Chicken, tomato, artichoke hearts

I found a recipe on Pinterest, but tweaked it a little bit.

The original recipe called for 6 roma tomatoes, but I only used one, and then canned tomatoes :)

What you need:

2 Large chicken breasts, cut to make 4 portions
1 can petite diced tomatoes with garlic
1 diced roma tomato
2 diced garlic cloves
1/2 can of canned artichoke hearts (not the marinated kind, and I saved the other half in the freezer for next time)
3 or 4 fresh basil leaves
Mozzarella Cheese
Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 375.

In a small pan, spray with non stick spray. Mix tomatoes, garlic, and artichoke hearts, mix with a small amount of olive oil and top with salt and pepper. Place half of the mixture in the pan.

Place the uncooked chicken on top of the mixture in the pan, add salt and pepper on chicken. Top with the other half of the mixture. Cook for 30 minutes.

Place mozzarella cheese (I did not measure, I used enough to cover the pan) over the pan, and top with the basil leaves. Cook for an additional 15 minutes or until the juices run clear and the cheese starts to brown.

Bad Habits.

As you may have noticed, I have not posted a blog in quite some time. I have been struggling, pretty bad. I have been between 237lbs-240lbs for 6 weeks. At first I thought it was just a stall...and that stall would not go away, and I have been going back to bad habits.

By bad habits, I mean eating fast food (a small breakfast burrito from McDonald's or a wrap with dressing), coffee every day (not just black coffee with a simple creamer and no calorie sweetener, I mean a large 711 vanilla coffee from the machine, eating wayyyy too many carbs, not enough protein, and not tracking. I even had my first alcoholic drink--a shot of rum.

I feel like I do not have the motivation. I know it's still early in my "honeymoon phase," but I am STUCK.

When I saw my doctor the week after Thanksgiving, he said my weight was okay as long as I am still loosing (even thought I'd only lost 12lbs since the last time I saw him two months prior, and was stuck at that weight for weeks)--but I go back and see him in 6 more weeks, and I'm afraid I will still be the same weight!!!!

I really need to write out a menu for the next week, and start tracking again, but I am lazy, and unmotivated.

My foot is still messed up, I have a spur. I have not been exercising.

ARRRGGGGHHHH!

Still the same.

I feel myself still struggling. I feel like I'm failing. I haven't been exercising, I'm so afraid of messing my foot up more (I finally see the doctor about my foot next Thursday), and I don't want to injure it before we take a "mini-vacation" in four days to Vegas.

This will be the first time I will be away from home, having to eat all my meals outside of the home. I'm so scared I will trail off (further than I am right now).

I'm thinking of doing my pre-op diet for a week when we get back. I need to clear out my kitchen of all the sweets and high carb snacks, not to mention I need to drink more liquids.

I guess I can't really be mad at anyone but myself right now. I haven't been making the best choices.

I did it!

I finally got below 240lbs! I weighed in at 238.8 this morning!

I was so afraid I would have gained weight because I ate too much Halloween candy...guess all the walking paid off!

Happy Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN :)

I was a devil...in a red dress. Yup, wore a bright red dress......AND high heels! (They came off after about an hr and a half lol)

Pumpkin Pancakes, low carb!

These were so good! I was only able to eat one of these.

The recipe makes about 6 pancakes, medium-large in size. Based on the brands of products I used, one pancake has 100 calories, 3.3carbs, and 11g of protein!

What you need:

-1/2 cup pumpkin
-1/2 cup ricotta cheese
-4 eggs
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-2 tsp vanilla extract
-1 tsp aluminim free baking powder
1/2 cup (or one scoop) of vanilla protein powder.

In a mixing bowl, beat the 4 eggs with a hand mixer to make them fluffy. Add all of the other ingredients, and mix with the mixer.

Scoop the mixture into a pan and cook like a "regular" pancake.

I dusted mine with a small amount of powdered sugar and a small amount of lite maple syrup, this is not included in the nutrition facts. (...neither is the sausage on the side!)

**Tip**
When I normally make pancakes out of the box mixture, I don't have to spray my pan with non-stick spray, with these I did. They were sticking when I went to turn them so if you lightly spray your pan in between each pancake they will not stick as much.

What's YOUR number?

My number is 240. What is this number? The number I cannot get under!

It seems like we all have a certain weight where we hit a wall and it's hard to get any lower. Since I have weighed more than 240lbs, I have always struggled getting under that number. And now, we meet again.

My weight is still bouncing between 241-244lbs. All I want to see on the scale is two-hundred-thirty-anything. I don't care if it's 239.9, I'll take it!

I'm getting so frustrated that it will not get below this, it's where I always struggle. I WILL GET UNDER 240, I'm just getting impatient.

I had my husband hide our scale. It has been two days now. I'm going crazy not getting on it, but I'm going to wait until Saturday morning to weigh myself.

My dinner! Yum! Grilled chicken dish!

This came out really good, and was so easy to make!

What you need:

• 4 Chicken breasts, about 4oz each (Or 2 large ones cut in half lengthwise)
• 1 Red bell pepper
• 1 bag of fresh spinach
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• Spices (I like salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash, & Garlic Salt)
• Olive oil

 What you do:

Preheat oven to 375 for a later step.

Using a grill pan, heat it with olive oil. Lay the chicken on the pan, and sprinkle with the seasonings.Cook on both sides until it's the color brown you like (don't worry about under cooking, it's going to go in the oven).

While the chicken is cooking, in a separate pan, put a small amount of olive oil in a pan, and fill your bag of fresh spinach in pan. Cook until wilted down and set aside in a bowl.

Cut the bell pepper into strips. Cook in same pan spinach was in, until it's burnt on some edges of it, to give it a roasted texture. Cook until soft.

Using a Pyrex or similar dish, spray with non stick spray. Lay the chicken out in the pan. Cook for about 20 minutes or until it's no longer pink. If you fully cooked your chicken on the grill, you can skip cooking additional time in the oven.

Once chicken is fully cooked, top each breast with about 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese, spinach, and strips of red pepper. Top with a small amount of garlic salt. Put back in oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. You can also turn the oven up to a higher degree to melt the cheese faster.

Enjoy!

Another Breakfast "cupcake"

Muffin pans are the best thing in portion control in my opinion. They provide the right serving of food (I just hate cleaning the pan...but that's what my husband is there for! haha, thank God he doesn't mind!)

What you need:

-Frozen shredded potatoes
-6 eggs
-6 pieces of bacon, cooked
-Shredded Cheese of choice

Set oven to 375. Spray your pan with non stick spray.

Place a scoop full of hashbrowns into each muffin. Cook for about 15 minutes or until you see them turning brown.

Meanwhile, cook your bacon if it's not already cooked. Scramble your eggs in a bowl with salt and pepper.

Remove the hashed browns from oven, spoon egg on top of each muffin. Crumble or break the bacon into pieces, and put it on top of the eggs. Top with a small serving of cheese on top. Cook for another 10-15 minutes, depending on how done you like your eggs.

Another idea: You can put one whole egg cracked into each muffin and cook them that was as well, but this will double your egg count for the recipe.

Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps

Chicken Salad Lettuce Wraps

What you need:

-Canned Chicken Breast
-Chopped Celery
-Chopped Green Onion
-Spicy mustard
-Lettuce leaves, I like Romaine.

I don't measure my ingredients for this recipe since they don't really make a huge difference in the calorie count. I use as much as I like, or as little as I like.

Spoon the ingredients into your lettuce, making it like a taco, or a burrito, and eat!

50lbs!

It's been almost two weeks since I updated, and I do apologize! I hit the 50lb mark last week! I'm now down another half pound or so, weighing in at 241.8. This is me last week :) I still look the same a half pound lighter haha.

Buns/Rolls that are only 2 Carbs!

This is not my recipe! You can find the original recipe at http://fluffychixcook.blogspot.com/2012/05/revolutionary-low-carb-hot-dog-buns.html.

The photos are also do not belong to me, they belong to the other blog :)

Mine did not come out as brown as hers. I think I will cook mine a little longer next time. They were like a really fluffy egg, but did have kind of a bread texture. I made a sandwich with one today, and it was really good! I will definitely make them again!





Revolutionary Wraps and Hot Dog Buns

Serves – 8-10 Hot Dog Buns or 12 Hamburger Buns
Difficulty – Easy
Prep Time – 15 Minutes
Cooking Time – 40 Minutes (Hot Dog Buns)

Any shape. Any size! Low Carb Bun shapes are versatile.

Ingredients
8 Large Eggs, separated
5/8c Cottage Cheese (any kind - recipe used Whole Milk)
1-1/8c Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
½ tsp Granulated Garlic
¼ tsp Granulated Onion Powder
¼ tsp Kosher Salt
1 scoop Protein Powder (about 30g or 1/4 to 1/3c, scoop comes with protein)
¼ tspCream of Tartar
1-1/2 tsp Country Dijon (optional)
2 tsp Baking Powder, Gluten Free, non-aluminum
Sesame Seeds or Poppy Seeds, optional (about ¼ tsp. per roll and 1Tbsp per Focaccia recipe)
Preheat oven to 325°. Line baking sheet and with parchment paper or aluminum foil and set aside.


Make bun molds from non-stick aluminum foil and
any shaped item in the house. Spice jars make great shapes!

Use a jar of capers or olives, or a spice bottle, anything you can think of, who said corners can’t be square? Pick a mold slightly larger than the size you want for the finished rolls. These rolls tend to shrink as they cool by about 20%.

(Note on shaping: Make sure to make 2 molds per sheet of aluminum foil so they don’t fall over. Two will create a more steady shape and will retain a curve easier. )
If using non-stick aluminum foil, no need to spray molds with cooking spray. If using regular aluminum foil, then spray molds with olive oil spray and set aside on baking sheets.  (But you should really use the non-stick aluminum foil…)

Yolk Mixture for Low Carb, Gluten Free
Revolutionary Buns and Wraps.

Grate mozzarella cheese.

Blend cottage cheese with a small food processor until smooth.
Grind pork rinds into crumbs with the knife blade of the food processor (if using them).

Measure coconut flour (if using) and sift into dry ingredients.

Measure out protein powder,
salt, garlic and onion powders and mix with dry ingredients to combine.

Separate egg yolks from whites and place into two very clean, oil free pans.

Add cheeses and dry ingredients to the bowl with the yolks and set aside. You will beat this after whipping the egg whites – unless you want to thoroughly wash your beaters in between! (Remember the beaters used for the egg white must be scrupulously clean and dry before beating the whites.)

Beat egg whites to the foamy stage and then add cream of tartar. Beat whites to a hard peak stage. Go look at the instructions in the Basic Rev Roll technique post if you have any doubts about whether you’ve whipped them enough. When they are ready, the whites will no longer move in the bowl. No slippin’ or slidin’ for those egg whites!

Blend egg yolk mixture for 2-3 minutes. The yolk mixture is ready when they change to a lemony color and when the lumps of shredded cheese are mostly gone. It doesn’t have to be perfect!

Fold the whites into the yolk in 3 additions. The first one loosens the yolk mixture and the other two are to add volume so don’t overwork!


Top low carb buns with sesame, poppy or chia seeds!

Spoon the mixture into bun molds. About 3 heaping soup spoons/tablespoons or a generous ¼-3/8 cup of batter will work.

Sprinkle buns with sesame or poppy seeds, or rehydrated minced onions – whatever you want, add fresh herbs or cracked pepper and coarse sea salt!

You’ll get about 8-10 good sized buns depending on how big you made your molds.

Bake rolls at 325° for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and done throughout. If using two baking sheets, rotate the pans between the two racks of your oven at the 17minute mark!

Buns and wraps are best made hours before or even up to 4 days ahead. Store the buns and wraps in an air tight bag or container in your refrigerator. They become soft and sturdier with age, resisting tears and breaking.

Nutritional Information

Single Serving - 1 Bun or 1 Wrap

Full Recipe

Cheesy Asparagus

My friend, who also had the sleeve a few weeks after me, told me about this recipe she came up with, and it's so good!

This is great for use in the toaster oven!

I always boil my asparagus, because I'm afraid of under cooking them and them not tasting so great....but this works great in the toaster oven!

What you need:

Asparagus (whatever serving size you can eat. I do between 5-8 spears), snapped
String cheese
Parmesan Cheese

Preheat your toaster oven to 425. Spray your pan with non stick spray. Lay down the asparagus, pull apart your string cheese and lay across and all over your asparagus, and then sprinkle with a small amount of fresh grated Parmesan cheese! Cook for about 10 minutes and enjoy!

76 Calorie Crustless Pumpkin Cheesecake!

I have been craving pumpkin. It's really odd, and I don't know why. I'm thinking it's because this year I won't be chugging down any of Jack In The Box's Pumpkin Pie milk shakes....

After searching, and searching, and searching....I finally found a pumpkin flavored recipe that looked good, until I calculated the nutrition facts and oh boy...I shredded that recipe! It was a pumpkin whoopie pie recipe (with me substituting with low fat/ff ingredients and cutting all corners I could) was over 400 calories, 55+carbs, and an insane amount of fat! No way was I going to eat even half of a serving....so I continued to search.

I hadn't baked a cheese cake before, but I've heard it's basically just cream cheese...so I looked up the main ingredients needed, which were cream cheese and eggs. So I made up my own low carb, low fat, and low calorie crustless pumpkin cheesecake!

What you need:

1 15oz Can of Pumpkin (I used Great Value brand 100% pumpkin)
10oz Fat Free Cream Cheese, room temperature (Also used great value brand, this was one brick plus 2 oz of my leftover brick, making 10 oz)
3 eggs
1 cup splenda
Cinnamon
Ground Nutmeg
Ground Cloves

Preheat oven to 350.

In a mixing bowl, combine pumpkin and cream cheese, using a hand mixer until mixed well. Then add in the eggs. Sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. I did not measure these ingredients, it all depends on how much "spice" you want to taste.

I used my small square pyrex baking dish. Spray pan of your choice (smaller pan is better unless recipe is doubled). Pour mixture into pan, and even out as much as possible with a spatula or knife. Cook uncovered for about 40 minutes. I checked mine around the 30 minute mark with a tooth pick and extended the cooking time based on those results.

Once it's done cooking, put pan in refrigerator for 3-4 hours letting it cool completely and get chilled before eating.

Serving size is 9! 76 Calories, 1.7g fat, 6.5 Carbs, and 7.2g protein!

Look Ma! Only One Chin!!

Stepped on the scale (yes...I haven't waited til my weigh in day, I just cannot do it!!) this morning, and I'm down 45lbs!!! Weighed in at 247. It's going to be such a victory when I get below 240!!

I think my forehead is growing! haha.

Last night for dinner I made a super yummy simple dinner. When my husband and I went on vacation to Kuaui last March, we had an "island favorite" which is called Moco Loco--I just did mine with ground turkey instead of beef.

You take a scoop of rice, top it with scrambled egg, and a hamburger patty, and cover in gravy!

For the turkey patties, I mix 1 pkg (I think it's like 1.25lbs?) with half of a white onion diced fine, 4 garlic cloves finely diced, and some Worcestershire sauce. Spices I added were garlic powder, pepper, and Mrs. Dash. Mix using your hands. Shape into thin patties, cook on the stove top until no longer pink.

Egg White Omelet

I've never had an egg white omelet, and this was really good!

What you need:

Egg Whites
Spinach
Ham (I used deli meat)
Garlic
Mozzarella Cheese

Putting a very small amount of olive oil in a pan, put a hand full of fresh chopped spinach. Cook until it's wilted down. Add ham & diced garlic to pan. Cook until the garlic is browned but do not over cook. Place in a bowl, set aside.

Place a little margarine or use non stick cooking spray on the bottom of your frying pan. Pour your egg whites.(I used great value brand pure egg whites in the carton. I didn't measure the amount, but it was enough to cover the bottom of my small frying pan.) Once the whites start to show almost cooked through, pour your mixture of spinach, ham, and garlic on half of the omelet. Top with a small handful of mozzarella cheese.

Fold over the omelet, cooking on each side for a minute or two until done.

YUM!

Teriyaki Chicken

This is such a quick meal!

You can use a boneless skinless breast or thigh for this meal. The thighs usually come out really good!

I take a pyrex pan, spray with non stick spray, pour teriyaki premade marinade over the chicken (Lawry's brand, great value brand, etc., found in the BBQ sauce aisle). Top with sesame seeds (optional). Cook at 375 for about 40 minutes.

Once it's done, I like to slice the chicken and spoon over extra marinade from the pan onto the chicken!

Wednesday Weigh in 9/19/12

Today was my weigh in day (my bi-weekly weigh in). I lost .6lbs. I'm down to 249.4. I was hoping for at least a whole pound, but I'll take it. I have to admit I'm still not exercising daily. I feel so incredibly lazy :(

Tomorrow I'm cutting my hair. Right now it's getting pretty long and it's annoying me! I think I'm going to go semi-short...and then touch up my blonde after I cut it.

I've become very addicted to Pinterest....I've finally started using some of the things I've been pinning, including recipes, a magnetic food calendar to help plan for meals, and a face scrub that is suppose to give you "glowing skin." Well, I did it yesterday. It made my skin really smooth. I guess you should only do it once or twice a week though, because it can be a little harsh.

Take 3 tablespoons of baking soda, 1 tablespoon water, mix. Apply to face in circular motion. Let it sit for 5 minutes, wash off with warm water.

No more daily weigh-ins

Now that my scale says I'm 250lbs (The doctor's scale said 250lbs when I went there, but his scale is always a few pounds lower than mine), I will no longer be weighing my self every day. I will weigh in twice a week--Wednesday & Saturday.

This is going to be hard--but I do get frustrated when the scale doesn't move down, even if I feel "skinny" that morning. haha.

My clothes are starting to not fit me--pants are loose in the legs & waist, and my shirts are really big on my shoulders and my sides (under my arm pits...I didn't realize how much fat I had there!), but the summer is coming to an end, and I don't want to invest into clothes that I will not be able to wear next summer. It's still too hot to buy winter clothes as well. I'm thinking I may check ebay for some deals.

80 Calorie Southwest "taquitos"

These were delicious! About 80 calories each! (not including sour cream), nutrition facts are below.

What you need:

-20 Wonton Wrappers
-6oz cooked boneless skinless chicken breast, chopped in small peices
-2oz mild cheddar cheese, shredded
-2oz fat free cream cheese
1/2c salsa (I used Pace Picante Chunky)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with non stick cooking spray.

Spoon filling into each wrapper, and roll like a taquito (both ends open). Place seem side down on cookie sheet. Spray a light layer of non stick spray on the wrappers once all laid down.

Cook for 20-25 minutes, turning once. until you can see some crispness on the wrappers.

Dip in guacamole or sour cream (not included in the nutrition facts). You can also add corn for even more of a southwest flavor, but since I cannot eat corn until I'm 6 months post op, I did not include it.

Nutrition facts were calculated with myfitnesspal app, imputing the exact ingredients I used. I suggest you do this as well to get a more accurate count since nutritional value varies by brand.

2 Month Check up!

Saw the Doctor today for my 8 week post op visit! He's happy with my weight loss! His words were, "You're making my job too easy!" haha. I'm down 42 lbs, weighed in at 250lbs today!

I don't have to see him again until the end of November.

One bad thing that happened today...I was so hungry after my appointment, and I was in a hurry to get home and eat something--well, my husband forgot to bring his lunch to work so he asked if I would grab him a salad from Carl's Jr. I ordered his salad as well as two "street tacos" in chicken. I've had chicken tacos since surgery, figured it wouldn't do any harm. Man, I was wrong!! I must have eaten them way too fast because they came right back up...while I was driving!!!! I made most if it into the empty bag...but the rest went straight down my shirt! Ugh. Yuck :(

Now it's dinner time... going to eat some sun dried tomato Tilapia that I bought pre seasoned from Costco. It's really good but I wish I knew the nutrition facts!

First compliment at work

Today I got my first compliment at work about my weight! Most people I work with don't know that I've had the gastric sleeve.

Today at lunch a co worker came up to me (and I can tell she didn't know how to approach me) and said, "You look really good, you've lost a lot of weight. I couldn't even tell if that was you. And your hair is getting so long, you look great!" And it was from someone that I've maybe exchanged a few words with in the last 2 years I've worked there....it was unexpected and much appreciated.

On a side note, I tried on a pair of "skinny" jeans that I bought about two years ago, and they were realllllly tight when I bought them and I barely fit into them at that time, and then I grew out of them to were I could not even begin to button them--well, I put them on yesterday and they fit so good!! I can't wait for cooler weather so I can wear them, hopefully they will still fit!

The Cycle.

Yes, the cycle. That's what this blog is about. So if this is going to be TMI, please go to another entry :)

My period has always been irregular. By irregular, I mean I could go any where from a period every 2 weeks, once every 3 months, or once every six months (I actually went 7 months without my period before I got pregnant with my daughter). The doctor's never wanted to find out why or give me any kind of a reason or show concern, so I never perused trying to "fix" it. Heck--I was fine with a period only once every few months!

Actually, I take that back in regards to the doctor never did anything. One of my doctor's when I was about 19 or 20 put me on the pill to regulate it....but once I stopped the pill, the issue existed again.

 A few days before surgery I started my period, and it was just spotting the day of surgery. Well, the following week, it came back in full force! 30 days later BAM back in full force....and now it's back again and it won't go away. It's been 9 days! GO AWAY! I do not miss cramps! This bites.

 I know my body is still adjusting to this whole loosing weight thing, and I understand that will cause this. I just hope that if I'm going to continue to get my monthly visitor that it makes some kind of routine schedule and sticks to it! I don't like surprise visitors!

Greek Salad

Well, I ended up not making the zucchini pizza, but I did make a Greek Salad. YUM! It was only about 250 calories, using 4 oz of chicken breast & Ken's Greek dressing. I only ate about 1/3 of it, but I will finish the rest later!

40lbs!

I look terrible in these pics! lol but here are some photos from 0lbs to 40lbs down.Still have a long ways to go....

I'm really getting tired of eating leftovers! I think I need to just stop making so much food. It's hard trying to plan meals for my family of 3 when it comes to potion sizes, and I get stuck eating leftovers for DAYS. I think I'm going to make some zucchini pizza later for lunch. I'll be sure to post it if I do!  

Torani Syrups Coupon

I love Torani Syrups! I just found a $1 off coupon online, yay! Thought I'd better spread the word!

Click here to be taken to the website. You will have to scroll through the other coupons until you see it :) You can print a max of 2 coupons per computer!

Stepping up on the exercise.

The last week I've been very lazy when it comes to exercise. I did walk twice at the park this week, but not for nearly as long as I should have...I've kind of been taking advantage of the doctor last week telling me to "take it easy" for the next week...

Well, today is a week later, so I guess no more excuses, right?

Goal for the next week with exercise:

2 miles, no matter how long it takes, 4x between now and next Friday. I can do that.

...I need to make a tracking sheet to keep track of my exercise, that way I'll have some kind of accountability to myself. Yes, that's what I'll do!

Cucumber Sandwhiches & a photo of ME :)

Look! It's me :) 37lbs lighter. I'm starting to slowly see results with my stomach shrinking...and I like this picture of me haha.

I still have not had bread (other than the english muffin I tried to eat a few weeks ago and managed to throw it up right away....ugh, not fun!) but I wanted something that sort of resembeled a sandwhich, so I made "Cucumber Sandwhiches."

Two slices of cucumber as the "bread" and a peice of salami and cheese in the middle! I dipped them in spicy mustard, but the second time I had them I used a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese instead of the mustard.

That was the first time I tried that cheese and OH EM GEE. It was so good! :D That can be dangerous LOL

I must stop the obession.

I have to check my weight every day...I've done so since surgery every day once I got out of the hospital, except one day during my short stall.

I'm getting mad at myself when I don't see the scale moving, so I have decided that once I hit 250lbs, I am going to weigh myself twice a week. Saturday and Wednesday, and only track Wednesday's weight.

I've got 5lbs to go to get to 250lbs....

Slow week!

The past 5 days I've been bouncing around a little bit. Went from 256 to 258, then 257, 256 yesterday and today I'm 255 :) Finally downnnnn again :D

1 more pound until my pre-pregnancy weight from 8 years ago! I've only gotten under that mark one other time when I did Weight Watchers the first time about 5 years ago...and then I gained it all back! This will be the last time I see that number on the scale (unless my weight decides to fluctuate a few pounds again haha)

Maybe I should be taking photos of the scale each time I step on it, that way I have the memory of that weight. NAH!! I don't want to remember what it feels like to be this obese ever again!

As much as my eyes are more hungry than my stomach and it makes me frustrated, I would not change this for anything. I am 100% for this surgery. Such a life changer, for the better.

148 Calorie Lasagna Cupcakes

These lasagna cupcakes were such success, not only with how good they were, but how little calories and carbs there were!

Lasagna Cupcakes Recipe:

What you need:

-Cupcake pan (mine makes 12)
-24 won ton wrappers (basically two for each cupcake)
-1 block frozen spinach, cooked and drained
-3/4c ricotta cheese, reduced fat
-1 zucchini sauteed in olive oil (bite size pieces)
-1/2lb cooked ground turkey
-1 1/2c shredded mozzarella cheese
-1/2c shredded Parmesan cheese
 -1 jar of your favorite spagetti sauce
-dried basil

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375.

In a bowl, mix the ricotta cheese and spinach.

In another bowl, mix the turkey, zucchini, and spaghetti sauce. Save about a cup to a cup and a half of sauce for later. 

Spray the cupcake pan with non stick cooking spray. Place a won ton wrapper in each cupcake hole, as if it were a cupcake liner. (It will not cover all of the sides yet). Using a spoon, put the ricotta spinach mixture as the bottom layer, just enough to cover the bottom. Then top with another won ton wrapper.

Place a scoop of the turkey mixture next. Then cover with the reserved sauce.

Top each cupcake with the mozzarella cheese, Parmesan, and sprinkle of basil!

Cook for about 20minutes or until cheese is brown and bubbly.

Use a spoon to take out of the pan, let it cool for 5-7 minutes.

Urgent Care :(

My left ankle has been bugging me for about two weeks now. Yesterday we went to the fair, and we walked for at least 3 hours (if not more!) and it was throbbing when I got home :( This morning I woke up super early to it being just as painful, so I decided I better go to urgent care.

Turns out I have an inflamed Achilles tendon. Dr. says it was probably from when I was exercising. I have to take it easy for the next week and if it doesn't get better, I have to see the podiatrist. All I can do is take ibuprofen for it...glad I can still take that.

I'm down another pound. I'm now at 256lbs. My rings are slipping off of my fingers and it's quite annoying, and I don't want to have them resized right now because I'll more than likely have to resize them again later down the road.

I did give in and buy two new pairs of pants and two tank tops from Lane Bryant today. I got them a size smaller than I am now, so hopefully I'll be able to wear them. They had a really good sale today and I couldn't pass them up.

35lbs!

I don't think I'll be making my goal to weigh 250 by Sept 1...that's just a few days away, but I am down to 257lbs! That's 35lbs gone forever!

My scaled moved two days in a row, woohoo! I do have to admit I have not exercised since I went back to work, with the exception of yesterday. I'm so exhausted when I get home, I need to turn this around.

My clothes are feeling loose! I am able to fit into smaller pants that I previously "grew out of." I see so many cute clothes that are currently too small for me that I want to buy, but I just cannot imagine fitting into them, so I'm scared :(

Carbless Crepes with Cream of mushroom & Chicken!

I came across this recipe on the forum on verticalsleevetalk.com, that redirected me to this site for the crepe recipe.

This is the first time I was able to make a successful crepe! I filled mine with bite size pieces of already cooked chicken thighs, mixed with cream of mushroom soup, and topped with reduced fat shredded cheese (fiesta blend).

I was thinking the cinamon and sugar used in the recipe would make it taste to sweet with the chicken but it was a nice combo.

I even had a small crepe left over that I filled with Ricotta cheese mixed with a splash of Almond Roca Torani sugar free syrup! Ahhhh heaven!!

I also served with a small side of brussel sprouts. I was only able to eat half of my crepe :( Guess I know what I'm brining to work tomorrow for lunch!

Tuna melt without bread!

I really wanted a tuna melt tonight, but of course I cannot have bread or all those carbs--and I didn't want my oven to heat up my entire house in this super hot 110 degree weather...

So I turned on my toaster oven instead and placed some foil on the cookie sheet, and sprayed it really good with olive oil flavored pam, placed down won ton wrappers, sprayed them with pam, and let them get crispy (about 5 minutes), turned them over, put my tuna fish on top (I made it earlier, just normal tuna in water, some light mayo and mustard and diced pickles) and topped with reduced fat cheese, cooked until the cheese was melted!

Just spit it out!

Getting very full from a meal is very uncomfortable. You get that pain in your stomach, and it feels like the food is sitting at the top of your throat, ready to come up (because it probably is!), but you STILL take that one, last, yummy bite....

I ask myself three questions as I'm chewing that last bite.

1. Am I still "starving?" No. 
2. Is my stomach growling? No.
3. Is my stomach full and satisfied? Yes.

 Well, I've been telling my self to just "spit it out." So I walk over to the trash and spit it out.

Now  I just have to convince myself to not even put that last bite in my mouth! I think it's the battle with "head hunger."

I'm so use to eating this large plate of food, even though it's been more than a month since I had a serving like that...I put my food on this small plate and I tend to always put more than I can handle because it's still hard to imagine that I'm going to get full off of that amount.

Anyone else have any tips or advice?

1 month post op check up!

Today was my 4 week post op check up!

The doctor is very happy with my 31lb weight loss. He said I'm right on target, and should be loosing anywhere from 1.5-3lbs a week.

The only thing he suggested was that I step up my exercising to EVERYDAY...and strap on a back pack full of phonebooks and put on ankle weights while I walk to build muscle....I guess it makes sense. He said that with all the intake of protein, your body needs to do something with it,and while some weeks you may not loose pounds, you will loose inches when that protein turns into muscle.

I see him again in one month instead of two weeks since I'm doing so well :) Yay me! haha. Here is a picture I took yesterday.

Fajita Spam Mini Quiches

This recipe is for 16 servings. I use my mini loaf pan for this recipe, which has 8 loaves, and I cut them in half to portion the servings.

Each serving has only 84 calories!

What you need:

• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 3/4c white onion diced
• 3 or 4 garlic cloves, diced
• 1/4c chopped green onion
• 1 can diced green chilies
• 1/2c reduced fat shredded cheese of your choice (I used great value fiesta blend)
• 1 can of turkey spam, diced
• 8 large eggs
• Salt
• Pepper
• Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large frying pan, put a small amount of olive oil. Add in your green & red bell peppers, and onion. Cook until onion is translucent. Add garlic and green onions, cooking for about one minute, not over cooking.

In a large mixing bowl, scramble the eggs, add salt and pepper to taste. Add the diced chilies and cheese, mix. Add the bell pepper and onion mixture to the eggs.

You can then either cook your spam in the same pan, or add it uncooked to your egg mixture. I prefer to brown mine a little, it gives it a better taste, but this is optional.

Spray your pan with non stick cooking spray. If you do not have the same pan as me, you can use a muffin pan or a baking dish, just measure your portions if you want to match my calorie count.

Cook for 30 minutes. Allow it to cool for a few minutes before removing from the pan. Enjoy!

**I save my leftovers in the freezer to bring to work to eat on my break since I do not have time to cook in the mornings that I work!**

Blackened Lemon Pepper Tilapia

This was so good!

What you need:

• Tilapia (depending on your # of servings, adjust the # of tilapia, I usually do one per person, even though that is too much for me, I save my other half for leftovers!)
• Lemon Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Season Salt
• Fresh Lemons or Lemon juice
• Olive Oil

I do not measure the seasonings, what you want to do is pour a good amount of the lemon pepper and garlic powder (enough to coat at least one side of each fish) and the season salt you do not want to over do it, because it will be extremely salty, so I use about 1/4 of what I used with the other seasonings. Coat the fish in the seasonings.

Using a frying pan, put a small amount of olive oil, and once hot, place the fish in the pan. If you only seasoned one side, put the seasoned side down. Cook for about 3-4 mins on each side.

Garnish with a lemon for extra lemon flavor, or lemon juice on the side. I served mine with a side of creamed spinach from Green Giant, the one in the frozen section!

Buried Chicken & Zucchini

Yesterday I made chicken & zucchini, which I suppose was perfect because I later found out it was national zucchini day!

The recipe is below.

By "burying" the chicken in the zucchini, it keeps the chicken moist! Moist meat is essential to me right now, it makes the food go down easier. I was able to eat the piece of chicken (about 4oz) and a few rings of zucchini.

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or more, depending on how many you are cooking for)
1 medium zucchini (if you are using a larger pan cooking for more people, cut up enough to cover the entire dish) sliced into to thin rings.
1/3c shredded mozzarella cheese
Seasonings for chicken (I use paprika, Mrs. Dash, and garlic salt)
Garlic salt & dried basil for topping the zucchini

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Using a pyrex or similar dish, spray it with non stick cooking spray. Place the chicken in the pan, top with seasonings.

Lay out the zucchini out to cover the chicken and the rest of the entire pan. This is what keeps the chicken extra moist. Sprinkle with garlic salt, mozzarella cheese, and dried basil.

Cook for 35 minutes.

Sugar free Torani Syrups!

I was very sketchy before I tried this! I like ricotta cheese, but with pasta....not sweet. Well, at least I thought I didn't like it when it tasted sweet!

If you take about 1/4c of ricotta cheese and a small splash of sugar free Torani syrup, it tastes like some kind of pastry like filling.

There are so many flavors to choose from too! I like English Toffee and Salted Caramel.

I've also mixed them with small curd fat free cottage cheese.

Better for you than ice cream, still sweet, and lots of protein.

Week 3 Stall

I'm about to complete week #3...and it's true what they say. This is the most common week for a stall.

I thought I would be prepared for it, but I'm just feeling a little down. I lost about 1lb this week, but I was hoping for 3lbs. I hope this stall will only last this week and not continue into the next.

I took a 2 day break from exercise which could be a contributing factor, but with so little calories, one would expect a loss.

I know the stall will not last forever, it's just disappointing.

99lbs to go!

Shelly's Baked Ricotta

Last night for dinner I made Shelly's Baked Ricotta! Wow it was so good! If my pouch weren't so small I'd be going for seconds! You can find the recipe in her blog.

When calculating one portion of the mixture, (Mine made 4 servings) It came out to 198 calories, 12.2g fat, 6g carbs, 17g protein.

I bought these small containers from Walmart to freeze the left over portions.

I also got this great pan from Walmart as well that made the portions! It was perfect!

This is the pan I bought! It will have many uses and it was only about $10 :)

Preparing for your hospital stay

Preparing for surgery, the days and the night before--especially, can be nerve racking! I was told that my recovery time in the hospital can be anywhere from 1-3 days, depending on my progress.

The night before:

• If you live more than an hour away from the hospital facility, I suggest staying overnight at a hotel that is minutes from the hospital. You never know if you could run in to traffic, detours, etc--plus you get to sleep in a little more! 
• Bring someone with you! Your significant other, a close friend, etc. Someone you want by your side! It's not fun to be in the hospital all alone.
• Buy an antibacterial soap. Shower with it the night before and the morning of your surgery. I found Dial bar soap (I haven't used bar soap in years! I usually use the gels), it was only 97 cents at Walmart for two bars. I used one and saved one for when I got home.
• Don't shave near your incision sites. This can risk an infection, per my nurse's orders. However, I REALLY wish I would have shaved my arm, had I known she was going to put the IV there. She put so much tape it hurt so bad when it was removed...and my hair along with it!
• Bring comfortable clothes to leave the hospital in. I brought a pair of elastic waist capri shorts that were not too tight, and a loose shirt. This way it was easy to get dressed, wasn't tight on my incisions, and most importantly, comfortable on the way home.
• Bring books to read, or crossword/word search books etc to keep you busy. Honestly, I was only in the hospital for a day and a half and I did not use them, I didn't even play around on my phone much either, but if I had been there longer, I know I would have wanted them.
• Bring deodorant, tooth brush, and tooth paste. I was not allowed any make-up or perfumes etc, especially before surgery.

At the hospital:

• BE ON TIME. Even though you will more than likely have to wait for the doctor, be on time! Heck, even be early! I got there 30 minutes early and they took me right away for registration and pre-op. I did sit in preop for about an hour while the doctor was in surgery, but that was fine with me.
• In pre-op, you will usually first meet with a nurse who will take your vitals and ask you basic health questions. You will also be asked several times what procedure you are coming in for.
• In pre-op just before your surgery, your doctor should come and greet you, along with the anesthesiologist and a nurse who will be there during surgery. They will again verify the surgery you are having, and give you a chance to ask any last minute questions.
• You will then be wheeled into the surgical room. (Mine had music playing!) They will more than likely wheel you right next to the surgical bed, which was so narrow! I even told the nurse, "You do realize I'm here for weight loss surgery right? Aren't I going to fall off of the table?!" He assured me I wouldn't....and I took his word. As far as I know, I didn't fall off, haha. 
• Once on the surgical table, they had me lay my arms out on these other tables, and then the anesthesiologist gave me a "mask for oxygen," told me to take 3 deep breaths...and I remember taking two and then I woke up in recovery! (It obviously was not oxygen lol)

Recovery & Stay

•  I woke up in recovery after being there for about 3 hours. I remember waking up and asking for my husband...and then I was in my room. I honestly don't remember being wheeled into my room. I don't even remember when my husband came into my room...
• The nurse will come in and introduce herself, ask how you feel, and take your vitals. She'll also instruct on your medicine, which is usually morphine. It's a button you get to push every 10-15 minutes if you feel pain. I stopped using mine by later that night because it was making me have really bad headaches! The pain itsself wasn't too bad (I actually ended up sitting in one of the chairs in the room for a few hours because my back hurt really, really bad from laying on it flat for hours).
• You will not be allowed any liquids or food for the first day. I was given a cup that had a sponge on a stick to wet my mouth if it was dry.
• You will be asked to walk around to avoid blood clots. I was very nauseous, and made sure to bring one of those pink bucket things they give you.
• Before you get to drink anything, they will take you for an upper GI. This is to check for any signs of leakage. They have you sip on this liquid stuff and watch it as it goes down...
• The next morning they brought me some broth and sugar free jello. I only drank some of the broth, and tried the jello but it was disgusting! And I didn't keep it down for very long.
• If I would have been able to keep it down, I would have been able to go home, but I had to wait until the next day.
• You will not be allowed to leave the hospital if you are the one driving. Make sure you have someone to take you home!

I did a lot of sleeping while at the hospital. Surgery and recovery is so hard on your body. I did not realize how exhausted it would make me.

Be nice to your nurses! They are on your side and want you to be able to go home as soon as you're ready. They are only doing as the doctor has instructed them to do. You will probably get a rotation of nurses every 12 hours. (I had a nurse and a nursing assistant every 12 hours).

Oh, and on the way home...bring that pink bucket with you in the car in case you get sick. I surprisingly didn't on my two hour drive, I did sleep though. 

Sausage, egg, & cheese with hollandaise sauce

Today I added some more flavor to my breakfast!

I'm in the pureed phase of my diet.

I cooked a small scoop of reduced fat ground sausage, and once it was cooked, I added an egg, scrambled it all together with some salt and pepper, then melted a small amount of shredded cheese in it. I then topped it with hollandaise sauce (I use Knorr brand), this way it was extra moist and easier to chew.

I was probably a little bit too full after eating this. Next time I will have to put less sausage!

100lbs to go!

The scale finally moved again! I'm down 27lbs total, current weight is 265. I have exactly 100lbs to loose to reach my goal weight of 165lbs. 100 seems like so much weight to loose...but I can do it! I turn 30 next April and I want to start my 30's off to a GREAT start!

I doubt I will loose all 100 by then, but I hope to be pretty darn close!

One day at a time.....

First Post Op Check-up!

Day 13!

I had my first post-op visit today with my doctor. He's happy with my progress and has progressed me on to pretty much all foods that are soft. I'm so glad to be able to start cooking again and trying new recipes! Not to mention, being able to actually chew foods haha.

He removed the taps from my scars (well, still forming scars), there are no signs of an infection. He also cleared me for any physical activity and wants me to push myself on the treadmill. He says my stomach is about 80% healed and I won't be able to "hurt it" with exercise or other physical activity.

I did tell him that I was still feeling exhausted at times, especially while walking. He said it will probably last about another week.

I go back in two weeks, the day I go back to work. Boohoo! Work? Blah!

Last night I had Weight Watcher's Taco Soup (recipe is below) for dinner. I only had a little over 1/4 cup and 2 saltine crackers, it was so good!

The next big goal I'm setting for myself is to weigh 250lbs. That will be my pre-pregancy weight from nearly 8 years ago. That's 17lbs to go! Hoping to accomplish this by Sept 1!

Taco Soup Recipe:

1 15oz can tomato sauce
2 cans of turkey chili
1lb ground turkey, cooked
1 can black beans
1 sm can diced green chilies
2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 packet of hidden valley ranch
1 packet taco mix
1 1/2c water
1c frozen corn (I did not add corn because I cannot eat this yet)

Heat all contents and serve! Can top with diced onion and cheese as well.

Do not try this at home! (well...if you're less than 2 weeks post op)

I got brave today, and I regretted it.

I took a bite of chicken, chewed up really good, and a bite of soft broccoli. Wow! I will not be doing that again soon. It felt like a brick in my throat/stomach and I threw up a little.

It was only liquid that I threw up, not what I had just eaten. I think it was the brocolli that did it because I had a bite of chicken last night when I cooked it for my family and it was perfectly fine. No more broccoli for a bit. I think I didn't chew it well enough.

In other news, I am in the 260's! My weight this morning was 267lbs! I've lost 25 pounds total! 10 since surgery (today is day 11, so that's about a pound a day!!) I have a feeling I'm going to stall for a few days...I know it's coming.

I walked for 20 minutes yesterday, .75mile. Today I took a break, but I did more cleaning around the house to kind of make up for it :)

I've been eating around 600 calories a day, and I've been managing about 60-65g of protein!

After I drop 5 more pounds I'm going to take some new body shots to compare to my pre-surgery weight. I doubt there we be a difference that is noticeable in the photos though.

9 days post surgery, additions to my diet.

Today is my 9th day post op. I finally added two new things to my diet. Scrambled eggs and pork rinds....no not together!

Since the doc is allowing me instant mashed potatoes, I figured scrambled eggs cannot hurt. Let me tell you, this egg tasted like steak!!! It seriously was that good. I added a small sprinkle of cheese, salt and pepper. I almost made two eggs, but I am so glad I didn't. I was STUFFED after eating one egg.

I was reading about types of snacks that others have been eating post surgery, and one of them that's recommended to get something "crunchy" are pork rinds. I hadn't eaten these since I was little and I love them! I am able to eat them right now because they do melt away in your mouth. Guess what? One serving has only 80 calories, 5g fat, 0 carbs, and 8g protein! Some have 7g protein and some have 9g protein, it all depends on the brand you get.

I see the doctor in 4 days for a checkup, that's right before my pureed stage starts. I'm excited to get to that stage! There is a really good recipe from "The World according to Egg Face" that sounds really good. It's a baked ricotta recipe! I could probably eat that now, but I do not want to push it. I can wait 4 more days...I hope!

I've been able to do light exercise. I usually hop on the treadmill for about 15 mins/.5 mile and do light weights with my arms. I really want to get my energy/stamina back like before surgery. Pre-surgery I was walking for 50 mins, and jogging for 10 (every few mins I would do a sprint, totally up to 10 mins with in the hr of exercise).

I'm down 22lbs! 15 pre surgery, 7 post surgery.

Air Bubbles! Protein! Weight.

Today is day 6 after surgery. Still trying the best way to eat and drink without getting air bubbles. Most of them don't hurt, they are just annoying, but once in a while I will get some that HURT!

I'm not using a straw, but I am using spoons for most things. When I swallow my food/drink, It doesn't feel like any air goes down with it....but then about 30 seconds later, I feel that air bubble!! Usually just a small burp, but still quite annoying. I know this is very common and it really cannot be avoided.

My scale is still sitting at 273lbs. I was expecting it to be at least down to 270 by now, but I from what I've read, this is pretty standard. My body is still adjusting and you don't have a huge weight loss. As long as that scale has not moved up, and continues to go down, that is perfectly fine with me! I guess now that I think about it, I've lost 19lbs in the last month (15 pre op, 4 post surgery), that's pretty damn good. I think I need to stop getting on the scale every day. That's so much easier said than done though! I'm really looking forward to seeing 269 lbs on the scale because I have not seen that number in AT LEAST 6 or 7 years! One step at a time! Gotta keep telling myself this.

My diet is going pretty well. My meals for the day usually include liquid phase):

1 serving of Cream of Wheat (this makes 2 meals)
1 protein shake (usually half in the morn and the other half later in the day)
1 4oz yogurt (sometimes 1 meal, other times 2)
1 can of chicken broth or 1/2 can of strained cream of ____ soup.
1/2c instant mashed potatoes (usually this is 2 meals as well)

The mashed potatoes I just started yesterday, I tried to have them on day 4 but my body was not ready, either I made them too thick or my tummy just didn't want to take them--they hurt going down.

I have to remind myself to eat, which is weird. I've never had to do that before. I am going to hop on my treadmill. I'm going to try for half a mile and go from there. I get exhausted really quickly still. I feel like there are bricks on my shoulders sometimes and this is very exhausting!

My doctor didn't give me an exact number to aim for for protein in my liquid phase. I'm aiming for 50. My protein drinks alone are 30, so I make that my priority! I cannot wait to have chicken or fish again....it's only been a week, but I really want some :)

4 Days after surgery

I'm still feeling tired, or "winded," from the surgery. I just want to have my energy back! I want to hop on my treadmill, walk a mile or two, instead of sitting on my behind all day, or laying in bed staring at the ceiling because I'm waiting for a gas bubble to go away!

Yesterday I got in probably around 36g of protein. Not too bad for my first attempt.

Today I'm sitting at around 20g, (It's early afternoon) but I need to get in more water. I've had really bad diarrhea today (yes...TMI! But I'm assuming you're reading about my journey because you want to be prepared lol) I read some online forums and found that immodium is okay to take, so I took one chewable, and hopefully that will help, so far it has.

Today I cooked a pancake for my daughter...and it looked so good! One day I'll be able to eat a small one again...for now, I'll just keep cooking them!

One product that is really good that I found is Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla yogurt that is "diabetic friendly." It's real yummy!

The only other complaint I have at this point is the weird dreams I've been having...don't know if it's a coincidence or if it's a side effect from the anesthesia still!

Want to see my scars? Well...technically they aren't scars yet! (the orange part of the shirt is just under my breasts, the picture isn't rotated, sorry!)