05/31/10: A lotta nothin and some recipes

It's Memorial Day.  What do you say?  Happy Memorial Day?  Can't do it.  A somber Memorial Day to you?  Can't do that, either.  So...it's Memorial Day.  I hope that we all take a few minutes today to think of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.

We've had a fantastic weekend so far.  Friday was my fill.  Fill number 2.  1.2cc's so I now have a total of 3.7cc's in my band.  I also got to meet with the fantabulous surgeon.  NOT.  I will never have to see him again.  If I want to I can...but I don't expect to want to.  Ever.  He spent the entire time reminding me of why I need to eat like a quack to lose weight.  Finally at the end, I managed to squeeze in, while he was taking a breath, that I AM weightlifting and will do that for the duration of my loss.  And he finally managed, well, then you'll need carbs.  Shush, man, shush!  He then told me what he does. 

No bedside manner.  No respect for the patient.  No respect for anyone other than himself.  Oh well.  I'm done.

He did give me a bit of good news.  He told me to never let the bariatric center tell me when I can have a fill.  If I'm hungry I've gone too far between fills.  He said his goal for me is to never be hungry and right now, while I'm learning the band, I should be learning what it feels like as I slide back to being hungry.  He said once I'm hungry, then hunger will dictate what I eat and reasonable foods and reasonable amounts will fly out the window.  So DO NOT GET HUNGRY, he says.  Ok.  Sounds good to me.  I was famished by the time Friday rolled around and I was eating like a nut - hence pizza.  So, apparently, last Monday, or so, I should have called and tried to get my appt moved up.  Good to know.  My next fill is scheduled for June 15th.  We'll see how this goes.

I don't know that calling and trying to get an appt sooner is realistically an option, though.  They are pretty solidly booked.  But here's where it can get interesting.  I can also go to my surgeon's private office for a fill if that will allow me to get in sooner.  I can pick and choose between which place suits my needs best.  And if I go to his office - still won't see him.  I'd see his RNP.  He also told me my bariatric center is opening a satellite office in my area so eventually there will be that option, as well.

I left the fill having sipped water and water was going down fine.  I, strangely, wanted to know what would happen if I gulped it, though.  So I got in the elevator and no sooner than the doors were closed, the lid was off and I took my gulp.  Half of it went down and the other half came right back up.  I WAS SO EXCITED!

I am not following their advice in drinking clear liquids for two days.  If I do that I'm famished and I don't like that feeling.  It might help me lose a pound or two but I'm not interested in suffering for weightloss.  Instead, I finished Friday with mushies.  It's so interesting to me how so many doctors say different things and a lot of doctors say mushies that day while others say clear for two, mushies for two, then solids after that.  I guess I am kinda taking my own mix based on what the various doctors say but really letting my body tell me what's ok.  :)

So I left there and went to pick up my sweet hubby.  We had half days on Friday and he went out for drinks with some friends from work after he was let loose.  I joined them for awhile and there were quite a few too many inside jokes so it was odd to be there.

We ended up pulling in our driveway at 4pm.  That's AWESOME!  So we went straight out to the pool and lounged around for awhile, batted a ball around for awhile, then decided we were burning and came in.

Saturday was more of the same with some grilling of kielbasa mixed in as well as a small crawfish boil for our buddy that joined us.  He'd never had crawfish before and we haven't had any this year so we decided it was time.

Crawfish went well with the band, too.  We (my husband and I) figure that I ate about 3oz of crawfish, 1/3 of a corn on the cob and one small red potato and I was stuffed.  Because of having to crack the crawfish you are absolutely required to eat slowly!  And turns out, as I'm finding anyway, the slower I eat, the less I want.

Sunday was my group support meeting.  They came to my house this time and we chatted and learned and talked about frustrations and chatted some more.  I gave them samplings of some of my favorite bandster foods and they declared me a gourmet cook.  Ummm...that's a stretch!

Sampling #1 was my smoothie that I almost always drink for breakfast.
1 banana
2 tbsp fiber
1 scoop Isopure creamy vanilla protein powder (zero carb)
1 tbsp flaxseed oil
4oz plain Greek yogurt (we use Brown Cow as it's highest protein for the price)
8oz frozen fruit (we get the fruit at Target as it's the best price and is a big bag.  It's a blend of strawberries, mango and pineapple)

Blend that all together.  I, the bandster, am drinking 6oz every morning and this holds me over til usually around noon.  I drink it usually around 7:30 in the morning.  This recipe makes enough for me to have 6oz and my hubby to have 10oz.  After we blend it, we add one scoop of Isopure unflavored protein powder (zero carb).  If we blend that second scoop it ends up too frothy and makes me burp all morning long.  If I manually stir it in, the frothiness is not a problem and no burping happens.  Two scoops of the vanilla is overpoweringly vanilla so we prefer one of each.

I will also say that yes, we do this without adding water or juice.  Turns out, you don't need 'em.  We put the yogurt and the fresh banana on the bottom.  The banana really has a lot of water in it so if it can get blended first, there's enough "liquid" in the mix to get the fruit smoothed.  When we add the water, it blends easier but the end consistency is too liquidy.  But..I think you would need a monster blender to do this.  But without adding water or extra juice (i.e. extra calories and carbs) it turns out the end consistency is just fine - better actually.

Sampling #2 was my normal chicken salad
one can Tyson chunk chicken in water (after it's drained it ends up around 7 1/8oz of chicken
1oz craisins
1oz mayonaise
2.5oz water chestnuts

Stir together and break up the bigger chunks.  I eat this usually by itself although have recently started rolling it in red leaf lettuce.

Sampling #3 was my new alternative to chicken salad
one can Tyson chunk chicken in water (after it's drained it ends up around 7 1/8oz of chicken

1oz craisins
2oz Greek yogurt (plain)
2.5oz water chestnuts

Again stir together and make sure to break up bigger chunks of chicken. 

I made this for the first time yesterday and initial taste was "didn't like it" but I'm trying to convince myself that I do.  The protein ends up almost doubled, the carbs drop in half, the fat drops in half and it's 20 fewer calories, too.  But it had a strange chalkiness to it.  I want to work around with yogurts and see if one works better than another.  But that was initial taste - right after I made both.  Once I served it up for the ladies and had my little sampling...I found the mayonaise chicken salad was too rich and the yogurt chicken salad was lighter, fresher - and found that I liked it better. 

Sampling #4 was my favorite "just need a little something in the evening" thing.

1.5 oz Horizon organic vanilla yogurt
.5 oz of your favorite granola

Sampling #5 was a dish I just love and it's bandster friendly because of the sauce that you make.

Chicken and Broccoli casserole

5 cups chicken
1.5 cups steamed broccoli
2.5 tbsp butter
one onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup swiss cheese, shredded
1/2 cup provolone, shredded or sliced
1/4 cup cheddar

You can also add egg noodles if you are feeding your family or friends and they want their carbs.  If you do, 8 oz of dried egg noodles prepared according to instructions

Melt the better in a medium saucepan and saute the onions until translucent.  Add garlic in the last minute or so to release fragrance.  When saute is done, add the flour and stir well.  Let the roux heat for a minute or two then very very very slowly add the chicken broth.  I add about 1/4 cup at a time and stir until combined and thickening again before adding the next 1/4 cup.  If you add it too fast it will take forever for this sauce to thicken but if you add it slow enough, it will stay thick for the duration.  It's odd, it makes no sense, but it's true.  When all the broth is added, slowly add the milk.  This you can add faster.  Let it simmer on low for a few minutes until you are ready to pour.

In a casserole dish - sometimes I use a 9X13 pyrex style and sometimes I use a 2.5qt corningware style - if using the egg noodles, layer on the bottom.  No, you don't need to grease the dish but you can rub on some olive oil if it makes you feel better.  Layer chicken next.  Then I do a layer of the provolone - it's easiest for me to just get the slices and tear into pieces.  On top of that, the broccoli.  On top of that, another layer of provolone and the swiss cheese.  Pour the sauce over all that and on top of that, sprinkle the cheddar cheese.  Bake in the oven at 400 for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and just browning.

It's so yum and good for you, too.  Protein is 21g per serving (yes, bandster size) and carbs are non-existent, if you don't use the egg noodles - 5.8g.

You can change around the vegetable and the cheeses to make a multitude of casseroles, too.  Use the provolone as a base (or any other of the very meltable cheeses) - just change around the swiss and the cheddar to whatever.

So that was the food we tried yesterday. 

One lady who was here, gotta tell this story, hasn't had a fill in over three months.  And suddenly, about two weeks ago, she just stopped being able to eat.  She has been drinking ever since because she doesn't like the idea of an unfill.  But she also knows that's where she is.  But isn't that weird?  To be fine on a fill for 2.5 months and then suddenly so tight she can barely drink.  She loved the smoothie as she could get it down just fine.  And she also loved the yogurt and granola because that worked.  But the chicken salad would not go down at all.

After they left, my hubby and buddy - who'd gone golfing - came home and we all jumped in the pool.  They threw a ball around while I grilled fajitas.  Like I said earlier, I ended up having to eat this slowly, too - cause I absolutely insisted on eating my fajitas on a tortilla.  I had warmed the tortillas on the grill, too, and two ended up pretty crispy.   Not burnt, just crispy, which is a good thing for me, I think.  Can't say I did it on purpose - but I will next time.  So it was more like a tostada than a taco.  Anywho, here I am with my crispy tortilla and my 4oz of meat and a little bit of cheese and sour cream and it took me longer to eat that than it took my hubby and buddy to eat two tacos plus leftover meat plus chips and dip.  I LOVE IT!  I used to be the person that would be done first.  This fill is definitely making me eat slower.  I got the message that I was satisfied before I finished but I had 2 bites left so I finished it anyway.  More because I wanted the calories than because I felt the need to keep eating.

Now today our house is empty and we are working on various things.  I have some emails to write and want to organize my closet.  Hopefully sometime this week I'll get a traveling pants post out there.  I've taken the pictures of the garden but I will post them tomorrow as this is entirely too long already.  And I am also working around on Vlog ideas...

Last thing I'll say...in the entire month of May...I've lost...you ready for this?...3 pounds.  Yay band. NOT.

Blog or vlog coming to theaters near you to talk about the what's and why's behind that...