My wife will be having the surgery sometime in Sept. As a husband (who is the cook of the house) what sort of things should I cook, and how should I cook them? I mean is is all just baked or grilled (which is all I do now anyway), Are there certain meats that are not allowed? How hard is it going to be to cook different meals for her and the rest of the family? Any Lap Band SPOUSES feel the same way I do? Just curious

You're a good man! I've got one myself that loves to cook and is very supportive, too. We eat a lot of ground turkey breast. I just discovered ground chicken breast and really like it too. At this point, I eat so little, that I'll eat just about anything I want and can tolerate and I'm still losing because of the very small portions I'm eating. I focus mainly on Protein. If you're going to grill, just make sure you don't over cook and make things tough. We marinate chicken breasts in fat free Italian dressing and bake it and it comes out good and moist. Pork tenderloin is pretty tender, too.

The only things I have consistent of problems with are soft breads and Pasta. If my family wants lasagna, I'll just eat around the noodles and just eat the gooey meat and cheese. Hope this helps.

I hope you can go to your wives doc appts. you can talk to a nutritionist and get some ideas. A lot of us try to stay clean, no processed foods, mostly fresh or frozen veggies/fruits. no artificial colors, sweeteners etc. I don't eat frozen dinners (too many carbs),no casseroles, pasta, rice,potatoes, no drive thru restaurants anymore (too many empty calories). Boy, I do miss Taco Bell!!

I hope that doesn't sound to severe. I guess what I mostly do is keep it simple. I concentrate on protein and veggies/ fruit. There are websites with recipe ideas for gastric band patients.

This has been a big change for my household. I often make so old favorites for the family and something different for myself. I really don't mind.

try this web site it gives tips and reciepes for people who have had the lap band surgery

http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/

My husband does most of the cooking for us, I am banded and he is not.

We eat the same food/meals and when we go grocery shopping we pretty much stay and shop the perimeter of the store except for frozen morningstar farms veggie Proteins, the 40 calorie fudgecicles, and broth and Beans type of things. Other than that most everything is all around the edge.

I make a chili with ground bison and kidney/pinto/black beans, chili is a really really good food choice. We grill steaks (tender cuts are the best), we will do pot roast at times. Grilled chicken keep it moist, salmon is great or whatever type of fish you guys like. I seem to have a hard time with Tuna Steaks unless they are very moist.. the key is to keep things moist or have something not bad to dip it in.

We make a french fry thing out of sweet potatoes, put a bit of olive oil on them season and bake in the oven.. yes it is doctor approved.

Canned tuna/chicken are good and you can use a lower fat mayo or miracle whip or mustard or whatever to mix it up.

She will want to get the Protein in which is important, we also do salad (romaine is my fav w/ black beans in it for protein and a bit of a salad dressing that works for her.

My doctor had said that a variety is the way to go, you are eating less and I opt for if I really want something take a taste and see how it goes. I found that my taste buds for bread and other things changed after I was banded it was no longer the priority. Grilled veggies along with meats are good too... eggplant, squash, zucchini etc.. little bit of olive oil and seasoning...

After surgery when she is on more than Clear liquids.. you can puree whatever your eating just add a bit of a broth.. and it will liquify.. after a fill my husband has even pureed pot roast and veggies for me and its drinkable...

keep her hydrated.. that is a big thing!