Recipes, Food Tips, Healthy Eating & More

@debbraw Here's a website for you www Verywillfit.com has some information in there

@debbraw Shepherds pie is a great idea. I make a version of that but I skimp on the mashed potato topping on the part I will eat. Also, you could do meatballs and sauce if tomatoes are OK. It doesn't have to be extremely spicy, and to save on calories and carbs I serve mine on top of baked zucchini while my husband has pasta. Fish fillets are generally pretty soft, can you do fish? We generally have haddock about once a week, and some other fish a second time, like wild salmon, and occasionally swordfish or shrimp.

The meat has to be diced or ground, so no boneless chicken breasts? They are pretty digestible I think, and as long as they were well-chewed I would think they might be acceptable.

I will be interested in hearing other ideas.
JK

@debbraw

After three surgeries of the upper digestive tract, I know how difficult it is to find just the right foods for a soft diet. Might I suggest that you forget calories for just a while and focus on healing?

You basically need to get a lot of protein (that helps to heal) and to avoid roughage. The Shepherd's Pie sounds like a good idea just be sure the veggies are cooked soft. Also, smoothies are really good and you can pack a lot of protein with the right ingredients. I've also used Atkins brand protein drinks. They do not have as many carbs and sugars as other protein drinks (like Ensure) but are satisfying. I especially like the Dark Chocolate Royale flavor.

Baked or poached fish can be good. Also, adding bone broth to dishes will give you lots more protein than regular broth, so keep that on hand for cooking or just drinking.

I hope these ideas are helpful. Just wondering: was your ulcer diagnosed with an upper endoscopy?

@debbraw
Hi and I hope the 10 weeks fly by and you are feeling better by the end. May I suggest spaghetti squash in place of pasta and mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes. I buy the frozen riced cauliflower and after microwaving it, use my immersion blender to whip up. Anything you don’t have to chew or is hard is the key to this type of diet. Sweet potatoes mashed, any kind of soup, eggs and fish. Use ground chicken instead of meat...get the kind that is at least 20% fat and you can use this in making chili with or without beans and also meatloaf....or turkey meatloaf. I personally would try to avoid as many carbs as possible in a day and white bread...I can understand the concern with weight gain. There’s no reason you can’t have your veggies as long as they are soft or mashed....I love mashed carrots. Smoothies with veggies and fruit are great if you are into that. You can really make this a very healthy no weight gain 10 weeks with some thought.....a challenge to be sure. At least a glass of wine is soft lol.

Regards and good health from Florida Mary

@debbraw My suggestion is to become friends with your blender and food processor. Just put whatever you cook for your husband into the processor and grind until it is the right consistency for you. Also make sure you have plenty of sauce to keep your foods moist. Good luck.

@debbraw One thing that is good I have used when sick I think you could is milk toast I can eat it without the sugar I don't use much sugar Stevia some and cinnamon remember the spices that are good for stomach like ginger also

Wow! Thank you all so much for the great ideas. Sometimes you just need to be nudged into remembering what you already know you like! I have gone through and done a "cut and paste" of your ideas so I have a nice cheat-sheet for when I get hungry and need ideas.

@imallears - you reminded me that I love mashed cauliflower (really prefer it to potatoes) and I love spaghetti squash. And yes, though wine IS soft, they have cut me off for the 10 week duration. Apparently ulcers and wine don't mix well!

@hopeful33250 - Teresa, yes, the endoscopy identified the ulcer, but its right at the top of my stomach. It caused that opening to be swollen so they couldn't get the scope all the way into my stomach. Hopefully after 10 weeks on medicine, soft diet and no wine (boo hoo) I will be healed and we'll try this again. Oh, and I like your idea about putting the nutrition first and worrying about the calories later. Thanks for getting my priorities straight.

@contentandwell JK - I'm going to try your idea of using zucchini as a base vs pasta. We also do LOTS of fish. Happily we are right here on the coast and get excellent fresh fish and shrimp. I can't do boneless chicken but I could do ground chicken or turkey.

@2011panc - yep! I'll be giving my blender a workout! And @lioness - Thanks for the website.

@debbraw
You said, " he endoscopy identified the ulcer, but it's right at the top of my stomach. It caused that opening to be swollen so they couldn't get the scope all the way into my stomach."

That must be quite painful! Do you mind sharing the symptoms you were having?

Teresa @hopeful33250 - I'm fine to share. Here's the story: From the time I had my knee replacement in late January, I was nauseated. As the days wore on, it varied from mild nausea to being totally unable to keep anything down. By week three, I was in severe pain and unable to tolerate even drinking water. I went to the emergency room. They determined I was bleeding internally. They blamed it on a bad reaction to Celebrex, the anti-inflammatory drug I was prescribed. My understanding is that Celebrex is in the NSAID family, but not supposed to be as harsh. Anyway, they took me off the Celebrex and gave me something to heal up my stomach. But the GI doctor said she noticed that this was the year for my colonoscopy, so she wanted to do an endoscopy whenever I scheduled the colonoscopy, just to make sure that the Celebrex really was the problem. I wanted to get all this medical stuff behind me as soon as possible, so I scheduled both of those procedures for last Friday. By that time, I was 12 weeks out from my knee surgery and it had been two full months since my ER visit. So I really was not having pain or serious symptoms, but I still had enough lingering nausea and occasional stomach discomfort to feel like something was not right. Obviously, it wasn't. They found the ulcer and now they have prescribed 10 weeks of Protonix morning and night, soft diet, and not a sip of wine until the next endoscopy. Hopefully, I'll be the picture of health, moral fortitude, and digestive purity by mid-July!

@debbraw. A long time ago I had a ulcer ,it was painful The Dr gave me Nexium to take I was on it for I'm not sure how long it's been over 20 yrs but with drinking 1/2@1/2 it healed up but I still do not eat fried foods or hot spicy
food 😭 Coffee bothers me also so I try not to drink on a empty stomach These are a few things I had to do with my ulcer