Food - puree stage/soups & sauce recipes

As I write this I am currently eating 1tbsp of hummus, 1 tbsp of shrimp spread & 1 tbsp of applesauce. Just lovely to have such variety.

Many of my recipes are adapted from the American gastric bypass book:
Before & After: Living and Eating Well After Weight-Loss Surgery
By Susan Maria Leach
Available on amazon.co.uk
Amazon.co.uk: Before and After: Living and Eating Well After Weight-loss Surgery: Susan Maria Leach: Books


HUMMUS – chickpea spread full of protein & fibre

Ingredients:
1 – 410 gram can of chickpeas, drained & rinsed
3 – Garlic Cloves finely minced
100 mls Tahini (sesame paste, found in Asian section, DON’T buy low-fat it is a bit bitter)
Juice of 2 lemons or 2 tbsps
2 tbsps Extra-virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste (a little chilli powder if you like spice)
Water as needed to create a smooth paste (about 250-300 mls)

Instructions:
Using a food processor or blender (I used a blender), add a bit of the water, chickpeas, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil. Pulse and then add more water. Continue process until the consistency is like mayonnaise (this will firm up after it has chilled in the fridge). Then scrape down sides to make sure you get all mixed well, add seasoning of salt & pepper to taste. Serve chilled for thick, room temp for a bit sloppy.

Serving suggestion: 50 mil serving (a bit too much for me just yet), recipe yields about 500 mils. Freezes well.

Calories: 65.5, Fat: 4g, Carbs: 6.4 (no added sugar, mostly fibre carbs), Protein: 2g


***MORE TO COME, writing them up right now

how did the shrimp one turn out

PRAWN SALAD SPREAD

Ingredients:
450 grams Prawns fresh or frozen (if frozen, defrost before & shorten cooking time)
50 mils Light Mayonnaise
Juice of 1 Lemon
2 Shallots finely diced
1-2 teaspoons of [FONT=&quot]Dunn’s River Caribbean Everyday Seasoning (has no sugar & low salt but is zippy) to taste[/FONT]
½ teaspoon Olive Oil


Instructions:
Heat pan with oil and shallots, allow the shallots to soften (couple of minutes) then add prawns. Stir fry quickly until prawns turn pink. Remove from heat and let cool while you prepare other ingredients.

Put lemon juice, mayo, and seasoning in food processor or blender. Pulse to combine until smooth. Add prawns & shallots and mix until somewhat smooth and combined. Best served chilled. Freezes well.

Serving suggestion: 125 mils (not yet for me)

Calories: 115, Fat: 7g, Carbs: >1g, Protein: 12g

Makes about 625 mils

All turned out yummy!!! More to come, the applesauce was fantastic, I'll never buy store bought again...

Vanilla Cinnamon Applesauce
Ingredients:
6-8 large apples
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Splenda Granular 125-150 mils (to taste)
Water 50 – 70 mils

Instructions:
Peel, core & quarter apples. You can use a variety of apples or green apples if you like tart. Put the prepared apples in a large covered sauce pan, add the cinnamon and water and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to a simmer for 30-40 minutes.

Once the apples are very soft, add the vanilla & splenda. You can mash them with a spoon or masher (chunkier style) or you can blend until completely smooth (I used an immersion hand blender and it came out silky and caramel coloured and smelling like heaven). Serve hot or cold. Can be used as a sauce when hot (see egg custard recipe in my next post).

Serving suggestions: 50 mils (yep, can handle that)

Calories: 31, Fat: 0g, Carbs: 6.5g (not all sugar, some fibre), Protein: >1g

Makes about 1000 mils

VANILLA EGG CUSTARDS

Ingredients:
4 Large Eggs
250 mils Skim Milk
350 mils Evaporated Low-fat Milk
Splenda Granular 125mils
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Salt
Nutmeg for dusting top of custards

Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 160®C. Put 6 ramekins in a large roasting pan and set aside. Whisk together all the ingredients except the nutmeg. To make the custard extra smooth, pass the whisked mixture through a fine mesh sieve (I skipped this step and it was fine, use your own cooking experience here).

Divide the mixture between the 6 ramekins (a large measuring cup with a pour spout is helpful here). Dust generously the tops of the custard with nutmeg. Fill the roasting pan with hot water so that the water comes to up to the middle of the custard cups. Bake for about 25-35 remove the custards and place them on a cooling rack. Chill them and then serve.

Once they have cooled completely you can pop them out and top them with the smooth version of the applesauce that has been warmed. Yum!

Serving suggestion: one ramekin which is about 125 mils or a ½ cup (yep, no problem)

Calories: 110, Fat: 4.5g, Carbs: 7.5 (not much sugar, mostly milk carbs), Protein: 9g
[FONT=&quot]
Makes 6 servings[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]

Nic your are an angel from heaven, I will be going to morrisons tomorrow and will be giving these receipes a go, well done chick...xx

charliegirl said:

Nic your are an angel from heaven, I will be going to morrisons tomorrow and will be giving these receipes a go, well done chick...xx

Click to expand...

Thx Linda, you are sweet. It was hard work to do it all in one day but well worth it. I have personally tried them all and everything turned out well. I have more to add just tired of typing it!

Coming soon made puree style yesterday:
My homemade chicken & veg soup
Italian Creamy Tuscan Bean Soup (very good)

Some Tips:
[FONT=&quot] I boiled some veg (carrots, cauliflower, sweet potatoes) to mash yesterday and used OXO chicken cubes in water. It made butter & salt not necessary. Also I added a tiny bit of soy sauce to my mashed sweet potatoes which cut the “sweet” and made them more savoury.[/FONT]

MMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmThey sound lovely def going to give the vanilla custard a go.

Thanks PG

Keep um coming

Dee x

:thankyou::happy096:

Deebol said:

MMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmThey sound lovely def going to give the vanilla custard a go.

Thanks PG

Keep um coming

Dee x

:thankyou::happy096:

Click to expand...

You bet, as I try I will share. Please do the same! We are in this together so why not?

god wish you were around when i had my op!!! am dribbling just reading your recipes might just have to try some anyway x

tammy said:

god wish you were around when i had my op!!! am dribbling just reading your recipes might just have to try some anyway x

Click to expand...

Thanks Tammy, I can say they all are yummy and when I get my act together tomorrow I will post a few more. I am happy that they sound good because many people don't have much food interest after surgery. I think it should be easy to adapt them for after puree, just less blending leaving more chunks?? Let me know how they go for you.

I LOVE Egg Custard ... might even have a go!

MASHED CAULIFLOWER WITH CHEESE
(easy and fast shortcut for puree stage)

1 bag of frozen Aunt Bessie’s Cauliflower Cheese
100-200 mils OXO Chicken Broth

Instructions:
Defrost the bag of cauliflower completely. Place in a large, deep mixing bowl. Add some broth and blend smooth with as hand blender. Measure out a tablespoon, place serving into ice cube tray. The 500g bag yields 16 – 1 tablespoon servings, this fills an entire large ice cube tray.
[FONT=&quot]
1 tablespoon = calories: 21.9, Fat: 1.25, Carbs: 1.2, Protein: 1.25[/FONT]

CREAMY TUSCAN BEAN SOUP

2 – 410g Canned Cannellini Beans (drained)
350 mils Chicken Stock (I use OXO cubes)
2 Garlic Cloves (whole)
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 crushed red pepper flakes
2 tbsps Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions:
Put the stock, beans, garlic & herbs in a blender. Puree until smooth. Pour into a medium saucepan, add the olive oil, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking. Season after with salt & pepper. When reheating this soup, I added some milk because it seemed to thicken after being chilled.

Serving Size: 125 mils (I brought it up to 250 mils with milk)
Soup (without milk) – Calories: 105, Fat: 3g, Carbs: 8g (only 2 are sugar), Protein: 5g

Makes about 1000 mils or 8 servings

Just a bit of feedback & more tips to enjoying purees

I have run out of the prawn spread too quickly (I love it that much). So I suggest if you love it make more immediately.

Both HC & I have tried the hummus and found the garlic a bit strong. I was a garlic devotee before surgery but now it is very powerful in small amounts.

I have found layering my food works better than mixing it all up. For example, I have used the Heinz Baby Food Mum's Own Recipe line, in particular the chicken & veg casserole (I think it must have added salt, but that's me) as the base and then once heated (20-30 seconds in micro) add a serving of mashed potatoes just on top with a sprinkle of grated cheese. Feels more like proper food.

Update on the prawn salad, it works a ton better with pre-cooked frozen prawns. Deforst them and then toss them in a bowl with the other ingredients and use an imersion blender. Entire process just takes minutes and it is my favorite snack!

Hi everyone, I have a simple little recipe for everyone that can be made in minutes and popped in the micro:

FAKE-OUT LASAGNE

Ingredients:
50g Ricotta Cheese*

50g Tomato Sauce – Any very low sugar brand, I used Jamie Oliver Artichoke Pasta Sauce

15g Parmesan Cheese

1 teaspoon Italian Herbs (I use a blend or you can add basil, oregano & parsley)

Sprinkle of Low-fat Mild Cheddar

Instructions:

Combine ricotta, half of the parmesan and the Italian herbs into a small microwave safe serving bowl. Once combined, spread the mixture evenly at the base of the bowl. Add the tomato sauce, covering the cheese mixture sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese and the cheddar on top. Place a paper towel or napkin over the top to avoid splatter. Zap it in the micro for about 1-2 minutes, let stand for a minute and then serve.

Serving details- Calories: 115, Fat: 10g, Carbs: 4.2g, Protein: 9.2g

Makes 1 Serving


*Alternatives:

1) If you can find low-fat ricotta (I could not, let me know if you do) that will reduce the fat content, also low-fat cottage cheese (drain any excess fluid before adding herbs and cheese) will work which also reduces the fat.

2) If you are at a stage where some pasta is okay, add cooked pasta to the cheese mixture at the base and follow the rest of the recipe.

Good eating!

Hi Phat girl these receipes are just what i need to prepare a few things,later on after g.Ballon fitted didnt really want to start buting more books ai have loads of G.I.which much later on i will move on to.
Anyway thanks for this very useful thread

Thx, I hope you enjoy them. If you find any others that you like please post them here for everyone else to enjoy.

Good Luck