How I Stopped Being Stubborn & Started Loving Pears

By Miranda

Recently I was craving one of my old favorite snacks: apple slices with peanut butter. I got sad about it for a little while, wishing I could just cheat on my diet without painful consequences, but I flare up easily from both apples and peanut butter, so I decided against it. A few days later it hit me; pears and almond butter would be a great substitution!



When I was first diagnosed with IC I couldn't believe that one of the only fruits left in my life would be pears. I literally hadn't consumed a pear in over 20 years at that point. I lived off apples, but I was completely unimpressed by pears for pretty much my whole life until about 3 years ago.

It took a little while for me to stop being stubborn and start loving pears, but luckily I gave in eventually. Now I eat (and enjoy) one almost everyday.

As it turns out, pear slices with almond butter make a great snack. Want to know a secret though? Pear slices with caramel dip make an even better one!

My IC Pantry

Photo by Joey Scotti

By Miranda

As not only an IC patient, but an OCD patient as well, I find comfort in order and certainty. So one of the first things I did when I started to develop my IC diet was to create my own essential IC pantry. These are the spices, extracts, and extras that I use on a daily basis in my cooking. They are the items that I consider so important, that you should never be able to walk into my kitchen and not be able to find them. They have all proven to be safe for my sensitivities (of course, what is safe for one IC patient is not always safe for the next).

I encourage all chronic pain patients to develop their own "essential pantries" filled with the goodies they have found to be safe and that they love to use in their cooking.

My Essential IC Pantry:

Sea salt
Organic sesame seeds
McCormick Perfect Pinch garlic pepper (No MSG)
Simply Organic garlic salt
Simply Organic garlic powder
Simply Organic cumin
All Natural olive oil
Organic sesame oil
Organic canola oil
Olivio butter
Natural sliced almonds
Ian's All Natural panko bread crumbs
Al natural baking soda
Florida Crystals organic brown sugar
Pure cane sugar
Vanilla sugar
Flavorganics vanilla syrup
Simply Organic vanilla extract
Organic almond butter
Local orange blossom honey

It's always hard when you first go on the IC diet and have to throw away pretty much everything in your pantry. That's why I decided to make a fun sort of game out of developing a whole new, healthy, all-natural pantry that is customized just for me! Finding the right items takes time and patience, but in the end, it's a great feeling to look in your closet and see a bunch of products that you can eat, feel good about, and watch the selection grow over time.