I am so scared of this process right now. My last weigh in is tomorrow and I know I need to make changes but I can NOT cook. Any suggestions on things I can get for the kitchen to make this better? I live on fast food. I can do smoothies but what else? I can boil eggs lol. But seriously HELP

Edited May 23, 201412 yr by upurg

I cannot cook. I hate it and am awful. But I also avoid fast food like the plague. Way too big of a trap for me.

Here's the deal: even though you may hate cooking you need to learn to like your kitchen. I live on Tuna, grilled chicken (learn to grill it's so easy). And I do occasionally make some recipes from The World According to Eggface. One recipe is a lot of meals for me and I know it's healthy.

As someone who probably made 10 meals total in 37 years of existence pre surgery, trust me... You can do this. If I can do it, YOU can do it!

Edited May 23, 201412 yr by MetroDetroitChic

My favorite recipe so far from her site: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2009/09/italian-food-beach.html. <------ super easy!

My favorite recipe for tuna ---- great for a day when you are struggling to meet Protein goals. http://minougirl.com/2014/01/skinny-greek-yogurt-tuna-salad/

Thank you so much. I will try this.

Target sells a very small 2 quart crock pot. Buy one and a crock pot cookbook because there is nothing easier than tossing a ton of ingredients in that thing and leaving it all day. Plus that means you can eat off it for quite awhile.

You can buy pre-cooked, pre-sliced chicken breast near the salad section at most grocery stores which you can do lots of stuff with.

To be honest, I've always loved cooking and at 6 months out, I find myself cooking far less than I used to. I live off greek yogurt, tuna, Protein shakes, and crock pot meals. You'll do just fine!

I love to cook and I'm good at it but I hardly do anymore. Here are my suggestions:

Rotisserie chicken. If you can't eat a whole one, cut off the meat and freeze some of it for later (or for Soups and stuff.) Here's how you make stock: boil a chicken carcass with some cut up onions and whatever vegetables you want, salt and pepper.

Chili: brown some ground beef and drain, get a package of seasonings, and open some cans of tomatoes and Beans. Mix together, let it simmer. (Directions are on the seasoning package.) Couldn't be easier.

Restaurants: Just bring home half of your meal and eat it as leftovers. I do this at Breakfast (omelets) or dinner (usually a steak or chicken entree from a Mexican restaurant as that is what my family prefers.)

Have some shakes or Protein bars on hand for when you just can't face it.

Scrambled eggs. Bacon. Sausage. These are all pretty basic and easy to do. My favorite way to cook bacon right now is to line a cookie sheet with foil so that the foil comes up the sides, and lay out the strips of bacon. Put the pan in the oven and then turn the oven on to 375. Takes 20-30 minutes and the cleanup is easy. Just wait until the fat is cool and then crumble up the foil and throw away.

I don't cook. Very very rarely I will get in the kitchen. I've never really liked it and it's a waste of time and food for me. You can purchase food for every single phase, post surgery. Clear soups like chicken broth, chicken noodle (just drain out the chicken and the noodles, the broth is delish), powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury Chicken Soup is pretty good. I bought one of those cup warmer things to keep it warm and near me. I couldn't drink it all before it got cold.

For the first 6 to 8 weeks, you won't be eating a lot. I went to Kroger and got broccoli cheese soup, chili, chicken tortilla soup. Just stick them in the blender or strain the solids out ( just no tomato soup, it's too acidic. Well, my stomach doesn't like it anyway). You can get pre boiled eggs.. mash them up with some mayo and mustard, a little pickle juice, salt and pepper-- egg salad. Yummy, soft and about 5 grams of Protein. Yogurt, cottage cheese, refried Beans with cheese, mashed potatoes (at this point in your recovery, mashed potatoes won't make a huge difference. it'll be soft warm and filling). I like ham and bean soup, sent through the blender as well.

And don't forget your liquids! You can make suntea, sweetened with splenda or another alternative, or drink it plain. Water, juice (I drank white grape juice), diet snapple. There's also Isopure. Some people love the stuff. I wasn't too fond of it but there's, 40 grams of protein per bottle! Check it out at your local GNC. I had to mask the flavor with some fruit juice.

Further along you will find that you can get a lot of things lowcarb. Just ask for no bun or a lettuce wrap-- Wendy's will serve their chicken/burgers on a bed of lettuce with a knife and a fork. Hardees/Carl's Jr sells all of their burgers Lowcarb-wrapped in lettuce leaves. Jimmy Johns has the Unwich which is any of their sandwiches wrapped in lettuce instead of bread, or chopped on a bed of lettuce like a salad. Same with subway.

And if they don't serve it that way, you can make it that way. It never hurts to ask. On the weekends, like Friday night I go through the drive thru at KFC and get a 4 piece in their grilled recipe. I take the skin off because I don't eat skin and at home I pair it with bagged salad or sometimes I can get myself to steam some vegetables to go with it. It doesn't take much to fll me up at all. ALSO Atkins has really great frozen lowcarb meals. The chicken broccoli alfredo is excellent.

Go take cooking classes. They are fun. Once you understand a few basic you can cook most anything. It's not hard to cook protien and veggy's. Highly recommend a good set of pans, knives and a well stock pantry. Currently I am learning how to make cured meats such as fermented sausage and prosciutto type items. Its fun and supising what you can do with a $1.49 a pound pork butt or a beef round.

Oh! We also have a specialty grocery store that does full meals in a bag here. They're expensive but cheaper than going out for dinner and my entire family enjoys them. I just eat the Protein and they eat the rest.

That same store also regularly sells things like pre-marinated crock pot dinners. All you do is pop the package open and stick it in the crock pot. These are so great.

i teach cooking classes. i also do private cooking lessons. i also teach people to menu plan and shop healthy. some people just need to learn the skills. some people lack the executive functioning skills needed to feel confidant in the kitchen.

my suggestion is to honestly ask yourself what you feel willing to do to learn to cook for yourself. maybe you just need to get a cookbook for kids and teach yourself to cook. maybe you need a kitchen makeover. maybe you need lessons. maybe you need a lot of handholding. maybe you need to find someone to cook for you. sometimes i do personal cheffing for people. i prefer to teach people to cook for themselves, but sometimes people just arent willing or ready to take that on. you need to be honest with yourself about what you need.

Thank you all so much. I feel better knowing it is possible. All of the ideas are worth a try. I plan to have my surgery within the next month or so and I want to start a healthy routine now so it will not be a total shock when the time comes. I have been hesitant to purchase too much because a lot of people say their taste buds change after surgery.