A day in my pouch

My post weight loss surgery day in eating...

Breakfast: It was the Farmer's Market this morning. Today's haul: Zucchini (I've got yummy plans for dinner tomorrow), Apples, Strawberries, Onions, Garlic, Feta Cheese, and Olive Oil. Went for a walk after the market and when I came home I cut up all the strawberries for breakfasts, protein shakes and maybe a batch of protein ice cream this week (it's supposed to be in the 80's by Tuesday.)

Ate a few for breakfast with a dollop of sweetened ricotta and toasted almonds...

Shelly's Strawberries with Vanilla Bean Sweetened Ricotta

1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Torani Syrup (any flavor, I used SF Vanilla)
scrapings of 1/2 a Vanilla Bean
Strawberries, chopped
sprinkle of Toasted Almonds

Mix ricotta, syrup and vanilla bean seeds till well combined. Spoon over strawberries. Top with nuts.

Lunch: Yesterday was filled with workmen and writing checks ugghh so everything on yesterday's to do list moved to today (or fell off the list, hence no Friday Five post.) The work... last month (not sure if I blogged it) we had a roof leak in the garage that destroyed the water heater causing it to leak and flood part of the garage. Fun times. So yesterday the new water heater was being moved from the temporary position to the permanent position now that the roof repair has been tested by substantial rain.

I finished about half my to-do list, gave up and made lunch. Mmmm. Turkey Avocado and Cheese Roll-up (browned in the pan till all warm and gooey) and a simple Salad of Romaine, Tomato, and a store bought Vinaigrette. These melted cold-cut rollups are a go-to lunch for me. If you are jonesing for a grilled cheese try them...

Just take a slice of turkey, a slice of cheese, a slice or 2 of avocado. Roll it up. Spray a non-stick pan with Pam. Set the roll-up in seam side down, cook till golden flip till done.

When the garage flooded tubs of "stuff" were moved to the safety of my dining room. For the past few weeks my dining room could have been featured in one of those hoarders shows on the Discovery Channel. OK maybe it wasn't THAT bad but I will be so glad to not have to apologize for the mess and explain to everyone that comes over. I made a start at getting things back to normal this afternoon. It's going to take a few days.

Dinner: For dinner I made Cauliflower Pie. For my fellow non-pasta eating, low carb pals you'll love this. You really get the feel of eating an Italian pasta dish.

Shelly's Cauliflower Pie

1 head of Cauliflower, cooked and mashed
1 Yellow Onion, chopped
3 Eggs, beaten
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated (divided use)
1 Tablespoon Oregano
1 Tablespoon Fresh Basil, chopped
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper

Topping
Marinara Sauce (I use jarred - Rao's is my fav)
Sliced Provolone

Break up cauliflower florets (my cauliflower was medium to large but the recipe is forgiving and slight size variations won't matter) and cook in salted water till fork tender. Drain. Mash. Saute onion till golden. Mix remaining ingredients together (hold back 1 Tablespoon of the Parmesan.) Pour into a 8 x 11.5 x 2 (2 qt) Pyrex casserole dish that has been sprayed with Pam non-stick cooking spray. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes and place under the broiler for 5 more minutes to brown.

When done I cut the pie into squares (I get 8-10 squares from the pie.) You can eat it as is but I top each square with a Tablespoon of Marinara Sauce and a slice of Provolone and it goes back under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Mmmm.

Snacks: Too much coffee and while I was trapped in the garage working I nibbled on a bag of Kay's Naturals Cookie Bites. Nom.

Now I'm having a cup of tea (my current fav), surfing the net (BTW I'm on Pinterest be my pal) and thinking about this week's menus. I swear by menu planning since weight loss surgery. It really helps me balance my day (protein, carbs, fats) and make the best use of pantry ingredients and leftovers with little waste. Hope everyone is having a nice weekend.

More day in my pouch posts.

Easter Eggstravaganza

Here's some of my favorite ways to use those all those hard cooked eggs you'll have on hand come Monday:

Shelly's Crab Egg Salad
Shelly's Deviled Chickpea Eggs

Shelly's Deviled Eggface Footballs
Shelly's Bacon & Egg Salad

Shelly's Pesto Deviled Eggs
Shelly's Confetti Egg Salad

Shelly's Deviled Egg Spiders
Shelly's Avocado Deviled Eggs

and for those of you who don't like eggs here's one for you...

Shelly's Faux Fried Egg

A day in my pouch

My yesterday in post weight loss surgery eating...

Breakfast: Started my day with Strawberries topped with a dollop of Ricotta Cheese, a drizzle of SF Maple Syrup and a sprinkle of Toasted Almonds. Simple but delicious.

Lunch: Leftovers and more strawberries, I'm on a kick.

Pink Box (top left): Leftover Grilled Zucchini
Orange Box (top right): Shelly's Greek Yogurt Dip for dipping steak (Greek yogurt with a dash of Greek Seasoning, Salt & Pepper)
Blue Box (bottom left): Leftover Tri Tip
Green Box (bottom right): Strawberries

More Eggface Bentos - lots of lunch ideas.

Dinner: Easiest dinner known to man. Easy to prepare and best of all easy to clean-up... Fish Foil Packets.

Shelly's Citrus Tilapia and Squash

1 fillet of Tilapia (any firmer white fish will do: Cod, Halibut, Tilapia, Orange Roughy)
1 Green Onion, chopped
1/2 a small Zucchini, thinly sliced (I used Mexican Squash)
1 Tablespoon Ponzu Sauce (Citrus-seasoned soy sauce found near soy sauce)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper
Aluminum foil

Ingredients listed are for one packet multiply it for how many packets you are making. Place all ingredients in center of a piece of heavy duty foil (if you are using the $1 store stuff double it) Fold the foil over and seal each packet.

If you can't find Ponzu Sauce (it's near soy sauce) a squirt of lime and soy sauce will work. Look for it though. It's yummy. I like a little extra sprinkle of Ponzu on the fish after it's cooked too and it makes a yummy salad dressing.

BBQ 15 minutes in covered grill or place packets on a baking sheet and bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Open packets carefully steam burns are not fun.

Snacks: Too much coffee, a packet of Cruncha Ma-Me Edamame Veggie Snack, and a few Frozen Yogurt Protein Drops while watching New Girl.

More day in my pouch posts

A day in my pouch

Here's what my yesterday in post weight loss surgery eating looked like...

Breakfast: We were supposed to get rain today early so I had planned to do my Leslie Sansone DVD for exercise but when I woke up and it wasn't raining I took off and got a long neighborhood walk in. My early morning walk this morning wasn't nearly as interesting as Saturday's. Saturday I watched divers and cops pull a stolen car out of the lake near my house. I hear it was teens on a joyride.

Thankfully there were just a bunch of ducks swimming in the lake today.

I came home from my walk and ate some sliced Apple with Strawberry Almond Yogurt Dip for breakfast. Check out these vintage glass luncheon plates with matching cups, an antique store score for $3 each. Perfect for apple or veggies and dip.

Shelly's Strawberry Almond Yogurt Dip

1/2 cup Greek Yogurt (I use plain 2%)
2-3 Tablespoons Strawberry Protein
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Torani Syrup (I used SF Almond)
1 Tablespoon Toasted Sliced Almonds

Mix yogurt, protein and syrup till well blended. Any protein will work, I used Celebrate Strawberry ENS. Top with almonds. Eat as is or great for dipping fruit.

Still no rain by mid-day so I hard boiled a few eggs put them in the fridge to cool, set the wash going and ran a ton of errands. Costco, Trader Joe's, and CVS where I bought me a Mega Millions lottery ticket because HELLO?! 365 million dollars! Oh the awesome stuff I would do with a hunk of that.

Lunch: When I got home I took the hard boiled eggs out and made Pepperoni Pizza Deviled Eggs for lunch. I ate 2 halves with a Frigo Swirl Cheesestick.

Shelly's Pepperoni Pizza Deviled Eggs

4 Hard boiled Eggs (I actually made 5 one was smaller than the others)
2 Tablespoons Greek Yogurt
1/4 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
12 Pepperoni "Chips" (divided use)
2 Tablespoons Fresh Basil, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
dash of Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper

How to make pepperoni chips: Place pepperoni slices on a plate and nuke on high for about a minute. Listen for when the sizzling sound stops. Transfer to a paper towel and let cool for a minute. They will crisp up like chips. Beyond use in this recipe they make a yummy topping crumbled on top of soups or salads or just to snack on.

How I hard cook eggs: Place eggs in pot. Fill pot with cold water till 1" over eggs. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes. Pour off hot water and cover eggs with very cold water. This is an extremely important step which prevents the greenish ring you sometimes see on yolks. When eggs are cool enough to handle. Crack & peel away shell. Chill.

Cut cooled eggs in half. Remove yolks and mash with yogurt, cheese, 4 crumbled pepperoni "chips" and seasonings till smooth-ish. Spoon back. Top each deviled egg with a pepperoni "chip."

Dinner: These are sooooo good. If you like potato latkes they are similar but I think better.

Shelly's Bruschetta Pancakes

1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons Multigrain Pancake Mix
1 Tablespoon Fresh Basil, chopped
1 Tablespoon Roasted Garlic*
1 Tablespoon Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
a dash of Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper

Whiz all ingredients in a mini food processor (a post-op MUST HAVE) Spray pan with non-stick spray. Cook on low till golden, flip and flatten. Cook till golden. Top with Bruschetta Topping (see below) and a sprinkle more of Parmesan cheese. Makes 8 silver dollar size.

I used whole milk ricotta if you use part skim. Drain through a sieve lined with a coffee filter for several hours or overnight in the fridge.

How I roast garlic: using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic. Place the garlic heads in a muffin pan or garlic roaster. I love my garlic roaster. Drizzle a couple teaspoons of olive oil over each head. Sprinkle with kosher salt.

If you aren't using a garlic roaster: cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes or so (take the lid off for the last 15 minutes), it's done when the cloves feel soft when knife is inserted.

These pancakes can be made ahead and reheated. I had them for dinner but they would be great anytime even for breakfast. They are soft & loaded with yummy protein so early post weight loss surgery people should have no trouble with them.

Shelly's Bruschetta Pancake Topping

1/2 cup Chopped Tomatoes
1 Tablespoon Fresh Basil, snipped
a drizzle of Balsamic Vinegar (or any fruity vinegar will do)
dash of Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper

Mix together. Also great on top of grilled fish.

Snacks: Oodles of coffee, a sample of turkey, tilapia and artichoke heart at the Costco Buffet ;) Love that Costco Buffet and a Salted Caramel CLICKacchino.

Shelly's Salted Caramel CLICKacchino

1 cup Soy Milk (any milk will do)
1 scoop CLICK Espresso Protein Powder (your favorite flavor)
1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
2 Tablespoons Torani Sugar Free Salted Caramel Syrup
a few Ice Cubes

Whiz in blender till smooth. Optional: Top with squirt of Sugar Free Whipped Cream and drizzle of SF Salted Caramel Sauce.

Off to watch Amazing Race. For those of you watching the Art and JJ, the Border Patrol agents are from my town.

More day in my pouch blog posts.

Friday Five

A weekly round-up of tidbits, tips, ideas, news articles, random cool things...

1. This coming Thursday, March 29th at 8PM Eastern is the second webinar in the FREE 14-part series on the complexity of obesity hosted by the Obesity Action Coalition and Obesity Prevention and Policy Management. The second webinar, "Obesity & Addiction," will feature Margaret Yufera-Leitch, MS, PhD, who will discuss the relationship between addiction and obesity. The webinar series is FREE but you do need to register in order to get a code to access.

2. Remember a few months back when I blogged about the 158 food item donation I made to celebrate my weight loss.

I was hoping others would join in. I was so jazzed people loved the idea and emailed they would be doing something similar. Shout out to Monica, Wendy, Christina, Beth, the list goes on and on, who sent pictures and videos like these...

Karin's Donation:


Toni's Donation:


Thank you to everyone for sharing in the fun! Got pics, video or articles to share about your donation? I would love love love to see them.

3. Some articles I read this week that were worth checking out:

The Fight Against Obesity Starts With Respect!
Parents Of Obese Children Encouraged To Begin With Their Own Weight Loss Journey
U.S. Underestimates Long-Term Costs of Obesity
Portrayals of Overweight Characters in Television Sitcoms: Implications for Obese Individuals in the General Society
Carnie Wilson has weight loss surgery again

This is a lifetime war against obesity. Like any war you head into each battle hoping to win. Sometimes you do and sometimes the enemy gets the upper hand.

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." ~Winston S. Churchill

Best wishes to Carnie Wilson and all fellow fighters.

4. Did you know Celebrate Vitamins offers a sample pack of their vitamins? It's $3. You get oodles of great samples and inside the pack you'll get a coupon code for $3 bucks off your first order making it basically FREE!
For the all the 411 on what's included in the pack and how to get yours click here. Typing this as my Celebrate Cherry B12 dissolves under my tongue. Nom. Tell 'em Eggface sent ya.

5. Today is National Chip & Dip Day. Pre weight loss surgery it was not uncommon for me to go to a Mexican restaurant and eat 2 baskets of chips and salsa or guacamole before the meal even arrived. Here's a healthier, weight loss surgery friendly, lower carb, high protein way to celebrate...

My High Protein Avocado Dip with Cucumber "Chips"
Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!

Heads up: Win a CLICKed Out Bike

Our friends at CLICK Espresso Protein are celebrating SPRING by giving away an AWESOME CLICKed OUT Beach Cruiser Bike delivered directly to your home.

The bike will even include a pink basket filled with 2 Canisters of CLICK Espresso Protein Drink in mocha and vanilla latte flavors, a CLICK shaker and CLICK tumbler.

If you love coffee. You must try CLICK Espresso Protein. Here's a few ways I use CLICK.

TO ENTER: Head over to CLICK's Facebook Page and click on the Spring Sweepstakes entry tab.

Only 1 entry per person. End Date: May 6, 2012 at 9:00 p.m. PT. Eligibility: US residents only, 18+.

Good Luck! Hope one of my pals is the big winner!

P.S. Tell them Eggface sent ya ;)

Drum roll...

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The Whole Enchilada

Well sort of, just in bite size or weight loss surgery friendly portion form. I was jonesing for Mexican food and this totally fit the bill.

These make great party appetizers or as a lunch or dinner with a veggie, sliced cucumbers or a simple green salad. A great use for leftovers or pre-plan by throwing an extra chicken breast on the BBQ to make this the next day.


Shelly's Mini Enchilada Cups

3-4 Tortillas
1/2 cup Cooked Chicken
2 Tablespoons Red Enchilada Sauce
1/4 teaspoon Oregano
1/4 cup Refried Beans
2-3 Tablespoons Shredded Cheese

Optional toppings:
Hot Sauce or Salsa
Guacamole
Shelly's Cilantro Lime Yogurt Dip

Spray mini muffin tin with Pam non-stick cooking spray. Using a biscuit or cookie cutter (or 1/3 cup metal measure) to cut circles from tortillas.

You'll need 3 or 4 depending on the tortillas you use. I used Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat, fajita size tortillas and needed 4 but had lots of leftover bits. Discard the trimmings (or feed them to the ducks, they surprisingly liked them.) Place the cut circles in the muffin tin and bake for 5 minutes at 375.

Mix chicken (or you could use leftover cooked turkey or beef), sauce (I used Old El Paso brand), and oregano together. Spoon about a teaspoon of beans in each tortilla. Top with a tablespoon of the chicken mixture. Sprinkle with cheese.

Continue baking at 375 for 5 more minutes until cheese is melted and golden. Remove from tin. Top with optional toppings.

Shelly's Cilantro Lime Yogurt Dip

1/4 cup Greek yogurt (2% plain)
1 Tablespoon Cilantro, chopped fine
squeeze of Lime juice
dash of Kosher Salt

Mix together. Also great to dip meat, fish, veggies or thinned with a little more lime juice and used as a salad dressing.

This gringa declared it delicioso! Despite having several surgeries in Mexico I can only speak a few words of Spanish. The basics... hello, goodbye, good morning, thank you, please, pain (helpful when traveling for surgery) and from my college years... una cerveza, por favor and after saying that a few times I needed... Dónde está el baño?

I can actually say that last phrase in 4 different languages 'cause you just never know where and when nature will call ;)

Friday Five

A weekly round-up of tidbits, tips, ideas, news articles, random cool things...

1. Looking for some weight loss surgery friendly St. Patrick's Day good eats? Here are a few of my favorites...

Shelly's Corned Beef & Cabbage Bites
Shelly's Shamrock Shake
Shelly's Pot o' Gold
Shelly's Irish Tortilla Pizza
Shelly's Rainbow Fruit Salad
For the recipes above and even more St. Patty's Day noms click here.

2. You know that makeover contest that Progresso Soup does each year. Well we have a fellow WLS-er in the running. Let's help Cassie E. win! You can vote once a day through March 25th. Oh and when you vote you get a chance to win soup for a year too so... win-win :) I would LOVE to see Cassie get the same VIP treatment I received when I was one of the grand prize winners of the first Souper You® Contest. This year they are headed to Los Angeles and get to go to the finale of "The Biggest Loser."

Video of my makeover day in NYC.
The Trip Details
Progresso Souper You Photos

I am forever grateful for my friends and family that voted and helped to give my Mum (my VIP) and I that AWESOME memory. Good Luck Cassie! I'll be voting.

3. Some articles I read this week that were worth checking out:

Gain Together, Lose Together: The Weight-Loss 'Halo' Effect
Weight Loss: The Biggest Reinvention Of Them All - the article quotes some harsh regain stats.
Gastric Bypass Saved My Life - mine too ;)
Fat-Bashing: An Acceptable Prejudice?

and KUDOS to California for creating a positive and helpful childhood obesity campaign without relying on shaming and stigmatizing. (Georgia, you might want to take notes.)



4. Reminder: Still time to register for the FREE Obesity & Addiction Webinar, #2 in the 14-part webinar series being held on Mar 29, 2012 8 PM Eastern/5 PM Pacific. If you missed #1 (Intro to the series) click the link and scroll down to archived events.

5. Sunday is the last day to enter the Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway ♧ Click here to add your name in the hat for a chance to win this awesome prize pack...


I am LUCKY to have you guys in my life ♧ Thanks for being on the other end of my ramblings.

A day in my pouch

Here's what my yesterday in post weight loss surgery eating looked like...

Breakfast: About once a month or so I just crave a bowl of oatmeal or sooji. I usually jazz it up with some added protein, a few nuts or some powdered peanut butter.

Shelly's Strawberry Shortcake Protein Oatmeal

1/4 cup Quick Oats (I used McCann's Quick Irish Oats)
2 Tablespoons Ground Oats*
3 Tablespoons Protein Powder (any flavor, I used Celebrate ENS Vanilla Cake Batter)
4 oz. Milk
4 oz. Hot Water
Optional toppings: Sugar Free Strawberry Jam, Toasted Sliced Almonds

In a 4 cup measure mix oats, ground oats and hot water. In a blender bottle shaker mix milk and protein till completely combined. Add contents of shaker to oats & water mixture. Mix.

Nuke 2 minutes stirring once at the 1 minute mark. Pour into a bowl. I topped mine with a dollop of Sugar Free Strawberry Jam, Toasted Sliced Almonds and some more Milk.

*To make the ground oats. I grind (in a coffee grinder) a cup or so of oatmeal into "ground oats" that I keep in a Tupperware container for this use, it's also great for adding to meatloaf or meatballs instead of bread crumbs.

Lunch: Spent the morning doing laundry, cleaning, boring stuff like that. I serve on an Obesity Action Coalition committee and we had a conference call so once that was done I packed up my super cool bento box and took off to my outdoor office, a park with free wifi near my house. My work was portable and I hear we are in for a rainy weekend so I wanted to take advantage and soak in the sun and Vitamin D while I could. The walk is nice too about 3 miles total (to the park, around it, and back.)

Pink Box (top left): Shelly's Mini Cheese Stuffed Peppers
Green Box (top right): Shelly's Pina Colada Pudding
Blue Box (bottom left): Shrimp and Cocktail Sauce (in the mini blue container)
Orange Box (bottom right): Salami and Provolone Cheese

The peppers were leftovers from the other night's dinner. So good. I've made a slightly different version of these before. They are great party appetizers and taste GREAT hot, warm or even cold.

Shelly's Mini Cheese Stuffed Peppers

12-14 (approx. 1/2 lb) Baby Bell Peppers, halved (Costco sells 2 lb bags of these)
sprinkle of Kosher Salt
1 Yellow Onion, diced
1/2 cup cooked Sausage, crumbled
1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
1 Tablespoon Fresh Basil, chopped
1/4 cup Italian Blend Cheese, shredded (Mozzarella, Parmesan, Fontina Blend)
1 Tablespoon Parmesan, grated

Half baby peppers and remove seeds. Wash & dry thoroughly. Place on a baking sheet or casserole dish that has been sprayed with a non-stick spray. Sprinkle with Kosher salt. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Saute onion till golden. Add sausage. Cook 1 minute more. Set aside to cool. Mix cooled mixture with remaining ingredients (except Parmesan) till well combined. Spoon mixture into a quart sized Ziploc bag. Seal baggie and snip off one corner to form a piping bag.

Pipe cheese mixture into par-cooked mini peppers. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Return to 350 oven for 30-35 minutes more or until cheese is slightly golden.

the pudding is super easy...

Shelly's Pina Colada Pudding

1 Sugar Free Vanilla Pudding Cup
1 Tablespoon Pineapple, crushed
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Coconut Torani Syrup
1 Tablespoon Unsweetened Coconut, toasted
a few Macadamia Nuts, crushed for top

Mix together till well combined.

More Eggface Bento Lunches

Dinner: I'm on a shrimp kick right now. I grilled some shrimp on the BBQ. Swipe of olive oil, sprinkle of Greek seasonings. Served them on simple salad of romaine lettuce, tomato, feta, a sprinkle of oregano and a dollop of Greek yogurt "dressing" (plain 2% Greek Yogurt, Greek seasoning, salt & pepper to taste)

Ate it while watching American Idol. My early favorites are Phillip-thinks he's Dave Matthews-Phillips and you can't deny that Joshua kid can bring it. Was the whole fly-on-the-wall sent to the Principal's office dealio with the DQ'd contestant necessary. He's gone, that's all we needed to know. Lame.

Are you watching?

Snacks: Too much coffee, my Pina Colada pudding leftover from my Bento from earlier, a Cutie Mandarin, and a sample of Irish cheese and corned beef and cabbage from Trader Joe's when I stopped in to pick up more of my favorite little bento box lunch items.

A tasty day.