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In preparation for my surgery...

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Posted 6/5/2014 6:23 AM (GMT -5)
I would like to cook some dinners in advance and keep them in the freezer to make things easier for recovery time. I love to cook, but I've never done this before. Can you all recommend some meals that freeze and reheat well? Thank you!
Posted 6/5/2014 11:59 AM (GMT -5)
After each surgery I wasn't really that hungry for about a month. I ate very little and what I did it was very soft and easy to digest.

Your surgeon will probably want you to stick with a low fiber/low residue diet for the first few weeks or months. By the time you can eat other foods you'll be pretty well healed and doing what ever you want.
Posted 6/5/2014 12:06 PM (GMT -5)
On the other hand, I had a great appetite as soon as I was aloud to eat after the surgery to get my permanent ileostomy! I hadn't been hungry once in the 3 months before surgery, due to my flare, but my appetite kicked right back in. But like ks1905 said, you will have to eat low residue/low fiber for about 6 weeks after surgery, and a lot of that stuff is easy to have on hand without having to make ahead. I ate a lot of greek yogurt, eggs, avocado, bread, pasta, applesauce, bananas, canned fruits and veggies...or VERY well cooked fresh veggies...like carrots and green beans...chicken, meatballs....stuff that is easy to chew/digest, and doesn't have parts that might block you up. If you wanted to have something cooked ahead and frozen...maybe some chicken noodle soup, meatloaf or meatballs. You could freeze some fruit to blend into smoothies. I'll keep thinking of ideas....
Posted 6/5/2014 12:21 PM (GMT -5)
The only thing that I couldn't physically do at my house was to change the sheets on my bed. I could take the sheets off and wash them but I couldn't put fresh sheets back on. So maybe you want to change the sheets on your bed the day that you leave for the hospital.

Other than the bed sheets I had really no issues that I could remember. You won't be able to lift more than 15lbs for a certain amount of time after surgery, your surgeon should be able to tell you more about that.

If your bills are not on auto-pay then maybe you want to pay them before you leave, I was always stuck in the hospital longer than I ever expected after each of my surgeries.
Posted 6/5/2014 1:04 PM (GMT -5)
Protein is important post surgery, and greek yogurt and eggs are good for that but good lean meatl like steamed chicken breast or codfish is great, and that could be cooked en masse and eaten, kr even prepackaged by you into containers, with well cooked veggies and white rice or cooked sweet potatoes to thaw frozen meals. But you will definitely want to be cautious and gradual switching from pure low residue to solid food, and start with 8 or so tiny minimeals a day before eventually resuming 3 or 4 meals a day. Steel cut (or any. But steel cut is healthiest) oatmeal goes down great early on after surgery, with some greek yogurt and banana mixed in.

PS ensure and those sort of processed drinks are full of junk including tons of high fructose corn syrup, so they would tend to liquify ones stoma output and dehydrate you, IMO not a great idea if you can avoid them as soon as practical.

Post Edited (Probiotic) : 6/5/2014 1:26:34 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 6/5/2014 1:24 PM (GMT -5)
They had me drinking Ensure with the protein in it because I wasn't eating much. Like I said previously I had very little appetite after my surgeries.
Posted 6/5/2014 2:59 PM (GMT -5)
Wow! I'm so glad I asked this question! I hadn't even considered what I was going to eat! I was asking so that I'd have meals prepared and on hand for my husband, who does not cook at all!! Now I realize I need to stock up on my eggs, yogurt, oatmeal, etc!

I can't begin to tell you how comforting it has been for me to find such invaluable support and information here. Changing the sheets before I go to the hospital?? Great advice that I never would have thought of!

Thank you all so much!
Posted 6/5/2014 3:24 PM (GMT -5)
I should have bought stock in Fage because I've eaten soooo much Greek yogurt. I really like it mixed with unsweetened applesauce, and the pectin in the applesauce is a natural stool thickener as a bonus. Cottage cheese is another really easy to chew/digest cheap source of protein.

For husband, I'd say any kind of pasta casserole... Like baked ziti or lasagna with meat sauce... After the first few weeks you could have some too.
Posted 6/5/2014 4:10 PM (GMT -5)
I had great intentions of doing the same thing, stocking my freezer chock full! Then when push came to shove, I pretty much blew it off & figured that hubby could deal with food for him & our daughter for a week or so! I did make a batch of cheesy vegetable chowder that I froze- and I ate it pretty much right off the bat. My surgeon never specifically told me to do low-fiber/low-residue, but really, those foods are what I craved. Scrambled eggs, french toast, chicken noodle soup, yogurt, cheese, plain chicken, even salmon... I've never been a red meat fan, so didn't have ground beef or anything. I had half a piece of pizza the day after I came home, & it tasted SO good. I just figured if I chewed everything to mush, what did it matter? I avoided raw veggies, fruit peels, & that's about it... Don't sweat his meals too much, you'll find you really could care less how he's getting along!
Posted 6/6/2014 10:49 AM (GMT -5)
I assumed when I read your question as food for yourself and preparing for surgery because most of us here are sick and asking questions about how to help ourselves.

If your husband is healthy then I don't see why he can't take care of himself for about 2 weeks while you are recovering from surgery. If he can't cook then get him some take out menus or frozen dinners from the super market, and some of the fancier supermarkets even have pretty good made-in-store meals for take-out.

I wouldn't worry too much about other people, you'll have a long couple of weeks after surgery. What you need to do is get a lot of rest, walk as much as you can, take your meds, eat protein to help healing and be as stress free as possible. And follow up with your surgeon and home ostomy nurse as recommended.

When you are healthy again you'll be able to cook a nice meal and not have to worry about if the food is going to affect your UC/Colon, you'll be able to go out to dinner without worries. My end ileo was really nice to have while I had it.
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