Recipes for Blenderized/Pureed Diet??

Hi All!
I am looking forward to getting clearance tomorrow from the surgeon to start my blenderized diet, but I am nervous about what to eat.

Does anyone have any good ideas or recipes?  
Thanks so much

best suggestion is be creative!! I believe that my rules were anything that would go through a mesh strainer, so yogurt, ricotta (with spaghetti sauce, or cinnamon and splenda or flavored extracts and splenda), chili blended, meatballs blended with some gravy or sauce.

Enjoy this phase and be creative!

Liz

One of my favorites was mashed potatoes (microwave a 1/2 potato and add a tiny bit of butter and skim milk).  In a tupperware container I always kept about 6 ounces of canned chicken (weighed) pureed with 1 package of gravy (follow package directions).  I would take 1/3 of the chicken mixture with gravy and puree with the "mashed potato." It sounds kind of weird but it's really high protein mashed potatoes.  It was a comfort food that helped me keep my protein intake up.

The other thing I liked a lot was 2 oz. of chicken, a spoon full of refried beans, 1 oz grated cheese and one spoonful of mild salsa.  I'd blenderize it and heat and the cheese would melt and give it a slightly creamy texture.  Yummy!

My rule during purrees was that anything that sounded remotely good, I would make.  The first thing I purreed was filet mignon -- I poached it in beef broth and then purreed it with some of the broth.  Other favorites were poached salmon with a little mango peach salsa, the ricotta creations as Liz mentioned above, shrimp with Old Bay seasoning, Tilapia poached in tomato juice and purreed with the juice, poached chicken thighs with Buffalo sauce.  Be creative and you won't get bored!

Good luck with it.  You are one step closer to normal food again!  :)

Lesley

I'm still on pureed... here are a couple of things I really like.

(makes 2 servings)
Meatballs and Ricotta

3 pre-cooked italian meatballs (about 1-1/2" diameter)
1/4 C. fat free ricotta cheese
1/4 C. Don Pepinos spaghetti sauce (contains no sugar)
chopped onions and mushrooms (to taste, up to about 1/4 C.)

Sautee onions and mushrooms in non-stick pan with 5 sprays of Olivio (or similar).
Add meatballs and heat until heated through (can also heat meatballs in microwave).
Place ricotta, meatball mixture, and spagetti sauce in blender and blend until desired consistency.
Heat 15 - 20 seconds in microwave after blending to bring back to serving temp.

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Sausage and Yogurt

1 chicken, spinach & white cheddar sausage link (fully cooked)
1/4 C. plain greek yogurt

Blend sausage to puree into very small bits.  Heat in microwave, then stir in yogurt

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Mushroom/Onion omelet (can be made with any veggies you like)

Sautee about 1/2 C. raw veggies (will cook down to about 1/4 c.) in non-stick pan with 5 sprays of Olivio until veggies are soft.  Place veggies into blender and puree.

Add 1/4 c. egg beaters (or 1 extra-large egg, scrambled) to nonstick pan.  As the egg begins to solidify, stir in veggie mixture and continue cooking until egg is cooked to desired consistency.

Remove from pan.  You can top this with a slice of reduced-fat (or fat-free) cheese to add a protein/calcium boost.



Karen

Thanks so much for the suggestions!!!
I just found out my MD appt today is cancelled, but I am planning to move to purees anyway, since at the hospital the nutritionist said I can start them 2 weeks post op!

Now-  off to find me a meatball!

All the suggestions are really good ones!  And good luck with the pureed stage.

My rule of thumb was: Puree away!  Some of it looks really gross, but it tastes so good in comparison to all the sweet stuff like yogurts and what not you've been "allowed" thus far.

I still eat ricotta cheese often with splenda and cinnamon just because I like the taste of it.  I used the spaghetti sauce mixture on pureed often.

I pureed home made chilli often and would add a bit of melted cheese to it.

I pureed meatballs both in red sauce and brown gravy

I pureed various soups with chicken and/or beef in them.

Remember to eat slowly and small bites - even though it's still "mush" every food can sit VERY differently.  And also keep in mind you probably won't feel hungry or full - except if you get "over full" so eat by the clock and measurements.

Pam

Canned tuna or chicken, little bit of Dill Relish, about a table spoon of Light Mayo, season to taste. Use a hand blender to puree it up until it looks like baby food. May not look that great, but it tastes really good.