to either find something to eat with them or reject it all together.
There ARE bright sides though. For the most part, this is a very healthy diet that we have to follow. Sure, we may not have as many options anymore-- But when we eat to take care of our IC, we choose healthier options, and quite a bit of them. Its also true that there are a lot of recipes and combinations we can try. Its a great excuse for experimentation in the kitchen. It is discouraging to no longer have the quick fast food option for the more diet sensitive, but its not the end of the world either.
What's really important here though is being nutritionally balanced. Do your best to perk up. You aren't alone in this, and you have support from all of your fellow IC-ers. We'll make it!

[ICNDonna]

When I was stuck going to a Mexican food place, I chose a crisp bean burrito --- I can have refried beans with no problem as long as they don't have tomatoes added. One other time I ordered a plain hamburger --- most places can come up with a burger.

We don't eat out often. We live in the country and I'd usually rather cook than get ready and drive to town, but so far I've been able to eat in restaurants with no problem.

The diet does get easier --- and it's so very much worth the effort.


Donna

[MaryS]

I was diagnosed over a year ago. I try to look at it in a positive way. I now eatfar healthier then I did prior to getting IC. I ate lots of pre-packaged things like Hamburger Helper or Kraft Mac and cheese. Now i realize all I was eating was unhealthy foods packed with preservatives that are not good for you whether you have IC or not. I did not drink enough water but drank coffees and teas. I now eat all freshly prepared meats,side dishes and veggies. Sadly, I often wonder if I caused damage to my bladder by eating the way I did. I now read all labels before buying foods. It is amazing when you look at ingredients on bread labels and it is a huge paragraph of bad ingredients and then you find bread that says : flour, yeast, salt and water. Now my son has started being aware of what he eats when I show him labels of processed bread verses fresh breads. I get take out food from good restaurants where they make their own foods (no fast food places) and I also eat out. I just ask the waitress to please have my meats (beef or chicken) grilled plain (no seasoning at all). You can eat plain baked pototoes with butter verses loaded with cheeses and sour cream.Ask for salad with dressing on the side. I can dip my fork lightly into the dressing now just enough to get a little taste but not to much to hurt the bladder.. I must admit that I learned this trick from Kadi on this board ..so thanks to Kadi on this and she also brought to my attention hormel boxed deli meat which is great because it is all natural with no preservatives. I cannot eat cold cuts from the deli in grocery stores. You can order cheese burgers asking for condiments on the side so you can use what your bladder can tolerate. I can't eat tomatoes but lettace is fine. At home i put a slice of red pepper on top of my lettace on a grilled burger just so it looks like a burger with green lettace and my fake tomato.

[MaryS]

ohhh donna you sound so much like me not wanting to get all dressed up to go out to eat at a nice restaurant............i found a solution........i order take out from the restaurant and have my husband pick it up ........no need to get dolled up and go out when you can sit at your own table and eat but no cooking or dish washing. I find it a treat to eat something good and not have to shop, cook and do dishes..tho we dont do this as often as i would like.. .to expensive. my husband likes it because you end up spending less this way .....when eating out my family tends to order drinks, coffee and deserts...then you have to tip well when eating in the restaurant so a savings there as well.

[MaryS]

One more thing, I learned this one the hard way. I forgot to order my french fries plain when I ordered my plain steak. The fries came coated in salt and pepper. I could Not eat them and that upset me because I then had just steak to eat . I cannot eat mexican food. I make it home and use seaonings on the families portion and make mine plain. I do quesedilla's at home and saute chicken or steak with safe veggies> I use mushrooms, red pepper. Then I put them on one flat wrap and then top with safe cheese and add top wrap. I brush both sides and then grill itn till light brown. My family tops them with sour cream and chopped tomatoes. Sometimes I can get away with a tiny bit of Daisy sour cream .You can eat the same stuff you did before just a tad bit altered. I do same with taco's. I brown my ground beef and set aside some of the meat in a bowl for me then I add seasonings to the rest of the meat for my family. They use lettace, tomatoes,cheese and sour cream and I use chopped red pepper in place of tomato so I have some red and some crunch.

note I forgot to say I brush both sides of the quesedilla with canola oil then put it on release foil and grill until lightly browned