lesson for today......

When the Dr. gives you a specific diet plan it's best to listen to him. He doesn't say it just for fun and he's not doing it to be mean. He knows what he's talking  about. Who woulda thought? lol So I'm not straying from my mushy foods until Monday when I switch to soft foods. And I'm going to take it easy on the soft foods. 

I've been feeling much better the past few days and the food I've been eating has been going down good. I stayed on my diet plan before, during and after surgery. So I figured, since I was having such an easy time, I could try a chicken strip and a few fries from Captain D's. I chewed slowly and completely but it still about killed me. I wanted to die. BIG lesson learned! Right now I feel like I never want to eat again.

But atleast I know the surgery is working for me. Before the dieting and surgery I could eat the chicken strips with fries, slaw, hush puppies and even a side of jalapenio poppers, no problem. Now I can't handle a small strip with a few fries.

 And chicken can be one of the WORST to test boundaries with, since it can be so dry and scratchy to get down! 

I hear sooo much about chicken...I feel scared to ever eat it again! I wonder how baked chicken is? I have not had any stuck episode and hope I never do!

In fact i think from reading on here) that more of us can eat chicken than can't! I never have a problem. Just make sure it is not over-cooked and dry. Dark meat is more moist than breast meat and many people like to have it with a sauce. Cooking in a casserole can help but even so if it is overcooked it can get a bit stringy.

But I can eat it even if dry!! But then I can, as long as I am careful, eat everything and anything!

Kate

I've had chicken for the past 3 nights and even had it at lunch yesterday.  

I cut up boneless skinless chicken breasts into small slices and covered it with low fat cream of chicken soup mixed with milk. baked for an hour.  It's really tender and I haven't had one problem yet....I also haven't been filled - but am still swollen.

I normally eat pureed chicken breast with 98% fat free broccoli cheese soup with the broccoli strained out of it (more soup than chicken) and it goes down ok. The chicken I had tonight wasn't dry......it was smothered in honey mustard! lol I was feeling a bit flu like last night and this morning. It's been through about everyone in my house. But I was feeling good this evening. WAS, until the Captain D's trip!

The only chicken I can always get down is canned chicken. It's spendy but for the little bit we eat it's worth the investment. I just got a pressure cooker so I plan to try cooking my meats in that to see if it makes them any more tender. I know crock potting them helps some but not always.

Try brining your chicken -put boneless skinless chicken in a salt bath in the fridge for an hour - it makes the moisture go into the chicken.  Thats how trader joes frozen chicken breasts are prepared.  They are always tender and juicy.

Haha!  I was just about to suggest the exact same thing.  I also add some brown sugar and a couple of smashed garlic cloves to my brine.  The great thing about brining chicken is that all you have to season it with to grill it is salt and pepper, no synthetic or calorie-laden marinades.  And I asked the nutritionist about the brown sugar and she said that it sounded fine, not a worry at all since you weren't actually COOKING it in the brown sugar.

I do this to pork as well...  And really guys, you would be amazed.  Dry chicken will be a thing of the past. 

I use equal parts kosher salt and brown sugar (about 1/2 cup each) and enough ho****er to fill a gallon sized ziploc bag about 2/3 full (for a pack of 4 chicken breasts).  Smach a few garlic cloves and once the water cools down (the salt and sugar dissolve better in ho****er) add the chicken or pork and just let it soak.  I usually do this in the morning with the frozen meat and leave it in there all day to defrost.  But JoMixx is absolutely right, even an hour makes all the difference in the world.

The take it out of the brine, pat it dry and just salt, pepper and grill!  Make sure you let it rest 10 minutes or so after grilling under some aluminum foil before slicing it.

I just bought a can of chicken to try. I preferfixing it myself though so I have more control over sodium and preservatives and all that good stuff. I had my pureed chicken with broccoli cheese earlier yestrday. It didn't go down so well. But I think it was because it was too dry, even with the soup. Dry chicken is a problem. I've tried it with creme of chicken soup also. Very good. Chicken is much more moist if baked with some sort of soup or something over it rather than cooked in a skillet or on the George Foreman.