Question:
Can anyone please let me know what kind of foods that you ate while on SOFT FOODS

I was told I could eat ground meat. But I am afraid that I am not for sure what this means. I would like to know what everyone else ate at this stage. And how much of it. Also does anyone else drink cranberry juice. I see that it has corn syrup in it. And for rny patients that is not an option. Please Help    — TONYA B. (posted on November 2, 2001)

November 2, 2001
I had a VBG but I think that our diets are supposed to be pretty much the same. I ate mashed potatoes, yogurt, soups, and I also bought myself a baby food grinder. It was great after about 2 weeks because I was getting so sick of yogurt and mashed potatoes and then I was able to just grind up "normal" food. P.S. Don't waste your money on baby food meats. They made me want to gag. You're better off grinding up some tuna salad or something. Good Luck.
   — Amy E.

November 2, 2001
For me soft food followed puree. They included soft scrambled egg, ground turkey, meatloaf, soft vegies like well cooked asparagus or green beans, chicken, Fish(also got this on puree), shrimp, crab, cheese, etc, best of luck
   — Becky K.

November 2, 2001
I ate mostly scrambled eggs and occasionally some tuna salad. I had a really hard time at the soft food stage and kept going back to mashed potatoes.
   — Elizabeth A.

November 2, 2001
Hi ! I list a whole lot of things you can eat after surgery on my webpage, http://www.lkdobson.homestead.com both in a section called "foods for after surgery" and then later further down under "my personal journey" the things that I found I liked and did well with. Hope this helps! Good luck to you -
   — Lisa D.

November 2, 2001
I was told that soft foods could be anything that, if it wasn't already of a smooth consistency, like applesauce or mashed potatoes, put it in a food processor with a little broth and mush it up. Mind you, it looks a bit weird, but after weeks of liquid you don't care what it looks like! Lean Cuisines work well, especially the Lunch Express ones. You could probably eat about half of it. I got ones with just meat and potato - sort of looked like hash afterwards! Also, I made spaghetti with meat sauce and put a bit in the food processor. Tasted great, and the meat was really in tiny, tiny bits. You should be able to handle that. Good luck!
   — scottiemaam O.

November 2, 2001
I am 11 months post-op and still sometimes have a hard time with ground beef (or any beef). I was told that sticking to the leaner meats such as turkey, chicken, fish or pork are better (but wait to eat pork until your on a more solid-food diet). I've found that ground turkey, canned shredded chicken and tuna work well (not to mention, great source of protein, which we need tons of--more protein, less carbs). Applesauce (all natural), Mrs. Grass chicken noodle soup, mashed potatoes and sugar-free jello & popsicles were my best friends (I still eat these during times when my tummy doesn't agree with me--usually after eating too much greasy or sugary foods). It's okay to have a natural sugars, but try to steer clear of other sugars. I can have a little of the bad stuff every once in awhile now, but not too much or it makes me sick. Crystal light is a great beverage choice and I've found that it makes great homemade popsicles too. My biggest suggestion for you is drink as much water as you can (but not 1/2 hour before or after a meal or it makes you too full to eat your meals and also flushes the food through your system too fast and your body doesn't get a chance to absorb the nutrients). I could go on and on, but you'd be reading all day. If you have any other questions, feel free to email me anytime. Take care & God Bless ^j^ Andrea Leathers [email protected]
   — Andrea H.

November 3, 2001
I ate alot of mashed potatoes and poached eggs. I also ate alot of canned shredded chicken mixed with cream of chicken soup on crackers. I did puree some soup beans one night. It really tasted good. I also had refried beans.
   — K T.

November 4, 2001
On my post-op sheet soft foods are listed as:"canned peaches and pears in their own juice, healthy choice, healthy request and progresso lite soups (blend any chunks), any veggies (no corn) including potatoes, cooked and mashed with a fork, chopped up soft poached eggs, soft fruits like bananas, strawberries or ripe peaches (chew thoroughly), fresh fish fillets or imitation crab meat or real crab, cooked very soft and moist (NO BONES). Beware of watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe and the like-they are very fibrous and can cause problems if not chewed to a thiin paste before swallowing." Hope this helped. My surgery is for Nov. 12. Begin the countdown! Congrats to you and good luck :)
   — Cinna G.