I'm still on my liquid phase post op but I am terrified of the upcoming phases mainly because I'm not creative or an expert in the kitchen. Before my surgery I was the typical guy proclaiming to be a grill master on the patio. I could do wonders with a steak. But now I'm at a loss. Any help?

Well, my mom got me a Tapas recipe book. Tiny servings of awesome food. It's not a bad idea. I'm pretty on top of things in the kitchen (or was before) but now find myself having to rethink cooking as there winds up being an insane amount of food if I follow a normal recipe. I'm only slightly further out than you are but it is a process and I'm throwing away more than I eat some days and a doggy bag lasts almost a week.

Well, my mom got me a Tapas recipe book. Tiny servings of awesome food. It's not a bad idea. I'm pretty on top of things in the kitchen (or was before) but now find myself having to rethink cooking as there winds up being an insane amount of food if I follow a normal recipe. I'm only slightly further out than you are but it is a process and I'm throwing away more than I eat some days and a doggy bag lasts almost a week.

thanks Rose. What got me thinking about this was salsas. Sounds crazy right? But on every FB page the first thing I usually see in a recipe section is some amazing salsa to help the food go down. It made me realize I don't even know how to make that! Lol. Well I can follow directions so I guess I just need to roll up my sleeves once the time comes. Meal prepping is also something foreign to me. But I'm researching and getting knowledgable about how planning is key.

Yup I hear you! Meal prepping and just plain making time to cook has been a challenge all my life. But all things considered, I'm so ready to make this commitment. I'll just make sure I have backup food on standby for those times my meals are a dismal failure!

You should buy some small containers and portion out large recipes and freeze them for those times you need to grasp and go. This worked really well for me durning the puréed phase and the soft food stage. There were lots of times when I didn't want to eat but got a container out and made myself eat something.

When you get to the soft foods stage, a crockpot is my best friend. I buy chicken Breast Tenders at the grocery, a packet of Chicken seasoni, along with a bag of broccoli and some of the 4 ounce plastic food storage cups/lids. Throw it all in the crockpot for 8 hours and it's done, stir it once or twice during the process. Then divvy it up into the small containers weighing out 2 ounces of food for servings. Freeze some for future use.

I plan on making turkey meatballs and some mini turkey meatloaf (using a muffin pan) and freezing them for quick meals. Also, deli meat is high in protein and omelets. I'm still searching for ideas, too.

I ate refined beans, salsa, sour cream, and guacamole. I layered it and measured....then put in a small coffee mug. I use this small coffee mug a lot when eating as I know how much a 1/4 and 1/2 cup is when I use this mug. I also bought Panera's soups and would add seasonings. Try Fairlife skim or chocolate milk. It's good and high protein. Just some ideas...good luck. Welcome to the "other side"...you are going to love it here.

Crockpot meats and veggies are very easy to do. If you do not have one, I suggest you get one either at a thrift store or walmart. Look up crockpot meals on line. super easy. Gordons grilled fish is very good. 2 fish servings per package and precooked.

back to topic guys

"what was your final straw"

i had so many trips/falls due to my heavy weight - knee replacements

femur broke twice, etc

i slowly realized that all my excess weight caused these problems

falling since i had problems because of my "excess" weight

i was always so sad about my weight

weight gain, weight loss, weight gain etc, etc

realized i had so many health problems

i needed help, immediately

hello sleeve

good by diabetes meds/high blood pressure meds, no more CPAP

my big NSV one was having my epilepsy meds dosage cut in half

i was taking dosage for someone that weighed 235 lbs

now that my weight was going down, down etc - i was taking too taking to many meds/pills

so meds were less for a smaller person

life is great now

that's my story and i'm sticking to it

kathy

I am not a big cooker and i do not have a family to cook for so now when i do cook i have left overs for the whole week. When i was in the soft food stage i used the slow cooker a lot(throw chicken in with some condenced Soup, salsa, pesto, or bbq) or i made things in minni muffin tins. I soon went back to hating/not having time to cook though.

So now i go to the deli a lot. We have a lot of different grocery stores in my area and all of them have a different selection of tunu/egg/chicken salad which i then sometimes add nuts, fruit and/or cheese to. I tend to buy a baked chicken breast(2-3 meals) at least once a week too. I also use the salad bar for friut b/c i love melon but if i got a whole one it would just go to waste. I know that delis and salad bars are more expensive then making things myself at home, but for me this is a trade off for the conveniance of not having to cook. Plus i get such small amounts of everything that the $4 scoop of chicken salad lasts 2-3 meals so it really isn't that expensive.

Good idea Amanda, I'm looking at all options. We all made this decision to change our lives. Changing the nutrition habits is such a big hurdle. Everyone has such good input. You guys have really made the kitchen less intimidating.

back to topic guys

"what was your final straw"

i had so many trips/falls due to my heavy weight - knee replacements

femur broke twice, etc

i slowly realized that all my excess weight caused these problems

falling since i had problems because of my "excess" weight

i was always so sad about my weight

weight gain, weight loss, weight gain etc, etc

realized i had so many health problems

i needed help, immediately

hello sleeve

good by diabetes meds/high blood pressure meds, no more CPAP

my big NSV one was having my epilepsy meds dosage cut in half

i was taking dosage for someone that weighed 235 lbs

now that my weight was going down, down etc - i was taking too taking to many meds/pills

so meds were less for a smaller person

life is great now

that's my story and i'm sticking to it

kathy

I think you're on the wrong thread. This thread is about getting comfy in the kitchen post op

i'm laughing so hard

i told you guys back to topic

and i just now realized i was on the wrong topic like @@TrillTX said

i took a dummy pill at home instead of my Vitamins

sorry for goof

your embarrassed friend

kathy

No worries. Hey we are all here for support info and knowledge. All info is good info.

Well, my mom got me a Tapas recipe book. Tiny servings of awesome food. It's not a bad idea. I'm pretty on top of things in the kitchen (or was before) but now find myself having to rethink cooking as there winds up being an insane amount of food if I follow a normal recipe. I'm only slightly further out than you are but it is a process and I'm throwing away more than I eat some days and a doggy bag lasts almost a week.

thanks Rose. What got me thinking about this was salsas. Sounds crazy right? But on every FB page the first thing I usually see in a recipe section is some amazing salsa to help the food go down. It made me realize I don't even know how to make that! Lol. Well I can follow directions so I guess I just need to roll up my sleeves once the time comes. Meal prepping is also something foreign to me. But I'm researching and getting knowledgable about how planning is key.

Well - salsa, aside from requiring a lot of chopping, is pretty easy all in all. I totally get the difficulty though. I need to go buy tiny storage cups or something because my stuff sits in the freezer at this point and I've been living off of Protein drinks. My nutritionist told me I need to eat more calories. Hahaha! No one has ever said that to me before, it was awesome. And hopefully if I manage to do so I'll have more energy and wont be such a blob at the end of the day anymore.