Weight Loss Surgery & Exercise PSA

Public service announcement to pre-ops and new weight loss surgery post-ops: find an exercise or activity you love to do. If you love it... you will do it. If you don't love it... it's not gonna happen and it needs to happen.

I can't tell you how many pieces of gym equipment, gadgets, DVD systems, etc. have sat collecting dust in my garage until I ended up donating them to someone else who probably used them for a month or so and then put them in their garage to collect dust. I'm sure many of you are currently using your Tony Little Gazelle as a coat rack.

My favorite form of exercise: I love to walk outside. I love the sights, sounds, smells (OK maybe not all the smells that one pile of... never mind.) I love to people watch, dog watch, baby watch, duck watch. We luckily have pretty decent weather here most of the year so almost everyday I can do what I love. Nature, sun, fresh air... it clears my head and invigorates me... but more important than that it's fun and that makes me want to do it. It's my daily treat.

My local park is the place I walk the most. I love the beach (great calf workout) but its an hour drive away, the mall (leave your purse in the car or its a $$$ walk), my neighborhood streets (be careful for crazy drivers), or nearby hiking trails.

Maybe walking is not your thing... maybe it's the gym, Zumba, spinning, swimming, kickboxing, DVDs, treadmill, dance class, dancing in your living room with your kids, shooting hoops, great sex (LOL I'll happily trade my daily walk for more of this), something, whatever it is, find it.

Now... you can do pretty much nada in the beginning post weight loss surgery and you will still lose a pretty significant amount of weight but trust me if you do not make some form of exercise a daily occurrence in your life it won't be long before the scale numbers head in the upwards direction. Do yourself a favor and find something you love.

Money holding you back? Here are a few cheap/free ideas.

Here's some scenes from yesterday's walk...

Canadian Geese (I think) hanging out in the Southern California sun. They like peanuts.
***

Thank you for your continued support on the Progresso Soup Contest. The voting period (aka my suspense) goes on till April 12. You can vote once daily, everyday till then. I'm the girl in the one pant leg. The top 3 vote-getters will win. www.progressosoup.com/souperyou/

A day in my pouch

My yesterday in post weight loss surgery eating...

I got a call from my catering pal to help out and couldn't pass up the opportunity for some $ so I whipped up a protein shake and was off... not being sure how long I would be gone I packed my super cool bento with some protein to tide me over till I got home.

Breakfast: Mmmm a yummy Strawberry Protein Shake. The strawberries have just started here in Southern California. I got some beauties at the Farmer's Market on Saturday. We have a fairly local U-pick-em place if it's nice next week I'd like to go do that. Growing up on Long Island we always went to the farm to pick our own.

Shelly's Strawberry Protein Shake

8 oz. Vanilla Soy Milk
1 scoop Strawberry Protein Powder (20% off discount code info)
2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Strawberry Torani Syrup
3-4 Frozen Strawberries (or Ice)

Whiz in blender till smooth. Top with Sugar Free Land o Lakes Whipped Cream, optional.

Lunch: I ran out of my favorite Pineapple Cottage Cheese and all I had was the plain stuff (I only cook with it, not eat on its own) I was planning on making some Shelly's Cottage Stuffed Peppers with it but I snaked a little and flavored it. Yum pleasantly surprised.

Pink Box (top left): Cheesestick
Green Box (top right): Pistachios
Blue Box (bottom left): Red, Ripe, California Strawberries
Orange Box (bottom right): Shelly's Flavored Cottage Cheese

Shelly's Flavored Cottage Cheese

1/4 cup Cottage Cheese (I used small curd)
2 Tablespoon Sugar Free Torani Syrup (any flavor - I used a combo of SF Strawberry & SF Vanilla)

Mix. Tada.

Dinner: Got home and made my Quickie Meatball Stroganoff with some slight modifications. No fresh dill at the Farmer's Market this Saturday means I used dried and I used Fage Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Oh I threw a cup of frozen peas in too.

Shelly's Speedy Stroganoff Meatballs (version 2)

1 Yellow Onion, sliced
8-10 Mushrooms, sliced
1 Tablespoon Butter
2 Tablespoons Multigrain Pancake Mix (I use this)
1 3/4 cups Beef Broth (I used Chicken Broth this time)
1 cup Frozen Peas, defrosted
1/2 cup Fage Greek Yogurt (can sub Sour Cream)
a few twists of Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 Tablespoon Fresh Dill, chopped (only have dried? use 1 teaspoon of that)
10-12 Cooked Turkey Meatballs (make your own or I cheat and use these)
Butter/Oil for sauteing

Saute onions and mushrooms till golden. Toss in peas. Add butter and pancake mix. Cook for 1 minute. Add beef broth slowly stirring while you add. Cook till bubbles and thickened. Add remaining ingredients. Cook till warmed through.

I normally serve it with cabbage (boiled then sauteed lightly is my favorite) or sauteed spinach but I just ate it on it's own.

Snacks: Oodles of coffee, the last 2 Mini Berry Protein Donuts, and a handful of peanuts... I went on a walk after dinner and brought some nuts in a baggie to feed the ducks. I might have tasted a few ;)

When I got home I saw all the wonderful messages and Facebook postings about the Progresso contest. Thank you so much for your votes :) and kind compliments. The voting period (aka my suspense) goes on till April 12. You can vote once daily, everyday till then. The top 3 vote-getters will win.

www.progressosoup.com/souperyou/

The make over part of the prize is awesome but I'm really excited to take my Mum to the Statue of Liberty. We lived in NY and saw it, but have never been on Liberty Island. In the 80's it was closed for renovations, post 9/11 it was closed for security. Her and my Dad immigrated from England in the 60's. It's a scary thing seeing your country disappear through a boat window, off to the unknown in a new country... Lady Liberty was the first glimpse of the US they both saw. She is a pretty cool "greeter."

Vote Eggy!

Awhile back I entered a contest I spotted on one of the blogs I read. The contest was sponsored by Progresso Soup. The prize: an all expense paid trip for 2 to New York City and a complete makeover (hair, nails, make-up) you had to write a little blurb 200 characters, send in a picture and hit enter. I did and so did thousands of others... but get this... I'm one of the 10 finalists. The top three vote-getters win the super cool trip & makeover.

So I need your help. If you can take a minute and head over to this web site:

Vote for Michelle

and cast a vote for me. I would so appreciate it. I'm hoping to win 'cause hello?! makeover! this single girl could soooo use that and since the trip is for two... I'd take my Mum. Yay!

Feel free to tell others to vote (sisters, brothers, mothers, cousins twice removed, people in the next bathroom stall)

You can go back to www.progressosoup.com/souperyou/ and vote again each day until the voting period ends on April 12th, 2010 at 11:59 PM.

Thanks for your help :)

Bentos & Bimbos

Hit the Farmer's Market as usual this morning. Less than $15 later... Yellow, Red & Green Onions, Leeks, Garlic, Cauliflower, Apples, Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries.



For more pics from my Farmer's Market and a link to how you can find a market in your area click here.

Stopped in Starbuck's for a Soy Latte. I grabbed a table and these two girls, 20-ish came in and sat down at the table next to mine. I was then treated to their ummm conversation...

Girl 1: I'm like loving this egg white sandwich. It's like so good. Joe told me about them and I was like I don't know if I'm gonna like it but I like totally did.

Girl 2: I really like Joe. He seems nice.

Girl 1: Yeah, he is nice but I can't marry him because he's gonna be like the ugliest old guy. His Dad is like totally bald.

I fear for the future of America.

I dropped my market goodies home and packed up my super cool bento box and walked to the park to have lunch...

Blue Box (top left): Turkey, Swiss Cheese and Shelly's Pesto Yogurt Dipping Sauce in the Little Blue Box
Orange Box (top right): Apricot & Walnut Cream Cheese stuffed Celery
Pink Box (bottom left): Shelly's Mini Berry Protein Donuts
Green Box (bottom right): Pickles

Shelly's Apricot & Walnut Cream Cheese

1/4 cup Cream Cheese
a few Walnuts
2-3 Dried Apricots
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Apricot Jam (I used Smucker's Simply Fruit)

Spoon 1/4 cup of cream cheese in a mini food processor. Toss a few walnuts, dried apricots and a Tablespoon of SF Jam. Whiz till combined. Fill celery or dip carrots or cucumber slices. Also great smeared on apple slices. Keeps in the fridge several days.

I got home, made a batch of Protein Ice Cream, did a little cleaning, got sucked into a Deadliest Catch marathon (love that show, RIP Captain Phil), gonna BBQ in a bit.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I had something cool happen to me this week but I can't talk about it till Monday. I want to spew but must wait. It's not a marriage proposal from a rich hot guy or a lottery win but its still pretty cool.

Berry Good Donuts - Mini Protein Doughnuts

Was in the mood for donuts yesterday so I thought I would once again tweak my original chocolate donut recipe. These are delicious and will be making a repeat appearance on my Easter table.

So I did make it into a Starbucks on free pastry day I got my SF Cinnamon Dolce Soy Latte and scored a free scone for my Mum who has the metabolism of a 14 year old boy. Those genes did not find there way into my pool instead I got my Pop's short & stubby ones. While in Bux I did notice they have little mini donuts now. Hey Starbucks: You could just as easily have some of these delicious, no sugar added, low carb, high protein, 1/2 the calories, weight loss surgery, diabetic friendly ones. In original chocolate, fall spice, or this yummy spring berry version... for a small fee of course ;)


Shelly's Mini Berry Protein Donuts

1 cup Almond Flour (aka Almond Meal) (make your own)
1/2 cup Protein Powder
1/2 cup Multigrain Pancake Mix
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
2 Tablespoons Unsweetened Coconut
1 Egg, beaten
3 Tablespoons Sugar Free Torani Syrup (I used SF Black Cherry, Raspberry or Strawberry would be great too)
1 Tablespoon Canola Oil
1/4 cup Water
Super Groovy Mini Donut Pan

Preheat oven to 325. Mix all ingredients till well combined.

Spray Mini Donut Pan with Pam.

Fill 1/2 full with batter (batter is the consistency of brownie batter).

Bake 8 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

Donut Glaze

4 Mini Sugar Free Chocolate Bars (or milk, dark or white chocolate)
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Torani Syrup (I used SF Strawberry)

Nuke for 30 seconds or so till melted. Stir to combine. Coats 12 donuts.

For colored/flavored frosting: combine SF white chocolate & 3 drops or so of food coloring, SF Syrup and nuke for 30 seconds or so till melted. Stir to combine.

Dip cooled donuts into chocolate glaze and then into optional toppings.

Topping Ideas:

Crushed SF Candy (SF Candy Canes, SF Malted Milk Balls, SF Jordan Almonds)
Toasted or Untoasted Unsweetened Coconut
Crushed Nuts (Peanuts, Hazelnuts, Almonds)
Crushed SF Cookies
Crumbled Protein Bar

Free, yeah right

Tuesday = Free Pastry Day at Starbucks and Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's

Remember: Nothing in life is free

Blueberry Streusel Muffin 360 cals, 33 g. sugar, 11 g. fat, 59 g. carbs
Blueberry Scone 460 cals, 17 g. sugar, 22 g, fat, 61 g. carbs
Reduced-Fat Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake 340 cals, 39 g. sugar, 9 g. fat, 62 g. carbs

...and in my pre weight loss surgery days I would have added a Venti Caramel Macchiato with Extra Caramel and Whipped Cream to those pastry #'s and consumed my days worth of cals, fat, carbs, & sugars in one meal... oh but I still would have had the other meals.

This Blueberry Muffin is sad because if you eat him you will have to spend about 70 minutes on the treadmill to make him disappear ;)

A day in my pouch

My post weight loss surgery day in eating...

Breakfast: It was California Strawberry Day yesterday. Had to celebrate with a batch of Strawberry Cannoli. Forgot to snap the pictures of yesterday's batch before we devoured the plate of them but here's what the yummy lil' suckers look like.

Lunch: Sadly, nothing much to speak of... I had a Grande Sugar Free Cinnamon Dolce, No Whip, No Foam, Soy Latte from Starbucks.

I got a call from my friend to come in and help her... I assembled 300 corporate boxed lunches. There's a Starbuck's down the street and I was planning on having one of those Spinach, Roasted Tomato, Feta & Egg White Whole Wheat Wrap dealios for lunch (I order them double cooked so they are crispy/easier to eat) but alas they were all out. So I just stuck to a latte and looked forward to coming home to my yummy planned dinner.

Oh just a Weight Loss Surgery Eating/Drinking FYI: If I am staying at Starbuck's (love Free Wifi) I order my wrap and then wait my 30 minutes till I go back up and order my latte. I have that Gold Card so the bonus is going on line again I get an extra star that visit... 15 ✩ stars = free drink.

If I am on-the-go I order any food (wrap or oatmeal) and my latte order becomes Grande Sugar Free Cinnamon Dolce, No Whip, No Foam, Extra Hot Soy Latte. The drink is so hot it could peel paint but it's just right by the time I get to drink it. Just don't forget and take a sip right away or OUCH!

Dinner: Got home and made a delicious dinner in less than 30 minutes. Take that Rachael Ray ;) I made Baked Greek Shrimp with Cucumber Salad & Greek Yogurt Dressing.


Shelly's Baked Greek Shrimp

14 Large Raw Shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on or off
1 Yellow Onion, sliced
3 Green Onions, diced
1 Tablespoon Garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons White Wine
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
a few twists of Black Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
1/2 teaspoon Lemon Zest, grated
1/4 cup Feta Cheese, crumbled (I used Crumbled Feta with Tomato & Basil Seasonings)
Olive Oil for sauteing

Saute onions till golden. Add garlic and wine (the alcohol cooks off, don't omit this) and cook 1 more minute. Spread onion mixture onto a pie plate. Season with salt, pepper & oregano and sprinkle with zest. Arrange shrimp on top of onion mixture.

Sprinkle with feta. Bake at 450 for 12-14 minutes or until feta is golden and shrimp are pink.


Snacks: Oodles of Coffee throughout the day and after dinner I made a batch of Strawberry Apple Crumbs to have for dessert during The Amazing Race.

Shelly's Strawberry Apple Caramel Crumb

2 small Apples, chopped
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon Apple Pie Spice
2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Caramel Torani Syrup
4-5 Big Ripe Strawberries, diced

Topping
1/3 cup Almond Meal (you can use Raw Almonds just whiz fine first)
1/3 cup Steel Cut Oats
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon Apple Pie Spice
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Caramel Torani Syrup
1 Tablespoon Almond Butter
1 Tablespoon Cold Butter

Optional topping: a squirt of Land o Lakes Sugar Free Whipped Cream and a drizzle of Smucker's SF Caramel Sauce

Peel and chop apples toss with SF syrup and seasonings and cook for 5 minutes till soft but still whole. Fill 4-4 oz. ramekins about 3/4 of the way full with apples and strawberries. Set aside.

Whiz topping ingredients in a mini food processor. Sprinkle clumps of the topping equally over each ramekin of fruit.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until golden. Serve with optional caramel sauce and whipped cream, hot or cold. I prefer them cold.

It was a funny Amazing Race last night. The teams were in France and one of the tasks had them trying to find a particular town square with a statue of Joan of Arc in order to receive their next clue. The two teams that aren't the brightest bulbs were battling to not come in last. Here's a quote from one of those teams: "Joan of Arc he's that guy with the ship that saved all the animals."

Yeah they were eliminated.

My cowboys are still holding on.

Bento at the Beach

First day of spring. It was an absolutely gorgeous day today 83°F bright blue skies, sunny. I luckily spent most of the day outside. Started at the Farmer's Market. It was berry heaven. Bought some strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. I also got the usual suspects onions, peppers, garlic, leeks, cauliflower, avocados, and some apples. I was happy to see a farmer I hadn't seen in awhile. I was getting worried. He and his wife set up every Saturday and then suddenly they were gone for weeks. Thankfully they are back and all is well.

I dropped the haul home, packed up my super cool bento box and took off toward the beach. I love to walk on the sand. I have flabby calf muscles (think Jello Jigglers) and a few miles on the sand gives them a way better workout then pavement and well you can't beat the view of the hot surfers crashing waves...

At about the halfway mark I found a flat rock, plopped down, ate my yummy protein packed picnic


Pink Box (top left): Cooked Shrimp & a Lemon Wedge
Green Box (top right): Salt & Pepper and Cocktail Sauce in the Little Blue Box
Blue Box (bottom left): Hard Boiled Egg and Cheesestick
Orange Box (bottom right): Pickles
Along Side: Peach Green Tea Drink Stick

and watched the waves, yep love watching those waves...

Hope everyone has a nice weekend!

Drum roll...

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Pizza & Sex

Well that corned beef was one economical meat purchase. This was the last of it. I was dubious about this one but Ireland + Italy = Yum. I don't know why I was shocked everything is yummy turned into a Tortilla Pizza. It is great for repurposing leftovers - something us weight loss surgery people tend to have a lot of. I love to take home restaurant leftovers for this purpose.

Shelly's Irish Tortilla Pizza - Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Fajita Size Tortilla topped Havarti Cheese, leftover Corned Beef, Green Onion, Irish Cheddar, a sprinkle of Parmesan and Italian Seasonings.

The Eggface Pizza Porn Gallery

How to make them: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. I put 1 drop literally of olive oil on the cookie sheet and spread it around. Place tortilla on cookie sheet. Spread the sauce on the tortilla (pesto, marinara, alfredo, bruschetta sauce, BBQ sauce, hummus, ricotta cheese, (peanut butter or ricotta for dessert pizzas ), whatever.) Put a slice of cheese on top of the sauce and then I add any combination of toppings or leftovers I can find bumping around the fridge. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan if desired. Pop in oven. 10 minutes exactly. Have the oven hot before you do the toppings **Do not let them sit. Pop them in the oven right away or the toppings will make the tortilla soggy versus the yummy crispy porn pictured above.


FAQ's:

How much is a serving?

The answer is: serving size can vary. What I eat as a 3 1/2+ year weight loss surgery post-op is a very different amount than a 3 month, 6 month, post-op.

For me if the toppings are protein dense like the Philly Cheese Steak Tortilla Pizza or Meatball or Chicken then I eat 2 wedges and call it a day. If they are lighter just cheeses, veggies or pepperoni. I can eat the whole pizza but remember these are 6" fajita size tortilla (not typical size tortillas) If it's lighter toppings and I'm having a scoop of bean salad or a green salad with it I eat 2 wedges.

My standard line when it comes to portion size is: go with what your medical posse recommends.

What's the nutritional value on (insert Eggface recipe)?

I don't put the nutritional info on my recipes because frankly that can vary so widely. I use full fat cheeses (the good stuff) others may use low fat or (horror) non fat, the % fat on beef, differences in packaged products, brands of protein, etc. will change the info dramatically.

I eat full fat (cheese, mayo, butter, olive oil, etc.) Fat = flavor. I eat it in moderation (thanks to my pouch) if I ate Reduced Fat or Fat Free (aka nuclear waste) I wouldn't be satisfied and in an hour I'd be thinking about my next meal. I eat yummy, lip smacking stuff so I never feel like I'm on a diet or suffering in my new life.

What I do when I need to find the nut info is go to a site like fitday.com type in each individual ingredient, add up those totals and divide by the # of servings I get from the dish. It's not exact but it's close enough for me.

Where do you get the Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Fajita Size Tortillas?

I get mine at Albertson's, Vons, Winco. If you don't have those stores near you contact the Mission Tortilla web site. Here's another "crust" option.

More Eggface Pizza Porn

On another note... Ugggh Jesse James is just about the most stupid man on the planet. I was so sad when the news broke yesterday of him cheating on Sandra Bullock. I just blogged about the beautiful things she had said about him the other day. I'm so sad for her. As a single girl who still hasn't found her soul mate this does not give me hope... I know, I know Hollyweird relationships are different. BUT I also have a real world beautiful friend dealing with the same thing and all I can say is becoming a crazy cat lady is looking better and better everyday.

Note to self: Get that cat ;)

Corned Beef & Cabbage Casserole

Oh this might just become the St. Patrick's Day tradition at my house each year. It was soooo good. I mean corned beef and cabbage is great but top it with gooey melted Irish cheese and that my friends is heaven. Thinking of scoring some more corned beef while its cheap to make this again soon. It will definitely be added to the Eggface St. Patty's Day Favorites list.


Shelly's Corned Beef & Cabbage Casserole

2 cups of Cooked Corned Beef, cubed (leftovers are perfect for this)
1 head of Cabbage, boiled, chopped and drained
1 Yellow Onion, chopped
3 Green Onions, diced
6-8 Mushrooms, sliced
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Tablespoon Spelt Flour
1/2 cup Chicken Broth
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper
1/2 cup Irish Cheddar Cheese, grated
Olive Oil of sauteing

Cook the corned beef according to package directions. Set aside to cool. I cooked it the night before in the crock pot and cooled in the fridge. Trim any fat and cube. Cold from the fridge made the trimming and cubing easy. This casserole is a great use for the leftovers the day after St. Patrick's Day. Cut the cabbage into sections and boil till fork tender. Drain and chop. I use a sharp metal spoon to chop it into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.

Saute onions and mushrooms till golden. Add cubed beef and chopped cooked cabbage. Stir till combined. Make a well in the center of the pan add butter and spelt. When butter is melted slowly add chicken broth. Season with salt & pepper and stir to combine.

Pour into Pyrex dish. Top with grated cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes till bubbly & golden.

If you have a little more or less corned beef or cabbage toss it in. Rarely would any casserole recipe I create be so exact a science that a 1/2 cup of something one way or the other couldn't be added or subtracted.

I served it as is for dinner but you could serve it with some steamed veggies, fresh spring peas or baby carrots would be great.

Ate this yummy dinner then watched the Idol results show. You guys watching Idol this season? I'm really not feeling it. I have to multitask when I watch because there are so many I don't like. I like Crystal (she's got the whole gritty Janis Joplin thing going on) and Lee (he's super cute but always looks like he's so nervous he's gonna hurl.) Others I sort of feel are Casey (I think he looks like a Harlequin Romance cover model... not my type but he's talented) and Andrew (I like his story, he's a local SoCal boy, but I fear he will never repeat the magic that was "Straight Up") Big Mike is a talented guy but his confidence comes across cocky and rude. It's not endearing. Every season I say I'm not going to watch it but I stick it on in the background then I have to see what happens.

Keeping with the Irish and music theme of this post. If you haven't gotten into the band "The Script" (nice group of Irish lads) yet do yourself a favor & download or buy their self-titled debut album. It's so good. Literally I could listen to that band sing the phone book... well OK maybe not the phone book but give it a listen you won't be sorry.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I made corned beef in the crock pot last night. I have a few experimental plans for it today. After this yummy protein shake breakfast I went for walk... ended up at CVS and bought a lottery ticket. Hoping for some luck of the Irish ;)

May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow. And may trouble avoid you wherever you go

♧ Happy St. Patrick's Day!


Shelly's Top o' the Morning Protein Shake

1 cup Vanilla Soy Milk (you can use ANY milk or milk/water combo. I'm a soy girl)
2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Torani Vanilla Syrup
1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
1 Tablespoon Pistachio Sugar Free Jello Pudding Mix, dry
3-4 drops of Green Food Color
3-4 Ice Cubes

Whiz in blender till smooth. Top with Homemade No Sugar Added Whipped Cream and a drizzle of "Leprechaun Gold" (aka Sugar Free Caramel Sauce) optional

Other Eggface St. Patty's Day favorites:

Shelly's Corned Beef Bites
Shelly's Pots o' Gold
Shelly's Rainbow 5 Minute Cakes
Shelly's Leprechaun Pancakes
Shelly's Mint Chocolate Chip Protein Ice Cream Cakelettes
Shelly's Pesto Deviled Eggs
Shelly's Irish Cream Mochachinno
Shelly's Pistachio 5 Minute Cake
Shelly's Irish Cream Custard Crumble Cups
Shelly's Turkey Cabbage Casserole
Shelly's Spinach Crustless Quiche
Shelly's Potato-less Potato Pancakes

Weight Loss Surgery & The Pier

A day like I had yesterday reminds me of how different life is after having weight loss surgery.

I remember the first time I went to the Oceanside Pier. It was a warm summer night. I had gone with a group of friends to see a movie at the theater a few blocks away and someone in the group suggested we walk the few blocks to the pier. Sounds lovely huh... not to the 295 pound girl in the group. The 4 block walk to the pier had me feeling like I was gonna die. Hot, sweaty, in pain. Forget about carrying on light conversation as we walked. As my skinny friends chatted on about the movie it took me all I had just to breath.

Finally, I made it to the pier. There it was... all 1,942 feet of it stretching out into the blue Pacific. Ughhh. More walking. My mind started racing. I needed time to recover after all, we still needed to walk back.

So into survival mode this girl went. The excuses started...

"Something is wrong with my shoe"
"I've seen the end of the pier before" (I hadn't)
"I'm gonna sit on this park bench and have a cigarette."

It was the college years, I smoked back then I know that probably didn't help the breathing situation but it did give me a good excuse. After a little argument from my group of friends I was left on a park bench while they walked on.

Whew. Time to cool down, breath, recover and stress about the walk back.

I know some of you reading this can relate. Some of you are still living it.

Fast forward to yesterday...

I walked the 4 blocks down to the pier, walked the length of the pier, then I walked 4 miles to another beach. Then I went to the Carlsbad Outlets walked around for a few hours, then Costco, then... well you get the point. Post weight loss surgery I never broke a sweat. I was tired at the end of the day but in a good way not in a gasping for air, my chest is gonna explode, dripping with sweat sort of way.

I've been to the end of the pier many many times since having surgery but every time I get to the end and stare out at the beautiful blue ocean I am thankful I had weight loss surgery.

Here are some pictures from my day...

Cuban Bites aka Home Run Bites

I have a pal Kelli who works for the NY Mets. She emailed me awhile back and shared that the guys really enjoyed my Mini Fall Spice Protein Donuts and that the team dietitian gave them the thumbs up. The team is at spring training camp right now and have been enjoying my Philly Cheesesteak Bites. Though I am told they can not be referred to as "Philly" anything due to baseball rivalries :)

The guys have requested a Bite version of a Cuban sandwich. For those of you that aren't familiar with a Cuban sandwich here's a link that explains them (my Florida readers can skip this.) The bites turned out yummy and I think they capture all the key flavors of the original sandwich. Hope the team and you guys like it.

So now if the NY Mets have a winning season I'm gonna take a little credit for powering them with Eggface recipes.

If they don't... ummm... well... sorry guys. At least the bites were yummy ;)

Fingers and toes crossed Mr. Met keeps smiling all season long.


Shelly's Cuban Bites

2 slices Roast Pork, diced
2 slices Ham, diced
2 slices Swiss Cheese, diced
1/4 cup Pickle Relish (the hot dog topping kind)
1 Tablespoon Yellow Mustard
5 eggs
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 350. I get thick sliced (approx. 5 mm thick) cold cuts for this (ask for it by the slice versus 1/4 pound) then I dice them.

Mix all ingredients together. Spoon into lightly greased (Pam non-stick spray) mini muffin tins.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes till golden.

Let them cool a few moments they pull away and pop right out. Makes 24. Great in the fridge for a few days or freeze and defrost in fridge as needed. Reheat in oven.


How's this for an awesome Saturday afternoon... Cuban Bites, with a bowl of my Black Bean Soup and Scarface, one of the best movies ever made. I have a whole Cuban theme going on... hmmm now add one of those single, hottie NY Mets players to the mix and it'd be some afternoon.

Go Mets!