First of all my thoughts are with your friend.......hopes for a full recovery.

Depends on who you are trying to feed...her or her family.

When my sister was so sick after her cancer surgeries, she needed the nutrition but wasn't up for a big meal....lots of foods don't appeal post surgery.

I made up several soups ... chicken noodle , broccoli cheddar , tomato basil . I also made her foods that she thought of as comfort food, Shepherd's pie, Mac and Cheese, chicken pot pie and meatloaf. They also work well for the familty

If it's for her family any casserole that is easy to reheat will work, Chicken Tetrazini , Lasagna, Ziti Casserole, Mexican Taco casserole....I have recipes if you like.

Your friend is likely to be avoiding soy and perhaps other foods.

Casseroles and soups are not only good for reheating, they're also good for freezing. You can pick up some casserole dishes at a thrift shop or garage sale for very little money so your friend doesn't have to worry about returning them. Perhaps wrap them in labeled freezer paper (including instructions for thawing and reheating for any clueless helpers) when you bring them so they can just be popped in the freezer or used immediately, as needed.

Another thing that might be very appreciated is simple building blocks for plain meals: Cooked boneless chicken parts, vacuum sealed or wrapped in plastic wrap and then a freezer bag. Sliced or cubed, cooked lean beef and/or turkey. Shredded cheese in single meal portions. Raw chopped onions. Raw chopped carrots, etc. Caramelized onions. Baked potatoes, either whole wrapped in plastic, or cut for potato salad or hash.

Good wishes to her for an easy recovery.

Keep it simple.

Foods she can grab, small portions - puddings, fruit cups, cottage cheese, yogurts, small portions of cheeses or meats, hard boiled eggs, prunes, mac & cheese, small cans of soups, lots to drink - again in small portions. Things she won't have to cook or even spend a lot of time heating up.

She's going to have a long recovery and probably won't have much of an appetite for a while. And if she's taking pain meds, she'll be constipated.

And give her our best wishes for her recovery.

I'd make some homemade chicken soup for now and for the freezer. So comforting and healing. Organic chickens, onions, celery, carrots, herbs, keep it all natural.

A mastectomy is an amazingly "easy on you" surgery. It's the treatment after that takes it out of me.
The next day after surgery I was starving and the hospital food was awful......salty, cold food and warm drinks ( that were meant to be cold!)....so my daughter went out and got me a Big Mac and fries and I gobbled it up.
Concentrate on proteins for healing.....and anything she likes....pie is good!! Pizza.....chicken and noodles....a burger fries and a shake!
I made 2 loaves of bread and cooked dinner for my daughter's family a week after surgery.....admittedly the bread was made in the Cuisinart and I didn't knead it and someone else did the dishes....Went out for lunch after a week ( wearing a bulky sweater with a lot of pattern! to hide the drains)
A mastectomy is not much...no muscles, no vital organs....it's the follow up that's the problem!

Diane, I also want to wish your friend good luck and a fast and complete healing and recovery.

As you can tell from her post, LindaC is a cancer survivor, so she's speaking from experience. So, I'd have a variety of things, probably, and as has been mentioned, it depends on whether your friend is by herself or has a family that needs to be fed.

Lots of things freeze well, the above mentioned soup and casseroles among them. Also muffins, quiche, pancakes, waffles, frittata. Also pulled pork, beef stew, chicken cutlets, even premade burgers freeze well. Spanish rice, chicken parmesan, baked fish for tacos, pasta of all kinds. For dessert cookies and cupcakes that are unfrosted freeze nicely, as does unbaked cookie dough for those times when a fresh cookie is needed.

Good luck, you're a good friend.

Annie

Thank you all for the great input! It is just her and her husband, but she loves to cook and so usually takes on that responsibility. She is only 43 and I am just devastated that she has to go through this.

I am so glad to have these suggestions and will enjoy cooking for her.

Diane

Food is always welcome after a major surgery. A large cooked turkey, a large tray of roast chicken and roast vegetable can be eaten for a few days. Thigs that she and her family can go to and "pick at."

I have cooked for a Helping Hands church program for decades and we often cook for people recently discharged from the hospital. I make a variety of items, based on any allergies, medical conditions or strong dislikes. I avoid pasta dishes because that's what so many others make.

Surprisingly, the one dinner that seems to please everyone is classic turkey club sandwiches, potato salad or chips, coleslaw and a quart of homemade soup. The sandwiches can't be made too far ahead but I am given a time to deliver dinner so I assemble them right before dropoff.

I am a breast cancer survivor and still cooking 15 years later so please pass along my wishes for a smooth recovery.

Amazed that so many of us are survivors.....Cook on my friends!!

Yes, so many survivors - that is a good thing! So many young women getting it is down right scary. My niece is also dealing with it but is now 4 years out and so far, so good. She was 38 when she contracted it. I hate this disease!!!

Thanks to all of you and for those of you dealing with this disease, I am sending my best wishes your way.

I like to bring one-dish meals that are complete. So soup works well...especially since I make them more like a stew. Stews are good too. And she can eat however much she wants based on how hungry she is. Other baked casseroles are good that only need reheating but are still one-dish like ziti, chicken and broccoli, shepherd's pie, etc. Also nice to bring would be home made muffins or quick breads because she'll probably want some comfort foods too.