Thinkingaboutdinner

meal plan Week 1

Post Op Bariatric Surgery

Day 1

Meal 1 Shakshuka with eggs and sausage (shakshuka recipe below)

Meal 2 Yogurt / Cottage cheese with brekky fruit and granola/fiber blend (see in shopping)

Meal 3 Snack plate with koftas or kababs, cheese (love halloumi), raw veggies of choice

Meal 4 Fruit, cheddar cheese, raw veggies and pepperoni/smoke meat snack plate

Meal 5 Steak (half of one) with steamed veggies

Day 2

Meal 1 Scrambled or fried eggs with smoked salmon or luncheon meat and berries or porridge

Meal 2 Yogurt / Cottage cheese with brekky fruit and granola/fiber blend (see in shopping)

Meal 3 Chicken Tacos with cheese or chicken bowl (mex chicken recipe)

Meal 4 Snack plate with koftas or meat kababs, cheese (love halloumi), raw veggies of choice

Meal 5 Peanut butter and apples or hummus, veggies and crackers

Day 3

Meal 1 Leftover shakshuka sausage with optional fried egg

Meal 2 Mix fruit bowl with optional yogurt/cottage cheese

Meal 3 Mince meat taco bowl with salsa, yogurt/cottage cheese, cheese and salad

Meal 4 ½ bell pepper filled with cottage cheese/boursin smoke salmon & everything but the bagel (optional), snack meat

Meal 5 Chicken curry (rice / mix rice and grains or flatbread optional )

Day 4

Meal 1 Omelette wrap with tortilla or flatbread with added lunch meat or veggies (recipe below)

Meal 2 Yogurt / Cottage cheese with brekky fruit and granola/fiber blend (see in shopping)

Meal 3 Snack plate with koftas, cheese (love halloumi), raw veggies of choice

Meal 4 Leftover chicken curry (rice / mix rice and grains or flatbread optional ) or chicken tacos

Meal 5 Meal out, quickly grab something out or Meatballs with parm and tomato sauce
Day 5

Meal 1 Scramble eggs with a meat (sausage or smoked salmon), with berries or have porridge instead

Tortilla or flatbread wrap with luncheon meat and cheese, lunch box to go or grilled in pan/airfryer or snack plate
Meal 2
with leftover hummus, meats, crackers, cheese and fruit

Meal 3 Leftover chicken curry (rice / mix rice and grains or flatbread optional )

Meal 4 Steak (half of one defrosted or additional one) with steamed veggies

Meal 5 ½ bell pepper filled with lunch meat, pepperoni and some mayo/mustard

Day 6

Meal 1 Omelette wrap with tortilla or flatbread with added lunch meat or veggies (recipe below)

Meal 2 Fruit plate with yogurt/cottage cheese, or cheddar

Meal 3 Mince meat taco bowl (or leftover Mex Chicken) with salsa, yogurt/cottage cheese, cheese and salad

Meal 4 Snack plate with all the leftover meats: lunch meat, smoked salmon etc, cheese, raw veggies & crackers

Meal 5 Weekend meal out, grab something out or meatballs with parm / cheese and tomato sauce

Day 7

Meal 1 Fried eggs, halloumi / cheese with berries or yogurt and fruit bowl

Meal 2 Snack plate with all the leftover meats: lunch meat, smoked salmon etc, cheese, raw veggies & crackers

Meal 3 Mince meat taco bowl with salsa, yogurt/cottage cheese, cheese and salad

Weekend meal out, grab something out, or Snack plate with all the leftover meats: lunch meat, smoked salmon etc,
Meal 4
cheese, raw veggies & crackers

Meal 5 Meatballs with parm / cheese and tomato sauce

NOTES:

Meal repeats: I tend to mix things up with snack plates, variety or meats sometimes hummus just away to get a light picky
plate in daily. This is also handy if having to go onsite for work.

Freezing: I tend to freeze a portion/portions of the mex chicken taco meat, also the meatballs and curry for future meals.
Especially on high restriction days then I thaw it on the counter top and have it in a tortilla, with rice or flatbread in the
coming weeks
Shopping list

Meat and Dairy

12x eggs
pack of sausages
pack of 3-4 chicken breast/ 3-6 chicken thighs
block of cheddar
0% FAGE Yogurt or full fat longley farm cottage cheese
2% FAGE Yogurt or second tub of longley farm cottage cheese
boursin cheese
beef or lamb koftas or premade meat sticks at the grocry store you just pop in the oven or precooked
pack of mince meat chicken, turkey or beef
Steak / marinaded steak/beef from BBQ section
Pepperoni, chorizo or snacky meat of choice (even fridge raiders or premade tika chicken)
lunch meat of choice
Hummus
Chicken curry (or homemade one with pack of small pack of chicken breast, mini chicken fillets or thighs) premade
ready meal will be split between two meals
Pack of meatballs
Pack of smoked salmon (optional)
Parmesan cheese (optional as you could just use the cheddar)

Cupboard

tin of plum tomatoes

2 jars of salsa
jar of tomato sauce (like the one for pasta)
2 packs of taco seasoning
jar of chipotle paste (optional)
jalapenos jarred (optional)
Fiber blend ingredients: Granola and / or hemp hearts, milled flax seed, M&S berry booster
small tortillas or flat breads
flat breads like Crosta & Mollica Flatbreads
sugar or sweetener (for shakshuka)
crackers: seeded ones from H&B, crispbread, any really you fancy
pack of curry sauce such as spice taylor (if making homemade curry)

Optional extras

Bio&me porridge or 1-2 premade porridge pots like Momma

insta rice / mix grains pack (optional)
tortilla chips for the taco bowl (optional)
(optional spices for shakshuka such as cumin, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, chili flakes)

Produce

yellow onion
lettuce cos (for taco bowls)
pack of ripe tomatoes (for taco bowls)
brekky fruit: fresh or frozen fruit of choice such as berries, banana, melon
snack plate veggies like sugar snap peas, red bell pepper, carrots, cucumber
Red bell pepper
Optional extras

fresh coriander for mex chicken, tacos and taco bowls

additional yellow onion for mex chicken, tacos and taco bowls

RECIPES & MEAL GUIDE

SHAKSHUKA

4 sausages
1 tin plum tomatoes
1 tbsp paprika (optional)
1 tbsp cumin (optional)
½ tbsp onion powder (optional)
½ tbsp garlic powder (optional)
½ chili powder (optional)
1 - 2 tsp sugar or sweetener of choice
1-2 eggs
little oil for frying sausages
also really optional adding ¼ onion and ¼ red pepper

Add olive oil in a large frying pan preferably with a lid. Add the sausages (and optional onions and peppers) and season with
salt and pepper. Cook on a medium heat 3-5mins.

Add the spices and cook for a further minute.

Stir in the plum tomatoes with its juice and cook for a couple more minutes and squish them down with a fork or spoon.

Simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered, until reduced a little. Taste after 5 minutes and add a little sugar if you think the tomatoes
need it. Don’t let the sauce get too dry add water if needed.

Make 1-2 small wells in the sauce. Break an egg into the well. Cover and cook for a 5–8 more minutes until the whites are just
set and the yolks are still runny. If you don’t have a lid then just cover loosely with some foil.

Serve yourself 1-2 sausages with 1-2 eggs. Save the other tomatoey sausages for leftover and you can even freeze if you dont
want it the same week.

MEX CHICKEN

2-4 chicken breasts

jar of salsa
packet of taco seasoning
half an onion
heap tbsp of chipotle paste (optional)
3-4 garlic cloves or heap tbsp of garlic powder (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Add everything to a slow cooker and mix. Cook on low for 5 hours or high for 2.5 - 3 hours. pull apart chicken and add back
to the slow cooker. Alternatively if you do not have a slow cooker add all to a pot with 200ml of water. and bring to simmer,
reduce to a low simmer cover and let cook for at least an hour if not longer. Can even do this in a oven with a covered dish
just put it in at 170c and leave it maybe 2 hours.

Serving them Birria style once your chicken is cooked and you have pulled all the chicken apart you can lay in a tortilla and
soak up some of the sauce in the slowcooker. Flip over so both side are covered. Add to a oiled hot pan and top with some
chicken and cheese. Can also add in more fresh onion, coriander if you like too, fold on its side after a minute and enjoy a
nice birria style taco.

MAKING A STEAK!

In case you need a few pointers. Take out your steak, if its unseasoned and unmarinaded then add to a plate and cover with
salt on both sides. Best to put this back in the fridge the morning of cooking and let the salt drawl out the moisture. Take it out
an hour before cooking ideally. Alternatively salt it and leave it out 5 mins to an hour before cooking pending how much you
wanna eat that steak right now. Heat a pan and let it smoke. Cast iron pans are great, stainless steel are great. Use a non
stick if thats all you got but you wont be able to heat it til smoking. Add some oil or butter and oil and lay down your steak. 1
min to 2 mins per side depending on how you like it and don’t forget to also sear the sides at the end holding it with some
tongs and rotating it. Place on a cutting board or plate and cover with foil for 1-2 mins to rest.

CHICKEN CURRY

In case you aren’t from the UK or no access to nice ready meal curries or curry pastes here if simple recipe below.

2 tbsp oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed or powder in a pinch
thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated or powder in a pinch
6 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
3 tbsp medium spice paste (tikka works well)
400g can plum or chopped tomatoes
100g Greek yogurt
1 small bunch of coriander, leaves chopped (optional)
50g ground almonds (optional)
flatbreads, nan bread or cooked basmati rice (optional)

Heat the oil in large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and a generous pinch of salt and fry for 8-10 mins, or until
the onion has turned golden brown and sticky. Add the garlic and ginger, cooking for a further minute.

Chop the chicken into chunky 3cm pieces, add to pan and fry for 5 mins before stirring through the spice paste and tomatoes,
along with 250ml water. Bring to the boil, lower to a simmer and cook on a gentle heat uncovered for 25-30 mins or until rich
and slightly reduced. Stir though the yogurt, coriander and ground almonds, season and serve with warm naan or fluffy
basmati rice.

KOFTAS

If you are not going for store bought koftas or meat on kabab sticks then here is an easy recipe

500g beef, chicken, turkey, lamb mince

1 onions, coarsely grated
 1/2 garlic bulb, broken into cloves and finely chopped or grated
3 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp cumin
1 tsp chili flakes (optional)
bunch coriander, chopped (optional)

Tip the mince into a large bowl with all the other kofta ingredients and a good pinch of salt. Mix and squelch everything
together through your fingers until completely mixed. Pat the mix into 16 small burgers and optional but could add to wooden
sticks. These may now be frozen for up to 1 month or chilled up to a day ahead. Grill in a pan a few mins on each side or 190
degrees for 10-15mins in the airfryer.

OMELETTE WRAP

1 egg and 1 egg white or 2 eggs or just 1 egg

meat filling of choice like ham
veg filling of choice pre-cooked in a pan
small bit of cheese (optional)
1 mini tortilla or small flatbread

So make this as big or small as you like when it comes to how many eggs. You can make it the viral way where you mix the
egg and add it to an omelette pan and place the tortilla/bread on top. Then flip and add in fillings. Alternately just make a
small omelette and place it in your wrap and add back to the pan to warm.

TACO BOWL

pack of minced meat (beef, chicken or turkey)

pack of taco seasoning
toppings like cheese, cottage cheese, fage 0%, salsa, lettuce, tomato, picked jalapenos from a jar

Fry the meat and add in the taco seasoning. Read the instructions as some packs like you to add some water. Assemble your
bowl. I like cottage cheese on the bottom then meat, then cheese then salad. If this bores you its also nice with some tortilla
chips to dunk in.