I like to cook… but cooking before was sometimes a challenge. I live alone, and single-dudes will attest that it’s a pain to cook for one. So all to often we ended up eating out at Mickey-D’s or maybe worse yet the local by the shovel buffet. And I know there were too many times where I cooked enough food for 2-3 people cause of the sales portions of things and ended up chowing most of it down myself.
Food is an unavoidable part of our lives. And for us former fat dudes (or those looking to be former fat dudes) it is a big part of our lives. Even now after WLS, food is a HUGE part of our lives. For most of us, pre-op it was a quantity issue, post-op it’s quality.
Post-op, we can’t, shouldn’t and generally don’t eat much so what we put in our mouths needs to count. Not only do we want to get the most bang for the bite, we have to spend a lot of time checking out what’s in things so we don’t wind up with a surprise dumping episode.
So I am hoping I can impart a bit of wisdom here, learned over the last six of so months of pre-op and post-op eating habit changes… starting with some of the top changes you can make to your kitchen. A lot of this can be used even if your not single, and will hopefully help, cause in some ways it may be worse if you’re stuck eating with a family full of “normal” stomachs. Also, start with as much of this pre-op as you can… might as well start building those habits now!
Dishes: Smaller is better. Portion control is a huge thing. The first few months your meals are more easily measured in tablespoons than anything else. Go grab a 1/4 cup measuring cup and set in the middle of one of your dinner plates. See how pitiful that looks? Now put that same measuring cup on a salad plate, or even a saucer. Don’t underestimate the mental aspects of this whole thing. Starting out with a small amount on a large plate is going to mess with your head. You’ll feel cheated before you even take your first bite.
And invest in a bunch of small bowls. I like “pinch bowls”. They’re usually sold to use for pre-measuring stuff you need when cooking. For me they’ve become a staple for side dishes, sauces and such. They typically hold a couple tablespoons worth… and are perfect measuring out your food during the pureed stage.
Silverware: All that prep and using a smaller plate doesn’t do much good if you start shoveling food in your mouth using a spoon the size of a small… well… shovel. We’re supposed to take TINY bites, and make this sparse amount of food last at least 20-30 minutes. If you scoop up a tablespoon at a time, it ain’t gonna happen. At the very least, go for the teaspoon and salad fork. Or if you really want to help, get some shrunken silverware. Lots of folks go for the baby spoons… you know… the ones with the rubber coatings so you don’t gouge the poor kids mouth when feeding it. They’re ok, but I found a flatware set of these tiny spoons, forks and knives at Target for about ten bucks. If you have huge mitts, they may not work so well, but they do help me from just shoving my food down my throat.
Blender: You are going to need a blender, period. If nothing else but for things like protein drinks. Those Magic Bullet blenders work good for this sort of thing. They’ll handle basic protein drinks, smoothies, etc. And during the pureed stage they’ll handle what ever you can throw at them fairly decently. BUT they do not have the power for serious blending… I’m working on a variaton of an alfredo sauce made using cauliflower, and the MB just doesn’t have the power to make it creamy smooth.
That’s where my stick-blender comes in.
I have a Farberware Imerssion Blender (or stick-blender). The blender attachment comes off and I can attach it to a chopping container. This is what I use for chopping and blending up small quantities. Unless you are cooking for a family, this should get you by just fine. Otherwise look for a decent countertop blender.
Storage Containers: No matter how hard you try, it’s nearly impossible to cook just the amount we’re gonna eat in one meal. You are going to need something to store left-overs in… and while I use a lot of sandwich size and snack size plastic baggies, you’re gonna need some plastic storage containers. I don’t know anyone that sells Tupperware, but I do have some nice Rubbermaid containers. The lids click to the bottom of the container so I haven’t managed to lose a lid yet.
The bulk of what I have is those semi-disposable ones, like the Gladware. You’ll want a variety of sizes, but stock up on the Gladware 1/2 cup round ones. They’re great for freezing portions of left-overs, packing a lunch or snack item, and they’re cheap enough if you melt, break, lose or otherwise end up mutilating a few, it’s no big deal.
So these are a few things to make sure you have in your post-op kitchen… I have more to add to this in another posting later, but what are some of the “must-haves” in your post WLS kitchen?
Excellent hints and tips! Love the gladware… I use the small ones to freeze things, then just pop them out and bag’em. That way I can reuse the containers sooner, instead of waiting to consume the frozen whatever. The MB (magic bullet) didn’t really work on ice for us, but that might be because it’s the ‘battery’ one. The plug in type might have more power. We use the stick/imersion blender big time!! I haven’t been able to find the ‘small’ utensils yet, but have been using the small ‘ramikins’ to help with portion control. Keep up the good work on the site here… love to see the ‘guy’ point of view. It might even help me understand my husband at times – LOL!
I can’t live without my Blender Bottle. I know you mentioned a blender, but these plastic cups (both large and small) with the wire “ball” in them really gets the clumps out of my protein powders for a nice, smooth, quick drink. I also bought a smaller fry pan to do 1-egg omelets in. Why mess up a 10-inch?