Grocery List Post Gastric Sleeve Surgery

[jasleeve 440]

my surgery date is set for dec 20th.

i wanted to know what was some MUST HAVES on your grocery list post op and what do you eat now that youre post op?

i know taste changes some what after surgery but i want to be semi prepared.

[Lissa 2,631]

Make sure you have some Protein powder if you're allowed shakes immediately post-op. Have Water, milk and other mixers for the powder. I bought some baby food pureed meat, and it's still sitting in my cabinet. broth was my salvation during the Clear liquids stage, and I used more of it during mushies if I needed to puree up some kind of meat.< /p>

For mushies, I bought a few different kinds of soup: Tomato, chicken noodle, potato and bean with bacon. I pureed the ones with actual chunky stuff in them and it was pretty good. I found out quickly that I am lactose intolerant, so cottage cheese and yogurt weren't on my list. I can eat yogurt again now, but still can't handle straight milk.

Now that I'm back on solids, I eat a lot of the mini babybel light cheese rounds, cheddar cheese sticks and some crackers/peanut butter. I keep almonds to snack on (crunchy and salty, yum!). And, I've discovered that I LOVE rotisserie chicken, the lemon pepper flavor. A few bites of that and I feel like I've had a big meal. Also, if you have some freezer space, a bag of frozen shrimp is good. I can make a meal out of 5 or 6 of them with a little cocktail sauce.

One thing I wish I'd done was to keep more Condiments on hand, and I do it now. I have an extra ketchup, mustard, horseradish and cocktail sauce in the pantry. I do know how to make my own cocktail sauce, but I found one I really like.

I don't keep lemon juice or OJ in the house because citrus and I aren't friends right now. That's sad because this is the best time of year for fresh citrus in Florida! My grandparents used to own a fruit stand and I can remember eating several varieties of oranges until I was stuffed around Christmastime each year! I'm hoping that citrus will be back in my rotation after I hit six months or so.... at least by next December.

Most importantly, don't over buy your food. NONE of the above may sound good to you after surgery. I adored spicy food pre-op, and can't eat it yet post-op. Rex rejects it every time, even if I try to sneak in just one little bite of jalopeno.

Good luck with your journey!!

[jasleeve 440]

hey lissa, i always look forward to reading your comments on other topics & im glad you answered mine! i have a few questions..

broth... which name brand did you buy? was it chicken broth?

Soup... was it like campbell Soup?

any other ideas?

i dont eat sea food unfortunately. & i am highly sensitive to spicy food & would drink the ocean if i had even a drop of hot sauce in my mouth. lol.

thanks for responding! <3

Make sure you have some Protein powder if you're allowed shakes immediately post-op. Have Water, milk and other mixers for the powder. I bought some baby food pureed meat, and it's still sitting in my cabinet. Broth was my salvation during the Clear Liquids stage, and I used more of it during mushies if I needed to puree up some kind of meat.< /p>

For mushies, I bought a few different kinds of soup: Tomato, chicken noodle, potato and bean with bacon. I pureed the ones with actual chunky stuff in them and it was pretty good. I found out quickly that I am lactose intolerant, so cottage cheese and yogurt weren't on my list. I can eat yogurt again now, but still can't handle straight milk.

Now that I'm back on solids, I eat a lot of the mini babybel light cheese rounds, cheddar cheese sticks and some crackers/peanut butter. I keep almonds to snack on (crunchy and salty, yum!). And, I've discovered that I LOVE rotisserie chicken, the lemon pepper flavor. A few bites of that and I feel like I've had a big meal. Also, if you have some freezer space, a bag of frozen shrimp is good. I can make a meal out of 5 or 6 of them with a little cocktail sauce.

One thing I wish I'd done was to keep more Condiments on hand, and I do it now. I have an extra ketchup, mustard, horseradish and cocktail sauce in the pantry. I do know how to make my own cocktail sauce, but I found one I really like.

I don't keep lemon juice or OJ in the house because citrus and I aren't friends right now. That's sad because this is the best time of year for fresh citrus in Florida! My grandparents used to own a fruit stand and I can remember eating several varieties of oranges until I was stuffed around Christmastime each year! I'm hoping that citrus will be back in my rotation after I hit six months or so.... at least by next December.

Most importantly, don't over buy your food. NONE of the above may sound good to you after surgery. I adored spicy food pre-op, and can't eat it yet post-op. Rex rejects it every time, even if I try to sneak in just one little bite of jalopeno.

Good luck with your journey!!

[Lissa 2,631]

broth - I buy the Swanson (blue and white box) brand, low sodium. I buy both chicken and beef and I use it in other cooking besides just for drinking broth. I like that it's in a box and I can use a little or a lot, too. It keeps well in the fridge.

Soups-I like Campbells Soup for bean with bacon, but I'm not super particular about the brands on other Soups. Look for low sodium versions if you can, but I don't think the bean with bacon comes in low sodium.

You don't eat seafood, or can't? If you can handle it, tuna is pretty good, esp mixed with a little mayo for mushies. There are also cans of chicken, roast beef, ham, etc, which are all very soft and could be easily mushed up for the mushie stage. I admit I pureed some dinty moore beef stew during mushies, and I also pureed some Wendy's chili.

Something else I should have mentioned, try to find some small plastic ware containers for freezing/storing small portions. I could only eat a couple of ounces at a time for most of the above items. Freezer safe sandwich bags will work too. I found some small containers at Goodwill and at Walmart.< /p>

I also liked having a tiny bowl and small plate for my meals. I've always been the kind of person who prefers having a real plate and silverware to eat with, so these items made me feel more normal.

And, thank you for the compliment. I am just trying to give support back. So many people answered all my crazy questions, and still do, that I think it's important to help others if I can.

Good luck!! I'm saving you a seat!!

[UXgrrl 29]

I second the advice about small Gladware-type containers (1 cup capacity or less). I have a Magic Bullet food processor, and a Cuisinart stick immersion blender, and you can't really make 1 or 2 oz of pureed food at a time, you have to make a cup or two. Anyway, your leftovers go into those plastic containers. Make sure you label them! Right now I have one for blended chicken noodle Soup, blended edamame hummus, and this blended pea and carrot concoction, and they all look exactly the same :-)

This way it's really easy to do lunch by pulling out your favorite Protein, a veggie side, and a carb side. Poof, insta-meal. In the beginning you're eating such tiny portions that it feels dumb to make normal-sized quantities anyway.

I was given a shopping list in my bariatric nutrition booklet when I met with the dietician right before surgery. Oddly enough she was kind of anti- Protein Powder. She wanted Protein to be sourced from "real food" as much as possible. I still don't know why, and she was also the one who wouldn't tell me a calorie range to shoot for while in the early stages of weight loss.

I'm sure she had her reasons but I hate it when medical professionals refuse to give you all the information, because they are afraid you're going to try and abuse the system or break the rules. When it comes down to it, the whole point of this surgery is to make it possible for you to be satisfied on an extremely low calorie diet -- I know that getting the nutrients and protein are essential to staying healthy during this process -- but I need to know all the facts.

I digress. Other things we went shopping for before surgery:

- The Cuisinart stick blender

- A shaker cup with wire spiral ball inside

- Little disposable plastic 1 oz shot glasses (although I did come home with a pile of medicine cups)

- A Protein Powder we liked pre-surgery and was able to get at a good price (EAS whey Isolate, Vanilla)

- Lactaid Fat Free Calcium fortified milk (because I was already lactose intolerant pre-op)

- Cottage cheese, 1% small curd

- A couple cans of canned chicken and some frozen chicken breasts

- "Better than Bouillon" soup base in chicken, beef and vegetable. I used this stuff pre-op and like it much better than the pressed cubes, and they take up less room than the paperboard cartons or cans of premade broth. You can scoop a little bit out on your spoon and add it to your pureed protein with some Water to add moisture and flavor.

The rest of the food (frozen veggies, fruits, etc) we already had in our house normally. We just buy the normal bags and transfer them to a big zip-loc one we open them, because we're always going in there and scooping out a few strawberries or a handful of peas to add to a smoothie or cool down some chicken soup for the kiddos.

I know this is a thread about groceries but I'm going to talk about kitchenware in general. One really important thing we did, which I would recommend everyone at least considering, was switching out all our plates. OMG it made a huge difference! We replaced all our normal 8" dinner plates and bought 5" hordourves or appetizer-sized plates from Crate & Barrel, then also picked up the dipping plates which are divided in half and hold almost exactly 1oz on each side. We also got new bowls that hold about a cup. We got a set of 4 "normal sized" dinner plates but haven't used them yet in three months. They will likely only come out when we have company or might be used as serving platters.

We also bought a set of spoons and forks from Ikea for our small kids to use. They are about 70% the size of typical flatware but have a nice heft to them. I find myself using them a lot while I'm eating my dainty bites from my absurdly tiny plate and I think it helps to keep the proportions correct.

All our new dishes seem very small but really, it's what you need to hold a normal sized portion. I'm a lifetime member of the Clean Plate Club, so sizing down my plates and bowls has made a huge difference in making me eat less overall. I think the kids feel less overwhelmed at dinner as well, because we're giving them normal sized (for toddlers and preschoolers) portions. My partner, who is working on qualifying for WLS as well, feels this is helping her too.

Whew! Sorry, I tend to ramble!

[jasleeve 440]

i dont eat sea food. the smell makes me gag hard. i wish i could :/

what about vienna sausages?

broth - I buy the Swanson (blue and white box) brand, low sodium. I buy both chicken and beef and I use it in other cooking besides just for drinking broth. I like that it's in a box and I can use a little or a lot, too. It keeps well in the fridge.

Soups-I like Campbells Soup for bean with bacon, but I'm not super particular about the brands on other Soups. Look for low sodium versions if you can, but I don't think the bean with bacon comes in low sodium.

You don't eat seafood, or can't? If you can handle it, tuna is pretty good, esp mixed with a little mayo for mushies. There are also cans of chicken, roast beef, ham, etc, which are all very soft and could be easily mushed up for the mushie stage. I admit I pureed some dinty moore beef stew during mushies, and I also pureed some Wendy's chili.

Something else I should have mentioned, try to find some small plastic ware containers for freezing/storing small portions. I could only eat a couple of ounces at a time for most of the above items. Freezer safe sandwich bags will work too. I found some small containers at Goodwill and at Walmart.< /p>

I also liked having a tiny bowl and small plate for my meals. I've always been the kind of person who prefers having a real plate and silverware to eat with, so these items made me feel more normal.

And, thank you for the compliment. I am just trying to give support back. So many people answered all my crazy questions, and still do, that I think it's important to help others if I can.

Good luck!! I'm saving you a seat!!

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Sf popsicles and sf Jello are a must right after surgery.

If you have a Vitamin shoppe, you can get pro pudding by body tech. It has 25 grams of Protein, and only 4 carbs. It's a nice change from Protein drinks. You can get it on Amazon for way less shipping than anywhere, if you don't have the Vitamin Shoppe in your area.

I really liked Chinese egg drop Soup too, for post op.

[jasleeve 440]

i have a Vitamin shoppe down the street. does the pudding taste good?

SF popsicles? is that something we make or can we buy it like that

Sf popsicles and sf Jello are a must right after surgery.

If you have a Vitamin Shoppe, you can get pro pudding by body tech. It has 25 grams of Protein, and only 4 carbs. It's a nice change from Protein drinks. You can get it on Amazon for way less shipping than anywhere, if you don't have the Vitamin Shoppe in your area.

I really liked Chinese egg drop Soup too, for post op.

[illgeturhairdid 176]

Yogurt! I can't handle Protein shakes right now and yogurt mixes pretty well with Protein powder. Right now (3.5 days post op), I am using blended Dannon Lite and Fit yogurts. I have some Chobanni greek yogurt but I've not tried it yet. Also, lots of different flavors of crystal lite. I am going to the store today to get some sugar free popsicles, diet snapple and more yogurt. I have SF pudding to make as well, but I'm not in the mood for it yet. I also recommend having a few different kinds of milk on hand at first. I wasn't sure if I would have an easier time with 1% or skim. So far I have only used the skim and am just fine with that. I may also get some Silk Soy milk today too.

I can't wait to be off of liquids! I'm dying to blend a chili from Wendys and am craving cheese so bad!!

[jasleeve 440]

everyone keeps speaking of this chili from wendys. i never had chili but now i wanna tryit!

Yogurt! I can't handle Protein shakes right now and yogurt mixes pretty well with Protein powder. Right now (3.5 days post op), I am using blended Dannon Lite and Fit yogurts. I have some Chobanni greek yogurt but I've not tried it yet. Also, lots of different flavors of crystal lite. I am going to the store today to get some sugar free popsicles, diet snapple and more yogurt. I have SF pudding to make as well, but I'm not in the mood for it yet. I also recommend having a few different kinds of milk on hand at first. I wasn't sure if I would have an easier time with 1% or skim. So far I have only used the skim and am just fine with that. I may also get some Silk Soy milk today too.

I can't wait to be off of liquids! I'm dying to blend a chili from Wendys and am craving cheese so bad!!

[illgeturhairdid 176]

I actually never really ate chili until starting this journey. It is pretty high in Protein and packs a lot of flavor. It is VERY satisfying. I know you are doing a shake and a salad, but I would go ahead and try a small chili from Wendy's, they are only $1.

[jasleeve 440]

im going to go buy some today & have it with my salad. thanks for the advice! if i like it, ill learn how to make my own!

I actually never really ate chili until starting this journey. It is pretty high in Protein and packs a lot of flavor. It is VERY satisfying. I know you are doing a shake and a salad, but I would go ahead and try a small chili from Wendy's, they are only $1.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

i have a Vitamin shoppe down the street. does the pudding taste good?

SF popsicles? is that something we make or can we buy it like that

I really like the Pro pudding. It only comes in vanilla and chocolate. I think it's really good.

You can get sf popsicles anywhere. They have tropical flavors and the regular orange, cherry and I think grape. They are popsicle brand. Crystal lite used to have them too, but I haven't been able to find them anymore. I am not sure if they quit making them, or it's just because the hick town that I live in doesn't have many stores.

I found some really good ones at Dollar Tree. They are a whole box of raspberry.

[GRITSnMS 0]

I didn't really like plain broths after surgery, so I strained regular cans of Soup. Worked pretty well. SF popsicles can be found in most grocery store freezers and they are wonderful! SF Cool Aid, Propel Zero, Crystal Light, or any other SF non-carbonated beverage will give you some variety in your fluids. I didn't like Jello because it didn't feel good going down, but by all means keep trying it. I love it now... Getting in Protein is also vital; it is still hard to get in all my protein, even at 3mos+ out. So, for me, Unjury protein powders are the best tasting and 'stick' the least in my sleeve. When mixed with skim milk, it isn't think or chalky, and it tastes good! I like the chocolate, vanilla, chicken soup, and unflavored - didn't love the strawberry but that's just me. The only downside to Unjury is that it is temperature sensitive; can't be added to hot food/drink (over 130 degrees). I also follow the 10% rule for foods, which helps when reading labels. For example, if it is 100 calories per serving, it should have 10 grams of protein per serving. Another thing I have found useful is the CalorieKing website for looking up calorie/fat/protein/carb content of all sorts of miscellaneous foods... Hope that helps!

[jasleeve 440]

i had the chili & it was so spicy!

I actually never really ate chili until starting this journey. It is pretty high in Protein and packs a lot of flavor. It is VERY satisfying. I know you are doing a shake and a salad, but I would go ahead and try a small chili from Wendy's, they are only $1.