Trying to plan ahead for some social engagements at the dawn of the age of purees

 

Help!

 

The world is conspiring to wind me up with social events (…food-oriented social events) JUST as I’ll be making my transition from clear liquids + protein shakes to pureed foods (+ protein shakes, of course.) I was hoping you folks could offer some insight as I try to plan ahead. I’m looking forward to all of these get-togethers, but don’t want to set myself up for failure or weirdness . I want to just get “food stuff” squared away now so I can relax and enjoy my friends’ company.

 

It’s a little difficult to plan with confidence, though, because I have no idea what kinds of foods I’ll be able to tolerate.  My plan calls for no meat during the puree stage. I should be transitioning to pureed foods on Thursday, March 28. Which brings us to…

 

Thursday, March 28: Surprise party at a restaurant – worst-case scenario here is that I order an appetizer or something and a cup of tea and drink my tea and let my husband eat my appetizer. (I don’t want to feel like a creep for taking up space and not ordering anything; I assume servers resent that.) But it would be nice to not draw attention to myself by just having a cup of tea while everybody else is enjoying their meals. (If people are even paying attention to what I order. The world revolves around me and my food choices less than I think it does, I suspect.)

This is the restaurant’s menu: http://www.rockbottom.com/full-menu

I’ve eaten there before; it’s pretty good. But I’m scanning the menu and while I see plenty of things that sound tasty, I see basically zero things that are wls-friendly.

But then I clicked here: http://www.rockbottom.com/images/pdfs/RBnutritionalinfo9_201 2.pdf and it looks like they do have a variety of soups? Or a side of black beans—would it be weird to ask if they could puree a side of beans? I should probably just call them, I guess. But I was hoping some of you more experienced folks could take a peek at what they offer and guide my questions.

 

Friday, March 29: Spending the day with a friend – normally we would probably grab lunch at one of the ten thousand excellent little Chinese restaurants in her neighborhood, but I’ll probably ask that we eat in. I was thinking I’d bring a single serving of, I don’t know, Greek yogurt? Cottage cheese? Maybe a couple small things in a lunch bag so I can see what appeals? A little dish of refried beans?

 

Saturday, March 30: Housewarming party, potluck – Feeling better about this since I can make something myself and bring it, like a dip or a spread (that I’d eat a small portion of without crackers/chips/other delicious forbidden solids.) Maybe a bean and cheese dip?

 

All suggestions welcome. I plan to eat VERY conservatively, maybe just a few of the tiniest bites, because I REALLY don’t need my first experience with “foamies” or other distressing relearning-how-to-eat badness to be out in public.

 

Can you think of anything else I should be doing/planning in anticipation of these events? I really don’t want to skip them. If you guys think I shouldn’t risk restaurant food on my first day eating purees (which I could totally understand), what’s the etiquette for going to a restaurant as part of a large party and not eating? I don’t want to be a pain in anyone’s neck, and I don’t want to make myself sick, and blah blah blah.

 

Thanks for reading. I’m sorry this got so long!

I had a conference while I was still on clear liquids. I went into the restaurant with my crystal light, and explained that due to surgery, I wouldn't order anything. They were SUPER nice about it. It may not be the case there, but it's worth a shot. I would honestly take a protein shake with me or order water with lemon. You never want to try a new food for the first time at a restaurant. You don't want to end up dumping or getting sick!

Is there any way you can eat something before you go? You don't want to sabotage yourself just to make others feel comfortable. If you manage to eat in with your friend, Greek Yogurt is a fantastic choice. You can do a lot with it. I mix different spices and flavors with mine to give it some variety. If you go out for Chinese, I think there's an eggdrop soup that you can have.

Be careful with your dips/ spreads. Sometimes, the calories can really pile up in them. If you're cautious, you're good. Start getting an idea of what your servings (1/4 cup, I assume) looks like and feels like before you go.

Hope that helps!

"You never want to try a new food for the first time at a restaurant. You don't want to end up dumping or getting sick!"

Yeah, the more I think about it the more I'm pretty sure that I'll just have to pass on eating at the restaurant. Maybe if it wasn't my FIRST DAY on purees, but I'm sure it would be more awkward to get urpy and weird because I ate something I shouldn't than it would be to just not order anything. Maybe I can get tea. Another reason to avoid eating at the restaurant is that it's forty+ miles from our house and I don't need to deal with an hour-long car ride while experiencing that kind of distress.

If I make a dip or spread, it'll be 100% from scratch, so I'm not too concerned about calories qua calories...but I looked up my favorite bean dip recipe, and I'd forgotten it includes bread crumbs. Scratch that off the list. I'll think of something else. Hell, maybe plain refried pinto beans with some cheese to sprinkle on top, or something. Whatever we bring, I'll have the advantage of getting to taste it at home long before the party starts. If I'm in doubt, I'll just not eat at the party. 

Definitely sticking to no more than 1/4 cup of food for the foreseeable future. Gotta start out on the right foot.

Thanks for the excellent advice.

At Rock Bottom I would get the chicken noodle soup and just eat the broth.  In my experience so far, no one really notices if you eat everything in your soup bowl any way!  I would finish a protein shake before I go into the restaurant, since that's about 30 minutes before you'll have your soup in front of you, and you won't be too hungry when you order.

On the friend day, I would either go out and get soup (it's the easiest on purees, and egg drop is pretty friendly).  Or if you eat in, I would bring cottage cheese or pureed egg salad.  1-2T of refried beans would also work (more than that is too many carbs for me, but you probably wouldn't be able to eat more than 1-2T anyway!)  And again, I'd take a protein shake with me for 1/2 hour before or after.

For the potluck, deviled eggs are good for a group and you can chew into a puree.  (You can tell I have had good luck with eggs.)

One lesson I learned from advice on this board is that no one else cares or really notices what you are eating.  If you go to a restaurant and don't see anything on the menu you think will work, then just say "I'll have a cup of tea", or if you want to be less conspicuous, order something and pu**** around on your plate.  But it's been true for me that people don't seem to care like I thought they would.

Ah, good call on having a protein shake right before heading to the restaurant. Maybe a cup of chicken noodle soup--eating just the broth--would be safe. Chicken broth has caused no problems before. And it's not so much that if I just can't deal with it I won't feel like I'm wasting a whole entree.

 

Y'all so smart. Thanks for the thorough advice!

Not sure that this helps but my nutritionist defines pureed as anything that can be mashed with a fork.  Sweet Potatoes are a good choice in this stage as per my nutritionist.  

I did see a tomato soup listed as well.  That would be a good choice as there isn't anything likely to be chunky and only available at your next food stage.  

Sweet potatoes sound so good right now, omg. Thanks for the tips.

If you want to make a dip for your potluck, I suggest you blend something with nonfat Greek yogurt, such as dry onion soup mix. That way, it will still give you some protein with no fat.

Oh hey, that's a good idea. Simple, too. I think I have a tendency to overcomplicate things.

Restaurant - the broth from the chicken soup is fine, or you could get a cup of the bean soup or the cream of broccoli, and chew it to death. Don't get the bowl - you won't be able to manage that. The side of beans is also fine if you eat slowly and chew super well.

For the day with your friend - I went out with friends a week after surgery and told the waitress that I'd just had gastric surgery so couldn't eat regular food yet, so could I have a bowl of chicken broth? No problem and I had a great time with my friends.

Potluck - take hummus with veg dippers or stuffed eggs. People LOVE both, and nobody with pay much attention if you use your celery as a spoon and don't actually eat it. You could also take a big version of Eggface's ricotta bake or a sugar free pumpkin custard (labelled) or a crustless quiche or a big bowl with ice and a variety of small Greek yogurt cups. Very easy and people like them.