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Any recipes to help my permanently constipated, veg. hating 11 yo ds?

16 replies

sunev · 22/01/2014 11:11

Help!! ds has inherited my sluggish digestive system and his dad's love of white bread/dislike of anything green. He will eat fruit (though not so keen on exotic stuff like kiwi fruit) and will eat carrots, onions, tomatoes, mushrooms. Anything else he will try a mouthful only or I have to hide it in tomato sauces or gravy.

Problem is, I am a vegetarian and a rubbish cook so struggle with what to cook him (he is definitely a meat and fish lover). For me, I would be happy throwing vegetables and lentils in a pot, cooking it, and living off that for 3-4 days at a time. So when it comes to cooking meat & veg I am at a total loss.

Can anyone give me recipes or ideas that will help? Please give simple instructions with the recipes and assume I know nothing about cooking, I will not take offence!

Thank you.


ps He has plenty of wholemeal bread/cereal so really want to work on the veg side of things. Would like to help him tactfully rather than going to GP as he also had problems bedwetting, now sorted, and he feels quite down about needing help with both.

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stargirl1701 · 22/01/2014 11:12

Prunes? Lots of water? Lots of exercise?

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sunev · 22/01/2014 11:22

All good points. He drinks a lot due to the bedwetting and we do remind him about this, we are encouraging him to be more active but could always do more. Prunes are lovely, I eat loads, will try them on him. Cooked bran muffins with dates in them the other day so plan more of that sort of thing, but need to find recipes that are tasty as well as healthy so it's not a battle.

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funnyossity · 22/01/2014 11:37

Something we've found helped : linseeds on cereal.

Also at 11 he could be expected to accept eating at least a small amount of the (least hated) green veg, avoiding constipation must be an incentive. If he'll eat veg with gravy then veg and meat casseroles sound a good bet.

Would he try chopped raw veg with a dip?

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stargirl1701 · 22/01/2014 12:28

I have IBS and I don't find fibre helpful at all. Only soluble fibre keeps me regular.

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Bonsoir · 22/01/2014 12:33

A high-fibre breakfast of weetabix, an apple and an orange with a large glass of water is an easy way to keep your bowels in check.

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Lancelottie · 22/01/2014 12:34

Movicol soup?

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phdlife · 22/01/2014 12:35

Fibre on its own is no good - turns to cement unless there's lots of water in diet as well. Exercise is a factor as well. We went through a very bad time with my veg/fruit-loving ds being constipated because he didn't drink enough.

good luck.

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EstoyAqui · 22/01/2014 12:35

Popcorn. It always gets things moving. I second the linseed also.

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ShoeWhore · 22/01/2014 12:38

Lamb tagine with dried apricots in might be a good one to try if you don't mind cooking meat? Not only are dried apricots but the veg really break down in the sauce if you give it a long slow cook (cut it small to help with this too)

I also put red lentils in chilli and bolognese - if you get the quantity right they are pretty much undetectable and add useful hidden fibre Smile

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frugalfuzzpig · 22/01/2014 12:40

You could blitz up veg into stuff like pasta sauce (although maybe the blitzing would reduce the fibre like a smoothie compared to fruit?) or add lentils to bolognaise?

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Domus · 22/01/2014 12:51

Would smoothies help?

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spilttheteaagain · 22/01/2014 18:42

I've definitely read that actually we'd been misled over the years about fibre. People think it is automatically helpful, but apparently it's soluble fibre (fruit/veg/nuts/seeds) that goes through nicely, and insoluble fibre (wholegrains etc) acts to clog up the bowel with masses of stuff.

So I would try and reduce the grain consumption and do what you can re the fruit/veg/nuts/seeds. Shrink the portions of pasta/rice/bread or look up low carb recipes as they often suggest alternatives. An idea might be instead of spag bol/lasagne turn it into moussaka - same mince with shredded veg in tomato sauce base, but top with slices of fried aubergine, then a thin layer of white sauce, bit of grated cheese and stick in the oven for half an hour. Have with salad/veg of choice.

Pasta bake without the pasta? Just fry up the chicken/bacon or whatever meat with chunks of carrot/onion/pepper/broccoli whatever veg, add tomato or cheese sauce, mix together, put in oven dish and top with cheese and bake.

Would he snack on a mix of any of almonds/walnuts/pecans/brazils/cashews/sunflower seeds etc with apricots/prunes/figs?

With lots of baking recipes you can switch half or more of the flour for the same weight of ground almonds without culinary disaster - might be worth trying.

You can make a cheesecake base by putting pecans and dates in the food processor and blending until crumb like. Then just press into the tin. Then top as usual with beaten sweetened cream cheese and fruit of choice.

Does he eat salady bits like raw carrot/cucumber/cherry tomatoes/pepper/chunk of precooked vac packed beetroot? If so, this with a bit of cold meat and or cheese & nuts would make an ideal lunch and also translate quite well to a packed lunch.

Breakfast you could try proper greek yogurt with banana/berries in/with it with some nuts/seeds if wanted on top.
Eggs? Scrambled eggs with fried mushrooms? and baked beans?

Good luck. I have a constipated toddler. Horrible isn't it.

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kazzawazzawoo · 22/01/2014 19:25

What works for some people doesn't work for everyone, worth bearing in mind.

I have IBS and most of these things don't work for me. I have cut out white flour. Fibre doesn't help much.

I try to eat lots of green veg, drink 2 litres of water a day and also take magnesium tablets twice a day. I also have cut down on dairy - that can cause constipation in some people too. Lots of good fat (butter, olive oil) helps keep things moving for me too.

I hope your Ds finds some relief.

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meeps · 22/01/2014 19:48

I make sure my son has a glass of smoothie a day, and often a fruit pouch or tube (the innocent range) in packed lunches. Plus a minimum of 4 full glasses of water or squash. He knows to tell me if he needs a bit more help then I tend to do a vegetable soup, butternut squash is a simple favourite. Exercise helps him too, and toilet time is part of his daily routine after a bath.

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sunev · 22/01/2014 21:33

Thanks everyone, it's definitely green veg and stuff like lentils that is missing from his diet. Nuts are a good idea, always forget about them.

Will try some of the suggestions here and have another talk with him about why he needs veg. If I can 'sneak' food into his diet e.g. by chopping very small then gradually bigger chunks I can sometimes get him to accept things he would instinctively say 'yuck' to.

He used to love broccoli - called it green trees. Just wish he wasn't so stubborn!

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phdlife · 22/01/2014 22:14

Some genius MNer came up with what she called a "dambuster" recipe to sort out constipation - iirc it blended prunes and lentils, can't remember what else - might be worth looking it up.

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