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!

How in the world are you able to eat tamales in the mushy phase? I can't eat them now. The masa is too thick for me, it hurts and eventually pb's, I have tried several times, I was in Mexico over Christmas and my mother-in-law makes the best tamales, and I was not able to enjoy them, I can't eat doughy stuff like that, I can't eat tortillas either, which is really hard considering I'm Mexican and they are a big part of our diet. Well I guess I should consider myself luckey that I can still eat beans!!!!

This is Soooo good. ISU has an African Night every year, and this was one of the foods served at dinner. I think this qualifies as mushy and can be run through the stick blender as well to make sure it is.

Irio:

8 servings

Drain 1 16-oz. can PEAS and measure the liquid.

Put the peas through a vegetable mill or sieve to make a puree.

Drain 1 16-oz. can KERNEL CORN and add the liquid to that of the peas.

In a 2-quart saucepan: To make sure this is a "mushy" food, please use creamed corn, or run the corn throgh a blender.

Prepare 4 cups INSTANT MASHED POTATOES following package directions and using the vegetable liquors as part of the required liquid.

Add: 3 Tbs. BUTTER

1 tsp. SALT

1/4 tsp. PEPPER.

Blend the puree of peas into the mashed potatoes until a smooth green color results.

Fold in the drained kernel corn.

The consistency should be that of firm mashed potatoes.

I haven't tried this, since I just now found it. When I make it, I will use frozen pettit peas and probably will use frozen corn. Frozen veg don't have the problem of added salt that canned veg does. Also, by using frozen veg you will be able to adjust the ammount you make easier. Plus I will probably add a whole bunch of stuff like onion or garlic or both. .... mmmm garlic

I edited this on Delarla's advice, not having ever actually been on a mushy diet...

Careful, cause kernel corn isn't considered a mushy food. I don't think corn is a good idea at all for the mushy stage unless it's creamed, maybe.

ah, good point. That's why I suggested running through the stick... And creamed corn in this would be good... I'll edit the recipe. Thanks Lisa!

I finally got around to making the Irio, and I was very happy with the results! I added 1/2 an onion and some garlic. Run the entire thing through a stick blender (or food mill or other type of blender) to make it truely mushy. It makes a fairly large pot, so you will need to adjust your mix accordingly. If you have a large freezer, or a family, there is probably not much an issue though.

For added protien, add cheese, tofu or a meat before blending for mushy

Thanks so much for starting this thread. I love ethnic foods, especially Mexican foods, and I was thinking about how to incorporate those foods into my new food repitoire.

Irio is perfect for a mushy! It has 5g Protein (more if you add cheese). I made a pot of it and got a bunch of those inexpensive small plastic containers. Now I can have Irio any time. It is slightly sweet because of the corn, and slightly savory because of the onion and garlic.

I cannot wait to have some of the other mushies suggested! This weekend I'm going to make a pot of my chili. mmmm, chili

Bumping for margo