Post Weight Loss Surgery Menus: A day in my pouch

A day in my pouch is a series of blog posts to show what a typical daily menu looks like in my post weight loss surgery world. Yesterday's healthy and delicious menu...

Breakfast: I made a batch of my Egg Bites (aka Mini Crustless Quiche) this weekend and ate the last of them. These were vegetarian. I had some leftover peas in the fridge from a dinner. Corn, beans, peas, cabbage, spinach whatever... if you have a 1/2 cup or so in a container bumping around in the fridge this is a great way to use up those leftovers.

Shelly's Cheesy Pea Bites

1/2 cup cooked Peas
1 Yellow Onion, sauteed
2 Green Onions, sauteed
5 Eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon Dill
1/2 cup Shredded Swiss Cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan, Grated
a few twists of Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F. Saute onions, set aside to cool. Mix all ingredients together. Be sure onion mixture has cooled slightly before adding to egg mixture.

Spoon (I use a small ice cream scoop) into a lightly greased non-stick mini muffin tin.

Bake for 30 minutes or until centers are firm. Makes 24.

More Eggface Bites (aka Crustless Quiches)
7 Grab & Go Breakfast Ideas

Lunch: I'm taking a course online and I had a big project due so I set myself up outside to finish it and this yummy bento box lunch of finger foods fueled me.

Pink Box (top left): Cheese Cubes and Almonds
Green Box (top right): Cherries
Blue Box (bottom left): Ham & Turkey Cold Cut Roll Up, Pickles
Orange Box (bottom right): Vanilla Almond Crunch Quest Bar Protein "Cookies"

More Bento Box lunches, FAQ's and an Online Source for them
My Bento Pinterest Page (Tons of Lunch Ideas)

Dinner: Sunday we went to the beach and to one of my favorite Farmers' Markets and I bought these really cool round baseball-ish sized summer squash, a big bag for $2.

I turned them into a sort of gratin for dinner...

Shelly's Summer Squash Gratin

3 cups-ish Summer Squash, sliced
1 Sweet Onion, sliced (Maui or Walla Walla)
1/2 cup Cooked Sausage, diced
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
Salt & a few twists of Black Pepper to taste
1/3 cup Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese

Saute onion and squash till tender, add cooked sausage and seasonings. I put it all in a oven safe dish and topped it with the cheese and broil 2 minutes until cheese is gooey and golden. This was delicious. You could use any summer squash you have locally available zucchini, crookneck, patty pan.

More Eggface Healthy Italian Dishes Lots of summer squash recipes.

Snacks: Too much coffee (iced mostly it was a hot day) and for dessert a dollop of Ricotta Cheese with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of SF Maple Syrup and I dipped 1/2 a sliced peach.

More Days in my Pouch

Thinking I might do another giveaway before the month is up. Watch for it ;)

Flavor Your Adventure: Beach Day Snacks

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is grab a few snacks and find a great view to enjoy for an hour or two. It doesn't get much better than watching the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean. It's an hour drive, so my Mum and I gassed up and took off to have a little 1/2 day adventure.

If you were craving something savory or sweet I had you covered. Our savory snack was: Hummus with lots of veggie dippers and Blue Diamond Salt n' Vinegar Almonds. Be sure you always have plenty of water for your adventures.

This was our view. Ahh... I could feel the stress of the week melting away with each wave.

We also made a stop at my favorite Farmer's Market. Take a look at these squash I bought...

and my favorite Reed avocados are in season...

Before heading home, we made one last stop at the ocean and ate our sweet treat... a few fresh cherries and Blue Diamond Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Almonds, the combo is out of this world, like a chocolate covered cherry.

I freeze the cherries the night before my adventure so they are just thawed when I'm ready to gobble them up, cold and refreshing in the summer heat.

I'm headed to a conference in San Antonio in a few weeks and keeping a tight rein on my budget till then but a 1/2 tank of gas and some snacks I can manage. I highly recommend heading off on a 1/2 day adventure... find a park, a lake, a beautiful tree to sit under, a farmers' market to poke around.

It was a perfect day... delicious snacks, fresh air and the beauty of nature, add someone you love to the mix and some great conversation and laughs... that's stuff summer memories are made of.

This “Flavor Your Adventure” post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. For more snack ideas to “Flavor Your Adventure” this summer, visit Blue Diamond Almonds on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Post Weight Loss Surgery Menus: A day in my pouch

A day in my pouch is a series of blog posts to show what a typical daily menu looks like in my post weight loss surgery world.

Breakfast: I had some leftover steamed cauliflower bumping around the fridge. I put it in a non-stick saute pan. I just sort of smashed it down with a spatula, when it was warmed through I poured 1 beaten egg over it and a couple of Tablespoons of shredded Mexican blend cheese, sprinkle of salt and a few twists of black pepper, flipped it sort of and cooked till egg was done and cheese was brown and crispy. Delicious. Odd breakfast I know but it was really tasty.

Started my day with a little grrr blood pressure rise. I saw a post on Facebook that no other way to say it... pissed me off. I spewed a comment and a tweet but thought it deserved to be sent into the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC)'s "Bias Busters" basically the Weight Bias Committee within the OAC. I don't sit on that committee... it's self preservation really... for my own health and well-being I choose to support their efforts as a member but as a board member I choose to serve on other committees. If I heard all of what people submit I'd be on blood pressure meds again for sure ;) I do however pound off emails to them on occasion when I personally spot something I think they need to be aware of, usually they are already on it. Yay! This morning I pounded off an email about this video and Facebook post. The OAC has responded to the video with a request for it's removal. Please support our efforts and send a message that the weight bias, stigma and fat shaming this video portrays is wrong and even more disturbing is comes from a medical "professional" and then was supported by a post by another medical professional is unacceptable. Dr's offices should be a safe zone, free from weight bias and stigma. I know I am preaching to the choir on this one because YOU KNOW first hand... weight bias and stigmatization can lead to patients affected by obesity avoiding preventive health services and exams, mammograms, follow up appointments, avoiding the doctor and putting off care... it's potentially deadly. Watching that video is there any wonder why some would not feel safe and supported. So yeah... blood pressure rise for the day but if we all sign the letter something good will come from it. Thank you.

UPDATE: The video has been removed.Yes! Thank you to all who signed the letter.

Lunch: I had a phone meeting and then some errands to run. One stop was the supermarket for a couple of things and I picked up some pre-cooked shrimp and voila Shrimp Cocktail was lunch.

Dinner: Repurposing leftovers was the theme of the day. I had a small piece of steak, some assorted grilled veggies (onions, mushroom, peppers, squash) from last night's dinner. I sliced up another onion and sauteed everything.

I made a bag of that Path of Life Mediterranean Quinoa (4 minutes in the microwave, they changed the look of the bag FYI) and used that as a base for some Steak and Veggie Quinoa Bowls. So good and made the little bit of leftovers go a long way.

Snacks: I made a batch of Double Chocolate Chunk Quest Bar Cookies and so I'll have a couple of those a little later on for dessert. Have you made these yet? Yum.

More Days in my Pouch

Friday Five

A weekly round-up of tidbits, tips, products, ideas, news articles, random cool things from the weight, health, nutrition, food, fitness, weight loss surgery world...

1. New Product Alert! Celebrate Vitamins who makes some of my favorite bariatric vitamins is launching a protein powder line: Protein 20. It's 100% whey protein isolate, low in sugar, 20 grams of protein plus whatever milk you use mix it with, so perfect for post weight loss surgery patients and listen to these flavors: Caramel Vanilla Swirl, Peanut Butter Cookie, Cookies and Cream, Chocolate Mint, Iced Decaf Coffee, and Unflavored. I was able to taste test a few this week. They rock! I am obsessing on the Chocolate Mint. You know those little rectangle shaped Andes Chocolate Mints with the mint-green layer sandwiched between chocolate layers... liquefy those and you have Celebrate's Protein 20 Chocolate Mint. Seriously. Ahhh-mazing.

I know many of you have been looking for a Decaf Whey Protein Iced Coffee... the wait is over. You are going to love this protein. All of them are delicious and will be AVAILABLE VERY SOON. Celebrate will announce, I'll announce. Head over to Celebrate Vitamins Facebook Page and tell them Eggface told you to ask about the new Protein 20. What flavors are you most excited about?

Oh and as soon Protein 20 is released to the public I'll be giving some away so watch for that.

2. If you are headed to the Your Weight Matters National Convention #YWM2015 next month Celebrate Vitamins who always supports our community will be there and I'll bet they'll be sharing some samples of the new Protein 20 along with their other new products including a new Multi-Complete with iron in mango-peach flavor. For those attending... FYI leave room in your bag for all the swag you bring home because besides Celebrate Vitamins, Chike Nutrition, Premier Protein, Livliga, BiPro, Building Block Vitamins, BariLife, Bariatric Pal, and tons more are in the exhibit hall and they hook us up BIG TIME.

There's still time to join us, for more than 50 educational topics about health, weight, wellness, nutrition, science based information about available treatment options for weight loss, and so much more. Check out the Your Weight Matters National Convention website for more info and to register. Here's the 411 Guide to the Event and my Obesity Action Blog about #YWM2015 Hope to see you there!

3. A few articles that crossed my radar this week that are worth a read...

Weight-Based Bullying Is The Most Common Form of Bullying in Youth
Health is not a game! Great video interview with a former Biggest Loser contestant
Sleeping off the Pounds
A Cookbook for Obesity Care

and... I was honored and thankful for the opportunity to offer some patient perspective this week at the California Technology Assessment Forum CTAF Public Meeting in Los Angeles looking at current approaches to managing obesity. Here's the 100+ page report the committee used along with the expert panel testimony in voting. Some great data and info about weight loss surgery, current weight loss medications and new emerging technology.

Bottomline: we need more insurance covered options because we are not one treatment fits all, those options need to be a choice between us and our Dr., and pre-op AND POST-OP care & support needs to be a part of any program (continued emotional support, nutritional support, etc.) and maybe we'll change this: Study: Most People Affected by Obesity Will Never Reach Normal Weight

4. It's going to be super hot this week. If you are like me and hate heating up the kitchen here's some links that I hope will help...

Eggface Healthy Salads and Cold Eats Pinterest Page
Eggface Bento Box Lunch Pinterest Page

5. Always be on the lookout for Pop-Up Giveaways. They are sort of mini versions of my blog giveaways and can happen at anytime. Follow me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook because you never know when one will begin.

Easy as Breeze: Frozen Chocolate Monkey Treats

We're getting quite toasty in my neighborhood... it's supposed to be in the high 90's this weekend. I made these frozen treats in preparation for the sizzling hot days ahead. They are super easy to make, toss a few ingredients in a blender and pour into a mini muffin tin to freeze. Then just pop out one of these protein-packed, low calorie treats when you are wanting to cool down.

Frozen Chocolate Monkey Treats

1 cup Almond Breeze Unsweetened Chocolate Almondmilk
1/2 of a Banana
1/4 cup Chocolate Protein Powder
1/4 cup plain Greek Yogurt
2 Tablespoons Sweetener of your choice (SF coffee syrups, honey, agave, whatever you like)

Optional toppings: a few almonds, crumbled protein bar, berries

Blend the chocolate almond milk, banana, protein powder, yogurt and sweetener together on high.

Pour into a 12 cup mini muffin tin (about 3/4 full if you are adding any toppings) You can use metal or silicon muffin tins.

Add any optional toppings or combos of toppings. I dropped a couple of those yummy Blue Diamond Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Almonds in each one. Freeze for several hours. Pop out of tin. Store in the freezer in a resealable bag for up to a week.

This would be a fun and easy cooking project to make with the kids. Make them early in the day and they'll be ready for dessert in the evening. I serve them in regular size muffin cups. They make a great holder and drip catcher.

This "Easy as Breeze" post is sponsored by Almond Breeze Almondmilk. For more "Easy As Breeze” recipes made with five ingredients or less, visit Almond Breeze on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. Tell them The World According to Eggface sent you over.

Healthy Helper: Foster Farms Refrigerated Grilled Chicken Breast Strips

Making healthy, protein packed meals is a priority for me but sometimes despite all my planning and to-do lists the day gets away or something (or someone) throws me a curveball and starting a healthy meal completely from scratch isn't an option. This is when many will go the grease-laden drive-thru fast food route, or eat carby, snacky type foods that fill the void or skip meals causing your body to start to hold on to dear life to fat stores fearing it's not going to get it's needed fuel, not good.

Foster Farms Refrigerated Grilled Chicken Breast Strips are a great option in these situations. The low fat, skinless, boneless chicken strips are fully cooked and ready to eat as is or add them to salads, stir-fry, fajitas, endless possibilities. They come in three delicious flavors: Grilled, Southwestern and Honey Roasted. Look for them in the refrigerated meat department of your supermarket. I recently was given an opportunity to try all three flavors and share my thoughts. I made 3 variations of Lettuce Wrap Tacos, using Romaine Lettuce as my low carb "wrap or taco" shell.

My Greek Wrap: Foster Farms Refrigerated Grilled Chicken Breast Strips, thinly sliced red onion, cucumber, black olives, feta cheese and a dollop of Dill Greek Yogurt Dip (plain Greek yogurt, squeeze of lemon, dried dill, salt, pepper to taste)

My Southwestern Wrap: Foster Farms Refrigerated Grilled Chicken Breast Strips Southwestern Seasoned, leftover black beans and corn, and a dollop of Avocado Yogurt Dip (equal parts plain Greek yogurt and guacamole mixed together)

My Indian Curry Wrap: Foster Farms Refrigerated Grilled Chicken Breast Strips Honey Roasted, cashews, dehydrated apple, celery, and a dollop of Curry Yogurt Dip (plain Greek yogurt, yellow curry powder to taste, salt)

I'm still debating which one I loved more. I think the Indian Curry was especially delicious, the spice of the curry with the honey roasted grilled chicken and all the crunchy toppings. It will be on dinner rotation again early next week. These Foster Farms Refrigerated Grilled Chicken Breast Strips are a super convenient, delicious, healthy helper. I love products that help you keep your health a priority even on days "life happens".

This post is sponsored by Foster Farms. For the purposes of this post Foster Farms provided me with products used. Thanks for the yummy chicken. Want to learn more about Foster Farms products LIKE their Facebook page and tell them The World According to Eggface told you to stop by.

More Eggface Healthy Summer Salads & Cold Eats

Friday Five

A weekly round-up of tidbits, tips, products, ideas, news articles, random cool things from the weight, health, nutrition, food, fitness, weight loss surgery world...

1. Everywhere you turn lately people are chatting up cold brew coffee. Cold brewing is a no-heat brewing process. It's basically coarsely ground coffee (any you like, fully leaded, decaf, flavored, whatever) that steeps for about 20 hours in cool water. The result is a low acid (so better for those that suffer from GERD acid reflux or have stomach issues when they drink coffee) and a smoother, sweeter taste (no heat = no bitterness.) Starbucks is making it now, you can buy a bottle at Trader Joe's. A few other companies make it but it's pretty pricey. Trader Joe's bottle is $7.99, I've seen some for $12 a bottle. I am loving this 6-cup Toddy Cold Brew Coffee System.

I make a pitcher of cold brew coffee overnight, it lasts 2 weeks in the fridge, and I can make almost 20 iced coffee drinks per batch. I've already saved the price of the machine in fewer coffee shop visits. I pour about 2-3 oz of cold brew coffee over ice cubes, add milk of my choice and a few pumps of sugar free coffee flavoring (SF Torani, Davinci, those SF flavored Creamers) and... slurp.

If you don't have a Toddy system you could Google search making it home (involves cheesecloth, strainers, canning jars, not hard but not as convenient or easy to clean up.) Not a coffee lover (who are you people?! LOL) it also makes great tea. Anyway if you are looking for another low calorie drink option to stay hydrated and cool down in the summer heat, check it out.

2. Have you made these Quest Protein Bar Cookies yet? I must admit I am obsessed, because... well I just HAVE to try all the bar flavors turned into cookies. So far Strawberry Cheesecake turned cookie is my favorite with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough coming in a close second. Next up Vanilla Almond and S'mores.

I need more mouths to share them with. Oooh it would be fun to have a few support group members each make a batch to bring to a meeting and you can have a Quest Bar Cookie Swap. Everyone gets a sample of each flavor... though some (chocolate chip type ones) taste best warm and gooey from the oven. Hmmm I think the TSA might have issues if I started to travel with a toaster oven.

3. A few articles that crossed my radar this week that are worth a read...

How to Talk About Obesity
Being “fat” is the most common reason children are bullied
Great resource that shows State-specific Essential Health Benefits (EHB) and what specific obesity-related services and treatments are covered by each benchmark plan.
This article has a brief overview of some of the current FDA approved obesity treatments.

And exciting... 2 of the fitness instructors at next month's #YWM2015 Your Weight Matters National Convention are in the news: Robanne Robin who teaches our Hip Hop class was featured in a UK publication and Abby Lentz who will be sharing Yoga for Every Size and Ability is one of the cover stories in this month's Prevention magazine.

4. Advocacy made easy. The Obesity Action Coalition is asking for support on 2 important topics: Access to Care (Treat & Reduce Obesity Act TROA) and Weight Bias & Fat-Shaming (Ban the F Word Campaign) with just a couple of clicks of your mouse you can help.

5. Heads up: I've got a couple of giveaways starting soon! Both here on the blog and if you are an instagram follower of mine always be on the lookout for my Pop-Up Giveaways. They are sort of mini versions of my blog giveaways and can happen at anytime. I had a migraine that lasted almost 4 days... so you'll see a lot more posts the next few weeks as I catch up a bit. Lots of fun stuff. Check back!

New Product Alert: Foster Farms® Organic and Simply Raised Chicken

I had the opportunity to try Foster Farms® new Organic and Simply Raised fresh chicken, a new generation of products from a company that has been putting delicious chicken on our tables (and in our belly nomnomnom) since 1939.

Look for a trio of new products including: Foster Farms® Fresh & Natural, Foster Farms® Simply Raised (without antibiotics) and Foster Farms® Organic.

This new generation of fresh chicken is answering the call for antibiotic-free, organic and locally raised poultry. Based in California's Central Valley, Foster Farms operates ranches throughout California and works with more than 32 family farmers in the Pacific Northwest making them the leading producer of organic and antibiotic-free poultry on the West Coast.

I picked up a package of Foster Farms® Simply Raised Breast Fillets at my local Albertsons. There's a slightly different package look and logo...

Here's key some info from the package:

• No Antibiotics are administered, ever
• 100% vegetarian feed
• American Humane Certified
• 100% natural (minimally processed, no additives or preservatives, steroids or hormones)
• Produced with no added sodium
• Simply Raised is locally grown throughout CA, OR, and WA

But how does it taste...

These Foster Farms® Simply Raised Breast Fillets are delicious, very flavorful and juicy. I made a simple marinade (just 1/4 cup of Italian salad dressing and 1/2 lemon sliced), placed that and the chicken breasts in a gallon zipper bag and put in the fridge for at least 4 hours (up to a day.)

When you are ready to start grilling, remove the chicken breasts from the bag and discard any leftover marinade. Place the breasts on the grill and cook for about 15 minutes, flipping once. Chicken is done when juices run clear when pierced with a fork (internal temp of 165.) Remove from grill and foil for about 15 minutes before slicing.

One of the breast fillets I sliced up and turned into this great Bruschetta Chicken and Bean Salad, a perfect dinner to take with you to those 4th of July parades and firework displays or concerts in the park. That's exactly where I took mine, a free summer concert in my neighborhood park. I packed the salad up in to-go boxes, tossed a couple of bottles of water and an ice pack in my cooler bag and we got to the park just in time to watch the sunset.

This is the perfect dinner on a hot summer night, no heating up the kitchen, quick, just open a few cans and mix together.

Shelly's Bruschetta Chicken and Bean Salad

1 Foster Farms Simply Raised Chicken Breast, Grilled, Sliced
1/2 cup White Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup Red Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup Green Beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup Fresh Mozzarella Balls, halved
1/2 cup Grape Tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup Marinated Artichoke Hearts, chopped
1/2 cup Bruschetta Sauce (find it near fresh pasta in the supermarket)
1 teaspoon Oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste

Slice the grilled chicken into strips. Mix all ingredients together. Refrigerate till you are ready to head out.

This post is sponsored by Foster Farms, the opinions expressed are my own. For the purposes of this post and recipe development Foster Farms provided me with products used. Thanks for the yummy chicken. Want to learn more about Foster Farms LIKE their Facebook page and tell them The World According to Eggface told you to stop by.

Hope you enjoy the salad on your next outing.