In 15 years of working with people with IBD, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, not one person has ever told me they feel better when they eat out.
Not. A. One.
The overwhelming majority report the opposite — they almost always feel better when they eat home-cooked meals.
Restaurant food can upset even the strongest guts.
And even when people are careful, meals away from home tend to be larger, fattier, and full of ingredients they may not usually eat at home.
But it’s not just about avoiding symptoms.
What we eat consistently matters for more than symptoms. It shapes our gut microbiome, affects inflammation, and may play a role in long-term disease outcomes.
A few weeks ago I wrote about a review article showing that people with IBD care deeply about diet — many consider it just as important as their medication.
Knowing that doesn’t automatically translate to more home-cooked meals.
By the time dinner rolls around, you’re tired. The refrigerator looks empty. Nobody agrees on what sounds good. And somehow making a simple meal feels harder than it should.
It’s “Junecember” in my house, and between school events, sports, and all the end-of-year obligations, I forgot to carve out time to eat dinner last night, let alone decide what to eat.
My guess is many of you can relate, which got me thinking about the things that help get more well-balanced meals on the table, even during the busiest seasons.
Before I share what helps, one thing: if you’re in a flare or not feeling well, this is not the moment to put more pressure on yourself.
It’s completely okay to eat the same few safe, nourishing foods on rotation until you’re feeling better.
The goal during a flare is to eat enough calories and protein to support healing — not to optimize every aspect of your diet.
When you’re feeling well enough to be more intentional, here’s what can help.
➡️ Find a cooking buddy. My brother and I used to live a few blocks from each other. Every Sunday evening in the winter, we’d cook together — each making something different, then splitting it so we both went home with variety instead of a week of the same leftovers. It made eating well so much easier, and it helped with the Sunday blues too.
➡️ Put it in your calendar. Meal planning, grocery shopping, prep, and cooking time all need to be on the calendar like anything else. If it’s not scheduled, it’s less likely to get done.
➡️ Try themed nights. They take the decision fatigue out of weekly meal planning and make it easier to shop ahead.
➡️ You don’t have to cook everything from scratch. A rotisserie chicken, pre-washed greens, frozen vegetables. Leaning on pre-prepared items still counts as cooking at home.
➡️ Redefine what counts as a meal. Scrambled eggs with avocado toast. Baked chicken tenders and a microwaved sweet potato. Greek yogurt with fruit and cereal. A sandwich and soup. Leftovers in a bowl.
➡️ Try reframing cooking as active rest. Not another task to check off. An hour where you’re doing something with your hands, stepping away from screens, and ending up with something good to eat. The cooking doesn’t change, but the way it feels might.
➡️ Consider a personal chef service. Companies like Sous are popping up in more cities. If it’s in your budget, it’s one of the most effective ways to get home-cooked meals on the table with minimal effort on your end.
⭐️ Bonus: if takeout is happening for lunch or dinner, decide what you’re ordering in the morning. Before you’re too hangry to think straight and too tired to care — when all you know is what you don’t want 🙋♀️ and that’s when the choices that don’t feel great the next day start looking pretty good.
