HELP ME PLEASE
whats a good meal on the run
whats good protein bar
what do i need to pack a good lunch
thanks for any help
Meal on the run.. depends. Drive through: Wendy's grilled chicken salad, pick off the chicken.. once you are on full solids.
I have not done drive through since surgery, but I have had my little soft sided insulated lunch pack since day 1. I put whatever I was eating normally at that stage in there, with one of those blue ice freezy packs.. so yogurt, cot cheese, hard boiled egg, cheese stick.. And I always carry a meat stick in my purse, and a packet of my fav protein powder in there too. So if I don't have my cooler pack for longer trips, I at least have a protein meal handy if needed in a pinch.
Protein bars.. you will get varied opinions on them. I call them glorified candy-bars for the most part.. many have a high carb to protein ratio.. with that said, I like the Oh Yeah brand of protein wafer bars- Peanut butter cup flavor, they aren't too bad since I only eat half (105 cals, 4g carbs, 7g protein) but I use them as "candy" - meaning a treat when I want something sweet. I also like the caramel chocolate Good Grab bars from Oh Yeah too.. higher carbs due to sugar alcohols. I rarely eat one of these, and if I break into one, I have a bite and give the rest to my husband, he loves them too.
I, like you, like to be prepared and i shopped in advance and having done so would urge you not to. I threw out 80% of the stuff that i bought because it spoiled or.
1 because i didn't want to eat them
2 because you cannot get your brain around how little you will actually eat after the surgery
I would say buy a bullet. Totally necessary for the mushie stages.
Try out protein powder flavors now so at least even if you get sick of it or don't like it as much after surgery you have a go to until you figure it out.
buy 1 can of refried beans. Everyone here raved about the refried beans with cheese and hot sauce being a favorite in the mushie stages so i bought 6 cans. They were delicious and a staple for me, however i ate one can 10 meals during that whole time and after mushies were over (2weeks) i didn't want to see them again because my choices opened up.
I bought 1 pint of ricotta cheese to make an eggface dish and i still have 3/4 of it left (I'm 2 months out of surgery). For me I went back to the things i enjoyed before surgery, like steak, shrimp, salad. I ate the gooey stuff and liked it because of limited choices but once that stage was over it was over.
I bought cartons of different types of organic soups they were good but i had about half a cup out of each and none out of some
1 bought 6 cans of tuna and used them. tuna salad is still something i enjoy and make and if i need to carry a lunch it's one i trust.
meals on the go are still hard. i try to plan so i don't have to do it but if i do I'll order some type of salad with the dressing on the side. some here have said they loved Wendy's chili.
Try to find a good quality low carb bar and keep one in your car or purse for emergencies.
Some here like jerky and have found that a lifesaver.
If I'm stuck most supermarkets sell hard boiled eggs and I'll buy one and that will hold me over until i get to where i can prepare something.
today it's cold and raining here and although i brought tuna salad i went to the local whole Foods and bought a cup of lamb stew just because tuna seemed to cold for the weather. ate about half will have the other half tomorrow unless the sun is splitting the trees and then it will be tuna.
Since it's getting into winter i will break out the crock pot and cook 2 chicken thighs in a can of cream of chicken soup and a small jar of pace picante sauce (it's a real winner)and have 2 dinners out of that. I throw in a handful of green beans 1 hour before it's done.
But the main thing I'd say is not to buy too much of anything. You really can't be prepared for the changes.
The other thing I'd say is that we have no idea how soon we are up and around again. Even though i had done all that pre-shopping nothing looked good to me and i went to the store to get what my taste buds were calling for in that moment (under the rules of course). so get in some Greek yogurt maybe 2 small and a can of cream soup and a couple of cans of tuna but know you are gonna want to be at the grocery store pretty soon.
Now even 2 months out, i have huge waste, even though i hardly seem to buy anything at all but my head has not caught up to what my stomach will take in.
Hope this helps and good luck with it all. it's definitely a gradual learning curve.
thank you so much for the response.....i dont know what i would do without this web site......the feedback is so helpful.....thank you all....i will hold off on getting things now...but i may just look into getting supplies that help like an ice pack and bullet..... i will also start trying samples of beef jerky and greek yogurt....thanks for all the feedback
