Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

First of all, my best wishes to your dad for a speedy and complete recovery. He gets to celebrate two birthdays every year - the date of his birth and the date of his transplant!

I visited this site and it's packed with info. Based on these guidelines, I thought of the following stuff you can prepare and maybe leave for him with simple instructions.

For the first few days home, it would be nice for dad to be able to nosh on a large fruit salad on which he could pick whenever feeling peckish. The biggest deterrent to people eating fresh fruit is having to peel/cut/seed it. Do that for him and hopefully he will take advantage. Wash some grapes and put them on a jellyroll pan, freeze, then dump them into a ziplock bag. They are like small, natural, ice pops which will also cool him down on hot days. Wash a variety of fruits, freeze the same way and dump into a ziplock bag. These make great ingredients (and incentive) for smoothies. Get him a large container of Fage 0% yogurt and he'll probably get a good 3 servings out of the container. It's highly perishable so he'd have to use it early on.

Plenty of veg would be great. Steam some broccoli (if he likes it and can tolerate the gassiness of broccoli). Some steamed carrots would be great to have around. Any veg he loves will get eaten. Anything he doesn't like will become a science project. The liver site indicated that vegs need to be thoroughly washed and that he should NOT eat raw vegs like lettuce.

He can have whole grain cereals and breads and this is where you can get him set up for some future eating. Grab a couple of boxes of high nutritional cereals and some nice whole grain breads. Have the bakery slice the breads and you can stick a loaf or two in the freezer. As long as he has a toaster, he's got good bread.

Low fat dairy and calcium are recommended so yogurt (if he likes it) and low fat cheese. If you're a member of Costco or Sam's, Cabot Cheddar has light cheese snacks which would suit perfectly.

Portion some lean meat and poultry for him so all he has to do is thaw, cook and eat. As long as it's well wrapped with the outer layer being foil, the meat or poultry should remain in good condition even if it takes 2-3 months for him to finish the supply. Stock him up on low fat chicken stock - preferably organic, since his "filtering system" is on training wheels for a while.

Again, I hope he's on the mend and well on his way to good health. He's lucky to have you for help.

the advice chiff gave looks great. the one thing that I would add is to the portioning lean meat and poultry - try premarinating them, too. just dump the marinade in a baggie with the meat, squeeze out the air, then wrap the baggie well. toss it in the freezer, and it will begin marinating there, and then finish marinating when he takes it out to defrost. just make sure to label them so he knows what marinade he is getting.

also, try making mini turkey or chicken meatloaves (maybe in mini loaf pans). You can stuff it with yummy things like swiss chard.

another thing to consider is stocking his freezer with some sauces. I know he doesn't like pasta that much, but they can be used for other things, too (pesto, marinara, etc)

In this situation, he should eat all organics - that means meats, grains, vegetables, fruits, everything. The liver processes toxins, removing them from the bloodstream, and with his liver not operating at full capacity, they're more likely to reach his bloodstream and undermine his immune system, slowing the healing process.

Dairy can be hard on the body - especially homogenized, pasteurized dairy, so it would be ideal if the majority of his calcium needs could come from dark leafy green vegetables (which can supply more than enough). Lowfat dairy contains more difficult-to-digest protein proportionate to whole dairy, so it's even harder to digest. Avoid dairy (other than yogurt) as much as possible.

Add probiotic foods like plain yogurt, miso (used uncooked, not in soup), lacto-fermented (raw) pickled vegetables, unpasteurized apple-cider vinegar (the kind with "the mother" - use in dressings for vegetables and/or have him take a tablespoon in a glass of water each day). In moderation, use unpasteurized (nama) shoyu. These strengthen the body by improving digestion and nutrient absorption from foods, which is vital during a healing process like his. A probiotic supplement would be beneficial - there are so many bad ones on the market, though - Bio-K is a good one, I'm sure there are other good choices out there too.

Emphasize vegetables more than fruits, because the sugars in fruits, while natural, have a similar effect on the body to refined sugars; raw fruit can also be difficult to digest. Most or all vegetables should be cooked for ease of digestion; include immune-boosting garlic and digestion-enhancing ginger where possible. Include some poached or boiled organic free-range eggs, which are very nutrient-rich and easy to digest for most people. Fish on the low end of the mercury spectrum would be excellent.

There are some great books out there which can help guide you in creating a healing diet for your father. 'Food And Healing' by Annemarie Colbin is my favorite. 'Healing With Whole Foods' is another - it's long, but has a good index. As he'll be immune-suppressed for the rest of his life, now is the ideal time for your dad to adopt a diet high in vegetables, whole grains, natural probiotics, and high-quality animal foods. This is a tremendous opportunity - good luck!

One thing I can say is that people recovering from surgery often lose their appetites entirely. If you can find a way of making replicas of his favourite foods, but low fat and low sodium, it might help. You might try using fake meat. Morningstar and Boca stuff is fairly good, especially if you do it up. Chuck it on the grill, add it to tomato sauce and make sloppy joes, or fake chili dogs. You might also think about Indian food, like a Korma, which can be made with yoghurt and isn't too spicy. Add some lean chicken and some green veg, and lots of beans and chickpeas, and you've got a low-fat, high-protein meal.

As a supplement to all of these great comments, I would add that if it does happen that post-surgery your father loses his appetite, as is often the case, What to Eat When You Don't Feel Like Eating is in excellent book. I found it particularly interesting because, to me anyway, some of the thoughts, ideas, and explanations were not what I would have intuited. It was helpful when I was taking care of my parents.

http://www.amazon.com/What-When-Dont-Feel-Eating/dp/0889995583

@toasteebagel - it's great to be able to spend time with your dad at this time, i'm sure that's going to also speed up his recovery. the roles get reversed with our parents at some point in our lives....

anyway, to add to all the great suggestions - if he's needing protein, maybe some bean salads or soups, and i agree with@producestories, try to keep things organic as much as you can. if possible, sometimes its hard. but check out the toxic ten list and have him stay away from at least those. soups, even though it's summer, are satisfying and light at the same time.... and nutritious. you can get a lot of bang for your nutritional buck from a good soup.

well, good luck and enjoy this time with your dad, it's a very special moment in time for you both.