Good carbs / Healthier food choices

[Daisee68 2,493]

I am just over 9 weeks out and just FINALLY feeling better and feel like I am turning a corner. (No vomiting in 8 days! YAY!) I had quite a bit of trouble with meats but likely because I wasn't chewing enough or eating too much so I have stayed with very soft foods that I knew I could tolerate and with that I don't feel like I am making the healthiest choices - just been focused on getting any food down and keeping it there and learning to stop when satisfied, eat slowly, etc. I am consuming around 500-600 calories per day with 80-90g Protein (thanks to shakes). I am not crazy about cooked mushy vegetables though I do like raw veggies but I know my system is not quite ready to tolerate them. I do love fruit - especially berries but I know I am not quite ready for those either. I have had a small bit of banana a few times (in a shake) and a peach slice (in Water no sugar added) and tolerated both very well. For what it's worth, I am getting in about 1/4 to 1/3 cup per meal which is pretty much 2 Tbsp (1/2 ounce) of meat (shaved turkey or tilapia) and then another 2 to 3 Tbsp of cheese usually. (Most of my Protein is coming from dairy - cheese, yogurt, etc.) I did successfully eat 1/2 a Quest bar today for Breakfast for the first time and I was very happy about that! I sure wish I could move on to nuts and Jerky but not confident I will chew it will enough yet to tolerate it. Oh and I have had scrambled eggs but honestly I just don't like them that much unless they have salsa on them. (Seem to be handling spicy just fine.) I was only able to eat about 1/4 of the egg before I just couldn't get in anymore. (Cold eggs are even nastier than hot eggs and eating a small bite every 90 seconds or so gets the eggs cold very quick!)

I have a meeting with NUT on Monday but was wondering if anyone had suggestions that I might ask her if I can progress to. I think she has told me a few more weeks at least before raw veggies (never craved cucumber so much in my life! )​ I am not frustrated or bored with my food choices at all. Not struggling with head hunger. Just wanting to make sure I am really working on healthy food choices in addition to very tiny food choices....

[Djmohr 6,965]

Hit here! Glad to hear things are getting better for you!

I was allowed to eat raw veggies at 4 months post op. The bad news was I did not tolerate them at all until 6 months post op. They were just hard on me for some reason. In particular lettuces, tomatoes, cukecumbers.

Now I eat them almost every day but I had to try then wait a week and then try again.

P.S. I still cannot eat eggs. I wish I could

[Daisee68 2,493]

Thanks @@Djmohr! So did you make other cooked veggie choices until you could eat raw or were you just not that concerned about the veggies in the beginning? I've eaten roasted butternut squash and I liked that but otherwise not a big fan of cooked veggies. I may just be struggling with my old diet mentality but I guess I am worrying about not having a little more balanced diet

[Djmohr 6,965]

@@Daisee68

I love veggies cooked and have been eating them since I was allowed soft foods. The funny thing is my tastes have changed and because of that I love even more veggies.

I started eating fresh cooked carrots with a little butter on them (they are now my absolute favorites. I go to the farmers market and buy them in all different varieties. Yesterday I found sweet reddish purple ones and cannot wait to try them.

Sweet potatoes - baked with a little butter

Cauliflower - in the beginning I cooked them soft and mashed with a fork but now I leave them a little more crisp

Green Beans with shallots and a little crumbled bacon

Corn - this I had to wait until about 6 months out but I love it

Peas - I like the frozen ones and cook them just slightly over

Cabbage - I like this boiled with salt, pepper and butter

I don't tolerate broccoli at all, it used to be a favorite and now I don't care for it

I used to love Brussels sprouts and those have to be cooked really well otherwise I don't tolerate them so I rarely eat these now

Don't be afraid to try the things you didn't like before surgery, your tastes may have changed. I remember being in the puréed stage and I craved cooked carrots. I finally decided to give into that craving and made them, smashed them with a fork, put a little butter, salt and pepper on them. Oh my goodness they were delish! I used to hate cooked carrots and have no idea why I craved them.

[Daisee68 2,493]

@@Djmohr - Hmmm Ok thanks. Will give the carrots and some of the other stuff a try. I was surprised I like the squash so might as well try something new!

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

I eat a lot of green Beans. I started out with the little single serve green bean cups during my soft phase. I also have had some broccoli on occasion.

I am almost four months out and have had green Beans (fresh, canned, from restaurants, home cooked, etc.), squash, and broccoli most often. Just recently I have had a bit of salad. Fresh tomatoes are in season so I have had a lot of sliced Tomato. I had some sliced cucumber this week.

[Djmohr 6,965]

@@Inner Surfer Girl

I love how fresh tomatoes taste right now. Almost every day I eat 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and fresh sliced tomatoes with a little salt and pepper on them.

I go to the farmers market every Saturday and touch all the tomatoes! LOL! My husband always tells the vendors that "my wife is going to manhandle your tomatoes now.

@@Daisee68,

I almost forgot, another vegetable that I eat a lot of and used to hate is zucchini! This week I am going to make zucchini boats for dinner. Low carb and delicious. They are also good sautéed or grilled with a little seasoning on them. Yum!

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

I had fresh peaches, blueberries, and cantaloupe this weekend and they were delicious.

I don't eat as many fresh fruits as I would like but am gradually adding them in. My fruit still tends be the no sugar added, single serve peaches, pears, and applesauce that I started eating during my soft phase.

[Djmohr 6,965]

I love peeled apple slices with Peanut Butter. One of my favorite Snacks. I share it with my hubby because I cannot eat a whole apple.

I also make a lettuce salad with fresh sliced strawberries or apple or nectarines in it, some feta cheese, some cashews and a little creamy poppyseed dressing. Sometimes I will grill a chicken breast and add a few ounces for du her or lunch. One of my favorites, I get fruits incorporated, with veggies and Protein.

[Daisee68 2,493]

Thanks guys. I think my biggest issue is figuring out how to fit those in with Protein (and especially with something that I can take to work) when I am only able to eat about 1/4 cup of food total. A lot of the stuff sounds good (ok not brocoli or green Beans frankly) but maybe I can figure out how to cook something for dinner and then take a tiny portion of it to work to reheat. There is no one else here to cook for so when I cook, A LOT of food goes to waste. I made one of those tilapia filets last week and was only able to eat 1/2 ounce and it just didn't sound good to me the rest of the week so I had to throw it out today. I'll figure it out eventually. Trial and error still I guess... As always, appreciate all the advice! ​

[Daisee68 2,493]

I finally got some veggies / fruit I have been craving. I had frozen berries and frozen mango in my Protein shake. It was a little too much carb probably (27g yikes!) but got some Fiber in which I am hoping helps other problems . It was 1 cup of fruit (and with Water not milk - my NUT says only milk OR fruit - not together because of the sugars). I already emailed my NUT to ask if 27g was too much and got a response back! (My team is so awesome!) She said cut it down a little next time and try to shoot for 15g sugar. But good news is it didn't make me sick! (I live in fear of new foods making me sick which I know is crazy.)

​

Anyway, then I had chicken salad with diced pickles for lunch AND no issues! And now for dinner, I had some deli turkey, cheese and FINALLY those darn cucumbers I have been craving! (Well I guess technically I had cucumber at lunch with I had the dill pickle relish in my chicken salad.) So far so good but it has only been about 15 minutes since I finished. Sure hope it settles well because I really like the freshness of cucumbers. I think I might even put them in my Water tomorrow with a little lemon or something.

[Daisee68 2,493]

Sorry to ramble about my food. I just get so excited when I can try something new and healthy and tolerate it!