Gastric Lap-Band: Keeping Foods From Sticking

by Theresa
(Bushkill, PA USA)

I'm having a hard time trying to find a sauce/gravy to put on my foods to keep them moist. After losing 39 lbs with Lap-Band, I don't want to start using packaged stuff.

---

Answer:

Congrats on the 39 pound weight loss!

Understandably, you need moist food so that it won't get "stuck" in the band. Have you tried moist cooking methods such as crock pot cooking?

Here's an easy crock pot chicken recipe:

Combine 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and 1 cup of salsa in a crock pot. Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours or high heat for 4-6 hours. Serve with fat free refried beans, lettuce, onion, tomato, and lowfat shredded cheese.

You can also cook 1 pound of chicken with a small jar of reduced sodium marinara in the crock pot!

Here are more suggestions of sauces to help keep food moist:

• All-fruit preserves (great on baked chicken)


• Natural BBQ sauce


• Lowfat salad dressing


• Salsa


• Low sodium spaghetti/marinara sauce


• Low sodium soy sauce


• Low sodium teriyaki sauce


• Mustard


• Ketchup


• Mustard and plain yogurt mixed together


• Plain yogurt and salsa mixed together

Jarred/bottled brands can actually be reasonable choices. Here are some good brand names to look for:

• Annie's Natural Salad Dressing


• Heintz Organic Ketchup


• Muir Glen (salsa, BBQ sauce, ketchup)


• San-J Organic What Free Tamari Soy Sauce


• Sorrell Ridge salsa


• American Spoon Fruit, Cascadian Farms All-Fruit Preserves, Polaner All Fruit Jams, or Trader Joe's All Fruit Jams

If you prefer to make your own sauces rather than using "packaged stuff," you can find good recipes in the Sauce section of Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery by Patt Levine and Michele Bontempo-Saray.

Happy cooking!