breakfast pizza

In the spirit of changing up breakfast a little bit, I made a mini breakfast pizza yesterday morning.  It's quick and simple, and it tastes good.

I scrambled one egg with a little bit of milk.  Then I chopped up two lite breakfast sausage links.  I put the eggs on a small tortilla, topped it with the sausage and then added some shredded cheddar.  I popped it into the toaster oven for about 4 to 5 minutes and voila:  breakfast pizza.

You can mix this up any number of ways and it will be yummy.

I was able to eat about 2 1/2 wedges today.  But to be honest, I've been eating really fast lately so I would probably have been fine with 2. I'm not adhering to the WLS rule, which is to eat slowly and take at least 20 minutes to eat a meal (that's how long it takes for the stomach to tell the brain it's full).  So, I'm probably eating a little more than I should. Gotta work on that!

sausage and hash brown casserole

Last weekend I decided to make a breakfast casserole.  Partly because I had a ton of eggs to use up and partly because I thought my husband might like to come home from camping and have a nice breakfast.  Plus, it's something different and he would have breakfast to take to work the rest of the week.  And someone posted a link on Facebook to some breakfast recipes.  Gotta love Facebook.

The recipe I found online called for a pound of pork sausage and a pound of hot pork sausage for a total of two pounds of sausage.  It didn't specify if that was the ground sausage in a roll, or if it was Italian sausage. I went to the store Sunday morning to get the sausage and saw that they Jimmy Dean ground sausage roll was a whopping 5.49 - I need TWO of them.  I saw the Italian sausage links were on sale for 3.49 per package.  I decided to go that route and just squeeze the sausage out of the casings before cooking.  Cheaper and, as it turned out, less greasy.

It all came together quickly, but the sausage and hash browns had to be cooked before mixing all the ingredients together.  I'd say this could be done ahead so all you would have to do in the morning is mix it all up and then bake it.

It tasted great and was VERY filling. At least for me it was. But my stomach only hold so much these days.  If I were making this just for myself I would probably omit the hash browns to lighten the calorie and carb load a little.

In case you didn't know, you can import an online recipe into MyFitnessPal and calculate the calories. it's an awesome tool, and useful, but sometimes scary.  I imported the online recipe and then edited the ingredients to match the way I made it.  The calorie count is a whopping 531 calories per serving assuming you divide it into 10 servings. (Serving size will vary:  a WLS patient will likely get 20 servings from this recipe, but someone who hasn't had weight loss surgery might get only 8, depending on appetite.)  If you omit the hash browns and cut the sausage to a total of 1 1/2 pounds, the calorie count is reduced to 394 calories per serving, again assuming 10 servings.

So, here's the finished product.  I forgot to take a pic before we served ourselves, so this is the half that remained intact. I didn't want to post a picture of a half-eaten casserole. Recipe below.

Sausage and Hash Brown Casserole

Ingredients:

1 pound sweet Italian ground sausage (or links; remove from casings before cooking)
1 pound hot Italian ground sausage (or links; remove from casings before cooking)
1 20 oz. package frozen shredded hash browns
1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, sharp or mild
6 large eggs
2 cups 2% milk

Directions:

1. Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through.  Break up the sausage as it cooks. Drain well.
2. Prepare hash browns according to package directions, using 1/2 tsp salt and the pepper.
3. Stir together hash browns, sausage, and cheese. Pour into a 13- x 9-inch baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
4. Whisk together eggs, milk, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Pour evenly over potato mixture.
5. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the center is set.

off the rails this week

This is just a quick blurb to say how off the rails I am the last several days with my eating.  I think it's because it's *that* time of month.  What's weird, though, is that ever since I've had gastric bypass, I don't usually get those monthly cravings anymore.  This month?  I don't know.  I just want to eat everything in sight. 

Actually, as I'm writing this right this minute I realize what's going on:  my financial situation is easing up and I'm "celebrating" by buying foods I haven't bought in many months because I couldn't afford to spend the extra money.  Oh, that's bad.  And I'm glad I just realized that. Thinking back to my last shopping trip, I realize there were some items in there that I may have "bought for my husband" with myself in mind.  My husband is able to keep something good in the house for awhile and not eat it all up in a day.  Not me.  And it drives me berzerk that he's able to do that.  So, what happens is I get annoyed that he hasn't finished the whatever goodie it is, and then I go in the cabinet or fridge and finish it for him.  I'm sure someone out there is nodding their head right now saying, "Yup, I do that."

Now that I've realized what I'm doing, I need to stop.  Right now.

trimino protein infused water

I discovered something new yesterday:  Trimino Protein Infused Water.

This weekend I was at a little gourmet-to-go place near me, La Piastra.  They do catering and make to-go meals for two.  They have a pretty nice variety. I ended up buying broccoli rabe with garlic, chipotle chicken tacos (I cut the tortillas in half), and jerked chicken with pineapple salsa.  I also bought some food for Bob:  penne with meatballs, sausage ravioli, and beef lasagna.

Doesn't it all look delicious?  I have food for a week here!

I noticed they had a cold case of drinks. The typical stuff like bottled water and soda.  They also had something called Trimino. At first I didn't notice that it was actually water.  All I saw was "7G Protein" and "Strawberry Lemonade" and had to pick it up to check it out.  I love strawberry lemonade, but it's got a ton of sugar.  I figured after weight loss surgery it would be off limits forever (I haven't tried to make my own sugar free concoction yet).  Then I looked at the nutritional content - no sugar, no fat, no carbs, and only 28 calories!  That's when I figured out it wasn't actually strawberry lemonade.  I was intrigued so I bought a bottle.  I got the Coconut Pineapple, too.  They also had Mixed Berry and Peach.

I tried this today and I have to say, it's delicious.  The Strawberry Lemonade tastes just like it's supposed to, although it's a little "lighter" in taste than actual strawberry lemonade.  The Coconut Pineapple was good; it tasted like a pina colada.  I'm not a big pan of pina coladas, but I liked this water.  

Know what else I noticed about this water?  The protein is whey isolate, which is exactly what I'm supposed to have.   So, I got strawberry lemonade (and a "pina colada") without the sugar, calories, carbs, and fat.  AND I got high quality protein!

The caveat?  It cost me about $2.50 a bottle.  I wouldn't spend that on bottled water as a habit, but I'd definitely spend it on an occasional treat, especially in the summer.

irises are in bloom!

A couple weeks ago I noticed two pretty large plants growing at the end of my driveway, in back of the rock wall.  At first I was thinking tulips (I don't know much about plants, obviously), but then they got really big and had big purplish buds on the ends.  What could these plants be?

Last weekend the husband and I went to the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum in Wethersfield.  It was a gorgeous weekend and we were bored.  Plus we've been living up here for almost a year and had yet to really go anywhere other than Home Depot, Lowes, and the diners.  Other than being bored and wanting something to do, we were both anxious to see the insides of the three historical houses that make up the Museum.  The houses were built in the 1700s, just like ours.  It was interesting to see so many of the details of my house echoed in these houses.  It gave me some decorating ideas, as well. The added incentive for Bob was that they were having a Revolutionary War battle reenactment on the grounds.   That was fun.  No one died until the end, - they all kept firing and missing - but it was explained that the weapons of that era weren't the most accurate.  In order to increase their chances of hitting targets, they fired in a tight cluster formation.  Afterwards we walked around the grounds and I saw the same plants that are in my yard, and they were in full bloom:  irises.

So, here are my irises in full bloom.  Sadly, I only have one pink iris.  But I love that I have a whole bunch of two-toned purple ones, since purple is my favorite color.

homemade hummus

I've been on a huge hummus kick lately.  Ever since I decided to snack on celery and hummus while at work, I can't seem to get enough of it.  I've been trying different brands (Tribe is my favorite brand right now) and flavors, like Lemon Rosemary Focaccia, Everything, Zesty Spice & Garlic, Roasted Garlic, and Mediterranean Style. Most of the time I can get it for roughly $2.00 for an 8 oz. container, but I decided maybe it would be more economical and tastier if I made my own.

So, I set out to online find the perfect hummus recipe (of course, everyone claims their is the best so this is tough).  The recipes are all so different.  Some call for using dried chick peas, which have to be soaked, rinsed and cooked (some have more elaborate instructions, too). Some call for canned chick peas, which a lot of people were dissing.  Some call for a lot of tahini or garlic, others don't. Some don't use olive oil and others do.  So confusing. 

I ended up going with Alton Brown's recipe for my first try (and my second).  It called for canned chick peas and I thought maybe dried chick peas would give it better flavor, so I bought those instead.  They had to be soaked overnight and then cooked before I could use them.  Something I neglected to notice in the recipe is that it calls for 1/4 cup of the liquid from the canned chick peas. So, mistake #1.  Another mistake I made?  I didn't measure the cooked chick peas.  The recipe calls for 30 oz.  I wrongly assumed that a 16 oz bag of dried chick peas would produce roughly 32 oz of cooked chick peas. Since I assumed rather than measured, I tossed them all in the food processor.  It made it very difficult to blend the ingredients.  Not to mention, it totally watered down the flavor.  The result was a very bland hummus.  I thought it would be a good idea to add more salt.  I did...and ended up over salting it.  It wasn't bland anymore - it tasted like I dumped the whole salt shaker in it.  It all went in the trash.

I tried it again this weekend.  Same recipe, but with canned chick peas.  And I bought new tahini.  The tahini I used the first time had been in my fridge for...awhile.  This time the result was much better:  smooth hummus that tasted like hummus.  It was a bit salty for my taste, though.  I added some more lemon juice and that helped slightly.  Next time I think I will cut the salt in half.  I'm thinking it might taste even better if I put in the fridge and allow time for the ingredients to mingle.

Here's my hummus (made according to the recipe!):

ricotta cheese fritters

I've been looking for a use for the big tub of ricotta I bought a couple weeks ago.  I remember buying it for a reason, but quickly forgot about it.  That happens a lot with me.  I find a recipe I want to make, I buy the ingredients, and then I forget about it. So, this morning I decided to make a recipe I found online for ricotta cheese fritters.  Low carb, high protein, and they have lots of ricotta cheese, which I love.

The recipe is very simple to make and it comes together quickly.  I had all the ingredients on hand, but I made two substitutions:  I used ground nutmeg instead of grated (such a pain!) and used almond flour instead of regular flour.  Almond flour has more calories, but it also has more protein and less carbs.

The batter mixed up nice, but I could tell that these fritters might be a little fussy to cook.  The recipe calls for using olive oil for frying, but I didn't want the added calories so I used cooking spray.  I put the batter in the pan and made three fritters in the first batch.  It took awhile for them to set enough for me to flip them.  But even then they were still tough to flip, as the batter was just not thick enough.  The second batch of three came out much better.  The rest were cooked fairly easily without too much fuss.  I also put a few in a separate pan and fried them in olive oil.  It wasn't pretty.  In fact, it was a bit messy.  As soon as the batter hit the hot oil it just started splattering everywhere.  It seemed a bit dangerous, too.  I tried another batch using flour instead of almond flour thinking that the problem was the almond flour, but I had the same results. The fritters were just fussy to cook.

The fritters tasted pretty good, but not good enough for me to go through the hassle of cooking them.  I don't think I will make these again.

Here's the recipe for anyone who wants to try it:  Ricotta Fritters

These aren't burnt, they're just dark.

the scale is moving!

I'm so happy to report that the scale is moving down again!  I'm now at 138 pounds lost!

I am hoping to get to under 200 pounds by June 15 (just 6 pounds until I'm 199!!), which is my next follow-up appointment.  A (hopefully)15 pound loss in 6 months isn't impressive for someone who's had gastric bypass, but I know logically that it's reasonable.  Especially after what I lost in the first year.  Basically any weight I lose now is all me.  It's not the surgery doing it.  I spent a lot of time snacking and not tracking my food intake, so that's what happens:  I don't lose weight.  BUT...I didn't gain either. That's a first for me.

While I haven't lost a ton of weight this time, I've developed some good habits finally, and that's what surgery is for:  it gives you a "reset" and gives you a chance to start over and develop good habits.  The fact that I've developed good habits is something to be proud of.  This is what I've done:

• I now track my food with MyFitnessPal every day.  I sometimes slack on the weekends, but I still log some of my food.
• I walk every day at work.  I make two laps around the outside of the building, which equals about 1 mile.
• I've stopped eating so many peanuts.  And if I eat them, I measure.  And track.
• I've started eating fruit or celery and hummus instead of Chex Mix.
• I'm doing yard work.  Doesn't sound like an accomplishment, but it is for me. For years my husband had to do it by himself.  I either didn't want to do it, or I was too tired from being too fat, or any other excuse I could come up with.  I might come out and help a little bit, but I was quickly winded and overwhelmed.  I've realized over the last few months that I enjoy being outside. Having an awesome yard helps, too.

I'm not 100% sure what my weight goal will be.  I'm thinking about 20 more pounds and I'm done.  That would bring me to 180, which is the top of the weight range for my height and build.  But I'll see what the doctor says. 

Will I have skin removal surgery?  I don't know.  I always said I'd never do that, but as I lose more weight, I can definitely see why people change their mind:  they want their outsides to match their insides.  Plus, shopping for pants really gets to be an issue.  If I buy a size that fits my waist and allows room for the extra skin, the hips and legs are huge.  If I buy pants that fit the hips and legs, the waist is a little tight.  To the people who say, "Exercise! There's no reason to have surgery,"  I can exercise until the cows come home (and I DO exercise).  The extra skin is only going to reduce to a certain point.  40 years is a long time to stretch, retract, stretch, retract, stretch and retract your skin again.  That does a lot of damage.  And to those people that have said all I have to do is exercise and skin surgery (and gastric bypass) is the easy way out (and I know for a fact there are at least 2 people who know me who have said this), go get your own house in order before you comment on mine.  I've seen your house and it ain't no pretty sight.  

more mystery plants

I need more help with identifying some mystery plants (or weeds) in my garden.  There are so many different plants sprouting up and I have no idea if they're weeds or not.  I've been thinking that if they pull out very easy, they're probably weeds.  But maybe that's wrong thinking.

The garden is looking better.  I started weeding it.  I do a little at a time so as not to get overwhelmed, which is pretty easy for me.  Maybe next year I will start the weeding earlier.  This year I wanted to see what grew in, since i have no idea what's planted out there.

As you can see, it turned out that the scary-looking fuzzy plants are poppies.  They're blooming now and they look really nice.  The blossoms are huge!

I got a little plaque for Riley's grave.  I really wanted something personalized, but I think this is really nice, too.

And this is Riley.  RIP, buddy!

So, can someone help me identify these plants?

This is the top view of the same plant. The stalks are pretty sturdy, but they pull up very easily.

Probably a weed, not sure.

This doesn't seem like a weed to me, but it could be.

Same here.  It's not a great pic.  It's the fuzzy plant in the front.

asian marinade

I got this marinade recipe from Stop & Shop's Peapod Facebook page.  It's actually for flank steak, but all I had was boneless, skinless chicken thighs.  Close enough.  And I actually all the ingredients on hand.  Can you believe it?? (Actually I didn't have fresh ginger, but who usually does?? I used ground ginger.) I figured this would be a good way to use up some items that had been hanging around for awhile, as well as given the chicken something different than seasoned salt.

This was a very easy marinade, but I think putting the plastic bag in the bowl and mixing the marinade in the bag was a little awkward.  It worked, but it made me wonder why the recipe says to do it that way.  I'm guessing it was to save on dirty dishes, but, really, it's just one bowl.

I marinated the chicken overnight; I never cook the meat the same day I marinate, unless I make the marinade in the morning.  But that never happens since I always get up at the last possible minute.

I grilled the chicken.  It was kind of a pain to get the scallions to stay on the chicken, but a few of them did.  I'm guessing they were there more to flavor the marinade than to be grilled along with the chicken.

This tasted great!  The chicken was nice and juicy, and there was lots of flavor.

This is definitely something I would make again.

Here's the recipe:  asian marinade.  (Also below)

Asian Marinade

Ingredients:

1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 Tablespoons honey
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tablespoons minced fresh ginger (I used tsp ground ginger)
3 scallions, thinly sliced
Meat of your choice

Directions:

Place a gallon-sized plastic bag in a large bowl and then add the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and oil to the bag. Whisk in the honey, garlic, ginger and scallions. Add the meat to the bag, flipping it to coat it in the marinade, and then seal the plastic bag.

Place the meat in the fridge and marinate it overnight, or for a minimum of 10 hours.

When ready to cook, remove the meat from the fridge and preheat your cooking surface (grill or stovetop grill pan). Remove the meat from the marinade, discard the leftover liquid, and sear the meat on each side until it's cooked to your desired degree of doneness. Let the meat rest for 5 minutes and then serve.