Hey, anyone in Bandland -- how about starting a list of mushy foods for people slugging through that phase of post-surgery life? Here are a few pan-ethnic suggestions that may be beyond super-obvious foods likely to be on every doc's recommended list; I use "ethnic" loosely, to describe anything past applesauce and cottage cheese. Please add on suggestions. Note that this is not a prescription; your doctor may not want you to eat some of these foods. When in doubt, ask.

Middle East: Hummus, soft fresh feta cheese, baba ganoush.

Italian: Polenta, Pasta & plain sauce, garlic/olive oil, pesto, or (gasp! calorie alert!) creamy Alfredo sauce. The pasta should be pretty soft; al dente purists, skip this. Also, if you can handle cheese, the inside of a stuffed pesto pizza -- no meat, no veggiees -- is to die for. This is a Chicago specialty that's caught on in some other places. And let's not forget gelato and cannoli filling!

Mexican: Outside of tamales (masa), guacamole, horchatas, virgin margaritas, Soup (caldo), refried Beans. . . which also solve a constipation problem.

Indian: You can have just the sauces & work around the solid meat in most dishes. Just don't order a big-hunk-o-meat dish like chicken tandoori.

Just plain American: grits, mac & cheese, shrimp dip, mashed potatoes. . . and, if your stomach can take it and you chew thoroughly, rare hamburger. (Especially good on certain days for pre-menopausal ladies with certain cravings.)

That's a start. If you have some great mushy suggestions or recipes, please post them!

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this.

As someone is who REALLY LOOKING FORWARD to mushies, starting Wednesday, I find this list enlightening and VERY helpful.

Wednesday can't come soon enough!

I love babaganoush!

Jewish: gefilte fish (might need to mash it up a little) with horseradish.

Matzoh ball soup if the matzoh balls are soft and fluffy.

Nancy

Gefilte fish . . . wish I'd thought of that two weeks ago! Thanks for the suggestions, Nancy. How about chopped liver?

Live2Canoe, hang in there. The mushies are an absolute thrill compared to the liquid diet. And be sure to write if you discover any good mushy food.

By the way, Trader Joe's is a great place to buy ready-made mushy stuff for those who don't like to cook.

Zoe, I LIVED at Trader Joe's on my mushy phase. I splurged on all the fancy spreads, pates, and cheeses that never before seemed like good purchases.

My favorites were tzatziki (a yogurt concoction), and the seafood pate. YUM!!

Tzatziki? Yum! Wish I thought of that before, Alex. Must run to Trader Joe's tonight for more yogurt and pig ears (for the dog, FYI).

O.K., Zoe, are you snacking on pig ears? LOL:)

Well, they would be a good source of protein, but they're hard to chew -- and the dog won't share! I have to admit that on my Day 13 of liquids her Chunky Beef canned supplement was looking pretty good . . .

Yeah, but way too much sodium! LOL Boy, isn't it amazing how we start analysing food contents once we're banded? Who would have thought that I'd ever worry about sodium content and grams of protein. I actually bypassed a Snickers in the grocery checkout line because I thought those 240 calories would make a Bandster meal! The old me certainly wouldn't have been thinking like that!

Great. Now I'm starving. You mentioned some of my favorite foods whether in mushy or solid stages. Now I gotta have a tamale! I live on Hummus & veggies, and I'm not in mushy stage. Ricotta mashed with potatoes was great. Or potatoes with any soft cheese.

Polish - the insides of cheese pirogies!

What is hummus?

Hummus is a thick spread made from chickpeas (garbanzo beans), olive oil, tahini (sesame paste), lemon juice, and garlic, plus other seasonings if you like. You can buy it ready-made in the refrigerated section of some supermarkets. I have a pretty good recipe that I'll post whenever I can dig it out from my torn-up kitchen.

Zoe, dig up that recipe. It can't be that hard to make, but I'm curious what your recipe calls for.

Marie, it's kind of a bland paste, but the garlic and olive oil make it a good dip for veggies. It's normally served with olive oil drizzled over it and bits of pita bread.

Thought I'd bump this up for the newcomers who are graduating to mushies -- please add your favorites!

Zoe, I LIVED at Trader Joe's on my mushy phase. I splurged on all the fancy spreads, pates, and cheeses that never before seemed like good purchases.

My favorites were tzatziki (a yogurt concoction), and the seafood pate. YUM!!

Did you eat them just with a spoon, or did you put them on something?

Alas, Jonathan, just a spoon in my case. Crackers and chips are a big no-no during the mushy phase. And a big amen to Alex's comment on TJ's seafood paté -- I loved the stuff. I also ate a lot of instant mashed potatoes, polenta, and masa; I'd split tamales with a friend who only liked the innards, so I'd eat just the mushy cornmeal bits. The masa picks up enough spice from the meat to make it interesting.