One of My Favorites!!!

I made Eggface's Chili Relleno Casserole tonight for supper. It was fantastic as always!

Here's the link to the recipe: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2008/03/chili-relleno-casserole.html

Here are the pics:


The chicken and onions sauteing.

The ingredients I used for the batter and the can of Chili's.

The cheese blend I used.

The finished product! I topped mine with Lite Sour Cream and Hot Salsa.
The Fiance likes it, too. Bonus!

As for the other part of my day, I had:
B: SF Cinnamon Dolce Click Vanilla Latte
sn: Peach Chobani and 1/2 cup cheerios
L: Grilled Chicken with Chicken Gravy (two tbsp) and left over veggies
sn: Snickers Marathon Bar and apple sauce
sn: 1/2 slice cheese and fruit n nut mix
S: 8 oz Chili Relleno Casserole (weight includes sour cream and salsa)

Have a great night all!

My day with food

Well, today was my count my calories and see where I stand day. I have been in a plateau for 2 months and was starting to wonder if I was screwing it up somehow. Mind you, I workout almost everyday, so those of you that see what I eat and think, "that's a lot!", it's really ok'd by my nut. I am also 7 months out, so I can eat a bit more than those really early out.

So, today went like this so far (and quite well I might add):

B: SF Cinnamon Dolce Vanilla Click/Body Fortress Latte
sn: Skipped by accident
L: Mini Pizza
sn: 1 cup beef stew and 1 mini corn muffin
S: Italian Chicken and veggies
sn: TBD, but I am thinking it's been a few weeks since I last had a SF Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate (the protein kind), so probably one of those.

So, my supper was tasty and quick. I must say, I bought these frozen pre-grilled chicken breasts...



...and they are AWESOME! So easy to work with when you are just so hungry you may make a mistake and eat something BAD! All I did for this lovely supper was top one breast with 2 tbsp pasta sauce and a pinch mozzarella cheese. Nuke for 2 minutes and VOILA! Instant chicken Parmesan (minus the breading). While waiting for my veggies to cook, I also threw one in some Tupperware and topped it with 2 tbsp chicken gravy.
For my veggies, I took 3 small potatoes, a bunch of green onions and one zucchini, chopped them all up and sauteed in 2 tbsp olive oil for about 15 minutes until the potatoes were done. I added a little salt and pepper for flavoring and now I have a side for my dinner, a side for tomorrows lunch and yet one more side for tomorrows dinner or the next days lunch.


The finished products:


Planning ahead is so much easier than coming up with something at the last minute before I have to leave for work, so I try to do this type of thing every night. Take care all of you, I am going to sleep like a baby because I kicked my own you know what at the gym today! Yee ha!

Lil Pouch Taste Test

Well, I said it was coming and here it is. Another Trader Joe's Taste Test! I bought these on my last trip after seeing their protein content and calories. They have 220 calories and 13 grams fat and 13 grams of protein. Now, don't freak about the fat content because I am going to tell you, after nuking this sucker, there was a small pool of yellow fat on the bottom of the plate and this product did not make me dump. But, please, eat at your own risk. I have a very easy going pouch! LOL

So, here they are:





They are Turkey Muffins. A small ground turkey patty layered with spinach and mashed potatoes. If you want, you can scrape off the potatoes, they were good, but I know some don't like to do carbs. I can have carbs and am encouraged to by my Nut. Verdict, I thought it was tasty. I had it with a side of TJ's roasted corn. It was a lovely lunch. They come 4 to a pack and are 4oz each. Just the right size!

That's all for this taste test! Ciao!

Yummy Saturday Morning!

You can't beat french toast in my book. Carbs, protein and pure yummy-ness!

I normally have mine with just some sf maple syrup, but I personally think that stuff tastes kinda funkay! In other words, BLECH! So, this morning, while thinking about this blog, I said to myself, GET CREATIVE! It's the only way to enjoy food after surgery. That and finding great WLS recipes on blogs and other sites. So, here's what I came up with and oh Boy, was it absolutely delicious!

Lisa's Swanky Strawberry French Toast

1 egg
2 slices bread (your choice, I used white-it's what my honey likes, and not a trigger food for me)
tsp butter
Dash cinnamon
3 tbsp Homemade Strawberry Topping (see recipe below)
3 tbsp Strawberry Greek Yogurt (I used Chobani)

Whisk egg and cinnamon until well beaten. Dunk bread into egg mixture and cook on griddle in the butter until golden brown on both sides.

Once cooked, top with the yogurt and strawberry topping. I also hit it with a squirt of whippage (whipped cream). I can eat one and a half slices, I gave the other half to my Honey to go with his 6 slices (wow, I can't believe I used to eat that much, too!). Of course, he's a man and doesn't gain like I did.



Here's a picture of the yogurt if you want to look for it:



Homemade Strawberry Topping

5 frozen strawberries
2 tbsp SF Strawberry Torani Syrup
dash of Corn Starch (to thicken-optional)

Microwave strawberries for one minute. Mash up and add syrup and corn starch. Pour over your breakfast of choice!



I will be back later with the rest of my day! Ciao!

TGIF!!!

Oh, thank goodness it's the weekend! I need a break! I have a Silpada Party to attend tonight and then chill tomorrow and Sunday.

So, today, I had a couple of nice meals... Though I am sure you can see I am pretty regimented in my eating, as we have to be after surgery!

B: SF Cinnamon Dolce Vanilla Click Latte

sn: Blueberry Ciobani with Cheerios

L: Ham and cheese on a Arnold Round with Mustard; pickles on the side.



sn: BBQ Soy Crisps and Trader Joe's Three Layer Hummus (sadly this was the last of my Hummus.) :(

S: Frozen Shrimp steamed with a tsp Butter and topped with Garlic Powder. 4 oz Mac n cheese, the Kraft kind and no I am not happy with myself. I made a crap grab, you know, waited too long to eat and got so hungry I grabbed what I could that was really quick. I had some leftover. Urgh! Moving on, nothing I can do about it now besides plan better for my next meal. Sigh.



Oh, that pool of yellow the shrimp is swimming in is water that the butter mixed with, not all butter. I enjoy taste, but I am NOT insane! lol.



So, I am planning on having my last snack of the day at the party tonight. I am hoping for some nice cheese, possibly fruit... I don't know what to expect. We'll have to see and I will update you. Ciao!

Update...

So, to round out my day, I am having a really tasty Chicken Burger that I purchased during my excursion to Trader Joes last week.

Here are the facts, AHEM:

Cals: 150
Fat: 6
Sugar: 0
Protein: 19!!!! In ONE patty!

Here they are:



I broiled it (I would grill it, but we have a lot of snow on the ground here...). It had a lot of yummy Lime flavor, which you can see, I didn't expect because I automatically doctored my bun with mustard and ketchup. I had it on a whole wheat Arnold Round.



I paired it with these yummy cucumbers and tomatoes, which I put a smidgen of Lite French Dressing on.



I broiled two of the four burgers, so I already have lunch tomorrow. I think tomorrow I will have it without a bun, maybe topped with some salsa!!! Hmmm, we'll see...

Evening snack update to follow... Cheers!

Edited to add snack:

So, I couldn't decide, salty or sweet... A constant dilema for me! LOL

I came up with a plan.... Tee hee

I have some no sugar added Ice cream, peanut butter and the rest of that sugar cookie thing my FMIL made for us last night... Here's what I came up with!



I put a few small pieces of the sugar cookie on the bottom, then 2.6 oz of the ice cream (I can't wait to get an ice cream maker, I want to make protein ice crem instad... ahem, moving on) and then 1 tbsp melted peanut butter. Really, really satisfying!

Good Morning!

I hope everyone has a nice day today. We are expecting another lovely snow storm this evening. Joy. More driving in the snow. Sigh.

Anyhow, I have pics!!!! I made my usual Protein Vanilla Latte this morning, only this one has a kick! A really nummy one:

SF Cinnamon Dolce Click Vanilla Latte

1 scoop Click- Vanilla Latte Flavor
1 scoop Vanilla Body Fortress Protein
4 oz Milk (I used 1%)
8 oz Boiling H2O
2 tbsp Starbucks SF Cinnamon Dolce Syrup



Mix the dry ingredients with the milk until a paste forms. Slowly add in the h2o. Then mix in the SF Cinnamon Dolce syrup. YUMMY!!! I see this SF Cinnamon Dolce stuff on Eggface's blog a lot, so when I was at Starbucks this past weekend, I asked the barrista about their syrups and was happily suprised that they carry 4 sf syrups in the store for purchase, including Cinnamon Dolce, Caramel, Vanilla and Hazelnut. I am sure that around the holidays if I ask, they could order the Holiday Flavors in SF.... I will have to test this theory.

Also, I took pics of my already planned meals for today that I mentioned yesterday, so here it is and I hope you all have a wonderful day! Keep warm if you're up North like me! Baby, it's cold outside!

Ah, the camera war....

So, I set up everything this morning! I took pis of my am protein drink, my lunch and two snacks. Mind you, I am out of the house at 6:30am, so I blog at night. WELL, my DF used the camera to take pix of his ebay stuff and erased my pics! I am so sad.... They were pretty. I also had pix of the chili I made the other day. WAAAH. Ok, I am over it. So, what I ate today:

B: Click Mocha/Body Fortress Hot protein drink. NOM!

Sn: Ciobani and 1/2 cup Cheerios

L: Frozen grilled chicken topped with tomato sauce and a of smidgen cheese with roasted summer squash. YUM!

Sn: 1.5 oz cheddar cheese and 6 triscuits

Supper: Shrimp Paella (at DF parents house-his Mom is an AWESOME cook, and extremely accommodating!) and green beans

Snack: DF's mom made a sugar free (LOVE HER!) giant sugar cookie thingy. It was really crumbly and was made with walnuts, walnut oil, whole wheat flour and splenda. I had one slice and a half cup of my Low Sugar Ice cream.

So, I had a delicious day! I hope you all did also.

Tomorrow, I will have my hot protein drink again to start the day. I packed a Ciobani and Cheerios again for a snack, left over Chinese-all protein (chicken terriaki, beef terriaki, chicken from chicken chow mein) and for my pm snack Soy crisps with three layer hummus from Trader Joes. The Chinese food was all little pieces. DF wanted to go to the Chinese buffet on Sunday night. I have to say, I am a TROOPER for making that work. Instead of wasting money on the buffet, I got the weighed buffet for take out and ate what I could while there, taking the rest home for lunches and spent less that I would have had I gotten the regular buffet. I stuck to the high protein items: Beef with Broccoli, Chicken chow mein, Beef terriaki and chicken terriaki. Don't get me wrong, this is NOT a regular thing for me. As a matter of fact, I haven't had Chinese since before my surgery. But, this is an example of making something work! It also got Dave's craving for Chinese buffet out as well. I SURVIVED! Tee hee.

Any comments???? I welcome them, good or bad... :)

FINALLY!

I feel like I am alive again! I was sick for a whole week. YUCK! I hope I never get that type of horrific cold again!

Phew.

So, back to blogging. I had a random day yesterday. I went to Trader Joes!!!! YAY! They have a lot of different choices for food. I bought some chicken burgers and turkey burger filet thingys. I can't wait to try them! Yesterday, I had one of my Gorton's Grilled Haddock fillets with 1/2 cup mashed potatoes. The fillet weighed in at 3.4 oz frozen, but when cooked, a lot of water came out, so I am thinking it weighed 3 oz. It was DELICIOUS! You really can't beat it, at 90 calories, and 13 grams of protein, it's a really nutritious meal.



Then I made homemade Swedish Meatballs with egg noodles and sauteed zucchini and summer squash. I failed to take a pic since the future in-laws had come over for dinner. But it was delish.

This morning I had my International Delight Vanilla latte with 1 scoop Vanilla protein, 1 and 1/2 Vanilla Latte, 1/2 cup milk and 3 tbsp SF Caramel Torani syrup.

For lunch, I had a mini pizza. YUM!



Later today, I have my "6 month" post op appointment. Of course, it's a little late. I was supposed to go on December 22, but they cancelled and re-scheduled for today, so it's more like a 7 month post op appointment.

So, I will update after that.

Sick for a few days

Hi everyone, so sorry it's been a few days. I have my first (and hopefully LAST) cold of the year. I have been rendered useless. Urgh. So, thanks to my Momasita, I have had some wonderful Italian Wedding Soup-essentially, it's escarole, chicken, meatballs and a lil pasta all in a wonderful chicken broth. So, to get in my protein (because I will be honest, I cannot stomach my beloved protein drinks when I can't taste them, I don't know why) I have been having the soup-sans broth for meals and the broth in between. It's quite delicious! My Mom hit this one out of the park! I don't know what I'd do without her. :)

I have a pic for of it. Here it is! (I sprinkle the top with some Parmesean Cheese-NOM NOM!)



Until later! Ciao!

Waffles and a Winter Wonderland!

Yea!!! SNOW DAY!!!! I took some pictures:





Isn't it pretty?! I love it, well, until I try shovelling it... That will happen this afternoon as it is still snowing. Last time it snowed, I shovelled 5 times! I was sore for a WEEK! So, I will try to narrow it down to at least three times. I know, it's a great workout, right? Well to me, if it renders me USELESS at the gym for a week, it's counter productive, so I am not a fan.

Anyhow, here is what I've had so far today...

breakfast: Hot Click Mocha (1 scoop Click Mocha, 1 scoop Body Fortress Choc Protein, 4 oz 1% Milk, 8 oz Boiling Water)

Snack: Two Whole Wheat Waffles with 1 tsp Butter and SF Maple syrup (1 tbsp)




I will fill in more as the day goes on...

It's a sad day here in Lil Moon Land...

I used the last of my Dessert Protein. *Tear shed*. I loved the flavor of that stuff, it was the bomb diggity. Sigh.

On to more important things. I did a mega shopping yesterday at Walmart. I had to get more BODY Fortress (out of choc and need more vanilla protein now). I was in luck! It was on sale for $14.98 each. So, I picked up two of the Chocolate and one of the Vanilla. I also picked up two packs of the Hormel Mini Pepperoni (which is wonderful on the mini pizza's I am obsessed with). I know last weekend I posted that it is sometimes difficult for me to eat in a regimented way on the weekends, so this is my second weekend in a row of Operation Keep on Track (yes, I am a dork, I named it). So, without further adieu:


Breakfast: Click Vanilla Latte

I got the Click in the mail on I believe Wednesday. I am officially HOOKED! Love this stuff. I even gave a scoop to my Mom to try-she has not had the surgery but has lost over 30 pounds over the past year and I am getting her hooked on Protein drinks-she loved her shake. She had hers in the blender. Here's how I made mine:

1 scoop Click Vanilla Latte
1 scoop (the last scoop-sniff) of Dessert Vanilla Protein Powder
4 oz 1% Milk
8 oz Hot water

Mix the Click, Vanilla Dessert Protein in the Milk while waiting for the water to boil. Once it is boiling, slowly add an ounce at a time and stir. Enjoy! I know I did. I drank this right before I went to the gym. It certainly kept me going. I can jog for 15 minutes now! I couldn't jog for more than a minute before! What a good start to the day!

Next was lunch. I wanted protein and some healthy carbs, so I broke out the Arnold Rounds, Healthy Choice Sliced Chicken breast, American Cheese (fresh from the deli) and Miracle Whip Lite. It was really satisfying with a few pickles. I had 3 oz of the chicken and 1 oz cheese. I ate about 90% of the sandwich. Here's the pick!



This afternoon, like 3pm, after drinking lots of water (but waiting 30 minutes before eating), I tied another new product I have seen on other blogs and found last night on my Walmart trip. They are Flat breads and I used mine to make a pizza. It was just the right size and delicious!

I toasted the bread for a few minutes before adding the toppings (which were sauce, garlic powder, pizza seasoning, onion, mushrooms, cheese and the mini pepperoni). NOM NOM!





I also took a picture of my cabinet-fully stocked with protein and vitamins-because I cleaned it out after my shopping trip. So, here it is!



That's it so far today. I will post more later! Ciao!

Yummy day

Urgh, nothing like going back to work after a Holiday weekend. Phew!

My eating today was great! I am excited to share...

B: Hot International Delight Cafe Mocha and French Vanilla Protein Drink

1 scoop chocolate Protein
1/2 cup 1% milk
2 tsp ID Cafe Mocha
2 tsp ID French Vanilla
8 oz Boiling water
1 scoop UpCal-D (one of the ways I get in my calcium)

Mix all but the boiling water together to form a paste. Slowly add the boiling water to the mixture. Top with whipped cream if you like!






S: 6 oz Vanilla Ciobani with 1 tsp Peanut Butter added-omg, this was soooooo good!

L: 5 oz shrimp dipped in a tbsp Cocktail Sauce and 1/2 cup tomatoes topped with 1 tbsp ff catalina dressing and 1 tbsp Feta

S: 1.5 oz Cheddar cheese with 4 crackers and 3 Prunes (tee hee, I have a hidden agenda with those)

Supper: 4 oz Broiled steak with 1/4 cup Mac n Cheese and 1/4 cup Green Beans

S: Pudding Parfait (this was sooooo good! I made one for my df too and he told me he loved me after he made it-well, he says that all the time, but it was nice to know he likes my cooking too!)

Yummy Parfait (for two)

16 oz Banana Creme Pudding (sf ff prepared with milk-I used 1%)
2 crushed graham crackers
2 tbsp sliced almonds
2 squares dark chocolate crushed
1 tbsp sf Choc topping (microwaved for 10 seconds-be careful for spillage-urgh)
Whipped cream

Also, for one of the parfaits-1 scoop unflavored protein powder.

Divide the pudding in half if you would like to add the Unflav protein powder to your parfait, or add two scoops to the entire thing if you both want added protein. Mix really well. I may add a packet of splenda next time to help cover the protein flavor, but it really wasn't that bad. I barely tasted it with all the other ingredients.

Spoon 1/2 of the total pudding into two glasses. Sprinkle grahams, almonds and crushed chocolate on top of it. Add the remaining pudding to the two glasses. Layer the other toppings again. Top with whipped cream and microwaved chocolate topping. Eat up!!! YUM!

Better today

In an attempt to clean up my weekend eating (see yesterdays post), I made a real effort to put things together today as I had a lot of running around to do again today. So, this morning I made a luscious Strawberry Shake (I know, just a little boring, but extremely yummy).

Strawberry Smoothie

1 Scoop Strawberry Protein
1 cup 1% Milk
4 ice cubes
6 Frozen Strawberries (all small)
3 tbsp SF Strawberry Torani Syrup

Whiz in blender for a couple of minutes and top with whipped cream if desired.







Then, I packed a travel bag. It included 3 oz Cheddar Cheese, some crackers, 1/2 cup Chopped Tomatoes topped with FF Catalina Dressing and a tbsp Tomato Basil Feta and a Strawberry Ciobani.


So I ate these items as I made my way through the state today running my errands.

I got home at 4:30 and made myself mini pizza's. Here's the stuff I made them with and I toasted them in the toaster oven.





I will add more later. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Lil Moon

Weekends as a Post-Op

Ok, I have a nearly perfect routine during the week. I have time set aside each day for eating and meals are planned for the most part. Weekends are altogether a horse of a different color.

First off, I sleep later. So my first meal of the day ends up bring later than usual which throws off the whole day. Today for instance, by the time I got up (9:30), took a shower and made breakfast (fiance wanted French Toast) it was 10:30! I made Eggface's cottage cheese pancakes. Nummy!!!! Cooked on a griddle with Pam and topped with SF syrup. Here are the pics:





Here is the recipe I used:

1 egg
1/4 cup cottage cheese
3 tbsp Buckwheat Pancake Mix

Whiz in mini food processor and spoon onto griddle. I got three pancakes the size of a deck of cards and one the size of a half dollar. I warm the syrup to make it taste better. Just put it in a small glass and nuke for 15 seconds.

Onto more of the crazy food Saturday.

The next time I ate was 3 in the afternoon. I was running errands and such, so I lost track of time! I had 1 ounce of cheddar cheese and a chicken soft burrito from Taco Bell. I basically ate the inside and a few bites with the wrap.

Next meal was at my Fathers. He made burgers on the grill topped with cheese. I ate half of one, 3/4 of a dill pickle spear and a half cup of pasta salad. That was at 6.

So 6 pm and I had only had three meals. On my plan I am supposed to have three meals and three snacks a day. I was way behind.

Around 8 pm, my Father got out his Mud (Chocolate Trifle) and everyone had some, except me -I don't mind, I have had plenty in my lifetime. I took out his Pepper Jack cheese and had four slices (approx 2 oz) and 6 Triscuits. Yum!

Finally, I am home and I am now having one of my new favorite drinks!

4 oz 1% milk
1 scoop Vanilla Protein
4 tsp International Delight French Vanilla Cafe (sf, caf free)
8 oz boiling water
1 tbsp SF French Vanilla Torani Syrup

Mix the powders in the milk well while waiting for the water to boil. Then, slowly add the hot water, stirring as much as possible. Then add the SF syrup.

Voila!!




So, even though tomorrow is Sunday and I have a lot of crazy running around to do again, I am going to try to plan it out better. Sigh. Constant battle. But I am determined to be victorious! Muah ah ah ah!