Preparing Meals

My surgery is scheduled 12/29, super excited btw, but anywho. I am the sole chef in the house and am getting a little nervous about cooking for the family after wls. My goal is to cook them a weeks worth of meals but thereafter.... I know my taste will change and I will have to alter my meals but how am i going to balance both I guess?? Any suggestions will be great, thank you.

If you've got the capacity, plan on a good month of meals planned for the family. 

For cooking thereafter, over the years I cooked for my family the same food I ate.  Basically - meat and vegetables.  I added a second veggie to replace the bad carbs.  Pasta and rice were a rare treat, and something they started enjoying more when we ate out.  My son's wrestling coach was delighted to know how we were eating when he started talking to the team about maintaining weight, etc.

It's awesome that you're getting it right before 2015!  It's going to be an amazing new year for you!

I'm the chef in our house also, and I kind of do a mix.  I have started making new, WLS-friendly recipes, and most of the time my wife and daughter are fine.  Other times, I make their favorites, but either eat only the parts that I can, or modify part of it so it would work for me.  For example, today I'm making Chicken Pot Pie, and I just plan on eating the filling.  Earlier in the week, I made lasagna, and in part of it, I used sliced, grilled zucchini instead of noodles.

I am the only cook in the house.I like having control over what we eat.I do make the same for them as I do myself.

Right after surgery I did make them make their own food. Such as frozen pizza and other easy meals. But after I started feeling better I had no problems cooking.

I do sometimes make instant mashed potatoes for them to go with dinner. I mostly make meat and veggies. 

I do have them hide certain things from me though. Things that are trigger foods.I try not to be the food police.

I make mine eat what I eat. So we all eat fairly healthily but they eat more! I don't put butter or sauce on things, they can add their own.  Just after surgery, when we couldn't eat the same things, I just gritted my teeth and cooked and didn't eat!  Pre-cooked meals in the freezer are a really good idea.

I did the same thing. I made 1 week of casseroles, crock pot meals and I went out to Costco and bought food for in between these meals. I'm one week today and I'm still not making any meals for the family, they have plenty. Smells don't bother me either. I'm ok with them eating in front of me.

My advice?  Don't be the sole chef of the household.  If there are other adults in the household, teach them how to cook a few simple dishes.  If there are kids over the age of 8, there's no reason why they also shouldn't be able to cook simple dishes.  Put each other person in charge of one night a week.  

I was on liquids for a total of 24 days between my pre and post-op diets.  I didn't cook during that time.  I had stocked up the freezer as best I could, so my family did a combination of freezer meals, take away, and simple meals that they were able to prepare themselves.  

We were all happy once I got to pureed foods since I was able to start cooking for all of us again.  And, ever since, we all eat the same thing - what I cook.  I'll make pasta or rice as a side for them, but it has been really easy to share meals.  The stuff that isn't healthy for me to eat isn't exactly healthy for them to eat either and they've adapted to a diet that is lower in refined and processed carbs very well :)

Thank you all for the great feedback!! IT is greatly appreciated!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS 

One thing I did do was involved my daughter in the grocery shopping.And at least help with the menu planning.

I am the chef in home, and I work as a trained chef and have been working for several years for or a family. What I did with my own family was order meals from a meal delivery that brings a weeks worth every Tuesday. These are delicious uber healthy meals. The meals are without crabs, but you can order crab side dishes such as brown rice which I usually do get for my husband

For the family I work for, thank God they eat uber healthy and very few curbs. I made lasagna last week using egg plant instead of pasta. The other thing I have been doing is cooking enough so I can take home a container for my husband--this is with complete support from the family.

My husband is battling stage IV colon cancer so eating healthy is great for both of us. BTW, I am 10 years out.