Bariatric meal prep solves a problem that the surgery itself creates. Portions are tiny, protein has to come first, and a normal recipe leaves you with six days of leftovers. You cannot eat them all. So the recipes here fit a small stomach. They also follow a plan, so that one hour in the kitchen covers most of the week. Cook once, portion it out, and then freeze what the week does not need.

In the early weeks, use the pureed stage recipes and the high-protein soups for every stage. Then, once solid food is back, the weeknights need a different set. The thirty-minute bariatric meals, the freezer meals and the small-batch cooking guide carry you through them. Meanwhile, the menu rotations keep the plate from getting boring.

Between meals there are high-protein snacks and energy bars. For the table there are vegetarian protein recipes, sauces that add flavour without sugar, international dishes and holiday menus. Before any of it starts, a clean eating grocery list sets up the kitchen. Shop from it once, and the right ingredients will already be there when the hour of bariatric meal prep comes around.

If you are new to this, start with the soups and the thirty-minute meals. They are the recipes that most readers come back to. The Gastric Sleeve Cookbook follows the same stages with a full set of recipes. Its portions match the ones used here, so you can cook from both without adjusting anything. Both put protein first and vegetables second, so the plate looks the same either way.