Week 2 post op- Quick Puree/Mushies

Now is the time to whip out the 4 oz. ramekins and start filling them with yummy stuff to eat. Here are some fast simple ideas, especially for when you don't feel like cooking, to get you started:

Fiesta bowl:
Fill ramekin with refried beans and top with shredded low fat cheese. Microwave for 2 minutes. Don't forget no liquids 1/2 before and after meal! Yummy! 90 calories, 15 carbs/9 net carbs, 9 protein. If you use non-fat beans there are only 6 carbs--read the labels.

Southwest treat:
Put 4 oz. canned all-meat chili in a food processor or blender. Add a bit of finely chopped onion if you like onions, and/or finely chopped tomato if you want a fresher flavor.

Add a little beef/chicken broth if it's too thick, and puree until it is as smooth as applesauce. Pour into a 4 oz. ramekin and top with low fat cheese. Microwave for 2 minutes. Great to satisfy those beef cravings.

Fast and easy beef stew:
Put canned beef stew (look at the label stats for the most appropriate one, remembering that 4 oz is 1/2 cup for serving size purposes) in a blender/food processor until smooth. Thin with beef/chicken broth if needed. Pour into 4 oz. ramekin and microwave 2 minutes. You can also make your own beef stew from scratch and then puree, but right now I'm focusing on those "I just got home from work, I don't feel like cooking" solutions. You can do the same thing with split pea with ham soup for a change.

Quick chicken salad:
One can of chicken breast chunks, or pieces of a roasted (not boiled) chicken breast, or chicken from whatever source you've got. Never boil chicken btw, it destroys the flavor. Chop it up and then add an appropriate amount of fat free mayonnaise (Hellman's has an olive-oil based mayo that is supposed to be good).

Celery is a no-no this early out, but you can add some crunch with a small amount of finely chopped jicama. Use celery salt for flavor. Put it in the food processor and blend until smooth. Use a small amount of chicken broth to thin if needed. Put into a 4 oz ramekin and garnish with finely chopped Italian flat leaf parsley. Salt and pepper to taste. Do the same thing with canned tuna for a change.

Deviled egg salad:
Everyone has their own recipe for deviled eggs. Mine is kind of simple; feel free to add what you want. Some people like to add pickle relish or mustard to the mix, for example. I prefer to simply boil eggs, cool, peel, halve, remove yolks. Beat yolks with appropriate amount of lowfat mayo, and sprinkle with paprika. Add some salt and pepper as desired.

Add chopped egg whites to deviled egg mixture in food processor. Mix until smooth. Thin with a little chicken broth if needed. Freeze leftovers for later. Use your ice cube trays--actually this is true for all of these recipes.

Serve in a 4 oz ramekin, garnished with a sprinkle of paprika on the top.

Summary:

The basic rule of mushies is: everything you can get into a food processor is dinner! Don't be bored stiff buying bland baby food like some people do. Just stick to the 4 oz ramekin, freeze the leftovers in an ice cube tray, and mushies will be a breeze! It's only for 2 weeks. The idea is to "pre-digest" things so your stomach doesn't have to work very hard to digest them.

It's at this stage you can add frozen berries to your protein shakes in a blender/food processor to thicken them, too. You can also thaw and puree fruit for a dessert treat. Top with a spoonful of nonfat Cool Whip. Be warned, fruit has a lot of carbs, so you don't want to do this all the time.

Don't forget that during the mushies stage you can still have sugar free pudding, protein shakes, and chicken broth like you did before. You can also have applesauce, and in moments of extreme weakness, mashed potatoes (only as 1/3 of your total meal volume--not 4 oz. by themselves.) Remember, protein first!