Food...

Planning waaaaaay ahead but I want to have all of my ducks in a row. So...

What should I stock up on?

I love Pure Protein bars and whey protein powder. Each of them have 20 grams of protein in them They are super easy. I get unweetened coconut milk or almond milk and put a scoop or two of the whey protein powder in there and blend it with my Magic Bullet.

I also got some nuts to snack on, yogurts, oatmeal...just about anything that you don't have to spend a lot of time preparing.

I figure these things would hold me over until I'm ready to prepare more food. Besides, I used them a lot pre-surgery when I was working out. Quick easy nutrition.

Some people are sensitive to sugar alcohols and it might make them gassy, so if you are bothered with that, I'd stick more to whey smoothies. You can add fruits, flax seeds, chia seeds....limitless combos.

For meats, you can get chicken breast or whatever you like, some tuna, or canned salmon. Keep it as simple and healthy as possible. Your body is going to want some good quality protein to help with healing.

Those things are my faves since I've come home.

The first few days home from the hospital, I only wanted light foods. I had small salads, couscous, yogurt, scrambled eggs, and toast. And prunes! The nurses recommended a high-fiber diet to help deal with constipation, and the prunes helped a lot (along with the stool softener they recommended). After those first few days, though, I went back to my regular diet, although I ate smaller portions than usual for the first week or so.

They also told me to drink lots of water, but I'm not a big fan of still water. I drank fizzy water, which actually helped with the gassy feeling after surgery.

Bottled water, crackers, granola bars, sherbert, raisins, almonds, tea, Hersheys Kisses to pop one in your mouth at random.

I loved having the small bottles of gatoraid! I drank them like they were going out of style the first few days... plus they don't taste nasty when they get room temperature on the table beside you.

My husband cut up a bunch of fresh veggies (cucumber, green pepper, tomato, etc) for me. The first few days, that was all that tasted good to me.

I don't know what causes gas... I never had a problem being gassy at all, not the slightest bit. The gas-x I bought before surgery is still sealed.

I planned on having everything I needed for 4 weeks so I wouldn't have to shop. My DH only had to make a few very small trips to the grocery store to restock. He needed to keep picking up Milk, bread, and produce, but most everything else was here. I joked that we could have survived a 3 month catastrophic emergency with all I had stocked up on. It made my recovery so much smoother. Everything we needed was right here. I even froze meals and bought a lot of easy freezer type meals too. I usually do the shopping and my hubby isn't too thrifty at the store, so I figured not only did my preparations make recovery easy, it saved us a fortune.

That's a great idea, Cathb! My hubby is willing to do almost everything, but he's not good at preparing healthy foods -- or buying them.

I figure a diet rich in proteins and antioxidants will be important for recovery.

I have a couple of Ensure type drinks I'd bought for a dental surgery I was supposed to have. I figure that if I'm not up to eating, those will be a handy thing to have around.

I am just a few days after surgery. I really stocked up. I made and froze crustless quiches. I am enjoying a slice each morning, but 1st morning home I just drank a protein shake. Froze meat loafs, hamburgers, stuffed peppers, and many other meals. So far, people have been bringing meals and husband has been cooking, but I am looking forward to all the easy meals next week.

I ate alot of sherbert and soup after my surgery. I had to take it easy on my tummy. My pain meds made me sick. I also had ginger ale and peppermints on hand to settle my stomach. For breakfast I had dry toast. To be honest with you I did not have much of an appetite for a while. Keep things as simple as you can.

Hi, I will start this by saying I love to cook. It calms me and makes me feel good. I don't follow recipes, but use them as a concept. Most of the time, I can not reproduce a meal exactly the same two times in a row and find just changing spices can change a whole dish. That being said : Poach chicken, shred it and freeze it in 1/2 or 1 cup portions. This can be added to low or no salt chicken stock for a light soup, salsa for a Mexican meal, mixed with lemon and garlic , or pesto (made and froze in ice cube trays), and severed over whole wheat pasta, mixed with BBQ sauce, made into chicken salad or added over a green salad. I showed DH how to make a quick chicken gravy, and use this to make a quick chicken pot pit.
I did that with beef and pork also ( I used a pot roast, and a pork shoulder in the pressure cooker), and all DH had to do was put together what I or he wanted. I made the beef and pork for him, but did eat it when he mixed with salsa and stuffed it into peppers. I also used some of the beef and pork in tomato sauce when I wanted something different than meatballs.
It depends on how you feel. Even if I only wanted a protein shake at least I knew he had something that was quick and easy to put together.
I also made meatballs and sauce, turkey chili, turkey burgers, grilled chicken breast, boiled some shrimp with with old bay seasoning, and would take them out of the freezer for a quick snack.

I printed recipes and wrote down how I did things, like melt laughing cow cheese and add spinach and add some of the poached chicken, I showed him how I sautéed chicken breast with some spices and made a quick pan gravy, and added goat cheese to the top

I was able to cook after a couple of days, but I really did not want to sometimes, so it was very easy to throw something together. My husband if very good at shopping from a list I give him, and following recipes, but if I did not tell him what to eat, he would eat a tuna sandwich, or a hamburger everyday!

I try to keep it light and protein based. Good luck and remember good planning will let you rest more and easier.