So I follow the food before and after thread and I’m always amazed by all the yummy looking things they come up with but I am more of the five ingredients or less kind of cook so I lurke and admire but rarely post anything. I really struggle with variety and I am always looking for new ideas. Today I bought lean beef, mahi mahi and chicken breasts and now I’m sitting here trying to think of what to make for dinner but nothing sounds good. Does anyone have any tasty, yet somewhat easy, recipes or suggestions. I am trying to start eating close to how I will be eventually eating post revision surgery that is scheduled for early august. What your plan for dinner tonight??

Edited July 2, 20242 yr by ShoppGirl

My favorite no-cook meals are salads. I like to start with a salad of baby spinach, matchstick carrots, fresh edamame, chickpeas, beets, feta or goat cheese, a sprinkling of sliced almonds, and top with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. It pairs well with chopped chicken breast (buy rotisserie to avoid having to cook it), smoked salmon, or thawed pre-cooked shrimp.

Regarding the honey in your recipe, I would start by cutting the amount in half and see if you like the flavor of the glaze like that. Depending how you feel about artificial sweeteners, you might also try one of the no-sugar keto "honey" substitutes that are out there.

2 hours ago, NickelChip said:

My favorite no-cook meals are salads. I like to start with a salad of baby spinach, matchstick carrots, fresh edamame, chickpeas, beets, feta or goat cheese, a sprinkling of sliced almonds, and top with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. It pairs well with chopped chicken breast (buy rotisserie to avoid having to cook it), smoked salmon, or thawed pre-cooked shrimp.

Regarding the honey in your recipe, I would start by cutting the amount in half and see if you like the flavor of the glaze like that. Depending how you feel about artificial sweeteners, you might also try one of the no-sugar Keto "honey" substitutes that are out there.

I love salad. My husband usually barbecues a few times a week and I just ask him to make a couple chicken breasts and I can add whatever to make it a meal. Fruit and Chicken salad or “Market Salad” and low carb ceaser salad wraps are both in the rotation. I haven’t tried fish on salad. I don’t like salmon that much sadly. I know it’s so good for me but I think I will try it with mahii. I really hope that I can tolorate salads post SADI. Someone told me that they cannot post DS. That and the ones that say they can’t do a lot of fruit scare me a little. In terms of healthier food, they are my faves. With the sleeve I didn’t have any foods that gave me issies though and the sleeve part is already done so fingers crossed I will be okay with them. I never thought of looking for keto homey. I eat it so rarely. Thanks for the idea.

Does anyone ever use an instapot. I have had the mini one for a couple of years now and to be honest I’m a little scared I of it. Not being able to look at it and check to see if it’s done is just weird. Everyone says it makes the most tender meats and stuff through and you don’t need any oils or anything. I was thinking that with my upcoming surgery that I should try to make some soups in it. I know I have to strain the chunks for a while but I’m sure that will be way more flavorful than plain old broth or cream of soups. I did them last time and I dreaded eating after just a few days. Went to panara today with a group of ladies and they alll told me I have to try their tomato soup. I decided to hold off and let that be something to look forward to during purées. I really think the instapot, or anything hiomemade, would be good though because I can add twice the veggies to make the broth extra flavorful once I strain out the chunks.

14 hours ago, Arabesque said:

I use zip lock bags when freezing all my leftovers & extra serves (my freezer is full of them). Just make sure they’re cool before freezing so they don’t ice up. I reheat in the microwave Sometimes I thaw on the bench others times in the fridge, or defrost & warm in the microwave - depends how organised I am. ?

I use a 12 x half cup muffin tin.



Not sure what happened to the picture but those look delicious. I’m so excited to know I can freeze something like that. My hubby wouldn’t like them so to make them for just me would be such a waste otherwise. I hate bavimg ti make breakfast when I wake up so that would be perfect. I can just put one in fridge the night before and it should be good to go.

Yes, I have an Instapot and am just starting to give it some use. I've made delicious bean soups, and I have a recipe for chicken I'm wanting to try. I just try to follow recipes that are specifically for Instapot and they always come out perfectly. The meat really is tender, and soups are so good.

I feel like I am stuck in a repetitive loop with food at the moment - I find one thing I like and it is all I eat ?

My current obsession is a mix of things in a bowl, including: beetroot, small balls of mozzarella, chicken pieces, cucumber, crème fraîche, olives, sundried tomatoes, and a protein popped corn and pea mix. Sounds gross but for some reason I really can't stop eating it ?

On 7/4/2024 at 2:31 PM, NickelChip said:

Yes, I have an Instapot and am just starting to give it some use. I've made delicious bean Soups, and I have a recipe for chicken I'm wanting to try. I just try to follow recipes that are specifically for Instapot and they always come out perfectly. The meat really is tender, and soups are so good.

Let us know how the chicken turns out. I seen a recipe for a chicken dish that had a mexican flaire. I remember it used taco seasoning and had corn and tomatoes but that’s about it.

13 minutes ago, Bypass2Freedom said:

I feel like I am stuck in a repetitive loop with food at the moment - I find one thing I like and it is all I eat ?

My current obsession is a mix of things in a bowl, including: beetroot, small balls of mozzarella, chicken pieces, cucumber, crème fraîche, olives, sundried tomatoes, and a Protein popped corn and pea mix. Sounds gross but for some reason I really can't stop eating it ?

I’m the same way. I am just seriously not much of a cook and im a picky eater so my menu options are limited. But I’m limited even further because my husband won’t eat what I eat so I’m cooking for one.

18 minutes ago, ShoppGirl said:

I’m the same way. I am just seriously not much of a cook and im a picky eater so my menu options are limited. But I’m limited even further because my husband won’t eat what I eat so I’m cooking for one.

Sometimes I just can't be bothered to cook! Especially when I know that I won't eat it all ?

What are some of your favourite go-to's?

40 minutes ago, Bypass2Freedom said:

I feel like I am stuck in a repetitive loop with food at the moment - I find one thing I like and it is all I eat ?

My current obsession is a mix of things in a bowl, including: beetroot, small balls of mozzarella, chicken pieces, cucumber, crème fraîche, olives, sundried tomatoes, and a Protein popped corn and pea mix. Sounds gross but for some reason I really can't stop eating it ?

Other than the mozzarella it sounds nice to me though I am jealous, I have found since my op I can't chew/break down sundried tomatoes and they seem to stick in my throat, no issue with regular tomatoes.

Same with grapes, not sure if it is a skin thing but I miss them both as used to love including the tomatoes in a salad and snacking on frozen grapes.

1 minute ago, FifiLux said:

Other than the mozzarella it sounds nice to me though I am jealous, I have found since my op I can't chew/break down sundried tomatoes and they seem to stick in my throat, no issue with regular tomatoes.

Same with grapes, not sure if it is a skin thing but I miss them both as used to love including the tomatoes in a salad and snacking on frozen grapes.

I think I found the same thing with the tomatoes initially! I just made sure I was chewing them for a bit longer which seemed to help. But they definitely are more difficult to breakdown compared to regular tomatoes!

Ooh, I haven't even tried grapes yet! If I am honest I feel a bit nervous to try most fruits for some reason! I have only had kiwis which are lovely!

37 minutes ago, Bypass2Freedom said:

Sometimes I just can't be bothered to cook! Especially when I know that I won't eat it all ?

What are some of your favourite go-to's?

Yea. It’s really touch cooking small amounts. I know alot of people on here freeze a great deal. I haven’t gotten into that yet. I don’t have a ton of freezer space and I’m pretty unorganized so I may be able to do like one thing at a time but I don’t think creating a whole menu of frozen items is really for me.

Anyways, i have been going back and forth since I’m pending revision in terms of my eating but when I a being good I eat a lot of salads. I love southwest and taco salads as well as market salad (a Copycat of Chick-fil-A salad that has chicken, nuts and fruit). @NickelChip suggested salmon on salad but I’m not a fan. I think I will try mahi mahi instead I just gotta figure out what else goes with that. I also like low carb wraps. I do a cheeseburger one, Philly cheesesteak (using deli roast beef that I just skillet fry for a few seconds), and grilled chicken Caesar. When I’m feeling extra fancy I will do chicken or beef stuffed peppers or zucchini boats with sausage. And when I’m craving Italian I will like cauliflower crust pizza or this low carb Italian bake I just found that’s basically lasagna without noodles but with Italian sausage (it’s low carb but but necessarily low calorie). That is pretty much my entire menu though which is why I am really hoping to expand my horizons. I get board and thats When I am tempted to eat off plan.

@ShoppGirl

I am with you on the freezing side - I am far too unorganised to try and keep on top of all of that! I find that if I have any leftovers I will just take it into work the next day for lunch!

Oooh that sounds so lovely, I can't lie, the food in the US sounds amazing compared to the UK at times ? I am a BIG fan of salmon with that being said haha.

Your menu honestly sounds divine! Hmmm...I am inspired!

I would love to hear if anyone has any recipes for healthier Mexican dishes that are good. I used to have a recipe that was a Mexican skillet with black beans and corn and cauliflower rice but I misplaced it. I have tried a few others I found online but they are just not the same. Ifs the spices that I cannot remember.

2 hours ago, Bypass2Freedom said:

Ooh, I haven't even tried grapes yet! If I am honest I feel a bit nervous to try most fruits for some reason! I have only had kiwis which are lovely!

I have been trying to get some fruit and eggs into my diet as eggs used to be a no go and honestly a lot of the time I don't have the room for fruit so today I made banana pancakes that were nice and light;

0.06 tsp/pinch cinnamon
1 banana
0.25 cup oats, dry
2 eggs
0.06 tsp/pinch salt
15 g, 70% dark chocolate chips (optional)
1 tsp smooth peanut butter (optional)

I got 8 pancakes from the mix and depending on the daily carb/protein/fat allowances you are taking it works out at the below. So that is at least two lunches sorted for me, today and tomorrow, with a couple of pancakes left over for a snack maybe.

Now I just have to find something to do with the last egg I have

Edited July 8, 20242 yr by FifiLux