A Breakfast Idea

An egg cooked over medium inside a ring of red bell pepper... with a side of black beans and Morningstar Farms vegetarian sausage. (Forgot to take the pic before I started eating, oops). This was delicious! Saw the idea on Pinterest and we made it yesterday... it was so good and for me eliminates some carbs since when I cook an egg this style, I like it on toast. I didn't think I would like this, but I did a LOT! I couldn't finish all my beans but ate the rest.

And YES!!! I KNOWWWWW I owe you all my one year update. We haven't had a chance to take the official photos and measurements yet, but are planning to do so tomorrow morning, so will hopefully get those soon!!!

Pizza Burgers

I wanted to share this recipe - it's delicious and it works well for post-ops but would please most non-ops and kids too! It comes from the Biggest Loser Family Cookbook.

Not too many ingredients are needed. I added a couple of my own as well.

Ingredients:

1 lb 93/7 lean ground beef
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (I omitted this because I don't like spicy)
1/2 tsp minced garlic (my addition, instead of red pepper)
1/2 cup marinara sauce (I used Classico Tomato & Basil)
4 thin slices mozzarella or provolone cheese
4 Whole Grain Hamburger Buns (we ommitted buns)

My other additions:

1 mozzarella string cheese, quartered, then chopped and 1/4 is added into each patty
1/4 tsp Mrs Dash Onion and Herb Seasoning

These are the string cheese we eat, and what I used in the recipe. They are from Target:

This is the brand of provolone I used:

This was how I added the cheese into the patties - 1/4 for each one, added them in, then folded them to the inside and re-formed the patty.

YUM!!!

So here are the full directions...

Preheat grill to high heat.

In large bowl, mix beef, oragano, garlic powder, minced garlic or red pepper flakes, salt and mrs dash seasoning until well combines.

Divide mixture into four equal portions and form into patties.

At this point add the mozzarella cheese bits if desired.

Grill burgers for about 3 minutes per side or until desired doneness (do not smash burgers with spatula). About 1 minute before they are done, add the cheese slices to burgers aand let them melt.

Meanwhile, spoon sauce into microwave safe bowl and heat until hot, 30-60 seconds. Spoon onto burger before serving.

Obviously if you'd like to use buns, put the burgers on the buns lol.

Makes 4 Servings.

Nutrition Info based on my math of the products I personally used (and no bun!)...

Per serving.

Calories: 285
Fat: 15g
Carbs: 5g
Protein: 30g

Week 25 Update

A bit late this week but here is my week 25 post-op update. Firstly here is my video for this week:

Here is the link I mention in the video if you want to read about the donating food for pounds lost idea :) http://www.vsggoodlife.com/2010/11/100-pounds-lost.html

So, my weight this week is:

215.4 lbs! That's a loss of 1.8 lbs this week. Definitely staying on the slower side, but I'm very happy it continues to go down instead of not doing anything. I doubt I'll lose 5 more lbs by the 20th when I hit my 6 month mark, so probably won't make 100 lbs lost by then, but I'm getting close and will definitely hit it DURING my 6th month so I will take that :)

Here is the hair product I mentioned in my video also:

I feel that it really helps my hair to look fuller. I got it from my salon for $10. Hubby is using it also and it makes his hair look fuller on top as well. Definitely a good product and it's not heavy like moose, it's a spray that feels more like a leave-in conditioner.


Workouts this Week:
Thurs 11/4 - 3.32 mile walk : 1 Hour
Friday 11/5 - 1.65 mile walk : 32 mins
Sunday 11/7 - 25 min walk plus Leslie Sansone 5 day Slim down (35 mins) warm up + mile 1 + mile 2 + cool down
Monday 11/8 - 50 Mins of Leslie Sansone 5 Day Slim Down - Warm up+ mile 3 + mile 4 + mile 5 + cool down


Food this Week:
Most things were same old same old this week, but I did cook another recipe. This one wasn't new to me, we used to make it before surgery but we would have it with mashed potatoes or rice plus a veggie. Now we eat just the meatballs.


Sour Cream Meatballs

You will need:
2 lbs lean ground beef (I use 93/7)
3 cans campbells soups, you choose combo (I used 1 can cream of mushroom, 1 can cream of chicken, 1 can cream of chicken with herbs, cuz that's what I had)
2 eggs (or egg beaters)
2 packets (1 box) Dry Onion Soup Mix
1 cup Sour Cream (I use Daisy Light)
Water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl combine ground beef, eggs, dry onion soup mix, sour cream. 

2. Mix well and form into meatballs, whatever size you prefer. Place meatballs into 13x9 baking pan.

3. Brown meatballs uncovered in oven for 30 minutes.

4. In separate bowl combine 3 soups plus 1 1/2 soup cans of water. Remove meatballs from oven, cover with soup mixture. Cover baking dish with tin foil and bake for 30 more minutes.

5. Check to make sure meatballs are cooked through. You're ready to eat! We are able to eat 1 - 2 meatballs with some soup mixture. Very filling!

That's it for this week's update. Back with more soon!

24 Week Update & Hubby's Progress

Hey everybody. Firstly, I'm sorry my update is late, and that also there is no video this week. My family is going through a difficult time and we got some bad news last night. I will elaborate eventually, but I can't just yet. If you are the praying type, I would ask for your prayers for my family. Thank you and I will provide more information soon.

Also thank you for all the kind comments on the last post. I wasn't upset or angry or sad, just kind of perplexed and didn't understand why he would do that :) All is well.


As for this week's update, there have been some pros and some cons.


Cons:

- my lower back and hip pain have been especially bad this week. Possibly due to getting new athletic shoes. When your back is this weak, the simplest changes can throw everything off.

-On Monday night I tried to work out at the gym, but my body was NOT having it. I did the treadmill for 5 mins and gave up because the pain was intolerable. I switched to the ARC trainer and managed 10 mins, but then had to stop. My hip was just killing me and no amount of stretching was helping at ALL.

- Halloween candy is still around, and I'm still eating quite a bit of it. I've kind of had my fill and we are getting rid of it this weekend. Don't need any more.



Pros:

- Even though I couldn't work out as much as I would have liked, I still got some activity - a couple workouts plus a whole day of shopping.

- I cooked real recipes twice this week (actually twice in the same day!) and we ate off those for a few days this week.

- Had a decent loss this week, despite the cons mentioned above.



My weight yesterday was:

217.2 - that's a loss of 2.2 lbs this week. Still not as fast as I had been used to, but I will take it over a plateau any day :) I may not make my -100 lbs mark by the 20th like I wanted to, but I am super pleased things are moving again.



Workouts this Week:

Friday 10/29 - Swimming laps, 23 mins
Monday 11/1 - 5 mins treadmill, 10 mins ARC trainer, stretching (bad pain day)

I worked out Thurs and Fri, but those technically count toward next week's weigh in. At least I am getting a bit better now and able to work out more again. Stupid pain.. leave me alone please.



Some New Foods This Week:

I picked these up because I haven't had a muffin since before surgery. I LOVE muffins, ESPECIALLY with cream cheese. One of these is just the right size for my tummy right now. It's basically just the top of the muffin. They are frozen, so they will keep even if I don't eat them too often. You zap it in the micro for 18 seconds and it's ready to go. (Or you can thaw at room temp for 30 mins.) I put an individual pack of light cream cheese on top of it and YUM! Since it's higher carb and lower protein, I wouldn't do this every day, but it tastes GREAT for once in a while.

Not technically NEW for me, but I haven't shown a photo before. This is a protein smoothie from my gym - this one has strawberries, pineapple, 27g whey protein, skim milk and nonfat yogurt. Delicious. The one in the background is Ian's with all the same stuff but blueberries instead of pineapple. We order the kids size, but with the full amount of protein.

Double Bean Quesadilla. I made this up this week. It has refried beans, seasoned black beans (pre packaged), and cheese. Tasted good, but SO MESSY because of the sauce the black beans come in. Probably won't make it again. It did keep me full for like a gazillion years though.

Turkey Club from the food court at Super Target. I was grocery shopping and needed to eat (had been out a while already) before I did my shopping... was feeling weak. It was tasty but I had no interest in the bread and it had WAY too much bacon. I pushed most of the bacon off and ate about 2/3 of the turkey and cheese... threw the rest away. Tasty, decent price ($3) and got the job done in a pinch... but not something I'd go out of my way to plan to order.

Taco Chicken Tenders - one of my recipes this week! Chicken tenderloins (1 lb) rinsed and patted dry. Add as much taco seasoning as you like, patting it onto both sides of the chicken so it sticks. Cook it in a skillet over medium-high heat, flipping every 2 minutes til cooked through. (It took like 5-6 mins). Remove from skillet, squeeze half a lime over it all, and serve with some light sour cream. These were very tasty and very moist. A great all-protein meal. From the 4 Ingredient Diabetic Cookbook.

Pizza Burgers - another all-protein recipe I cooked this week. It's from the Biggest Loser Family Cookbook. One major tweak - we didn't bother with hamburger buns. I also purchased premade patties. What I did was sprinkle the seasonings across them all and then take each patty, roll it into a ball and reshape it. I felt it worked well and then they all come out the same size in the end :) Doesn't need to be done, but I had bought these already so I tried it, and I actually liked doing it that way. I will have to post the full recipe later - I used my own concoction of seasonings in my own amount so I didn't really follow it. I used oregano, garlic chips, garlic powder, garlic pepper, a ground pepper blend (instead of red pepper flakes), salt and some Mrs Dash onion & herb seasoning. We grilled up the burgers on the George Foreman grill, adding sliced mozzarella on top and melting it. Topped with some Classico Tomato & Basil marinara sauce and then a dash of parmesan. Delicious!!!!!!! We really enjoyed this meal. We each can eat 1 patty, so we had it two nights in a row.



Some other Tidbits...

A quick little Calcium supplement review. These are both from Celebrate. The one on the left is the chewable calcium supplement. The one on the right is the liquid supplement which includes both multivitamin AND calcium.

The chewables are pretty hard to deal with, we feel. My friend hated them so gave them to us, and we pretty much hate them too. Today I tried the liquid - not so bad! The liquid includes multivitamin AND calcium, so I could stop taking my gummy vitamins if I am taking this. You have to take it twice a day though. It tasted totally decent, kind of like a koolaid. You empty the packet into 8 oz of cold water and shake to mix. I poured it in a glass after shaking it in a bottle. Might be ordering these to try for a while as I think it will be a good way to get everything in. But at $45 per 30 day supply, and the fact we BOTH need it, that's pretty pricey. So we'll see.


My hair is still thinning a LOT... Ovation isn't really helping. I decided to get my hair cut a bit shorter to help it look fuller. I am also using a protein spray I got from my stylist, makes your hair appear a bit fuller also. Here is me and my stylist Tarah :)

And FINALLY.... My husband Ian's 5 month progress photos from Nov 3rd. He has lost 70 lbs and is feeling great!


5 Months all in a row, front view:

5 Months all in a row, side view:

Start vs. 5 Months, Front View:

Start vs 5 Months, Side View:

Start vs 5 Months, Back View:

So proud of him!! He has gone from tight 2X shirts to loose 1X shirts, ready to start getting into some larges. His pants size has gone from 54 to 44!

That's it for this week - sorry so long. I probably won't have a chance to post again until next week's update. I'm expecting a bit of a tough and taxing week. I'm trying to still take good care of myself and keep on my path, but definitely have some bigger fish to fry at the moment. Have a great week everyone.

Week 21 Update

So I have really not been good at keeping up with weekly updates in quite some time. I am going to try to get back to that, now!! Since I was weighing a lot more than once a week, I usually forgot to do an official weigh in each Thursday. Definitely want to get back to that so I can look at my weekly progress overall :) Also thank you to the commenter who said they missed my more frequent updates... I do want to blog more!
As far as this past week... well I was kind of down and out because I found myself struck with Strep AND an ear infection!!! Yep, at the same time. Fun huh? I've been on an antibiotic for a couple of days now and I'm feeling MUCH better. Even went for a walk tonight with the hubby to ease back into working out.

Today my weight is...

222.0 lbs... finally down a little bit after being stuck in the 224-225 range for two weeks. However... I don't know if I trust it yet because of the fact that I've been sick!! It could just be loss from not eating much and it might bounce back on me. I guess only time will tell but it sure felt good to see a different number finally. Hope it does stick around.

Also to update on my last post... I am back on the pill again with a new pill pack and, fingers crossed, I think my period FINALLY STOPPED. I haven't had it for 3 days now. However, being sick could be affecting that too so jury's still out. The doctor I saw about my strep throat is also my obgyn and so I asked her about everything. She said her gut instinct is to wait it out a little longer and if in another month or two things still aren't right she'll have me try a different pill.

She confirmed something that I heard in the Vertical Sleeve Talk forums.... Estrogen IS IN FACT stored in fat cells, so when you lose weight rapidly and your fat cells shrink, large amounts of hormones are released into your body which can really mess with a lot of things... not just period wise but emotionally and energy levels and just all kinds of things. I was surprised she confirmed this as it sounded wacky to me. But it's good to know!!! Hopefully I've found the end of the crazy times.

In other news... I cooked twice this week! Real recipes!! I hate cooking and I haven't made any REAL recipes since surgery. Everything has just been grab this, grab that and we have a meal. It's been good, but it was time to start cooking again.

I tried one of these new McCormick Recipe Inspirations for Garlic Lime Fajitas. All the spices you need come in the package, and it has a detachable (reusable) recipe card on the back that is perforated and you punch it out of the package.

In addition to the seasonings in the packet we had to buy the chicken breast, a bell pepper, an onion, orange juice, lime juice and tortillas. We also used a little shredded cheese and sour cream. Soooo... it's not exactly all inclusive, but definitely did jump start me into cooking something. Probably a good way to try a recipe, but then in the future I can use the recipe card and just buy the ingredients and whatnot.

I don't have any pics of this dish.. but it turned out very yummy. I'd make it again for sure, but I would double the amount of marinade. There wasn't really enough to cover the chicken well.

Tonight I made this recipe I came across called Hot Chicken Salad. It turned out REALLY yummy. I didn't have enough celery, but it was still totally fine. It actually made a pretty small casserole... which for us as post-ops is great, but if you were cooking to also feed your family, there probably would be no leftovers.

Why I think this casserole is great for post ops is it is mainly chicken. There is no rice or potatoes. It's mostly protein and a little veggie. I did use light mayo and 2% cheese to help with the fat & calorie content a bit.

Here's my photos of how it turned out:

Very tasty and I definitely recommend.

That's about it for my week! We have dinner plans tomorrow night with some friends to go to the Spaghetti Factory. I have not eaten pasta since surgery so that will be interesting. I will probably order one of their famous meatballs and only eat a bite or two of pasta noodles. Their meatballs and marinara sauce are supposed to be excellent.

Will be back soon with another update :)

Chicken Alfredo Flatbread Pizza

I've been meaning to share this for quite some time! I made up this little "recipe" for making flatbread pizza at home in one of my favorite varieties - chicken alfredo :)

All ingredients were purchased at Super Target:

1. Flat-out brand Artisian Fold-It Flatbread (splits nicely into two circles.)
2. Sargento Reduced Fat 4 Cheese Italian 2% milk shredded cheese
3. Buitoni Light Alfredo Sauce
4. Hormel Natural Choice 100% Natural (No Preservatives) Carved Chicken Breast - Grilled
5. Garlic Powder, Italian or Pizza Seasonings, Garlic Pepper

The first step is to put the sauce on the flatbread. I used 1/8 cup per pizza.

Add garlic powder, italian seasonings and garlic pepper on top of the sauce, to your personal taste. I personally like LOTS of garlic, and a little of the others :)

Add 1/4 cup of the 2% milk italian shredded cheese blend to each one. Top with about 1.5 oz chicken breast. Important for WLS people -spritz a small amount of olive oil on top of the chicken to keep it moist during cooking. It stays tender this way!
Sprinkle a little more garlic powder, garlic pepper and pizza seasonings on top.

Bake in toaster oven (or conventional oven) at 325 degrees. In the toaster oven this takes 8-10mins.

Voila!!

These are a great size for post-ops. We love them. Sometimes can't finish them, sometimes can. I will add on the nutritional info I calculated as soon as I can but I do know it is 26grams protein!!! And 220 calories.

Recipe: Crock Pot Potato Chowder

I made this potato chowder in the crock pot this week and it is just SO delicious, I had to share!! (The recipe, not my soup - get your own bowl!) :)
This is the second time we've made it, and it's just as good as I remembered.

30 min prep / 8-10 hours cook time
Serves 12

Ingredients:
8 cups diced potatoes
1/3 cup onion, chopped
3 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (8 oz) package stick cream cheese, cubed
1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
Chives

1. Combine potatoes, onion, broth, and cream of chicken soup in crock pot.

2. Cover and cook on LOW 8-10 hours or until potatoes are tender.

3. Add cream cheese and blend.

4. Top with bacon and chives before serving.

My adjustments : I used green onions instead of chives, simply because I found them already chopped for cheaper than the whole chives. I also used about a cup of diced onion instead of just 1/3 cup, because I really love onion! I put some shredded cheese on top as well :)

NUTRITION INFO for 1 serving - recipe makes 12 servings: Calories - 271 Fat - 17.3 g Cholesterol - 35mg Sodium - 731 mg Potassium - 595 mg Carbohydrate - 20.8 g Dietary Fiber - 2.3 g Protein - 8.5 g For WW members - 6 POINTS (From how I'm understanding it, the nutrition info includes the bacon. So the only extra would be the shredded cheese I added.)

I got this recipe here on RecipeZaar.

Cheesy Crock Pot Chicken

I just had to post this recipe because MMMMM - yum! Let me start off by saying it's not the healthiest, because I don't eat diet food anymore. LOL. But, with portion control this recipe isn't too bad. I added steamed broccoli pieces - a lot of them - on top at the end.  That tasted VERY good with it. Also, I served over egg noodles but you could do whole wheat pasta, brown rice, mashed potatoes... or, nothing! You could just eat the chicken! So there are definitely options. Pair with a salad if you want to eat less of the main dish. But it's so good...... haha.



Cheesy Crock Pot Chicken

Ingredients

   
• 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
   
• 2 (10 1/2 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
   
• 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup
   
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (NOTE - I used a whole TABLEspoon.)
   
• salt and pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Place the chicken in the crock pot.

2. Mix the undiluted soups together with garlic powder and optional salt/pepper; pour over chicken.

(NOTE: I greased my crock pot and mixed the soups/garlic powder in there, THEN put in the chicken and stirred around to cover the chicken. The soups are so thick I figured I'd lose a lot of the sauce mixing it in a separate bowl.)

3. Cook on low 6 hours.

4. Serve with the delicious sauce over rice or noodles.

(NOTE: I used steam-in-the bag broccoli and cooked it while I made the noodles. It went fantastically with the meal, and I always like adding in veggies whenever possible.)
SO there's the recipe. It was a crowd-pleaser. And by crowd, I mean Ian. Haha. But I would definitely serve this the next time I have my friends over.

I Cooked! Skillet Lasagna

Tonight I made a skillet lasagna! Thanks to my friend Cori for a yummy recipe. Since my oven doesn't do much, a skillet lasagna was a perfect recipe for me. I also did some garlic breadsticks and a yummy salad with basil-ranch salad dressing. Mmmm! I have to say it came out quite well! It used those no-boil lasagne noodles and was really easy. I felt good about the fact that I made the meal come out right and it tasted good. With just 2 of us we have enough to eat it for a total of 3 nights - that's what I'm talking about!! I love maxiumum reward for as little work as possible :)

I am really wanting to learn more about cooking and maybe even get to the point where I like it. I just subscribed to this blog - simple daily recipes - and I also asked my dad if he'd like to look for a cooking class we could take together. He was up for it. They're in Texas right now but when they get back we can look into what's out there.

Here is the recipe for skillet lasagna if anyone is interested. I got it from Cori and I don't know if it's from a book or somebody else. Cori let me know if I need to credit somebody! :)

SKILLET LASAGNA (Serves 6-8)

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 (26 - ounce) jar spaghetti sauce, divided
1 (14 1/2 - ounce) can diced tomatoes, slightly drained (optional)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 large egg, beaten
1 (9 - ounce) package no-boil lasagna noodles
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

*Tip: to ensure that the lasagna noodles cook thoroughly, spread a piece of wax paper over the skillet before topping with the lid. The wax paper prevents any steam from escaping.

Directions:
1. Cook ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until browned and crumbly, about 5 minutes; drain well.

2. Add half the jarred spaghetti sauce to ground beef in skillet and mix well. Pour diced tomatoes evenly over ground beef (optional).

3. Combine ricotta and egg in a small bowl and mix well. Spread evenly over tomatoes. Top with a layer of lasagna.

4. Layer the remaining spaghetti sauce and remaining lasagna in the skillet.

5. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, covered, until lasagna is tender, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with mozzarella. Cook, covered, for 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

Ian and I decided after eating it that we would have wanted some mozzarella cheese in the bottom layer, too. It would make it gooey-er. LOL. So if you like cheesy, I would suggest that. It was VERY good. Sorry I didn't get a picture! Maybe next time.