Soft Food Phase during Thanksgiving

angelaanhela

Hello All!

So after a year of hurdles I finally have an out of the blue surgery date for Oct 13th, of course my lukc, its right before the holidays. This means that Thankgiving I will be on the Soft Foods Phase Diet. Any suggestions? Below are things I have thought about that can go along with my family meal without being too inconvenient and maybe even good for everyone else there too.

MOIST dark Turkey meat
Cooked Carrots (no honey glaze just seasoned well)
Mashed Garlic Cauliflower (with smart balance butter not regular butter)

We usually make real cranberry sauce, I would probably only be able to do the juice from it since the cranberries might be too tough, but then again it might have too much sugar in it. Any thoughts?

Dessert? I can always cook apples with just cinnamon no sugar. Are oats during maintenance? Would be nice to have like a crumble on top to turn it into a crisp. Is pumpkin ok for this time? Could do some sort of pumpkin custard without sugar.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

stroynaya

Remember, you will only be able to eat a couple of bites at that point, so don't worry too much about lots of types of dishes, but focus on one or two. Maybe try them out a day or two ahead to make sure you don't get sick. Nothing worse than getting sick at a holiday meal! Also, highly recommend using a small dessert plate for all your meals at that stage.

ATXHeather

Are you cooking or are you eating someone else's cooking? If you are cooking, I really wouldn't put in any effort other than making what your family usually has for the holiday. I am almost 8 weeks out and still on soft foods. I think turkey with gravy would be okay and will probably be the only thing you can manage. You could also eat some sweet potato, maybe some mashed potatoes (I avoid potato but other people eat it), mushy, over cooked veggies (like that awful green been casserole made with canned green beans.) You will only be about 6 weeks post-op so you probably will be able to eat about 2 ounces of turkey and not much of anything else.

bikrchk

I had just started soft foods last Thanksgiving. I was able to eat a small bite of pretty much everything I wanted, but you won't get many, so plan to get a bite of the thing you want most first! As for desert, I ate a tiny bite or two of pie and the sugar... yeah, too much at that point. Not a super violent reaction, but let's just say it wanted out within a few hours and did not leave the way it came in! It's rare that I have a reaction like that today, but I had just been sleeved in mid-October so I was less than 2 months out at that point.

garber6th

I had my surgery last year on October 9th, so I was at about the same stage you will be for Thanksgiving. I just stuck with the plan I got from my surgeon - protein first, then veggies. I had a few bites of turkey with gravy, and a bit of cooked yam. My friends were awesome, they cooked some yams for me without the brown sugar and butter and marshmallow nonsense. Honestly, it was no big deal being around people who were scarfing down plateloads of food. I had already made up my mind to do this right so my mindset was in the right place. I didn't feel left out or like I was missing anything, in fact, it felt good not to feel like I couldn't move after eating like I had felt on Thanksgiving in the past!

ericadouglas0412

if you're a big fan of mashed potatoes (like me) you can always add protein powder during that stage to make them better for you without altering the taste or texture too much. Dark meat is the way to go for sure, but don't pressure yourself into eating meat too soon, keep in mind that you still may not tolerate it well at that point. Gravy will probably also help if you find anything not to be moist enough, just make sure it's not too high in calories or fat.
Cooked apples or applesauce is still a best bet during that stage for dessert, avoid added sugar at all costs. Pumpkin would be okay if it's cooked and/or pureed, but I think you'd have an easier time with the apples. Keep in mind too, it's likely you won't make it to dessert - at my soft food stage I was only able to eat about 6 spoonfuls per meal in about 30-45 minutes.

angelaanhela

Such great advice! Thank you sooo much, this has really helped me. Me and my sisters all cook for our family for Thanksgiving and one of my sisters has already had the gastric bypass surgery so everyone is really understanding about eating healthier foods. But after reading this it seems like just making everything as we normaly do will be just fine since I will probably only eat a little dark turkey meat with a little gravy and some plain mashed sweet potatoes and canned green beans. I am fine with that! Of course it all depends on what I will be able to tolerate at that time so yes I think I will try them before to see what reaction I get. LOL also make sure I sit in a chair that has an easy access to get up and out if anything uncomfortable happens.

Your advice has been very helpful!

garber6th

Also - you might want to make sure you have something to eat on hand that you know you can tolerate, just in case dinner doesn't agree with you. It's always good to have a plan B after surgery! I made Hanukkah dinner last year for my family, I was able to eat the brisket, but I skipped a few other things I liked because they just weren't part of the plan. I am glad I made dinner though, I make dinner every year and I would have been really sad if I didn't. Do the things you love, just do them a little differently! You will get through it just fine!

pcoppock

Do the things you love, just do them a little differently! You will get through it just fine!

Great advice for the entire process. I needed to see these words.

-Phill

pawoodhull

My surgery was in July 2011 and Thanksgiving was my first real holiday. I was past the "soft" food stage, but still not eating a lot and it all had to be really moist. Protein was easy, turkey. I chose a little corn and then decided either potatoes or stuffing, not both. Went with the stuffing because I can have potatoes any time. So measured out my turkey, took a 1/2 serving spoon of corn and about 3/4 of stuffing. Added some gravy (yes I know, calories and fat) and I had enough food to feed a 6 month old, but it worked for me.

PS - dessert was a bite of my husband's pumpkin pie. To this day, and I'm 3 years out, most times all I need is a bite and I'm good.

Pat

Losing_Sarah

To echo what others are saying: At 8 weeks out you will be able to eat barely anything. Shoot, compared to pre-op it'll be like that for a long time. I had my surgery October 16th last year, so I was also in the soft food stage. I am almost a year out and dense food still fills me up with just a few bites.

Last year we didn't celebrate because my hubby had to work and family lives out of town. My 5 year old and I just hung out and had my "famous" homemade chili. For Christmas, though, I just ate an ounce of ham and a single small bite of mashed potatoes with gravy and I was full.

Good luck and congrats on your upcoming surgery!