I am really craving a salad

[bettyboop2088 19]

I am 10 weeks post op and really miss my vegetables. I am wondering what vegetables are good at this stage I think I am more afraid of trying things and just need to know what will be ok at this stage. I have a 3 month appoint with a nutritionist but I feel I am getting enough information from this forum that I may not need her advice. She has not had the surgery so I much prefer advice from ones that have. I am so happy I found this website. I was huge into salads before surgery and hope someday I can have full ones again.

[Bufflehead 6,358]

The problem with getting your food marching orders from this forum is that you are going to hear about twenty different post-op eating plans, and maybe just tempted to go with the one you like the best.

My post-op eating plan was NO RAW VEGGIES AT ALL until six months after surgery. Somehow I get the feeling you won't be wanting to jump on board with my plan

At ten weeks post op I was allowed to eat green veggies, but only if they were soft enough that they could be cut easily with a fork. So, I rarely ate them because mushy veggies gross me out.

I am allowed salad now, of course, but rarely choose it: it's nutritionally not a good deal when you consider how little Protein you get versus how much stomach space it takes up. Give me a rare steak or a piece of delicious grilled swordfish any day instead. And that's only in restaurants -- I don't think about having salad at home, ever. I live alone and there is no way I could eat my way through the raw veggies I'd have to buy for a salad, even if I ate salad for every meal for days, before they all turned brown and slimy.

[Miss Mac 6,261]

Same for me.

[KnowNothing 20]

Hey bettyboop I actually been able to eat vegetables since the mashed food season without a problem. They just need to be overcooked and prioritizing the Protein as always; but I also miss a salad!

Good luck!

[AvaFern 3,516]

I was told that after 6 weeks I could eat whatever I wanted to and I remember having lettuce (which is not exactly soft) at about a month post-op. In theory, at the 6 week point you should be about 90% healed and at 10 weeks there shouldn't really be any reason to not be eating a salad, especially if you are making sure you chew, chew, chew those raw veggies. I found though that my stomach does not like raw veggies...my mouth likes salad, my stomach likes to puke it right back up.

Maybe if you're nervous about raw veggies, you could make a salad with steamed spinach. You can use things like egg, turkey, a little bit of fat free dressing, a little cheese, diced tomatoes (raw vegetable but not hard at all), and maybe some cold, cooked Beans (like black beans- soft but full of Protein, not like green Beans that haven't been cooked to the point of being mushy). That gives you a ton of Protein, nothing is sharp, and if you only steam the spinach to the point where it is just getting soft and then quickly dunk it in a bowl of ice Water, your "salad" would probably taste good and not stress you out about eating hard, raw veggies.

[2goldengirl 2,076]

I'm still preop, but I'm trying something right now (well, it's on the stove right now). I'm cooking a heap of veggies in some homemade chicken stock with a can of diced tomatoes thrown in. I basically threw in things from the freezer (green Beans, shredded zucchini) and stuff from the veggie drawer: kale, a bit of cauliflower, carrots, some cabbage, a couple potatoes, an onion, a leek, parsley. There's about 6 quarts of Soup that I'll blend smooth, then add a bit of pesto for seasoning. If we like it (and I have when a friend made it), then I will have something that I can eat at any stage, really - depending on how thin I make it. I can add plain Protein Powder to it, husband doesn't have to, and we can both get our veggies.

Edited February 21, 2016 by 2goldengirl

[LisaPunkinHead 187]

I missed my veggies too. But understand -- you will never be able to have a meal-size salad. There's just no room for it!! I have about 1/2 cup of vegetables, only after I eat my Protein. I do crave those big gigantic fat-filled, totally unhealthy restaurant salads that I used to think were good for me. But the half cup of salad satisfies that!! I also have found that I need to chop the veggies for salad really small -- like a dice. That way I can get a few different flavors in the small bites that I take. At 10 weeks, I was still challenged with getting in Protein, so I would have maybe a bite of broccoli or something.

[lovemylukers 80]

I was able to eat raw veggies after 8 weeks before that they all had to be cooked.

[hhbbmm4 38]

I have found that I now have no problem at all eating salad or steamed veggies - where at first I was afraid to eat them - but tried it and I do fine. I also can eat a snack size bag of baby carrots with no problem. I think because they don't expand like other foods. Just eat in small bites and chew chew chew!