Pinterest

I’ve been spending quite a bit of time there lately.  Discovered an app for my phone and kindle which sometimes helped the long hours go by when we were at the hospital with my Father in Law who just passed away.   I pinned a TON of recipes and thought I would share a few here with you that I thought might be useful to ‘banders’.

 

Protein Ranch Dressing: (Serves 4)
1 Cup Cottage Cheese (Watch your label, sometimes low fat doesn’t mean low calories and the regular cottage cheese is only a few cal. more)
3-4 tsp. Buttermilk Ranch Dressing mix
1/4 C. water (or milk if you prefer: Milk will add more calories) add more water if the consistency is too thick for your liking.

Add ingredients to blender and blend until smooth. (About 3 min.) Enjoy!

 

http://fabulouspinterestfinds.blogspot.com/2012/02/protien-ranch.html

 

 

Chicken Ranch Tacos:

3 cups cooked chicken, cut up
1 pkt. taco seasoning (chicken or beef)
1/2 cup Ranch dressing
——————
taco shells
lettuce
cheese
Ranch dressing
tomatoes
etc…

Heat a skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken & warm it for a few minutes. Sprinkle on the dry taco seasoning. Do not add any water! Heat for 5-7 minuted until all heated through & powder is stuck to the chicken.

Add Ranch dressing, heat an additional 2-3 minutes to warm through.

Serve in taco shells with all the fixings you love – plus an extra squirt of Ranch!

http://pedersenfood.blogspot.com/2011/05/chicken-ranch-tacos.html

 

 

 

I’m also exploring freezer to crockpot meals and have put quite a few bags of these in the freezer.  Today’s selection (closed my eyes and grabbed one!) is Pork and apples.   I’ll let you know how it turns out.  I am planning to make some mashed potatoes for Chris and some green beans for the side.

 

 

 

 

 

A few more gone

The funniest thing….   I know that I have lost weight,   BUT I didn’t realize just how much I have lost.     Before surgery size 18-20 was getting tight.  Hell, who am I kidding?  Before surgery I was close to popping some of my clothes,  and lately everything seems to have gotten REALLY big on me…..   but I’m too cheap thrifty to buy more clothes.   I Was OH SO SURPRISED last week when I went clothes shopping.   I checked out Cato’s selection of dressy type fall things, and picked several size 16 and XL’s to try on.   Ummmm – NO.  They were too big.  I ended up with size 14’s fitting a little loose on bottom, a couple of large size tops and 1 XL that is made to be more fitted.    Seems that the girls aren’t going anywhere fast (dang it!), but the rest of me seems to be shrinking.

As far as how the band is going, I have had good days and bad days.  I have discovered that mornings are NOT good for eating.  Warm liquids are best (coffee with flavored cream please!),  a protein shake – either Atkins or Ensure,  followed by nuts around 10 am ( love Wasabi Almonds and Dill Pickle sunflower seeds – don’t knock them till you try them!).  Lunch is usually some  fruit or tuna or egg salad – depends on how my tummy feels and how hungry I am.  Afternoon snack of more nuts or jerky.  By about 5 or 6 I’m ready to eat in the more traditional sense.  I try to get a lot of protein in during the evening.  The band seems looser in the later hours of the day – not sure why that is, I’m sure there is a medical explanation.

Anyway, that’s where I am right now.  For the past week or so I’m dropping an average of 3/4 to 1.5 pound a day.  I’ll take it!

 

 

Fill number 2….

Got the second fill today.  I now have 7 cc of liquid in my band.  Came home and made some soup for dinner.  I didn’t really follow a recipe, but here’s what I did:

cubed up 1 lb of chicken breast and 1 large onion – saute in butter

In another pot,

1 box of chicken broth

1 can of diced chiles

1 can of tomato paste

1 jar of home canned tomatoes

1 can of black beans

1 can of white beans

1 can of hominy

1 can of mexi corn

2 chicken bullion cubes

1 cilantro cube

taco seasoning to taste

bring to boil and add browned chicken and onion  – simmer 15 minutes

I also took about 1/2 package of low carb tortillas, cubed and browned in butter before adding to the soup.

YUMMY

I had about a cup of it and was full.   Just a few minutes ago, I was thinking that I want something sweet so I got a banana muffin.  WRONG choice.  I managed to eat about half of it before I got that familiar feeling of – UH OH – Houston we have a problem!!  I tried stretching my chin to the ceiling, standing up, twisting around, jumping up and down…….   Needless to say, it would NOT go down.  Oh well.   Guess that’s the end of my bread/muffin eating days.  🙂

Oh yeah, and I’ve lost 4 lbs since last visit.  I’m hoping that this little bit of extra will get me really rolling.

The First Fill Experience

I was totally excited and not even a bit nervous.  After all, this was what I had been looking forward to since like last year – right?  The drive down seemed to take FOREVER because it was late afternoon and the schools had just let out.  Lots of Mamas and Daddies picking up their baybees.  LOL

I was not surprised at all to find out that I had gained weight, after all, I have been pretty much back to normal as far as how much I *could* eat.  Ugh.  241 lbs, hello again.  Hopefully for the last time I’ll EVER see that number on a scale again.  The nurses tried to console me by telling me it’s probably muscle as my body begins to reorganize.  Ok, I’ll half way believe that excuse, but even though I’ve been more active, I know it’s not true at all.

Anyhow, the fill was a very weird experience.  The nurse didn’t ask if I wanted to be numbed – which I would have refused anyhow, but I thought that strange.  She brought out a giant q-tip thing with Iodine and sterilized my belly all the while talking about her cat.  Kept my attention focused on the conversation you see.  Brought out this BIG LONG needle and popped it right in.  Yes there was a big sting feeling, but it was over rather quickly.  She injected what looked like about 4 or 5 cc of fluid.  Boy did that feel STRANGE.  I have never felt anything to compare it to, so I don’t really know how to explain how it felt.   There was no pain at all, just this weird feeling of fluid moving in strange places.  She then asked me to sit up while the needle was still stuck in the port.  She handed me a cup of water and asked me to drink it as fast as possible.  I was able to swallow about 4 times before the water started backing up.  She said she had put in a little more than she thought I needed and drew out a little of what she had injected.  Immediately, I got relief and we were done.  I got a bandaid over the little stick and was on my way.   Just like that.

I go back in 30 days for a check up and for possibly more fluid.   I do feel some restriction now.  I had a strawberry protein shake for dinner last night and it took me about 30 minutes to get it down, so I think that for right now I’m in a good place.  I also tried to eat a small pretzel (chewed very thoroughly) and it finally went down after a little bit.  Even though I was full and didn’t feel hungry last night, my head kept telling me that I needed a snack.   Head Hunger is something I am going to have to deal with – any suggestions on that would be appreciated!

The restriction feels like more than I had post surgery, so I’m pretty happy right now.  My plan for today is to drink liquids/protein shakes, and maybe have some soup for dinner.   Going to really restrict the carbs for a few days and see if I can get this thing turned around and back on track.

 

Happy Tuesday

Problem foods for me

Since there is nothing to report *still!* on the loss front, I thought I’d tell you about what I can and can’t eat these days.

Things that you would think could be easily eaten aren’t always so.

For example: potatoes in ANY form give me problems unless they are so runny as to be drank.  I sort of think it is because they are so starchy, but truly it’s anyone’s guess.

Bread is another iffy food.  I can eat the center of a slice sometimes, but if it has ANY crust or is a chewy texture, forget about it – sticky city.   I CAN eat the center of toast with no problem.

Noodles sometimes do the same thing unless they are boiled until almost mush – ICK!   (see why I think it’s starchy stuff?)  Had some soup yesterday with rice in it, it didn’t get stuck, but I sure could feel it fighting to go down, so there’s another starch……    Hamburger meat doesn’t go down well sometimes.  Again, no rhyme or reason, just some days it works and some it doesn’t.  Yogurt sometimes gets sort of  ‘stuck’.   I think it is the thickness, but it feels like it backs up into my esophagus.  Particularly early in the morning.   I had shrimp one night and although I used to LOVE it, the love just isn’t there any more – more like meh.  Just didn’t taste the same.   All of the above *can* be eaten, it’s just that they’re usually a bit of a problem going down, and I don’t want to end up getting stuck or having everything make a swift upward exit so I mostly avoid them with the exception of Yogurt – still working on that one.

BTW – this one is really good : 

 

Things I can eat :  Chicken is my standard staple these days.  Steak as long as it’s tender and not over done.  Salads work well so far, including cucumbers and bell peppers.   EGGS – ME the person who wouldn’t touch them at all –  I’m developing a love affair with eggs.    I need to find some new recipes so I don’t get bored with them.  Suggestions?

SF popsicles and fudgesicles.   Crunchy stuff – almonds, nuts, raw veggies, etc are all good.   I’m still eating soup most days for lunch – usually a Campbell’s select or something like that.  Cheese is good, great actually.

 

< Love that one!

 

 

 

 

 

I had cornbread with beef stew at Cracker Barrel a while back and it worked well as long as it was wet with the stew juice.

 

Things I need to try soon : fish, beans, slaw, sweet potato  – I’ll probably think of others after I end this post.

 

Have a happy Friday

Ate out tonight for the first time…

Our normal weekly treat  is to go somewhere and have a sit down meal on Friday night.  Poor Chris has been just dying because he’s not getting to eat from his favorite restaurants lately.  (that was sarcasm by the way)

So this evening when we got home, I was feeling adventurous so I suggested dinner out.  You would have thought I gave him 10,000 dollars.  We decided to go to Cracker Barrel because he LOVES their country fried steak and fixings, plus I could get some ‘mushy’ food there.   I had the beef stew, slaw and cornbread.  It was really good, and I didn’t have a bit of trouble eating the stew and cornbread, but the slaw was a little much still, two bites and that was enough – gave it to him.  I ate very slow and thoroughly chewed and enjoyed every bite.  I realized how badly I miss having cornbread, it was really good.   I ate most of it, didn’t want to stop eating, but when I started feeling that topped off feeling I quit.  No need to over eat and have it come back up – and trust me – it has to go somewhere and follows the path of least resistance!

 

After dinner we stopped by Walmart to check on a tip Melanie gave me about some protein shots.  I picked up 3 flavors and will try them tomorrow.   I’ll let you know how that goes.

Hopefully I’ll like at least one of them and that will really help me out a lot.

And here’s a big shout out to my new friend Cristyl, she got her approval for surgery from BCBS today and her surgery is scheduled for the 15th, so y’all keep her in your prayers.   I met her at the nutrition class and we hit it off.  She’s a horse person too and actually lives fairly close by.

I have found my challenge….

Monday was my first day alone out in public and was the first day that I actually drove myself around.  It was a challenge to me.  Not the driving (although it did bring along a set of problems with stretching to see beside and behind my truck – kind of got the still tender spots all riled up again), but seeing the fast food places.  Before yesterday (and it was reinforced this evening driving to and from Birmingham), I never knew just how much of a fast food junkie that I really am.  I can’t explain to you just HOW bad I wanted to pull into BK and order a Cheese Whopper with extra mayo.  Or McD’s and get a Fish Sandwich with extra tartar sauce.   This shall be my challenge, my Achilles heel if you will.    Driving has somehow become synonymous with eating a bag full of fatty food and slurping down a jumbo Coke. Just a snack of fries and a shake, after all why else would they put two cup holders in my truck?  One for the drink and one for the fries.   I even briefly considered getting the food and chewing but not swallowing, spitting each bite back into the bag. Both PATHETIC and Gross- huh??…    So I must come up with a plan.  I understand that in my day to day life EVENTUALLY I will encounter times when I simply must eat fast food, and that is ok, after all everybody has a kids meal or grilled chicken these days.  But for the time being, I’m going to avoid it like the plague.  I was determined to break the Coke and sugar habits and now I am not even tempted although there is a brand new 2 liter on my kitchen counter.   I shall slay the burger and fries demon too!    I know that it’s entirely mental.  Maybe a part of my psyche relates fast food with something deep down that I think I need.  Any Freud’s out there that care to detangle the mystery?

 

Suggestions and feedback to help with this would be greatly appreciated.  I think I’ll get maybe a couple of the Campbell’s soup at hand things to keep in the truck for now, and I have some of the canned protein shakes, but to be quite honest – they taste foul to me at this point.  I can’t think of anything else that I know I can have right now that would be safe to leave in the vehicle, and easy to consume while rolling down the road.  Don’t want candy, and I can’t have crackers or hard stuff yet.

 

Tonight’s dinner

I ended up leaving work at 12, got a little nauseous after eating my soup.  I think I ate it too fast because I was so hungry.

I found a recipe on the internet a couple of days ago for Pasta Fagioli – an Italian soup.  I happen to have the ingredients on hand so I threw it together and that’s what we’re having.  My bowl will be pulverized in the blender, but the flavor should be the same.  I took a quick taste of the broth it’s cooking in, and it is really good.

Hope the author doesn’t mind that I borrowed her photo.

Here’s the recipe : http://www.chefdehome.com/Recipes/65/Pasta%20Fagioli

I can see my guys requesting this soup with the addition of some sort of meat – probably keilbasa or Italian sausage.  But I think it’s perfect as is.   I’m planning to portion out the left overs and freeze them for future lunches and dinners for ME.  🙂

 

Egg drop soup!

My version:

2 cans of chicken broth

1 square of chicken bullion (I had the cheap broth and it wasn’t ‘chickeny’ enough for my taste)

A bit of butter

Salt, pepper

1 egg beaten well

Bring broth to boil, adding butter and bullion cube.  I suppose at this stage you could add whatever other seasonings you like, but I am keeping stuff pretty bland right now.

Just as it boils, turn off heat and begin to slowly stir the egg into broth in a circular motion. I used a measuring cup so I got nice thin ribbon.

That’s it, salt and pepper to taste.   It was SO good. And lots of protein!