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Thank you all for helping me celebrate this special month in my world and for entering The World According to Eggface Celebrating 8 Years of Health Giveaway!

The random generator has selected:

Nike Workout Bag Prize Package Winner - Lori M. bayoucityxxxxx@gmail.com
Quest Nutrition Protein Bar Variety Box Winner - Kelly N. kellyxxxxxxxxx@gmail.com
Celebrate Vitamins Vanilla Cake Batter Protein Winner - Lauren L. laurenxxxxxxx@gmail.com

Congratulations! You have mail!

Not a winner this time... no worries another Eggface Giveaway is already in the works 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 to show what a typical daily menu looks like in my post weight loss surgery world.

Breakfast: I saw an advertisement for IHOP's new Blueberry Cannoli Pancakes, pancakes topped with blueberry compote and sweetened ricotta cream. I just had to make a healthier version. I made a batch of my protein packed ricotta pancakes. I nuked a 1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries with a Tablespoon Sugar Free Vanilla Torani for about 2 minutes. I spooned a little of the blueberry mixture on each pancake and topped it with my version of ricotta cream. Sooo good.

Shelly's Sweetened Ricotta Cream

1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Vanilla Torani Syrup
1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Orange Marmalade
dash of Cinnamon

Mix till well blended makes enough to top 8 pancakes. This is also AWESOME as a dip for sliced apples or strawberries or just eaten on it's own.

Remember leftover Ricotta Pancakes are great reheated (in pan or microwave) or cold with almond butter smeared on them, or a delicious dessert.

More Eggface Pancakes

Lunch: For those of you that don't know I work from home mostly (a good & bad thing) as long as I have a laptop and wifi I can create my "office." Yesterday for most of the day my office was the patio. I fill up my bento box and unless the cat distracts me I get some work done, soak in Vitamin D and enjoy a nice lunch.

Negative to working from home is I find myself not being able to turn work off. It's not uncommon for me to look up and it be 11 PM and I'm still working on something. It does save money on business outfits (as I sit typing this in sweats and holey ones at that.)

I highly recommend going outdoors for lunch even if you do work in an real office, just find a patch of grass and plop a throw down.

Pink Box (top left): Tomatoes (from 1 of my 3 plants) and fresh Mozzarella (sprinkle S&P and oregano)

Green Box (top right): Mango Chunks

Blue Box (bottom left): Hardboiled Egg (sprinkle S&P and Bagel Spice)
Orange Box (bottom right):  Shelly's Homemade Protein Square (cross between a bar & oatmeal cookie)

More Bento Box lunches, FAQ's and an Online Source for them 
My Bento Box Pinterest Page

By the way the cat did try and distract me...

Dinner: My "I don't want to cook or clean-up but I still want to eat something hot and delicious" go-to Fish Foil Packet Dinner. Sliced up some zucchini and green onion (1 small per packet) placed it on a piece of foil. Add a piece of any fish you like (I used Tilapia.) Sprinkle with salt, pepper, sprinkle of any seasoning you like (Greek, Italian, Lemon Pepper, whatever), drizzle of olive oil (optional.) Wrap everything in foil tightly. Toss on a covered BBQ for 20 (defrosted) - 25 (frozen) minutes and depending on the thickness of the fish. Don't open the lid. Trust me it will come out perfect every time and best of all. Eat it directly from the packet and there is zero clean-up.

More Foil Packet Dinners 

Snacks: Too much coffee, the Protein Square from my bento box and a Pineapple Cottage Cheese Double.

More Protein Packed Snacks
More Days in my pouch.

If you haven't added your name to the hat for the Current Eggface Giveaway be sure to do that, it ends Sunday and check out the big news from the OAC.

Obesity Action Coalition Your Weight Matters Convention Scholarship

I am so excited to share this awesome news. The Obesity Action Coalition "Your Weight Matters" National Convention is the one event I believe EVERYONE needs to attend. The education is amazing, the opportunity to learn how to be an advocate for an issue that affects us and those we love, the fun and support system building. This is a hard war and having some fellow fighters on your side is a help believe me. I know financially though it is not always feasible. The Obesity Action Coalition wants to make attending Convention a reality for any individual with a desire to learn more about their weight and health, and this includes those who may not have the financial means to cover all the costs associated with taking part in an in-person meeting.

The OAC has proudly created the Convention Scholarship Program to help individuals by awarding grants to fund or offset the associated expenses in attending the Convention. I told you it was AWESOME news.

The OAC will award a minimum of $7,500 in scholarship awards in 2014. Any individual who is interested in receiving a scholarship to attend the Convention is eligible to apply, with need for the scholarship to be determined with the following weighted criteria:

Statement of Financial Need (50%);
Impact of Obesity on Your Life (35%);
Your Intent for Attending the Your Weight Matters Convention (15%)

George Washington University will act as the designated outside third-party to handle the review of all Convention Scholarship applications, which will ensure an objective evaluation process. The OAC will not have any involvement in the evaluation or selection of the scholarship recipients. I am personally glad of this as a Board Member that would be so hard to decide.

Individuals who have already registered to attend the 2014 National Convention are also eligible to receive scholarship awards and are welcome to submit an application.

CLICK HERE FOR PROCESS and FULL DETAILS. Go now. Apply. Tell friends too. I mean it no one should miss this and now NO ONE HAS TO. It's a life changing event and... we'll get to hang out!

APPLICATION DEADLINE  FRIDAY, JULY 25th

Healthy Protein Shake Recipes: JLo Jennifer Lopez's Spinach Protein Smoothie

I read an article the other day that said Jennifer Lopez (JLo) drinks a protein smoothie every morning. She said, "I knew the stuff that I was eating wasn’t giving me energy. I realized that after a while, and I was feeding this to my kids. Is this good for them?" she said. "So I was ready to try something different. This smoothie tastes fresh, and you’re doing something good for yourself. It makes a huge difference."

Jennifer made her comments about the smoothie while helping launch, "The Center for a Healthy Childhood," a new initiative between her Lopez Family Foundation and Montefiore Health System in her old 'hood... the Bronx. The Center will help provide mothers, children and families in the Bronx resources, healthcare and education. I love how she is paying her blessings forward.

She shared the smoothie recipe so you know I had to try it out. Here's JLo's Spinach Protein Smoothie with some slight Eggface adaptations in parentheses.

JLo's Spinach Protein Smoothie

1 handful Spinach
1 frozen Banana (I used 1/2)
1 cup Milk (JLo uses Rice Milk, I use Soy Milk for more protein)
2 scoops Almond or Sunflower Butter (I used 1 heaping Tablespoon Almond Butter)
1 scoop Protein Powder (I used Vanilla)

I searched the interwebs for a clearer recipe but no luck. The cooking term "scoop" when referring to protein powder is pretty standard. I use it myself and yes there are variations in scoop size from brand to brand but they are usually slight enough that it doesn't matter much... but "scoops" referring to the almond butter amount is what I questioned... that's not a typical measurement for almond butter and I find it hard to believe JLo is drinking "2 scoops" of almond butter in her shake every morning probably more like 2 Tablespoons but even that is a lot for one unless you are dancing 4 hour concerts. I used 1 heaping Tablespoon, seemed perfect to me. Whizzed everything in the blender on high and voila.

Verdict: Jenny from the Block's Protein Smoothie is yummy and it's a really pretty shade of green too. Other than the color you'd never know there was spinach in it, the banana completely masks it. It's sweet but not too sweet. If you like sweeter shakes maybe a little Sugar Free Torani Syrup (SF Vanilla or Mmmm SF Almond would be great in it) the frozen banana was great as a thickener and made it colder but I think next time I'll add a couple of ice cubes to make it even more frosty.

 

Her smoothie did give me a little boost of energy, felt like I could get "on the floor" and bust out some "Fly Girl" moves of my own. Give it a try.

Not into the spinach thing... Here are some of My Favorite (spinach free) Protein Shakes and Smoothies.