Hello all.. I'm new to this. . I am 8 days post op and I can seem to find anything worth eating.. nothing tastes good.. I'm beyond over these liquids. . I go to see my surgeon on Monday I'm praying he let's me have soft foods.. I want some refried beans with cheese so bad and I don't even like beans that much.. any tips to get me through the weekend

I totally understand. Last week I was where you are. It's awful! BUT I did lose 27 lbs! You are almost there. Try beef bouillon cubes. It got me through it.... Hang in there!!

Thank you JCP how long before you ate soft foods

@@JCP

I started soft foods about a week out. I bought the Betty Crocker flavored mashed potatoes and mixed in gerber chicken and vegetables or the turkey dinner...with sea salt and pepper. Used the bottled vegetables too like the organic brands with interesting vegetable and fruit mixes. Almost anything tastes good with those flavored mashed potatoes, and you can mix them as tick or thin as you can handle. After a week of that, I bought a really good little hand operated chopper and started to thickly puree restaurant meals. I just tried solid foods yesterday and what little I had seemed to work just fine. My surgery was August 27.

I started soft foods about a week out. I bought the Betty Crocker flavored mashed potatoes and mixed in gerber chicken and vegetables or the turkey dinner...with sea salt and pepper. Used the bottled vegetables too like the organic brands with interesting vegetable and fruit mixes. Almost anything tastes good with those flavored mashed potatoes, and you can mix them as tick or thin as you can handle. After a week of that, I bought a really good little hand operated chopper and started to thickly puree restaurant meals. I just tried solid foods yesterday and what little I had seemed to work just fine. My surgery was August 27.

what kinds of meals did you puree

@ mbrinmn

One meal that I have already prepared, portioned, and froze for post op and can be puréed with a bit of chicken broth is a family favorite casserole. My family calls it chicken divan. I cook boneless skinless chicken breast by boiling in seasoned water then shredding the chicken when it cools. Put the shredded chicken in the bottom of an oven safe pan. I usually use either an 8x8 brownie pAn or a 9x13 pan. Once the chicken is in the bottom of the pan spread 1/2 can of ff cream of chicken soup and a 1/2 can of ff cream of mushroom soup. Double the soup if using a 9x13 pan. Use the back side of a spoon to spread the soups out so they cover the chicken. Next cover with cooked broccoli ( I use the steam in bag kind for ease of use). You may have to cut the huge chunks into smaller pieces. Then use the same amount of both cream soups over the top and spread to cover the broccoli. Top with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until the cheese is bubbly. This can be served over brown (or white) rice or egg noodles for the family. I really believe this dish without the rice fits in well with the post surgery dietary needs and has a good amount of protein. It is also a comfort food on a cold day or when you are just wanting real food. I tried it puréed with chicken broth and it was as delicious as it was not puréed. I wanted to make sure it still tasted great before I went through the work of portioning it out and freezing it. Let me know if my explanations aren't clear or something doesn't make sense.

Hi Dame, I went from liquids (2 weeks pre-op, 2 weeks post-op) to stage 3 as I was tolerating the shakes well and not having problems (except pain and some diarrhea ... TMI sorry!) I am able to have eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, beans, soups, chicken, etc. As long as it is soft and moist and easy to digest, I can have it. If it needs to go in the blender I can do that to make it easier to digest. So there is a lot of variety there if you consider that almost anything can be cooked to a very soft stage and put it in the blender if it needs to be. My poached egg with velveeta cheese was great today, and a little tuna and mayo later. Just teeny bites but it lasts longer that way! So far, I'm very encouraged! Tomorrow I'll try some cottage cheese cooked with a little marinara and later in the day more tuna. As long as we get those protein shakes in, the rest is pretty flexible! I'm excited about it! I hope you feel really good soon!

Edited September 28, 201411 yr by JCP

Oh I also bought a bag of small frozen pre-cooked turkey meatballs. In a few days, I'll try them mushed up with some marinara and cooked cottage cheese. Easy to do small portions! And like you, I also bought some refried beans. I plan to poach an egg, add a spoon of beans, a little velveeta, and a tiny bit of extra mild picante. Voila! It will be too much to eat at once but you can go back for bites later.

Edited September 28, 201411 yr by JCP

I really enjoyed strained soups on my post-op liquid phase. I had to start with clear soups, but was able to move to cream soups and I usually had some soup every day for lunch. That allowed me some variety in addition to my protein shakes.

Thanks everyone