Hi Bonnie, 

Just to clarify, are you looking for low carb to help with weight loss/maintenance? If so, it may be calories that would want to keep an eye on (and not carbs specifically).

If you are still looking for low cab snacks you'll either be looking at something like fruit and vegetables (naturally low in overall calories and/or carbs) or something higher in fat or protein.

Are you looking for something to satisfy a craving, to keep your hunger in check until the next meal, or for enjoyment? I think we can come up with a few ideas once we understand your needs 😉

not trying to lose any more weight. just finding that the dieticians advice for high protein foods and potato, rice, pasta etc. that im seeing weight creep up and yet i dont feel like its very nutritious. empty foods to thicken output. i diddnt realize how dependant on veg i was for in between snacks too. im still in the fear mode about vegetables and fruit. ive never had a blockage but ive read some scary stories. and fear gas and ballooning. im now shocked by the things ive learned vs what the nirses in the hospital advised. either super extreme rigid diet or totally fine with anything. i had one tell me i could eat an almond joy candy bar that someone brought me! that was 3 days after iliostomy and still in hospital! thankfully i diddnt take her advice. :) basically im jist a newby afraid of everything. lol. tried spiralized zuchinni and carrot cooked beyond recognition for the first time yesterday. that was uneventful so im feeling more adventurous. im sure this topic had been posted before. im sorry if its a repeat. ill explore the site and see if i can find some recipes and ideas. you guys are great. 

Hi Bonbon, yep it’s going to be slow and maybe not that exciting food wise post surgery. Adding new foods slowly and noting the effect is safest way to go. Most ostomates are able to eat a normal diet. Proper preparation of food and chewing that’s the key. You mention pasta. rice and potatoes being boring try adding sauces and dressing. Baked spud With a filling just maybe avoid the skin for a while. It’s a popular topic and Eric has plenty of advice on the site.

Hello Bonnie and welcome to this site!  My surgery was in 2009. I eat anything I enjoy but in moderation. I would say to you to keep a food journal. Mark down aprox. how much. and keep going. The reason is, this will help you track what caused the problem should you have one. Usually something that was consumed within the past 72 or less hours will be what caused a blockage or made it runnier and so forth. Try not to worry about getting one, just take steps to avoid one to the best of your knowledge. I do this by eating fruits that are in season and frozen ones...such as strawberries, you can bite into a whole frozen one and they are like sherbet. Also blueberries. I enjoy fruit smoothies often. I have that magic bullet thing and I full it about half full with orange juice, then I put blueberries in it and then a whole small banana chopped, and frozen papaya, and strawberries. I top that with yogurt and whiz it up. This is often my breakfast. I add some tumeric and a bit of vanilla also, Tumeric is an anti- inflammatory, just a shake. I usually always have fruit and yogurt in some form for breakfast. Other then that I eat what I like but tend to avoid a lot of bread as it gives me a lot of gas. I figured that out thru a food journal. When I cook noodles, I cook them a little longer for myself but not to the mushy point, that is just gross. Same with veggies. I test them with a fork not a knife as  knife will go thru most things when cooked. I really dislike mushy foods and veggies so I cook them just beyond the tender crisp stage, but long enough to put a fork in the thickest part. Rice, I take 2c of rice, 4c of water, and then I add about  1/4 to 1/3 c more water. I zap it for 10  min. straight, stir, and then another ten. I take it out of the microwave, place a plate over the bowl and let it sit to absorb the rest of the remaining fluids. This way, the rice is a little softer, but not mushy to eat. I find that foods that adsorb fluids,  can cause problems if not eaten a little softer. Also smaller pieces. I love tomatoes like crazy, but I find the skin, as in oranges can cause me problems. So, I take a serrated knife and score the skin to much smaller pieces on tomatoes, Oranges, I take out of the skins they are segmented in. See Erics video on oranges causing blockages forum about a week or so ago. From there, I eat a lot of fresh fruit, like pears, honeydew, watermelon and so forth. I am a cheese and cracker and pickle fool. So when I need  snack, that is my go to. I am newly type two diabetic so now my amounts are limited. I also eat nuts and seeds, but, I chew them to a powder. Foods you can identify in your pouch are really not chewed enough. Drinking water with meals AIDS in digestion, especially fibrous foods as they absorb fluids. You see, our small gut puts fluid into our foods and take the vitamins and minerals out, and the large gut takes fluids out.  I will eat potatoe chips if  my guts are runny. They help restore the salts, and thicken up a bit. I will also eat rice and some noodles if it gets bad and continual.  From there, just basically eat what you enjoy but in moderation until you figure out what works for your guts. Everyone is different so take your time. I turn to frozen fruits when I want ice cream cheese.  If I want noodles or rice and do not have time, or if I am craving a salad, I will make some couscous and add to it olives, tomatoes, red peppers, feta cheese, and then some greek salad dressing from a bottle. I rather enjoy that for a treat and it is good for you. I also add more water to make it then what is recommended. Start by the tablespoon fulls per cup of fluid. I eat lettuce, but I break it small and then cut each bite smaller and then chew it to death.  All things in moderation. I tend to feel hungry a lot, and when I need to fill up I will eat something that requires work like a salad, rice, potatoes, and so forth but I add gravy, sauces, and cream corn to mashed potatoes. I also will put canned tomatoes on top of mashed potatoes. They go well together. Corn is hard for anyone to break down and we all need to chow down on a cob here and there. Just chew the best you can and add something like potatoes to the meal. You will figure out what your guts can handle and keeping the journal is a big part of it.  Your doing well. Keep up the good work! I hope this helps a little. 

Hi Bonnie,

You will get the hang of this, but advice is both contradictory and often wrong. 

Vegetables are great in general, and I have learned to roast up a bunch of them that I know I can eat.

Mostly depends on getting them soft enough without destroying the flavor...so roasting is perfect. Maybe start with peeled smallish carrots.

Cookie sheet ( lined with tin foil, some kind of vegetable oil..I use sunflower..just a bit. HOT oven, around 425 for 30-40min until tender. I add these to prepared soups ( or homemade) to boost nutrition. ( stir the vegetables occasionally).

Learn to do other ones and mixtures that cook for about the same length of time. I stuff these into pita bread for lunch.

also, if you eat dairy, non fat Greek yogurt is a great source of protein and potassium.

It will help if you begin to keep some kind of journal about ALL things ostomy.

Good luck.

Posted by: bonbon

not trying to lose any more weight. just finding that the dieticians advice for high protein foods and potato, rice, pasta etc. that im seeing weight creep up and yet i dont feel like its very nutritious. empty foods to thicken output.

You bring up a good point that I think more people who have been sick or have gone through a surgery like this should know: there will be fluctuations in weight, but assuming no medical factors, the weight should settle on one that's fairly healthy if you're not over-consuming on calories and continue to be physically fit. 

Have you calculated what your ideal weight should be (based on BMI, not personal preference)? That might help you to determine where you're at. 

I agree that many of the foods used to specifically control output (i.e. potatoes, rice, white bread), aren't particularly great for you in large quantities, but try to make those a small part of your overall diet. 

My diet has changed several times over the course of the last five years, and will likely continue to evolve based on my goals and the seasons. No harm in that, provided it's based on healthy foods. 

One thing you might want to consider is perhaps doing a food swap for some of the things you don't feel are the best - sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes; parboiled rice instead of white (I prefer parbioled over brown because brown tends to be much harder to digest and parboiled is still more nutritious over white); homemade/dehydrated kale or vegetable chips; popcorn (when you are ready) instead of processed snacks. You get the idea, right? :) 

@angela-wystan ...Hello Angela! Welcome to VO!  Your a new member which usually means one of two things...

1) your a new ostomate looking for clues & info to this world of the magical stoma & or possibly supporting someone with a stoma,  or...

2) you've been one for a while, or will be an ostomate & need supoort or ideas to get you through a trial of some kind or just hunting out Erics fabulous website! 

Whatever the reason your here, know your  welcome. If your up to it why not start a new forum of your own & tell us about yourself & your journey so we can give you a proper hello.

In the meantime, new forum or not,  don't be a stranger & feel free to pop in as you wish. Be as well as you can be! 

Linda

@angela-wystan 

Welcome, Angela, we are a good group of people here, with loads of support for each other, plus Eric is a gem for having created this site!

God bless,

Stella

I really like fruit Popsicle things. But difficult as a take along snack. Some have excessive sugar too. Sesame or oat sticks? Not sure what the carb amounts are, or the dangers of blockages. So far no blockage issues for me, before and after ileostomy. I tend to like salty, savory flavor snacks, not so much sweet ones. Overall I do not really snack much. Or eat much. Peanut butter/chocolate treats is the food of the gods. Probably too much sugar in most of them. But maybe a home made recipe could be more healthy? Get less processed no sugar added peanut butter. It already has most of the oil separated to the top. Pour that out and save it. Then dig out that thick peanut butter paste and use it as an inside layer. Melt chocolate that has less sugar in it as a base layer. Trowel that thick peanut paste across it. Then melt another low sugar chocolate layer over it. Maybe add sugar to taste to the chocolate or peanut butter?

Never made such a thing myself. But it seems an easy to control recipe as to how much sweet and other ingredients there are. Peanut butter, chocolate, sugar. Probably make a ton of peanut butter cup type treat for very cheap.

Maybe try using a food processor to pre chew some problematic fruit and veggie treats. Take a single fruit or veggie and blend the hell out of it, to a safe, less likely blockage level. Maybe remove a bit of the liquid so it can be formed into small tidbit pieces that will hold shape in the lunch bag till ready to snack on.

I personally am far too lazy to do such things. Though I have now tempted myself to try the peanut butter chocolate thing. As I said. I don't snack much.

@kedikat 

Have you tried using dark maple syrup? It has a very low glycemic count (which means that it doesn't give you sugar highs, plus it is filled with minerals. I use it in my tea and bake and cook with it as well.

Stella

@kedikat 

Any snack with peanut butter is a win in my book. If anyone tries it and wants to share the recipe, that would be great!!  I might play around with it if I have some time. 

@sjlovestosing

Do you know if molasses is the same, as far as low glycemic count?  I know it also has minerals in it, especially iron, which I am trying to focus on with all the blood loss I’ve had. 

@squeakyandliza 

You are right about the high mineral content of molasses, but I'm not sure about the glycemic count on that one.🤔 I'll have to do some research. Did you know that black strap molasses has the most minerals! I love using it in my stews, soups, tomato sauce and gravies. In addition to the added nutrition, it cuts down any acidity. It  is especially good in chili as it gives it a smoky flavor. BTW, did you also know that pure dark chocolate also enhances the flavor of chili? (A little off the topic 😁)

Stella

@squeakyandliza 

I just did a quick search and found that molasses has a low glycemic count of 55. Hope that helps 😊.

Stella

I forgot about molasses cookies. Used to eat tons of them. But home made ones from Grandma or girlfriends. Store bought ones didn't taste very good. Maybe scrimping on real molasses?

@sjlovestosing 

I do put Maple syrup on pancakes, waffles. But very little. I like the flavor. But it seems to me even sweeter than straight sugar. That very distinctive taste seems to add to the sweet aspect. Though I have not paid much attention to what brand or actual quality of it. Maybe I should get a high quality jug on hand. Probably makes a big difference.

@kedikat 

As someone who lives in Vermont, you definitely have to get pure maple syrup! Nothing else compares!😊

Stella

I love molasses cookies!!  I always make gingerbread men at Christmas, but maybe I should make some yummy soft molasses cookies for Thanksgiving!!

😂😂