Still cooking and freezing dinners

I'm still cooking and freezing dinners so that I have food to eat after my surgery.

So far I've made and frozen into individual dinners, the following:

Orange chicken (8 servings)
Lemon Chicken (8 servings)
Beef Sukiaki (6 servings .... I had 2 last week!)
Shrimp Creole (8 servings)
Poached salmon and pasta with veggies and cucumber/dill sauce (8 servings)
Pasta and meat sauce (10 servings)
Roast beef with potatoes and veggies (5 servings)

Still have to make:
Pasta and meat sauce (10 servings) .... I have left over sauce
Spinach Pasta shells (12 servings)

Muffins (24)
Banana Bread (2 loafs)
French Toast (14 slices)

That and the frozen veggies, fruit and milk that I have in the freezer, will get me through several weeks of post op recovery.

You have been very busy . It all sounds so good. It is a great idea to plan your meals ahead. It will make your recovery much better, having all the good food to eat.

Good good, a bit less to have on your mind in a few weeks.

Wow! I am impressed that you are organized and motivated enough to do all that. I would be eating cereal and peanut butter sandwiches after a hospital stay.
I hope all goes well for you during and after your surgery.

Originally Posted by krazy kat2

Wow! I am impressed that you are organized and motivated enough to do all that. I would be eating cereal and peanut butter sandwiches after a hospital stay.
I hope all goes well for you during and after your surgery.

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Thanks.

If I didn't think to make myself healthy meals, I'd be living on boost, ensure or slim fast shakes... or cereal. None of which are actual replacements for other types of foods.

I do plan on having slim fast for most of my breakfast meals though. I love them the way I make them and it gives me my chocolate fix without all of the additional calories. Plus it's easy to make. Just mix it up in a blender. I figure I can do that easily enough post-op. But I will also have other choices like muffins or a slice of banana bread, or Special K Red Berries. Just simple stuff.

The only thing I'm going to be missing is fresh veggies and fresh fruit. It will probably be a couple weeks before I can get out to shopping to pick that up.

I will continue to have my cleaning lady come either weekly or semi-weekly. So basically all I'll have to do is recover, heat & eat, and wash the dish that I used....that and find a way to scoop kitty litter without having to bend over much. I'm restricted from bending over for 3 weeks, and won't be able to lift anything more than a couple of pounds for 6 weeks.

Perhaps the cleaning lady could pick you up some fresh fruit orr veggies if you compensate her??

How do you have room in your freezer for all those meals??

Good idea to do that.

Originally Posted by GailC

Perhaps the cleaning lady could pick you up some fresh fruit orr veggies if you compensate her??

How do you have room in your freezer for all those meals??

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I have a 7 cubic foot chest freezer. When organized properly, it holds a lot. I do need a larger freezer though. Maybe next year.

http://homeappliances.files.wordpress.com/2006/11/chest-freezer.jpg

Ask your doctor to give you an abdominal binder for post surgery. We put them on just about every patient who has abdominal surgery. It helps so much with post-op pain issues, and makes it so much easier to cough and deep breathe after abdominal surgery. Also ask for a post-op incentive spirometer....I swear by them to help patients deep breathe (you know, you're a nurse...you need an I.S. to help prevent pneumonia!)

I've worn a binder for the past three weeks (I had a lap chole on Memorial Day) and, quite frankly, I wouldn't have wanted to be without it! If your doctor doesn't think you need one, I found a nice style BINDER at Walgreens Drugstore. You might want to purchase one before your surgery, so you will have it on hand when you come home. I had one from a surgery I had 8 years ago, but I bought another so I could wear one/wash one (I wore mine 24/7 for the first two weeks!)

Good luck Linda! You sound like you're getting everything squared away!

Thanks for the advice.

I won't need an abdominal binder because they are doing a bikini cut which doesn't cut through the abdominal muscle.

I have asthma (well controlled), and I do deep breathing and coughing on a regular basis just to keep my lungs clear, so it's a natural habit already. I'm not looking forward to doing it after surgery though!!! ugh!

Originally Posted by Pookie-poo

Ask your doctor to give you an abdominal binder for post surgery. We put them on just about every patient who has abdominal surgery. It helps so much with post-op pain issues, and makes it so much easier to cough and deep breathe after abdominal surgery. Also ask for a post-op incentive spirometer....I swear by them to help patients deep breathe (you know, you're a nurse...you need an I.S. to help prevent pneumonia!)

I've worn a binder for the past three weeks (I had a lap chole on Memorial Day) and, quite frankly, I wouldn't have wanted to be without it! If your doctor doesn't think you need one, I found a nice style BINDER at Walgreens Drugstore. You might want to purchase one before your surgery, so you will have it on hand when you come home. I had one from a surgery I had 8 years ago, but I bought another so I could wear one/wash one (I wore mine 24/7 for the first two weeks!)

Good luck Linda! You sound like you're getting everything squared away!

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Holy moly Linda!! You are an organized woman!

Linda, I'll make a deal with you. I'll come up, clean your litter boxes and wash your dishes if you will share! That all sounds yummy! In fact, can I hire you after you are recovered?

Seriously, it is so good that you have prepared to make sure you eat healthy after your surgery. I haven't been on much lately, but I have thought about you and wondered how things were going. It sounds like you have everything under control.

Do you have any friends or neighbors that would be willing to come over and clean the litter boxes? Or any kids nearby that would be willing to make a few bucks a week doing it? You really shouldn't be bending over right after surgery to do that. Can you potty train them real quick? (yeah, if you figure that one out, let me know!)

Nope, no one. But I already figured out the litter box scooping. I keep the box 3/4 full so they can't dig to the bottom and soil the pan. I have one of those litter scoops but the hand is short.

I plan on using duct tape to tape an old mop handle to the scooper so that way it will be a long pole that I can use to scoop with. I'll just collect it all in zip lock bags and have my cleaning girl take out my trash each week when she is here.

Originally Posted by calico2222

Linda, I'll make a deal with you. I'll come up, clean your litter boxes and wash your dishes if you will share!

That all sounds yummy! In fact, can I hire you after you are recovered?

Seriously, it is so good that you have prepared to make sure you eat healthy after your surgery. I haven't been on much lately, but I have thought about you and wondered how things were going. It sounds like you have everything under control.

Do you have any friends or neighbors that would be willing to come over and clean the litter boxes? Or any kids nearby that would be willing to make a few bucks a week doing it? You really shouldn't be bending over right after surgery to do that. Can you potty train them real quick? (yeah, if you figure that one out, let me know!)

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Originally Posted by krazy kat2

Wow! I am impressed that you are organized and motivated enough to do all that. I would be eating cereal and peanut butter sandwiches after a hospital stay.
I hope all goes well for you during and after your surgery.

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Wow, Linda, that's amazing! And sounds amazing!!!!!

...and the woman who helps you with the cleaning sounds like someone who'd be willing to bring veggies and fruit if you gave her the money for them and a little extra for the time.

The litter scoop is a great idea - we always keep the litter full, it's just so much easier.

You're really setting things up so they'll go smoothly, Linda. That's great.

Originally Posted by LDG

Wow, Linda, that's amazing! And sounds amazing!!!!!

...and the woman who helps you with the cleaning sounds like someone who'd be willing to bring veggies and fruit if you gave her the money for them and a little extra for the time.

The litter scoop is a great idea - we always keep the litter full, it's just so much easier.

You're really setting things up so they'll go smoothly, Linda. That's great.

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Just trying to minimize my stress! I'm a bundle of nerves right now because it's getting closer, and work has been an absolute nightmare lately! I'm so stressed out at work. The last few days, and today I'm orientating a new girl to my area. She's worked in a clinic before, but has never worked in an area like I work in and has no oncology experience. She's smart though! So that helps. But in addition to doing my work, orientating her, nagging the doctor I work with to do his job, I'm also covering calls for 2 other clinics... plus my own calls! I'm so sick of talking on the telephone!

Today I'm giving over everything in my job to the new girl to see how she handles it. I'm there for her as s resource if she needs help, but next week is the last week I'm with her before she takes over for me while I'm off work, so she has to learn to do it. So that will be a bit off of my plate today.

One of the clinics I'm covering is sooooooooo busy! Like my own, it's a full time job just answering phones and dealing with bloodwork results and problems.

I suppose I could have said no, but when the manager asked me if I would do it, she looked like she was stressed to the max too, and I didn't have the heart to.

Anyway, have to go to work. I'll pop in again over lunch...if I get lunch!

Can you elevate the litter boxes? A coffee table or low dresser, for instance.

I built an elevated platform for the litter boxes, because bending to scoop was taking it's toll. the cats love it.

Originally Posted by otto

Can you elevate the litter boxes? A coffee table or low dresser, for instance.

I built an elevated platform for the litter boxes, because bending to scoop was taking it's toll. the cats love it.

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No, there is no room in the bathroom for something like that. Plus the box is a tall one and Chynna already is challenged getting into that one. Plus I don't have the tools or lumber to build one myself.

The handle taped to the scooper will work just fine. Plus I have one of those reaching tools with a handle that you squeeze and a clamp at the end so that I won't have to bend to pick stuff up. I bought that a couple years ago when I was having a lot of back pain. I still use it because I still have to sit in the kitchen when I cook and do dishes, so it helps me get stuff out of the cupboards or pick stuff off of the floor.