Shake It Off!

Hello everyone!  It's been a while. Some exciting things have been happening at the beginning of this summer, and keeping me very busy. As some of you know, my husband and I are adopting. We also took our 5 year wedding anniversary vacation as a trip to Dollywood! It was so exciting!

At this point I was just 6 weeks out from my bariatric surgery and down around the number mark of 25 lbs. While this is a great number at 6 weeks, I still felt discouraged because I still fit snugly into my clothing. I did not, however, take into account that most of the clothing that I fit snugly into, were the same ones that I could not wear at all before surgery.  I have been losing weight, just not in my mind's eye.

The weight loss was affirmed when I went onto several of the rides at Dollywood, that are harder for the heavier weighted people to fit. I have been losing weight, and it's not a huge deal that I'm not a size 14. After my first coaster in nearly 5 years, I cried;  for our wedding celebration we went to Disney World with Rob's family and we barely or did not fit on the rides then.

The food was plentiful, even though my pouch was small. The decor was to die for, and my heart sung at nearly every other plaque. Due to a very strict budget,  I talked me out of nearly every purchase to decorate our home. My husband is also not one to decorate with knickknacks and wall hangings either... unless it's his Weird Al poster. The people were friendly and I felt like the Dreammore Resort was home. I want to come back when our child is old enough to visit. Another five years or so.

There was one incident, where the husband and I sat on the same row on the carousel. Nothing shatters your confidence in your weight loss goals like the sound of slipping gears and the jerk of the prettiest pony on the carousel gives out and just stops. The ride doesn't stop either. Even though the parents are taking photos of their children and significant other on the ride, one can't help but to feel that they are taking the photo of you and your fat butt, that just broke the carousel and it may be on the news later on.

Thankfully none of that happened, and even the operator was kind enough to tell me that it was not our fault at all, that the row we happened to pick was already having issues that morning. She seemed to feel worse about not warning anyone about the row than we did breaking said row. And I still felt like I killed the dreams of every little kid (there were two) waiting in line for the carousel as it was shut down for repairs. Note to self, do not ride on same row with husband.

One tip I learned there is to watch your portions, even a quarter size is still quite a bit of food, and never-ever push yourself to do something you're not ready to. At one point I had to call it for the roller coasters, because I felt that my healing stomach was still not ready for the rough and tumble of the rides. Only one made me queasy, also the same one I nearly lost my wig on. I don't care how many bobby pins and tape you have in your wig, do NOT wear it on rides. Period.

On to the shakes!

This not so much a recipe as a bunch of tips for those who have learned a bit about the basics of making smoothies and shakes.

Use fruits and vegetables for the bulk of the flavor: I like to use fruits and veggies as my base for flavor and fiber.
Do not be afraid to use herbs and spices: they work in cooked food just as well as they work in the shakes!

Don't forget the extra protein: Add a scoop of protein powder, vanilla, chocolate or flavorless to each one to give it that extra oomph. Even as much as half a scoop will make a difference in how much intake you are having. I personally like to use at least one scoop for every 16 oz.

Gimmie some Honey, sugar: Sometimes a sweetener is needed, and I stick to honey in this case. Honey is much healthier than most of the sweetener alternatives that are hard on the stomach. Honey also help digestion and just a small bit helps sweeten up a drink without adding too much sugar.

Ice cubes can be made of more than just water: milk cubes, yogurt cubes, and ice cubes are a great base for every shake, and using them frozen will give you a more frozen yogurt/smoothie texture that you may be craving.

Use greek yogurt to make it creamy: again, greek yogurt is a great base for smoothies, and it doesn't take much to mix it in, speaking of mixing...

Prevent froth by blend then stir: Blend the ingredients that need broken down first. Fruits, veggies, ice cubes  are great, but can froth up when given too much air with liquids. prevent this by blending them till they have a good consistency (what you would put in your mouth) and then mix powders and liquids that do not need blending. This prevents excess air from frothing your drinks, and making you gassy!

Recycle: get your all natural peanut butter and almond butter in glass jars? Recycle those suckers when you're done by pouring your mixes in the jars, closing the top, and shaking the hell out of them. You'll get it mixed with minimum air bubbles and you can also leave it in the fridge overnight for tomorrows use!

Have helpful tips of your own? Leave them in the comments below!

-Barb

Salsa Egg and Cheese Cup

High protein in breakfast is easy to get. Stay away from starches, high-sugar and low-fiber cereals, breakfast bars loaded with sugars, slider foods, and sweet pastries. The worst being is skipping breakfast. If you skip meals, you run the risk of placing yourself back into starvation mode, reducing or stalling your weight loss process, as well as a myriad of other potential health risks.

Your best source for morning protein is eggs. It's a good thing an egg is versatile and can be cooked in many different ways, too! I'm going to show you one way, that you can change up for however you want. Adding and subtracting things from this recipe will help you vary your diet as well as get the nutrition you need.

Salsa Egg and Cheese Cup
Prep Time: <5 min, Cook Time: 25 min,  Servings 6

Ingredients:
5 Eggs
1/3 Cup Cottage Cheese

6 Tbsp Salsa
1/4 Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit
2. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and cottage cheese.
3. Spray 6 muffin cups in tray with cooking spray (or line with cupcake liners). Distribute egg mix evenly between cups.
4. Bake for 12 min, remove from oven and spoon salsa into the middle of every cup. Then sprinkle 2 tsp of cheese over each cup.
5. Bake again for 12 min or until eggs are puffy, and cheese is melted and lightly toasted.
6. Enjoy warm and store remaining in sandwich bags and refrigerate for an easy warm up for breakfasts!

Gather and measure out your ingredients. Since cottage cheese is a great protein stack, my husband and I go through enough to buy it in bulk from Costco. Eggs we find at Aldi's cheaper, but Krogers occasionally has a sale that makes them comparable or cheaper. Cheese is often on sale at Kroger as well, and I stock up and freeze extra. If you don't have a Kroger in your area, you may have Cala Foods, Copps, Dillons, Fred Meyers, Fry's, QFC, Ralphs or another grocery store owned by the same chain. They all tend to run the same deals.

I personally have had problems with onions after surgery with reflux issues, so finding a salsa without onions is on the top of my list. There are recipes you can find to make on your own and save a bit of cash. For convenience I like Mrs. Renfro's Black Bean Salsa - 2jar pack, some Kroger and Walmart has this in store too. The salsa favors flavor over spice, which is a good thing to look for in salsa.

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Crack your eggs and whisk together with the cottage cheese. You can easily mix it all by hand, but if you have large curd and issues with texture, you may want to use a stand or hand blender to whisk together.

Once blended, fill the cooking oil sprayed muffin cups. If you don't usually have cooking oil, muffin cup liners will help, but you may want to lessen the amount of egg in each cup, as it will puff up. I use a small half tray for cupcakes, but a full size muffin tin will do the job as well. Pop the tray in the oven for 12 minutes.

Once the time is up, pull the tray out carefully, the outside of the egg should be cooked, and the inside will still be pretty liquid.

Now you can put in your ingredients, try not to put more than 2 Tbsp of anything in, as it will make the cups overflow. You may want to keep a towel handy for accidental overflows.

I used a Tbsp of salsa for each, and then about 2 tsp of cheese on top. Once it is full, and the tray cleaned off of any spills, carefully place it into the oven for another round of baking. 12 minutes or greater will be needed to cook the egg thoroughly. You can tell it's done when the egg is puffy and the cheese on top is melted and lightly toasted.

Eat fresh and store the rest in a sandwich bag or small reusable container. It will last for up to a week in the fridge, so make certain to date it. In my house this amount lasts about 2-3 days before it's all gone and another batch is made.

I have not frozen them, but freezing cooked product typically allows it to last a month or two. Just be sure to cook it as soon as it's thawed.


Enjoy your breakfast! -Bariatric Barb

Pesto Chicken Breast with Edamame Noodle

There are recipes all over the internet, some new, some rehashed, some not so original. Some so original they have a very unique taste. Speaking with a friend earlier, she mentioned that one recipe looked good, but tasted horrible. Safe to say, I will not be making that recipe.

The good thing about me is that I love food. Unfortunately, that has also been a bad thing in the past. All recipes here will be taste tested and approved before posting. Nothing is worse than trying a recipe given to you by a trusted momma blogger, only to have it taste like absolute garbage. Links to adapted recipes will be present when used.

I will also be using affiliate links to the items in the recipes, you do not have to buy from Amazon, but if you choose to use the link I would appreciate it.



Pesto Chicken Breast with Edamame Noodle
Prep time:35 min, Cook time: 10 min, Servings: 2

Ingredients:
1 Chicken Breast
1 Tbsp Basil Pesto
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
4oz Edamame Spaghetti

Directions:
1. In a bowl large enough for your chicken breast, mix Pesto, Sea salt, and black pepper until combined, then toss in Chicken Breast until well covered.
2. Cover bowl with plastic wrap (or lid) and refrigerate for at least 30 min.
3. Grill chicken for 4-5 min per side depending on thickness. Let chicken rest for 5 min after cooking.
4. Meanwhile follow instructions to cook Edamame Spaghetti.
5. Dish Edamame into two small bowls and dice cooked chicken, splitting evenly between both bowls.

This recipe was pretty easy to set up and work with. I usually buy in bulk from Costco, meats are generally cheaper there, as well as canned goods and protein powders and much needed vitamins. For fruits, veggies and cheeses I shop around between Kroger and Aldi, looking for sales and picking up what I can, when I can. Feeding us on a budget is not a problem at all doing this and I'm lucky enough to live within a reasonable distance between the three, making the gas spent worth it. Those of you with the discerning eye, all of this comes from Costco.

You'll notice in my photos I cooked more than one chicken breast, it's because I always double up on the recipes and make enough for leftovers. It makes lunch the next day easy and ready to warm while my husband is at work and I'm working at one of my various jobs or volunteer works.

First I gather up the ingredients, measuring out what needs to be measured. While it may make a couple more dishes, it does help keep everything organized and within easy access.



Classico Traditional Basil Pesto Sauce - 8.1 oz
Kirkland Signature Pure Sea Salt, 30 Ounce
Simply Organic Pepper Tin, 4 Ounce
Organic Edamame Spaghetti - 2 lbs (907g)




Next, mix the Pesto, Sea Salt, Pepper in a bowl  large enough to fit your chicken breast. Once mixed, give the chicken a couple of tosses into the mix, coating it well.

Cover with plastic wrap and place it into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to marinate. I suggest that if you are marinating for that short of time to poke holes in the chicken so the marinade can soak in better.

I personally like setting it up around 4 PM, giving it about two hours before cooking. You can also do this in a plastic bag to save on dishes if you'd like.

Have you ever used a Wraptastic Food Wrap Dispenser before? If you can find one on sale, it's completely worth it. I don't usually fall for the 'As seen on TV' ads. My mother-in-law had one, and I had the chance to use it a few times before breaking down and buying it. No more wasted wrap!

Okay, so, back to the dinner. When the marinating is done, cooking on the grill or searing the chicken 4-5 minutes per side. I used a griddler with detachable 'pan' parts. Both sides cooked at once, easy clean up and less splatter.

While the meat is cooking, follow the directions with the edamame noodles. My box from Costco requires boiling water and seven minutes of cook time. I warn you to not overcook the noodle, it'll quickly turn into a mushy block and be unappetising. I like adding just a pinch of salt to the pot while the edamame is cooking, as it adds just a bit more flavor to the pot.

Once it's done cooking, remember to allow the chicken to rest for five minutes before cutting. It allows the chicken to continue part of the cook process and the juices to stick with the meat, preventing it from drying out. I use this time to dish out the noodles.








After that, it's just dice the chicken, split between the bowls, and serve! With 29 grams of protein it's a good meal to get the protein in that is needed.

I hope you all enjoy your meals! -Bariatric Barb

Meet Barb

This... is me. Pre-weight loss surgery.  All 283lbs and 5'4" me. I was obese, having thyroid issues, fighting with pcos and endometriosis to lose even 1 lb without going on an 'apple a day' diet.  I hated the way I looked, and my self esteem.

My husband was the first of us to go down the bariatric sleeve route. Now, a year later, he's lost 100 lbs, all the while with struggling with me, with no energy, over cooking, starting projects and not finishing them... Then we decided to adopt.

The determination to make our family healthy and active enough to handle a newborn finally set in. On April 11th, 2016 I also had bariatric surgery. Now, one month later, I'm 26 lbs down and have twice the energy I used to.

There's a limit to what people with the sleeve can eat, drink, and never at the same time. So many recipes online and in books call for twice the portions that are needed, with extra things that are not necessarily healthy for one to two people to eat. It's crazy how I could find a recipe that says feeds one to two people and I have enough leftovers for at least 3 meals before surgery. After surgery it was me cooking meals and having enough for us to eat the entire week on.

Not surprisingly there is a lack of bariatric high-protein, small portion, recipes out there.  Especially those that don't cost an arm and a leg. Joking with some friends I told them I should be the next Barbara Stewart, but for people who are struggling with bariatric meals. After some encouraging words, it was decided, I would call myself Bariatric Barb and create recipes and show some other creative things while I lose weight, and hopefully help others as well!

Ashley Bariatric Barb