Food Stages

I see a lot of newbies asking what they can have during this or that stage of the pre/post op diet. Doctors give different diets to different patients; however the foods on the different stages are often very similar. Here are the 4 stages I had during my post op diet (straight from my post op paperwork):

Stage 1: Clear Liquids

· Water

· Broth or the clear liquid poured off of soup (strain out solids, no creamy soup)

· Black coffee (may be sweetened with artificial sweetener; preferably decaf)

· Clear juices (not OJ ~ it’s not clear); 100% juice (not from concentrate)

· Crystal Light

· Sugar-free Jello (with no solid fruit)

· Sugar-free Popsicles

· Gatorade/Powerade

· Herbal teas (caffeine-free)

Stage 2: Liquids

· All clear liquids

· Protein shakes (low-fat, low-carb)

· Fat-free milk

· Orange Juice

· Low-fat instant breakfast mixes

· V8 juice

Stage 3: Full Liquids

· All clear liquids

· All liquids

· Apple sauce

· Oatmeal/cream of wheat (thinned)

· Smoothies

· Low-fat creamy soups (strained out solids)

· Puréed soups/vegetables

· Low-fat, low-sugar pudding

· Low-fat, low-sugar yogurt

· Puréed fruit

· Low-fat ice cream/frozen yogurt

Stage 4: Soft food (aka Mushy)

· All of the items on the liquid food list

· Tuna/egg/chicken salad

· Well-cooked mushy vegetables (no stalk or crunchy vegetable)

· Thinned scrambled eggs (if tolerated)

· Baby food

· Soft, over-cooked pasta

· Soft canned fruit (in natural juice)

· Thinned mashed potatoes

· Soft sweet potatoes/yams

· Thinned oatmeal

· Greek yogurt

· Thinned low-fat refried beans

· Low-fat cottage cheese

· Soft/rip bananas

This is just what MY doctor had for ME. Your doctor will have different orders. I wanted to post this list to give an idea of some of the things on each list.

I hope this helps.