Bentos and Bathrooms

Spent another day trapped in the house watching plumbers hack apart our bathroom. The tile was removed, floor jack hammered, damaged pipe and offending tree removed, new pipe installed, new cement. Now we are waiting on the tile man to replace the floor. Once that is set, the fixture can be replaced and hopefully all will be resolved by Thursday. To the tune of $3,000.

If my upcoming Vegas trip wasn't already paid for I would have had to cancel. I'm going still (plane, hotel & event tix are all non-refundable) but will be on a tight budget that will last all summer long :( I'm going to use the contents of my pantry down to the very last can and plan fun & free things to do, lots of bento box picnics and beach days. Speaking of picnics, I made the most of being trapped, I packed lunch in my super cool bento box and set myself outside on the patio all day.

Pink Box (top left): Turkey, Avocado, Swiss Melted Roll-up
Orange Box (top right): Refried Beans with Cheese and Salsa
Blue Box (bottom left): Just the Cheese Crunchy Cheese - White Cheddar flavor
Green Box (bottom right): Sliced Strawberries with a squirt of Sugar Free Vanilla Torani

Looking forward to tonight. It's Prom Night on Glee. I'm making snacks of course ;)

Carnitas Leftovers: Fiesta, Forever.

I've been eating a lot of Mexican-ish meals lately. Our yummy Cinco de Mayo leftovers turned into this great soup.


I sauteed 1 zucchini, took the leftovers (about 3 cups of Carnitas meat & juices), dumped them in a pot with 1 (15 oz.) can of Chicken Broth, a 1/2 cup of fresh Salsa, a Tablespoon of chopped fresh Cilantro, and a few twists of Black Pepper to make a quickie Carnitas Soup. You may have to adjust the broth amount depending on how much of each leftover you have. I topped each serving with crumbled Cotija Cheese. Soooo good.

Saturday I hit the Farmer's Market in the AM, got some great stuff: artichokes, strawberries, avocados, but came home to all hell breaking loose at my house. I've been having plumbing issues for months. We call someone, it gets fixed and then a few weeks later it's having issues again. We have 2 bathrooms and only one was having problems. Saturday the other one started. Plumbers again. $$. This time we got to the "root" of the problem... literally. When the toilet was removed in the master bath a flipping tree or something was down there. Greaaaaat. $$$$. It had progressed so much that it started to effect the other bathroom. Not quite sure how the 3 plumbers that had come to my house in the past did not figure it out earlier but whatever, it's hopefully getting resolved now. So today, Mother's Day, Mum and I are watching as the tile in the master bath gets jack-hammered up, new pipes, tile, etc. etc. = a hellaciously expensive mess.

I made us a quick breakfast before all the guys came. A sort of Mexican Breakfast Bowl. In fact, let's just call it that...

Shelly's Mexican Breakfast Bowl

Refried Beans
Scrambled Eggs with fresh Cilantro
Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese
Fresh Salsa

Heat the beans and place a dollop in each bowl. I scrambled eggs with fresh, chopped cilantro. Topped the beans with those. Sprinkled cheese and salsa. Eat. Nom. You could spoon the mixture in a tortilla too but I just ate it as is. Nice warm start to the day.

Hope everyone is having a nice Mother's Day! I owe Mum a nice brunch or something but we'll have to wait till all this work is done. I am so lucky to have my Mum. She is my best friend.

The bouquet I made my Mum this morning, roses from our garden...

We've got "The Amazing Race" finale tonight so that will be fun. We both LOVE that show. I'm making snacks.


P.S. Damn blog title... Lionel Ritchie is stuck in my head. Fiesta, Forever. Come on and sing along! Could someone tell me what the heck "Tambo li de say de moi ya. Hey Jambo Jumbo!" means?

Healthy Dinner Recipes: Cinco de Mayo

I love these Carnitas. They are becoming tradition at my house every Cinco de Mayo. They have an interesting beginning: the story. I must admit I think about it every time I make these. Though as I get older (and dare I say it wiser) I realize that there is a positive upside to the end of a relationship, space has now opened in your life for new people, experiences and in this case... super yummy Carnitas.

Dinner was delicious. I turned them into little "tacos" or lettuce wraps.

Butter Lettuce leaves, Crockpot Carnitas, sliced Avocado, a sprinkle of Cotija Cheese, Squeeze of Lime. Delicioso!

Shelly's Crock Pot Carnitas

One 2 to 3 lb. Pork Roast (Boneless Picnic Roast)
1 yellow Onion, sliced
3 cloves of Garlic, sliced
2 Teaspoons Ground Cumin
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
A few twists of Black Pepper to taste
1 cup Salsa
1/4 cup Water
Olive Oil

Place pork roast in a stock pot and brown slightly on both sides about 3 minutes a side. Place in crock pot. Saute onions till slightly golden. Add garlic. Cook 1 minute. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and cumin. Pour over roast. Pour salsa (I prefer the fresh, refrigerated section salsa versus jarred but jarred will work too) and water over roast.

Cook on low for 8 hours or until very tender. When done, remove from crock pot, take two forks and pull the pork apart. Pour juices over meat. Top with any of the following sour cream, cilantro, grated cheese, my killer guacamole, black olives, chopped onion, lettuce, chopped tomatoes, squeeze of lime.

Leftover ideas: Leftover Carnitas can be used in an omelette or breakfast hash with eggs, onions and peppers or made into a "taco salad" with lettuce, cheese, black olives, and tomatoes.

I sometimes serve Carnitas with Calabacitas which is a great side but Corn was 4 for $1 so I tossed it on the BBQ and made it Elote style (some people do mayo or I do a little butter, squeeze of lime, sprinkle of Cotija.)

I know some weight loss surgery post-ops aren't allowed corn (I was cleared for everything as tolerated at 8 weeks) so you might want to try the Calabacitas with it.

We ate dessert during American Idol results. I almost forgot to take a picture before gobbling it up. What better way to end a Mexican celebration than with Flan...


Shelly's Flan

2 Tablespoons of Bird's Custard Powder
2 cups Milk
2 Tablespoons Sugar Free Caramel Torani Syrup

Mix powder into a smooth paste with a little of the milk. Heat the remaining milk to almost boiling and pour onto the custard mixture. Return the mix to the pan and heat till thickened (it will bubble). Remove from heat and mix Sugar Free Syrup in. Pour mixture into 4/4-oz ramekins or custard cups. Here's what I use. Chill for at least 2 hours in fridge.

Top chilled custards with Homemade No Sugar Added Whipped Cream and a drizzle of Kahlua Sauce.

Kahlua Sauce

2 Tablespoons Smucker's Sugar Free Caramel Topping
2 Tablespoons Kahlua Coffee Liqueur (yep booze)
Mix together. Drizzle over chilled custard. Serve immediately.

Yes, this dessert has booze in it. I use the real deal. You can leave it out I suppose but it's just 2 Tablespoons divided by 4 desserts. Even this lightweight RNYer can't catch a buzz off of that little. I know some Dr's are the never again types when it comes to alcohol and you should always follow your medical posse's plan. So for those of you that have those Dr's "Just say no." Move along now. Nothing to see here. For everyone else... enjoy but just don't eat all 4 in one sitting and then drunk dial me OK.

Post Weight Loss Surgery Menus: A day in my pouch

My post weight loss surgery yesterday in eating...

Someone tell me what happened to spring?! It was 92°F here yesterday. I need to ease into summer. I'm not ready for heat yet. So my menu consisted of cold foods and little to no cook items. I wasn't feeling standing in front of a hot stove.

Breakfast: This is soooo good. Vanilla, brown sugar cinnamon. Mmmm all the yummy flavors of a gooey icing covered cinnamon roll but waaaay better for you. The Classic Cinnabon is 813 calories, 32 g fat, 117 g carbs and 55 g sugar. Yowza! and to think pre-op I'd eat one of those with extra icing and bring one home for later. This is a much better choice...

Shelly's Cinnamon Bun CLICK Latte

1 cup Soy Milk (any milk will do)
2 scoops CLICK Vanilla Latte Espresso Protein Powder
2 Tablespoons Torani Sugar Free Brown Sugar Cinnamon Syrup
a few Ice Cubes

Whiz in blender till smooth. Top with optional squirt of Sugar Free Whipped Cream and a dash of Cinnamon.

Lunch: I did a little gardening before it got too hot, deheaded roses and made a little bouquet for the kitchen table. I had some computer stuff to do so I filled my super cool bento box and set myself up on the patio with the laptop.

Pink Box (top left): Salami and Provolone
Green Box (top right): Sliced Cucumber
Blue Box (bottom left): Just the Cheese Crunchy Cheese - Grilled Cheese flavor
Orange Box (bottom right): Olives

I make little "sandwiches" with the cucumber slices. Yum.

I did a little more gardening. The tomato plants I planted last month seem to have all taken off. My zucchini and herbs are doing well too. Come July and August I should be swimming in some yummy veggies. I can't wait for those warm from the sun tomatoes and to make those Zucchini Gondolas again.

I came in and assembled this super easy dinner.

Dinner: Foil packet dinners are great when you don't want to heat up the house. I just throw them on the BBQ grill, close the lid (no peeking) and come back 15 minutes later. Clean-up is great too. Score.


Shelly's Herb and Garlic Fish Packet

1 fillet of Cod (any firmer white fish will do: Cod, Halibut, Tilapia, Orange Roughy)
1/2 Zucchini, sliced thin
1 Green Onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley, chopped
1 Tablespoon Fresh Basil, chopped
2 cloves of Garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Olive Oil or Butter
1 Tablespoon White Wine
squeeze of Lemon
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper
Aluminum foil

Ingredients listed are for one packet multiply it for how many packets you are making. Place all ingredients in the center of a piece of heavy-duty foil (if you are using the $1 store stuff double it) Fold the foil over and seal each packet.

BBQ 15 minutes in covered grill. If the fillet is very thick add 5 minutes. Open packets carefully steam burns are not fun.

Snacks: Oodles of Coffee and a dollop of my Fluff Stuff during American Idol. This time I made Peach Fluff Stuff with peaches canned in natural juice inside. Nom. My favorite is still Black Cherry with Cherries.

I try to post "A day in my pouch" at least once a week to give you a snapshot of *how I eat* post weight loss surgery. Here's some of my past "A day in my pouch" posts.

If you enjoyed this post, I have something fun to share. My pal Nikkie has coordinated a handful of weight loss surgery bloggers and asked them to share their post-op menus today: May 5th. So be sure to pop over to the participating blogs and check out their eats...

Beth at Melting Mama
Pam at Journey to a Healthier Me
Andrea at WLS Vitagarten
Nikkie at Bariatric Foodie
Rob at Former Fat Dudes
and yours truly, Shelly at The World According to Eggface

If you would like to take part in the fun, just blog what you ate today and leave your blog link in the comment section on this post. Not a blogger? Just post your menu (sorry no recipes/copyright issues.)

It's Cinco de Mayo. Lots of tasty things happening here today. I'll post them all manana. Ole'