Ulcerative Colitis? Try These Dessert Recipes

About 1 million people in the U.S. have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. IBD can damage the digestive tract, causing ulcers and inflammation.

Choosing the right foods can help control symptoms, which include crampy abdominal pain and severe diarrhea.

It can take trial and error to find the food that works best for you, but these low-fiber, nondairy recipes—reprinted with permission from The Culinary Couple's Creative Colitis Cookbook—may help.

Serves 6

Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 3/4 cups water, 1 tbsp grated grapefruit zest, 1 1/4 cups freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice, 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1 egg white

Combine sugar, grapefruit zest, and water. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat when sugar has dissolved. Add pink grapefruit juice and lemon juice.

Transfer sorbet mix to a storage container and refrigerate for six hours. Add lightly beaten egg white to mixture and combine thoroughly.

Freeze sorbet mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Place sorbet in a sealed container and place in the freezer for 2 hours before serving.

Serves 6–8

Ingredients: 1/2 cup vegetable shortening, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 cup flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 cup soy sour cream, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 tbsp vegetable shortening

Thoroughly combine the vegetable shortening and sugar with an electric mixer. Add eggs and vanilla. Sift the dry ingredients together and add, along with soy sour cream, to the batter. Stir.

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine brown sugar, 1 tbsp vegetable shortening, and cinnamon. Spray a circular tube or Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Pour batter into the pan. Sprinkle the brown sugar topping on the batter's surface. Run a knife through the batter to slightly incorporate the brown sugar mixture. Bake for 50–55 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes. Invert onto a serving plate. Dust with powdered sugar and serve.

Makes 12–18 bar cookies

Ingredients: 1 cup flour, 1/3 cup confectionery sugar, 5 tbsp solid vegetable shortening, 1 cup sugar, 2 tbsp flour, 2 tsp lemon zest, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 eggs, 7 tbsp lemon juice

Combine 1 cup flour, confectionery sugar, and solid vegetable shortening. Using a fork or a pastry blender, combine until the mixtures become a coarse meal. Press mixture into the bottom of an 11″ x 7″ lightly greased baking dish.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, flour, lemon zest, baking powder, salt, and eggs, and whisk until blended. Pour the mixture over the baked crust.

Return the baking dish to the oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes. Cut into 12 squares and dust with confectionery sugar.

Makes 24 cookies

Ingredients: 6 tbsp solid vegetable shortening, 1 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tbsp orange zest, 1 tbsp lemon zest, 1 tbsp lime zest, 2 cups flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder

With an electric mixer, cream the solid vegetable shortening and the sugar together until combined. Add the eggs, vanilla, citrus zest, and continue mixing. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, salt, and baking powder together.

Add the sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix until a dough forms. Divide the dough into two pieces. Form each piece into a log shape that is 12 inches in length and place them on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350°. Remove the biscotti logs from the oven and cool for 15 minutes. Slice each log on an angle with a serrated knife into 12 to 14 pieces. Place the slices back on the baking sheet and bake for 5 to 7 minutes.