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You may feel that now that you have a reduced stomach capacity, you have to forgo some of your favourite dishes, or can only have them if you cook them in bulk and freeze them. However, even the biggest freezer has its limits.
The recipes in this section are a selection of some of your favourite poultry, meat and seafood-based recipes, such as bakes, stir fries, casseroles and stews, adapted to small portions. Most can be made in less than 30 minutes and all in less than an hour. Apart from the ‘hero’ ingredients, most can be made using staples and vegetables included in Pantry Essentials.
As well as recipe collections for our usual standard portions, I’ve also included a collection of Mini Meals suitable for the early recovery period or for people with a very small stomach capacity. (See Early Days after Stomach Surgery)
The ‘One Pot’ recipes are designed to be made with a small portion (100–125gm) of minced, sliced or diced meat or poultry (or 50–75gm minced for mini meals), or marinara mix. We can’t usually buy them in such small quantities so one option is to buy a larger quantity, divide it into small portions and freeze. For example, 500gm can be divided into 4–5 (or 7–10 portions) which can be frozen in resealable snack bags. In such small sizes, the portions can be quickly thawed by dunking the packet in hot water, and, if it’s a consideration for you, the snack bags can be washed and reused.
The recipes in the Something Fishy collection are for small fish fillets which can be purchased fresh from the fish shop or frozen from the supermarket. Some may need a second ‘pot’ to make an accompanying sauce or vegetable side dish.
If you have none of the above in your freezer, you can turn to the entries: Things to Do with Canned Chicken or Things to Do with Canned Tuna.
If you have a fillet, steak, chop, sausage or rissole on hand, you may prefer to simply grill or pan fry it. For ideas on how to give it a flavour and vegetable boost, see Dressing up the Protein.
Recipe Collections:
» One Pot Main Courses: Mini Meals
» One Pot Main Courses: Chicken
» One Pot Main Courses: Turkey
» One Pot Main Courses: Marinara Mix