Every one can be different. I found fish the easiest solid to start, and two years out, it is still my go to choice. My standby choice in freezer, aways ready in single servings are high protein soups or chili. I still do 60 grams of protein each day in shakes as i rarely am hungry and forget to eat and drink. A shake (64 oz or 8 cups) made first thing in morning, gets me started and reminds me to keep sipping and stay hydrated, i sip on this through out the day, not chugged all at once(lol).

Cottage cheese( with added protein) greek yogurt, mashed potatoes made with Greek yogurt, and protein powder was really good when you need to do mushy foods. These are still favorite foods along side lean meats and places to make green vegetables easier to eat.

Early on, beans are great, as they are soft and have some protein. Lowfat cheese will pretty much melt in your mouth, and also has some protein. Fat free sugar free pudding with some protein powder added is a great source of protein.

When you can first tolerate more solid foods, deli meats are great for protein, and are softer and easier to chew than what you can cook at home. I relied on chicken and ham quite a bit. Apples are great, but peel them first, as the peel can get stuck. Oranges also don't chew well enough at first. Any melon type fruit does well. Mashed potatoes are good in the soft stage.

As you progress, you can start eating most things. I still steer toward nutritionally dense foods. I avoid bread, grains, pasta, and similar, because they lack protein and don't offer much nutrition per calorie. I eat pretty much any fish or meat, and that's still the biggest chunk of my diet.

If you are someplace where you need portable food, try some Quest protein bars. They are great on the go, have lots of protein and fiber, are low in calories, and have no added sugar or junk. Great snack, melt in your mouth, and are more like dessert than anything else.

Everyone is different and you will just have to experiment really. I tried little bites of stuff until I figured out what worked for me and what didnt. Beans went down well from the very beginning. Eggs...not so much. I can finally tolerate them now t one year out. I do very well with beef and seafood...chicken is hit or miss. I do better with the dark meat than the white. It has to be very moist or I just cant eat it. My go-to source for extra protein in greek yogurt. I eat it every day. I also eat quite a bit of cottage cheese...another good protein source that goes down really easy. I try to get anywhere from 100-120 gms protein a day if I can.

frozen precooked shrimp is my quick go-to option, I can take a five or so, run them under cold water for a couple minutes and then eat. Pretty much any seafood is easiest to eat. Chicken is the most difficult for me. Luck!

I've been lucky...or unlucky I guess , however you view it, because I'm 2 months out and I can eat anything. I love grilled cheese and lasagna.

Once I was all the way past mushies and softs and on fully normal food?

Strawberries
Gardein Crispy Tenders with Heinz ketchup

Those are my top two for taste.

Easiest for me when I could eat solid foods, by far seafood was the best! I still eat shrimp weekly, as it is a go-to protein source. I also love any fish. Scallops were also a great choice for me. My basic go-to items are Fage yogurt for breakfast, cooked shrimp sprinkled with Old Bay's seasoning served with cocktail sauce and Fage plain greek yogurt mixed together, and applesauce. Yes, I know it lacks protein, but if I want something quick and easy, its is a great choice. Oh, and I also do deli meat and cheese roll-ups. I like the ham and the turkey the best, with 40 cal slices or provolone.

BTW, chicken has been hard for me post-op as well. I can do it the first day, but reheated, forget it. In soups, it is fine.

Good luck!

I am 9 months post-op and I still have trouble with reheated foods (especially chicken!).....no idea why......the microwave does something evil to the food I guess lol

Poached whole eggs (running yoke) or egg whites, Fage Greek yogurt/banana smoothy, pureed condensed vegetable soup and Fage Greek yogurt, Hummus with finely chopped fire roasted tomatoes. Still learning...

Before I could stomach solids, I ate a lot of shakes. I experimented a lot with different kinds. One of my favorite ways of getting in protein without having that protein taste was with fat free plain Greek Yogurt shakes made with fresh fruit and something else (usually a choice between 15 calorie lemonade, a sugar free popsicle, or just a little splenda for taste). I still eat this from time to time (especially after a workout since it's so refreshing).

My solid dinner when I first started being able to eat solids was baked tilapia rubbed with garlic and other spices and topped with a little low-fat parmesan and usually a little bit of cashews. It always hit the spot.

Now I tend to eat fish tacos (blackened tilapia, sauteed mushrooms and onions, low-fat cheese, dollop of plain greek yogurt, cherry tomatoes, low-calorie salsa verde, and sometimes a little avocado if I haven't gotten in much fat that day) all on a lo-carb 80 calorie tortilla. YUM.

If I want something easy to take with me somewhere, I make shrimp stir fry with a bag of walmart's frozen stir fry veggies and adding in a bunch of mushrooms and onions, sautee those up with the lowest calorie stir-fry sauce you can find and a bunch of shrimp. So good!
I also like to prepare eggplant parmesan. The difference now is that I usually add unflavored protein powder to both the breading and the tomato sauce and always use the lowest calorie ingredients I can find. I'll bake up the breaded eggplant and freeze leftovers. I just pop a few in a tupperware container along with some sauce and take it to school.

If I'm really in a hurry for dinner, I generally keep some of jenny-o's turkey burgers in the freezer I can throw on the Foreman grill while I saute up some mushrooms and onions to put on top with some low-fat cheese. I usually just eat it like that, but sometimes if I'm craving some bread, I'll put it on a nature valley 100 calorie round (but then i can usually only eat half of it and save the other half for later).

If I have more time and want a burger, I'll get some super lean ground turkey or beef, mix it with low-fat cheese, chopped sweet peppers, mushrooms, onions, and sometimes a little pineapple and an egg to hold it together and put those patties on a grill.

Anyways... the important thing is to focus on building your meals around high protein foods and find something that you love. Good luck!

At a year out I make proteins the staple of my diet. Beware dry foods - always make sure you use some type of sauce to help moisten meat (especially chicken). Pulled BBQ pork is a big favorite as is any type of fish. BEWARE a bagle (the nice NY boiled first ones)!!! Tried one (because I try everything once) at a retirement breakfast. Holy crap I though I was going to die for about 48 hours. This is the only food on the never again list.