Where's the BEEF??

I've been able to tolerate just about everything, but I am really wanting to try some beef. I was told that it was the hardest to digest of the meats by some and others say to just make sure that it is ground beef. I am just curious about what you guys are doing as it relates to beef? Please let me know what you've tried and how it worked for you. My doc says to just give it a try because that is the only way that I will know. I am going on my 5th week and I admit that I am CHICKEN!~!! Thanks!

Lakisha, I'm six weeks out and have been following my doctor's directions very closely. However, yesterday was my anniversary and my husband and I went out to dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House. I had a small shrimp ****tail, but my husband had a wonderful looking steak. He gave me about a 1/2 inch in diameter bite, which I ate in very very small bites over about a 15 minute time period. I tasted delicious and didn't make me sick at all. I don't plan to do that very often, but I think in moderation, being sure to take small bites and chew it to pieces in my mouth I will be just fine. Good luck! ~Wanda

My surgeon's basic advice is wait until you're 3 or 4 months post-op, but if you want to give it a whirl go ahead. So far I've tolerated other meats well (chicken, turkey, pork, shrimp, scallops, and fish), but I rarely cook beef at home and just haven't had a chance to try it. Oh yeah, I had Campbell's low-carb beef and mushroom soup. My pouch liked it. The beef in the soup was cooked a long time, so it just fell apart in the mouth. Perhaps you should try slow-cooked beef first, like soup, stew, or pot roast. We're off to a friend's BBQ this weekend, so I may have a chance to try a little steak there. Then again, they have a lovely home and I'd hate to throw up on their carpet...

I had some meatloaf that hubby made and did fine. It was pureed with gravy on it. Seemed to sit well. Kathy

I had some Hamburger Helper one night and it actually stayed down, which surprised me since nothing else wants to. We use the 90% fat free, or whatever, hamburger and then rinsed it while draining it. My doctor said not to try beef until at least 6 weeks out. I tried at about 4 and I did ok. Chicken and turkey still won't stay down, but beef did.

Before surgery I was an avid steak eater. My daughter grilled some sirloin tips for me last night and I ate very slow and added A1 sauce to make it more wet. I may have had 5 bites of tiny, sliced very thin, steak. After about 10 minutes it felt like the fibers of the meat were trying to paste back together in the pouch. Made the pouch very grouchie. I would have loved to to get rid of the awful feeling, but since surgery I have been unable to. I can eat hamburger, chicken, and fish, but I will not try steak again for sometime

I have been eating chili w/beef for some time now, no problems. I actually tried a piece of steak yesterday. I cut it up into very small pieces and made sure to focus on chewing. No problem!

I guess I've been lucky. I've tried ground beef and roast and steak. I just make sure I chew it very well and take teeny teeny bites. I can only eat about 1/4 cup at most though and then I'm full. I cook the roast and stew meat in a slow-cooker so it's falling apart and no problem. I've been doing this since the third week out but I try not to overdo it but I know you get iron from red meat.

I did what Linda did - I cooked a roast (very lean - I think it was a sirloin tip or something, don't remember) all day long so that it was falling apart. I chopped up the pieces tiny (like almost grains of rice size) and put a little bit of gravy on it - MUY yummy!!!

I found that steak can be kinda heavy. I had some medium rare steak and it did not come up but I felt like it wanted to ( I ate it as my meal and think I ate to much). I had to get up and move around for about 20min to relieve the sick feeling in my stomach. I would try it if I were you just stop way before you are full and see how you do. Hamburger works well. Lynette