What to add to meat to increase moisture?

[Flab-U-Less Forever 140]

My surgery is fast approaching (3/3) so I am reading through my material (again). I keep seeing that when we can eat meat we should be adding "sauces" to it to make it more moist to help get it down. What "sauces" does everyone use? I have been googling it but not really getting the info I am looking for. TIA.

[liveaboard15 1,292]

Like cooking? I dont like cooking but my parents they always add like broths to meat, Cream of chicken, Tomato sauce ect...

[Splenda 251]

There are a few ways to accomplish this:
1. Eat some type of stewed meat, where it naturally has taken on moisture.
2. Find some low sugar or sugar free sauces (i.e. use a little bit of Keto bbq sauce)
3. A little bit of gravy, all things considered, should be ok. Don't douse your food in gravy, but use just enough to add moisture.
4. If the meat is a good fit for it (like chicken), some avocado mash makes a nice sauce.

Really, just find something that adds moisture, so you aren't relying totally on your own saliva to help it breakdown and become mush in your mouth.

[GradyCat 3,692]

I hadn't heard that before. My surgeon said to avoid things like sour cream and sauces that make more food go down more easily to avoid eating too much and getting in added sugars and calories from the sauces. I haven't had any trouble eating meat.

[Sleeve_Me_Alone 654]

Cooking meat in a crockpot is a great way to get moist, soft meats without too much "junk" added. chicken breast, pot roast, pork roast, all cook down and shred very well. Things like gravy or broth based sauces can help, but I avoided anything super spicy (salsa, hot sauce, spicy BBQ Sauce, etc.) for a while. I would also use rotisserie chicken and mix it with hummus, enchilada sauce, and even Boursin cheese to "thin" it out and give it some moisture.

[SleeverSk 621]

Gravy, creamy sauces, hollandaise you name it if its runny and tastes good on meat use it

[lizonaplane 1,605]

I use fat free greek yogurt on anything that I would normally use sour cream on, and very many things. So, I make taco meat, chili, and ground turkey stroganoff and mix all with FF Greek yogurt. It makes it easier to swallow (and ground meat is easier that like chicken breasts or pork loin) and it increases the Protein content.

You can also use Tomato sauce; just look for one that doesn't have added sugar or make your own.

[Flab-U-Less Forever 140]

3 hours ago, liveaboard15 said:

Like cooking? I dont like cooking but my parents they always add like broths to meat, Cream of chicken, Tomato sauce ect...

I do like to cook...it just seems most stuff I would add is high fat

[Flab-U-Less Forever 140]

3 hours ago, Splenda said:

There are a few ways to accomplish this:
1. Eat some type of stewed meat, where it naturally has taken on moisture.
2. Find some low sugar or sugar free sauces (i.e. use a little bit of Keto bbq sauce)
3. A little bit of gravy, all things considered, should be ok. Don't douse your food in gravy, but use just enough to add moisture.
4. If the meat is a good fit for it (like chicken), some avocado mash makes a nice sauce.

Really, just find something that adds moisture, so you aren't relying totally on your own saliva to help it breakdown and become mush in your mouth.

gotcha... so braised/stewed meats I can do and I just tried the no sugar added Sweet Baby Rays and I like it better than the original because I do not like "sweet" on my meat. Just a little gravy will be hard but I will do it. Nice tip about avocado...I would never had thought of that. Thanks!

[lizonaplane 1,605]

Just now, Flab-U-Less Forever said:

I do like to cook...it just seems most stuff I would add is high fat

Our surgery center said not to worry TOO much about some added fat, like cheese sauces, right away, because we are eating so little. On the other hand, we shouldn't eat high amounts of fat like in Keto because that can increase the risk of galbladder issues as you are rapidly losing weight.

I eat cheese and sour cream and butter sauces on things I eat at restaurants and I have to eat out a lot for work. I also can't eat Tomato sauce because it upsets my stomach (my whole life, not related to surgery). But try different things to see what works for you.

[Flab-U-Less Forever 140]

37 minutes ago, Sleeve_Me_Alone said:

Cooking meat in a crockpot is a great way to get moist, soft meats without too much "junk" added. chicken breast, pot roast, pork roast, all cook down and shred very well. Things like gravy or broth based sauces can help, but I avoided anything super spicy (salsa, hot sauce, spicy BBQ Sauce, etc.) for a while. I would also use rotisserie chicken and mix it with hummus, enchilada sauce, and even Boursin cheese to "thin" it out and give it some moisture.

Hummus is a good option. I know I will be afraid of anything spicy since it gives me heartburn now. I had to google boursin cheese. It looks a lot like the Alouette I buy. That's a great idea since Alouette has a low fat garlic cheese I like as a spread on crackers/bagels. Thinning it would work well with meat!

[lizonaplane 1,605]

1 minute ago, Flab-U-Less Forever said:

Hummus is a good option. I know I will be afraid of anything spicy since it gives me heartburn now. I had to google boursin cheese. It looks a lot like the Alouette I buy. That's a great idea since Alouette has a low fat garlic cheese I like as a spread on crackers/bagels. Thinning it would work well with meat!

I ate hummus on EVERYTHING for a few months after surgery. It's great on deli meat and hard boiled eggs. Also baba ganouj is great. And laughing cow cheese triangles.

[Flab-U-Less Forever 140]

26 minutes ago, lizonaplane said:

I use fat free greek yogurt on anything that I would normally use sour cream on, and very many things. So, I make taco meat, chili, and ground turkey stroganoff and mix all with FF Greek yogurt. It makes it easier to swallow (and ground meat is easier that like chicken breasts or pork loin) and it increases the Protein content.

You can also use Tomato sauce; just look for one that doesn't have added sugar or make your own.

Not a huge fan of plain greek yogurt but Tomato sauce sounds like a good idea (hopefully I will be able to tolerate it after surgery). I make my own and it only has 1.5 teaspoons of sugar to 84 oz of crushed tomatoes so I would call that low in sugar. Thanks!

[Flab-U-Less Forever 140]

2 minutes ago, lizonaplane said:

I ate hummus on EVERYTHING for a few months after surgery. It's great on deli meat and hard boiled eggs. Also baba ganouj is great. And laughing cow cheese triangles.

I like me some laughing cow...I forgot about those things!

[Arabesque 6,565]

I keep some tinned powdered gravy in my pantry & just make up small amounts as I need it. You can even just add a little stock to pan juices, throw in some herbs, spices, Tomato paste as you like & instant sauce. You don’t have to drown the meat just keep it moist enough that it doesn’t get stuck. I avoid the cream, cheese based sauces because they’re too rich & I’m not good with higher fat things.

Cooking to medium rare, poaching, steaming, slow cooking tends to keeps meat more tender.