Good luck. I've lost five pounds, but I'm healing up a bit so I'll probably gain them back. Actually, the doc says my nutrition is exceptional and I'm healing faster than anyone he's ever seen so I have graduated to mashed potatoes (which I love) and pasta (which I don't). I did find that I could eat a fresh tomato sandwich on squishy white bread with Miracle Whip, though, it's mushier than you might think with the right bread choice. A square of cornbread in the bottom of a bowl of chowder or bean soup might be doable for you, I hit the beans with the immersion blender and so barely had to chew, LOL, and chopping the vegetables very finely and cooking in soup might be a way for you to enjoy some of the fresh vegetables that you're missing. Hummus is good but I haven't found anything to dip in it other than tiny scraps of fresh pita bread which still required more chewing than I cared to do right away that first week. Pancakes get pretty soft too if you put enough maple syrup on them and/or top them with a soft over-easy egg. It's amazing I lost anything at all. (grin) Good luck, I hope you heal quickly. Annie

If nightshade veggies don't bother you, try this yummy dish I made a couple of weeks ago. It's perfect for the last of the garden stuff. Eggplant chickpea stew with tomatoes from the Williams and Sonoma Vegetable Cookbook 2 small to medium eggplants about 1 1/2 - 2 lbs. total weight. (Note: I just used one big one because that's all I could find, but the littler ones are less bitter, supposedly) 4-5 TBLSP olive oil 1 red onion, cut into wedges 3-4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped 1 lb. fresh tomatoes pureed with a grater or shredder (Yeah right . . . NOT! I just chop them up, or use another can of chopped tomatoes in the off season) 1 1/2 cups canned chickpeas (I usually cook my own, put them in pint jars and freeze, then thaw or microwave to use) 1 lb. diced tomatoes with juice (Like I said, I usually just use one big 24 oz. can of the diced tomatoes, or buy a snazzy can of San Marazano tomatoes and dice them myself before adding) Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 1/4 tsp. of sugar 1/8 tsp. crushed dried thyme Pinch of ground cinnamon (Don't leave this out, it won't predominate and will give this dish the needed oomph) 1/2 cup dry red wine (Or use a dash of balsamic vinegar if you don't do wine) 2 TBLSP chopped fresh flat leaf italian parsley. (I often don't have fresh parsley, I sub 1 TBLSP dried parsley) Juice of 1/2 lemon (Again, I often sub reconstituted lemon juice, like maybe 1 TBLSP) Sautee the eggplant in half the oil until it is soft, then set it aside. Then sautee the onion in the remaining oil til soft, and add all the other stew ingredients except for the lemon juice. Cook gently to thicken, about 10 min, stirring occasionally and taking care not to smoosh the chickpeas too much. Adjust seasoning to your taste. I DOUBLED the seasoning and might even have added in some oregano. When the sauce is thick and tasty, add the eggplant back in and reduce the heat to med. low and cook 10-15 min. more. Add the lemon juice to brighten the flavors just before serving. (This is not absolutely necessary) I served it with some goat cheese sprinkled on top. Would be great with brushetta with tofu pesto, or pita with spinach dip, but I usually serve it with rice. Goes good with whole wheat pasta too. BF loves this stuff. Oh, and I peel eggplants because I am not a fan of the peel. I also salt them for 15 min. and rinse them afterwards, before sauteeing. I can't usually find good fresh eggplants. Here's another salad I am making later this week to use up my stash of cukes. I probably won't use 4 cukes in it though, and will adjust the ingredients to suit my taste. I usually find that these Eating Well salads don't have enough dressing, so I end up doubling that. Skimping on the dressing is how they cut the calories! Plus I use lowfat feta, or goat cheese crumbles I can get, which supposedly aren't as inflamatory as cow's milk cheeses. Cucumber & Black-Eyed Pea Salad from "Eating Well." Ingredients 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dried Freshly ground pepper to taste 4 cups peeled and diced cucumbers 1 14-ounce can black-eyed peas, rinsed (I will use canelinni beans becuase I have a ton of them. Plus, that's the kind of bean I usually use for this salad. Could use garbanzos too.) 2/3 cup diced red bell pepper (I almost always use green peppers, red are too expensive) 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (or less or leave out) 1/4 cup slivered red onion 2 tablespoons chopped black olives 1 can of tuna (LR's addition) Can also add celery and garnish with cherry tomatoes just before serving. Fine to just use bottled italian dressing for this, and you can serve it over lettuce garnished with croutons too.

@Cherryfizz, I dont have a breadmaker, but I found this answer for your consideration. You can substitute 2% liquid milk for the water in any bread machine recipe, cup for cup with no problems. Just leave out the powdered milk. You may have to adjust the dough moisture slightly with another tablespoon or two of flour (the powdered milk absorbs a little of the liquid.) You can also use buttermilk or thinned plain yogurt (thin with a little milk) as a substitute for the powdered milk. You can also use diluted or undiluted canned evaporated milk. Once again, replace the water, cup for cup, with the liquid dairy product. You can also substitute soy milk, rice milk or almond milk, or even canned coconut milk, cup for cup, for the water in the bread machine recipe. I usually use 2% liquid milk and substitute plain powdered coffee creamer for the powdered milk. But the 2% liquid milk alone, or any of the above liquids alone are fine. Make sure to use room temperature or lukewarm (not hot) liquid milk (or other liquid). Using cold liquids may cause the dough to rise more slowly (it chills the yeast), which can result in short, dense loaves. Using too hot a liquid can damage or kill the yeast, also resulting in a short, dense loaf. A liquid temperature of about 70-F to 90-F is best.

Last night - miso soup, onigiri, deep fried tofu, panko fried pork cutlets. Recipes - Miso soup: the usual, water, red miso, silken tofu cubed, seaweed, scallions - Onigiri: short grain rice, formed into triangles around a core of teriyaki chicken or simmered dates, using hands wetted in salt water, then wrapped in nori. - Tofu: firm tofu in larger cubes, coated with egg white, tossed in flour with garlic, ginger, salt, white pepper, and deep fried - Pork: thin portions about 3" long, sous vide 140F 30 min in soy sauce, sake, a little rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, then coated in egg whites, rolled in panko, deep fried, and chopped in crispy strips to serve Tonight - miso chicken soup, tofu and mushrooms Recipes Miso soup: the usual plus lots of diced chicken, and a little sesame oil and orange peel Tofu - cubed, coated in ginger and garlic powder, mushroom powder, salt and pepper, pan fried Mushrooms - browned in pan with soy sauce and sesame oil added at the end The tofu and mushrooms are served on the side and dipped into the soup.