Sunny Anderson Shares Her Favorite Snack That Keeps Her Energized on Busy Work Days

Plus, the Food Network host talks about living with UC and favorite comfort foods.

Reviewed by Dietitian Emily Lachtrupp, M.S., RD

An estimated 1.25 million people have ulcerative colitis (UC), a form of irritable bowel disease (IBD), in the U.S. One of the people affected includes Food Network personality Sunny Anderson, and she recently partnered with Pfizer to spread the word about this common condition.

The Kitchen co-host sat down with EatingWell to talk more about her Pfizer partnership, including her involvement with the "Live Fully" campaign to bring awareness on how UC can be impacting your life. Plus, Anderson unveils her favorite on-set snack, the comfort meal she's looking forward to making this fall and her philosophy on eating well. Read to learn more about her experience with UC and her favorite foods in this exclusive interview.

Related: Common Inflammatory Conditions and the Signs and Symptoms to Watch Out For

EatingWell: How long has it been since you have been diagnosed with UC, and how have you been able to manage this diagnosis with your job in the food and television industry?

Anderson: In 1994, when I was diagnosed at 19, I was in broadcasting for the military, so I wasn't in a food job yet. But it didn't matter because I was still in a food life! I love eating, and I love cooking, which is why I'm really happy to actually progress into a job where I can immerse myself in food. In the beginning, it wasn't difficult to make any changes. It was more so paying attention to my body, which is really what got me to medical professionals in the first place. I started noticing some symptoms, and I paid attention. I wish I would've gone immediately when I noted some of the changes, but some things had to start adding up for me to say, "Okay, I need to talk to someone." After I was diagnosed, it was more of the same: just listening to my body, talking to the medical professionals and letting them guide me through the process.

EatingWell: What's a common misconception that you have faced when sharing your UC diagnosis with others?

Anderson: I think for any disease, there's a lot of misinformation out there. I think in the very beginning, before we had companies like Pfizer—which I'm working with now and I'm so happy to—amplifying the voices of people with ulcerative colitis, there was a lot of confusion between IBS and IBD. Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease, and IBS is irritable bowel syndrome, they're two separate things. I think in the beginning, when I would tell people that I have IBD, they would quickly think it's IBS. Sure, there were some misunderstandings in the beginning interpersonally when you're trying to explain to people what you're going through. But that was in the early '90s, when there was no internet and a lot of people couldn't do their own research, so that's why it's really cool now. We got the website ThisIsLivingWithUC.com, and if you talk to people, there's a place to point them to to get all the information and resources.

EatingWell: What are your favorite foods or recipes that you have gravitated towards to help manage your UC symptoms?

Anderson: The cool thing is, I actually have shared some recipes that are available on the website. There's sliders and couscous salad and fish tacos and things like that. Personally for me, there's certain things for everyone where certain ingredients or ways that they're prepared could exacerbate their symptoms. And very early on, I was aware of those things by keeping notes because my medical professionals and GI doctors really emphasized that. It's kind of become second nature. This is the cool thing: I'm actually on Food Network and I have cookbooks now and I develop recipes, so people can see that I have ulcerative colitis and it really hasn't stopped me from living fully and really enjoying food the way I did before I was diagnosed.

EatingWell: Do you have any favorite snacks that you always have on hand to keep you satisfied on busy work days?

Anderson: One of my favorite snacks—it's so boring—is a banana. I actually have a banana with me right now, because I wake up talking! I wake up talking, and I go to sleep talking. I like a banana because it's filling, it's nutritious, plus it keeps your mouth moist, if you will. But I love making quick things like a kitchen-sink quesadilla where I just go in and clear out the meat drawer. You can do anything, you can make a ham and cheese quesadilla and pretend it's a crepe, if you want! I love that, it's really, really quick and you can just put it in the pan, melt some cheese and put some protein in there, fold it in half and you're good to go, with maybe a little shake of hot sauce if I feel daring that day.

Related: I Have Chronic Inflammation & These Are the Anti-Inflammatory Snacks I Always Have on Hand

EatingWell: What's your morning routine like?

Anderson: I feed the dogs first, which you know if you have dogs, they come first. And then I make breakfast. Usually breakfast for me is like a smoothie vibe, I used to just do coffee with a bagel or muffin or something like that, but I think since I've gotten older now, I want to get more nutrients in me. And drinking them is the easiest way to do it, because I'm still a baby! It helps that I have a garden, so I'll take some stuff out of the garden. I feel like you can put blueberries and strawberries with anything green, and you don't even notice the green. So I'll make a smoothie and drink that for breakfast. It helps me because I can't just sit and stop and eat with a house of 5 dogs and 3 cats and I'm doing emails and phone calls, it's nice to have something portable to walk around with.

EatingWell: Favorite fall foods or comfort meals?

Anderson: I can't wait to just slow-cook stew stuff. The slow cooker just makes everything happen. The one thing about slow cookers is, they say "set it and forget it," but who ever sets it and forgets it? You're thinking about that thing all day long, so I can't wait to put a pork shoulder in my slow cooker. I have a recipe online where I use peanut butter and salsa, it sounds so counterintuitive, but it's delicious. And I love the holidays, we're getting into that fall holiday season, so I think anything that slow cooks is delicious. Even greens, I love collard and turnip greens that cook for 8 hours and you can smell it. It always tastes better when you have to wait for it.

Get the Recipe: Sunny's Easy 4-Ingredient Pulled Pork

EatingWell: Let's talk more about your partnership with Pfizer. What is the "Live Fully" campaign and how important has it been for you to work with your doctor since your UC diagnosis?

Anderson: As someone with ulcerative colitis that has the ability to talk to as many people as I do, I am just overjoyed to have the ability to tell more people about what ulcerative colitis is for me and invite them into the community of awareness. Pfizer understands that ulcerative colitis is something important to shine a light on; over a million people have ulcerative colitis in the states. It's either someone you know or someone you work with, or a family member. I think it's so important because when I was diagnosed at 19, there wasn't a lot of information that you can share locally or even globally. But now we have the internet and the ability to educate more people about what ulcerative colitis is. Partnering with Pfizer and ThisIsLivingWithUC.com being a website they put together which has all kinds of resources on it, even an app you can download, it really feels good. Who would think that years after being diagnosed, I would be in a position to do something and help people feel comfortable with the diagnosis?

When you think about people that are willing to talk about ulcerative colitis, there's not that many. And hopefully, me getting out there and talking about it will open the doors for others to be comfortable with it.

EatingWell: What does "eating well" mean to you?

Anderson: At 48, eating well to me means making a plate of what I want to eat, but realizing I can't fit it all in! My eyes are literally bigger than my stomach. I was telling someone earlier, I like to go to a restaurant and order 5 things and not finish them all because I just want to eat stuff. Eating well to me is saying, "Hey, you can eat on Monday and save room for Tuesday. You don't have to eat the entire week in one day." That has actually really helped me take better care of myself. I think another tentacle of eating well is growing your own food. I can't grow everything, but I have to tell you, when I crack into an eggplant that I grew, the flavor? Oh my god, if more people could find ways to grow for themselves, it adds essence.

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Read the original article on Eating Well.