Well, Hello, My Fellow Foodies!

I have decided to start a culinary blog ... my goal?

1. Advice for culinary tips & Crohn’s disease
2. Recipes
3. Photos
4. Networking

I am a graduate of SUNY Delhi with a BBA in Culinary Arts. I have my own personal chef business (Personal Chef Shannon). I also have recently been diagnosed with an early stage of Crohn’s disease.

Pretty much, Crohn’s disease is when your immune system attacks your intestines and makes ulcers in the intestinal tract (sounds like a fun time, I know) Any-who! I am still trying to figure out which foods and drinks work for Crohn’s and which ones do not — so far alcoholic drinks are a big no-no!

I normally do not drink soda (sugary carbonation is bad) or juice (too acidic), but I am currently staying away from dairy products, acidic foods, overly salty/sweet foods, red meat (is hard to digest) caffeine, deep fried foods and spicy food. I was also told by my doctor not to eat anything with seeds because they will get trapped in the ulcers (not good). Also, iced or hot beverages may overact your intestines because they would have to bring the substance down to temperature.

Remember: you do not want to make your digestive system work more than it has to!

I am not reading labels or driving myself crazy with foods that might contain dairy products, but I am not going around eating chunks of cheese and drinking glasses of milk and eating baskets of cheese fries, either.

I am on three types of medication right now:

1. Flagyl (infection from the ulcers)
2. Six mercaptopurine (immune modifier)
3. Sulfasalazine (inflammation)

Before taking these medications, I was not able to drink ice water without getting sick. I feel a lot better since taking the medications but I still have a long way to go — my body is still out of whack. So, until then, I will be giving my culinary advice for people suffering from Crohn's disease and for those with weak digestive systems.

New food experiences that I have found to be delicious:

• Rice milk – it almost tastes like non fat milk – has a little sweeter taste.
• Chocolate hemp milk – tastes like Nesquik! I heat it up to make hot chocolate in the winter.
• Coconut oil – it's great on toast – I will post more recipes with coconut oil!

Coconut oil is great for your digestive system! (Google it!)

On a side note, I have noticed that when eating bread products I get a sort of acid taste in my mouth — please let me know if anyone else is experiencing this!

Well, I guess that is all for now. I hope this is helpful/informative!

I will post recipes soon!

And be sure to check out my personal chef website!