Breakfast: A bowl of oatmeal. Mmmm tasted like a cinnabon but without the pesky 730 calories, 114 carbs, 24 g fat that is in a regular cinnabon. Ohhh and to think I'd eat a cinnabon with extra icing as a "snack" in my pre-op years.
Shelly's Cinnamon Bun Oatmeal1 cup Oatmeal (Quick Cook)
2 1/3 cups Water
Pinch of Salt
1/3 cup Milk (I use Vanilla Soy Milk)
1/2 teaspoon Butter
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Brown Sugar Torani Syrup (or Starbuck's SF Cinnamon Dolce Syrup)
dash of Cinnamon
Combine the oatmeal, water and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the milk, butter, cinnamon and syrup. Stir well and cook for 1 minute. Serve with a dollop of "Frosting" and some Cinnamon Brown Sugar Nut Topping.
Shelly's Cinnamon Sugar Nut Topping
1/2 cup Walnuts
1/2 cup Pecans
1/2 teaspoon Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Maple Syrup
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
Toss all ingredients together till evenly coated. Spread evenly on a cookie sheet. Bake for 9 minutes at 350. Let cool completely. Nuts will crisp as they cool. Store in an airtight container. Also great on top of Protein Ice Cream.
Shelly's Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese "Frosting"
2 oz Cream Cheese (or Neufchatel cheese), softened
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Soy Milk
scrapings of 1/2 a Vanilla Bean
1-2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Brown Sugar Torani Syrup (or Starbuck's SF Cinnamon Dolce Syrup), desired sweetness and consistency
Mix together till smooth. For use as a topping for oatmeal, spread on slices of Protein Cake or as a dip for fruit.
Lunch: A salad of sweet caramelized roasted veggies & shrimp.
Shelly's Roasted Veggies & Shrimp Salad
1/2 lb (about 21) Large Shrimp, cooked, tails off
1 (15 oz. can) Cannelini Beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup Roasted Veggies (I used a combo of red onion & bell peppers)
2 Tablespoon Fresh Basil, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper
Lemon Vinaigrette: 1 part Lemon Olive Oil to 1 part Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar (any fruity vinegar will do). I use this to whiz it up.
Combine all ingredients and chill. Best if made 1 hour before serving. Serve as is or on a bed of baby spinach. The roasted vegetables can be prepared in advance, even the day before. Just store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Dinner: Meatball Skewers. I made these as part of our New Year's Eve celebration and we loved them so much we did a repeat tonight. These are really kid-friendly... call them "Cloudy with a chance of meatballs skewers" and have them help assemble.
Shelly's Orange Pineapple Mini Meatball Skewers
20 Mini Cocktail Meatballs (storebought or make your own)
20 Pineapple Chunks (in natural juice, drained)
2 Tablespoons storebought bottled Orange Sauce* (brands: Iron Chef, Panda Express, Roland - Asian section)
Heat meatballs according to package directions. Set aside. Heat sauce in microwave for 1 minute. Toss meatballs in sauce until coated. On each plastic skewer thread 1 meatball and 1 piece of pineapple. I ate them as is but you could serve them with a green salad or an Asian stir fry vegetable mix would be great too.
*Orange Sauce like most condiments contain some sugar. 2 Tablespoons of sauce spread out over 20 meatballs should not cause a dumping issue. Here's my thoughts on using bottled sauces. If you are highly sensitive. Eliminate it.
You can definitely make your own meatballs. I'm 1/2 Sicilian so I often do but if you are making these for a get together why not make your life easier and buy them. Frozen meatballs are great they can be used in oodles of weight loss surgery friendly dishes soups and stews, stroganoff, tortilla pizzas, casseroles, and one of my favorite ricotta cups.
Snacks: a Café Biscotti Protein Shake, tastes of a cooking experiment coming soon to a blog near you ;), and oodles of coffee.
