what do i eat now?

I am going to be on pureed Tuesday, off clear liquids, thankfully.  What the heck do i eat?  any ideas for meals?  I have the list of i can eat, but your ideas on meals 1 week out will help me a lot/!!!  thanks.

On full liquids I was able to eat
Protein shakes
Yogurt
Pureed soup (did alot of soup)
Ricotta and sauce (yummy)
Apple sauce

Kristy, I was a little nervous when I was told to move on to this stage but I kept it simple at first until I got used to the idea. (The next stage actually scared me more!) Evelyn (& Dr Clarke) told me that things like mashed potatoes, cream of wheat cereal, oatmeal, unsweetened applesauce, ricotta cheese, softly scrambled eggs, s/f pudding cups were all ok for this period. (Refried beans & pureed tuna may be too dense for this stage, I can't remember.) I know it looks like a lot of starch but they will give you a canister of Beneprotein to mix into everything to help get your protein in - word of caution - add it slowly & mix well - it worked well in some things but not in others - you'll find what works for you. I also added some shredded cheese to anything I could for the extra little bit of protein & flavor. If I think of anything else that worked for I will pm you later today!!  Just remember to eat small bites, really, really slowly & pay attention to your pouch you will know when you've had enough & you will be surprised at how little food it takes!!! Good luck!!! Cece

Kristy:
A meal will be 1-2 TABLESPOONS early on it should also take 15 min +/- to eat this amount, small bites chewed well, yes even jello and mushies!

Remember protein first...so things like
Dannon light and fit yogurt, one container will last many meals!
Ricotta cheese
Cottage cheese
laughing cow cheese wedge
tuna/turkey/chicken/seafood/crab/shrimp/egg salad with mayo to moisten and ground in mini chooper like pate consistency
potted meats
some do (yuck) babyfood!)
Broth with potted meat or ground meats
IMHO watch too many carbs such as mashed taters, oatmeal, cream of wheat or applesaucse little nutrition there, mix them perhaps with milk if you tolerate it.
protein shakes, protein pudding.
here are some ricotta recipes: *skip anything with nuts or berries in it for now!
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RICOTTA RECIPES:

Lemon Peel Ricotta Crème Makes 1 Serving
½ c part-skim ricotta cheese
¼ tsp grated lemon peel ¼ tsp vanilla extract
1 pkg sugar substitute
Mix together the ricotta, lemon peel, vanilla extract, and sugar substitute. Serve chilled.
Per Serving: 178 cal, 14 g pro, 7 g carb, 10 g fat, 6 g sat. fat, 38 mg chol, 0 g fiber, 155 mg sodium
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Ricotta Romanoff Sundae Phase 2; 2 servings
Whether or not this dessert was first served to the Russian Czar Nicholas I by Marie Careme can be debated, but there is little doubt that you will be glad we came up with this version.

1/2 cup strawberries, cut into quarters
3/4 teaspoon grated orange peel
2 teaspoons sugar substitute
1/4 cup sliced strawberries
1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 tablespoon pistachios
Mint leaves, for garnish

In a blender or food processor, combine the quartered strawberries, orange peel, and sugar substitute and blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Gently stir in the sliced strawberries. Cover and chill. When ready to serve, evenly divide the ricotta among 2 serving bowls. Pour equal amounts of the strawberry mixture over the ricotta, then sprinkle with the pistachios. Garnish with the mint leaves.
Nutritional Information:
220 calories, 11 g total fat (6 g sat) , 40 mg cholesterol, 15 g carbohydrate, 15 g protein, 2g fiber, 160 mg sodium
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Mocha Ricotta Crème Phase 1; 1 serving

1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package sugar substitute
Dash espresso powder (or instant decaf coffee)
5 mini chocolate chips (*can use sugar free also available at www.bariatriceating.com )

Mix together the ricotta, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and sugar substitute in a dessert bowl. Serve chilled with a dusting of espresso powder and sprinkled with the mini chocolate chips.
Nutritional Information: 261 calories, 14 total fat (9 g sat), 42 mg cholesterol,
17 g carbohydrate, 15 g protein, 0 g fiber, 177 mg sodium
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Peanut Butter-Chocolate Ricotta Crème Two servings.
1 cup low fat or part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 or 3 packets Splenda
1/2 to 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
1/2 to 1 tablespoon baking cocoa (or 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar-free chocolate
syrup)
Mix as desired, put in 2 serving dishes, chill, and serve. If using chocolate syrup, you can pour on top instead of mixing in, if desired.

Mock Oatmeal
1/2 C Ricotta Cheese
1 pk. splenda
1 egg
1 cap maple flavoring
Mixing. together and microwave 1min 30 sec to 2 min, stirring after 1 minute. The maple smell is wonderful. The texture looks kind of funky, but it tastes good, and is a great protein breakfast that isn't just EGGS!
------------------------------------------------------------------Mock Grits
1/2 C Ricotta Cheese
1 egg
Shredded cheese, garlic powder, salt and butter to taste. Make in the same way as the Mock Oatmeal.
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Mock Danish
1 egg
1 oz. cream cheese
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 pks splenda
cinnamon to taste
spray oil
Spray small skillet. Beat egg and 1 pk. splenda. Cook over med. heat. Do not stir--let cook. If the middle doesn't cook through, you may flip. (One pan I have to flip, the other I don't?!) Mix
cream cheese, splenda, and vanilla. When egg is done, spread mix over egg and roll up. Sprinkle any leftover mix and cinnamon on top. It is like a dessert!
----------------------------------------------------------------
Mock Cinnabon
1/2 C. cottage cheese
1 pkt. splenda
tsp cinnamon
few pecans
Blend with fork. Put in microwave to take off chill. You have to close your eyes and just focus on the cinnamon flavor.
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Mock Stuffed Shells:
Ricotta cheese warm amount desired in microwave, top with warmed spaghetti sauce! YUMY!


ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jamie, I know what you mean about the carbs but that is what they told me to eat in the very beginning with the protein powder added in... and yes, in 1-2 tbs amounts at first. They phase us away from those things in the next phase - more into pureed meats & veggies. I limit my carbs nowadays because I know they are a trigger for me. It amazes me how every dr's program is so different. I couldn't & still can't tolerate protein shakes so I did the best I could. I follwed the program I was given & I think I am doing pretty well on it. Eventually we all find whats works best for us, I guess. Thanks for your suggestions - I wish I had some of those recipes in the beginning - I may even give a few a try now! Cece

I forgot eggs other than egg salad! Soft scrambled yes or lighty poached/coddled can work although for some eggs are the a DIFFICULT protein to digest.
Yes programs are different, mine did not encourage.support protein shakes EVER, I made an individual choice for myself to do them....Yes we all find what works, I shutter though when I see people ONLY eating carbs it can be a slippery slope and unfortunately they seem to slide down better alas we work best we can! Be well.

Hello, I am 5 weeks out and I think I am doing ok.  I do have a problem on what to eat.  Chicken and Fish get caugth as well as a scrambled egg.   What do I eat for dinner just not sure I am getting tired of just cheese. wonder what I should be eatting at this point, i am suppose to try new things and so far the only new thing is cheez it crackers it stays down. I eat cottage cheese for breakfast or lunch  somedays a yogurt but honestly I am getting bored and need to try new things any suggestions

Hey Girlfriend! Today is the big day!   For me (as we talked about!) ricotta cheese was my best friend, with a little cinnamon and warmed up that always tasted good.  And as Cece said the cream of wheat , applesauce - actually the sugar free flavored applesauce (peach medly and blueberry - yummo!) mixed very nice with the beneprotein - just keep mixing stir stir stir it does not look the greatest but it has 6 grams protein and that is sooo important right now.  Mix a little bit of applesauce with the cream of wheat and beneprotein and that is good also. I also did canned/cooked chicked with lil mayo in the bullett well blended, and also as suggested - potted meat, I had meatloaf at about 2 weeks out, butternut squash, cauliflower - Call me tonight and we can talk --- :)   You must have all the stuff in the house since you have been to Walmart (ha ha) private joke. 

Talk soon

{{{hhuuggsss}}}

Michelle...

Thanks for all the suggestions.  Last night I had ricotta bake... it was soooooo good, I got the recipe from eggface.  It went down fine and stayed down.  Had about 2tbsp.  This morning I had 1/4 of 1/4 of a banana really soft, and like 2 tbsp of oatmeal... both went down fine, totally fine and stayed down.  I am to start the beneprotein today, but one scoop is big, and to add it to 2tbsp of applesauce will make it all the powder, ick!!  And do you eat that three times a day?  And when???  I am so confused.  I am so afraid I am going to mess up. 

Kristy, Congrats on your first meals!!! Feels good, doesn't it?My co-worker couldn't stop laughing at me when he saw how little food I was bringing with me to work... who's laughing now? I thought the same thing about the scoops. Add as much as you can tolerate without totally ick-i-ying the food (yup, my new word!).  Add it slowly & then add a little more - you'll learn real quick how much you can handle. I think it can be mixed in liquids too - I couldn't stand the taste of broths so I didn't do it there & I tried it in water & that was awful so I made do with what I could. Word of caution - don't heat it... add it after the food is cooked - bad things happen!! Oh yeah & don't add it to pureed green beans... Try some tuna - pureed with a little light mayo to moisten it - it's full of protein & if you can add some of the beneprotein to it it's even better!!! Like Jamie said egg salad too!! Good luck - it's trial & error but you'll find what works for you!!! I'm here if ya need me!! Cece