Gastric sleeve and gastric bypass patients have limited stomach capacities. Meal size is small and priority is given to get protein first. Bariatric surgery patients can and should eat regular food. Food that is healthy, nutritious and also enjoyable. At Houston Weight Loss Surgery Center we enjoy pizza and our patients are no exception. The only caveat is that traditional pizza, even thin crust pizza, has too much bread to digest if you have had gastric sleeve or bypass surgery. Furthermore, most pizza toppings may include fatty cuts of meat like pepperoni or bacon and hefty quantities of melted cheese that you don’t need to consume. Most commercial pizza sauce contains sugar and lots of it. The good news is that you can make your own tomato sauce using the ingredients you like. All you need is a blender, tomatoes (canned or fresh), salt and pepper, and I like to add garlic (lot of garlic) and fresh or dried basil, oregano and or thyme. Blend everything then cook over fire until you reduce the sauce and it becomes thick enough to spread on pizza dough. The dough is key here. Bariatric dough is not made out of wheat flour. The healthier and lighter dough alternative is made with sprouted grains like quinoa. Soak quinoa in water for 8 hours. Then drain the water and blend the sprouted quinoa grains with baking powder and water to make the dough. For more details check this recipe from cooking light magazine http://bcove.me/dvvm74ib

Quinoa is Houston Weight Loss Surgery Center’s most popular Superfood. It is a highly nutritive food rich in proteins, heart healthy monounsaturated fat (Oleic acid), minerals and two powerful anti-oxidants in the form of flavonoids: Quercetin and Kaempferol. Quinoa consumption is perfectly suited to fight obesity. Research in rats has shown that daily quinoa consumption reduces inflammation in fat and intestinal lining cells.