I'm thinking that it might make life easy for me in the beginning? I have not researched them yet, and I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile to have all the time (long term) or just in the beginning for soft/ pureed food? Also, what brand ,model, performance and cost was good for you. Oh yeah, easy clean up of course would be part of my quantry, how easy is yours to clean?

I might not be the best to respond to this BUT I do use my food processor daily. I have a Breville ($400). There are WAY less expensive ones. It does EVERYTHING. I never buy shredded cheese or pre shredded lettuce or cabbage or whatever. It does it for me. The slicer can be adjusted between 1 and 6 mm slices. It has nesting bowls. So when I'm post op and making different meals I can just use the small one and make a little without worrying about chopping consistency. I use my immersion blender for soups, but you can make it in there. I use it for chicken salad, egg salad, hummus, pesto, tuna, homemade "refried" beans, potatoes, salad, coleslaw, salsa, etc. I even use it to make Philly cheesesteaks because it slices the meat to the perfect width and tenderness. I got off on a tangent, sorry. Hope it helped.

Band aside, i couldnt live without a food processor!

I am a kitcheen gadget junkie and have not one, but 3 food processors. However, when it comes to pre and post op, my stick (immersion) blender is the best tool to have around. I have the Kitchen Aid one with the attachments. It purees, whips and beats. I find it makes the best protein shakes. It also comes with a mini chopper attachment that I use a lot for chopping herbs, making pesto, etc.