Puree Diet: What It Means, How To Do It.

Pureed food is defined as food that is ground, cut, chopped, sieved, put in a food processor, or mechanically broken down to a paste.

In Post Op Patients this is an important stage because it allows increased nutrition as well as more satisfaction.  It also provides a time to learn how to eat.

Maximum Amount:

One half cup of food is the maximum at any one time during this period.  That would be 28 teaspoons. 

Spoons come in different sizes - but this would be the "teaspoon" the spoon most often used to drink tea. Not the tablespoon.  Check your spoons and see which one holds one teaspoon easily - it will probably be the smallest spoon you own. 

How Do You Measure - Eating Out

While some people will bring scales, cups, and measure with scientific accuracy, that is the minority. Most of you will guess.  But there are good ways to guess and there are bad ways to guess. 

Bad Way - looking at a pile of food and with your eyes say "that is half a cup." 

Good Way - knowing a small teaspoon is available in any restaurant and that you can guess how close that spoon is to a teaspoon. You know that 28 spoons will be four ounces - so as you eat, count the number of foods. 

Eat Slow, Small, and Easy

Do not eat until you are full.  If you do that you will eat beyond what the stomach will hold. If you eat too fast you will miss the "full" feeling and can rupture the stomach (trust me, you don't want to do that).

Eat one bite every minute.  No matter what surgery you have, you want to eat no faster than this. 

Never Hungry, Never Full

This is your mantra - during this phase of food you will be saying this. Eat slow, small, and easy - and strive not to be full, but never be hungry. 

Drink and Eat - not at this stage

For gastric sleeve patients there is only so much room in the stomach at this stage. Do not drink and eat at the same time.  It is not worth it - you won't get as much in for food.

If you have a Lap-Band you can eat and drink at the same time - we didn't change the size of your stomach, just how it reacts. 

Eat More Often

The great thing about puree foods is you can eat more often. You can eat three, four, up to six meals a day at this stage. You won't need to - but you might find this filling. 

Recipes:

During this stage there are some nutritious and lovely recipes - and but my favorite is the one I made with my son - cauliflower mash. You can do the same thing with broccoli.