eating ethnic food ...

Has anyone been able to go back eating ethnic food during the "mushy" and regular diet stage? I love Spanish, Indian, Italian and many others. Chicken Broth and Tomato soup dinners have been my best friends for a while but I need something new.

I have tried it all. Mexican food restaraunts have queso and chips and salsa that always go down easy, but rice never does. I order cheese enchilada and it works. I have tried Chinese, Indian foods a few times and have never had any luck except for cheese wontons. Everything else comes up.Lasagna and spaghetti work for me if I chew slow and don't overeat. Hope this helps.

I'm 14 months post-op and can still eat absolutely ANYTHING I want as long as I chew thoroughly and wait ample time between bites. I've had seven fills so far and have yet to experience any sort of reflux (although I do experience occasional PB'ing/sliming/vomiting, particularly after I get my band tightened).

Chile relleno is one of my postband favorites. DH and I had margaritas and an order of nachos for dinner the other night with no problems whatsoever (especially the margarita.)

Nachos/chips and hot sauce always go down. I had my first margarita post-op two days ago and had no problems except I started feeling it waaaay faster than usual, which is not a bad thing!!

What is sliming?
I am living in the Middle East and have learned the hard way that MODERATION is the wisest. I ate one falafel very slowly. I ate a second, not paying attention and suffered the consequences - stuck, painful, heaving.

That's the best news I've heard all week! thanks for cheering me up, I am feeling a bit sorry for myself because I just started the protein meal replacements which taste like vitamin flavoured poop!

I don't think that it'll be a problem...I mean Italian, India, and Asian people get the lap band and they don't have to eat American food LOL.

I made a comment once to my friend about whether it was bad to eat sushi everynight and she said that 2 billion people eat it everyday and they were healthier than the two of us.

I think the key is to take it slow and reintroduce foods day by day. I'm looking forward to eggs and chili sauce.

Thank the Lord! I was so scared Mexican food would be taboo. It is my favorite. I have been evaluating their menu to see what higher protein/lower "junkish" type food they offer.

I am glad to know I can still go. I will just be eating a different and better and smaller way when I do!

I just had a half of a cheese and spinach enchilada...did NOT eat the shell...and about a 4oz portion of refried beans! YUMMY!

Mexican is my favorite, and my "go-to" food---it is quick and easy---and always goes down without issue!
Chinese is easy, if you go easy or eliminate the rice.
Indian, is not my favorite, but have done it a time or 2 without issue.
Italian is the hardest for me, simply because pasta is one thing that fills me so quickly as for it to be almost more trouble than it is worth. While I might be able to eat a cup of some other food, if I am eating pasta, a quarter cup and I am stuffed! It is easier if I eat it with something else. For instance to have lots of meatballs with my spaghetti, or chicken with my fettucine--it helps break down the pasta I believe.

Eat very slowly-------only when you are at a point your Dr. says it is ok to progress to a normal diet. Take a bite, chew it VERY well, and then sit your fork down and wait a full 2-3 minutes, and see how it feels when it hits your stomach. Then try another bite and repeat. If you eat too much or too fast you might confuse the way you are eating with the food you are eating as being the problem.

I can eat all things in moderation, and with care. Many foods require me to go slowly, and thoughtfully into eating them------but it is well worth it, I do not feel deprived, and I lost weight even eating the things I love!!! If I had been unable to eat Mexican food, I might have just committed myself!!!!

Kat

Thanks for sharing Kat! Mexican food is a mainstay in my life so I am glad that I will still be able to eat..it is going to be hard to ignore some of it though since I am just starting out!

I ate tons of refried beans and pappas during my mushy food stage. Taco Bell refried beans were my first mushy food!!! I also had lots of green chile----not as a whole food, but like a soup..........mmmmmmmmm

Kat

Indian food works well as a mushy if you choose well. Dahl (Indian lentil soup) is a great mushy with a lot of protein and fiber. Many of the curries are mushy enough...I'd go for the vegetable ones to keep it mushy, like saag (spinach). Any curry you can take home and put in the food processor or blender and it will still taste good. I'd avoid the rice until you are on solids and know you can tolerate it. I think the first restaurant I went to after being banded was an Indian restaurant, actually. It was when I was on mushies and it was fine.

Once you're on solids, just about any Indian food works well. A lot of people probably can't tolerate bread (naan) but it seems that most of the meats are cooked pretty tender (I only eat fish so I don't know how well the meats actually work) and I would doubt that they'd get stuck if you chew well.

Italian I find challenging still, not because I can't eat it but because it's hard to find something not loaded with calories (in the US anyway, it wouldn't be hard in Italy). Mexican can be okay if you are careful but again, US "Mexican" food is often loaded with a lot of cheese and high calorie sauces. I only have it when I go out with friends on occasion.

If you have access to it, one of the very best ethnic cuisines for mushies is Ethiopian. Most of their foods are stews so they are naturally "mushy". They are traditionally eaten with flatbread (injera) that you might not tolerate even when on solids with good restriction--it's kind of gummy. But delicious--kind of like a sourdough pancake. Ethiopian is one of my favorite ethnic foods to eat, and it doesn't use a lot of fat, has lots of veggies and legumes so high in fiber and protein--I'm told the meat dishes are great too. They are highly seasoned and some are quite spicy, if you like that. It's hard to find Ethiopian outside of big cities with large East African immigrant populations, but if you have access I highly recommend it for people who love ethnic food.

Kats advice for eating slowly is the key and very hard to do. We are obviously not trained that way or most of us wouldn't be on this site. If I chew slowly and wait in between bites, I do pretty well. Queso, refried beans, cheese enchiladas--it will work, but I try to avoid it as much as possible due to calories.