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.

Man, that banana pudding sounds super yummy!! :eek:

Okay, this will be a long post but hang in there because it has a few ideas and recipes....

I am in the mushies/soft foods phase and have a few suggestions for stuff to eat:

First - I normally hate cottage cheese BUT it is low fat (if you buy the 2%) and good Protein and super easy, so I tried to find a way to eat it. I found at Target Superstore a little container of Brushetta topping. It is basically olive oil, tomatoes, basil and other spices. Well, bread is out and all, BUT I mixed a little into the cottage cheese and it was very good! It brings out the more cheesy flavor of the cottage cheese. Don't mix in too much though, as it is strong and will be overload. It is the only way I can eat cottage cheese.

Second - Refried Beans. Another one on the list if it is fat free. But I don't like the canned stuff. So I made my own variation. Put some olive oil in a deep pan. Mince a clove or two of garlic and heat in pan. Let it get just a LITTLE brown (don't burn it!!) and then pour in two cans of Navy beans. (I like them best, but you could use any beans) With a masher, mash up the beans in the pan while mixing it with the olive oil and garlic. Once you have it mashed to the consistency you like (or you could then put it in a blender and puree it for really fine consistency), pour in about half a can of beef broth. (If you want a lighter flavor, use chicken broth - I like it either way.) Mix it up and simmer until it is thick and bubbly. Cool and eat. I find it is SO much tastier than the canned stuff AND it is still healthy. Obviously you could then add salsa, cheese, lite sour cream or whatever else you wanted. I actually love it plain, but it is good no matter what. PLUS, if you make a pan of it, you can put the remaining amount (which should be quite a bit if it is just for you and not the family meal) in a ziploc and reheat small amounts for quite awhile. It reheats well.

Third - Garbanzo Beans or Chick Peas. I love those things and used to love them on a salad. But lettuce is not in my near future, so I had to adapt and overcome! I started making this salad and now love it. I just open a can of chick peas and rinse well. Pour some into a bowl and splash them with some lemon juice. Then I pour some Italian dressing on them. Voila! Tasty, healthy, protein and fills that salad craving.

Italian dressing - I started making this a LONG time ago and always get compliments on it and requests for the recipe. I use the Good Seasonings packet and carafe. I fill up to the V line with Red Wine Vinegar OR Balsamic Vinegar, depending on my mood. (Guests tend to really like the red wine vinegar style best!) Then I fill to the W line with lemon juice. I use the bottle stuff and it is fine, but I am sure the fresh would be much better - I just don't have the time or effort. Then add the packet of regular Italian dressing seasoning packet. Add two small packets of Splenda (or whatever the same amount would be - maybe 2 tsp?) Then fill to the O line with Olive Oil. shake up and that's it. The splenda just takes the edge off the lemon and vinegar, but it is by no means a sweet tasting dressing. This makes the salad dressing much healthier - no sugar, no extras, and olive oil is a good fat!

Finally - chili. This was another one on my"can have" list. And I have a recipe that I love which normally calls for hamburger. Hamburger is NOT on my list - yet. So I adapted it and used veggies and it was still delicious. It has protein and veggies! PLUS, this chili is one with flavor and NO heat. I hate hot foods and my husband's stomach is very sensitive. And after the surgery, I really wasn't sure how my stomach would handle any heat, so this is a great find for me. (But if you do like the heat and can tolerate it, you could always add chopped hot peppers, red pepper spice, use canned tomatoes with hot peppers, etc.) So I found this recipe and love it because it really tastes like chili without the heat. So here you are -

1 lb ground beef (I substituted one large chopped zuccini and one squash)

1 1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)

1 c. chopped celery (I omit this now)

1 c. chopped green and red peppers (again, I omit this now and replace with other veggies like squash, etc.)

2 14oz. cans diced tomatoes w/liquid

1 tsp oregano

1 c. chopped onion

1 TBL chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 16oz can Kidney beans

1 16 oz can Navy beans (I use 2 if omitting the hamburger)

1 c. beef broth

Put beef (or chopped veggies) in large pot. Sprinkle with salt and cook until no longer pink (or until veggies are soft). Add onion, and other veggies (if not already there). Cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomatoes with liquid and all seasonings. Mix well. Boil then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes (I omit this part if no hamburger, otherwise the veggies get cooked to nothing). Add beans and broth. Simmer 20 to 30 minutes until thick-ish.

If you add 1/4 c. of 2% Mexican mix cheese to the top of that, you only add 6 g. of fat and 80 calories, but 7 g. of protein!!

Hope this helps you guys as much as it has helped me get through this! Good Luck and good eating!!! :w00t:

Wow are those so great recipes you just wrote. I am ready to try them just as soon as I can. I am not on mushies any longer but I am still eating the soups that I made and froze. LOL! I am not one to waste food, besides, they were so good. I blended everything. I tried the vegetable soup with garbanzo beans, then Mama Leone's soup (yummy!). It doesn't bother me that they are that consistency. I made so much thinking I would be on the mushies for so long and went in for my check up. The nurse told me I could eat what I wanted to. Go figure. I am still basically eating mushies with an ocasional treat of something solid thrown in. LOL! It looks like I will not get my first fill until sometime in September (was banded July 14). That is ok though, I guess that is about normal. I just wish I could get with the exercise routine of some kind. Bum foot and leg will not allow much of any kind that involves standing.

Thanks! Just a quick thing about the exercising - you said that you have a bum leg and foot which makes exercising hard (walking long distances must be hard). BUT I had a thought - first is swimming. Not only could you do laps at your own pace which are great for cardio, strength and endurance. The Water doesn't put stress on your joints and can often ease pain. PLUS you don't feel hot and sweaty. The water is nice and refreshing. Also, many YMCAs and Rec centers offer swim aerobics. Some are done in the shallow end and others are done in the deep end with these belt things that let you float. I really enjoy pool exercise more than anything else.

Another thought is gardening. I know that sounds odd, but actually I was gardening the other day and realized how tired, sore and sweaty I was! When I looked it up, I found out that for me if I walk a half an hour at a brisk pace I burn 279 calories. But if I garden for a half an hour (doing things like digging with a spade and planting flowers, seeds, etc) I burn 349 calories. Even just general weeding is 314 calories for that half an hour. And for me, that means I can stay in the yard and let the kids play while I exercise! If you got a pad to protect your knees, you may find that you are better able to exercise that way. I really like it because I like to garden (I listen to music and zone out - very zen!), I like seeing the results, I don't need a babysitter or to drag the kids out, I get some sun, it doesn't feel like exercise and I actually burn MORE calories than my brisk walk.

Anyway, just thought I would throw those thoughts out there - good luck!

I do an hour in my pool every morning between 6 and 7 and although my band date hasn't yet arrived I know I will be continuing in this vein as my joints feel great, I feel energised and wide awake by the time I hit work at 8.30am.

I used to be a stiff old croc ( now I'm just old) but now I have thrown away my arthritis medication and can enjoy the days pain free. I know once my weight is off me as well, I will feel even stronger and healthier.

My husband loves my tuna-potato-pea casserole:

Take one box of scalloped potato mix, but instead of following the directions, take two cans of tuna (the good kind -- solid, packed in Water or in olive oil, but drained) , add 1/2 cup light or olive oil mayo, 1/2 cup, chopped red onion (or more to taste) mix with hand blender till it's nicely mushed, THEN add to the potato slices and cheese powder with one and one quarter cup boiling water. Mix and add 1 cup of peas. Bake at 375 for about 50 minutes.

I divide this in four quarters -- my husband eats one quarter for a meal (sometimes more, if he's really hungry) and I eat 1/2 of one quarter or 1/8th of the entire dish.

im gonna try this thanka i mixed up at the one part recipe how much oil?how much mayo?thanks

I usually find that 3 generous tablespoons of Kraft Olive Oil Mayonnaise is enough -- it may sound like a lot, but for one Weight Watchers or LapBand portion, its only 1 and 1/4 teaspoons.

i never heard of that mayo with olive oil thanks

Really, any mayo, including light mayo, will do -- I just feel healthier when I use the olive oil mayo. :thumbup::smile:

thanks i never heard of it i went kraft site its there hope my store has it soon thanks again for the great recipe

I just made this for breakfast, and it was sooo tasty. :embaressed_smile:

Mexican Egg Omelet

Lightly spray skillet with "Pam"

Sauté diced red onion

Beat one egg

Add chili powder and pepper to taste

Pour egg over onions, turn over

Add shredded cheese of your choice (I used ff chedder)

Fold

Top with Salsa

Crustless Quiche

3 eggs

1/3 C white cheddar/mont jack cheese mix

1/4 C fat free cottage cheese

diced jalepenos and diced green chilies to taste

pinch salt and pepper

Mix ingredients in magic bullet or other blender

Poor into a personal size casserole bowl or oven safe bowl

bake in oven at 350 for 30-35 minutes

This will serve two 1/2 C servings

200 calories per serving

11 grams of fat per serving

19 grams of Protein per serving

I'm not a nutritionist so I can't say if this is too high in cal's or fat but I will send the recipe to my nutritionist and see what she says. You be the judge.

Ricotta Recipe

1/4 C Ricotta cheese

1/4 C Fat free cottage cheese

1 ounce mozzarella cheese

dash salt/pepper and parm cheese

1/2 C Marinara (I use Ragu and the calorie/fat count is based on that)

Mix all ingredients in your magic bullet or other blender devise. Pour into personal size casserole dish; heat in oven at 400 for 15 minutes or microwave for 1 minute 30 seconds.

Makes two servings.

150 calories per serving

5.5 grams of fat per serving

13 grams of Protein per serving

This is so yummy.....it's basically all the good stuff that oozes out of a lasagna! Yum.

ive been making and eating sloppy joe meat of course without bread. very tasty!

1lb chopped meat

1 can sloppy joe mix (strained out peppers)

brown meat, drain fat, mix in sauce for about 5 min on low heat

This lasted for many meals and verrrrrrry moist when reheated in microwave under plastic wrap. Enjoy!!!!:rolleyes2:

Snowbabymb,

Do you puree that or eat it as is?

Sounds yummy, I think I'll try it! :rolleyes2: