Taco Tuesday Recipes

Are Tuesday's Taco Tuesday at your house? Post bariatric surgery they still can be especially if you think outside the tortilla with these lower carb and protein packed options and utilize some of these Taco Tuesday tips to make some slight adaptations.

If you must have the tortilla look for small whole grain tortilla (I use Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Fajita Size when I make my tortilla pizzas) or corn (a whole grain and typically smaller in size so less calories.) You can also cut tortilla with a cookie cutter into circles and bake them to make mini tacos cups...

Cheese works too...

Make a bowl...

or lettuce wrap style tacos...

(left to right) Lettuce Cup Fish Tacos, Leftover Tri Tip Tacos, DIY Lettuce Cup Taco Night, Crockpot Carnitas Tacos, Bento Box Tacos, Leftover Steak Tacos (Steak, Sauteed Mushrooms, Cheese) Meatball Tacos, Niçoise Tuna Salad Tacos, Breakfast Taco (Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Avocado, Cheese)

The benefits of giving up the tortilla shell are more stomach space and calories for all those yummy taco fillings.

Instead of sour cream use high protein plain Greek Yogurt. Add spices like cumin and chili powder, lime zest or hot sauce to jazz it up.

Use up leftovers. Taco Tuesday is a great way to use up some veggies you have bumping around the fridge or BBQ from the weekend. Anything can be turned into a taco.

and turn your Taco Tuesday night leftovers into Wednesday meals.

Shelly's Scrambled Egg Bowls

Shelly's Taco Egg Bites

or Shelly's Breakfast Taco Pie

Avoid the urge to have a margarita. Drinking alcohol post weight loss surgery is not advised for many reasons but it'll also add 150+ calories for plain margaritas or 300+ calories for fruitier frosty versions to your meal plan.

Hope you enjoy one of these next Taco Tuesday... or tomorrow... because really any day is a good day for tacos!

More Eggface Healthy Mexican Food Favorites

Memorial Day Remembrance and Recipes

As a kid, I remember thinking it odd that people celebrated Memorial Day Weekend because Memorial Day honors the brave men and women who died serving in the U.S. military, it seemed wrong. As I've gotten older, I realize that we are not guaranteed more than today, never more apparent than last night in Manchester, England. I understand the importance of taking a weekend to enjoy family and friends and break bread well... not bread in my case ;) but sharing some yummy food. As we enjoy our BBQ's in the backyard or picnics in the park I hope we all take time to remember and honor those heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for us all.

One easy way to help: Do you have clothing you no longer fit in? Consider donating it to Vietnam Veterans of America. The donations are sold in thrift stores across America to help fund programs for veterans of all eras.

Here's some favorite protein packed Memorial Day weekend recipes to kick off the unofficial beginning of Summer. They are all weight loss surgery friendly but your loved ones (including the kiddos) should enjoy them as well.

Build Your Own Slider

Shelly's Quinoa Patties (for your vegetarian friends and family, make extra non-vegetarian pals will love them too)

Kabobs and Skewers

Grilled Veggies

Shelly's Caprese Chicken

These next 2 are great to take to the park (no mayo to spoil) or parade watching. I love to use those take-out chinese food containers to transport, just remember to bring a fork.

Shelly's Greek Chicken Cucumber Noodle Salad

1 English or Hothouse Cucumber, spiralized
Salt to taste
1/2 cup Cherry Tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup Feta Cheese, crumbled
a few Kalamata olives, chopped
a few dashed of Oregano
Optional: Top whatever protein you want I used Grilled Chicken but would be great with Grilled Shrimp, Steak.

Dressing
1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar or Fresh Squeezed Lemon
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
a few twists of Black Pepper

If you have a spiralizer, use it to cut the cucumber into "noodles" if you don't have one get one, you won't regret this purchase especially this summer. You can use a julienne peeler but it will give you strips instead. Not nearly as cool.

Sprinkle cucumber "noodles" with salt and let sit in the fridge about 10 minutes. Drain any water. Toss with veggies and dressing. Top with optional grilled protein.

Don't be afraid of carbs... I don't eat bread, pasta or rice, the simple white carbs (my personal choice) but I eat a nice amount of complex carbs a day, I just choose them wisely. Beans full of nutrients and fiber versus pasta for example...

Shelly's Award Winning Jazzy New Orleans Muffaleta Salad

Shelly's Baked Bean Casserole

Shelly's Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Eggs

A few desserts...

Shelly's Red, White & Blue Strawberry Cannoli
Shelly's Red, White & Blue Layered Protein Cake Jars
Shelly's Farmer's Market Berry Crumble
Shelly's Mini Almond Protein Muffin Strawberry Shortcakes

Need more ideas...

More Healthy Salads
More Eggface Bento Box Portable Meals
More Bariatric Surgery Friendly Desserts

I hope everyone has a healthy and safe Memorial Weekend!

"Enjoy the little things, for one day, you may look back and realize they were the big things."

~Robert Brault

Farmer's Market Premier Protein Berry Crumble and Shopping Tips

This post is sponsored by Premier Protein®. I'm excited to share one of my favorite recipes featuring Premier Protein Whey Protein Powder with you.

For me, there’s no better way to enjoy a beautiful weekend morning than to stroll around a Farmers' Market. Our Old Town Temecula Farmers’ Market is great. It's held every Saturday morning, rain or shine but if for some reason I can't make it we have one not too far away held on Sunday and many of the same farms sell at both: local cheeses, plants and flowers, artisans selling their homemade items like salsa, jams, soap and of course lots of just picked fruits and veggies.

I usually walk around once to see what everyone has to offer, find a little spot somewhere to sit down to develop a game plan based on what's available before I go back around again and make my purchases.

A Premier Protein Bananas & Cream Protein Shake (30 grams of protein, 24 vitamins and minerals, low in fat, only one gram of sugar and just 160 calories) and local blueberries powered my morning.

Here's some of my haul and those berries (well, minus the handful I ate) became this delicious, super easy to make Berry Crumble with a protein-packed topping.

Shelly's Farmer's Market Premier Protein Berry Crumble

3/4 cup Almond Flour
1/3 cup Premier Protein Vanilla Milkshake Whey Protein Powder, dry
1 Tablespoon Butter
2 Tablespoons Almond Butter
2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup (or liquid sweetener of your choice: honey, agave)
2 cups of Berries (I used Raspberries and Blueberries)

Preheat oven to 350. Wash berries and divide equally in 4 ramekins. Mix crumble ingredients together (hands are best) till clumps form (add a teaspoon of water if needed, it'll depend on almond butter brand some are thinner or thicker than others.) I used Premier Protein Vanilla Milkshake Whey Protein Powder, it has 30 grams of protein per scoop, no artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners but Premier Protein Chocolate Whey Protein Powder would be great too. I mean hello?! Chocolate and berries. Yum!

Sprinkle clumps of the topping equally over each ramekin of fruit. I place the ramekins on a baking sheet it's easier to remove them from the oven and saves any oven clean-up if your berries are especially juicy.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes till golden. Serve warm, room temperature or cold with or without Homemade, No Sugar Added Whipped Cream or a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Cooks Note: Almond Flour is just ground blanched almonds. Almond Meal may be subbed that's ground almonds with the skins on but Almond Meal is a little denser so I prefer Almond Flour in this recipe with delicate berries. Almond Meal would be fine for heartier fruits like peaches or apples in the summer and fall.

Make the most of your Farmers' Market shopping experience with these 5 tips:

1. Bring a sturdy reusable shopping bag or folding shopping cart if you anticipate a large haul or are planning on buying a giant watermelon.
2. Bring small bills especially if you are shopping very early in the day; breaking $100 bill for a $3 basket of berries is not good market etiquette. Set aside dollar bills during the week for market day.
3. Be respectful of the produce: don't squeeze all the avocados looking for the perfect one (or let your kids play with them) if you're not sure about how ripe something is or need something to be ready for a recipe later on in the week, ask the farmer to help you pick out the best.
4. Ask questions. Farmers' markets are a great place to learn about a culture or areas local cuisine. Not sure what something is or how to prepare it? You may even score a sample or learn a new recipe.
5. Take advantage of your Farmers' market's website, info booth or bulletin board. Many have rules like no dogs allowed (except for service dogs) based on your county's health & safety codes. Some markets offer "Veggie Valet" service so you can pick up your purchases later in the day if you do buy that giant watermelon. Some market's even offer cooking demos or market tours and there's also usually great info available on what fruits and veggies are in-season with recipes.

This post is sponsored by Premier Protein® #TheDayIsYours For the purposes of this post Premier Protein provided me with products used. Want to learn more about Premier Protein products LIKE their Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram and tell them The World According to Eggface told you to stop by. Hope you find a Farmers' Market near you and give this recipe a try!

Sunday Brunch: Mother's Day Brunch and Gift Ideas

Nothing says "I love you Mom, You're the best" like letting them sleep in while you make them breakfast or brunch. You may think post bariatric surgery you might have to eliminate this tradition but you'd be wrong, unless Mom (or Grandma) is a very new post-op any of these recipes should work out fine. If she's a very new post-op bookmark this post for next year and scroll down to the bottom for some other non-food gift ideas to make her day special.

But first, the food. Oodles of easy to make, post bariatric surgery sweet and savory eats sure to make Mom's Day:

(From left to right:) Shelly's Peaches and Caramel Baked Pancake, Egg Bites, Greek Yogurt Build Your Own Parfait (Yogurt, Fruit, Crumbled Protein Bars & Nuts), Chocolate Protein Granola, Mexican Scrambled Egg Bowl, Breakfast Pancake Bites, Chai Spice Protein Granola, Mini Apple Breakfast Loaf, Apple Pie Protein Balls, Yogurt Parfait to-go, Asian Scrambled Egg Bowl, Breakfast Taco Pie

Sweet and Savory Ricotta Pancakes...

(From left to right:) Shelly's Blueberry Cannoli Pancakes, Ricotta Pancakes with Chia Jam, Carrot Cake Ricotta Pancakes, Savory Onion Mini Pancakes with Smoked Salmon, Butterscotch Crunch Ricotta Pancakes, Strawberry Cheesecake Ricotta Pancakes, Sand Dollar Ricotta Pancakes, "Sandwich" Savory Pancake, Pistachio Ricotta Pancakes, Blueberry Cheesecake Ricotta Pancakes, Bruschetta Pancakes, Savory Pancakes.

and some sweet treats for Mom...

(From left to right:) Shelly's Pretty in Pink Protein Cake (turned muffins with a cherry added in the middle), Mini Chocolate Protein Donuts, Peanut Butter Mini Protein Muffins, Pumpkin Spice Mini Protein Muffins, Chocolate & Vanilla Mini Protein Muffins, 12 Days of Chocolate Mini Protein Muffins, More Donuts, Pumpkin Spice Muffin Close-up, More Donuts, Black Forest Chocolate Cherry Mini Protein Muffins, Pistachio Mini Protein Muffins

Gift Ideas for Mom and if you feel like getting crafty make Mom a Protein Bar Bouquet

More Eggface Breakfast Recipes

Eggface and Celebrate Vitamins Celebrating Mothers and Others Giveaway

This post is sponsored by Celebrate Vitamins. I am excited to share with you some of my favorite Celebrate products.

Building a support system of people including doctors, dietitian, psychologist/psychiatrist, support groups & resources (both IRL and online) and of course friends and family, those we can turn to for both practical and emotional support in our journey to better health is so important. If you don't have a support team in place already, take some time to build it. Trust me, there is no finish-line and there will be bumps, curves and the occasional need to recalculate on this road... your support team will be there to help. If you are lucky to have some or all of those supporters in place... celebrate them!

For me, my greatest supporter has been my Mum. Who is (are) your greatest supporter(s)? 

It's Giveaway Time! Whether it's your Mother or some other person this giveaway will make you both a winner!

The Prize: One prize pack for you and one for your greatest supporter. I'll choose one winner, you keep one and you can give the other (all or part shhh they will never know LOL) to your greatest supporter!

6 single-serve travel packets of Celebrate Vitamins Wildberry Protein 20 Protein Powder (now you must make my Unicorn Protein Shake)
2 - 30 ct. boxes of Celebrate Vitamins BALANCE Probiotic
2 Celebrate Vitamins Sampler Packs (chockful of multis, iron, B12, calcium, 27 different product samples in total)
2 Sistema To Go Collection 4 Piece Cutlery Set (easy to assemble knife, fork, spoon and chopsticks in a carry case)
2 Purple Blenderbottle Shakers
2 The World According to Eggface Reusable Lunch Bags

How to Enter: LEAVE A COMMENT on this blog posting (be sure to include a name and some email address where I can contact you if you are the winner) Scroll down to # of comments/post a comment below to leave yours. That's it, easy peasy.

Example: Jane Doe jdoe@someemail.com

Want an extra chance to win: Follow my Facebook page and mention in your comment on this post letting me know.

Example: Jane Doe jdoe@someemail.com I liked you on Facebook too!

Contest Period Ends: Sunday, May 14th (11:59 PM Pacific), winner announced sometime Monday, May 15th. 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 provided. You'll have one week (7 days) to respond to my email or another winner may be chosen. One ENTRY per person. 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 U.S. only (contiguous United States plus Alaska & Hawaii mailing address only, sorry it's a international law thing.)

As always, thanks for following and sharing the blog link, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter social media pages with your friends, family and support groups and for checking out the great companies that I feature on the blog from time to time. I appreciate it.

Good Luck!

Thank you Celebrate Vitamins for partnering with me on this giveaway. For more information about their extensive line of products be sure to check them out on Facebook and please tell them Eggface sent you and check out their NEW Sampler Pack that includes even more products!

Protein Shake Recipes: Mint Mocha

I had a meeting that was cancelled this evening so with about 45 minutes free in my schedule and since it was 91 degrees today (supposed to drop this weekend thankfully) I decided to tackle a weight loss surgery friendly version of the latest Starbuck's limited edition creation, the Midnight Mint Mocha Frappuccino. The original (even paired down to Tall with nonfat milk) has 35 grams of sugar and 39 grams of carbs... so yeah that's not happening. Here's what I came up with.

Slurp. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did...

Shelly's Mint Mocha Protein Shake

8 oz. Milk (any)
2 scoops (or one single serving packet) Chocolate Mint Protein Powder (I used Celebrate Vitamins Chocolate Mint Protein 20)
1 Tablespoon Unsweetened Cocoa
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Vanilla Torani Syrup
a few cubes of Ice
Optional: if you want the caffeine kick add 1/2 stick of Espresso Powder (Via or Bustelo)

Whiz on high in blender. Fill glass about 3/4, make a ring of No Sugar Added, Homemade Whipped Cream, pour in the rest of the shake, top with a little more whippage and a sprinkle of pulverized protein bar (something chocolate & mint) or additional cocoa.

No Chocolate Mint Protein (use SF Peppermint Torani and Chocolate Protein Powder) but this Chocolate Mint Protein 20 is one of my favs.

Shelly's Homemade No Sugar Added Whipped Cream

1 cup Whipping Cream
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Torani Syrup (any flavor will do)

Whisk till well combined. Every batch I make a new flavor: SF Vanilla, SF Coconut, SF Almond, if you want pink cream Sugar Free Raspberry is great. Fill whipping cream to the fill line of the whipper. Screw on the top. Insert the CO2 cartridge till it empties, unscrew that. Put the nozzle on, shake a few times and squirt away. It makes a ton, store it in the fridge for up to 10 days just give it another few shakes before squirting. Great on berries, shakes and smoothies, protein cake. You can make chocolate whipped cream too just add unsweetened cocoa powder 2 Tablespoons to recipe above and into the whipper.

Feeling like you need a little magic in your life try my Unicorn Protein Shake that was all the craze last month.

More Eggface Protein Shake Recipes

Cinco de Mayo Favorite Recipes

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican victory over the French Army in the Battle of Puebla on May 5th, 1882, many in the U.S. think it's Mexican Independence Day (that's September 16th.) My understanding is Cinco de Mayo is not a major holiday in Mexico but somehow north of the border we've embraced it as a great excuse for a fiesta (party) with food, friends and family!

I had weight loss surgery and have chosen to make some healthy lifestyle changes but that doesn't mean the fiestas ended. Here are a few of my favorite protein packed recipes. I've included a few breakfasts, lunches and dinners as well as a few for early post-ops. I hope you find a few to incorporate into your Cinco de Mayo celebración.

Shelly's Breakfast Taco Pie

4 Eggs, beaten
1/4 cup Milk
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
dash of Sea Salt
1/4 cup Pico de Gallo (or Chunky Salsa), drained
1/2 cup Mexican Cheese, shredded (I used a blend of Manchego, Oaxaca, Quesadilla and Asadero)
1 cup Cooked Ground Beef, crumbled
2 Tablespoons Black Olives, sliced

Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 9" glass pie plate with non-stick spray. Arrange cooked, crumbled beef in pie plate. Sprinkle evenly with sliced olives.

Beat eggs and add other ingredients. Stir to combined. Pour slowly over the beef & olives so not to disturb.

Bake for 25 minutes and then broil the top for 2-3 till slightly golden and puffy.

Serve with optional toppings: Greek yogurt with a sprinkle of Chili Lime Seasoning and salsa or hot sauce, sliced avocado or guacamole would be great too. This would be perfect for a brunch or lunch with a green salad.

Eggface Mexican Recipe Round-Up

Shelly's Mexican Scrambled Egg Bowl (soft)
Shelly's Cinnamon Churro Ricotta Pancakes (soft)
Shelly's Shrimp and Guacamole
Shelly's Mexican Caprese Salad
Shelly's Mexican Layered Salad
Shelly's Black Bean Soup (liquid)
Shelly's Crockpot Carnitas and Calabacitas
Build Your Own Taco Salad Bar & Taco Bites
Shelly's Individual Baked Chili Relleno Casserole (soft)
Shelly's Individual Tamale Pie
Shelly's Salsa Fish Foil Packet (soft)
Shelly's Spanish Style Cauliflower Rice
Shelly's Burrito Stuffed Peppers
Shelly's Black Bean Burrito Bake

Shelly's Faux Horchata Protein Shake (liquid)

Shelly's Chocolate Cinnamon Coffee Protein Shake (liquid)

Shelly's Flan (soft)

Shelly's Lime Green Margarita 5 Minute Protein Cake (soft)

Shelly's Mexican Chocolate 5 Minute Protein Cake (soft)

Find even More Healthy Mexican Food Favorites on my Pinterest page.