One of the healthiest and tastiest things that Portuguese people eat is their Soups. Their creamy and filling and full of Vitamins. This is a Soup for people who hate to eat vegetables and who don't get enough minerals and vitamins. There are many variations so I will start with the basics.

The base for any Portuguese soup:

-1 cup cubed pumpkin or acorn squash (Portuguese use pumpkin but I bet you can use any variation of squash and it should be nice, I know it sounds weird but trust me these soups are great!)

-2 cups carrots cubed

-1 medium onion chopped

-1 cup scallions chopped

-2 medium potatoes cubed or 1 can of Beans (your choice they usualy use navy or butter beans) (use ONLY potatoes OR beans but not both)

-1 tablespoon of sea salt

-4 tablespoons olive oil

Bring a large pot of Water and salt to boil. Add all ingredients and boil until soft, add water as necessary. When all the vegetables are soft, add the olive oil and blend with a magic wand (hand blender) until smooth. This is the base.

Soup Variations

If you used beans:

-1 cup chopped artichokes or 1 cup chopped cabbage or any other vegetable you like to eat with beans. Add to the pot, and boil until soft. If you want chunks the soup is ready, if you want it creamy, blend again.

If you used potatoes:

- add whatever vegetables you want, green beans, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, peas add as much or as little as you like, all chopped into smaller pieces. You can even add more potato or carrot if you want chunks.

-If you want a creamy soup, add these vegetables and boil until soft (always adding more water as needed) and then blend again when all the vegetables are soft. The more water you use the thinner it will be, the less, the thicker it will be.

-If you want chunks in your soup, add the vegetables cut to your desired size and then boil until soft.

-Small chunks of white meat chicken can also be added for extra Protein.

Options: you can always add herbs for different taste like thyme and parsley. I sometimes use Mrs.Dash for extra flavors and fresh ground pepper; it’s a taste choice so have fun with it. Also you can use bags of frozen mixed vegetables that are already chopped up to save time and to get a better variety.

Note: These soups freeze well, I often freeze individual portions and then thaw and microwave on the day I eat them. If you make a big pot it will usually stay in the fridge for about a week, frozen about a month. I know it sounds like a lot of work but 1 pot usually makes a weeks worth of servings so if you make it on the weekend it will last all week. Most Portuguese people eat these soups for dinner because they generally have a big lunch. I also like to eat a bowl of soup with some wheat crackers and sliced lunch meat like turkey or chicken. It makes a very filling and healthy meal.

This recipe would fall under "full mushies" but all of the ingredients were ok'd by my doc. So for all of the sushi lovers ---

Sushi Inspired Tuna salad

Ingredients:

• 1 (6 ounce) can solid white tuna packed in Water, drained
  
• 3 -4 tablespoon lite mayonnaise
  
• 1 tablespoon wasabi paste, or to taste
  
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
  
• 1 tablespoon minced green onion

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the tuna, mayonnaise, wasabi paste, ginger and green onion. Serve on lettuce leaves or eat by itself.

Best mushie I have tried so far. Alot of people say Taco Bells refried beans which are good but full of fat and calories so I decided to make something similar at home. I bought Amys Organic Refried Black Beans. Only 3 grams of fat in a serving and like 120 calories but of course a serving is way too much. I took those beans and heated them up on the stove with some tomatilla salsa. A little bit of low moisture skim mozzarella (its the only cheese I had on hand but any would be good I would think). I put a tiny bit of sour cream on top when they were heated. It was like heaven in a spoon. A couple of bites and I was done. My surgeon doesn't think you need to puree everything as long as you get it that consistency in your mouth so I didn't bother to puree and it went down great. I will eat this even when I am on solids. It was great and a good source of protein. I am sure it was healthier than the Taco bell kind too and so much better!

I worked briefly in a nursing home many years ago and I remember that no matter what they fed the residents, they threw it in the blender for the ones that couldn't or wouldn't chew. They would put waffles, syrup and sausages all together....some very weird combinations. Anyway thats how I ate on mushies. Just threw whatever the family was having into the blender. I didn't mix it all together though. For extra liquid I used chichen broth for almost every protien and some of the veggies too. If I wanted more protien I added a scoop of unjury powder. I never felt deprived but did get tired of washing the blender!

I'm just moving out of the pureed stage into my soft / regular diet. So here are a few things that were easy and fast and tasty for me. Sorry if I'm repeating recipes that are here somewhere - I know a few of them were ideas I modified from other places on this forum!

Pretend Lasagna - put 1/4 cup of ricotta in a bowl, pour a little spaghetti sauce on it and sprinkle some parm. or moz. cheese on top. Microwave it for a minute, and YUM. My calculation brought it to a little over 200 calories and 16 grams of Protein.

Rotisserie chicken - throw 2 ounces of instant mashed potatoes in a food processor with a few strips of rotisserie chicken. Pour in a splash of chicken broth and puree. I didn't calculate the calories on this one. It looks gross, but tastes really good.

Tuna Casserole - drop a 3oz can of tuna (in water) in a bowl, add a smidge of lite mayo, a spoonful of sweet pickle relish and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese. Microwave it for about 30 seconds. This one was about 180 calories and 12 grams of protein.

Salmon "Mousse" - my favorite one - buy frozen salmon pinwheels (you can get these at SuperTarget in the frozen fish area and they are surprisingly inexpensive). I like the ones with a salmon fillet wrapped around crab florentine. Bake it for 30 minutes and then drop it in the food processor with a pat of butter and squeeze of lemon, then puree. You get a creamy, buttery tasting mousse (I've had it for supper 3 nights in a row). It's heavy on calories - 330 if you eat the whole thing (which I did once and would not recommend) but has a whopping 26 grams of protein.

And - for the old standbys that get boring.... add some Natural applesauce to cottage cheese to bump the flavor. Put a little canned spinach and feta cheese in with scrambled eggs for extra taste. Put a vanilla Protein shake and half a banana in the blender.

Good luck to those entering the "mushies"!

:thumbup:ummm.. does sound good, esp the lasagna! I will have to try that next time I have to go back on mushies. seems that may always happen from time to time. every time you go for a fill you end up on mushies for a day. I liked to throw ham in the chopper with a little relish, a dab of mayo, and the juice of splenda sweetened can peaches for moisture.

thanks for the new ideas!

Hey Everyone!!

I thought I would share this yummy concoction I came up with. IT TASTES JUST LIKE BLUEBERRY MUFFINS!!!

I'm on solids, but after fills I'm pretty tight, So I usually take it easy in the morning and stick with mushies. I was tired of plain old Protein shakes and yogurt, so I came up with this:

Ingredients:

Cream of Wheat

Fat Free Evaporated Milk

Water

Frozen Blueberries

vanilla extract

Splenda (or other sweetener)

Directions:

Prepare the Cream of Wheat as instructed on the box using the Fat Free Evaporated Milk and Water (I use half/half proportions, but you can do any combination of the two, it's creamier with the Evap Milk).

When the mixture thickens, removed from heat and add 2 tsps (or 1/2 tsp per cup) vanilla. Separate into 1/2 cup portion sizes and add 1/2 cup frozen blueberries and 1 tsp (or one packet) Splenda.

It's great for the mushie stage, or for those of us who are really tight in the morning and need something warm to get us going. Enjoy.

I think this would be considered mushy....

My new favorite after fill salad is my chicken salad.

Take a can (or a couple) of chicken (like the canned tuna, but it's chicken)

Chop finely some - black olives, sweet pickles, dried cranberries (or crasins), and cashews. (maybe some shredded Parmesan might be a good add too)

Mash up the chicken and add the chopped ingredients. Add some mayo and a little mustard (spicy or yellow). Salt & pepper to taste.

It's yummy! I fill up a small container and spoon it for lunch. If you can tolerate crackers, it's good on the top of those too!

I'm just moving out of the pureed stage into my soft / regular diet. So here are a few things that were easy and fast and tasty for me. Sorry if I'm repeating recipes that are here somewhere - I know a few of them were ideas I modified from other places on this forum!

Pretend Lasagna - put 1/4 cup of ricotta in a bowl, pour a little spaghetti sauce on it and sprinkle some parm. or moz. cheese on top. Microwave it for a minute, and YUM. My calculation brought it to a little over 200 calories and 16 grams of Protein.

Rotisserie chicken - throw 2 ounces of instant mashed potatoes in a food processor with a few strips of rotisserie chicken. Pour in a splash of chicken broth and puree. I didn't calculate the calories on this one. It looks gross, but tastes really good.

Tuna Casserole - drop a 3oz can of tuna (in water) in a bowl, add a smidge of lite mayo, a spoonful of sweet pickle relish and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese. Microwave it for about 30 seconds. This one was about 180 calories and 12 grams of protein.

Salmon "Mousse" - my favorite one - buy frozen salmon pinwheels (you can get these at SuperTarget in the frozen fish area and they are surprisingly inexpensive). I like the ones with a salmon fillet wrapped around crab florentine. Bake it for 30 minutes and then drop it in the food processor with a pat of butter and squeeze of lemon, then puree. You get a creamy, buttery tasting mousse (I've had it for supper 3 nights in a row). It's heavy on calories - 330 if you eat the whole thing (which I did once and would not recommend) but has a whopping 26 grams of protein.

And - for the old standbys that get boring.... add some Natural applesauce to cottage cheese to bump the flavor. Put a little canned spinach and feta cheese in with scrambled eggs for extra taste. Put a vanilla Protein shake and half a banana in the blender.

Good luck to those entering the "mushies"!

Those all sound wonderful!!!

Tuna Morney

2 tablespoon of flour

a little melted butter

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup of milk

small can of tuna

a handfull of grated low fat cheese.

on a low heat, mix melted butter and flour add dash of salt and pepper...slowly mix in milk so that it is smooth and not lumpy...add your lowfat cheese and finally the can of tuna...keep stiring until it is thick and smooth.

Hmmmm yummy my favorite recipie when on the mushies.

:crying: Becky

Thanks for posting this recipe, Becky. I'm not a big mayo fan, so this was a great way to have my mushy tuna and have it warm, too! :thumbup:

Michiganer I am surprissed also of all the potatoes in the receipes my doc told me no potatoes and no applesauce.

Thank you for all of the receipes everyone they all sound so delicious. I had surgery Mar 24 so I am still in the full liquid stage but, soon soon

Edited March 28, 200818 yr by PTinUtah
mispelled words

Do you know why your doc says no applesauce? Just curious...

My Doctor told me to stay away from creamy soups... oh yes, I tried eating lettuce, it was so painful, it took an hour for the pain to go away. is this normal?

My Doctor told me to stay away from creamy soups... oh yes, I tried eating lettuce, it was so painful, it took an hour for the pain to go away. is this normal?

soups don't keep you full for long enough, they go right through the band. they are good for the full liquid stage. they are also more calories and they want you to lose wt.! Lettuce in mushy stage?! yes that could be painful. last I knew lettuce was not a mushy. your stomach has not healed enough for the Fiber, there is a reason for the mushy stage!

so far as applesauce goes, got me there! I never heard that one. I had it a lot, went down well. I think some drs. frown on potatoes as they feel they are high empty calories , they also want you to get in your Protein and don't want you to fill up on carbs. if you got room and are still hungry after getting in all your protein, then I don't see the harm in a little spud. But then, I'm "not the biggest loser" here, so maybe you shouldn't listen to me:unsure:.

when were you banded?

I was banded January 18, 2007. I lost 100 plus pounds. I still have 15 pounds to go. My stomach hates chicken- I really regurgitate all my food when I eat chicken. You know the replacement milk Ensure? Thats what I take to keep myself healthy. I usually go for the taste of food- thats what gets me- I put too much in, I end up purging!!!

I love this Soup... I think you could thin it out a bit for full liquid stage, or blend it as is for mushie stage.

2 tbs olive oil

2 leeks, trimmed, halved lengthways, washed and thinly sliced.

3 cloves garlic

1 medium celeriac (about 750grams), trimmed, peeled and roughly chopped

(celeriac is the root of celery plants - its delicious)

1 medium potato, peeled and roughly chopped

6 cups chicken stock

1/3 cup light thickened cream

200grams smoked mackerel fish fillets, skinned, boned and flaked

- that is 7 ounces for the metrically challenged :-) if you can't get smoked mackerel, i have used sardine fillets also delicious.

salt and ground black pepper.

Heat oil in large saucepan. Add leeks and garlic and cook for 5 minutes or until leeks are tender. Add Celeriac and potato and cook for another 5 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften.

Stir in stock, cover and bring to boil. Reduce to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Add the smoked fish.

Puree chowder in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan. Add cream. Season with some salt and pepper, and garnish with some parsley and a few flakes of the fish (if not in mushy stage).

Edited April 17, 200818 yr by Luscious