Please share some meals or items that you have found to be friendly to our life style moving forward...nd portions. Thanks

On 03/02/2021 at 09:20, Tim C said:

Thanks...Any favorites?

I like the tuna one because I still struggle with chicken/pork.

18 hours ago, Tim C said:

How are you doing? Any complications since surgery? I have been able to get my liquids in easy. I have really just been drinking my Protein. I am really over the Soup and broth. I got light headed Sunday and checked BP and it was 61/42. Got back to normal in a couple of hours.

I am doing great! Down 14 lbs since sugery last week. No pain. Energy is good- walking my 10K steps already. Go for MD appt tomorrow. Planning to move into soft foods after appt if MD says OK. I see you are doing great too!

Someone said egg bites from Starbucks. I second this. I get a green tea with no sugar, egg white bites, and a fruit and protein box. Super good. It’s the only take out food I’ve tried tho.

5 hours ago, ANewJourneyAwaits said:

Someone said egg bites from Starbucks. I second this. I get a green tea with no sugar, egg white bites, and a fruit and Protein box. Super good. It’s the only take out food I’ve tried tho.

Thanks. LOL... I hate eggs. Guess i will give them another try soon.

I don't like fast food and didn't before surgery, but my husband and son do and I have found something I can eat at most places. I usually go for a salad that has protein in it or any type of grilled chicken..
I am allowed carbs so sometimes I will eat part of a bun, but usually I just eat the chicken. I was never a big bread person anyway and I find it doesn't feel good in my stomach now.
Thanks to Covid we have only been to Olive Garden in the past year, and they have a lighter chicken option called Chicken Margherita and it's very good.
I don't know if you have Culvers in your area but their salad is great and they have really good grilled chicken. I end up eating some of the chicken out of the salad and a little bit of lettuce and my husband eats the rest.
The good thing is, protein is on the menu at pretty much every restaurant so I haven't found it too difficult, except that I don't eat any red meat.
For breakfast, QT has a delicious egg scramble with veggies and cheese, if you have a QT around.
As long as you know what you are allowed you should be able to find something at most places. It takes a little planning but it's doable. Good luck!

I can’t eat anything at most fast food restaurants- I can look at it and I know that grease wouldn’t go down well.

I’ve had good luck at Panera. A cup of soup (chicken noodle, turkey chili) are great. I can’t finish the chili but I can the more broth based ones. I got a half Asian salad without wontons yesterday. Again, I don’t finish it but what I did eat was good.

At Mexican restaurants I love chicken tortilla soup. I’ve not tried it post surgery but at Red Robin they have a meal that’s a grilled chicken breast with a side salad. I forget the name. It could be two meals for any of us now. ?

One thing to watch out for is over ordering. I’m always convinced that the small side I’m getting will never fill me up- and I’m always unable to even finish that. Old habits die hard.

I would for sure wait longer before trying out restaurants too much. A few months after my surgery I was able to eat like 1 and a quarter chicken mcnuggets from McDonalds. After about a year I was able to eat anything I wanted from any restaurant. The one thing I noticed is that my heart burn was a lot worse with certain foods after my surgery, so I had to make sure to take heartburn medicine before Mexican, Italian, etc. It is actually pretty nice though, even now 4.5 years later, I can order an entrée from a restaurant and make at least 2 or 3 meals out of it (in most cases). The difference in the amount of money I spend at a restaurant now vs before my surgery has to be huge haha.

10 hours ago, blackcatsandbaddecisions said:

I can’t eat anything at most fast food restaurants- I can look at it and I know that grease wouldn’t go down well.

I’ve had good luck at Panera. A cup of Soup (chicken noodle, turkey chili) are great. I can’t finish the chili but I can the more broth based ones. I got a half Asian salad without wontons yesterday. Again, I don’t finish it but what I did eat was good.

At Mexican restaurants I love chicken tortilla soup. I’ve not tried it post surgery but at Red Robin they have a meal that’s a grilled chicken breast with a side salad. I forget the name. It could be two meals for any of us now. ?

One thing to watch out for is over ordering. I’m always convinced that the small side I’m getting will never fill me up- and I’m always unable to even finish that. Old habits die hard.

Thanks. This is good info for when I start traveling again.

6 hours ago, JMJames92 said:

I would for sure wait longer before trying out restaurants too much. A few months after my surgery I was able to eat like 1 and a quarter chicken mcnuggets from McDonalds. After about a year I was able to eat anything I wanted from any restaurant. The one thing I noticed is that my heart burn was a lot worse with certain foods after my surgery, so I had to make sure to take heartburn medicine before Mexican, Italian, etc. It is actually pretty nice though, even now 4.5 years later, I can order an entrée from a restaurant and make at least 2 or 3 meals out of it (in most cases). The difference in the amount of money I spend at a restaurant now vs before my surgery has to be huge haha.

I am another month away from eating anything like that! The savings at the grocery store and restaurants will be significant! Thanks

Thank you for this information! I am 6 days post op and still drinking only clear liquids.

any updates new ff options

When you are cleared for it, Chick-fil-A has a southwest salad that is delicious. I mostly just eat the toppings and leave the lettuce. They also have fruit cups.

Edited January 3, 20224 yr by ShoppGirl

These are just a few things I've found I can eat in the last month or so...I'm 3 1/2 months post-op

-meatballs and marinara appetizer from Fazolis

-soups from Panera

-shrimp or salmon bowl from Long John Silvers, no rice or the grilled shrimp or salmon a la carte

-chicken power bowl from Taco Bell, no rice

-side of refried beans from Taco Bell

-grilled trout meal from Cracker Barrel with green beans (if you ask they will sell you a half order with only one piece of fish and one side instead of two and two...which I still think I got four meals out of!)

-Whopper Jr, no bun, Burger King

-Sonic will put everything from inside a breakfast burrito in a cup for you, ask for it with no tots.

I've done the Wendy's chili; I just don't like it. Taco Bell, black beans for beef is a free substitution, so a few things can be modded to fit. Honestly, gas stations (as was mentioned) is my fast food on the go, primarily because they always have the crispy protein bars. One of those, and a cup of coffee, and I'm good.

dell taco bean cup is always a go for me, also the snack taco i exchange the meat for beans i get the crunchy shell because soft doesn’t go well for me.