Eggface Meet & Greet: Getting Crafty - DIY Centerpieces

At yesterday's Southern California Weight Loss Surgery Meet and Greet I used some of my favorite quotes as table centerpieces. I thought I'd share for those of you who host support groups or future meet & greets. It was way cheaper than flowers, more meaningful and can be reused!

I love a good quote. Quotes to me are little gems of wisdom, inspiration, motivation you can take out and read on days you need that extra boost.


What you need:
*a collection of your favorite quotes: motivational, inspirational, funny (see below for my favs)
*paper and a printer
*glass jars (I got mine at the Dollar Tree but yard sales, thrift stores are also great places for them)
*polished stones (again $1 store but see below for alternative suggestions - 1 bag did 3 jars)
*alligator clip picture holders (AKA Memo Clips) (bought at Michael's for 33¢ each)
*laminator (optional)

On the computer I printed several of my favorite quotes (just used MS Word and a variety of different fonts), cut them out and laminated them. I have a laminator machine but most teacher supply stores, office supply stores can do this for you or skip it and just print on thicker card stock.

How to assemble: place an alligator photo clip in the center of your jar. Fill with polished stones. I chose stones because it seemed appropriate we were near a lake for our event but you could use dried beans, split peas, candy, buttons, rock salt, or beach sand would all be great too. Clip on your quote.

The quotes:

At any given moment you have the power to say: this is NOT how the story is going to end.

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind. ~Dr. Seuss

Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true! ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Don't trade what you want most, for what you want at the moment.

I have to exercise in the morning before my brain figures out what I'm doing. ~Marsha Doble

Just because you got the monkey off your back doesn't mean the circus has left town. The fight is forever.

Life is INCREDIBLE when you decide you only want the VERY BEST for yourself.

I'm not overweight. I'm just nine inches too short. ~Shelley Winters

Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, not because they never found it, but because they didn't stop to enjoy it. ~William Feather

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.~Les Brown

The way you treat yourself sets the standard for others. ~Sonya Friedman

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. ~Winston S. Churchill

Take ACTION where you can take action. LET GO of what is not in your control.

I am not what happened to me. I am what I choose to become. ~-Carl Gustav Jung

You could also use these on buffet tables (names of food dishes) or weddings (table numbers.) I thought they would be great at an engagement or anniversary party if you laminated photos of the couple, baby pics, first dates, etc.



P.S. This morning I've got my computer set up by the open screen door enjoying a rare summer shower. I'm sitting here watching the puddles form with a cup of coffee. Full of thanks. Thankful the sprinkles held off till today and our Meet & Greet was a sunny day! But especially thankful for all of the awesome new friends and old pals that attended the shin-dig yesterday. I loved meeting everyone and hanging out! I'll be blogging all week about the fun and posting pictures and recipes.

Better than the Real Housewives

Today is our Southern California Weight Loss Surgery Meet & Greet. I'm excited :) If you want to say hello we'll be on live (LOL pending my technical abilities) from 12:30 - 3:00 PM Pacific.

Watch live streaming video from eggfacetv at livestream.com

Wish you all were coming but I figured this was the next best thing :)

Eggface Meet & Greet: 'Twas the night before...

Tomorrow is our Southern California Weight Loss Surgery Meet & Greet. I'm so excited to meet & make some new friends and catch up with old pals. Yesterday I finished stuffing the goodie bags. I'll be sure to snap a picture of the contents today and share it after the event. The contents are EPIC and if you are weight loss surgery peep you'll want to be in the know about the products for sure. I sat on the patio yesterday evening and finished the giveaway prizes. There are 20 prizes if I remember correctly. Here's a photo of just some of them...

Reminders to those attending:

*It is a FREE (but SOLD OUT) event. If you missed out we'll see you next year.

*We are in a great building (The Harveston Center) with oodles of chairs & tables but we are right next to a lake with great paved walking trails (approx. 20 minutes to walk around the whole lake) and a park so bring some lawn chairs if you want to sit outside and enjoy the sunny day or are staying after they kick us out at 3, we also have a private patio area so we can set up chairs there too.

*There are no speakers/Dr's/plastic surgeons just a group of pre-ops/post-ops getting together to meet & make new friends and reconnect with old for support and friendship. Lots of stories, laughter, & pictures on the agenda!

*Bring your before (if applicable) pictures to share

*There's plenty of free parking

*Light weight loss surgery friendly refreshments will be served

*The first 50 (WLS post/pre-ops only) will receive a goodie bag filled with AWESOME products

*We'll have drawings for giveaway prizes

*Dress is super casual (I'm doing jeans & a t-shirt)

*We're having a protein & vitamin exchange so bring the stuff you hate. One post-ops monkey's you-know-what is another's yummy treat ;)

Please have no fear or anxiety (a trait I think many of us wls-ers have) about coming you will have a GREAT time!

Behold the turtle. He only makes progress when he sticks his neck out.


This guy tried to share my bento lunch last week when I was at the lake. 
Watch out for him.


P.S. Still working on live video so we can say hello to everyone. Will post & tweet info/url if I hear anything. If anything be sure to follow hashtag #socalwls on twitter for some live tweets.

*Update* Log on to http://www.livestream.com/eggfacetv attendees should be able to pop in and say hello (fingers crossed it works) and as mentioned before... we'll be tweeting with #socalwls on www.twitter.com

Healthy WLS Friendly Snacks: Cucumber Crackers

I don't do bread or crackers by choice post weight loss surgery. White carb foods like those were some of my pre-op demons (along with their frenemies pasta, potatoes, and rice) and though I certainly could eat them (physically) I just don't go there post-op. I know me... one cracker would eventually lead to 4 then perhaps years from now I'd be eating the whole sleeve of them again. They operate on our guts, the head stuff is what we need to work on, forever. Some post-ops will do one or two crackers and call it a day. To them I say... whatever works for you, not having them works for me. It's your life, live it the way you need too. Everyone's journey is their own.

I use sliced cucumbers as my low carb cracker substitute. I smear all sort of things on them...

My Greek Hummus Rounds

My Bacon & Egg Salad

Smoked Salmon Salad (Great with Egg Salad, Crab Salad, Chicken Salad too...)

Crab Egg Salad

Goat cheese or brie...


My High Protein Avocado Dip...

or I make little sandwiches...

and these Ham & Swiss "Sandwiches" which were part of my super cool bento box lunch yesterday...


Pink Box (top left): Ham & Swiss Cucumber "Sandwiches"
Green Box (top right): Spanish Olives
Blue Box (bottom left): Mango
Orange Box (bottom right): Shelly's Lemon Poppy Seed Mini Protein Muffin

You know if suddenly a fairy fell from the sky and said I could eat all the crackers I want without consequence I'd still eat my sliced cucumbers. I mean really it's the yummy stuff you put on your cracker you really want.

A day in my pouch

I've been having some crazy busy days lately. Between regular old life and preparing for our upcoming sold out Southern California Weight Loss Surgery Meet & Greet things have been hectic in my world. These are the days I am glad I meal plan. I really believe it is a key (at least one of mine) to post weight loss surgery success.

Sometime the day before I sit down and plan out my eating for the next day... it takes a few minutes but it really does avoid the "crap grab" and helps me make the best possible choices. "Crap Grab" happens when you are hungry and have no plan. You grab any old crap that is around ;) You know when you stare into the refrigerator or pantry and you just grab an assortment of any old crap to feel the void... a behavior (my pre-op behavior) that can add hundreds of extra calories to a day. By having a plan in place I rarely get caught in the "crap grab." Meal planning for the day is the antithesis of the crap grab, it makes me sit down and THINK...

Are my meals protein packed?
Is my day balanced?
Am I utilizing things in the fridge or my leftovers wisely?

Basically meal planning helps me set myself up for success. 95% I eat my plan. Sure occasionally someone will call and invite me out to a last minute lunch or life will change and I need to adjust but having a plan in place even makes the adjusting easier.

My yesterday (and yep I planned it):

Breakfast: A dollop of Pineapple Cottage Cheese (Fresh & Easy brand is my favorite) with fruit. A few Strawberries, Cherries and I am addicted to Kent Mangoes right now (Costco - refrigerated section, already cut-up.) Yum!

Lunch: Took my super cool bento outside on the patio. Fresh air, vitamin D, wifi (what did we ever do without this) and a yummy lunch. Perfect.

Pink Box (top left): Shelly's Greek Deviled Eggs
Orange Box (top right): Shelly's Mini Pistachio Protein Muffin
Blue Box (bottom left): Cucumber Slices and Mini Goat Cheese (I smear this on the cucumber)
Green Box (bottom right): More Mango (told you I'm addicted) & Cherries

Shelly's Greek Deviled Eggs

4 Hard cooked Eggs
2 Tablespoons Feta Cheese
1 Green Onion
2 oz. Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper
dash of Greek Seasoning
Kalamata Olive

Hard boil eggs, peel and slice in half. Remove yolk and set whites aside. Mix yolks, feta, yogurt, mayo, onion, salt, pepper and Greek seasoning together in a mini food processor till smooth. Place mixture in a quart size Ziploc bag, snip off end and fill whites or you could also pipe onto cucumber slices, into cherry tomatoes, or celery stalks. Top with a half of an olive.

Dinner: The day before yesterday I went out to dinner. I had some leftover Ahi Tuna I brought home and I turned it into these...

I'm calling them Tuna Tacos. Soooo good. I'm going to do this one more often.

Shelly's Tuna Tacos

Leftover Seared Ahi Tuna
Shelly's Wasabi Yogurt Dressing
Butter (Boston) Lettuce

Slice tuna and serve in lettuce leaves with a dollop of wasabi yogurt dressing.

Shelly's Wasabi Yogurt Dressing

2 oz. Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon Wasabi Powder (or more to taste)
squeeze of Lime Juice
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Mix till well combined.

Snacks: Oodles of coffee and a CLICK Espresso Protein Frappe. This one tastes like a coffee flavored candy bar.

Shelly's Chocolate Caramel CLICKacchino

1/2 cup Soy Milk (any milk will do)
1/2 cup Almond Milk
2 scoops CLICK Espresso Protein Powder (your favorite flavor)
2 Tablespoons Torani Sugar Free Caramel Syrup
a few Ice Cubes

Whiz in blender till smooth. Top with optional squirt of Sugar Free Whipped Cream and a drizzle of SF Caramel & Chocolate Sauce (I use Smucker's)

Other day's in my pouch.

Speaking of the sold out Southern California Weight Loss Surgery Meet & Greet want to peek at a couple of the giveaway prizes that the attendees will have a chance of winning. Some lucky winner will be CLICK'n, with a CLICK Gym Bag filled with 2 tubs of CLICK's latest All-Natural Espresso Protein in Mocha & Vanilla Latte flavors.

and a HUGE basket of Bariatric Fusion Vitamins and Protein...

This is just 2 of hmmm I think 16 AWESOME prizes, you know I think it's more than 16, I need to count again. I'm getting so excited. If you have a chance to attend an event like this in your area I highly recommend it. It's so nice to get together with fellow weight loss surgery pals. No matter what stage pre-op or post, type of surgery, we all understand the struggles associated with battling obesity and it is an amazing experience when you are surrounded by people who truly "get it."

Your local bariatric program support group is a good resource for meet & greets, the WLSFA Weight Loss Surgery Foundation of America, the Obesity Action Coalition, Obesityhelp, or just grab some pals and start a your own get-together tradition!

Sunday in the Park

I grilled 1/2 the zucchini I bought at the Farmer's Market yesterday. A brush of olive oil and a sprinkle of a Greek seasoning, few minutes on each side. Lasts a few days in the fridge. Reheat or not. It's great hot or cold.

The leftover grilled zucchini will become Pastaless Manicotti and the other half of my market haul is destined to become Faux "Fried" Zucchini with High Protein Parmesan Dip. Yum. Today some of the grilled made it into my bento picnic lunch...

Pink Box (top left): Grilled Zucchini
Green Box (top right): Tomatoes from my garden
Blue Box (bottom left): Turkey & Provolone Cold Cut Roll-up w/ Olives
Orange Box (bottom right): Shelly's Espresso Protein Truffle



Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you. ~Maori Proverb

Beautiful Day Bento

It's been a beautiful day in the neighborhood *cue Mr. Roger's theme* Really it was a lovely. Sunny, breezy, not too hot. I saw a bit of the weather on the news tonight and it's so very hot in parts of the US. Be sure to stay hydrated. It is so easy for us post weight loss surgery folks to get dehydrated and dehydration is not pretty. Sip stuff all the time and exercise in the early AM or late PM. When we get hellaciously hot here I walk the inside of the mall... just word of warning: leave your wallet in the car or it could be an expensive work out ;)

I started my morning at the Farmer's Market. Got some great stuff... peaches, nectarines, cherries, red & yellow onions, tons of zucchini because once again this year the plants I planted are not producing. Remind me next year to not even attempt zucchini, they don't like me. My tomatoes are gorgeous and making enough for salads for me and the neighbors daily but the zucchini made a few blossoms and nada. I'm going to grill all the market zucchini tomorrow morning for use this coming week. I plan on making my Pastaless Manicotti and taking some grilled zucchini on a picnic with some cold cut roll-ups, a sort of antipasto style bento.

After the market, I walked across the street to Starbucks for a Sugar Free No Whip Cinnamon Dolce Soy Latte and met my pal/boss. I've been working on a little project for her and she was really pleased with the finished product. Yay! She took off and I stayed for a bit. I have to give props to Starbucks because the music has been great the past few times I've been in, usually I want to shove a scone in my ears and run out but this morning I rocked out to Depeche Mode, Radiohead, then some Motown... Dancing in the Streets, Just my Imagination. Good job Bux. Now if you would just make a few Sugar Free holiday drink offerings (SF Pumpkin Spice Latte, SF Gingerbread Latte, SF Peppermint Mocha) we'd be BFF's again.

I ran a few errands and head back to the house to be sure I didn't miss any deliveries. My hottie UPS man has been delivering goodie bag items for the Southern California Weight Loss Surgery Meet & Greet. For those of you non-locals or those who missed out before it reached capacity (WE ARE COMPLETELY FILLED) I'll take pictures galore of the day. I'll share all web pages and links to all the products the attendees receive. You will feel like you went.

We got a little local press. Not so happy they posted a pic of my ugly toes (used the pic they had from the Progress Soup Contest) but hoping it sends a message that having weight loss surgery is not the easy way out and deserves to be celebrated too. 'Cause I am pretty sick of those "... and she lost weight WITHOUT surgery" stories. Fighting obesity with whatever weapons you need to use is worthy of celebration! Take that. Wha-pow ;)

Press Enterprise: TEMECULA: Weight loss will be celebrated at event
The Valley News: A celebration of thousands of pounds lost

The rest of my day...

I packed up my super cool bento box and went to the Lake right next to the Harveston Center - the building we are in for the event. I watched a wedding photo shoot. I even had some feathered friends join me for lunch.

The Harveston Center



The eats...

Pink Box (top left): Mango
Green Box (top right): Cucumber Slices
Blue Box (bottom left): Leftover Greek Grilled Chicken (BBQ'd with a brush of olive oil and sprinkle of Greek Seasoning found in spice aisle) and in little blue container Shelly's Garlicky Yogurt Dip
Orange Box (bottom right): Shelly's Mini Pistachio Protein Muffins

I came home cleaned a bit, laundry, boring stuff like that and now I'm heading outside to make some wishes on stars. Night all. ☆

Listening to: Brandon Flowers "Crossfire" talking about hotties. Nom.

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Those are fighting words...

Here's a message to the 2 employees of Costco that made fun of a person of size in front of me. Newsflash: More than two-thirds of adults - 190 million people - are overweight or obese, which means chances are your mom, sister, granny, pop, your favorite Uncle Frank, are one of those 190 million. Think about one of them being on the receiving end of your nastiness.

My day... as I was leaving Costco I walked by a couple of 20-something male employees, one tapped the other on the arm and pointed toward a checkout line where a male customer of size stood and said, "Duuuude want a belly like that guy (made a hand gesture over his stomach) quit working out." They both laughed.

Oh no you didn't just 1.) make fun of a customer 2.) make fun of one of my peeps (I actually think he might have been a weight loss surgery post-op, a few tell-tale signs made me think this... excess arm skin (aka batwings) and about a stage 4 panniculus drop)

The crowd behind me propelled me toward the door and as I walked I could feel my blood pressure rising... I was getting hot, my eyes started to bulge, and I had a deep desire to walk back and shove my foot up their.... The check-your-receipt employee at the exit says, "How are you today?" I said, "Not so good. Is there a manager I can speak with?" He said, "Sure" and got on the PA and called for one to come to the front door. I stepped to the side to wait.

Paul, the manager came and I shared with him what had transpired. I said making fun of any customer is bad and would have angered me to hear but they made fun of this man's size in front of a woman who used to be 300 pounds so I especially felt the sting of their words as I had been on the receiving end of them too many times to count. I encouraged Paul to mention in a staff meeting that saying anything about a customer's physical appearance (or anything for that matter) is wrong and told him his employees needed some sensitivity training. To his credit Paul was very apologetic and said he would "take care of it" which is the standard line I know, but Paul seemed to be sincere. I believe he will, I hope he will take this opportunity to educate his employees.

Costco corporate office if you read this... along with some training of your employees, may I suggest making a donation to the Obesity Action Coalition to help them make a difference in reducing the negative stigma the obese face everyday.

Oh and by the way 20-something jerks... my nameless friend probably works out more then you both combined.

Post Weight Loss Surgery Menus: A day in my pouch

For new readers of my blog, every week or so I do a post I call "A day in my pouch," AKA how I eat post weight loss surgery, it's meant to be a window into my world, maybe give you a few new ideas, remember however that Dr's post op eating plans vary: you should always follow your medical posse's recommendations.

If you see a recipe or idea on my blog (or anywhere) and you are not sure whether it is allowed on your program my standard reply is: When in doubt, print it out and bring it to your next appointment to get the thumbs up. I can say that I am honored to be on the recommended reading list of several bariatric programs, referenced by many surgeons and nutritionists, and included in many bariatric program web sites, newsletters, magazines and books as a patient resource.

So here we go this was my yesterday in post weight loss surgery eating...

Breakfast: Split a quesadilla with my Mum before we head out to the Farmer's Market.

Shelly's Mexican Breakfast Quesdilla

2 Eggs, beaten
1 Green Onion, chopped
a few sprigs fresh Cilantro, chopped
1 Cheese Stick, chopped
1 Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Fajita Size Tortilla
Optional: Salsa, Greek Yogurt for topping

Saute green onion for a minute or so. Add beaten egg and scramble till almost done. Lightly butter tortilla or spray pan with Pam. Place in pan (buttered side down.) Spoon scrambled egg mixture on top. Top with cheese and cilantro. Fold over and cook on both sides till golden. Top with salsa and/or Greek yogurt.

Lunch: Came home dropped of my market goodies (squash, basil, peaches, strawberries, onions, garlic), packed my super cool bento box and went to the beach, well we had some errands near the beach and I thought it would be nice to take a little break during them and eat lunch staring at this awesome view...

The eats...

Pink Box (top left): Mango
Green Box (top right): Green Grapes
Blue Box (bottom left): Mini Brie and Cucumber Slices (I spread the brie on these) and a few cherry tomatoes from my garden
Orange Box (bottom right): Hard Boiled Egg with Salt & Pepper packets

We head back toward my neck of the woods, had a few stops to pick up stuff for the upcoming Southern California Meet & Greet July 30th. Are you a local weight loss surgery pre-op or post-op? Here's the 411 on the get-together. Hope you can come! I'm so excited to see everyone. The goodie bags are coming together. Thanks to all the companies donating product. The UPS man and I have little thing going on ;) he visits me every day. We have several AWESOME giveaways too. I'll be sure to post oodles of pictures for those not able to come.

Dinner: I planned to pick up a lettuce-wrapped, no bun burger at In & Out Burger (FYI: most restaurants and fast food joints will do this for you upon request) but I was wiped and so I came home and made one of my super quick & easy stand-by dinners: Shelly's Quickie Meatball Bake. I was so tired I forgot to snap a picture but this is what it looks like and how to make it:

I started to watch the coverage of Prince William and Kate's royal visit (they are here this week in Southern California) and woke up to an Ab Circle infomercial. I guess I was tired.

Snacks: Oodles of coffee including a Sugar Free Cinnamon Dolce Soy Latte, No Whip from Starbucks.

FAQ's:

Q: Do you eat everything pictured? A: Sometimes, most of the time no. I'm no longer a member of the clean your plate club. Ask your Dr. or nutritionist for a guideline as to how much you should be eating at your post-op stage.

Q: What is the nutritional value of (insert Eggface recipe)? A: Though I figure out the nutritional value on most of my recipes I don't put the nutritional info on the blog 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, turkey, differences in packaged products, brands of protein, etc. will change the info dramatically. Also serving size will vary depending how far from surgery you are.

When I need to find the nutrition info (on my recipes or any other) is go to a site like fitday.com (nutritiondata, sparkpeople, etc.) type in each individual ingredient, this will give you cals, carbs, fats, protein gram totals, then divide those totals by the # of servings you get from the dish. It's not exact but it's close enough for me.

Q: What do you do with all your leftovers? A: LOL I get this one a lot. Here's a few examples of how my leftovers get repurposed:

Repurposing
Repurposing Revisited
Lotsa Love for Leftovers 1
Lotsa Love for Leftovers 2
Lotsa Love for Leftovers 3
Lotsa Love for Leftovers 4

and 2 GREAT ways to use up leftovers are to turn them into a Tortilla Pizza or my Bites.

More Eggface A day in my pouch posts

Hope everyone is having a GREAT weekend!

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Lotsa Love for Leftovers 4

Post weight loss surgery when you eat out in a restaurant it's a given there will be a lot of leftovers or waste. I hate wasting food. Sometimes I have no choice if I'm headed to a movie or I'm too far from home but if I'm heading home right after a meal you better be sure the leftovers are coming home. Those leftovers can be "repurposed" and transformed into a bunch of great meals.

Repurposing: Transforming leftovers into something equally as yummy. The goal is for them to taste & look so completely different you don't realize you are having leftovers.

Here's how I turned 1 restaurant meal into 7...

Friday I wasn't in the mood to cook (really I am always in the mood to cook it's the clean-up I hate) so I used a birthday gift card to Red Lobster. My order was the Build Your Own Meal. I chose Shrimp Scampi and Grilled Shrimp Skewer and Broccoli as the side dish. It comes with a Garden Salad (I ask for no croutons and dressing on the side) It also comes with those Cheddar Bay Biscuits. I used to devour those by the basketful pre-op, in fact, I dare say 1/4 of my pre-op ass could be attributed to my love of those suckers. Those I push aside, they are not an option for me (my choice.) My Mum who has the metabolism of a 14-year-old boy eats them or takes them home. If I'm alone they never come to the table.

I know my capacity pretty well now so I remove and box 1/2 my dinner and all of the broccoli (it's never cooked enough) right away. I ask for a box when I order, they look at you weird but I just say, "I'm not terribly hungry and I know I will need a box so can you just bring it with the food."

I ate my salad, some shrimp scampi and a few grilled shrimp and I was happy as a clam (Meal 1)

This is what came home...

1/2 the shrimp were transformed into lunch for my Mum and I the next day (Meal 2 & 3)

Shelly's Leftover Shrimp & Black Bean Lettuce Tacos

6 (or so) Leftover Cooked, Chilled Shrimp, diced
1 (15 oz.) can Black Beans, rinsed & drained
1 Avocado, diced
1/2 cup Cherry Tomatoes, halved (just picked from my garden)
2 Tablespoon fresh Cilantro, chopped
juice of 1/2 a Lime
dash of Garlic Powder
Kosher Salt to taste
a few twists of Black Pepper

Mix all ingredients together till well combined.

Spoon into lettuce leaves (iceberg, Boston or butter lettuce works best) serve with a dollop of Shelly's Cilantro Yogurt Dip.

They were yummy.

I took the remaining shrimp and turned them into dinner (Meal 4 & 5), they became 2 tortilla pizzas.

Shelly's Leftover Shrimp & Pesto Tortilla Pizza - Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Fajita Size Tortilla, Leftover Shrimp, teaspoon of Storebought Pesto Sauce, Green Onion, fresh Mozzarella, fresh Tomato, sprinkle of Parmesan and Italian Seasoning. Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray (or a drop of olive oil.) Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.

More Eggface Tortilla Pizzas

Delish.

Today the leftover broccoli turned into my Broccoli Fritters for lunch (Meal 6 & 7) with Shelly's Garlicky Yogurt Dip. Love these...

Shelly's Broccoli Fritters

1 cup Leftover Cooked Broccoli* chopped
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
2 Tablespoons Multigrain Pancake Mix
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/4 teaspoon Italian Seasonings
a few twists of Black Pepper

Coarsely chop broccoli. *Any leftover vegetable medley would work cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, even green beans. If you have issues with broccoli you can whiz it in a mini food processor so it's finer. I just snipped it with kitchen shears. Add remaining ingredients. Mix till combined.

Using an ice cream scoop or a 1/4 cup measure form into patties. Slightly press down. Place in a non-stick pan that has been sprayed with Pam. Cook on low to medium heat till browned on one side about 5 minutes. Flip, pat down slightly and cook till browned on other side about 5 minutes. Serve with Shelly's Garlicky Yogurt Dip.

There you have it, how 1 post weight loss surgery meal became 7. Before weight loss surgery I would have eaten my entire meal (no leftovers), biscuits (refilled twice, at least), an appetizer, several glasses of lemonade, and gone out for dessert after. Forever thankful for weight loss surgery for helping me change that.

So the next time you are at a restaurant bring home those leftovers and repurpose them.

More ideas for repurposing restaurant leftovers

Lotsa Love for Leftovers 1
Lotsa Love for Leftovers 2
Lotsa Love for Leftovers 3

More Strategies for Eating Out After Weight Loss Surgery