Potassium is one of the nutrients gastric bypass patients tend to be deficient. In fact many weight loss surgery patients (WLS) supplement their diet with potassium. By including certain foods in the diet WLS patients can increase their potassium intake.

Of course we have heard all our lives to eat a banana when low on potassium. But did you know there are many foods rich in potassium, which are better tolerated than the banana by most weight loss surgery patients? Foods such as apricots, butternut squash, grapefruit, salmon, halibut and chicken are all potassium powerhouses. By incorporating these foods in our meals after gastric bypass we benefit from flavor, variety and healthful nutrients and perhaps stave-off some of the food boredom we all complain about. In addition, we know WLS patients are at risk of potassium deficiency so why not get some the old fashioned way delicious home cooked food.

One of my favorite potassium rich recipes includes salmon and grapefruit, ingredients that are available year round and easily digested by the weight loss surgery patient.

Grapefruit-Broiled Salmon
Prep: 20 minutes/ Cook: 10 minutes

This WLS friendly recipe tastes great and is nutrient dense with vitamin C, potassium and dietary fiber from the grapefruit and heat-friendly Omega 3 fatty acids in the salmon. A normal serving of Grapefruit-Broiled Salmon contains about 40% daily value potassium. The salad is good served cold the next day.

Ingredients:
3 grapefruits (or one jar canned grapefruit)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 celery stalk cut into -inch dice
cup finely chopped red onion
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
teaspoon salt
4 boneless salmon fillets, with skin (6 ounces each)
teaspoon dried oregano
teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. With a small paring knife, peel the grapefruits. Working over a bowl to catch the juice separate the grapefruit sections from the membranes; reserve any juice that collects in the bowl. Halve the grapefruit sections crosswise and transfer to a salad bowl. Add the bell pepper, celery, oinon, oil, mustard, and teaspoon of the salt. Toss to combine and refrigerate until serving. (to save time I have used the bottled pre-sectioned grapefruit from the produce section.)

2. Preheat the broiler. Place the salmon, skin-side down, on a broiler rack. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the reserved grapefruit juice, the oregano, black pepper and remaining teaspoon salt over the salmon. Broil 6 inches from the heat for 8 minutes or until just cooked through. Serve the salmon with the grapefruit salad. Serves 4 (normal)

Per serving: Calories 402; Fiber 2g; Protein 35g; Total Fat 21g; Saturated Fat 4g; Cholesterol 100mg; Sodium 430 mg.

Kaye Bailey

An award winning journalist and former newspaper editor Kaye Bailey brings expertise in writing and personal experience with gastric bypass surgery to EzineArticles.com. Ms. Bailey developed a passion for writing at an early age. As a teenager she found writing her feelings about obesity helped her cope in a world that is often cruel to overweight children and adults alike.

Ms. Bailey says she found out she was fat in kindergarten when another child told her she was fat. ?I didn?t even know what fat was but I could tell it was bad and I didn?t want to be fat. Until that day I had been unaware I was different. But there I was, a five-year-old girl sitting cross-legged on the floor learning a new word that would define me.?

At age 33 she underwent laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery. For the first time in her life after multiple failed diet attempts she lost weight. She said the decision to have surgery took courage, nerve, and a little bit of plain old faith. But she learned surgery was the easy part. Dealing with newfound emotions, struggling with food choices and fighting to keep from regaining weight were unexpected bumps in the road following massive weight loss with surgery.

Having spent most of her life overweight Ms. Bailey is strongly empathetic toward the obese, particularly overweight children. This compassion compelled her to found the website LivingAfterWLS.com, a fast-growing resource of information, understanding and support for the weight loss surgery community. While weight loss surgery is publicly perceived as an easy fix to obesity Ms. Bailey maintains the struggles after surgery challenge the vigor of even the most dedicated individual. As WLS becomes more readily available patients are finding there is a lack of long-term aftercare and support from bariatric centers.

The LivingAfterWLS.com site is complimented with daily blog. The blog, livingafterwls.blogspot.com offers readers the chance to comment or leave feedback about fresh content added daily. This site contains success stories and recipes as well as general information and WLS inspired topics. Complementing the site is a monthly newsletter titled ?You Have Arrived? available exclusively to people who subscribe through the website or the blog. The path forward includes community forums, nutrition and fitness tracking tools.

Ms. Bailey makes her home on a ranch in the Rocky Mountains with her husband of eight years who has been her consort in life after WLS.