I won't be banded until December, so right now I'm just in the preparing stages. I understand that after surgery, we have to do a liquid diet and then transition to "mushies", then soft foods, then everything. I have recently discovered the baby food in pouches (Plum brand, Ella's Kitchen, etc.) and they're actually pretty tasty. So far, I have liked the Ella's Kitchen sweet potatoes, pumpkin, apples, blueberries (that's all in one packet) and the broccoli and apples. They have no protein but are low calorie, not processed, real food (pureed), organic, and they have veggies, which I rarely eat. Would these be an acceptable food for the liquid or mushy stage or for a permanent food choice?

I am not sure but I think you need something with protein instead of with none. I am only learning the ends and outs still, tho.

You should focus more on the protein, for the liquid phase you can use Isopure drinks at GNC, try to find them on sale, they can be expensive. And for the mushy phase, I was instructed you can take pretty much anything and put it in a processor, so you can do tuna salad, chicken salad, and shrimp salad. The chicken salad was my favorite personally. They should give you some guidelines to follow to know what to eat. The baby food may be okay here and there, but good luck with it, I tried some myself and it was horrible . I gave it away to a lady at work with a baby because I just could not do it.

Post op, everything you eat needs to deliver big on the nutrition...and baby food does not meet the special nutritional needs of an adult bariatric patient.

I also was advised that essentially any thing you eat from your allowed foods list for your initial post op stages that can be put in a blender is the best choice for the mushies stage. My surgeon advised against using any processed foods, no soup, and definitely no mashed potatoes. My favorite meal at that stage was pureed cantaloupe and pureed home made chicken salad.

Other surgeons have different instructions for their patients...so I have shared mine, but the best approach is to discuss this with your surgeon or the nutritionist who works with them.

You are not a baby, you don't need baby food. (I stole this from someone on here)

Liquid (full liquid) drink smoothies w protein, protein shakes, greek yogurt, pudding, jello, soup (add blended cottage cheese for more protein in your soup)............ Mushy, get out your blender and throw in some chicken w a bit of low fat gravy, tuna salad........ it is mushy, but tastes like chicken/tuna and a tonne of protein, if you want fruit, throw it in the blender, same with veggies.

You don't need baby food and besides carbs, there is nothing good in it for you.

baby food is for babies

adults eat adult food......

baby food is for babies

adults eat adult food......

crap, I couldn't even quote you properly................

crap, I couldn't even quote you properly................

girlfriend........you did awesome :wub:

My doctor said NO baby food... but each doctor is different.

I was on four different stages... clear liquids, full liquids, mushies then solid foods. There were sample menus that I followed at each stage... they were a BIG help to me. I followed them to the letter for best results. The only change I made was I substituted fish with turkey... because I don't like fish and my doctor said this was ok.

Just remember each doctor is different and each person is different.

Tom, Toronto

Banded July 6 06

Wt. Loss: 156 lbs

Protein shakes and broths, right after surgery for 10 days.

Im a freak i guess, because the baby food with fruit sounds way more appetizing than blended meat. There are some my nutritionist rec that have protein. Lol

You need to ask your dietitian about that. Mine says baby food is OK in the puree/mushy phase, but you're going to have to find a way to get some protein in, and I doubt that any fruit or veggy baby food product will have enough protein to help you heal and meet your nutritional needs. As for a long term food choice, absolutely not. Pureed food is OK when you're healing post-op, but for the rest of your life, you'll need to emphasize solid food, because that's what gives you the early and prolonged satiety you'll need to lose weight and maintain your weight.

I looked at baby food and the most protein I found in a little jar was not as much as the 22 grams of chicken or tuna, and the babyfood w fruit had no more than 2. It certainly does sound way more appetizing than blended meats, and I am sure it tastes better as well, but in terms of nutrition and protein can't beat meat. I would even do a protein shake or greek yogurt, that will get you more nutrition than baby food if you don't want pureed meat. After a month on liquids, 3 oz of pureed chicken with half an ounce of cheese with a few tbsp of gravy in a blender was the best thing I ever tasted. Pureed quickly becomes finely diced to diced and all becomes very good in the world.

Of course protein shakes and other things with protein like greek yogurt, cream of wheat and such. I will even add protein powder to those things. I certainly wasn't saying the baby food would be my main food of choice during the mushy stage, hardly.

Get Jean's book of banded recipes... good morning Jean !

Most of the recipes can be pureed/blended to suit your stage.Also lots of helpful tips throughout the recipes book!

Thank you, Jean!

I won't be banded until December' date=' so right now I'm just in the preparing stages. I understand that after surgery, we have to do a liquid diet and then transition to "mushies", then soft foods, then everything. I have recently discovered the baby food in pouches (Plum brand, Ella's Kitchen, etc.) and they're actually pretty tasty. So far, I have liked the Ella's Kitchen sweet potatoes, pumpkin, apples, blueberries (that's all in one packet) and the broccoli and apples. They have no Protein but are low calorie, not processed, real food (pureed), organic, and they have veggies, which I rarely eat. Would these be an acceptable food for the liquid or mushy stage or for a permanent food choice?[/quote']

I never even gave my babies baby food. Homemade is way better. Having said that, you can decide to add unflavored protein powder to other puréed items. You don't have to purée tuna if you don't want. Making a homemade chicken Soup and shredding the chicken and then blending it with the broth is great! Most overweight people are malnourished due to poor eating habits. Once you embark on this journey your mind set needs to change and nutrition needs to be foremost. Defer to the experts that you have at your disposal, they are there to help! Of course this is just my humble opinion.

Bet you didn't think that your simple question would cause such a stir, huh?

Take it in stride, we just care!