I am not banded yet, but I was wondering.... Can you puree just about anything for mushies? Is there anything that you tried to puree that was just awful? I would love to know some of your experiences.

Thanks.:thumbup:

I would think the food processor would work better and make it a finer puree. Mine actually has a puree button on it. The bottom is flatter and blade is lower to the bottom as well so I would think that would help as well. BUT if you don't have a food processor and don't want to go buy one, then I'd just use the blender. Just might take a little longer to do it. Another thing too is that my processor has a small bowl with a blade that fits inside the larger bowl for smaller portions. That'll be a big help.

I would think the food processor would work better and make it a finer puree. Mine actually has a puree button on it. The bottom is flatter and blade is lower to the bottom as well so I would think that would help as well. BUT if you don't have a food processor and don't want to go buy one, then I'd just use the blender. Just might take a little longer to do it. Another thing too is that my processor has a small bowl with a blade that fits inside the larger bowl for smaller portions. That'll be a big help.

Thanks for the tips. I actually have a large food processor and one of those little ones that hold about 2 cups? Then I also have a blender so I guess I will experiment with them to see which one of my cheap buys works best.:smile2:

Hey Heartfire, I just noticed your surgery date is fastly approaching. Way to go!:smile2:

Thanks! I'm super excited! Morning of is going to be a little tough. We live an hour from the hospital and they're doing roadwork overnight on the 2 lane highway sooo we have to leave by 4:30AM in order to get there by 6!! Don't think I'll be sleeping much anyway! :smile2:

I'm not banded yet, so take this with a grain of salt....but, when I used to make baby food for my son, the handheld (immersion) blender worked really well. (Emeril calls it a boat motor)

Check out a few baby food making websites for great recipes and tips!!

I'm not banded yet, so take this with a grain of salt....but, when I used to make baby food for my son, the handheld (immersion) blender worked really well. (Emeril calls it a boat motor)

Check out a few baby food making websites for great recipes and tips!!

Thanks, I will do that. I have a "boat motor" too.:biggrin2: I am sure it is not near as good as Emeril's, but it might do the trick.

With pureed stage, these things don't have to be liquified, they just have to be mushed enough so that you don't have big chunks, or have anything stringy or chunky that might cause problems. You can eat egg salad almost as is if you chop the eggs very finely, tuna salad is also good in a bullet, blender or food processor. I've just entered this phase, and took a lot of hints from folks who had already been through it. What I do is add all the ingredients I would normally do for tuna, ham or egg salad, then whir together until it's a smooth consistency with no lumps of meat or egg, but not to the point of liquified -- it still has some definition and I can tell what it is. Other ideas for the mushy stage are hummus, fat free refried Beans, or laughing cow light cheese, mac and cheese (just mushed slightly, because you are going to mush further by chewing it), applesauce, cottage cheese, thinned oatmeal, grits, etc. You can take a soft fish filet, poach it, and mash it up with a fork, etc. Crackers (not whole grain, but the kinds like ritz, etc.) are actually mushy foods because they have no Fiber, so you can use a couple of crackers with your 'pate' that you've created, you just have to count in the total size you're allowed to have. The idea earlier about the pumpkin pie sounds great, as does the cauliflower.

Just some thoughts...

Sandy in FLorida

With pureed stage, these things don't have to be liquified, they just have to be mushed enough so that you don't have big chunks, or have anything stringy or chunky that might cause problems. You can eat egg salad almost as is if you chop the eggs very finely, tuna salad is also good in a bullet, blender or food processor. I've just entered this phase, and took a lot of hints from folks who had already been through it. What I do is add all the ingredients I would normally do for tuna, ham or egg salad, then whir together until it's a smooth consistency with no lumps of meat or egg, but not to the point of liquified -- it still has some definition and I can tell what it is. Other ideas for the mushy stage are hummus, fat free refried Beans, or laughing cow light cheese, mac and cheese (just mushed slightly, because you are going to mush further by chewing it), applesauce, cottage cheese, thinned oatmeal, grits, etc. You can take a soft fish filet, poach it, and mash it up with a fork, etc. Crackers (not whole grain, but the kinds like ritz, etc.) are actually mushy foods because they have no fiber, so you can use a couple of crackers with your 'pate' that you've created, you just have to count in the total size you're allowed to have. The idea earlier about the pumpkin pie sounds great, as does the cauliflower.

Just some thoughts...

Sandy in FLorida

Thanks for the ideas. They all sound really good. :thumbup:

After a complication with my band, I've been restricted to pureed foods for 3 weeks. I was really starting to panic, but this thread has made me feel better. Thanks.

If you like Wendy's chili, it's good pureed in the blender. Try it.

I don't have my Lap Band yet, but I do have experience blending all kinds of foods at work. :shades_smile:

I work at a school with severely handicapped kids and in the past we used to have to blend our own students lunches if they had trouble eating...... chewing, swallowing, etc. For several years the cooks have been doing it and it's much better. :thumbs_up:

I know they blend everythingin a blender except pizza,....then those kids get blended ravioli.... but we used to blend it. Being a school, the meat is usally very soft meat anyway.

I know what they do now is better. It is set up by our Therapists and it tastes good for the kids. We used to have to mix milk with everything.....yuck. Now, they use chicken broth on the main dishes, it doesn't overpower the taste and it adds taste to mild foods. It doesn't look great, but it's not terrible looking either. They have a thickener they use too, I was thinking of finding out where they buy that. I could just get the name of it and do a search. I know it thickens blended foods if too runny and has no taste.

Hope this helps :teeth_smile:

I have a quick question I hope someone can help. I am on mushy now start of my 2nd week. Doing ok so far but are we allowed to drink with our meals durning this stage or it it only when you go to solids you can't drink with your meals? Thanks for any help you can give me on this.

Theresa WA

My thoughts on this is "No." Not drinking before, during and after meals regardless of what stage you're in, is typically a hard rule. I've not heard anyone else say they were allowed to now drink whenever they please because they're in a certain stage. Different people have been given different guidelines as to how long you have to avoid liquids. I was told 30 minutes, but there are others who had the band at the same time as me by other doctors that were told an hour. Follow your physicians advice.

You have to remember that the liquids help flush through the food. So you're not going to feel full for the same length of time if you've washed the food through your pouch. If there's already liquids sitting in there, same result.

Having said that, there are times when I've broken that rule because something's been stuck. Either I haven't chewed it properly or I've tried to swallow too much. But I try to stick with the rules I was given as much as possible because they're there to help me, not to make things harder. :biggrin:

An afterthought: these rules are what I intend to follow until I reach my goal weight. Once I'm there and on maintenance I expect I'll be a lot more relaxed.

Thanks for the advice and I will follow it. I guess I should get use to not having liquids now while I am adjusting to everything else. So starting today I will be a good girl! Thanks again. Theresa WA