questions on soft foods??

Hi everyone, well i went for my 2 hour nutritional class today at potomac hospital... something I had to go for surgery. I have to say this journey so far as been easy.. i went for my first appt to ask about this surgery and they said acouple weeks to find out if i was approved but i got something in my mail from my insurance saying sorry to hear you need to be in the hospital we are approving 2 days.. so i figured that was my approval so i called and the office told me yes you were approved and you need to come in so we can give you a list of tests you need to have done before hand, which are all done now and my surgery is next wedesday... I have read alot on the net and read alot here. I have gone out and bought the vitamins I need but my husband bought me these protein shakes that i thought wow alot of protein good job... but at this class today i quickly realized ooh no theres way to much sugar in them.. so now i need to find a protein drink.... any ideas on which one? and the topper here it is..... see i guess i thought for the first 7 to 10 days like they said I would be on fluids which im totally okay with but she said pureed foods and I was thinking apple sauce, yogart, mashed potatos things of that nature but she was talking about blending up meat... like baby food. MEAT eek.... see i work at a nursing hospital in town and feed the older people pureed food i cant imagine eating that... so can anyone tell me what they did... for the pureed part... ?? thank you ... Beth

Hey Beth... I am a registered nurse...and had the SAME problem as you are. It is a brain game...LOL...I will say...that beans are really good for protein...LOL...I used my blender and made some "taco" meat....and seasoned it really well. I could not eat a lot of meat in the beginning..because of the brain game...LOL...but I was able to eat cheese....beans...anything with protein is better than nothing. And....you don't want to buy too much in the way of protein before surgery. Your tastes will change. Nectar makes good drinks...esp the cappucino...and if it is warm...it tastes like a REAL one with cinnamon and all..just don't buy too much right now. Google you some samples...LOL I will be thinking of you. Stephanie

Beth - vegetarian chili worked well for me (blended), and tasted very good - I put a little parmesan cheese on top too. However, the truth is that you eat what you CAN eat after surgery. If that's mashed potatoes, great! If it's sugar-free jello or sugar-free popsicles, wonderful! It takes time to figure out what will agree with your pouch, then THAT changes daily and weekly! Keeps you on your toes! The atkins yogurt shakes also worked well for me - nice and runny, but lots of protein. I like the GNC protein powder -the Pro Performance brand - it's less sweet than some of the others, and suddenly I couldn't take the super sweet protein shakes. You have to play around with it, after surgery, and figure out what works for you! Crystal

LOL - one of my FAVORITE "early out" soft foods was LASAGNA tossed into a blender. (as my dear friend Carole likes to say now, YUMMMMMM-O!!!!) It was better then sex! Not so much cause it "reall was" ...but because I was finally eating something that wasn't sweet. UGH - I was so sick of the "sweet" protein drinks, applesauce, yogurt, jello's, sf puddings, etc. SICK SICK SICK of sweet stuff and SICK SICK SICK of broths (to this day, I can't "smell" chicken broth without wanting to barf, yuck) ...so when I was able to have a spoonful or two (literally that's all it took to get full) of pureed lasagna, or taters and roast, or, or, or.... anything else that was deemed "adult" food before it was pulsified, it was heaven. I actually had a friend in Chicago who's doctor recommended that his patients go the "baby food route" ...during the pureed stages. LMAO, now THAT's enough to make me gag, just typing about it. As a mother, I used to feel SO GUILTY every time I shoved some of that mucky-mush into my baby son's mouth - there was no way in hades, I was gonna voluntarily shove it in mine. Ewwwwwwwwwwwww! Oh, and yes, she followed his plan - for exactly ONE bottle/one bite of the baby-pooh, er, food, then switched to "pureed" adult stuff. The upside? The other 3 dozen bottles of the stuff she bought, she was able to donate to homeless shelter for pregnant teens. Good luck - you'll find what works for you, with trial and error, but it'll all work it'self out in the long run. Lei

We pureed normal stuff. Chicken, fish, pork. Stayed away from beef early on. The stuff DID NOT look good on a plate but it tasted just fine. Honest. We just made sure that stuff was moist with marinade (very low sugar if any) or gravies. The jarred stuff isn't high in fat believe it or not. Then aside from meats... we had pureed vegies... broccoli w/ cheese sauce, cauliflower w/ cheese sauce, green beans, Stouffers spinach souffle. Kathy

thank you all that replied... i still cant fathom pureed food i will try some before my surgery.... play around with each dinner i make until then to try it out LOL ya but i like that bean idea i will eat alot of refried beans LOL have eggs and cheese alot for dinner and lunch lol maybe some tuna make it like a spread lol I'll see how it goes.. Beth

I purchased a magic bullet (it was a lifesaver) and blended food up in that. It did not look very appealing but tasted really good - I also used it to mix in Unjury protein to my food so I knew I was getting protein in my "soup". Also you can make your veg very soft and ma**** up instead of pureeing it. Protein drinks were hard for me as I hated them all - but I started using New Whey protein vials by ODS and have been happy ever since. Not everyone likes them though but they have saved my life! Good luck Jackie

ya this weekend i have alot to do or i might go check out walmart for a food processor a small one and check out some protein drinks and some groceries i will need for next week.... thanks everyone : )) Beth

hi beth I am from manassas so we are close ,,but the best protein i found was unjury, the only place you can get it is mail order or online at www.unjury.com, they are located in Reston so you will get it the next day. It comes in chocolate, vanilla and unflavored. well the key was i couldnt keep my 8 and 10 yr olds out of it,,it is very tasty and highly recommended. My surgeon was Dr Anez at fair oaks ,,who is your surgeon?? I am a nurse, and i understand your questions ,,i personally ate baby food at home a few weeks , mostly at work i ate yogert, and cottage cheese, refried beans. if you care to chat some u can email me at [email protected] Beverly

My surgeon is partners with Dr anez they are Dr tran and Dr Halmi. out of the woodbridge office... having the surgery at potomac next wedesday. My husband is so cute he asked if i wanted to eat out every night until then ..lol I told him no just outback on sunday and fridays on monday LOL Beth