If you’ve undergone gastric or bariatric surgery, you’ll have to learn a whole new way of eating. You won’t be able to eat standard size meals anymore and you’ll have to spread your food intake across the day, rather than sitting down to three square meals. You’ll also have to find a way to ensure you get all the basic food groups into your diet. And, if you’re watching your weight, you’ll want your meals to be nutritious and tasty as well as low-fat and low-calorie. There are many different ways to approach your new situation, and this website has been created just for people in your position (see Learning to Eat Again).
The following recipes will demonstrate that, despite your surgery, you don’t have to miss out on your old favourite dishes altogether, albeit in a mini version.
A small fish fillet makes an ideal meal in our situation. If you find the fish fillets from your local fish shop are too big, you can buy frozen uncooked fish fillets from the supermarket. They are usually cheaper than fresh fish and are often individually wrapped in small potions. They can also be cooked in the microwave straight from the freezer in as little as five minutes. (For more ways to cook a fish fillet, see Something Fishy.)
All the remaining recipes are based on 50–75gm of lean minced meat or poultry. We can’t buy meat in such small quantities (unless you have a very sympathetic butcher) so one option is to buy a larger quantity, divide it into small portions and freeze. For example, 500gm can be divided into 7–10 portions. While these recipes specify minced chicken or beef, they can all be made with minced turkey if you prefer.
If you have a little extra capacity, these meals can be served on one or two rice cakes, or one or two tablespoons of instant mashed potatoes perhaps boosted with one or two teaspoons of skim milk powder or neutral protein powder.
While there’s a range of recipes that you’ll find useful in the Cooking in Bulk collections, you’ll also find mini versions of other old favourites in the entries:
» Quick and Health Snacks: Soup-in-a-Mug
» Quick and Healthy Snacks: Macaroni and Cheese
» Quick Vegetable Side Dishes from the Pantry
Recipes:
Five Minute Fish
- 1 small (frozen) fish fillet
- 1–2 tbsp. lemon juice
- Parsley and pepper
- 1 portion frozen spinach (optional)
- 1–2 tbsp. instant mashed potatoes (optional)
- 1–2 tsp. skim milk powder (optional)
- Place fish fillet in a microwave proof dish
- Douse with lemon juice and sprinkle with pepper and parsley
- Cover tightly with some venting and microwave on high for 2–3 minutes (for frozen fish, add 2 minutes to cooking time)
- Let stand for 1–2 minutes
For optional side dish:
- Meanwhile, place spinach in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds on high to thaw
- Add instant mashed potatoes and skim milk powder (optional) and stir in sufficient boiling water to reconstitute
Mini Chicken Cacciatore
- 50–75gm minced chicken (or turkey)
- ½ cup mushrooms and red capsicum, sliced
- ¼ cup diced tomatoes
- Garlic granules, dried onion, paprika or chilli (optional) and pepper
- Parsley, basil and oregano
- Olive or canola oil spray
- 1–2 rice cakes or 1–2 tbsp. instant mashed potatoes, reconstituted (optional)
- Spray a small saucepan with a little oil
- Sauté chicken with garlic granules, dried onion, paprika or chilli (optional) and pepper
- Add mushrooms and capsicum and sauté
- Add diced tomatoes with parsley, basil and oregano
- Simmer for 10–15 minutes
- Serve on rice cakes or mashed potatoes (optional)
Mini Stir-Fried Chicken
- 50–75gm minced chicken (or turkey)
- ½ cup mushrooms and red capsicum, sliced
- ½ tsp. soy sauce
- ½ tsp. chicken stock powder
- Garlic granules, ginger and coriander
- Olive or canola oil spray
- 1–2 rice cakes or 1–2 tbsp. instant mashed potatoes, reconstituted (optional)
- Stir soy sauce, stock powder and spices into 2 tbsp. water
- Marinate chicken in mixture for 15–30 minutes
- Spray a small saucepan with a little oil
- Sauté mushrooms and capsicum
- Add chicken with marinade and sauté until cooked through and sauce is reduced
- Serve on rice cakes or mashed potatoes (optional)
Mini Sweet and Sour Chicken
- 50–75gm minced chicken (or turkey)
- ½ cup chopped carrot and red capsicum
- 2–3 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 tbsp. fruit juice
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. tomato paste
- ½ tsp. soy sauce
- Dried onion
- Olive or canola oil spray
- 1–2 rice cakes or 1–2 tbsp. instant mashed potatoes, reconstituted (optional)
- Combine fruit juice, lemon juice, tomato paste, soy sauce and dried onion
- Marinate chicken in mixture for 15–30 minutes
- Spray a small saucepan with a little oil
- Sauté carrot and capsicum
- Add chicken with marinade and sauté until cooked through
- Stir in cherry tomatoes and sauté until heated through
- Serve on rice cakes or mashed potatoes (optional)
Mini Beef Bolognese
- 50–75gm lean minced beef (or turkey)
- ¼ cup mushrooms, sliced
- ½ cup diced tomatoes
- Dried onion, garlic granules and pepper
- Parsley and basil
- Shredded Parmesan cheese
- Olive or canola oil spray
- 1–2 rice cakes or 1–2 tbsp. instant mashed potatoes, reconstituted (optional)
- Spray a small saucepan with a little oil
- Sauté beef with dried onion, garlic granules and pepper
- Add mushrooms and sauté
- Add diced tomatoes with parsley and basil and simmer for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally
- Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese
- Serve on rice cakes or mashed potatoes (optional)
Mini Beef Stroganoff
- 50–75gm lean minced beef (or turkey)
- ½ cup mushrooms, sliced
- 1 tsp. tomato paste
- ½ tsp. soy sauce
- 2 tsp. natural yoghurt
- Parsley
- Garlic granules, dried onion, paprika and pepper
- Olive or canola oil spray
- 1–2 rice cakes or 1–2 tbsp. instant mashed potatoes, reconstituted (optional)
- Spray a small saucepan with a little oil
- Sauté beef with garlic granules, dried onion, paprika and pepper
- Add mushrooms and sauté
- Add ¼ cup boiling water with tomato paste, soy sauce and parsley
- Simmer for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally
- Remove from heat and stir in yoghurt
- Serve on rice cakes or mashed potatoes (optional)
Mini Beef Curry
- 50–75gm lean minced beef (or turkey)
- ½ cup chopped red capsicum and carrot
- 2 tsp. tomato paste
- ½ tsp. soy sauce
- Dried onion, garlic granules, chilli and mild curry powder
- Olive or canola oil spray
- 1–2 rice cakes or 1–2 tbsp. instant mashed potatoes, reconstituted (optional)
- Spray a small saucepan with a little oil
- Sauté beef with spices
- Add capsicum and carrot and sauté
- Add ¼ cup boiling water with tomato paste and soy sauce
- Simmer for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally
- Serve on rice cakes or mashed potatoes (optional)