Clear liquid diets

Cooking Discussions Specific Diets
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The following foods are generally allowed in a clear liquid diet:

  • Water (plain, carbonated or flavored)
  • Fruit juices without pulp, such as apple or white grape juice
  • Fruit-flavored beverages, such as fruit punch or lemonade
  • Carbonated drinks, including dark sodas (cola and root beer)
  • Gelatin
  • Tea or coffee without milk or cream
  • Strained tomato or vegetable juice
  • Sports drinks
  • Clear, fat-free broth (bouillon or consomme)
  • Honey or sugar
  • Hard candy, such as lemon drops or peppermint rounds
  • Ice pops without milk, bits of fruit, seeds or nuts

Trying to make the most of it. Shrubs might work, but for my purposes, red shrubs are ccx a no go.
Iā€™m thinking of maybe mastering consomme and aspic, or mayve "jello ". Some lists say white wine is a clear liquid. Any other ideas?

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If you have a colonoscopy scheduled, alcohol is a hard no.

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Going back and forth about whether mango jello is okay. Some lists say no orange.

From Stop Colon Cancer

NOTE: It is important that you do not have any red, orange, blue or purple dye in any of your liquids. This can interfere with the colonoscopy and dye your intestines.

  • Clear, carbonated drinks like ginger ale, 7-Up or Sprite
  • Black coffee and hot tea (no cream)
  • Jell-O or gelatin without fruit
  • Fruit juices
  • Powder drink mixes added to water
  • Hard candy that is transparent
  • Fat-free broth (vegetable, chicken or beef) or consommĆ©
  • Popsicles (make sure they are dairy free)
  • Italian ice

Here are a few tips:

  • Learn to like lemon-lime . Yellow and green are ā€œyesā€ colors when it comes to a colonoscopy, so choose lemon-lime Jell-O, Gatorade and hard candy.
  • Drink lots of soda. Carbonation makes you feel full. Try some soda that you rarely drink, like root beer. It will make you feel like a kid again.
  • Try eating cold Jell-O, then hot broth . Supposedly, this fills you up. The warm liquid expands the gelatin in your stomach and presto! Your tummy is not growling anymore!
  • Try to find interesting popsicle flavors like banana, green apple, or pineapple. The most popular flavors of popsicles are grape, cherry and orangeā€”all no-no colors!

From kiss in the kitchen-a-comical-and-creative-approach

And from an old favorite of mine, Gardenweb.

I especially like this from heatherlove ( but blah blah blah about checking with your doctor first)

I know this is a older forum but i thought i would post ideas for others looking for this too. My husband is having this test this week & i was searching for things for him because he has had a hard time with this 3 days liquid dietā€¦ (Be sure to ask your dr if you have questions about any of these before you try it) and i have more for the 1st day liquid diet and a list of light foods to use at the first of the prep. The prep is so much worse than
The test itā€™s self. Good luck to all :slight_smile:

Clear Liquid Drink Recipes
NO RED OR PURPLE COLORED ITEMS & no milk based or fiber items eitherā€¦

High Protein Fruit Drink
8 oz commercial clear liquid nutritional drink
1/2 cup sorbet (no seeds in this!)
6 ounces ginger ale
Mix all ingredients and blend until smooth

Fruit Fizz
1 cup clear fruit juice from your clear liquid list (ie. apple juice/white grape juice.
1/2 cup sparkling water
1/2 cup ice
Blend ice and juice until slushy. Pour in glass and add
sparkling water

Frozen Fruit Slush
1-6 oz can of frozen clear juice concentrate
4 tbsp sugar (if u want it)
3 cups crushed ice
Mix all ingredients and blend until smooth

Lemon Lime Slushie
Juice from two limes
Juice from one lemon
1 cup sparkling water
1 cup ice
4 tsp. sugar or to taste
Blend ice and juice until slushy. Pour in glass and add
sparkling water
Home-made ice pops can also be made using fruit juice, a sports drink or other favorite clear liquids.
Remember: no red or purple liquids.

And if your looking for a hot ā€œmealā€ other than beef or chicken broth, you can drink the jello while warm (i know i know, but its diffrent. My mom called it jello soup :). ) also use chicken broth, and root veggeis, boil for 20mins, season to taste then strain it, you will have a good clear broth.
Japanese or Chinese soups are really good, you can get them ready to go as take out too.

And you can use the meal replacement shakes on the first day ā€œliquid dietā€ (not clear liquid part) to make some great mealsā€¦

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Wow 3 days of that, Iā€™m hungry just thinking about it.

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:blush:

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I had a colonoscopy last week. The diet was liquids only on the day before (the two days previous to that I was allowed very basic foods - grilled chicken and mashed potato, poached salmon & rice were my two dinners).

On the liquids only day, I got up early so I could have a light breakfast (slice of toast) 24 hours before the procedure. Other than that, I drank a glass of orange juice, black coffee and, at usual meal times, a drink made from a beef stock cube. Iā€™m also a Type 2 diabetic so was advised to also take sugary drinks - I drank Lucozade but anything would do. And water of course - particularly once the effects of the Moviprep had started, so I didnt dehydrate.

By the by, nothing obviously nasty found during the procedure but a couple of polyps have been sent off for biopsy. Good to have it out of the way - I should have been having the procedure back in March but it was Covid-cancelled,

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Itā€™s a couple of days, not a lifestyle change.

I think I was 2 days on the clear liquids. Coffee was allowed (I dont use cream) and I ate jello and broth. I dont remember drinking soda (that much sugar on an empty stomach is nauseating anyway).

Just follow the instructionsā€¦none of itā€™s going to matter once he starts drinking the special laxative anyway. Its vile and theres no way to make it betterā€¦and you drink what seems like gallons of it.

Hope the results are what mine wereā€¦a perfectly normal, healthy pink gut.

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A nurse in the colonoscopy docā€™s office once told me that clear liquids for 2 or 3 (better) days gives you the easiest ā€˜preā€™ experience and that they donā€™t stress that to patients bc too many just wouldnā€™t come for the procedure.
Also, I find the liquid meds they want you to drink totally nauseating. I just gag on the stuff. There are pills but they have a black box warning because it was found that patients were not drinking the required water with the pills which caused dehydration etc. My doc will give me pills knowing I will drink the required water. I find the pills much easier.

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Chicken or bone broth is what gets me through it.

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Iā€™ve had two, and am way overdue for my next one. Neither instructions for the procedures required a 3 day liquid diet. I do remember the advisory of no nuts, seeds, and some extremely high fiber type foods. The first time, I had to stop eating at noon the day before the colonoscopy at 3:00 pm. I got miserable, tired and very hungry. The next time, I scheduled for 8:30 am, and didnā€™t need to start prep til 6 pm the day before. The difference between the two was amazing with the early am exam being so much easier. On both occasions I had to drink the GoLightly, vile stuff that it is.

All that said, next time I have one, am thinking about adding some plain gelatin to a tasty broth for aspic. Thatā€™s all I can think of beyond @shrinkrapā€˜s great list and ideas. But I will indeed schedule for an early am one.

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ā€œThe difference between the two was amazing with the early am exam being so much easier.ā€

Yes!

Just to be clear, I dont know anyone that recommends three days clear liquid for a colonoscopy, although some suggest dietary changes a few days prior.

Also, I absolutely appreciate that itā€™s a small bit of time, and better than colon cancer and itā€™s treatment, a colostomy, or dying.

I thought I would collect some ideas for fun, since some of us will need to do this more frequently than every ten years.

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Went through this 6 weeks ago. Drank a lot of Gatorade and ate jello. Had some boxed chicken stock in the cabinet but that stuff is nasty to drink straight up. I had some of my homemade stock which was worlds better but not quite as ā€œclearā€ although still qualified I assume as there was no issues prep wise. My hernia prevented access to some areas so they want to do it again after the hernia repair. Itā€™s been repaired but not rushing back for a repeat performance and going under general anesthesia for a 4th time in 2 months

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I can totally see this.

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According to my gastroenterologist, another reason the pills are unadvisable is that they can leave a slight residue that makes it more likely that yhe colonoscopy will miss a problem spot.

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I made jello using a packet of unflavored gelatin and white grape juice, because I donā€™t care for apple juice. I used just 12 ounces, so it felt more like solid food.

Refrigerating half of the prep dulls the unpleasant flavor, as does drinking it through a straw placed at the back of the mouth, to bypass taste buds. But most people shiver if they drink all of it cold, so alternate.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NoiJbuzgeYo. Lots of good advice on prep from a colonoscopy nurse.

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I had been expecting that but the Moviprep had a citrussy flavour that made it OK for me to drink.

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Coconut water? Thereā€™s some delicious ā€œrawā€ versions now - I like Harmless Harvest.

Bone broth can be flavored many ways - you could do ā€œplain,ā€ indian-ish (a few whole spices, cilantro, aromatics added to the mix while cooking), asian-ish (aromatics, lemongrass), and so on.

Iā€™m a big fan of plain water too.

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Very good thought @Saregama! Itā€™s great for electrolytes and all that too. A source of carbs and some sugars also, as I know you know. Didnā€™t even cross my mind. Think you could make an interesting gelatin with it too - perhaps with a little sweetener and a bit of coconut extract.

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Thanks for participating everyone!

I have learned a lot about the store bought varieties of bone broth, and ā€œstocked upā€ a bit. One came in a microwavable bottle, and I tried a Thai inspired one that wasnā€™t bad.

Even after reading though, other than potential benefits of collagen, why might it be different than broth?

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I also added some drink mix. Unfortunately at one point I added too much. That wasnā€™t good.