Stir-Crazy?

I am now 10 days post surgery.  On Wednesday, I spoke with the bariatric nurse who called to check up on me.  At the time, I was still sorting through what I can or can't tolerate.  My husband had accidentally gotten reduced fat milk when he went to the grocery store.  It was Lactaid milk so that if I was having a hard time with lactose, that wouldn't bug me.  Well, we learned 2 things.  1) I cannot tolerate 2% milkfat, even after the surgery.  2) Lactaid milk has a lot of sugar!  A whopping 12g of sugars, regardless of fat level! It was a little shocking.  John returned to the grocery store to get me bananas (a suggestion for bulking up calories in my protein drinks) and checked all the different types of milk available.  The sad thing that he discovered is that all non dairy milks have added sugars!  Even the "original" unflavored versions.  Thankfully, the added sugar amounts to far less than the Lactaid milk, but it was an interesting lesson.  We settled on coconut milk, which is good, but has an inherent sweetness to it which is a little weird when you use it to make cream soups. But it's okay, I am only a few days away from the blended food phase.  Given how much better I feel when I have the banana in my protein drink, I think I am going to be getting quite busy making blended foods from REAL food during the next 2 weeks.  I already have Carrot Miso soup and Brussels Sprouts Split Pea soup in my freezer, but after these two weeks, I think I am going to be a lot more creative than I thought in this next phase.  I am even getting over the aversion to blended meats. I promise I will post recipes for anyone who is considering this procedure because there are really only about 10 recipes that I have been able to find online for this phase.

In the rest of life, my dietician, Renee, has taken over my winter CSA shares.  And wouldn't you know, the week that I have surgery, she received ramps in her share.  I'm so sad because these are such a treat!  I did, however, ask her if she would like to contribute her recipe to my blog.  I hope she does, because even though I can't eat them now, that doesn't mean I can't have them eventually!

Tomorrow, we head back to Cleveland. We will be stopping by my mother-in-laws to watch the hockey game with her (she's the biggest Red Wing fan I have ever seen and it's so much fun to watch games with her!).  They will probably order a pizza, so I will have to make up one of my savory shakes to enjoy while we watch the game.  Then we will head back to my place.  I have to admit, I am truly looking forward to having my recliner back!  We will have to do some shopping when we get back there because my refrigerator is basically empty.  But I have already started making a list.  And then Monday is my follow-up appointment.  Returning to work, however, will not be allowed until I am into Phase 3 (blended foods), so I won't go back until the end of the week.  I am looking forward to returning to life.  I am not good at this sit back and relax stuff.