To pick your brains

[Angelicinnocent]

Posting here for traffic, not an aibu.

My 12 DN has been told she has ibs. My sil has asked me to teach her to cook a few things that she can eat as my sil is a terrible cook (her words). They basically live on what comes out of the freezer and into the oven on a tray.

Unfortunately, I know nothing about ibs and what she should or shouldn't be eating so would be grateful for some ideas.

Sil and I have never particularly got on so she must be desperate to ask me and I don't want my DN suffering.

[MabelTheCow]

Different people's IBS can be set off by different things. I've got a friend who has real problems with most meats (not chicken or fish) and can't even have food cooked in the same pan/spot on the BBQ etc but another who is set off by anything "heavy" or saucy but not specific ingredients.

[Justmadeperfectflapjacks]

Help her with a food diary and work out her trigger foods.
My dd can't eat some fruits but others are OK. . Trial and error before the cooking lessons!!

[Wolfiefan]

She's 12? And expected to prepare every meal for herself? Totally unacceptable. SIL needs to act like an adult. Can't cook? Learn.

[Angelicinnocent]

Wolfie, sorry I've not explained very well, sil wants to be taught to cook

[Wolfiefan]

Phew! Ok. I shall unhitch my judgy pants!

What has the specialist or GP suggested as foods to avoid?

[Angelicinnocent]

She's waiting to see the consultant. GP has just said to improve her diet. I've asked sil what DN has eaten for the last few days

Today frosties. Ham and cheese spread wrap, crisps and lucozade

Yesterday frosties. Ham and cheese spread wrap, crisps and lucozade. Chicken nuggets and chips

Sunday no breakfast, pot noodle, biscuits and crisps. Scampi and frozen jacket spuds.

Seems to be a serious lack of fruit and vegetable involved imo. Do I just teach her to make some casserole type things to start with and stress the importance of swapping out crisps and biscuits for fruit?

[froyotogo]

It really does depend on what she has to avoid but clearly her diet needs cleaning up :) without losing her treats as its going to be difficult enough as it is.

Maybe start with mini muffins, flour, butter eggs, carrots and cheese. carrots and cheese can be changed for ANYTHING, banana and raisin, potato and broccoli. recipes online.

Then maybe a mince dishes, spag bol, cottage pie, meatball, pasta ragu. so once mince is cooked to add variety add different things like pepper and tin tomato for spag bol, carrots and peas for pie, sweetcorn for ragu etc all of the above can be put on jackets.

Casseroles are easy just put stuff in a pot, add and oxo cube and its done.

Homemade biscuit, scones and fairy cakes for treats. all with dried fruit thrown in. Chop fruit and cover with yogurt. She may prefer tin fruit and even that's a good start if she's not eating any.

Please get them to ditch the Lucozade.

Good luck, this is a really kind thing for you to do. I remember teaching my brother to make a chuncky soup and also a spag bol. He says his world shifted as his food was tastier. He still eats the rubbish but fills up on better foods first.

[FanaticalFox]

She doesn't have IBS shes just eating a lot of crap and its giving her the shits. SIL needs to learn to cook ANYTHING basic and healthy and i guarantee after a few weeks DN "symptoms" will clear up.

[Angelicinnocent]

Right, going to teach her to make beef stew, pork and peach casserole, cottage pie and oriental chicken. Then nag the hell out of her to put cucumber sticks and cherry tomatoes in with the lunch instead of crisps. Also fresh strawberries and raspberries with a little bit of melted chocolate to dip them in for after dinner.

Until I asked what they had eaten for last few days, I didn't realise how bad their diet was. I was expecting to need to add or take away stuff, not just teach a grown woman what is a healthy diet for her DD.

Further investigation reveals that she never, ever cooks veg and doesn't "understand" fruit.

Going to have to remove my judgy pants before I see her tomorrow. Got to take her to the supermarket!

[Wolfiefan]

If I ate that I would be very unwell too.
A roast chicken is easy to do. Leftovers can also be useful.
Steamed veg or boiled frozen veg is easy too
Ditch the frosties. Boil an egg?
Lucozade is shit. Water would be better.
Pasta dishes?
Stir fries?

[Spam88]

Yeah looking at her current diet I think just teaching any basics that involve vegetables would be a good start (bolognese etc).

As others have said, she'll need to keep a food diary to work out her triggers, but a few general rules for IBS are not too much fruit (Dr told me no more than 2 portions a day) and avoid too much fibre, particularly insoluble fibre - so oats and rye are good, wheat not so much, especially whole grain.

[Angelicinnocent]

Then I'll have to think up a few more things for next week