Insights · 4 min read
A printable flare-day meal planner for Crohn's and colitis
By Austin Hunter ·
Short answer
A flare-day meal plan is easiest to make before a flare, from your care team's guidance and the foods you know sit fine for you. The Flare-Day Meal Planner from Crohn's Food Tracker is a 16-page printable PDF ($6). It has pages for your care team's plan, your own safe-foods lists, four go-to meal cards, pantry and shopping lists, and seven flare-day logs. It doesn't tell you what to eat, and it isn't medical advice.
Why plan ahead
On a flare day you have little energy to decide what to eat. Writing down your care team's advice, your safe foods and a few simple meals in advance means you can follow your own plan instead of guessing.
What's inside
- My flare-day plan: who to call, and what your care team told you about eating, drinking and medicines, in their words.
- Foods that sat fine for me: blank lists by meal, filled in from your own records.
- Four go-to meal cards, a pantry and freezer list, and a shopping list.
- Seven flare-day logs and a week review: what you ate and how it sat, drinks, 14 symptoms with severity, energy and questions for your care team.
Questions
Does the planner suggest foods?
No. It helps you write down your own care team's guidance and the foods that have worked for you.
Is this medical advice?
No. Talk to your doctor or IBD care team about what to eat during a flare. Seek urgent care for severe pain, persistent bleeding, a high fever or signs of obstruction.
Can I use it with the food journal?
Yes. The 30-day food and symptom journal records your patterns; the flare-day planner turns them into a plan for hard days.