Advice after your nerve block for surgery
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Introduction
Have you lost weight recently, need to gain weight, lost interest in food or missing meals?
If you are answering yes to any of the above, this booklet could help you. In order to feel well it is important to eat well.
If you have been seen by a speech and language therapist and they have given you recommendations for modified consistency diet and or fluids, it is important that you follow those recommendations. It is possible that not all suggestions in this booklet will be appropriate if you are unable to swallow normal food and fluids. If you are unsure, please liaise with your speech and language therapist or dietitian.
Why do you Need to Eat Well?
A lack of protein, minerals and vitamins means you are more likely to pick up an infection or delay wound healing. Eating well will help keep your bones and muscles strong and your bowels regular.
If you are not eating well or losing weight unintentionally, it is important to eat nourishing food to provide all the necessary nutrients. These can be provided by simple meals and snacks.
At the moment, you need to focus on increasing protein and the overall calorie intake in your diet, to meet your current needs. Other dietary restrictions, for instance diabetes, are not a priority during this time. If you are unsure then talk to your doctor or Health Care Professional.
Handy Hints for a Poor Appetite
If your appetite is poor and you have found that your meals are getting smaller, then try the following suggestions:
- Eat little and often, taking six snack meals per day rather than three large meals
- Try not to skip meals - if you can’t manage a meal, have a milky drink instead, such as milkshake or hot chocolate (recipes included in this leaflet)
- A light meal can be as nutritious as a bigger meal. Try scrambled egg or beans on buttered toast.
- Small portions are often more appealing and can be followed by a second helping.
- Make eating as easy as possible. Try ready meals or convenience foods e.g. toad-in-the-hole, shepherd’s pie, macaroni cheese, lasagne, pizza.
- Avoid drinking at mealtimes or just before a meal, as drinks could fill you up and prevent you eating enough.
- Meals and drinks should be high in calories and protein (suggestions included in this leaflet).
- Try a pudding once or twice a day e.g. milky pudding, cake, trifle, full fat yoghurt.
- Keep snacks handy and ready to eat.
- A small glass of alcohol before a meal can help to stimulate your appetite. You may need to check this with your doctor or pharmacist before taking alcohol whilst on medication.
- Get out if you can - fresh air can help stimulate your appetite.
- Eating in a well-ventilated room can also help.
- Eat anything you particularly fancy.
- If your appetite is better at certain times of the day, aim to eat more at these times.
Protein Rich Foods
Milk and Yoghurt
- Use full fat milk - use instead of water in drinks such as coffee, hot chocolate, malted drinks or cup-a-soups.
- Aim for at least one pint of full fat milk a day, including what you have on cereal and in drinks.
- You can add more calories and protein to your milk by adding four tablespoons of dried milk powder to one pint of full fat milk and use in hot drinks, on breakfast cereals, in porridge and in savoury sauces such as parsley or cheese sauce.
- Have a milk-based dessert, such as milky puddings, custard, milk jelly, thick and creamy yoghurt, mousses. Use evaporated milk as toppings for fruit or cereal.
- Try sipping nourishing drinks between meals, these give fluid but also valuable nutrients. Try milkshakes, smoothies, lassi, pure fruit juice, milky coffee, hot chocolate, soup or malted milk drinks.
Meat and Fish
- Include meat, chicken or fish in cooked meals.
- Use convenience meals as a standby in fridge or freezer e.g. fish in sauce, shepherd’s pie, lasagne, beef, chicken or sausage casseroles, macaroni cheese, roast dinner.
- For snack meals try smaller portions of meat or fish in a sandwich or on toast e.g. ham sandwich, sardines or pilchards on toast.
Cheese and Eggs
- Have cheese or egg-based meals, such as cauliflower or macaroni cheese, quiche, scrambled eggs or omelette.
- For a snack meals have cheese or egg on toast, cheese and biscuits, cheese or egg sandwich.
- Fortify meals by adding grated cheese or cream cheese to:
- potatoes (boiled, mashed or jacket)
- soups and sauces
- vegetables
- scrambled eggs
Nuts
- Snack on plain, salted, dry-roasted or chocolate-covered nuts
Beans and Lentils
- Try lentil/bean soups or add tinned (ready to eat) beans such as butter beans, baked beans or kidney beans to soups or casseroles.
High Calorie Foods
- Calories come from protein foods and from fats (butter, margarine), oils (olive oil, sunflower oil), starchy foods (pasta, bread, rice and potatoes) and sugar.
- Avoid ‘diet’ and low-calorie products. Choose full fat products such as milk, cheese, creamy soups and yoghurts.
- Fortify meals, by adding butter or margarine or oil to:
- potatoes (boiled, mashed or jacket)
- vegetables
- sauces
- meat and fish
- puddings
- Double cream, evaporated or condensed milk, creamy/Greek yoghurt, fromage frais and ice cream can be added to:
- fruit (fresh, tinned or stewed)
- milk puddings, jellies, desserts and custard
- cereals or porridge
- milky drinks and milkshakes
- Try adding marmalade, jam, honey, syrup or treacle to milk puddings, desserts, milky drinks, cakes, bread, cereals, or porridge
- Roast potatoes and chips are high in calories.
- Add sugar to drinks, breakfast cereals or fruit desserts.
- Try adding pesto sauce to pasta or mashed/boiled potato.
Fruit and Vegetables
- Fruit and vegetables are important sources of vitamins. Include small helpings with meals, but do not fill up on these, as they are low in protein and calories.
- Add grated cheese, cream cheese or butter to vegetables.
- Add mayonnaise or salad dressing to salads.
- Try snacks of dried fruit, such as raisins, sultanas, apricots, dates, figs.
- Have tinned fruit in syrup with evaporated or condensed milk, custard or cream.
High Energy Snacks
Some ideas for quick and easy snacks to have between meals:
Savoury ideas:
- Cheese and crackers
- Pate and oatcakes
- Toast with butter and peanut butter
- Bowl of cereal with milk or fortified milk and sugar
- Mini pork pies, sausage rolls, scotch eggs, onion bhaji, pakora,samosas, mini quiche, cocktail sausages
- Sandwiches
- Bowl of creamy soup and a roll, for instance chicken, tomato, mushroom
- Croissants filled with ham and cheese
- Muesli or porridge made with cream/fortified full cream milk and jam/honey
- Nuts, any type, or mixed fruit and nuts
- Kebab
- Crisps
- Houmous
- Cream cheese
- Crumpets with cheese or peanut butter
- Bread sticks and dips
Sweet Ideas:
- Chocolate croissants and pain-au-chocolat
- Milk puddings – rice pudding, semolina, tapioca, custard (if homemade make with fortified full cream milk or if tinned add extra cream), crème caramel, mousse
- All cakes, such as fruit cake, muffins, flapjack, doughnuts, cream cakes and sponge cakes
- Trifle - fruit or chocolate
- Cheesecake, or gateaux with cream or ice cream
- Thick and creamy yoghurt e.g. Greek yoghurt, thick n’ creamy, custard style or fruit fools
- Malt loaf with butter
- Chocolate bar (snack size), mini bags of chocolate buttons, Maltesers, mini eggs etc
- Crumpets with jam
- Teacake with butter
- Toast with chocolate spread
- Tinned fruit in syrup
- Cereal/muesli bars
- Milkshakes and ready-made milky drinks e.g. Mars, Yoplait, chocolate milk or iced coffee
- Ice cream with tinned fruit
- Dried fruit - plain, chocolate or yoghurt coated
- Instant pudding e.g. Angel Delight
- Sponge and custard
Nourishing Drink Recipes
Nourishing drinks do not replace meals, but sipping on them between meals, or drinking one instead of eating a snack, can be both enjoyable and beneficial to your health. They are all high in calories and protein and will provide you with a range of vitamins and minerals.
Milk Shake
- 200ml full fat milk
- 3 tablespoons (45mls) double cream
- 1 scoop ice cream
- 4 tablespoons milk powder (semi-skimmed)
- Add flavourings e.g.1 banana or 2 teaspoons milk shake flavouring such as Nesquik/Crusha
- Mix together and whisk well
Hot Chocolate Malted Drink
- 150mls full fat milk
- 1 tablespoon milk powder
- 2 tablespoons double cream
- 3 teaspoons hot choc/malted drink powder
- Mix together and whisk well
Fruit Smoothies
- 300mls of full fat milk
- 1 pot of thick and creamy yoghurt or 1 scoop ice cream
- 1 tablespoon milk powder
- 75g of soft fresh or tinned fruit in syrup
- Liquidise all ingredients together
Nourishing Soup
- 200mls full fat milk
- 1 tablespoon of milk powder
- 1 packet of dried soup powder
- Heat milk until simmering, mix with soup and milk powder using a mini whisk
Fruit Juice
- 100ml fresh fruit juice
- 100ml lemonade
- 1 scoop ice-cream
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Mix together and whisk well
Greek Cooler
- 150g pot Greek yoghurt
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 50ml full fat milk
- Mix together and whisk well
Banoffee Treat
- 1 small banana (mash)
- 1 pot crème caramel
- 1 teaspoon golden syrup
- Liquidise all ingredients
Cinnamon Spice
- 200ml full fat milk
- 4 tablespoons milk powder (semi-skimmed)
- 1 tablespoon golden syrup
- Pinch of mixed spice and ground cinnamon
- Warm the milk and mix in ingredients
Energy Shot
- 30-40ml double cream
- Flavouring such as chocolate or strawberry syrup
- Do not over whisk cream as it may become too thick to drink
Sample Meal Plan
Breakfast
- Cereal with fortified milk and sugar
- Cooked breakfast e.g. bacon, sausage and tomato
- Bread/toast with butter and jam
Mid-morning
- Glass of fortified milk or nourishing drink (see pages 9-10)
- Small snack e.g. biscuit, cake, crisps (see pages 7-8)
Lunch
- Sandwich with meat, fish, cheese or egg
- Creamy soup with bread and butter
- Toast with baked beans, egg, pate or fish e.g. sardines
- Puddings e.g. creamy yoghurt, ice cream
Mid-afternoon
- As mid-morning
Evening meal
- Meat, fish, cheese or egg
- Potatoes, rice, pasta or chapatti
- Vegetable or salad (with butter or mayonnaise plus dessert
Supper
- Hot milky drink with fortified milk
- Chocolate, Ovaltine or Horlicks
- Small snack (see previous pages)
Nutritional Supplements
If your appetite is very small, you can consider buying nutritional drinks such as Build Up, Meritene or Complan; these are available in milkshake and soup styles. Mix milkshakes with full fat milk and mix the soup with water as directed. They are available to buy from most supermarkets and pharmacies.
Additional Help: Ready Meals
If you are having difficulty preparing meals consider ready-meals, either from the supermarket or a food delivery service (Wiltshire Farm Foods, Oak House Foods). Avoid low calorie or diet versions.
www.
0800 077 3100
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0333 370 6700
If you have a history of cardiovascular disease, diabetes or stroke, you should discuss the advice on this leaflet with your GP.
If you have diabetes, you may need to continue to choose sugar free drinks and/or monitor your blood sugar levels more closely than normal; follow your GP’s instructions.
Please seek medical advice if you are still following this advice after six months and have not gained significant weight.
Contact us
If you have any queries relating to this information, please contact the Dietetics service.
About this information
Service:
Dietetics
Reference:
DT/048
Approval date:
31 August 2024
Review date:
30 August 2027
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Important note
This page provides general information only. It is developed by clinical staff and is reviewed regularly every 3 years for accuracy. For personal advice about your health, or if you have any concerns, please speak to your doctor.