Prepping for Prepping

After years of on-again off-again stomach troubles, my last few months have been filled with gastroenterologist appointments and tests of various kinds. Finally, on Tuesday, I have the big one...a colonoscopy. (Also having another endoscopy, but that's nothing new.) It's obviously not a fun, exciting topic, but I think it's important for people with tummy troubles to know there are others dealing with them, too. I know I'm forever grateful for my Sisterhood of the Spastic Insides for their support.

Since I'm a vegetarian and mostly stick to a vegan whole foods diet, the lists of foods acceptable for colonoscopy prep were troubling: chicken or beef broth, Gatorade, and all the (non-red) Jello your heart desires. The looming 24+ hours of a clear liquid diet were upsetting enough without all this. So I've been obsessing over/planning my menu for weeks. If I'm not going to be eating food, I at least want to "eat" well.

My Vegan Colonoscopy Prep / Clear Liquid Diet Menu

• Flavored seltzer water 
• Vegetable stock 
• Coconut water (for mixing with the Miralax prep - Gatorade? No thanks) 
• Vita Coco sports drinks 
• White grape juice 
• Café Bustelo 
• Coffee vegan jello 
• Grape vegan jello 
• Grape juice slushies 
• Multiple types of tea

I expect that I'm overplanning here, but I want to have options. This only has to keep me functional until I leave work at noon. At home I can lounge and nap until the real fun begins. More on that later.