Purees and Soft Foods - Begin to Use Protein for Healing

Your surgeon or nutritionist will let you know when it is time for you to advance to the pureed diet. It is important to follow their time frame. Make sure that initially all foods are very soft and loose; applesauce is a good texture reference for this phase.

After you are doing well with eating soft smooth purees you will progress to soft foods which differ in that they are of a consistency what can easily be mashed with a fork. While is can be frustrating to be stuck in these special texture phases, advancing too rapidly into foods that are somewhat dense and hard can cause you to vomit and even result in food getting stuck.

During this time period try to recognize that you are not really hungry, but desire to eat out of habit. This is called head hunger and it can be triggered by emotions, television commercials, or walking past the bakery section of your grocery store. Drink water or go for a walk - keep busy and you will be able to get past the urge to eat. Once you are able to consume adequate protein, you will find that you have little or no hunger; protein creates fullness.

If you are not doing well with these foods or experience discomfort or vomiting, return to the full liquid phase for a day or two then cautiously advance into the puree stage again. You may not feel much fullness with small amounts of these foods as they squish in and out of your pouch and the physical message of satiety may not be transmitted to your brain. Don't worry as you will recognize the feeling of satisfaction once you are eating foods with a more solid texture.

In this stage, protein begins to be an essential part of your diet. Protein accelerates wound healing, muscle and skin re-growth and repair, creates fullness or satiety, as well as helping to lessen or even prevent hair loss. Every meal and snack should contain a good source of protein.

Do not eat crackers, chips, or cookies as these empty carb foods will make you hungry. If you have cravings, eat a sugar free ice pop. Eat three small meals per day plus protein supplements mid more and midafternoon in order to begin to get in adequate nutrition. Some doctors and nutritionists call this 'five small meals'.

It is important that you are positive about the good foods you are able to eat and not be sad about the bad foods from your old life that you can't have. You will soon find joy in your weight loss and small non-scale victories, rather than unhealthy foods.

The puree diet includes the foods you have already been using plus very soft textured foods including:

• Soft scrambled egg with a tablespoon of shredded cheese
• Poached egg in a small bowl - use salt and pepper
• Low fat cheese, mozzarella cheese sticks
• Low fat cottage cheese
• Part skim milk ricotta cheese
• Poached tilapia filet mashed with a little of the cooking liquid
• Small amount of mashed banana blended with Greek yogurt or ricotta with Splenda
• Pinto Bean Puree
• Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce
• Maryland Shrimp Spread
• Chili Cheese Puff

Puree & Soft Food Breakfast, Lunch and Supper Plans

• Breakfast - choose one
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt blended with 2 teaspoons Inspire Peanut Butter Cookie Whey Protein Isolate Drink mix powder
• 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese blended with no sugar applesauce and cinnamon
• A smooth protein shake; Inspire Dutch Chocolate Cake blended with water, and ice
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese blended with Smucker's Sugar Free Apricot Preserves
• One scrambled egg with cheese and salsa
• Pumpkin Custard

Lunch or supper, choose one

• 1/2 cup Pinto Bean Puree topped with shredded cheddar
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese topped with spoonful of spaghetti sauce and shredded mozzarella, warmed in microwave. Choose a sauce that does not have sugar in the ingredient list, such as Mario Batali brand.
• Salsa or Pasta Sauce Poached Eggs
• One egg scrambled with 1 tablespoon Parmesan and whisked into a cup of simmering chicken broth
• 2 ounces of fresh flounder filet simmered in 1/4 cup of tomato juice and finely mashed with a fork with the cooking liquid
• 1/2 cup Hummus - click to learn how to make your own, it's MUCH more delicious & cheaper!