Disclaimer: The advice on this website has come out of my own experience in my own particular situation. Where it contradicts your nutritionist’s advice, please ignore mine. Your nutritionist knows best.
Once your system has settled down you can begin to develop a long-term eating strategy. I hope that when you see the recipes on this website, you’ll be eager to do some home cooking. However, your own cooking can be supplemented by semi-prepared vegetable, chicken, meat and fish products as well as complete meals. (You can find recommendations suitable for your recovery period in the entry Small Portions with Next to No Cooking.)
Disclaimer #2: I’m writing from Australia, so some of the products I recommend might not be available where you are, or come with different names, sizes or units of measurement.
In recent years several meal delivery services have sprung up providing everything from boxes of fresh ingredients with recipes to complete daily menus either for full appetites or for weight loss. These services can be convenient, but they range in usefulness for people with limited stomach capacity.
Before choosing prepared meals, you should calculate your preferred portion size in grams as most packaged meals will only indicate their portion size in weight rather than volume. For example, my preferred portion size is 1¼ – 1½ cups, so I look for 320gm or less when I buy prepared meals.
While the most common complaint I’ve heard about fresh food deliveries is that the meals aren’t big enough, they are designed for a minimum of two people on a normal diet. Some providers claim to cater to special needs, so check their websites for more information.
The prepared meals available from delivery services can be either fresh or frozen, and being packaged in standard servings, might be too big for our purposes. However, check the supplier’s website for their portion sizes. You might find that, if designed for weight loss, they might be within your portion range or they might also offer smaller meals or meals for seniors that are suitable.
Prepared meals are also available from retailers. Supermarkets stock a wide range in the freezer and fridge where they can be much cheaper than the delivered products. They vary in size from large ‘man-size’, through low-calorie to pre-schooler size. (Tip: Beware of frozen meals that come in a single piece such as shepherd’s pie or lasagne. They tend not to heat evenly right through.) Pharmacies and selected supermarkets also stock prepared specialised low-calorie/high-protein meals.
Soup is always a good standby and available in a range of sizes and formats. Most supermarkets carry a range of fresh soups in the fridge, as well as cans, bowls and sachets on the shelves. Again, check the weight for your preferred portion size, although, with soups, refrigerating or freezing any leftovers is a viable option. Instant soups are tempting, but their nutritional value is minimal, and you can make soup-in-a-mug from scratch in a few minutes. (See Quick and Healthy Snacks: Soup-in-a-Mug.)
You’ll also find a wide range of products which are ready to eat by themselves, or in combination with other products, that can make quick, tasty and healthy meals. These include snack size cans and packets of tuna, salmon and other fish, as well as chicken in a range of flavourings. Tuna also comes combined with beans, pasta or rice.
Pre-cooked microwave rice can be found in single serves, both plain, in brown and white, or in a range of flavours. These can be combined with canned tuna or chicken. Rice, chicken or tuna can also be combined with beans or corn in single serve cans, or with snack size cans of flavoured chickpeas and beans.
A variety of salads can be found in the supermarket deli and fresh food section. In the fruit and vegetable section there are semi-prepared salads as well as ready to steam vegetables. In the freezer you’ll find frozen steam fresh vegetables – different combinations of three or four vegetables in single-serve parcels which can be steamed in the microwave in minutes.
Semi-prepared or oven ready meat, chicken and fish products are easy to find in the supermarket freezer or fridge including frozen fish and chicken fillets (choose chicken tenders, which are smaller than schnitzels) as well as fresh burgers, rissoles and sausages.
You’ll also find a range of single serve frozen pastries such as sausage or vegetable rolls, quiche and meat and/or vegetable pies. However, be sure to check the weight as some of these might be too big for you.
Gourmet butchers and chicken shops also stock a range of semi-prepared meals, including crumbed and marinated cuts of meat, shasliks, rissoles, hamburgers, sausages, pre-mixed stir-fries and pastries, among many others. If you prefer to buy more than one serve at a time, ask which products are suitable for freezing.
However wide the choice, we won’t want to eat in forever. Sooner or later, we’ll want to go out with friends or even just eat out for a solo treat. When that time comes, check out the entry Eating Out after Stomach Surgery for a few tips.