I am trying to gather all of the must haves before my surgery. Is there anything you would recommend as a must have regarding kitchen gadgets (measuring, preparing etc) or foods/drinks i should stock up on? What about a blender? The one i currently have is broken and also has no lid! lol

Thanks for helping me prepare! Just wanting to know what you have that is a MUST HAVE and you couldn't go without.

I found small plates, bowls, and utensils to be very helpful. I also used a Ninja blender during puréed phase (I like the cup attachment for shakes), and blender bottles for shakes (the bottles w/ the sphere whisk inside).

A digital scale to measure your food, they can be a little pricey but they are much better then the manual ones. Also, sugar free popsicles made me feel human the first couple of weeks

liquid and solid measuring cups, a couple of little dishes that you love to eat out of (I have some wide-mouthed mugs with handles that I use and tea cup plates), a shaker with a little wire whisk type ball in the bottom to mix protein shakes, a good blender (I use a Vitamix but there are lots of good ones on the market), a stick blender to puree soups, a food processor (nice to have not a must have), a registration with myfitnesspal.com, good walking shoes, a couple of non-BPA water bottles that you like, a fancy glass that you like drinking out of to make water drinking a nice experience. The only thing I went out and bought out of all of this is the shaker for protein shakes.

Haven't had my surgery yet but I'm gathering things also. I have an electric mug warmer since many people have said it can take an hour to eat a bowl of soup in the beginning. I also purchased small silver forks and spoons from bed bath and beyond rather than plastic baby ones. A digital scale as others have said and the magic bullet works really well

I just got an immersion blender which has been great for both soups and protein shakes. My must have was plenty of the snack size Gladware. They hold 4 oz. and are so convenient for portioning out your food. I don't like measuring so I put my food in these little cups because I know I can't eat more than that. I also used them in the liquid phase to make my own jello and preportion it out.

small plates & bowls

small utensils

a "healthy soup" cookbook

a brezza baby food maker

a ninja blender

baby food containers (I have the oxo kind)

prayer

loving family & friends

compression socks

I have the $17 shake blender from walmart, I believe it's a Hamilton beech, it has the cups that you blend in and then use to drink your shake, or soup. Worked for shakes, soups, and I even did iced decaf coffee with my vanilla protein shake. I also bought small baby food dishes at the dollar store, I have small colorful bowls with lids, and small plates. They came with small cups as well, and I have used them mostly for storage of left over shakes, and soup. I did buy myself a nice coffee mug, and a really comfy pillow for my stomach during recovery. Also get yourself a nice warm throw, I was cold all the time the first few weeks post-op, and figured it was from the lack of calories. Now at 8 weeks out, I use a saucer for my meals, and don't have to store my foods separately since I'm eating the same foods as my family. I didn't want to spend a ton on special dishes, and blenders as I knew I would only need them for a few months.

just ordered a digital food scale! $25 on amazon

A digital scale to measure your food' date=' they can be a little pricey but they are much better then the manual ones. Also, sugar free popsicles made me feel human the first couple of weeks <img src='http://www.bariatricpal.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />[/quote']

I ditto this! 2 weeks post op.

Thank guys!

Excellent question and replies!!