Quinoa is AMAZING! Just buy it dry and prepare it as it says on the package and/or box. If you live in Canada, the President's Choice Organics quinoa is the best! I make it as a chili (with peppers, onions, jalapeno, diced tomatoes, spices) and it's delicious. I can eat about 1/2 - 3/4 of a cup of it and then I am full, mind you that is mixed with veggies/seasoning.

I buy the prepared couscous and quinoa salads from Whole Foods (they have an apple curry quinoa one that is to die for!) The 2 for $5 are awesome because they lasted me 4 meals after surgery once I was onto the real food (about 7-8 weeks out).

You are luck you can eat rice....1/4 of a cup and I am so sick! It's so filling for me! I tried vermicelli rice noodles today and they were way too filling.

As for protein shakes, I drank Premier brand, from Costco, after surgery. They have 30g of protein each and you only needed 2 a day instead of 3 of other brands. I am disgusted with them now. If I am too lazy to cook or just don't have time, and I need protein, I use BioX Xtreme Whey isolate in the cookies and cream flavour (1 scoop = 30g of protein, 140 calories, 1g of fat, 0g of sugar and only 1.5g of carbs). I mix it with vanilla soy milk and am quite full after I drink it. It's somewhat pricey, but worth every penny (they have a chocolate peanut butter flavour too, mmmmmmm!)

My bible for post-surgery diet goes like this:

1 day out of surgery = clear fluids only (decaf tea/coffee, no sugar added juice, water!, low fat broths, sugar-free jellow/popsicles and crystal light)

weeks 1 and 2 = modified fluids (same as above but include protein drinks and skim milk)

weeks 3 and 4 = full fluids (same as above but can add low fat/no sugar added pudding/yogurt, strained/thinned oatmeal/cream of wheat, strained low-fat "cream" soups [made with skim milk])

weeks 5 and 6 = pureed diet (same as above but can include pureed pasta/meat/fish/legumes, baby food, blended cottage cheese/cream cheese/tofu, hummus, pureed fruits/veggies, SMOOTH MASHED POTATOES WITH SKIM MILK [I was obsessed with these for about 2 weeks], margarine, healthy oils, pureed avocado, pureed casseroles)

weeks 7 = minced diet (all of the above but chopped instead of pureed and can include dry cereals that become soft in liquid, soda crackers/arrowroots softened by tea/water, eggs [including egg salad], smooth peanut butter, bananas

week 8 = soft diet (all of the above! AND soft breads, rice, fruits and veggies without skins, low calorie/low sugar desserts/sweets)

DIET FOR LIFE = at this stage you should be able to eat pretty much anything you want, just not as much as you may want.

Your body will tell you what it can handle and what it can't!

hope that helps!

I love quinoa. There are tons of recipes available online for it. Lots of protein in it!