So I am starting my fourth week of post op today and was cleared for soft foods last week. My body has made an enemy out of chicken and eggs since the purée phase. I was struggling for a while but thanks to this group I began reaching my daily protein goal through the power of scallops! (it was an amazing break through for me). Now my daily meal consists of scallops, egg, and a veggie smoothie along with water or a 80% water 20% OJ slush that I do using the freezer and water bottles. Now, I wanted to ask, I am the type of person who used to love having sushi at least once to twice a week, it was delicious and close to home. what exactly could I eat in the soft food stage to add some flavour to my menu if I want something not from my kitchen? Like can I eat edamame, or shumai (I heard pork is an amazing protein), or salmon sashimi (I had a bit of medium rare extra lean ground beef the other day and it went down smoothly), or pho soup. Literally anything I can order, sometimes it’s just me at home and I can’t go grocery shopping.

edamame is probably not going to be a "go" for awhile yet. It's kind of fibrous. I did eat sashimi fairly early on - although I can't remember exactly when. Probably once I was cleared for solid foods (at about a month out, I believe). Not sure about the pho. If it has noodles, probably not yet - or vegetables that haven't been cooked much. Shumai probably not, either, since it's dough-y. I remember ordering shrimp cocktail a lot the first couple of months..

you'll eventually be able to eat all that stuff again (as in it's not off-limits - but some of us can and do develop intolerances) - it's really just the first few months that you have to be careful. I think by around the six-month mark I was "allowed" to eat anything (although that's not to say that my stomach agreed with everything - but as far as my clinic went, I don't think anything was off-limits at that point)

I was (and am) kind of a foodie, too - so those first few months were difficult, to say the least (esp the first couple) - but it passes and you'll eventually be able to eat most/all of what you ate before - just in much smaller portions.

Soft food should still be pretty moist & should not require a knife to cut it & not much ‘biting’ or chewing. You should still be treating your tummy gently. Dry or fibrous & course meats & vegetables can be hard to swallow & digest. If something is too dry I still get the foamies.

Steamed or poached soft flesh fish is good & easy to tolerate. Fish or soups were often my go to if I dined out in the first 3 or so months. I also used to order steamed gyoza but only ate the filling. Then I started on scallops (which I love) & calamari (not crumbed & not over cooked).

At home I did a few slow cooked casseroles, braises & soups & easy to flavour up. Though watch your fussy tastebuds & tummy. I made a chicken chasseur, cooked it until that chicken was really broken down (thigh not breast meat) but that splash of wine was all I could taste & it was disgusting. Such a waste.

As @catwoman7 said, you’ll soon be eating a much wider variety of foods & introducing a lot of what you used to eat or healthier versions of them depending on what it is.

If you're going to eat phở, I suggest sticking to things that have been simmered for a while in the broth rather than tái (the rare beef that seems to be the default topping in most places not in a huge Vietnamese community). Some suggestions would be chín (well-done steak), nạm (flank), or gầu (brisket), which are cut in a way that isn't fibrous. Avoid gân (tendon), sách (tripe), and bô viên (meatballs, which are held together with a paste that makes it not soft at all). And definitely don't order dặc biệt (daily special, which is all of the cuts).

Edited August 30, 20214 yr by vikingbeast