During the mushy food stage, the thought or pureeing it myself kinda grosses me out. Idk why.....but what about little jars of baby food? Does anyone like that better? Is there one that tastes better than the other?? Any recommendations?

As a nurse, there is a BIG difference between puréed diet, ground diet, chopped diet, and soft diet.

Puréed means exactly that: puréed.

Something which is the consistency of canned tuna (assuming it is like tuna salad) is somewhere between ground and chopped, not puréed. It's up to each individual to ask and learn which consistency the nutritionist, or MD, is actually referring as each person advances to a new stage.

I wouldn't monkey around with anything different from what is suggested or needed.

Has anyone tried to puree mac and cheese?

Nope to many carbs and not enough protein to be worth it for me.

Puree doesn't really mean it needs to be creamed up like baby food. It really means the food is diced up so that you aren't swallowing large pieces. Think of the consistency of canned tuna.

This may be true for some practices, but not every practice. Per my dietician's rules, virtually all food had to be actually pureed in the puree stage, in a food processor or blender. The only exceptions were poached eggs, refried Beans, yogurt, and cottage cheese. IMO it's always best to follow your own surgeon's rules rather than adopting the most liberal interpretation you can find on the internet. And if your own surgeon's rules aren't clear, call and ask for more information.

The definition of Puree.

A purée (or mash) is cooked food, usually vegetables or legumes, that has been ground, pressed, blended or sieved to the consistency of a soft creamy paste or thick liquid.^[1] Purées of specific foods are often known by specific names, e.g., mashed potatoes or apple sauce.

I am a few days into a 3 week pureed stage... and per my DR and Nutritionist... everything must be pureed (no chucks or pieces, has to be smooth). Be creative with healthy foods... a few that I have tried already

Jennie-O Ground Turkey, Low Fat Ricotta cheese, Skim Milk, Salt and Pepper
Imitation Crab meat, Ricotta, Milk, Spinach

Egg White, Fat Free Cheddar

These all tasted much better than expected... especially after several weeks of sweet Protein shakes and crystal light.

Has anyone tried to puree mac and cheese?

With as little as you are eating early on, you should be trying to get as much Protein as possible from the things you do eat. Mac & Cheese, while potentially comforting, wouldn't provide much nutritional value. Remember, protein first!

@@aiso65 It has been rough for me cause cottage cheese, yogurt and ricotta cheese is something I am not a fan of. Honestly, I am sticking to Protein shakes, broth, and baby oatmeal Cereal, cream of wheat. I can't stomach anything else. I have tried eggs, boiled and scrambled....not happening. Then I tried to chop little pieces of ham (tiny) into scrambled eggs, that didn't work out. In my desperate attempt, I tried blending mac and cheese (thinking cheese is the protein) with milk, and nope that didn't work out. I did humms and a cracker and chewed it to death to make it mush, and so far that went down okay. Barely got in 3 crackers with the 2 tablespoons of hummus and I was done for the day.

I think sticking to liquids until I go to next stage is what will work for me. Everything pureed grosses me out.

Yeah I learned the hard way. It really wasn't worth the 3 teaspoons I had. It got tossed.

With as little as you are eating early on, you should be trying to get as much Protein as possible from the things you do eat. Mac & cheese, while potentially comforting, wouldn't provide much nutritional value. Remember, protein first!

I haven't read loads into the purée stage yet, though I have read a few different hospital's diets on it and they've all said no baby food - but I don't know why.

If you find any good 'recipes' for this stage, do let me know

I found a Gerber baby food jar of beef and gravy one with 13g of protien which didn't taste bad i mixed it with mashed potatoes

@@Pac-woman, I found this stuff from a brand called Tolerant. It's Pasta made out of nothing but either black Beans or lentils, and it doesn't taste nearly as weird as it sounds, lol. When you get to the stage where you can have it, an ounce of that with some cheese might not be so bad. The 3 ounce serving listed is a little higher in calories than I'm comfortable with but 1 ounce was just perfect and has about 7 grams of Protein.

The thought of puréed food grossed me out. I just ate babyfood.