Hello All! So grateful to have found this forum. I’m 5 days post-op. My dr didn’t recommend anytime on a clear liquid diet and instead put my straight into a purée diet. I’m feeling pretty nauseous and also just malnourished and constipated. I feel gross. I’m not actually repulsed by food. My husband had a plain sandwich that looked AMAZING. I tried pureeing a few recipes but have found that the easiest thing just seems to be blending up some plain Greek yogurt with some berries or 1/2 a kiwi and adding some high quality protein powder. Does anyone see any issue with me doing this each meal? I get grossed out by the prepackaged protein drinks and this feels a bit healthier. Any staple puréed meals I should try? Thinking about trying some oats.

I could not do the puree stage, too grossed out. I made soups with lentils, bacon, carrots and sweet potatoes with mild chilli/curry flavours. I could regulate the thickness with stock or milk, add yogurt or cream cheese. I had lots of milk with banana and peanut butter blitzed in

Thank you Summerseeker! Your soup sounds amazing! Does this mean you were able to have this without blitzing it up?

Oh yeah, the protein shakes are awful. I forced myself to have one a day & then had soup. So glad to get to purées when I never touched a shake again. Did your dietician give you a list of foods you can eat? If not give them a call. There are some foods like certain fruits we’re advised to avoid while we’re healing. Smoothies are great. The high protein yoghurt I ate had a yoghurt drink too which I regularly had (25-30g protein).

Yes, you still have to purée the soups. Everything must be extra smooth, no lumps, fibrous, bits, etc. so it just slides down into your tummy. You can purée a lot of things just keep them very runny by adding sauces, stock, gravy, mayo, milk, etc.

And don’t worry you won’t be undernourished after 5 days. You’re likely feeling weak & lacking energy simply because of what is a pretty major surgery.

Oh the constipation will be with you for a while. Try to keep on top of it. Add a soluble fibre to your soups or smoothies & take a stool softener or similar as needed to get things moving. I used to take something if I got to three days without pooping. Oh & don’t be surprised if your poop is small & you only go every two days - you’re not eating much at the moment.

On 9/16/2023 at 9:27 PM, Trisnah77 said:

Thank you Summerseeker! Your Soup sounds amazing! Does this mean you were able to have this without blitzing it up?

It depended on where I was when going through the stages. On puree I would blitz it but when on soft foods I would smash it with the back of a spoon. I still eat it now, its good

I never did the puree stage. Just looked and sounded gross to me. I just ate things like fish and softer fruits like canned pears (in water, not syrup), bananas, refried beans with sour cream, avocado, and shredded cheese, lots of soups (my favorite has always been minestrone, so I get the canned Progresso soup), etc... I personally love making my own protein shakes and often still have one for breakfast (not big breakfast fan, but skipping is a no-no). I get Arbonne protein shakes (the coffee one is my favorite) and I add stuff to it to make it acceptable as a meal. Making them myself vs ready made are SO much better to me. Especially now.

Years later, I still kind of live in the "pureed" stage at times. I am a soup lover, I like congee with veggies and eggs, hummus with cheese crisps that basically melt in your mouth (made in my air fryer), black beans with tomatoes, onions and chilies, soft tofu (a lot of different ways), cottage cheese with different spices... Etc. A lot of yummy things.