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This will be my first holiday season since surgery and was wondering if anyone had some good suggestions for holiday recipes. I'm worried about dry turkey, mushy dressing to get stuck etc. Thanks

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I just posted a great recipe for pumpkin pie cupcakes on my blog: Violinist With A Band: Happy Halloween! And pumpkin Pie Cupcakes!

I love these cupcakes, and they are relatively low calories (under 100 calories per cupcake). A great holiday dessert!

I don't eat meat (well I eat seafood, but not poultry, pork, red meat etc) so I can't offer too much info about the turkey. Just take VERY small bites and chew chew chew! And I guess try not to get wrapped up in everyone around you stuffing their faces. Just eat until you feel satisfied and then stop.

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This will be my second TG with a band. I don't remember having trouble with anything at all last year and I was 8 months banded by then.

We usually have smoked turkey. Perhaps that's a bit moister than regular roasted? If I do a roast turkey, I use a big turkey roaster that has a lid, comes out moister than just a roasting pan and tinfoil.

You might consider eating the dark meat from the turkey...or putting a tiny bit of gravy on it to help it slide down.

I think I made two dressings, one regular for my son and one with lots and lots of veggies in it.

I made the traditional green bean casserole, but used non fat or reduced fat Soup, cut way back on the fried onions and used ff milk.

I think I made some kind of cranberry/orange sauce from scratch that used splenda instead of the canned stuff.

Baked sweet potatoes in their jackets (in the skins).

Made spinach madeleine..used ff canned milk, soy flour and extra spinach.

A hospital near me is going to have a class Nov. 9 teaching diabetics how to have a healthier thanksgiving. I asked if the class would be beneficial to bariatric patients and they said it should be. So if it fits into my schedule, I'm planning to go and see what tricks/tips I can learn. Maybe a hospital or other health group near you would have something similar.

Just think about how to make food moister or less doughy and reduce fat & calories in your favorite dishes.

Have fun!! We have time to try things out now before the big date. :wink2:

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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