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.

i just order two books

eating well after weight loss surgery from patt levine

and recipes for life after weight loss surgery from margaret furtado

hope i get them soon.

oh i order them on amazon.com

I just ordered both of these books, thanks so much for the good advice! I checked out the Table Of Contents on Amazon and the recipes sound great, am also glad that Patt Levine's book has a guide for restocking my pantry and fridge post-surgery!!:eek:

I also thought about the book designed towards the emotional toll lap-band has, it is harder than I thought it would be (I am 10 days post-surgery), but I am glad I did it!

These are al so yummy sounding, thanks for sharing, I should be having the surery in a couple mos and already can't wait to try most of these, it's good to know everything tasty is not bad, also that enjoying the good (healthy) stuff won't have to totally end. I too can't wait to share what I discover.

This is a Turkish Soup. It's simple and very tasty. I am going to make and freeze some to have once I move from the liquids-only stage.

Ezogelin Corbasi (Ezo the Bride Soup) - red lentil soup with mint

1 cup red lentils

1/3 cup rice or bulgur (optional)

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 tbsp dry mint leaves

1/4 tsp black pepper

salt to taste

Water (or half water, half broth)

Cook the onion and garlic in a tablespoon or two or oil. Add everything else and cook until it's mush. Puree the mixture in a blender until it's completely smooth.

any good recipes for chicken breast?

Everything sounds wonderful!

This Shepherd's pie sounds great. Will definitely try it. Glad I found this thread. Thanks everyone for all the great recipes.

This is a "soft" type recipe, but for those who need it to be softer, go ahead and throw it in the blender.

Easy chicken Tacos (crock-pot style)

5 chicken breast (I use the frozen boneless skinless ones)

2 cups chunky salsa

1/2 large onion

1 can black Beans

1 can chopped green chilis

1 packet taco seasoning

salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder

Shredded cheese

Season chicken breasts with salt, pepper, cumin, and garlic powder and cut in halves. Place them in the crock-pot with all the other ingredients, chop the onions really fine and drain the juice from the beans. Add about 1/2 cup Water (or less depending on how watery the salsa is). Cook on low for 3 and 1/2 hours. Shred chicken with a fork and then continue to cook on high for another 1 and a half. For the lap-banders, just sprinkle some shredded cheese and maybe some low-fat sour cream and enjoy. For those with non lap-banded family/friends, place on tortillas (fried with the filling are awesome) and all the normal taco fixings.

This is probably OK for those maybe 1 month out, and you could always puree it if you don't think it'll go. It works great for me at 5 weeks, but I only had 1 week of puree.

Tip: I mix everything up the night before and let it marinate in the fridge.

Give pumpkin Mousse a try!!!

15 oz Pumpkin

2 pkgs Instant vanilla pudding (Fat Free/Sugar Free)

1 Cup Milk (2%)

1 tsp cinnamon

dash Pumpkin Pie Spice (optional)

8 oz Cool Whip (Fat Free)

Mix first five ingredients together

Fold in Cool Whip

Refrigerate

I made this last night and it was sooooo good, i was craving some buffalo wings and came up with this, just spoon it and it tastes sooo good!

one portion of oscar mayer southwest style chicken strips

to your taste-Franks Buffalo wing sauce

2 tsp mayo(reduced fat)

in magic bullett grind chicken and buffalo sauce, empty to bowl and add mayo....

simple, easy and oh so yummy!

Ok, I was ready for something that made me think I was eating "real" food. So while on the chat the other day someone mentioned quiche. OH Lightbulb moment. I made crustless Quiche sunday with spinach, cheese, sautaaued mushrooms and ground turkey. Wow was that wonderful. Wouldn't have it for the 1st week of mushies but now its wonderful. You could make it with anything and leave out the ground turkey if you are afraid of it. But yummmooo

Just Tired

Heather, thanks so much for this recipe, I'm portuguese and I so remember the wonderful soups my Grandmother used to make, now I have these wonderful recipes to make some of my own, thanks again, these are wonderful...bb

How about some chicken? Take chicken thighs, cilantro,red onions,tomatoes and put them in a crockpot with a dash of olive oil. Add goya seasonining ,curry poweder,nutmeg any spices etc and let cook off untill tender and shred with a folk. Add some chicken broth while cooking. this is my African meal. Its yummy and soft,and just chew the shreeded chicken and makes it yummy. I could not do that blended chicken , it was nasty and tasteless after i bought some rotissere chicken. this version is better.

I know many people can't tolerate Pasta. Would it make a difference if it was an angel hair pasta instead of a regular spaghetti or ziti??

You have to try sphgette squash, it's to die for and it really does taste like sphgette. Small squash, cut in 1/2. Scoop out the middle stuff, cover w/surran wrap or place in large bowl w/cover. Add about 1/2 cup of Water, and microwave on high till tender. I start out w/5 mins. and go from there. When fork is inserted and goes in smooth/easy, it's done. Take it out and let sit for 5 mins. Take fork and scrap thru the the squash and it will ravel up like sphgette. Serve with favorite sauce. you will love this stuff.

I'm in mushies right now and my coworker made me a wonderful "dessert". I didn't think I'd like it but it's great!

low fat cottage cheese

carbmaster low carb yogurt {any flavor, cherry, strawberry, etc}

cool whip free

mix all together and enjoy! It's so good!

My question is this..as someone who like to occasion spicy foods..mexican, wasabi, etc...how am I supposed to hold off drinking anything for an hour after eating if my mouth is on fire..that is if the tummy can handle it at all...surgery in 2 days eek! p.s. what has anyone heard or figured out about sushi.???