I am scheduled for surgery 11/11 and being the overachiever and planner I am, I have already started working on preparing meals for post op. Please share your recipes and favorites foods post op. I am most interested in recipes that can be shared with the whole family with minor modifications to meet our needs post op (ie: leave out the carb portion, etc). Here's a favorite in our house that I have tried puréed with chicken broth and was still delicious. I want some ready to go, easy family meals for some of those days I don't want to cook for whatever reason.

Chicken Divan

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can fat free cream of mushroom Soup

1 can fat free cream of chicken soup

1 bag steam fresh frozen broccoli

1/2 bag shredded mild cheddar cheese

Cooked rice or egg noodles to serve it over for the rest of the family.

Directions:

1. Cook chicken in boiling Water with 1 tsp black pepper until cooked through. Drain chicken and cool.

2. Cook broccoli according to package directions. Drain the broccoli and chop the large pieces into bite size pieces.

3. Shred cooled chicken and spread in the bottom of an 8x8 pan.

4. Put 1/2 can of both Soups on top of chicken. Use the back of a spoon to spread it out to cover all of the chicken.

5. Next spread the broccoli out over the top of the soup. Spread it to cover the soup entirely.

6. Spread the remaining 1/2 can of both soups over the broccoli. Make sure to cover all of the broccoli.

7. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top to cover.

8. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

9. Serve over rice or egg noodles. We use brown rice for it at my house.

Bariatric members can eat it without the starch. If you are still in the purée stage, this still tastes great puréed with chicken broth! I made this casserole and froze normal serving sizes for my kids and hubby to heat and serve over rice. I also used the tiny glad ware disposable storage containers to store small portions for me post op. I then put my containers in a gallon zip loc freezer bag to help prevent freezer burn.

My next project is butternut squash soup, followed by chili! I am determined to have a decent variety of foods that I know are good for me and meet my nutritional needs. It will also help to have meals ready for all of the boys to grab and microwave.

So now it is your turn!

I am glad you have found recipes you like I hated the puréed stage and it was very hard for me so good luck to you

My favorite recipe so far is Shelley's Baked Ricotta (on this page), which is basically just lasagna without the noodles. So you could make a little batch without noodles for yourself and put noodles in a bigger batch for your family.

Another thing you can do is cook things in a slow-cooker that would normally be served over rice or Pasta and just eat it without the pasta or rice for yourself. meat in the slow-cooker is very tender and easily shredded, so you can have it during the pureed/soft food stage. My husband makes a great Indian dish called chicken makhani in the slow cooker and i've just been eating it without the rice.