Zuchinni Genius

Whoever came up with the idea of using zuchinni as pasta is pure genius.  Amazing.  If you've never tried it, do it.  If I haven't posted enough about zuchinni, I'm here to tell ya that I love it!  Its super low in calories and pretty much everything else and wonderful if seasoned right.  So this recipe that I mentioned in an earlier post about the Pesto, used zuchinni in the place of pasta.  I gobbled that shit up and loved every minute of it.  Here's the recipe:

Zuchinni Pasta

1- 2 large Zuchinni
1 tbsp of Pesto
Boiling water
Hot skillit

Cut Zuchinni in long spagetti like strips.  Put zuchinni in boiling water for about 2-3 minutes.  Transfer to paper towel to soak up some of the water and then put in skillet with 1 tbsp of pesto.  Sautee for about 2 more minutes.  Enjoy!  :)

Nutrition Facts (makes 2 servings)

Fat              3g
Calories       65       
Carbs           1
Protein          5g

For the scallops - simply season with lemon pepper and sautee for 2-3 minutes on each side or until they have a carmelized color on their sides.

Easy Peasy :)

Pesto & Meet me on Monday

Blogging is a funny thing...we tell our most intimate thoughts for all to read and yet most of the time I find myself sitting and wondering, "who is this person!?" I know them...but yet I don't know them! I want to know who the person is behind all those words so I thought of a great way for all of us to "meet" each other!
Every Sunday Never Growing Old will post five get to know you questions that you can copy and paste into your own Monday post and we can all learn a little more about each and every one of us!!

Java will add a linky so we can follow who participates and get to know them better!! Be sure to link the POST and not just your whole blog!!

Questions:

1. I really need to clean my _________? - My closet!  I avoid this task too often...

2. What food makes you think of Christmas? - TransSiberian Orchestra, I'm not an orchestra lover but LOVE LOVE LOVE them!  Their Christmas Cannon helped me choose the song I walked down the aisle to.  Of course not the Christmas version but the original in D.  Every time I hear it I get a lump in my throat.  Beautiful.

3. If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be? Probably 24 - nothing special about that year or age but it seems to all go down hill, (and sag), from there LOL.

4. What was your first paying job? Subway!  It was fun, I'm going to leave out why it was so much fun, but for some reason the owners/managers let us 16yr old hoodlums practically run the joint...pun intended

5. Have you read the Twilight series? Oh yea, I love them.  I read them all before the hype though.  I had never read anything like it and didn't think I would but it's opened my fancy for the paranormal and fantasy like literature.  I just saw Breaking Dawn and after being somewhat disappointed with the first three, I really liked this one.  Maybe because it's been so long since I've read them, but I really can't wait for Part II.

                                                    

I've been doing reall well with food and I'm seeing my scale go down...THANK GAWD!  I lost .8 when I weighed in last Friday and I took my measurements today and I'm down 2 more inches in my waist.  So thankful that I'm starting to see some results.  I'm still pretty hungry, but I'm hanging in there and making it work by staying in my calorie range.  I go see the doc tomorrow and get my first fill which I'm super excited about.  Hopefully I'll feel the restriction I hear so much about. 

I love Pesto.  Pesto pasta, pizza, meats, veggies...you name it and I LOVE it.  So I found a recipe that I'd been dying to try (and will tonight, that's for another post) in Better Homes and Gardens magazine that called for Pesto.  This weekend it was rainy so I felt it was the perfect time to try to make some homemade Pesto.  The best thing about Pesto is that it's bursting with flavor and you don't have to use alot of it.  It can be high in calories because of the EVOO and nuts (I used Pumpkin Seeds instead of Pine nuts though), but I generally use a teaspoon, maybe two.  This recipe's nutrtion facts are based on the exact amount in the recipe but I scaled back and used a little less than what the recipe calls for. 

Pumpkin Seed Pesto

2cups of Fresh Basil leaves
1/2 cp of EVOO
1/2 cp of Parmesan (or Romano) cheese
1/3 cp of Pumpkin Seeds
1 Garlic Clove (I will probably up this to 2 or 3 next time)
squeeze of fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all in Food Processor and Pesto Chango!  :P

Nutrition Facts for 1 tsp (for 1 tbsp = x3)
Fat                  4g
Calories          46
Carbs              1
Protein            1g

Try this on veggies...it's wonderful!  :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!

 

Pizza! Pizza!

Hello!  I would just like to announce that I stepped on the scale this morning (I know...I really need to stop doing this every day...Fridays only from now on...Promise! ) and I WAS DOWN 2LBS!  YAY!  I would also like to Thank everyone for your encouraging words.  It helped me not get discouraged.  Now I know that I probably have a lot of instances just like this one in the near future...but I can't express how happy I was to see those pounds fall off this mornin'. 

So Pizza...ah yes...Pizza...I think this was one of the ONLY things I've been craving since my pre-op.  Hot, greasy, cheesy, pepperoni pizza.  But we all know what a BAD IDEA that would be, but I just HAD to have some...so I did!

Chicken Margherita Tortilla Pizza

1 Ole Whole Wheat Tortilla (or any brand you prefer)
1 oz. of Grilled Chicken
1 Tomato Basil String Cheese
handful of golden tomatos (or red, these are sweeter)
1 tsp. of EVOO
2 basil leaves
Salt and Pepper to taste

Toast your tortilla in the oven on 375 until it starts to get a little brown, watch it though because you don't want it to burn with the toppings (kinna like this one did but it was still YUMMY!).  I probably had it in there for about 5min.  I also sprayed it lightly with PAM EVOO.  While that's toasting, chop the rest of the ingrediants in the bowl.  Once your tortilla is toasted, put the remaining chopped ingrediants on the tortilla and toast until the cheese is melted.  It probably took another 5 min but I have a gas stove, which cooks faster so just watch it.  (I'm notorious for burning things I must 'watch' so I literally sit on the floor looking through the stove for the cheese to melt...LOL!)

Nutrition Facts
Fat                14g
Calories        247
Carbs             10
Protein            21g

(This may seem like a lot of calories and fat, but I haven't been eating near enough and I'm stuffed by the time I'm finished with this)

One of the things I really like about this dish is that since we eat slow, so the food gets cool (something I totally didn't think about when considering LapBand), but once it cools its sooo refreshing! 

Hope someone gets to enjoy this as much as I did! 

Walkin' Love

Good morning! It's been a few days since my last post. Kinna sounds like I'm doin a confession doesn't it? I do have to say that I haven't been posting because I'm stuck...and really don't have any good thoughts to share with my blogger folks. See, im at a standstill with my weight and have been for the last two weeks, in fact, im up 2lbs and I went ahead and updated my ticker since I haven't had a loss in a while...sigh. I'm frustrated. Very frustrated. I'm doing real well with eating. Staying at about 600-1000 calories per day. I am at zero restriction but I'm not letting that get the best of me. I walk at least 4 days a week for at least a mile. And I'm making real good food choices. I keep hearing that its normal and my body is just holding onto to what it has because it thinks its starving and then will eventually let go of this weight. But this seems to always be the case with me (preband). I lose 20ish lbs. And then can't for the life of me get the rest of the weight off! Btw, this 19-21 lbs I'm reporting is including what I lost in pre-op. So post op im only about 8lbs down, im three and a half weeks out, which isn't bad, I'm just not seeing anything move! I wish I could up the workouts, but I have about three more weeks until I can do that.

Which brings me back to my walking. During the weeks, I really don't have any choices than doing it during work hours. Me and a few girls have mapped out a route in or building and we do at least a mile, for 15 minutes. I leave for work and get home after dark and outside is just not an option for me in this area. But I love it outside. Not around the neighborhood, I think that's super boring and will come home at a mile. So during the weekends, I've been heading back to the park and really workin it. I mean doing at least 2mi at about 4-5 mpi (per endomondo app). Its beautiful. I love people watching, the trees, the little duck pond, people fishing.  I WISH, I lived closer so I could go during the week. Its about 20min away and I don't get home until after 7pm. Just the beauty of nature encourages me to keep going. Here's a little view of my walking trail:

Isn't it beautiful?

Butternut Squash & Bandster Hell

I believe that I am now officially in Bandster Hell.  I am still going up and down on a daily basis and am pretty freakin' hungry all the time.  One day I'm up one, the next down two, the next up three, then down three and so on...sigh.  I CANNOT wait for a fill.  I'm scheduled for one the Tuesday after Thanksgiving and I am countin' down the days.  So granted, I don't have a lot of exciting thoughts to boast about today...

My eating has been pretty boring during this mushie stage.  Chix salad and tuna salad plus a side of veggies.  I really can't fathom eatin' anything else that is supposed to be solid, into mush...so that's why I'm stuck on these, plus I took that Chix that my mom made the broth with so I'm up to my eyeballs in Chix Salad and I don't want to waste it.  However, I usually make some veggies to go with my Chix Salad and today I made my Baked Butternut Squash Fries...YUM!!  If you like Sweet Potato Fries, you'll love these and they are healthier.

Baked Butternut Fries

Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Cut squash in half and scoop the seeds out, cut in fries about 1/2 inch thick.  Be careful, its really hard to cut.  Spray pan with PAM (I use the Olive Oil one), line pan with fries and leave about an inch in between them so they can breathe.  Spray with OO Pam and sprinkle with Sea Salt.  Bake for 20min and then turn them over and bake for another 20min.   Taadaa!  :)

Another side I love...Lemon Pepper Grilled Zuchinni

Rinse Zucchini and cut in long pieces.  Fire up the grill, sprinkle with lemon pepper seasoning and cook for about 5 -10 min.  I'm totally addicted to these!  :)

Hopefully tomorrow will be more cheerful.

Meet Me on Monday

I really wanted to do BYOC, but it wasn't posted...so here I am!

1.  Does your family/friends know about your blog?
My hubby is the only one and the only one I plan on telling.  :) 

2.  What is your favorite card game?
Speed!  And I'd beat your ass at it too...bring it! :P

3.  What do you wear to bed?
Just a T, usually my hubby's, and some panties.  Hopefully they'll be a lot cuter in the future. 

4.  What is your favorite kind of French Fry?
Really?  I'm like some of the others that answered this question in awe.  For whoever created this one, thanks for makin' me add French Fries to my crave in addition to greasy, cheesy pizza...ugh.  On a good note, I've recently discovered Baked Butternut Fries and they are AH.MAY.ZING! 

5.  What is your bed time? 
I try to be in bed by 10pm but I usually watch tv for a bit.  On top of that, I'm quite the insomniac at times and when I do sleep I sleep very very light.

What's on your workout playlist?

Mornin'.  I'm on a slight uptick on the scale.  I'm not too happy about it because I'm doing everything I'm supposed to.  Eating slower (thanks for your responses on my last post).  Stayin' within my calories.  Workin' out.  Measuring food.  WHAT GIVES??  The scale has me up 3 POUNDS!!!  I told myself to only weigh on Fridays because I would fluctuate on a daily basis, so I weighed yesterday, was up one, weighed again this mornin' and up two more.  I just need to hang in there...

Yesterday, my family and I went to the park and the boys played some football while I got in some exercise.  I walked about 2 miles is 40 minutes (I plan on eventually being able to run).  I have no idea if that's good time but it's more exercise than I've done in years and my legs are feelin' it today.  But I felt great.  When we got back me and my youngest son did about 20 minutes of Just Dance 2 on Wii.  So I feel pretty good about the exercise I got in yesterday.  I love to listen to music and it helps me make my walks more exciting.  My favorite is anything Katy Perry or Black Eyed Peas...I LOVE THEM and any time I hear either of those two it makes me want to dance.  So that's basically what my playlist consists of with a few others in the mix.  I mostly listen to modern and classic rock but I need music that'll pump me up for workouts, that's why I'm kinna lost on what else to add.  Here's a sample of what I listen to while I'm walkin':

• Teenage Dream - Katy Perry
• You and I - Lady Gaga
• California Gurls - KP
• The Time - BEP
• Imma Be - BEP
• Meet me halfway - BEP
• Miss You - Rolling Stones
• Can't Get No Satisfaction - RS
• Sail - Awolnation
• Last Friday Night - DP
• Alone - Heart

When I'm out and about I can always come up with stuff I need to download, but when I sit down at my computer to do it, I'm at a loss...

So what's on your playlist? 

(Sorry I haven't posted any recipes lately, my diet consists of smushed chicken and veggies right now, nothing exciting...)

What is this?

Hey Bloggers!!  Happy Friday :)  Well not Happy Friday to me since I've been stuck at the same weight since last Friday...sigh.  (I've decided that I'm only weighin' on Fridays)  I know that I'm not supposed to worry about weigh loss during this time but I can't help it!  I'm actually up .7 since I've been on mushies (3 days) but who's counting?? Of course I count the points when I'm down though LOL.  I've only walked 3 xs this week so I know I need to get that up.  I do pretty well on my water but I've always done well with that.  So is this typical?  The move from liquids to mushies is obviously more calories, but I was only taking in about 500-600 on liquids and now I'm ranging from 800-1000.  Did you hit a plateau during this transition?

In addition to that, I think I can feel my band now.  I don't know what it means, I guess this is the part where have to figure out what the signs are tellin' me.  It's like I can feel the food move through my band.  It doesn't hurt, it's just kinna uncomfortable.  Is this normal?  Am I taking too big of bites?  I can't imagine it's me not chewing my food well, since it basically disintegrates in my mouth right now.  Am I eating too fast?  Maybe it's just 'cause I'm still healing?  Do you even know what I'm talkin' about?

Insights...please.

Chill of an early fall

It's about 60 degrees in the great state of Texas right now and I am LOVIN' it!  Hopefully, it'll stick around for a while.  I live in an area of the US where you northerners laugh at us because we consider 60 as COOOOLD LOL.  But it's nice.  Comin' from a 100+ degree summer and an even worse August, where you're drippin' with sweat just walkin' to your car in the parkin' lot, I look forward to this time of year.  I embrace it.  

On another note, I am now officially 2 weeks post op and I am feelin' fantastic!  100% back to normal except that I still cannot sleep on my stomach (and do not sleep well on my back or side, might I add).  I did move to mushies today and I'm goin' back to work tomorrow.  It was nice chewin' my food because I am tired of drinkin'!  I did have my protein shake for breakfast but for lunch I had 2 turkey meatballs my mom made for my hubby while she was here and 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes (no, I don't know if there's an E or not, so shoot me).  I don't any have restriction but I took small bites, chewed at least 20 times, and have been full and satisfied throughout the day.  I then had a late snack of 1/2 cup of Greek Yogurt (love this stuff) with splenda and a small amount of honey and I am not interested in eating anything else.  My doc said specifically, "if you are not hungry, don't eat", so I'm not.  

(I'm currently watchin' X Factor and this little girl Drew is so amazing!!!)

So, in light of the wonderful chill in the air, I just had to put on some chilli.  They just go together.  It's in the crock pot now and i'll let it cook overnight so it'll be good and ready for me to pack my lunch in the AM.  Since I am banded, I decided to try something a little different...black beans.  So this is a vegetarian meal, and a lot healthier than your standard chilli.  And, since it's cookin' overnight, it'll be nice and mushy for me tomorrow! 

Black Bean Chilli

2 big cans of Black Beans

1 standard can of Black Beans 

(or 5 standard size cans)

2 medium zucchini

1 cup of mushrooms

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 white onion, chopped

2 Alarm Chilli (I have no idea if this is something that is just in the south, if so, any chilli kit should do)

Mix all in Crock Pot, set on low and cook for about 8 hours, and Voila'!

Nutrition Facts for 1/2 cup serving (has about 12 1/2 cups)

Calories    109

Fat            1g

Carbs        14

Protein       7g

Enjoy!

The nerve...

Effin A$@&#% just left to get some ice cream......the nerve.

*UPDATE* I should really give DH more credit...this is what he came home with.

150 Calories
2g    Fat
5g    Protein
14g  Sugar (that's kinna a lot but with the very little I've had in the past 3 weeks, I think it'll be okay)

Week 2 Post Op Essentials

Happy Saturday!  Today's been a pretty productive day so far.  House is clean and laundry is done, there isn't much to do really since I've had so much time off.  Actually, I can't remember the last time I've been this caught up on laundry.  It's really a nice feelin'.  Although, I think that my days wishin' that I could be a domestic engineer (as one of my fellow bloggers called it) are diminishing by the day.  I.AM.BORED.  I'm usually pretty crafty but with holiday travels in the near future and everything that comes along with it, there isn't a lot of extra mula for me to spend on my lost hobbies.  I'm scheduled to go back to work this Thursday, I can't say that I miss my job, but I am kinna ready to get back into the swing of things.  My only concern is with my bra.  See, I'm well endowed blessed, and I've got a nice incision right on my bra line and I haven't been able to wear one since the surgery.  I wore one yesterday, but I felt that my bra was just rubbin' the scab off and it got pretty irritated.  Ewww.  So hopefully, I'll be all ready to go by Thursday. 

I'm still enjoying my Week 2 since I love soups so much, and I'm really enjoying cooking and trying new recipes.  But I'm getting pretty hungry.  I can't wait to get on mushies and then being able to start workin' solids in soon after that.  I'll actually be on solids come Thanksgiving, plus I have zero restriction, and I won't have a fill until 11/29.  I have to say that I am excited about that, ya know, being able to eat at Thanksgiving and all, but I'm really anxious for this restriction I hear y'all talkin' about.  Cause I don't have it!  :(

Yesterday, I tried my hand at some Tomato Basil Soup and it was fantastic!  My hubby even liked it and he never enjoys Tomato Basil Soup.  Of course, I had to bribe him with a delicious unhealthy grilled cheese sandwich, but still, he ate it and loved it.  Since these soups are not high protein, I'm still drinkin' a shake at dinner time to meet all my protein or I'll have a small cup of Greek yogurt.  The soups are low enough in calories so I think it's okay.  I actually understand now why they make Chicken Stock flavored protein powder.   So if you have some, add it to some water and pour in the soup instead of the chicken stock.

Tomato Basil Soup

3 lbs of Roma Tomatoes

1 28oz  can of Roma Tomatoes (with juice)

3 cups of Chicken Stock

1 cup of Fresh Basil leaves (chopped)

1 tspn of Fresh Thyme

6 garlic cloves

2 white onions (chopped)

3 tbsp of EVOO

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Cut Roma tomatoes in half, toss with 1 tbsp of EVOO, salt and pepper and layer on baking sheet.  Roast for 45 min.

Saute onions, garlic, 2tbpn of EVOO on stove top until onions start to brown.  Add chicken stock, can tomatoes with juice, basil, and thyme.  Once tomatoes are done roasting, add them to pot including all juices from pan.  Let boil and simmer for 40 minutes.  Season to taste and puree when done.

This makes about 16 1/2 cup servings. 

Nutrition Facts for 1/2 cup:

Fat             5g

Calories    95

Carbs         9

Protein     3g

Here are some essentials for Week 2:

• Anything from Week 1 
• Sugar Free Pudding
• Campbells Soup at Hand - I don't puree them, I just drink them.  I just make sure to chew anything chunky real well, but they are also extremely small.  I also have no restriction so I'd just listen to what your body is tellin you
• Sugar Free Applesauce
• V8 soups
• Greek Yogurt 0% milkfat -  it's packed with protein, just add a packet of stevia and a little honey or pureed fruit and it's great!
  

My Entourage

Mornin'!  I'm now 8 days post op and I am feeling pretty darn good.  My port area is still pretty tender so I'm bein' pretty careful with that area due to my last squashin' episode.  But I'm feelin' back to normal.  Along with all this normalness (it's a word now, k?) is none other than my arch enemy...The Appetite (duh duh duh).  It's not back with a vengeance....yet, but I have a feelin' thats right around the corner.  But then again, I was really expectin' this whole post op experience to be torture, and it hasn't, so maybe it's not goin' to be that bad. 

I would like to give a shout out to My Entourage...

See, they follow me everywhere (hence entourage), to the bathroom, to blow my nose, to do the dishes, wash clothes...everywhere!!  I wish I could've gotten a better picture of them but the white one (Owen, Maltipoo) is scared of the camera, seriously he starts convulsing just like when it storms.  I guess he thinks its the evil lightning man coming back to strike him???  So this is the best pic I could do with both of them.  I also have a cat that likes to join the entourage when she wants to be a part of the clan.  This was not one of those times. 

So back to my shout out...I was really concerned about their behavior around me during recovery.  They love me...no, they LOVE me, and that's not being conceited.  They sit, stand, walk, and sleep wherever I do and a lot of the time its usually ON me, rather than beside me.  I thought I would have to ward off their oncoming pounces that sometimes usually land on my belly.  But I never did.  They have been amazing.  It's like they know mommy's tummy is hurt!  Even Dixie (the boxer), who has NO IDEA how big she is, is so gentle and will just slowly crawl up next to me and just snuggle. 

They've been like my own personal stuffed animals, ya know, like when you were a sick kid and needed something like that.  I love 'em.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Have any of you ever had a belly button ring?  Did you ever have to take it out and then tried to put it back in and got light headed and nauseous because it freaked you out?  Anyone.......????  (Hopefully someone knows what I'm talkin' about lol)  What happened to me today kinna reminded me of that.  I've actually been feelin' much better these past two days and I bent over to pick up clothes to put in the wash and I smushed my insides too much!!  Ugh, I squeezed, what I guess was my port area, a little too much and felt it tug, on something (I'm guessin' my muscle)...it hurt and it made me real uneasy.  Other than that little episode I've been feelin' so much better.  I did take some pain meds because my port area is extremely sore now and has swollen again.  I really hope I didn't do anything bad to it...that would be just my luck if I did.  

Good news, if my scale is correct (I say this because I should really splurge and get a new one) I've lost a total of 18lbs!!!  This includes all the weight I've lost since about 2 months before pre-op.  See I went through 'Last Supper Syndrome' for about, oh, the first four months of my doc visits so I lost nothing and probably even gained a few.  Then about month five I really started transitioning into healthy eating and I lost about 5lbs just doing that.  So YAY me!  I'd really like to put a tracker on the side of this blog so I can record it but I need to figure out how to do that.  (help would be appreciated)

Aaaaand...it's week 2, purees.  I can't tell you how excited I am about this week.  Not only do I get to eat sip something thick, but I get to sip on soup and I heart soup.  So I made me a big bowl of Low Fat Broccoli Cheese Soup (I wanted broccoli for a reason) and it was good ...no it was PERFECT!  My hubby was still able to enjoy it and I just pureed my little 1/2 cup.  I also cooked it all day in the Crock Pot so everything was extra mushy.  

Low Fat Broccoli Cheese Soup

1 head of broccoli, chopped
1 can of FF Cream of Chicken soup
2 cans of FF Cream of Celery soup
2 cups of Soymilk
1/2 chopped onion
4 oz. of 2% Velveeta Cheese
1 cup of FF Kraft Cheddar Cheese
1 cup of Chicken Broth

Mix all ingredients together in Crock Pot, cook on Low for about 4 hours.

Nutrition facts for 1/2 cup serving:
Calories:  84
Fat:          2g
Carbs:      9g
Protein:    6g

Has anyone tried any of my recipes??  Are they helpin'?