Food Preparation for Recovery from Surgery

**Smithy** · Sunday at 08:02 PM

Face it: if you're the cook in the family and you're having surgery, or if you're the cook in the family and you'l be overseeing someone else's recovery, you'd better have the food prepared in advance. It had better be easy to reheat, serve and eat. It needs to be appetizing. It needs to be easy. Of course it has to meet dietary guidelines for recovery, and that's a wild card for purposes of this discussion.

We don't seem to have a dedicated topic for this purpose, although we have a couple of topics that are relevant:

Batch Cooking: One large batch, many small meals. Share your ideas!

...and this old one, which takes into account feeding the entire family but got to be rather specific about the surgery in question:

Food ideas for friends after major surgery?

What are some of your ideas for meal prep and serving when there simply won't be time or energy for cooking? Got any favorite recipes? If you've been through this, what worked and what wouldn't you recommend?

Packaging ideas are also welcome.

Edited Sunday at 08:21 PM by Smithy
Added a couple of sentences. (log)

blue_dolphin · Sunday at 09:37 PM

My advice isn’t specifically about cooking but if I were having surgery, I would be setting up accounts with the grocery delivery and errand running services in my area and trying them out with simple orders. I’ve learned that being already sick or in recovery is not the time to set that stuff up.
No amount of advance planning can prepare for all eventualities so it’s wise to have some delivery options in your back pocket. Particularly pharmacy pickup or delivery options.

For yourself, make sure you’re set up with easily digestible options that might not be otherwise appealing but can get you through. I keep some of these on hand at all times. I donate and rotate them out periodically.

Soft fruits: bananas, applesauce, avocado, pumpkin, canned fruit (packed in water not heavy syrup), and melons
Steamed or boiled vegetables: carrots, green beans, potatoes, and squash
Low-fiber starches: white bread, white rice, saltine crackers, cream of wheat, instant oatmeal, and noodles
Unseasoned skinless baked chicken or turkey, scrambled eggs, yogurt and kefir
Drinks: bone broth, apple juice, coconut water, Pedialyte, weak tea

If you have friends or neighbors who want to help out with something like a meal train for you or your family, give some thought to how you’d like that to work from your end. People like to help and the more you can guide them, the better. Setting up a clear drop off spot, including a cooler can be a big help.

lemniscate · Sunday at 09:55 PM

17 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

My advice isn’t specifically about cooking but if I were having surgery, I would be setting up accounts with the grocery delivery and errand running services in my area and trying them out with simple orders. I’ve learned that being already sick or in recovery is not the time to set that stuff up.

Wise, wise words. No way to say this any better. This is the way.

**TdeV** · Monday at 12:50 PM

COOKBOOKS, ENCYCLOPEDIA, REFERENCES

First thing I'd like to know is if anyone has any cookbooks, encyclopedia or references about preparing food whose destination is to be frozen.

I'm looking for something which says use cornstarch in place of cream, or bread freezes better than if refrigerated, or potatoes will like/dislike being frozen. I want to know the "why" of it.

With an encyclopedia , I want to look up a vegetable or food product and find out how it survives when frozen. If the result isn't happy, I want to read what to use as a replacement or alternative. Or, what change in procedure will help.

In general, I haven't found any/many printed/online recipes which state destination is to be frozen. And I've not yet discovered one search term that will whittle query results.

Some recipes have instructions about cooking part way (up to Step 6) and then refrigerating or freezing the dish. Others say dish can be frozen for 3 weeks. What is the science behind either of those statements?

Edited Monday at 07:35 PM by TdeV
Need some headings! (log)

Maison Rustique · Monday at 12:53 PM

I've been fortunate to have my sister come to take care of me and feed me the couple of times I've been in recovery. My Medicare Advantage insurance provided prepared meals for a week or two after both surgeries, but I don't think my new provider does this. Not that they were wonderful meals. After my hip replacement, for whatever reason, I simply lost my appetite and no matter what it was, it made me sick. My sister would force me to eat. She had surgery a couple of months ago and went through the same thing. I reminded her of her force-feeding me. She said, "Yes. And I'm so sorry I did that to you." Ha!

At any rate, soups are always good. Easy on the stomach for the most part and easy to freeze in portions.

Maison Rustique · Monday at 01:06 PM

I found this site that has some guidelines and a cheatsheet to show adaptations. I'm not sure how good the suggestions are, as I haven't used it. Freezer Meals 101

I know many people who do "meal planning" where they cook one day and pack up meals for freezing. You might try looking for some of those websites, as it is rather popular with many busy moms/caretakers.

**TdeV** · Monday at 01:15 PM

Thanks for this topic, @Smithy.

DAIRY

When selecting/preparing food to be frozen, what's the best suitability between

milk
evaporated or condensed milk
dried milk
butter
cream
sour cream or crème fraîche
buttermilk
yogurt
cheese, various varieties thereof, including cream cheese
ice cream

and are there different freezing characteristics between

dairy animals: cows, goats, sheep, buffaloes
nut based milks

I.e. How to adjust dairy components for the freezer.

Edited Monday at 07:36 PM by TdeV
Adding headings (log)

Darienne · Monday at 01:50 PM

40 minutes ago, TdeV said:

Others say dish can be frozen for 3 weeks. What is the science behind either of those statements?

There may be science behind it but not much in the way of reality. We are still eating frozen stuff that I froze almost two years just before my condition went south almost overnight. And they all seem fine. However, I'm not recommending the situation.

It's a strange feeling, reading all these great posts about planning for surgery and steps to take to get ready for meals post surgery. I made no plans for post surgery and ensuing problems...I had no idea that I'd be sidelined so quickly and so completely...thus the eating of meals frozen two years ago.

34 minutes ago, Maison Rustique said:

I know many people who do "meal planning" where they cook one day and pack up meals for freezing. You might try looking for some of those websites, as it is rather popular with many busy moms/caretakers.

Since the children left home many years ago, this is pretty much the way we've always cooked. I guess that's why Ed is still finding the odd uneaten meal in our freezers...yes we have multiple freezers. I could add that my wonderful overworked husband, Ed, has pretty much done all the food prep and cooking all this time...although this week I did make a new dish, Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls, and three meals are now in the freezer.

**TdeV** · Monday at 02:46 PM

55 minutes ago, Darienne said:

although this week I did make a new dish, Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls, and three meals are now in the freezer.

What was the sauce? Cream with or without cheese, or tomato?

**TdeV** · Monday at 02:49 PM

Thanks to @JAZ, I asked for ground rules for selecting recipes from her cookbooks for freezing meals

**Smithy** · Monday at 02:51 PM

I was all set to refer you to Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) but now that I've looked at it, I don't think it's what you're after. It tells about freezing bean curd in one section, freezing milk in another section (basically, freezing ruins the fat globules) but doesn't really talk about how to account for multiple elements, combined, and which will work well frozen and then thawed.

I agree with Darienne about time limits, or lack thereof, on frozen meat. In my experience the worst thing that happens to it is freezer burn. The same seems to be true for the meats I've cooked and then frozen for later, although there can be texture changes, say, to a crispy crust.

There have to be cookbooks that address your questions, because commercial operations do this all the time: prepare foods that are packaged and frozen for sale. Consider the freezer aisles in the grocery store! Consider Swanson frozen dinners! But I haven't found such a resource yet. Here's hoping someone else can come up with it.

In an offline discussion I've been talking about potatoes and whether or not they can be successfully frozen then thawed and remain palatable. The evidence seems to be that if you want the potatoes to hold their form -- for instance, nice chunks of potato in a soup or stew -- you'll regret freezing them. However, I can tell you empirically that twice-baked potatoes, with cream cheese and butter or cream, do very well when frozen and then cooked from frozen. I have nearly a dozen still, thanks to my DIL.

**TdeV** · Monday at 02:57 PM

I too looked at Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. I was going to mention I wanted one of those specifically about freezing!

(Great minds sometimes think alike in the morning 😀)

**Smithy** · Monday at 03:00 PM

1 hour ago, Maison Rustique said:

I found this site that has some guidelines and a cheatsheet to show adaptations. I'm not sure how good the suggestions are, as I haven't used it. Freezer Meals 101

I know many people who do "meal planning" where they cook one day and pack up meals for freezing. You might try looking for some of those websites, as it is rather popular with many busy moms/caretakers.

I just took a quick glance at the Freezer Meals 101 site linked above. It may be exactly what you need!

**ElsieD** · Monday at 03:36 PM

I looked at Freezer Meals 101 also. It looks like an interesting site where you prep the ingredients, stick it in a bag and freeze it. You still have to cook it. The question for @TdeV then,is are you looking to simply re-heat frozen meals or cook them?

I'm interested in this too as I am going to be making some meals for my SIL who has just had a knee replacement (and has Parkinson's to boot). She is being discharged from hospital today and family will be staying with her for the next couple of weeks. After that she is on her own in a rural location so I am looking at putting together single serve meals that can simply be re-heated.

chromedome · Monday at 03:40 PM

42 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I was all set to refer you to Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) but now that I've looked at it, I don't think it's what you're after. It tells about freezing bean curd in one section, freezing milk in another section (basically, freezing ruins the fat globules) but doesn't really talk about how to account for multiple elements, combined, and which will work well frozen and then thawed.

I agree with Darienne about time limits, or lack thereof, on frozen meat. In my experience the worst thing that happens to it is freezer burn. The same seems to be true for the meats I've cooked and then frozen for later, although there can be texture changes, say, to a crispy crust.

There have to be cookbooks that address your questions, because commercial operations do this all the time: prepare foods that are packaged and frozen for sale. Consider the freezer aisles in the grocery store! Consider Swanson frozen dinners! But I haven't found such a resource yet. Here's hoping someone else can come up with it.

In an offline discussion I've been talking about potatoes and whether or not they can be successfully frozen then thawed and remain palatable. The evidence seems to be that if you want the potatoes to hold their form -- for instance, nice chunks of potato in a soup or stew -- you'll regret freezing them. However, I can tell you empirically that twice-baked potatoes, with cream cheese and butter or cream, do very well when frozen and then cooked from frozen. I have nearly a dozen still, thanks to my DIL.

I can clarify a couple of points, from personal or work experience. As far as potatoes are concerned, there are a couple of ways to go. "Waxy" potatoes tend to freeze and thaw better than "starchy" potatoes, so if you want something like a soup with potatoes (or just cooked potatoes you can reheat), they're the better option. Starchy potatoes can be used in situations where you're adding a lot of fat or rich ingredients, hence Smithy's twice-baked potatoes. The "freezable, holdable mashed potatoes" at Ellen's Kitchen work on the same basis. The recipe as given (https://www.ellenskitchen.com/bigpots/oamc/mashpota.html) is meant to serve 25, but it's not hard to scale.

As for starches, I find that potato starch and arrowroot (both available online, or in the gluten-free section) freeze and thaw well. Roux-thickened sauces and gravies will have an uneven consistency when thawed, unfortunately. If you have someone helping with your post-surgery scenario, whisking them back together will often do the trick, and when they're stubborn a cornstarch slurry will help smooth things out and re-thicken them.

blue_dolphin · Monday at 03:41 PM

A quick search for freezing cookbooks on Eat Your Books and my local public library shows two main types of cookbooks:

Preserving cookbooks, either dedicated to freezing or covering freezing among other preservation methods.
Cookbooks with recipes intended to be frozen

My library had quite a few available for to borrow online via Libby so you might check yours.

Another place to find recipes for freezer meals is the Souper Cube site. You don’t need to use their product but they have ideas that might be useful like freezing single servings or freezing meal components separately in “meal kits”

**Smithy** · Monday at 03:52 PM

13 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

I looked at Freezer Meals 101 also. It looks like an interesting site where you prep the ingredients, stick it in a bag and freeze it. You still have to cook it. The question for @TdeV then,is are you looking to simply re-heat frozen meals or cook them?

I'm interested in this too as I am going to be making some meals for my SIL who has just had a knee replacement (and has Parkinson's to boot). She is being discharged from hospital today and family will be staying with her for the next couple of weeks. After that she is on her own in a rural location so I am looking at putting together single serve meals that can simply be re-heated.

I confess, I didn't read far enough to see that she's putting together "meal kits" rather than reheatable dinners. Thanks for pointing that out. I think her Cheat Sheet gives the kind of information @TdeV is looking for to predict behavior of specific ingredients when frozen.

**TdeV** · Monday at 04:08 PM

FREEZE-DRIED

If a food item has been freeze-dried, does that indicate it has survived the freezing process? Does the length of time it has been frozen make any difference to the food product, rather than the year or two in regular freezer?

Quite a while ago I read about @Kerry Beal's adventures in Freeze Dryers and Freeze Dried Food but don't know if rereading the thread would help me now. Kerry?

Edited Monday at 07:37 PM by TdeV
Adding heading (log)

**TdeV** · Monday at 04:37 PM

33 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

I looked at Freezer Meals 101 also. It looks like an interesting site where you prep the ingredients, stick it in a bag and freeze it. You still have to cook it. The question for @TdeV then,is are you looking to simply re-heat frozen meals or cook them?

I'm interested in this too as I am going to be making some meals for my SIL who has just had a knee replacement (and has Parkinson's to boot). She is being discharged from hospital today and family will be staying with her for the next couple of weeks. After that she is on her own in a rural location so I am looking at putting together single serve meals that can simply be re-heated.

Elsie, I don't know much about baking directly with a frozen dish, so maybe. It's possible my sister does this with her frozen meals, i.e. directly into the oven.

Right now I'm pre-cooking items, as I do when making a casserole, e.g. onions, garlic, celery, bacon, potato cubes, cabbage, etc. But not all the items are fully cooked. The items are dolloped into multiple small containers which are wrapped with tin foil, labelled and frozen. Then vacuum-sealed. This process is kinda entertaining which I will document later.

My plan was to put the frozen item in the steam oven at a low temp so it defrosts, then heats to eating temperature. I planned to keep the dish at that low temp for long enough to thoroughly cook the dish, but I don't think I left anything dangerous in any of the dishes I've made thus far. Anova Culinary has only one recipe for defrosting frozen proteins in APO with Sous Vide Mode but that recipe is for uncooked meat or fish, so not quite the right recipe. It defrosts up to ONE pound of frozen protein in about an hour.

So, Elsie, I think you and I are on the same track! I will try to document what I have done so far so you can pinch any ideas you like. 😂

**ElsieD** · Monday at 04:49 PM

Freeze drying is akin to dehydrating as it removes the moisture from food. The difference between the two is that freeze drying removes all the moisture. It can easily be crumbled into a powder. You need specialized equipment for this which I suspect few people on this site have.

blue_dolphin · Monday at 05:00 PM

41 minutes ago, TdeV said:

If a food item has been freeze-dried, does that indicate it has survived the freezing process? Does the length of time it has been frozen make any difference to the food product, rather than the year or two in regular freezer?

Quite a while ago I read about @Kerry Beal's adventures in Freeze Dryers and Freeze Dried Food but don't know if rereading the thread would help me now. Kerry?

A food item that has been freeze-dried has indeed survived the freezing process. Importantly, it has never been subjected to the thawing process. Instead, the ice crystals are removed via sublimation.
Pretty much anything containing moisture can be successfully frozen. Thawing? That’s a different story!

If you are keen to dive into making freeze-dried meals, like backpacking or emergency rations in multiple servings, that’s going to require a significant investment in equipment but rereading that thread would be an excellent primer.

YvetteMT · Monday at 05:24 PM

20 hours ago, Smithy said:

Face it: if you're the cook in the family and you're having surgery, or if you're the cook in the family and you'l be overseeing someone else's recovery, you'd better have the food prepared in advance. It had better be easy to reheat, serve and eat. It needs to be appetizing. It needs to be easy. Of course it has to meet dietary guidelines for recovery, and that's a wild card for purposes of this discussion.

What are some of your ideas for meal prep and serving when there simply won't be time or energy for cooking? Got any favorite recipes? If you've been through this, what worked and what wouldn't you recommend?

I am the cook in this house so- if I'm going to be down for any amount of time, I pre-make options (when its a planned outage). Example-I have dental surgery tomorrow. So there are leftovers for Partner that will cover him for days. (he is happy to eat the same thing every day and he loves a leftover. Thank God!) For myself I bought some protein shakes and yogurt and there are soft leftovers when I decide I want real food (pasta, mashed potatoes, stuffing with gravy). We wont starve this week.

When Partner is down (surgical) I also pre-plan and have appropriate foods ready. (usually a soup with homemade stock and a ton of veg)

Our last bout of covid, he got sick first. I knew I had 24 hours, 48 max, before I was down for the duration. I mad-dash made pick up orders and got to making 2 different soups. (Pick up was for things like cough drops, gatorade, restock veg etc.)

Generally there is some sort of pre-made (by me) stuff in my freezers and enough fill-ins from the pantry that even if I was catastrophically ill, Partner would still eat. He may not know whats available but there's food if he looks. Off the top of my head- enchiladas, cooked chicken, gumbo, pulled pork in the freezer, along with various veg. Tuna, beans, salsa, vension and taco meat that I've canned. Pantry has microwave rice along with pasta, veg, snack stuff etc. One of us could easily eat from what we have being tossed in the microwave (or oven) just to reheat for weeks before real cooking had to occur.

**ElsieD** · Monday at 05:54 PM

@TdeV Take a look at page 9 of @JAZ's book Super-Easy Instant Pot Cookbook.

**Shelby** · Monday at 06:31 PM

@TdeVSeveral years ago I was looking for ideas for meals/foods that I could freeze in portions to take to my Grandpa. This thread may be helpful to you?

Edited to say:

A tip that @Jaymesgave on that same thread was really helpful. Freezing in containers is good BUT there is the added chore of washing and putting away said containers. If you can freeze meals in ziplocks you can just trash the bags when you're done. Granted, not everything can be frozen in those but it's an idea to think about. Here is the post where she discussed more in detail what she did for her father.

Edited Monday at 06:35 PM by Shelby (log)

**Smithy** · Monday at 07:09 PM

36 minutes ago, Shelby said:

@TdeVSeveral years ago I was looking for ideas for meals/foods that I could freeze in portions to take to my Grandpa. This thread may be helpful to you?

Edited to say:

A tip that @Jaymesgave on that same thread was really helpful. Freezing in containers is good BUT there is the added chore of washing and putting away said containers. If you can freeze meals in ziplocks you can just trash the bags when you're done. Granted, not everything can be frozen in those but it's an idea to think about. Here is the post where she discussed more in detail what she did for her father.

That. Topic. Is. Brilliant! I'd forgotten all about it! Thanks for bringing it up!

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