So, I was pretty eager to try and start on some soft foods. Last night I picked up a steamer bag of asparagus and steamed the hell out of them, so they were pretty mushy. I cut them up small, the "size of my thumbnail", and ate as slow as possible. I filled up so quickly, I couldn't believe it. I probably ended up eating 5 stalks total. They sat fine! I was so glad. Even if I felt much fuller than when I've had anything else.
So, today, for lunch, I went back to the asparagus and did it again. I don't know if I ate too quickly or what, but I've had an unpleasant pressure in my chest/stomach ever since. I took an anti-nausea pill because I was feeling queasy, and it wasn't helping for quite some time, but I'm feeling mostly better now. Not sure where I want to go from here, truthfully. Maybe I should try making cauliflower "mashed potatoes" or something that has a closer to puree consistency. Oh well :\
In trying to find more recipe suggestions for soft foods and the like, I've been turning to a few books, as well as the internet. (Well, mostly the internet, because I prefer to pin my recipes...) I already own Recipes for Life After Weight Loss Surgery by Margaret Furtado and Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery by Patt Levine. From my local library I checked out The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery, also by Margaret Furtado. (I also accidentally took out an earlier version of the first book mentioned...whoops!) Of all of the books, I find the first one to be the most helpful. It's laid out very clearly in what stage you would be at for that recipe. However, the only book that's mentioned VSG (vertical sleeve gastrectomy) on its own is the Complete Idiot's Guide - and for that I am very grateful. For a surgery that is increasingly common and/or "popular", it should really bear greater mention then just "oh, you kind of follow the same dietary track as the Lap-Band." Lastly, the book by Levine also has a great strength in that it lists ways to customize any of the recipes for whatever stage you're at. All of these books have their share of strengths and weaknesses and absurdly similar titles (hence my accidentally checking out an earlier edition of a book I already own).
Onto something else...
I have been doing a lot of experimenting lately with different protein shake/smoothie recipes. Some of them have been absolutely fantastic, some of them....mmm not so much. I am on a crusade against bananas at the moment, i.e. don't want them in my smoothies or shakes, since the banana flavor overpowers anything else. I like bananas well enough, although pretty much just raw is fine by me. But...yeah. Anyway! Moving along. Looking for new things that have different components, so I can build on the basic protein powder flavors I have. (Currently I have vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, unflavored, and "banana creme" for Dave, not me obviously.) In any case, there are obviously tons of resources online. Two great resources that I especially liked tonight were a pretty comprehensive list of shake recipes at Dashing Dish, and a quick-n-dirty table of 144 different protein shake recipes at Fit Desk Jockey. The recipes at FDJ aren't specifically for weight loss, though - the ones that are specifically for bulking up say so. But, obviously, you can use your best judgement - "Wait, this has a Snickers bar in it? Uhhh..." (Random example - I don't think any of them actually have that.)
Also, as I mentioned earlier, I prefer the interwebs to books just because I love having recipes on my Pinterest! Today I spent a good while weeding through my recipe board to separate out the healthy vs regular recipes. Granted, some of the ones on mine aren't healthy across the board for everybody - there are some buttery almond bars that have gobs of butter. Low to no carb, but very high in fat - so there are things with both positives and negatives obviously. The board won't be for everyone, though some of the recipes are just general low-calorie or low-fat options as well. In any case, I definitely want to share my pinterest board - http://pinterest.com/raphaelsmuse/om-nom-the-super-healthy-laura-version/ - as a resource as well. Many of the online forums have recipe threads as well - gastricsleeve.com, verticalsleevetalk.com, and thinnertimesforum.com (just found out about the last one!) - so those are also incredibly invaluable resources.
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