Fire - , I am not getting you wrong way at all !!! I completely understand your frustration !!!! I just would hate seeing anybody suffer more than they already are just because of one day of "fun" : (((.
I wrote that post more as a warning to others than to you actually, since you , thanks God, had not problem with that. I was afraid that others would "jump on the wagon" and just end up in misery since everybody's GI system is different !!!
If you can tolerate "normal" food and have soft poop and be regular - than BY ALL MEANS keep eating your "normal" diet !!!! "Fissure" diet is for people who have poop on the "hard" side or are irregular !
I was regular my whole life (go 2 times a day) , and was never constipated , but my poop was not "paste" like but nicely formed. That was too hard for a fissure - for a normal butt it would be considered soft . So, I had to add even more vegetables to my already "vegetablei" diet , and also take Milk of Magnesia and Mineral oli and Metamucile and so forth to make my poop soft as a "toothpaste"
To make the story short - if your normal diet is not causing formed poop that hurts - than there is no reason for you to make any changes IMO !!!!!
You definitely do not need to live just of veggies and fruits !!!!! They just need to take the majority of your plate : ) !!!
Fish, some chicken, tiny amount of some other meat with a BIG serving of cooked or baked veggies and salad on the side would definitely NOT be a problem : ))). Eating meat-balls and pasta and no veggies in one serving on the other hand could be a BIG problem
Sweets - eating a light chocolate moose cake with a bawl of raspberries after it would balance the things out (you may notice I did not say cookie LOL or brownie LOL - but fluffy, jello-like nice cake LOL)
I would stay away from alcohol definitely Coffee - you have no problem with so those 2 cups are ok for you LOL - maybe you can try de-caff also ; ) !
Tell me what you are afraid of eating and really want to and I will tell you how to modify it and make it fissure friendly :)!
How about that : )) ???

Hey Fissy....Actually I am a little too scared to eat any of the regular foods that I used to, that's why I just have a nibble or two. I have been feeling ok, not perfect, but ok....so I really don't want to mess anything up by jumping back into eating all the foods that I used to....at least not yet.
I really hope that anyone reading this thread doesn't think that it's ok to just jump back into "bad eating habits".
Like I said before the veggies seem to upset my stomach a bit....maybe because I have never been a veggie eater and my body is not used to healthy foods, but I would rather have a little cooked veggies and get a slight tummy ache and somewhat loose BM's then to eat my "normal" foods and re-tear.
As far as the foods that I am wanting, Fissy....I could really go for rigatoni with a little meat sauce and maybe some garlic bread...yum..., a steak on the grill and a baked potato with sour cream...double yum, homemade cheese/potato pierogies or cabbage filled pierogies (I haven't made pierogies in a while..very time consuming). Oh....and stuffed peppers (stuffed with ground meat and rice) cooked in tomato sauce, and cooked noodles with some olive oil and garlic. Oh my...my mouth is watering just typing the list of foods that I wish I could have. Wait...one more favorite....a peanutbutter and grape jam sandwich. I don't know if peanutbutter is not good to eat, but I do have to say that for many years have eaten peanutbutter everyday. That is pretty much what I have always eaten for breakfast...a huge spoonful of peanutbutter. I still eat my peanutbutter everyday, but just a small spoonful.
As for the alcohol....I probably have only a fews drinks a year...so I don't miss that. Coffee....since the fissure I don't drink coffee everyday...I might have a total of 4 cups a week now if that much. I sure do miss my pepsi though. But even that....I have had a cup here and there and it tasted a little funny to me now since I am not drinking it very often.
Although I have cheated here and there...I can honestly say that I will never go back to the old eating habits!!!!.....I just don't want to risk re-tearing.

Hey Fire - I really like your attitude and being on the safe side : )) !!!!!
I read your list of the fav. things and can tell you honestly that pasta is just VERY likely to make your poop on the "stiff" side *sigh. I never constipate - but pasta does make my poop more formed . It is just that it has very sticky consistency and minimal water intake as a food (if you leave it out of water just for 5 min without mixing it with a sauce - it dries - right out ???? Just like that ! So - the sticky consistency of high starch ratio combined with no moisture is sure to make poop more formed.
Stake is really not good idea LOL - but since you love burgers just the same - it can be much safer alternative !!!! Try to add chopped mushrooms - a cup of them as well as a cup of cherries (yes - they go great with that lol- of you do not trust me go and google) per pound of meat. The higher the ratio of fiber inducing parts in the meat - the better ; ))) !!!Also, try to substitute beef with ground lamb and ground pork - it tastes better, IMO, and I use that combo any time I use ground meat- better tasting and healthier !!!! Eat a lot of fresh tomatoes with it and see what happens. Start with a half burger first time around.
I do eat stuffed peppers (I use brown rice and lot of chopped onion inside the filling) and also stuffed giant zucchini. BUT, I eat half of the filling of the pepper and than eat one pepper extra without a filling - same with zucchini and voila - poop from heaven LOL. Those kind of dishes with tomato sauce as a base are just one of the most healthy foods one can have !!!!!! Talking about antioxidants !!!!!!!!!!
One safe stew of the same kind would be a single pork chop cut in small peaces (2cm/2cm), slightly browned with onions on the Canola oil. Than add almost whole bottle of organic tomato juice and add - 2 coarsely chopped carrots, 1/2 parsley root, 1 cut-up big potato, and as much as can fit of cut-up cabbage. I use HUGE pot , so it lasts me for 2 days for the family of 4. Add water to cover the veggies and bring to boil.Add fresh parsley, salt, and a pinch of sugar before big boil. Than put the heat down to gentle simmer and cover half-way and watch it occasionally so it does not start over-boiling over the pot. Once you find right temp. - you can "forget about it" LOL and it will make scrumptious, hearty stew : ))) !!! You will LOVE it , if you like stuffed peppers !!!!!! I was eating this during my fissure days , even when I had acute phase.
I do not see why you can not have baked potato with sour cream :roll: - just eat some fresh green salad on the side : ))). You can have baked sweet potato DEFINITELY !!!! It makes poop soft as a baby-food LMAO, it has a lot of fiber , I suppose. I cut it up in squares, drizzle with olive oil and spice with salt, and mixture of Mediterranean herbs , place on the shallow pan, and bake and they are REALLY tasty !!!
Beans in any shape or form are GREAT for making poop nice also !!!!
There are actually many great dishes that can be eaten with no problems - one just needs to find them : )) !!!!
I am sorry that pasta should really be avoided -sigh as well as cheeses - but I hope I gave you at least some ideas of how to include enough fiber into "regular" food so you can still eat at least some of your favorites : ))))) !!!!
*HUGS !!!!!!!!!

What about trying a ground turkey burger?? I use ground turkey in my stuffed peppers with brown rice and tomatoes, and my hubby can't tell the difference (I keep it a secret from him). :roll:

Thanks soooooooooooo much Fissy and cherylk!!!! I am really loving all the different options. Even though I do dread the thought of eating at times because I know that will bring on a BM...I still love the options!!!!
Fissy...I was debating on the tomato sauce a bit because I don't know if it will bother my butt...but I am assuming that I can dip my zucchini in a marinara sauce?????? I love zucchini that way. Not that I drown the zucchini in it, but just a touch satisfies me.
cherylk...I was just going to ask about the ground turkey. Yum....cabbage rolls made with ground turkey and cooked in tomato sauce....I wonder if that would be a dangeriuos combo??????
OMgoodness.....I am getting soooooooo hungry with all this food talk...even though I just ate some strawberries and pineapple mixed in pineapple juice (my snack for tonight)!

I think I would try cabbage rolls that way. Cooked cabbage is a good food to eat. That I how I got sooo thin. I really hated to have to think about eating 3 times a day. My original thought was that if I didn't eat very much, I would have less trouble with BM's. Wrong. My thinking just kind of went down hil from there. I was anorexic-like in that I was afraid of what to eat. And therefore, I ate no processed food and no desserts. Just oatmeal, bread, turkey, then switched to soups, tuna casseroles (that's another thing you can try) with carrots and potatoes, stuffed peppers, sweet potatoes, baked squash--in other words all lower calorie foods, no fried foods, and no desserts. No wonder I lost weight w/o even trying!!

cherylk wrote: I really hated to have to think about eating 3 times a day. My original thought was that if I didn't eat very much, I would have less trouble with BM's. Wrong. My thinking just kind of went down hil from there.

LOL....not that I am laughing at you, but when this first started I thought the same exact thing!!!! In all honesty...I was eating less (almost nothing) and having at least 6 BM's a day , which before the fissure I was lucky to have 1-2 BM's a day. The CRS said that it was probably from taking fiber. Even my hubby commented on how often I was going because I was never like that. Maybe the combo. of the fiber and the sphincter always feeling tight...I just always had to go. Thankfully...I am pretty much back to normal 1-2x/day unless I eat cooked veggies.
Now back to food :D ....What about halushki.....homemade potato dumplings with cabbage??? I make my dumplings with a couple of potatoes that I pulvarize in the food processor(the potato turns into mush) ...add a small amount of flour and 1 egg, and then I drop them by the teaspoon into boiling water and let them cook a few minutes until they float...and then of course add them to the cooked cabbage.

After I posted about the dumplings...I started thinking that they might not be a good idea. They are sorta heavy like gnocchi (sp?).

ha ha Fire - you made me laugh with dumplings and the change of thought !!!!! Yes - I do not think it would be good idea :roll: . As soon as you add flour and egg - it is basically PASTA
Regarding turkey - if you like it - by all means it is even better substitute !!!!!! ( I , unfortunately can clearly taste the "poultry" smell when it is cooked and can not eat it that way *sigh. I like only baked turkey and exclusively one that I bake . All others smell like ...well... turkey When I bake it it smells like good roast (suckling-pig) LOL )
Regarding tomato sauce- I do not see why would it be a problem unless you use some spicy kind with hot peppers inside or such :roll: . It can burn on the way out - otherwise, tomato sauce should be completely fine :D !!!
I am now craving pineapple now that you mentiond it LMAO !!!!! Have none at home at the moment so apricots will have to do : )))) !!!!!! I love apricots - ahhhhh, and the jams are just to die for I make my own - with brandy LMAO Old German receipt LOL
Oh yes - I forgot - peanut butter should be fine also :roll: especially if you mix it with jam !!!!! Since I excluded breads during my fissure time - I would add some dark-cherry jam (one with "chunks" of cherries visible) in my oatmeal - oh boy - that was yummyyyyy !!!!!!!!

Fire,
Do you live in the Midwest like I do???????????