A useful weekly routine starts with the instructions you have now. Map the eating occasions that need prepared food, compare one exact item at a time and review what worked before repeating the order.
Order Meals — View This Week's Menu
Use this worksheet to organize an existing care plan. It does not prescribe a diet or choose foods for an uncleared postoperative stage. Start with the post-surgery meal guide if food form or stage clearance is still unclear.
| Worksheet field | What to write down | When to pause |
|---|---|---|
| Current instructions | Write the allowed food form, texture, amount and required item facts from the current bariatric plan. | Ask the bariatric team to clarify an unclear stage number or instruction. |
| Eating occasions | Mark the days and occasions where prepared food would fill an actual gap. | Use the schedule in the care plan; do not add or remove eating occasions to fit a bundle. |
| Exact item comparison | Match each occasion to a current item with the required posted facts. | Treat missing nutrition, ingredients, allergens or serving information as unknown and ask before buying. |
| Package-to-portion plan | Record the amount sold and the amount the plan allows you to eat. | Ask whether and how the item should be divided; one package is not automatically one prescribed portion. |
| Storage and access | Confirm who will receive, store, open and reheat the food according to the item directions. | Arrange help or another food option when storage, package handling or reheating is unresolved. |
| Review before repeating | Record what was used, left over or raised a concern and check the current plan before reordering. | Take symptoms and clinical questions to the bariatric team; ask SmashMeals about product facts. |
The NIDDK patient guide describes progression from liquids to soft foods and then solid foods, with the healthcare professional deciding permitted foods and beverages. Time since surgery, a commercial category or another person's stage number does not clear an exact meal for you.
Write the dates and eating occasions where you want prepared food. Keep occasions already covered by food at home separate from gaps. Then compare the exact item's posted package amount with the amount in your plan. This worksheet organizes purchases; your care team determines eating frequency, portions and nutrient goals.
For example, if your existing plan leaves two workday lunches and one late dinner uncovered, list those three occasions first. That does not necessarily mean three packages: the package amount, your planned portion and the item's storage instructions still need to be reconciled. Keep household members' food separate so their portions do not become your clinical instructions.
Open the current menu and compare the selected item's food form, texture, posted serving, nutrition, ingredients, allergens and directions with the written plan. Read the nutrition information FAQ when a posted number or missing value is unclear. Do not infer missing sodium, fiber, added sugar or other nutrients from calories and macros.
Ask SmashMeals about the named item when a product fact or requested change is uncertain. Ask the bariatric team whether those facts fit the clinical plan. Do not assume an item is soft, small, mild or customizable because it appears on a bariatric guide.
Before paying, confirm the complete destination, available fulfillment and timing in checkout. Use the home-delivery handoff guide to name who will receive, inspect and move perishables into cold storage. Follow the storage, dividing and reheating instructions attached to the exact item received; do not assume every meal has the same method or shelf life.
Before repeating the cart, note which occasions were covered, which items remain, what you liked and what was difficult to use. Product leftovers can inform the next purchase quantity; they do not justify changing a prescribed eating schedule, portion or nutrient goal. Record the item, amount, timing and symptoms if a food causes concern, stop using it and follow the bariatric team's contact instructions.
The ASMBS life-after-surgery guide describes a bariatric-team-directed special diet, vitamin and mineral supplementation, and regular long-term follow-up. Prepared meals do not replace those parts of care or set calorie, protein, fluid, medication or supplement targets.
NIDDK's guide was last reviewed in September 2020; the ASMBS resource says it was updated in February 2021. These official patient-education sources provide clinical context, not testing or endorsement of SmashMeals. The weekly worksheet is a purchase-planning aid built around the person's current instructions.