I am now 3 days post-surgery from my gastric sleeve weight-loss surgery and am keen to stay well-nourished and keep food interesting while I’m on the two-week liquid diet. I am also keen to create soups that other family members can enjoy alongside me, so whilst this is a soup for the post-bariatric surgery diet, it is suitable for anyone, and also very good for anyone on a reflux diet.
Ingredients (for one person, or increase according to number of portions)
- chicken stock (or vegetable stock if you want to do this as a vegetarian soup), 300-400ml (allow a generous amount as it will boil down. I used my home-made hen stock, but you can use stock cubes/pots
- green no-soak dried lentils, approx. 1 tbsp
- one thin strip of lean, previously grilled, bacon
- one low-fat cheese triangle
Method
Place the stock, lentils and bacon in a pan and cook according to instructions (I brought mine to the boil, boiled without a lid for 10 minutes, then simmered with a lid for a further 20 minutes). Ensure the lentils are very soft by the end of the cooking time, otherwise cook for longer.
Check the stock for taste – if it has cooked down a lot, it may be too salty and require the addition of a little boiled water.
Remove the bacon piece and leave to cool a little. Once it has cooled down, place the stock and lentils into a blender and blitz until there are no pieces left. Then sieve the blitzed soup through a fine sieve, to ensure it is completely smooth (it is essential that no ‘bits’ are present that could get stuck in the surgical staple line of the sleeve gastrectomy during the first two weeks).
When you are ready to serve the soup, reheat it gently in a pan or microwave, adding the cheese triangle, cut into small pieces so it will dissolve better. Stir until all or almost all of the cheese has melted into the soup, serve and enjoy!
