question about dealing with Family meals

I know you all can help me out here cause i am clueless how i am going to handle meal times for hubby and kids. 

My hubby is a HORRIBLE cook!  no one will eat what he makes.  I cook all the meals.  

How do you deal with shopping for food and cooking meals for your family.  My kids like certain snacks like oreo's and chips.  I don't want them to have to give these things up. 

Mostly my question is how do you cook for your family and then sit down and have broth, or a protien shake? 

I am worried about those 2 weeks pre-op and after the surgery.  I know that once i am able to start eating soft foods i can manage.

 I dont have much advice for you since I'm single and only have to worry about myself. I'll give you a few thoughts though.

Even though you don't want your kids to have to give up snacks like oreo's and chips, that doesnt mean you have to keep them in your house if you think you might be tempted by them. They can still have them as occasional treats (which they kind of should be) but they dont have to sit in the house tempting you. There's no way I'd survive if I had to keep that stuff in my house. 

Id really start thinking about how to start cooking healthy meals that you will be able to share with them. Almost of all my meals are protein based - meats (beef, chicken, fish, turkey) and I add vegetables. Some of them you can make rice/pasta/tortillas etc to go with for your family, but you still have a mainly protein meal for yourself. If you cook mostly carb based meals - that may be what you end up eating, and that's not going to work in the long run. 

As for the couple weeks that you will be on liquids - either cook ahead and freeze for them, get them frozen meals, or just suffer through. I'm not envious of having to be in that position, but just make sure you plan ahead :)

Thanks for your advice.  Don't get me wrong its not like my pantry is full of snacks.  There is 3 packages of cookies.  and like 3 bags of chips.  There are times that i end up throwing stuff out because they go stail and because they dont eat them.  I am not an emotional eater I am more of the bordom eater.  Thats when i might open up a bag of chips or have some cookies. Gonna have to work on the will power!

I was thinking of freezing about 1 months worth of meals.  And i think this may be the way i might go.  This way i dont have to think about it.  They can pop it in the oven.  Most of our meals have some sort of protien.  I just have to learn how to not eat the rice, and carbs and replace them with veggies and other things that i can eat.

With all love and respect, you might be doing your kids a favor to remove the oreos and chips from the house.  They are just empty calories and maybe the family will be better off without them.

In any event, I know it's hard to believe, but once you have had your surgery that kind of thing will lose its appeal for a good long time.  Your broth and protein shakes will be just fine and you won't envy your family their meals while your tummy is healing.  As I said, it's hard to believe but you will see it's true.

Pre-op will be harder and you will just have to do the best you can.

I am not going to lie.  It is VERY hard to cook for your family while being on only liquids.

Thankfully my husband can do a little cooking.  So far he's been able to add some frozen meatballs to sauce and heat that up and boil water for pasta.  There have been grilled cheese nights, nuggets and fries (not my favorite for the kids to eat but its temporary).  I have also used the crockpot, set it and forget it for me and they have a nice meal waiting for them.

This afternoon as I headed to the market for groceries, I asked for dinner suggestions, he said pizza and wings but he knew that WAS NOT going to happen.  He has been a trooper.  The kids made english muffin pizzas, easy and fun for them and he had sloppy joes, something I never cared for.  I guess you just get by because you have no other choice. 

Pureed starts for me Wednesday, I can not wait to have something other than, yougurt, protein shakes, SF pudding and cream soups.  I'm just hoping the pureed meat isn't revolting.

Good luck!

thanks guys!  I really appreciate all your feedback.  Luckily my kids are teens and guess my daughter will be learning how to cook this summer cause im thinking that might also be an option!

I didn't have any problems cooking for the fam. I made things that stretched ie, spaghetti, chili and used my crock pot a lot to minimize my involvement. The hardest part was not tasting anything. And for their snacks, I bought what they like and I don't.

It may not be as hard as you think. One of the thngs I was able to ahe right off the bat was tomato soup made with milk. That's what I had for dinner, hot and good. I cooked for my husband from my second day home. I kept his meals very simple -- meat, veggies, pasta/potato/rice -- just because I tired at first and I didn't want to geel deprived. Can't tell you how surprised I was when I was i the middle of it and didn't feel deprived at all. Mind you, I was ready for the soft foods after the first 2 weeks, but honestly, it wasn't that bad. As to the kids snacks... You won't feel like having them, but why have them in the house in the first place? I know from before if those snacks were in the house, I'd eat them. Better out of temptation's way.

Once you start cooking and you can eat more and more things, serve yourself on a sald plate. The amount of food we can eat vs. others looks pathetic on a big plate but great on a small plate. that has kept me from feeling deprived which is my big thing. It works for me. Good luck! I'm sure you'll be fine.

Your kids will adapt!! My 3 year olds favorite desert is a sugar free popsicle - don’t be afraid that you are depriving them because you don’t keep chips and Oreos in the house. Both post and pre-op I have cooked (I'm still on liquids) and it hasn’t been a problem post-op there were a couple of rough days when I first started my pre-op when I had a headache or was really hungry and I had my husband order pizza one night and make some sandwiches the next- he took care of it (It will not kill them to eat sandwiches a couple of nights.) After the first couple of days I felt much better and was able to make something for them to eat. Post op it was much easier I have no actual hunger, just a desire to take a bite of something but I am working on my will power muscles and to be honest it really isn’t that bad.

Before you go for your surgery, you should cook a bunch of meals that freeze well. Then have only health snacks in the house.  The first 6 weeks or so you won't be hungry. I started cooking again about 5 days after surgery, just simple meals. Then after 3 weeks, I did the full thanksgiving meal for my family, parents, brothers and sisters their spouses and kids included. i was not tempted at all.  After about 6-8 weeks my hunger started coming back but you have to plan your meals and always have healthy snacks available to you and know what your going to eat each day. Also I stocked up on grocery items, and when we needed something I made a list for him to shop for, he went over the list and anything he didnt know I showed him the packaging.  Later I planned my trip to the grocery store so that he could get the bags out of the car and I went to a store that will put everything in the car for you.  Hope it helps...

Just a thought...
I don't think that kids should have oreos and chips... They have no nutritional value, they are full of chemicals and give them a sugar high. They are not really a treat they are teaching them unhealthy eating and over time helps to get them addicted to simple sugars. Its not punishment to eat healthy. I see this over and over again here. Its like people think that they are being punished for being fat and that if no one else if fat so why should they be punished. When we should be thinking that we want our kids and family to live a long healthy life. We want to teach them healthy habits for life so they do not have to suffer through what we have...