Question:
Any advice on post op meals to bring to work?

I have brought a sandwich for lunch to work every day for as far back as I can remember. I know that bread is out after surgery. Does anybody have ideas on meals for work. Also I only get 24 minutes for lunch if I am lucky. Any suggestions.    — Gary L. (posted on May 5, 2005)

May 5, 2005
My favorate is chili in the tub, it does not have to be kept in a refregrator and it only takes 90 secs to nuke right in the tub. Shaved Ham or Turkey with alittle cheez whiz over the top and nuke for 30 secs. A protein bar and some walnuts, almonds and sunflower kernels mixed like a trail mix, cut the protein bar into little pieces. Sliced block chedder cheese, peanut butter and sliced apple, the green apple is my favorate. Tuna or chicken salad topped with walnuts. Rolled up turkey and a slice of chedder cheese with a brocolli salad (cooked and cooled brocolli, raisons, shredded chedder cheese, cut up onion, with a tiny bit of ranch dressing) A homemade veggie soup with red kidney beans, ground chuck roast, green beans, vegetable soup, stewed tomatoes, yummy. I have alot more, but these are my favorates, and I have 30 minutes for lunch and never had a problem.
   — cindy

May 5, 2005
Cottage cheese with pineapple works well. I also took for the longest time deli rollups. I would take a slice of deli turkey and roll it up around a piece of cheese. I would make like two of those and that would fill me up just fine. Best of luck. Kathy
   — kathyb

May 5, 2005
Im on the run alot so i take Protein, breakfast, or granola bars for lunch or anytime really. they have soup to go, chil to go and even some crakerabarrell cheese to go. peanutbutter on crakers, or tuna , chicken or egg sald with crackers
   — traceybubbles

May 6, 2005
Let's see what did I do immidiatly after surgery? I did lots of pudding (with flavorless protein powder), refried beans and cheese with some sour cream, vegitarian chili with beans and cheese and sour cream, rolled up lunch meats with mustard or other condiment types of spreads, salami and cream cheese rolled up, lunch meat wrapped around a peeled pickle, etc... When I was finally able to do regular foods I just took those great lean cuisines, WW, or healthy choice frozen entrees! Cheap and fast!
   — MagickalMom

May 6, 2005
Ok at the risk of being flamed, why would you HAVE TO GIVE UP BREAD? I know some WLSers do not eat carbs but you do not have to give them up completely once you have been released to eat all foods. True some PO WLSers cannot handle bread afterwards but grains are an essential part of a balanced diet. I still have bread, I make my sandwiches with one piece of bread some meat or cheese between or I make them open face. You will just have to experiment once you are given the ok to eat all foods.
   — ChristineB

May 6, 2005
Bread isn't a terrible choice if you don't overdo it; however, I couldn't tollerate it with any regularity until 2 years PO. (unless it was toasted)<br><br>Hrm lets see, newly post op meals....most of the time I would take left over dinner from the night before, or deli meat (though that bothered me sometimes), half a protien bar (got old REAL quick), cottage cheese and a tomato, hard boiled egg, steamed veggies. I second the chili thing, I would make a big pot of it and freeze it in small portions. (ziploc bags are great) And I too would do the lean cuisine meals after several months had passed. I couldn't eat the whole thing, but they were easy to bring and make. I had it pretty easy where I worked, w/i a very short distance from my desk was the fridge and microwave. I would pop lunch in the microwave and head back to my desk till it finished. Sometimes I would bring several 'mini lunches' and eat them throughout the day. That left my lunch time for walking or reading or whatever I wanted.
   — RebeccaP

May 6, 2005
I cut up a sandwich at home and put it into 4 baggies. I often brought a small lunch bag of chips and used 2-3 chips with each sandwich. I didn't eat all 4 hunks at work, just depended on hours worked that day. Things that I suggest for ppl who do not tolerate bread are small meat, such as Vienna sausage or cheese sticks with a healthy grain cracker. For example. For those who have teensy capactiy, they can cut the cheese into "dimes", tiny slices and put them in correct proportion ziploks. There are a number of things that you can do when you start thinking in terms of protein & veggie foods that are portable. I'm very anti sugar, but not anti healthy nuts, grains & seeds, as long as they are taken as one of the "meals" vs being taken between meals. I say meals, and that includes scheduled snacks. I do 4 feedings a day. 2 are more meal like and 2 are more snack like. But I also do 6 protein shakes/day.
   — vitalady