Friday Five

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

1. The Obesity Action Coalition had a busy week. They hosted the second free webinar with Obesity Prevention, Policy & Management in the Complexity of Obesity 14-part series (if you missed it, it should be added to the archive soon), they revamped their website, which was already pretty cool but is now even more user-friendly. Go check it out. Oodles of information and resources. While you are poking around the new site I encourage you to become a member (It's $20/yr.) and they announced the first "Your Weight Matters" Convention will be held later this year in Dallas. I'll be there! Hope to meet some of you there. Oh wait, since it's Texas... I hope to meet some of ya'll there!

2. Remember a few weeks ago when mentioned that a fellow WLSer was up for this year's Progresso Souper You Contest. Well... woot woot woot. Cassie won! Congratulations Cassie!!! I hope you have as memorable a time as I had.

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

Bariatric Surgery versus Intensive Medical Therapy in Obese Patients with Diabetes
Weight Loss Surgery for Diabetes May Be Better Than Standard Treatment
Obese poor mothers may be sacrificing for kids
Losing Weight Doesn’t Help Obese Girls Love Themselves, Can Parents?
Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy 3 year study results - Good news for my sleeve pals
Victoria Hospital Won't Hire Very Obese Workers

4. Heads up on 2 quick weight loss friendly eats. One is a fast food option and the other a new supermarket product...

The other day I was out running errands longer than I thought I would be. I had a 1/2 of a Quest Protein Bar in my bag and had eaten that at some point but it was getting late I didn't want to start cooking when I got home. I would have missed part of American Idol. How's that for priorities?! I rarely do the fast food thing but I remembered seeing some info on Chick-fil-A's new healthier kid's meal so I gave it a whirl. I got the 6 piece Grilled Nuggets with Lowfat Milk (options: lowfat milk, lowfat chocolate milk, or apple juice) and a Fresh Fruit Cup (options: waffle fries, fruit cup, cinnamon apple sauce)


Verdict: It was a tasty, weight loss surgery friendly option. The grilled chicken nuggets tasted like grilled chicken versus little chicken flavored sponges. Loved that they had the no breading option. The fruit cup (apples, red grapes, strawberries, mandarin oranges) was super fresh. Fruit cups are sometimes mushy scary science experiments. Cow's milk and I have not been pals since weight loss surgery (I'm a soy girl) so I passed that along to my Mum. I'd get it again in a pinch.

The Stats (including the milk not consumed)
Calories 250
Fat 4 g.
Protein 32 g.
Carbs 24 g.

Edited to add: Chick-fil-A I will not be patronizing your tasty Chicken Kid's Meal any longer because you are boneheads. If you are unaware as to why I say this Google it.

The other day I was in the supermarket and I spotted these Hormel Fully Cooked Pizza Toppings. They come in Beef and Italian Sausage. They were $1.47 for a 4 oz. pouch and stuck to the package was a 55¢ off coupon. Score. You could easily get several servings from one pouch.


The Stats (on the Beef Topping, per 2 oz. serving)
Cals 110
Fat 7 g.
Protein 9 g.
Carbs 3 g.

I thought they would be great to have on hand to toss on Tortilla Pizzas, in a Frittata, with Beans in a Casserole, in my Bites (crustless quiches) or top my Pancake Bites.

My first use was a Tortilla Pizza.


Shelly's BBQ Beef Tortilla Pizza - Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Fajita Size Tortilla topped with less than 1 Tablespoon BBQ Sauce, sauteed Red Onions, cooked Hormel Beef Pizza Topping Crumbles, sprinkle of Mozzarella Cheese and Steak Seasoning.

5. Check back on Sunday 'cause the Easter Bunny told me something fun is starting.