Can anyone suggest foods with more protein during the purée stage? There's got to be more thank canned chicken and tuna! Need ideas please because I know I'm not getting enough protein!

Greek yogurt is good, I used to add a scoop of vanilla Protein powder to plain yogurt to give it flavor, and boost the protein. And you can add unflavored powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury Protein Powder to pretty much any pureed food to make it higher in protein. If your doctor allows them, soft scrambled eggs and refried Beans are good options too. Oh, and cottage cheese. I didn't eat any meat during my pureed stage. I just couldn't face the idea of pureed meat.

Thanks for responding. I have actually done that but so sick of yogurt and shakes! Is tried pintos and cheese with beef today from Taco Bell and it was really good! My dietician never mentioned I can have that during stage 3 so hope that's ok. Do you know what the quest bars or quest products are about?

I made all sorts of combos of any meat I wanted plus a sauce that went well with it and pureed it. Then I put it in a little ramekin, put some shredded cheese on top, and heated it up in the microwave. There really isn't any limit to what you can do with your basic building blocks, it just depends on what you like. I used the little flavored pouches of tuna when I did tuna for more variety as well. Some of my favorites were:

--chicken with marinara sauce & mozzarella cheese

--turkey with peanut satay sauce & jack cheese

--lemon dill salmon with remoulade

--shrimp with garlic butter and pecorino cheese

--hickory smoked tuna with chipotle bbq sauce

--ground beef with spicy Indian ketchup and cheddar cheese

You get the idea. Just think of what meats appeal to you and take some time to stroll the condiments, sauces, and international food aisles of your supermarket and come up with some combinations that you will like.

wow, @@Bufflehead, you sound like a gourmet cook with those recipe ideas! thanks!

What I really loved to do when I was in the puree stage and because I love Mexican food was take low fat and low sodium refried Beans, canned chicken and taco seasoning and mix it up and heat it. Then I would put some low fat shredded cheese and low fat sour cream on it then put it on some melba toast. To me that was heaven at work. My mom made me some turkey in a crock pot and then made some mashed potatoes with Protein powder for my mock thanksgiving dinner because I couldn't eat solids for thanksgiving last year. It was pretty tasty alternative to the all liquids I was sucking down.

I like ricotta with a little sauce. My Dr said we can have a very flaky fish like tilapia or swai. Just need to mush with fork. Haven't tried yet.

@@Bufflehead those are all great ideas! So did you just put it in the blender?

@KayleeC14.

That is my favorite food as well and I actually got pintos and cheese w/meat at Taco Bell today. I did go to the store and buy the ingredients to make my own.

@@kccat3594

That sounds good, just like lasagna! I just need to find an affordable unflavored Protein because I know I'm not getting enough!

@@JenVsg2014 I used a food processor but that's the general idea, yes. Puree the meat and sauce together, put the puree in a little ramekin, top with shredded cheese, and then heat in the microwave.

These are all fantastic ideas! I'm only 4 days post-op but i've copied this to have on hand when I get to purees. Thank you

I'm still pre-op but someone suggested to me to purée bean soup and chili, get protein from both the meat and beans.

I added unflavored protein powder to every cream soup and bisque I could find. I diluted and strained them to eat during my full liquid stage and just blended but skipped the straining during pureed stage. I also ate a lot of split pea soup and bean soups ...both of which I've always loved. Huevos rancheros (refried beans, cottage cheese, soft scrambled egg and green chili sauce) was my favorite pureed meal. Ate lots of homemade guacamole, too.

This is my favorite recipe right now......Ricotta Bake

8oz part skim ricotta

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1 large egg beaten

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 cup marinara or spaghetti sauce

1/2 cup shredded part skim mozzarella

Heat oven to 450

Mix ricotta cheese, parm cheese, beaten egg and Italian seasoning together.

Place in over proof dish

Pour marinara sauce on top and then top with mozz cheese

Bake for about 20-25 mins

This is so YUMMY!!! I make half a recipe at a time in a little square oven proof dish I have had forever and never used till now. Then I cut in four pieces and enjoy! Reheats wonderfully. I usually add a drop of sauce on top when reheating.

With the products I use here are the stats for 1/4 of HALF the recipe so you get an idea:

94 Calories

7 grams of Protein

4 grams of sugar (I still use my six cheese Ragu sauce cause I love it but you can probably find one with less sugar if you want)

@@Bufflehead

Excellent combos. I'm definitely going to try some of these soon!