Your First Food Phase Post Bariatric Surgery-Pureed Foods

You’ve had your surgery and now you are at the point of eating pureed foods.  What is pureed?  How do you get food to a pureed stage?  Keep reading:

Pureed – A smooth, cream substance made of liquidized or crush fruit and vegetables.  The best foods to puree easily are pears, bananas, apples, plums, pineapples (careful about the acid content and possible acid reflux), mangoes, pickled cucumbers, carrots, cauliflower, peas, pumpkins, squash, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, eggplant, green beans, squash (with the exception of spaghetti squash), and chickpeas.

How to make pureed foods:

Wash, peel and dice your fruits/vegetables.

Place all the diced fruits/vegetables in a pot of water that is enough to cover the fruits/vegetables and place under medium heat and cook until tender.  When they are easily pricked with a fork, remove from heat and let cool.  Once items are cool, add one scoop of protein powder of your choice and the cooled fruits/vegetables into a mixer or food processor.  Blend until mixed and if consistency is too thick to your liking, add beef, chicken or protein broth to thin.  Put equal portions in an airtight container.  This can be stored for 3-5 days in a refrigerator.

Avoid vegetables that don’t require a lot of chewing.  Yes, it sounds weird, but the more you chew, the better.  In this stage of your surgery recovery, its better about the vitamin and nutrient content and not the actual food.

The pureed stage lasts for 2-3 weeks.  For examples, your breakfast can be a serving of pureed fruit and size would be 1/3 cup or less, depending on how you tolerate that amount, stop at the slightest feeling of fullness.  Lunch would be another serving of a fruit/vegetable or protein-based broth soup.  Dinner would be the same as breakfast or lunch; which can be a fruit or vegetables, but vegetables would be more beneficial.

To keep your meals interesting, switch from fruits/vegetables and soups often. Enjoy and reach out to your dietician or the BariGirls for help.