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.

OAC's Your Weight Matters Convention

Save the date! October 26 – 28, 2012

The Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) announced they are hosting an Inaugural "Your Weight Matters" Convention this year in Dallas, Texas.

October 26 – 28, 2012
Dallas, Texas
at the Hilton Anatole

Looks like it's going to be full of great info, experts, education, freebies, and friend making. Oh yeah and since it's Texas there must be some great BBQ (packed with protein) and boot scooting (burning cals) for sure.

Here's the convention link for the details. The OAC will be unveiling additional 411 (cost, ticket info, etc.) about the event in the coming weeks (sign up for email updates) but for now, mark your calendars and start thinking about your plans to attend!

I'll be there. Come hang out!

Post Weight Loss Surgery Menus: A day in my pouch

Here's what my yesterday in post weight loss surgery eating looked like...

Breakfast: We were supposed to get rain today early so I had planned to do my Leslie Sansone DVD for exercise but when I woke up and it wasn't raining I took off and got a long neighborhood walk in. My early morning walk this morning wasn't nearly as interesting as Saturday's. Saturday I watched divers and cops pull a stolen car out of the lake near my house. I hear it was teens on a joyride.

Thankfully there were just a bunch of ducks swimming in the lake today.

I came home from my walk and ate some sliced Apple with Strawberry Almond Yogurt Dip for breakfast. Check out these vintage glass luncheon plates with matching cups, an antique store score for $3 each. Perfect for apple or veggies and dip.

Shelly's Strawberry Almond Yogurt Dip

1/2 cup Greek Yogurt (I use plain 2%)
2-3 Tablespoons Strawberry Protein
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Torani Syrup (I used SF Almond)
1 Tablespoon Toasted Sliced Almonds

Mix yogurt, protein, and syrup until well blended. Any protein will work, I used Celebrate Strawberry ENS. Top with almonds. Eat as is or great for dipping fruit.

Still no rain by mid-day so I hard boiled a few eggs put them in the fridge to cool, set the wash going and ran a ton of errands. Costco, Trader Joe's, and CVS where I bought me a Mega Millions lottery ticket because HELLO?! 365 million dollars! Oh, the awesome stuff I would do with a hunk of that.

Lunch: When I got home I took the hard-boiled eggs out and made Pepperoni Pizza Deviled Eggs for lunch. I ate 2 halves with a Frigo Swirl Cheesestick.

Shelly's Pepperoni Pizza Deviled Eggs

4 Hard-boiled Eggs (I actually made 5 one was smaller than the others)
2 Tablespoons Greek Yogurt
1/4 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
12 Pepperoni "Chips" (divided use)
2 Tablespoons Fresh Basil, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
dash of Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper

How to make pepperoni chips: Place pepperoni slices on a plate and nuke on high for about a minute. Listen for when the sizzling sound stops. Transfer to a paper towel and let cool for a minute. They will crisp up like chips. Beyond use in this recipe they make a yummy topping crumbled on top of soups or salads or just to snack on.

How I hard cook eggs: Place eggs in the pot. Fill the pot with cold water till 1" over eggs. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes. Pour off hot water and cover eggs with very cold water. This is an extremely important step which prevents the greenish ring you sometimes see on yolks. When eggs are cool enough to handle. Crack & peel away the shell. Chill.

Cut cooled eggs in half. Remove yolks and mash with yogurt, cheese, 4 crumbled pepperoni "chips" and seasonings till smooth-ish. Spoon back. Top each deviled egg with a pepperoni "chip."

Dinner: These are sooooo good. If you like potato latkes they are similar but I think better.

Shelly's Bruschetta Pancakes

1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
1 Egg
3 Tablespoons Multigrain Pancake Mix
1 Tablespoon Fresh Basil, chopped
1 Tablespoon Roasted Garlic*
1 Tablespoon Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
a dash of Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper

Whiz all ingredients in a mini food processor (a post-op MUST HAVE) Spray pan with non-stick spray. Cook on low till golden, flip and flatten. Cook till golden. Top with Bruschetta Topping (see below) and a sprinkle more of Parmesan cheese. Makes 8 silver dollar size.

I used whole milk ricotta if you use part skim. Drain through a sieve lined with a coffee filter for several hours or overnight in the fridge.

How I roast garlic: using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic. Place the garlic heads in a muffin pan or garlic roaster. I love my garlic roaster. Drizzle a couple teaspoons of olive oil over each head. Sprinkle with kosher salt.

If you aren't using a garlic roaster: cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes or so (take the lid off for the last 15 minutes), it's done when the cloves feel soft when a knife is inserted.

These pancakes can be made ahead and reheated. I had them for dinner but they would be great anytime even for breakfast. They are soft & loaded with yummy protein so early post weight loss surgery people should have no trouble with them.

Shelly's Bruschetta Pancake Topping

1/2 cup Chopped Tomatoes
1 Tablespoon Fresh Basil, snipped
a drizzle of Balsamic Vinegar (or any fruity vinegar will do)
dash of Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper

Mix together. Also great on top of grilled fish.

Snacks: Oodles of coffee, a sample of turkey, tilapia and artichoke heart at the Costco Buffet ;) Love that Costco Buffet and a Salted Caramel CLICKacchino.

Shelly's Salted Caramel CLICKacchino

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

Whiz in blender till smooth. Optional: Top with squirt of No Sugar Added Whipped Cream and drizzle of SF Salted Caramel Sauce.

Off to watch Amazing Race. For those of you watching the Art and JJ, the Border Patrol agents are from my town.

More day in my pouch blog posts.

Friday Five

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

1. This coming Thursday, March 29th at 8PM Eastern is the second webinar in the FREE 14-part series on the complexity of obesity hosted by the Obesity Action Coalition and Obesity Prevention and Policy Management. The second webinar, "Obesity & Addiction," will feature Margaret Yufera-Leitch, MS, PhD, who will discuss the relationship between addiction and obesity. The webinar series is FREE but you do need to register in order to get a code to access.

2. Remember a few months back when I blogged about the 158 food item donation I made to celebrate my weight loss.

I was hoping others would join in. I was so jazzed people loved the idea and emailed they would be doing something similar. Shout out to Monica, Wendy, Christina, Beth, the list goes on and on, who sent pictures and videos like these...

Karin's Donation:


Toni's Donation:


Thank you to everyone for sharing in the fun! Got pics, video or articles to share about your donation? I would love love love to see them.

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

The Fight Against Obesity Starts With Respect!
Parents Of Obese Children Encouraged To Begin With Their Own Weight Loss Journey
U.S. Underestimates Long-Term Costs of Obesity
Portrayals of Overweight Characters in Television Sitcoms: Implications for Obese Individuals in the General Society
Carnie Wilson has weight loss surgery again

This is a lifetime war against obesity. Like any war you head into each battle hoping to win. Sometimes you do and sometimes the enemy gets the upper hand.

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

Best wishes to Carnie Wilson and all fellow fighters.

4. Did you know Celebrate Vitamins offers a sample pack of their vitamins? It's $3. You get oodles of great samples and inside the pack you'll get a coupon code for $3 bucks off your first order making it basically FREE!
For the all the 411 on what's included in the pack and how to get yours click here. Typing this as my Celebrate Cherry B12 dissolves under my tongue. Nom. Tell 'em Eggface sent ya.

5. Today is National Chip & Dip Day. Pre weight loss surgery it was not uncommon for me to go to a Mexican restaurant and eat 2 baskets of chips and salsa or guacamole before the meal even arrived. Here's a healthier, weight loss surgery friendly, lower carb, high protein way to celebrate...

My High Protein Avocado Dip with Cucumber "Chips"
Hope everyone has a GREAT weekend!

Heads up: Win a CLICKed Out Bike

Our friends at CLICK Espresso Protein are celebrating SPRING by giving away an AWESOME CLICKed OUT Beach Cruiser Bike delivered directly to your home.

The bike will even include a pink basket filled with 2 Canisters of CLICK Espresso Protein Drink in mocha and vanilla latte flavors, a CLICK shaker and CLICK tumbler.

If you love coffee. You must try CLICK Espresso Protein. Here's a few ways I use CLICK.

TO ENTER: Head over to CLICK's Facebook Page and click on the Spring Sweepstakes entry tab.

Only 1 entry per person. End Date: May 6, 2012 at 9:00 p.m. PT. Eligibility: US residents only, 18+.

Good Luck! Hope one of my pals is the big winner!

P.S. Tell them Eggface sent ya ;)

Drum roll...

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The Whole Enchilada

Well sort of, just in bite size or weight loss surgery friendly portion form. I was jonesing for Mexican food and this totally fit the bill.

These make great party appetizers or as a lunch or dinner with a veggie, sliced cucumbers or a simple green salad. A great use for leftovers or pre-plan by throwing an extra chicken breast on the BBQ to make this the next day.


Shelly's Mini Enchilada Cups

3-4 Tortillas
1/2 cup Cooked Chicken
2 Tablespoons Red Enchilada Sauce
1/4 teaspoon Oregano
1/4 cup Refried Beans
2-3 Tablespoons Shredded Cheese

Optional toppings:
Hot Sauce or Salsa
Guacamole
Shelly's Cilantro Lime Yogurt Dip

Spray mini muffin tin with Pam non-stick cooking spray. Using a biscuit or cookie cutter (or 1/3 cup metal measure) to cut circles from tortillas.

You'll need 3 or 4 depending on the tortillas you use. I used Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat, fajita size tortillas and needed 4 but had lots of leftover bits. Discard the trimmings (or feed them to the ducks, they surprisingly liked them.) Place the cut circles in the muffin tin and bake for 5 minutes at 375.

Mix chicken (or you could use leftover cooked turkey or beef), sauce (I used Old El Paso brand), and oregano together. Spoon about a teaspoon of beans in each tortilla. Top with a tablespoon of the chicken mixture. Sprinkle with cheese.

Continue baking at 375 for 5 more minutes until cheese is melted and golden. Remove from tin. Top with optional toppings.

Shelly's Cilantro Lime Yogurt Dip

1/4 cup Greek yogurt (2% plain)
1 Tablespoon Cilantro, chopped fine
squeeze of Lime juice
dash of Kosher Salt

Mix together. Also great to dip meat, fish, veggies or thinned with a little more lime juice and used as a salad dressing.

This gringa declared it delicioso! Despite having several surgeries in Mexico I can only speak a few words of Spanish. The basics... hello, goodbye, good morning, thank you, please, pain (helpful when traveling for surgery) and from my college years... una cerveza, por favor and after saying that a few times I needed... Dónde está el baño?

I can actually say that last phrase in 4 different languages 'cause you just never know where and when nature will call ;)

Friday Five

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

1. Looking for some weight loss surgery friendly St. Patrick's Day good eats? Here are a few of my favorites...

Shelly's Corned Beef & Cabbage Bites
Shelly's Shamrock Shake
Shelly's Pot o' Gold
Shelly's Irish Tortilla Pizza
Shelly's Rainbow Fruit Salad
For the recipes above and even more St. Patty's Day noms click here.

2. You know that makeover contest that Progresso Soup does each year. Well we have a fellow WLS-er in the running. Let's help Cassie E. win! You can vote once a day through March 25th. Oh and when you vote you get a chance to win soup for a year too so... win-win :) I would LOVE to see Cassie get the same VIP treatment I received when I was one of the grand prize winners of the first Souper You® Contest. This year they are headed to Los Angeles and get to go to the finale of "The Biggest Loser."

Video of my makeover day in NYC.
The Trip Details
Progresso Souper You Photos

I am forever grateful for my friends and family that voted and helped to give my Mum (my VIP) and I that AWESOME memory. Good Luck Cassie! I'll be voting.

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

Gain Together, Lose Together: The Weight-Loss 'Halo' Effect
Weight Loss: The Biggest Reinvention Of Them All - the article quotes some harsh regain stats.
Gastric Bypass Saved My Life - mine too ;)
Fat-Bashing: An Acceptable Prejudice?

and KUDOS to California for creating a positive and helpful childhood obesity campaign without relying on shaming and stigmatizing. (Georgia, you might want to take notes.)



4. Reminder: Still time to register for the FREE Obesity & Addiction Webinar, #2 in the 14-part webinar series being held on Mar 29, 2012 8 PM Eastern/5 PM Pacific. If you missed #1 (Intro to the series) click the link and scroll down to archived events.

5. Sunday is the last day to enter the Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway ♧ Click here to add your name in the hat for a chance to win this awesome prize pack...


I am LUCKY to have you guys in my life ♧ Thanks for being on the other end of my ramblings.

Post Weight Loss Surgery Menus: A day in my pouch

Here's what my yesterday in post weight loss surgery eating looked like...

Breakfast: About once a month or so I just crave a bowl of oatmeal or sooji. I usually jazz it up with some added protein, a few nuts or some powdered peanut butter.

Shelly's Strawberry Shortcake Protein Oatmeal

1/4 cup Quick Oats (I used McCann's Quick Irish Oats)
2 Tablespoons Ground Oats*
3 Tablespoons Protein Powder (any flavor, I used Celebrate ENS Vanilla Cake Batter)
4 oz. Milk
4 oz. Hot Water
Optional toppings: Sugar Free Strawberry Jam, Toasted Sliced Almonds

In a 4 cup measure mix oats, ground oats and hot water. In a blender bottle shaker mix milk and protein till completely combined. Add contents of shaker to oats & water mixture. Mix.

Nuke 2 minutes stirring once at the 1 minute mark. Pour into a bowl. I topped mine with a dollop of Sugar Free Strawberry Jam, Toasted Sliced Almonds and some more Milk.

*To make the ground oats. I grind (in a coffee grinder) a cup or so of oatmeal into "ground oats" that I keep in a Tupperware container for this use, it's also great for adding to meatloaf or meatballs instead of bread crumbs.

Lunch: Spent the morning doing laundry, cleaning, boring stuff like that. I serve on an Obesity Action Coalition committee and we had a conference call so once that was done I packed up my super cool bento box and took off to my outdoor office, a park with free wifi near my house. My work was portable and I hear we are in for a rainy weekend so I wanted to take advantage and soak in the sun and Vitamin D while I could. The walk is nice too about 3 miles total (to the park, around it, and back.)

Pink Box (top left): Shelly's Mini Cheese Stuffed Peppers
Green Box (top right): Shelly's Pina Colada Pudding
Blue Box (bottom left): Shrimp and Cocktail Sauce (in the mini blue container)
Orange Box (bottom right): Salami and Provolone Cheese

The peppers were leftovers from the other night's dinner. So good. I've made a slightly different version of these before. They are great party appetizers and taste GREAT hot, warm or even cold.

Shelly's Mini Cheese Stuffed Peppers

12-14 (approx. 1/2 lb) Baby Bell Peppers, halved (Costco sells 2 lb bags of these)
sprinkle of Kosher Salt
1 Yellow Onion, diced
1/2 cup cooked Sausage, crumbled
1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
1 Tablespoon Fresh Basil, chopped
1/4 cup Italian Blend Cheese, shredded (Mozzarella, Parmesan, Fontina Blend)
1 Tablespoon Parmesan, grated

Half baby peppers and remove seeds. Wash & dry thoroughly. Place on a baking sheet or casserole dish that has been sprayed with a non-stick spray. Sprinkle with Kosher salt. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Saute onion till golden. Add sausage. Cook 1 minute more. Set aside to cool. Mix cooled mixture with remaining ingredients (except Parmesan) till well combined. Spoon mixture into a quart sized Ziploc bag. Seal baggie and snip off one corner to form a piping bag.

Pipe cheese mixture into par-cooked mini peppers. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Return to 350 oven for 30-35 minutes more or until cheese is slightly golden.

the pudding is super easy...

Shelly's Pina Colada Pudding

1 Sugar Free Vanilla Pudding Cup
1 Tablespoon Pineapple, crushed
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Coconut Torani Syrup
1 Tablespoon Unsweetened Coconut, toasted
a few Macadamia Nuts, crushed for top

Mix together till well combined.

More Eggface Bento Lunches

Dinner: I'm on a shrimp kick right now. I grilled some shrimp on the BBQ. Swipe of olive oil, sprinkle of Greek seasonings. Served them on simple salad of romaine lettuce, tomato, feta, a sprinkle of oregano and a dollop of Greek yogurt "dressing" (plain 2% Greek Yogurt, Greek seasoning, salt & pepper to taste)

Ate it while watching American Idol. My early favorites are Phillip-thinks he's Dave Matthews-Phillips and you can't deny that Joshua kid can bring it. Was the whole fly-on-the-wall sent to the Principal's office dealio with the DQ'd contestant necessary. He's gone, that's all we needed to know. Lame.

Are you watching?

Snacks: Too much coffee, my Pina Colada pudding leftover from my Bento from earlier, a Cutie Mandarin, and a sample of Irish cheese and corned beef and cabbage from Trader Joe's when I stopped in to pick up more of my favorite little bento box lunch items.

A tasty day.

Eggface Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway

Are you feeling lucky? ♧

If you are... you'll want to add your name to the hat for a chance to win this AWESOME weight loss surgery friendly pot o' gold.


The Prize: A BIG 3 lb. tub of SEI Nutrition Max Protein in their versatile Vanilla flavor, a 28 oz. Leprechaun Green Blender Ball Shaker, 2 boxes of Sugar Free Pistachio Pudding Mix, 1 - 150 ml bottle of Sugar Free Torani Syrup in Sugar Free Vanilla.

Everything you need to make one of my favorite St. Patrick's Day themed protein shakes.

Shelly's Lucky Leprechaun Protein Shake

1 cup Soy Milk (any milk will do)
1 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Pistachio Pudding Mix, dry
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Vanilla Torani Syrup
a few Ice Cubes

Whiz in blender till smooth. Top with optional squirt of Sugar Free Whipped Cream and a sprinkle of SF pistachio pudding powder.

or if the green of mint is more your thing. Be sure to make my Shamrock Shake knock-off.

Slainte! (Irish cheers: To your health!)

How to Enter: Become a fan of The World According to Eggface on Facebook and then come back here and LEAVE A COMMENT (include a name and an email addy) on this blog posting. Click on # of comments below to leave yours.

Contest periods ends: Sunday, March 18th, midnight (Pacific time)

Monday, March 19th I'll draw a name using a random number generator and announce the winner here on the blog! I will also email the winner at the address posted. You'll have one week (7 days) to respond to my email or another winner will be chosen. One ENTRY per person. Winner must be a Facebook fan of The World According to Eggface. Blog comments are moderated so there may be a slight delay (up to a few hours) in seeing your comment/entry post. Giveaway is open to anyone in the United States (48 contiguous, Alaska & Hawaii.)

***Want extra chances to win?*** Do anything listed below and leave me a comment letting me know what you did! For up to four more entries per person!!

* Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway: Hey everyone enter the @Eggface Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway ♧ http://tinyurl.com/7ryjvr2

* Post about the giveaway to your pals on Facebook or some other social networking or support forum you frequent or pin this or another favorite Eggface recipe.

If you are a blogger:

* Blog about this giveaway and include the link to the contest (send me the url so I can enjoy your post!)

* Place my super snazzy badge on your site.

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Healthy Party Recipe: The Rainbow Connection

This gorgeous rainbow of fruit with Greek yogurt dip was part of our delicious, weight loss surgery friendly, super healthy St. Patrick's Day themed brunch this morning.

Red Strawberries
Orange Cantaloupe and Mandarin segments
Yellow Pineapple
Green Grapes
Purple Blackberries
in the "Clouds" Banana and Shelly's Nutty Leprechaun Yogurt Dip

Shelly's Nutty Leprechaun Yogurt Dip

1/2 cup Greek Yogurt (I used plain, 2%)
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Torani Syrup (I used SF Almond but any flavor will do)
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Pistachio Pudding Mix, dry
a sprinkle of toasted Almonds

Mix yogurt, syrup and pudding mix till well combined. Top with nuts. Serve with fruit chunks, or skewers, pour over fruit for a great fruit salad dressing or made into parfaits.

Bariatric Surgery Pals: You can certainly add a few tablespoons of your favorite protein powder to it too.

I just finished freezing some of the leftover fruit for protein shakes later on this month.

Friday Five

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

1. Heads up on a COOL new product: Cruncha Ma-Me Edamame Veggie Snacks. Freeze-dried edamame. You know... the soybeans you get at Sushi restaurants. Soooo yummy. These are GREAT when you are craving a chip-like crunch.

They come in 4 different flavors: naked, sea salt & pepper, lightly seasoned (my fav), and they also have a veggie medley mixed with other freeze dried veggies. They come in single serving bags perfect for tossing in your purse or carry-on while traveling. Gluten Free.

Here's the nutrition stats on the lightly seasoned:

Serving size: 1 bag
Cals: 90
Fats 4 g.
Carbs: 7 g.
Dietary Fiber 3 g.
Sugars 1 g.
Protein 8 g.

Click here to purchase or for more information.

2. Bought my ticket for the Weight Loss Surgery Foundation of America (WLSFA) Meet & Greet in Las Vegas in May. Are you going? Would love to meet ya!

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

Losing the weight but not the stigma - This is why we need to keep educating others and need the Obesity Action Coalition

Grrrr and for those that took part in the study: Bariatric surgery was the helping hand and first of many life changes that INCLUDED developing and maintaining healthy eating habits, moving my body everyday, and working on the why's of why I gained weight... I'd say that is A LOT OF WORK and work that will continue for my lifetime.

This is a lifelong war versus obesity, having surgery was just the first battle. I am a PROUD WLSer!

Big Food - Great video by the Yale Rudd Center
More Than 15% Obese in Nearly All U.S. Metro Areas - Skinny people live in Colorado ;)
Bariatrics Gets its Own Quality Measures - A very good thing.
Targeting Children With Treats - Great (though disturbing) Infographic
Preschool program fights obesity through dance - Love this!
Sure You Want that Snack? - I ate many of these pre-weight loss surgery

Remember last week when I mentioned that new show on TLC "The Real Skinny" featuring a fellow WLS pal of mine Sarah and Dr. Timothy Katzen. Here's a preview to get you excited about watching.

4. The fellow cat lovers will relate to this one. Is this not the cutest commercial ever!? "Who's the most handsome prince? You. You are." :)



My rescued stray Charlie is a lovey-dovey kissy-face too.

5. Check back on Sunday when a little leprechaun told me something fun is starting ♧

What motivates me.

Today my pals over at Bariatric TV posted a question on Facebook: Motivation. What helps the most to keep you motivated?

The choices were:
1. Before and Pictures
2. Famous Quotes
3. Competing against someone else
4. Hearing/Reading someone else's story
5. Your end goal or keeping your eye on the prize

It got me thinking... 

What motivates me?

mo·ti·va·tion
Noun: The reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way. The general desire or willingness of someone to do something.

The reasons are many and they have changed as time has gone on. When I first had weight loss surgery what motivated me was getting to a goal weight and hearing the compliments of friends and family. It kept me going. Wanting to hit 50lbs gone, 100lbs gone, shopping in regular stores, getting to Goaaaaaaaal Go Go Goaaaaaaaal.

Then I hit goal and no balloons fell from the sky, I woke up the next day just like the day before. Soon the "OMG, You look AMAZING" accolades quieted. Sure from time to time I got the occasional one from someone who hadn't seen me in awhile but it wasn't the everyday occurrence it once was.

Now what?

1. Remembering the good and the bad helps motivate me. I remember the day I no longer needed any medications, I remember the first time I could fly and not need a seat belt extender and drop the tray table, I remember the day I cut up my Lane Bryant and Avenues cards, I remember the day I slid into a booth effortlessly, I remember buying single digit pants for the first time, so many wow moments.

I look at my before pictures and remember the hard, sad, feeling hopeless and trapped years. I understand that remembering these times is a bit like picking at a healing scab and rarely do I purposely pick, it's more like something opens the wound...

Remember why you started
Scars
Weight Loss Surgery & The Pier
My weight loss surgery journey (in denim)
Worst things about being fat
A is for...

Even yesterday I was chatting with someone about Disneyland and it reminded me of my last trip I took in college with a group of friends...

300 pounds, miserable, sweating and tired, using every excuse to sit down because I hurt so much. I missed out on one of the "lands" entirely. I barely fit in the rides and didn't even attempt a few knowing I wouldn't make it. Not my finest day.

2. Staying active in the Weight Loss Surgery community helps motivate me. Motivation loves company :)

Both in-person (at large events like my favorite OAC's Your Weight Matters National Convention event! or Obesityhelp, WLSFA, local meet & greets, social gatherings, educational or advocacy events) and online support (Facebook, Twitter) from fellow obesity fighters really helps. I enjoy celebrating their successes and am cautioned against potential pitfalls through others experiences.

Sharing my story through this blog helps keep me motivated. You guys help me keep my head in the game for sure. Thank you.

3. My desire to maintain my "healthy eating sobriety" helps motivate me. This is a controversial one but this is what motivates ME, everyone's journey is different. I am proud of my sober days... without certain trigger foods in my life, days I've lived a healthier lifestyle, days without my "drug of choice" having the power, days I have begun loving life versus merely existing. Like a person in AA getting those medallions I look at these post surgery days as something to continue adding up and celebrating. I know some who say not eating certain foods ever again is abnormal. Like I said, every post-ops journey is different. We didn't all gain weight for the same reasons so the path we take after surgery will be different too. You have to find what works for you.

4. Good quotes help motivate me. They help push me through when the going gets tough, something to reach for when faced with old demons...

I get out of the car, walk to the bank entrance and am faced with a singing chorus of "Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?"

My old friends Thin Mints and Samoas in their colorful, familiar boxes waiting for me to renew our unhealthy relationship. I think, "Don't trade what you want most, for what you want at the moment." Crisis averted ;)

There's probably a few more (my Mum is a great cheerleader, etc.) but these are the biggies. My best to all the fellow fighters! Keep on keepin' on :)

Drum roll...

Thank you for the wonderful response to last The World According to Eggface I ♥ Giveaway! The prizes were some of my absolute favorite weight loss surgery must haves. It was a fun month!

The random generator has selected:

Judy
craftyjudys@xxxxx.com

Congratulations!!! You are the winner of the HUGE 10 lb. Supply of SEI Nutrition Max Protein. Check your mail and follow email instructions for claiming your prize.

Thank you for playing everyone! Keep watching the blog for the next eggciting giveaway coming soon!

Friday Five

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

1. Happy March! Wait, wasn't it just Christmas?! March is one of my favorite months. New leaves on trees, bulb flowers bloom, unpredictable weather makes for some interesting skies, daylight savings begins so more Vit. D and later walks. When I was a whippersnapper one of the reasons I loved March was because Mickey D's Shamrock Shake returned. If you were a Shamrock Shake lover too be sure to check out my healthified alternative.

Check out these scary stats on the real deal McDonald's Shamrock Shake. A 12 oz. Shamrock Shake = 74 grams of sugar. Yes... not a typo... 74 grams! Check out the calorie count on the 16 oz...


2. Speaking of GREEN... today marks the 108th birthday of Dr. Seuss! In his honor this is my "Green Eggs and Ham" lunch...

Shelly's Avocado Deviled Eggs

4 Hardboiled Eggs
2 Tablespoons Greek Yogurt
1/2 an Avocado
dash of Greek Seasoning (blend found in spice aisle)
1 Green Onion, diced
dash of Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper

Hard cook eggs. Cool. Cut in half. Remove yolks and mash with above ingredients till smooth-ish. Spoon back. Top with diced Green Onion.

How I hard cook eggs: Place eggs in pot. Fill pot with cold water till 1" over eggs. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and cook for 20 minutes. Pour off hot water and cover eggs with very cold water. This is an extremely important step which prevents the greenish ring you sometimes see on yolks. When eggs are cool enough to handle. Crack & peel away shell. Chill.

Oh and here's the ham component in the "Green Eggs and Ham" lunch.

Two of my favorite Dr. Seuss quotes: "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." and "Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple."

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

Alcohol Metabolism after Bariatric Surgery - MUST READ
Obesity map of the world
Obesity epidemic affecting autopsies
Baking with whole grains: Spelt Flour - Ya'll know how I love Spelt.

and a heads up on a new show you'll want to check out... my pal Sarah is in it and an awesome plastic surgery that is very active in our weight loss surgery community Dr. Timothy Katzen. It's on TLC and it's called, "The Real Skinny"

From TLC's website: "Sarah and Chris are living with a terrible secret. Despite both having successful gastric bypass surgery, they continue to live life under a cloud of personal shame because of an unexpected side effect of the weight loss: Excess Skin."

I know the feeling.

The show airs: March 12, 9:00 pm and March 13, 12:00 am. I'll be watching!

4. The blog is nominated for a Homie for Best Healthy Cooking Blog. Voting ends today March 2nd, 2012 at 11:59PM EST.

The Kitchn requires you register to vote but it seems a pretty easy process. I love sharing with a broader audience (and perhaps changing some preconceived notions) that eating after bariatric surgery is still full of tasty food like this...


Thanks in advance.

*UPDATE* Thank you for voting www.theworldaccordingtoeggface.com one of the Top 10 Healthy Cooking Blogs of 2012 in the Homies. We didn't make the finals but Top 10 (9 actually) is darn GREAT in my book.

5. Sunday is the last day to enter the final "I ♥" giveaway. Click here to add your name in the hat to win a HUGE 10 lb. supply of one of my favorite protein powders.