Drum roll...

Thank you all for entering the Eggface and Celebrate Vitamins Thankful for Good Health Giveaway. I wish I could give a bag of healthy goodies to every one of you. I can't stress enough how important it is to take your vitamins and get your recommended amount of protein in your day. Remember having weight loss surgery is not a do-over... it is a do better!

The random generator has selected:

Jan G.
jbg22@xxxxxxx.net

Congratulations Jan. You have mail!

Not a winner this time... no worries another awesome Eggface Giveaway is starting very soon be sure to follow along on the Blog, Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest for the latest eggciting announcements!

Post Weight Loss Surgery Menus: A day in my pouch

A day in my pouch is a series of blog posts (I try and post them every few days) to show what a typical daily menu looks like in my post weight loss surgery world. My menu yesterday...

Breakfast: Saturday is my Farmer's Market morning. I got a great haul. There will be lots of cooking this week: Onions, Apples, Cabbage, Cucumbers, Asparagus, Baby Bok Choy (I'm in the mood for Chinese New Year Soup), an Avocado, Zucchini, Peppers and Mushrooms. I came home sauteed one of the onions and made an Onion Frittata. I just sauteed the onions in a touch of olive oil, added 3 beaten eggs, salt and pepper. When the eggs were almost set I placed it under the broiler with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese till golden. 3 eggs and 1 onion in a 10 inch saute pan made 4 wedges like this so 3-4 servings.

Lunch: I felt like experimenting a bit. My aim was to create a baked chicken nugget of sorts. They turned out really yummy. I think they'd be fun as a hors d'oeuvre, appetizer on a buffet at the holidays. Oodles of protein.

Shelly's Italian Chicken Parmesan Nuggets

1 Onion, diced
1 lb. Ground Chicken
1 Egg, beaten
1/4 cup Milk
1/4 cup Oatmeal, dry
1 Tablespoon Oregano
1 Tablespoon fresh Basil, chopped
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
2 Tablespoons Sun Dried Tomatoes, diced (I used dried but if you use oil-packed just drain them well)
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon Salt
a few twists of Black Pepper
Serve with another sprinkle of Parmesan on top and warm Tomato Sauce for dipping.

Soak oatmeal in milk for 10 minutes. Saute onion till golden. Set aside to cool. Mix all ingredients together including soaked oats and cooled onions until well blended. Spoon (I use a mini ice cream scoop) into a 24 cup non-stick mini muffin tin that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake in a 350 oven for 30 minutes. Place under the broiler for 2-3 minutes till lightly golden.

I ate them alone but they'd be a great lunch or dinner with a little green salad or veggie side.

Dinner: I had done enough cooking for the day so I just made up a cheese platter (Cucumbers, Olives, Nuts, Apricots, Smoked Gouda, Aged Goat Cheese, and one of my favorite cheeses Rosemary Asiago) and steamed some of the asparagus I bought at the Farmer's Market. I have this little microwave steamer I love. You add a little water in the base, trim the asparagus (It's great for edamame too) and nuke for 2-3 minutes. I made a Greek Yogurt Pesto Dip to go with (4 oz. plain Greek Yogurt, a Tablespoon of Pesto Sauce, Salt & Pepper to taste)

We took everything out to the patio and ate outside. The weather has been awesome this week. It's helping me get out of my funk since Charlie died. In fact today I'm headed to the park for a walk, bento box lunch, and soak up a little Vitamin D. Hope everyone is having a nice weekend.

Snacks: A Sugar Free Cinnamon Dolce Soy Latte, no whip, no foam. The first Starbuck's red cup of the season and a couple of samples while walking around the market: a few apple slices and had to try chrysanthemum leaves at the Asian veggie stand I bought the Bok Choy when offered. Another reason to support your Farmer's Market, learning about and trying new things. Find a Farmer's Market in your area.

More Days in my pouch.

Green Bean Casserole Stuffed Mushrooms

I made the World's Best Thanksgiving appetizer last night. There are always a bunch of things on your plate at a Thanksgiving dinner that the famous American traditional Green Bean Casserole (one of my favorites) gets lost in the mix. This portion controlled (and healthier) appetizer version makes the famous dish the star of the show...

Shelly's Green Bean Casserole Stuffed Mushrooms (aka World's Best Thanksgiving Appetizer)

10 Large Stuffing Mushrooms, divided use
1 (14.5 oz.) can Cut Green Beans, drained
1 Yellow Onion, diced
2 Tablespoons Real Bacon Bits, not imitation
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 Tablespoon Spelt Flour
1/4 cup Milk
Optional: 2 Tablespoons Durkee Onions, crushed

Dust mushrooms, remove stems and gills, set aside 8 and dice up 2. Drain beans and chop (I use kitchen shears) into smaller pieces. Make each bean about 3 pieces. Saute onion and the diced mushroom till golden. Add bacon bits (you can use a couple of slices of extra crispy bacon crumbled), butter and flour. Cook for a minute. Add milk. When mixture thickens and bubbles add drained chopped beans and stir to coat. Fill 8 mushrooms, pile it nice and high and place them on a Pyrex baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Top with a sprinkle of Durkee Onions. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

These were so good and will be making another appearance in a few weeks on Thanksgiving. Last night I served them as a side dish to a rotisserie chicken from the market.

I had a crappy week last week. Really crappy. I had to say goodbye to the sweetest kitty ever Charlie RIP. She showed up on our doorstep 2 years ago starving and weak, a result of foreclosures in the area I believe. A bunch of vet visits, special food and lots of love helped but she had lots of issues. I was lucky to have her as long as I did. She truly was the sweetest kitty ever.

When I get upset I don't want to eat and I didn't really feel like cooking. I basically had protein shakes and soup for a couple of days. Yesterday was the first day I got back into the kitchen. Pretty yummy result and getting back to the routine of cooking was good for me I think. This not eating when I'm upset is a post-op thing for me, pre-op I would have eaten a pile of pasta and bag of Sausalito cookies.

How do you give yourself a boost when you’re feeling sad or upset?

Eggface and Celebrate Vitamins Thankful for Good Health Giveaway

This month is Thanksgiving, a day to reflect on all the things we are thankful for. One of the things I am so thankful for is having weight loss surgery. I no longer need to take the 8 prescription medications I was on for GERD, high blood pressure, sleep apnea and the aches and pains of carrying around 150+ extra pounds.

Weight loss surgery resolved all my comorbidities but there are some lifelong rules I have to follow... one of which is taking vitamins FAITHFULLY. So many post-operative issues and complications can be avoided if we just make sure to take our vitamins every day.

Not all vitamins are created equal.  Celebrate Bariatric Supplements are developed specifically with bariatric surgery patients altered guts in mind, they understand our unique post-op nutritional needs.

So in honor of being Thankful for Good Health... It's GIVEAWAY time!

The Prize: A Nike Gym Bag perfect for working out, dance class or heading over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house this holiday season. You will have to empty it first because this bag is packed full of everything to keep you healthy through the holidays and beyond...

A 30 serving tub of Celebrate Vitamins ENS in Vanilla Cake Batter flavor (each delicious all in one supplement shake contains a high potency multivitamin, 500 mg of calcium citrate, 4 g of fiber, and 25 g of whey isolate protein) one of my favorite recommendations for new post-ops. Great as a shake but also yummy mixed Greek yogurt or turned into these High Protein Greek Yogurt Cubes.

90 ct. Celebrate Vitamins Chewable Calcium Plus 500 (Orange Burst)

2 huge bags of Celebrate Vitamins Multivitamin Soft Chew (Orange) 60 ct.

30 ct. Celebrate Vitamins Iron + C Chewable (Grape)

1 - 24 oz. Orange Blenderball Shaker

1 Mini Sampler Set of Sugar Free Torani Syrups (4 - 150 ml mini bottles in SF Caramel, SF Raspberry, SF Vanilla, and SF Hazelnut) 

a Vitamin Pill Box

a wearable Pedometer and Flashing Safety Light for evening walks

How to Enter: 1.) LIKE The World According to Eggface AND Celebrate Vitamins Facebook Page 2.) COME BACK HERE and LEAVE A COMMENT on this blog posting (include a name and some email address where I can contact you if you are the winner) Scroll down to # of comments below to leave yours. That's it, easy peasy.

***Want an extra chance to win?***

* Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway: Hey everyone enter the @Eggface @CelebrateV Thankful for Good Health Giveaway http://tinyurl.com/n6s84jc #health

Contest Period Ends: Sunday, November 10th, midnight (pacific), sometime Monday, November 11th. 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 will be chosen. Remember winners MUST be a Facebook follower (aka have LIKED) of the The World According to Eggface and Celebrate Vitamins. 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 contiguous United States (48 contiguous only, sorry it's a legal and $ thing.)