Spicy scramble

Spicy Scramble!

 

Eggs have become my best friend for breakfast. They are so quick to make and you can throw just about anything in them and they turn out to be so yummy! For this, I made 4 servings which are perfect for my sleeve. The serving pictured above is two servings. Here's what you need:

• Three eggs (mix in a bowl)
• Red bell pepper, diced
• Green bell pepper, diced
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• Pepper Jack Cheese (I used two thin slices of Sargento cut into pieces)
• One jalapeno, cut into rings
• 1/4c diced green onion
• Cilantro, diced
• Olive Oil
• Salt, Pepper, and Garlic salt to taste

In a pan, I added the olive oil with the bell peppers and jalapeno until they were almost fully cooked. Then I added the spinach and cooked until wilted, added garlic salt. I then stirred in the remaining ingredients until the eggs were cooked how I like them.

I did top mine with avocado as well. The only things not included in the nutrition facts are the avocado and the olive oil.

If you don't want it too spicy, omit or use less jalapeno.

Oh the temptation!

I survived yesterday (day 1). Today, oh the temptation. BUT, I did not give in.

I planned my meals this morning before work and brought extra food in case I got hungry--no reason to head to the vending machine for junk food.

Then our weekly team meeting came around today...and what did they bring? Bagels, Sandwiches, cupcakes, cookies and chips....oh my! I sat back and did not take a single bite. I thought about grabbing a sandwich, and removing the bread, but I passed. I swear I argued with myself for 30 seconds in my head about it "oh just one..." NO! haha.

Today I had a yummy breakfast, similar to yesterday's. I had one egg, 1/2c spinach, and 1/2c zucchini, with one Jimmy Dean turkey sausage patty. About 170 calories, 11g protein and 3 carbs.

For lunch I brought leftover steak fajitas (without the tortilla), and for snacks, I brought Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt, a tuna-lettuce roll up, and a Cheddar baby-bel. Oh, and 1/4c of this Cape Code Trail Mix I found at Whole Foods (btw...I don't think I'll be going back there anytime soon when a half a bag of groceries cost me $50).

I got these awesome portion bags from Walmart! I separated all of the trail mix so I don't eat too much when I want a snack.

For dinner, I made a recipe I came across an awesome person (@thesweatybetty) it's an Atkins Big Mac...I was never a Big Mac person, but this sounded interesting. Came out great!

Ingredients

• 1.5 pound ground beef
• 1 heaping tbsp of chicken bouillon
• 2 tbsp dried onion
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup low carb thousand island dressing
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1/4 cup dill pickles

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. In a large skillet, brown ground beef. Season with chicken bouillon, dried onion flakes, parsley, onion powder, and garlic powder.
3. In a large bowl, place seasoned ground beef. Add cheddar cheese, thousand island dressing, eggs, sour cream, and dill pickles. Mix together thoroughly.
4. Add ground beef mixture to 8?x11? baking dish and spread to corners. Bake for 30 minutes.

Notes/Nutrition Info:

Serving Size: 1 piece Calories: 401 Fat (g): 34.5 Carbohydrates (g): 2.9 Fiber (g): 0 Protein (g): 19.5

Taking Ownership

After having a mental breakdown a few nights ago, I've decided no more. Yeah...my last few blog posts have said that, but after stepping on the scale today for the first time in months, I have to be real. It's time to get healthy again.

Follow me on
MyFitnessPal -Quelyn01
Instagram- Afterthesleeve

Today is a new day.

Breakfast:

-Starbucks K-cup Vanilla Coffee, Great Value Vanilla Creamer, splenda
-2 Eggs scrambled with zuchinni

Turkey Meatball Squares

 

Skip the pasta and just eat the meat! Instead of making meatballs, I made them into squares (well, I guess they are actually rectangles...). 

What you need:

1 package of lean ground turkey (I believe it's 1.25lbs)

1 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 egg

Garlic Salt

Italian Seasoning

Parmesan Cheese

1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese

1 Cup Spaghetti Sauce

Beat the egg in a large mixing bowl with a fork. Add the turkey, bread crumbs, garlic salt, Parmesan, and Italian seasoning (to your taste preference), combine with your hands.

Using either a pan like the one pictured below, or a muffin pan, spray it with non stick cooking spray. Put your meat in each hole, but do not overfill.

Bake at 375 for 35 minutes. Once the time is up, put a spoonful sauce and sprinkle of mozzarella cheese on each "meatball." Cook for an additional 15 minutes or until turkey is fully cooked.

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!

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.

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 :)