Hi Ryobe,I would suggest you follow the suggestion my surgeon gave me when he set me free to eat whatever I like at Day 6 (believe it or not).
He said that I could eat anything that could be chewed to a liquid. Really, that leaves a lot of food you can eat. If you're anything like me, you will fill up very quickly (a result of the stomach still being swollen and interpreting that as fullness).
Take small bites and chew, chew, chew until whatever it is you are eating is in liquid form. It works! If you are chewing something that just won't chew down, deposit it in a handy paper napkin and try something else. It gives you the ability to eat a variety of foods...of course, no raw veggies...if it can't be chewed to a liquid, don't eat it.
My doctor cautioned me against bread and steak. Bread tends to clump up rather than chewing to liquid. If you toast that same bread well, though, it chews to a liquid nicely.
You'll just have to experiment. Don't forget to chew, chew, chew! (My mantra!)
If you have a slow cooker, you can cook meats for hours and generally they'll be able to be chewed to a liquid. Just stick some veggies, potatoes, and meat with a little liquid, and cook them on slow for 10 hours or so. Still, follow the chew to a liquid rule.
As time goes on you will be able to handle everything, but since you're just starting out and aren't sure how it will go, I'm confident that if you follow the "chew to liquid" rule you'll do just fine. The beauty of it is that you become your own blender, and you get the pleasure of the taste and satisfaction of chewing while you "blend" your food to an easily swallowed consistency.
If you have an "accident" and swallow something that doesn't go down immediately, don't panic. Some try to cough it up (like a "hairball"), but I found that a relaxed attitude, and drinking warm tea or room temperature water works well to get it though.
You may get some spasms during that time, but they will subside, and you'll be just fine.
Happy Eating!
Denise