my first spanakopita

I'm always looking to try a new recipe around the holidays or when I'll have family over for a big meal. This year I decided I wanted to try making spanakopita, which is Greek spinach pie.  I likely wouldn't have ever attempted making this; however, a coworker recently made it for a potluck we had at work before Christmas.   The filo pastry was flaky and buttery, the filling was rich, and overall it was just SO DELICIOUS!!!

I started searching for recipes since my coworker was on vacation and I couldn't ask for hers. (Actually, it's her grandmother's recipe.) I wanted THE authentic Greek recipe--I often agonize over this aspect when searching out a recipe and it drives me nuts--however, I quickly realized that there are so many recipes and they all purport to be "traditional" or "authentic." But like any other recipe, there are always variations and it all depends on how YOU make it. That's what makes it traditional or authentic to YOU and your family. I noticed that the difference the various recipes was the herb mix. Some used parsley only, others were a mix of parsley and dill, and others had parsley and mint. Measurements were all over the place. I found a few that called for a "bunch" of parsley and/or dill (that is A LOT of dill!), while others called for 1/2 a cup of parsley and 2 tablespoons of dill or mint. It was really frustrating to figure out which one I should use in order to get similar results to the one my coworker made. (I later found out that she used parsley only, though her mom and grandmother use parsley and fresh mint.)

I decided on this one since it seemed pretty easy, plus I didn't have to buy a bunch of special ingredients. Overall it was pretty easy, but I have to say that working with filo dough is tedious and tricky, and you have to work quickly otherwise the dough dries out before it can even make it to the pan. I used tips I found during my recipe search:  lay the dough out on a cookie sheet, cover it with a damp paper towel, cover that with plastic wrap, and work quickly!  This worked pretty well. My only issue was pulling the first piece of dough off the pile. It didn't want to come apart and it tore easily; however, it was going on the bottom of the pan so it didn't matter what it looked like. I made it through the next nine layers easily (there are 10 on the bottom, then the filling, and then another 10 layers of dough), brushing on lots of melted butter as I went along. The other trouble spot was separating the second to last piece from the last piece, and I wasn't able to save that one. Filo dough is paper-thin, though, and doesn't puff up, so I didn't notice that the finished baked product had 19 layers of dough rather than 20. Yes, spanakopita has 20 layers of filo dough!

I made the filling before pulling the dough out of the fridge. This ensures that the dough is fresh and everything is ready to go once you open the package. As I said, it dries out FAST, so you need to have everything ready before assembly. After I finished the painstaking work of layering the dough sheets, then the filling, then the remaining dough sheets, I cut it into 15 large pieces--this makes it much easier to portion out after baking.  I then baked it for about an hour and voila!

I waited until it cooled down a bit before trying it. OMG it was awesome! Rich, buttery and cheesy. My only complaint, which really isn't a complaint, is that the filling was very chunky. The one my coworker made had a very fine filling--I couldn't even tell there was feta cheese in it since it was chopped and blended so well. If I make this again, I will make sure to crumble up the feta more and put the spinach through a food processor. Even though the spinach was pre-chopped, it was a little stringy. I wish I'd thought about the food processor when I mixed everything and saw it was chunky.

It's safe to say I blew through this whole pan in a matter of days, all by myself; I basically ate it for every meal for three to four days. I just popped it into the toaster oven at 400 F for about 12 minutes.I should add that I ended up NOT making this for the family's annual "Christmas in January." The crappy weather that weekend prevented half the family from travelling. It worked out, though--more for me!! (Sorry, guys!)

Here's the finished product. Look at all that yummy feta and cottage cheese!  And here's the recipe:  Spanakopita. One change I made is to bake it on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, rather than baking it in a casserole dish or baking pan. The filling really doesn't ooze out since feta doesn't melt all that much, and I found this method worked well for me.

bulgarian mish mash--my version

Tis the season for fresh garden tomatoes! 

I used to be a tomato-hater, but in recent years I've begun to like them. So much so that I now grow them in my garden every year. I've got bunch growing now and a whole bunch that are ready to be used. What to do with all these tomatoes?

It used to be that I wouldn't eat tomatoes except in pasta sauce, salsa, and ketchup. I gradually started to enjoy them in their sundried form. Then eventually I would be OK with chopped tomatoes in a taco, although there better not be any seeds or tomato slime! I then moved up to tomatoes cooked on a pizza. One day I was brave enough to try caprese salad. I still hated sliced raw tomatoes; however, the addition of mozzarella cheese made it OK. I then decided I could deal with grape tomatoes, as long as they were with the mozzarella cheese. To this day, though, I still can't bring myself to eat a sliced raw tomato.

I've settled on a few ways to use up the tomatoes. The easiest is to make fresh salsa. It's so much better than the stuff in the jar! I just throw all the ingredients in the food processor, pulse it until it's the consistency I want, and it's done. I use my own tomatoes and jalapenos to make it. I used my own cilantro this year; however, my cilantro isn't doing well so it was kind of a one shot deal. I don't think I'll grow it again.

Another thing I make is caprese salad using the cherry and grape tomatoes I grow. I'm finding that I much prefer grape tomatoes, so I'm thinking of eliminated cherry next year and just growing grape.

And then there's this delicious dish: Bulgarian mish mash. A coworker told me how to make this; however, I've discovered that there are many variations for this and everyone makes it a little different. The base doesn't change, though: tomatoes, peppers, eggs and cheese. I made this last year, but never posted about it, so I figured I would this time around because it's so delicious and easy. I like to eat it with some crusty bread or maybe some crackers. It can be eaten anytime.

This is the base recipe I used, very loosely I might add: Bulgarian Vegetarian Mish Mash

Here's how I actually made mine (this makes about 8 one-cup servings):

2 TB olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 red peppers, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped (optional; remove the seeds)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
4 oz. roasted red peppers (jar), chopped
8 tomatoes, chopped (you can peel them if you want to, but don't have to)

Fresh parsley
Fresh basil
Fresh oregano
Dash of crushed red pepper flakes, optional
Pepper
4 eggs
8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
Salt, only if needed (be very careful how much salt you use since the feta cheese is very salty)

In a pot on medium heat, sauté onions in the olive oil until they start to soften. Reduce heat to low and add green peppers, red peppers, jalapenos (if using) and garlic. Continue sautéing for about 15 minutes or until soft.

Add the tomatoes, roasted red peppers, and herbs. Cover and cook until the tomatoes break down and it looks like a stew. 

Add the eggs and stir until they dissolve into the tomato mixture. You will see pieces of egg white. This is normal. If you prefer, you can beat the eggs together before adding into the tomatoes. Feel free to add more or less to make it thinner or thicker.

Remove from the heat and add the cheese, pepper, red pepper flakes (if using) and salt, if needed.

Notes: 

1. I used fresh herbs, because I have them in my garden. I used very roughly about 2 TB of each, but add whatever you like, to taste. Used dried herbs if that's what you have; however, if using dried herbs, make sure you reduce the amount you use since the flavor is much stronger than fresh herbs.
2. You can use any hard cheese you like, but I find that feta gives it a lot more flavor. Just make sure you use a cheese that doesn't melt, otherwise it all just disappears into the mix.  The standard cheese is a Bulgarian cheese called "sirene", but I don't know if that's something readily available.
3. You can cook this to whatever consistency you like. I prefer it more like a stew, whereas my coworker likes it more chunky.

 

meal prep: chicken with baked sweet potatoes and green beans

It's been awhile since I've done any meal prep, and it's showing in my current inability to stick to my eating plan, which of course means the scale isn't moving down like it was a couple weeks ago.  I used to do meal prep just about every week, but I admit I've been lazy about it. I need to get back to it so I can eat better and stick to my plan. And it's especially important now since my husband also needs to eat better.

A meal prep post from a website I enjoy recently popped up in the Facebook feed, so I decided to try it out. It came from Budget Bytes and it's a full meal:  chicken breast, sweet potatoes and green beans.  Aside from the fact that most of her meals are pretty easy, one of the main reasons I chose this recipe was because I'd bought some sweet potatoes...and never used them. Of course. I do that all the time. I buy stuff and then either forget I bought it, or forget what recipe I bought it for, or just get lazy and decide I don't feel like using whatever I bought.I was determined to not do that this time.

The recipe calls for trying the chicken breast; however, I hate the cleanup so I grilled it instead. I baked the sweet potatoes according to the recipe, although I omitted the cayenne pepper. Bob doesn't like a lot of spice, and cayenne tends to be pretty hot even when you use just a tiny dash. I made sure to line the baking sheet with foil, because I hate cleaning baking sheets. It seems like no matter how much you scrub, they never come completely clean. And OMG they smelled so delicious while cooking! I could smell the cinnamon. For the beans I finally used the steamer pan I bought last year. It was so easy and the beans came out perfect! I'd definitely make this again. It was easy and everything tasted great.

Here's the finished product.  And here's the recipe:  Smoky Chicken and Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Look at all that carmelization. No sugar added! Those are the natural sugars in the potatoes.

The beans are nice and bright after steaming. I love this steamer pan. You just set it on top of a pan of boiling water and put the lid on.

The finished beans. Just butter, course salt and ground pepper.

And here's lunch. I made a couple for myself and a few for Bob. Just grab it from the fridge and go to work. Obviously his had a whole chicken breast. This was my portion, which I could just about finish.

today's lunch

Here's today's work lunch. Very simple and definitely thrown together at the last minute. I took two pieces of Jenni-o Buffalo Chicken Breast lunchmeat and spread a little Tribe Mediterranean-style hummus on them, and then rolled them around some sliced raw red pepper. The other two slices I rolled up and dipped them in some Gulden's mustard.  I ate the rest of the pepper with some hummus as a snack. Low in calories, pretty healthy, fast, and I got some veggies in.

What I brought to work: a whole red pepper, the whole container of hummus, the bottle of mustard and the whole package of lunch meat. I'm at the point where I can't be bothered to make up my lunch at home. We have several refrigerators at work, so I can easily store a few things to have when I want them. I also keep a paring knife in my desk, and we have paper plates and utensils in the cafeteria.

what's been cooking?

I've been really awful about cooking over the last few months due to everything that's happened. But I'm getting back to it. Here are some of the things I've made.

At work we have the option to participate in the local CSA (community supported agriculture). This is the first year we've been offered this service. It's not free, though. People who want to participate pay about $19 a week for a half-share and receive enough produce to feed two to three people for one week. I believe it lasts for about 18 weeks. Each week you get a variety of produce and you won't know until you receive it what you're actually getting. They give you whatever is in season. I don't participate in it, mainly because $19 a week for produce is a bit much for me to spend knowing that either I or Bob won't eat certain things or won't be able to cook it all before it goes bad. Also, they give you seasonal items. Since kale, Swiss chard, celery and celery root are in season right now, those items have been provided every week. That can get boring even if you like those items. If you don't, it's a waste of money. I have, however, been taking advantage of the fact that someone at work doesn't like those four items I mentioned. They leave them in the community kitchen each week, so I grabbed them one week. If you're interested in finding a CSA in your area, try this website: https://www.localharvest.org/csa/.

Here's what my fridge looked like after I brought the CSA items home. Those are some HUGE celery leaves! I chopped off the ends of the celery and removed the leaves, which I then froze for later use in making stock. The celery stalks were so crispy, nothing like what I get at the grocery store.

I used the red Swiss chard to make grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches. I just sautéed the chard in olive oil with some garlic, salt and pepper. I then added it to my sandwich and grilled it. I did the same thing with the kale, but added it to my egg muffins. Note to self: remove the stems before sautéing. It was a bit unpleasant to bite into tough stems when eating something soft like eggs.



This is my steak dinner on another night. The green beans are from the farm stand up the road. I boiled them, then added some butter, salt and pepper. I also fried up a container of leftover onions. I added a little butter, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce.

Below is some broccoli rabe sautéed in olive oil with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. I blanched it first in order to start getting it tender. From what I understand, broccoli rabe is done when it's dead. This is definitely dead. LOL  I also grilled some turkey tenderloins with some Borsari seasoned salt in Citrus flavor. I absolutely love Borsari. It makes seasoning ridiculously simple. I brought both to work for lunch last week.



And finally, I made roasted tomatoes for the first time. My boss gave us all some plum tomatoes. I put some olive oil on them, along with rosemary from my garden and some mince garlic, then roasted them according to a recipe I found online on Rachel Ray's website. I think the roasting time would have been perfect for larger plum tomatoes, but it was a bit too much for the little ones. A few got burnt. Overall, very delicious, though. And sweet!



fried cauliflower rice with bean sprouts and edamame

This recipe came about because I had several ingredients in the freezer to use up:  riced cauliflower and edamame, both from Trader Joe's coincidentally. (I seem to find myself in this predicament quite often...) I had also bought a bag of bean sprouts at the store that I needed to use up.

I just have to say that the riced cauliflower at Trader Joe's is super convenient and inexpensive. I recently read an article that talks about Trader Joe's implementing a limit on the number of bags of this stuff people can buy. Scary! It's not nationwide, but of course it applies to my state.

I also have to say that I love Trader Joe's.  They have a lot of unique items and their prices are usually really good. I buy all my goat cheese there.

This was very bean sprout-heavy, but I was OK with that. I had to use the whole bag, because I knew I would end up tossing it out if I didn't.  If you don't like tons of sprouts, just cut the amount listed below to 3/4 or 1/2 of that.

I'm not sure of the number of servings, since I didn't measure it out. I'd say a WLS post-op will get probably 8 to 10 servings if I had to guess. Since it's veggie-heavy, that could be less, as many post-ops are able to eat a larger amount when there's no meat or grains in a dish. Recipe below.



This coloring in this picture is kind of awful, but you get the gist of it I'm sure. 😄

Fried Cauliflower Rice With Bean Sprouts and Edamame

1 12 oz. bag bean sprouts
1 12 oz. bag riced cauliflower
5 scallions, sliced, whites and greens separated
1/2 an onion, diced
1 cup shelled ready-to-eat edamame
2 whole eggs
2 cloves garlic, minced (I use the stuff in the jar since I hate mincing garlic)
3 TB soy sauce
1 TB oyster sauce (not necessary; leave it out if you don't have it)
2 TB sesame or canola oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Put 1 TB of the sesame oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Scramble the eggs, season with salt and pepper, and cook in the oil until done. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2. Add the remaining oil and cook onions, scallion whites, bean sprouts, and garlic for about one minute.
3. Add the riced cauliflower and stir well a few minutes to heat through. (If using raw cauliflower you riced yourself, you might need to cook a little longer. Cook until tender.)
4. Add cooked egg along with soy sauce, oyster sauce, scallion greens and edamame, mixing well and cooking for about 3 to 4 minutes. 

Note:  If you don't want the extra calories that comes with using oil, you could use cooking spray if you want. Coconut oil cooking spray would likely add a nice flavor to it.

Thanksgiving leftovers: homemade turkey croquettes and sandwiches

Here's what I made with the leftover turkey and stuffing from Thanksgiving:  turkey croquettes and mini turkey sandwiches.

The croquettes were so simple. All I did was put 3 1/2 cups of leftover stuffing, one egg and 1 cup of leftover turkey in the food processor and then pulsed it until it was almost a paste. Then I shaped it into patties, rolled them in Italian flavored breadcrumbs and browned them in a skillet with some oil.  (I tried making the traditional croquette shape, but it just didn't fry up very well. And I was worried the egg didn't get heated enough.)  I reheated the leftover gravy, poured it on top and served with leftover carrots and corn.

I didn't include a picture of it on a plate with gravy. It just didn't look very appetizing at all.

My post-Thanksgiving favorite are mini turkey sandwiches.  It's just a dinner roll--potato in this case--lots of Hellmann's mayo, a couple pieces of turkey breast, a slice of jellied cranberry sauce (because no one in the two families will eat homemade, of course), and some salt and pepper. I used to eat three of these at a time before my weight loss surgery. Nowadays, this one sandwich fills me. Actually, I usually can't eat the last bite.

Looks big, but I put it on a small salad plate.

Even after the croquettes, a few lunches, and several turkey sandwiches, though, I still have a lot of stuffing and turkey left. I decided to freeze it all. Maybe I'll make hot open turkey sandwiches or bake chicken breasts with the stuffing.

beef taco egg muffins

We had tacos last week, so I had a bunch of stuff in the fridge to use up. What better way than to make egg muffins?  You can throw pretty much anything in these and they'll come out great.  They freeze well, too. (Actually, Bob had tacos.  I threw some tortilla chips in a bowl and topped them with the taco ingredients.)

Beef Taco Egg Muffins

Ingredients

8 oz. leftover taco beef (if yours has some liquid in it, make sure you don't put that in, as it will make the egg muffins soggy)
1/2 a medium onion, diced
3 Scallions, sliced
8 Eggs
1/4 Cup milk
1/4 Cup diced tomatoes
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or Monterey Jack
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.  Lightly spray a 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs and milk.  Mix meat, tomatoes, scallions, and salt and pepper into the eggs.  You can mix the cheese into the eggs, or you can put it on top of each muffin before baking, Your choice.
3. Pour mixture into muffin tin.  Bake for 25 minutes.
4. Pop them out of the pan within 10 minutes so they don't stick to the bottom of the pan. 

You can top these with some sour cream and salsa if you want to.

These taste best when warm from the oven, but they will chill or freeze and reheat just fine for at least 4 to 5 days.  If using the microwave to reheat, use 60% power so they don't turn out rubbery or hard around the edges.  100% power might kill them.

Note:  If you've seen my other egg muffin recipes, you'll note that I always cook the veggies before I mix them with the eggs.  Typically you should to release the water from the veggies.  That way your eggs don't get soggy. In this case I didn't because I was being lazy and didn't feel like it. They came out fine, though.

today's lunch

Today's lunch is a salad topped with onions, Colby jack cheese, grilled chicken breast, and bacon vinaigrette.


I'm not much of a salad person anymore.  Mainly because I've eaten SOOOO much of it during my dieting days and the two weeks leading up to my weight loss surgery.  But, for some reason, a salad topped with smoke skirt steak sounded really good last night.  I stopped at the store on my way home from seeing the personal trainer.  I was so excited to eat it, but a couple bites in I just wanted to throw it away.  Or just eat the toppings and not the lettuce. I ate it anyway, but it didn't really hit the spot.  Every once in awhile I crave salad, and about two bites in I decide I don't want it anymore.  It never tastes as good as it looks.  Also, I'm not very creative when it comes to salads, so they usually look like this. It's not horrible looking, but it also doesn't look very enticing. I wasn't looking forward to lunch, but I ate it anyway.

today's lunch

Today's lunch is mixed greens with Craisins  (50% less sugar), pecans, goat cheese, rolled up ham, and Bolthouse Farms raspberry vinaigrette.  This is a take on the salad I had in Sturbridge last weekend. I didn't have grilled chicken, so I substituted ham.

today's breakfast and lunch

Today I ate something I almost never eat anymore:  salad.  I very rarely eat it nowadays, for several reasons.  

1. I ate tons of it when I followed the Medifast program.
2. I ate tons of it in the two weeks leading up to the weight loss surgery.
3. It's a waste to order it as a meal at a restaurant, because the leftovers tend to get soggy really fast.
4. I prefer when someone else makes the salad.  It just tastes better for some reason.

So, yeah, I'm not big on salads anymore.  The only reason I took salad today was because I had Perdue Shortcuts chicken breast in the fridge, and I got a bag of salad free from the grocery store this past weekend.  My salad consisted of lettuce, onions, ham, chicken and feta cheese.  I topped it with Italian dressing.  

Breakfast was the usual Greek yogurt with dry roasted peanuts mixed in.

Snacks were celery and Sriracha hummus (fiery!), aged cheddar cheese, and green grapes.

today's breakfast and lunch

I haven't posted this in a while, so figured I would do so today.  I'm trying to get back on track so maybe this will make me a little more accountable.

 

I've been eating a lot of junk lately and it shows on the scale.  I haven't gained much at all, but I sure feel like I have.  It's amazing how I now feel just a few pounds the same way I felt a 30 pound gain before the surgery.  I guess I've finally gotten used to my new body.

 

Today for breakfast was the usual Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt, my favorite, with an ounce of dry roasted peanuts. 

 

Lunch was 1/2 cup of Perdue Shortcuts Honey Roasted Chicken. 

 

Snack was 3 ounces of green seedless grapes, an ounce of Colby Jack cheese, and an ounce of Wheat Things Toasted Pita Chips (not shown here).  Some of it was eaten as a snack throughout the morning, and some of it was eaten with the chicken.

 

I'm definitely having a tough time with wanting to snack a lot today.  I've been snacking so often, I've gotten used to it.  I'll just have to ride out the cravings for a few days and then I'll be fine.

 

today's breakfast and lunch

Over the weekend I bought some hummus from Whole Foods. It's lemon flavored.  It's so good! Very garlicky and lemony, but not overpowering. And what's nice is that there are very few ingredients.  Nothing I couldn't pronounce.  It was only $2.99 for an 8 ounce container. 

Breakfast was slightly more than half a cup of cottage cheese, which I mixed with some Equal, dry roasted peanuts and raw coconut. 

Lunch was caprese salad. I bought the marinated mozzarella from the Stop & Shop olive bar and a container of grape tomatoes and just mixed the two. I also had a hard boiled egg.

Snack was celery and the lemon hummus.

today's lunch

Remember how I said as a post-op gastric bypass patient it's really important to be prepared?    It's true.  When we're not prepared we end up having to buy lunch from the cold case at work and rather than choosing a salad, we choose what we used to want.  On Monday that was a turkey and brie sandwich on cranberry bread.  By most people's standards that would be a good lunch, but as gastric bypass patients, we really shouldn't be eating that.  Not only because it's loaded with carbs and we should be sticking to protein, but because it can awaken all those old feelings that go along with living to eat.  But Monday that was the choice I made because I didn't put my lunch together the night before like I usually do - I was emotionally and physically drained from having to put my 16-year-old cat down - and I was rushed for time the next morning.  I grabbed a handful of animal crackers on the way out the door and that was my snack for the day.  I didn't beat myself up, though.  It's not like I sat down to a whole pizza.

I had to buy lunch again today, because I was busy last night and didn't get around to packing lunch; I didn't have much in the house anyway.  Today I chose better:  Caprese salad.  For some reason I love Caprese salad all of a sudden.  I used to be a tomato hater, but recently I've begun to appreciate grape and cherry tomatoes.  I'm definitely not ready to eat a big slice of tomato - I think it's the texture - but I can handle the little grape and cherry tomatoes.  It sound weird, but I feel good when I eat tomatoes, like I'm being all healthy and stuff.  It's a good feeling.

So, this was lunch today.  Yummy!  And it's a good lunch for a gastric bypass post-op.  Low in calories (as long as you don't drown it in oil) and satisfying.

 

 

today's breakfast and lunch

I had a week of food craziness after my latest 6 month checkup, so now it's time to get back on the wagon.

Breakfast is the usual Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt and 1 oz. of dry roasted peanuts.  Yogurt on it's own isn't very filling, even to someone whose stomach is the size of an egg.  Mixing in peanuts gives me a full feeling and makes me feel like I'm eating a real meal.

Lunch is 2.65 oz. of honey roasted turkey breast rolled with 1.5 oz. Swiss cheese.  Gulden's Spicy Brown Mustard for dipping.  It amazes me that I've grown to prefer using mustard instead of gobs of Hellmann's mayo.  I never thought I'd see the day.

Snack is 4 oz. celery sticks with 56g of Tribe "Everything" flavor hummus.  I've become addicted to hummus I believe.

Total calories for breakfast, lunch, and snack are 669.  That leaves me 431 for dinner and maybe an after-dinner snack.  It doesn't seem like much, but I'll earn some calories when I take my one-mile walk at work.  I also plan to mow the lawn later, and that burns a ton of calories with a lawn the size of mine!

today's breakfast and lunch

I've been trying really hard lately to get back on track and count all my calories.  As part of that, I'm trying to find snacks that are low in calories, but satisfy my urge to snack.  I've decided that celery and hummus is my go-to just about every day.  I've also started eating strawberries.  They seem to be lower in sugar than other fruits, which means I can eat more of them without the sugar bothering me.  Within reason, of course.

Today's breakfast is Dannon Light & Fit Greek Cherry Yogurt.  I've decided to skip the peanuts I usually add; they're so high in calories.

Lunch is 3 ounces of low sodium turkey (4 slices) rolled with 1 ounce of Swiss cheese (2 slices, cut in half).  I've got some spicy brown mustard for dipping.  I used to put my nose up to mustard, but I've learned to appreciate it.  It packs a lot of flavor in a very small amount.

Snacks are celery and hummus, and a few strawberries.

today's breakfast and lunch

Today's breakfast is Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt, the only kind I like; it's lower in sugar and calories than all the rest.  Dry roasted peanuts were mixed in, of course.

Lunch was turkey and Swiss roll-ups with some Boar's Head Chipotle Gourmaise (love this stuff, but it's got a kick!).

Snack was celery and hummus, a new favorite.  It satisfies my urge for a crunchy snack.

today's breakfast and lunch

I have a little more color today. 

Breakfast is the usual Greek yogurt with peanuts mixed in.

Lunch is boneless skinless chicken thigh with green beans.

Snack is some Irish cheddar. Yummy. 

today's breakfast and lunch

I can't seem to break out of the habit of eating foods from the same color group.  Seems like almost everything I eat is some shade of brown.  It's not on purpose or because I don't like variety.  It just happens.

Breakfast was Greek yogurt, toasted coconut flavor.  Peanuts mixed in, as usual.  I never cared much for yogurt until I had the gastric bypass.  Now I find that I crave it, which is good because it has a ton of protein.  And if you buy the right one, it's low in sugar and calories and doesn't taste like they dumped a truckload of artificial sweetener into it.  I always buy Dannon Light & Fit Greek, although I tried the Great Value brand from Walmart this time.  Pretty good.

Snack was celery and hummus. I'm on a celery and hummus kick lately.  It takes care of my urge for something crunchy and helps me avoid a ton of calories when I want to graze. (I picked up the really bad habit of grazing when I was in that last job that I hated.)

Lunch was some sort of chicken I picked up at the Whole Foods hot bar.  I know, I know.  I wasn't supposed to buy anything I didn't need, but life has been crap for 8 months and I felt I deserved to treat myself to a small container of chicken.

today's lunch

I'm not much of a soup eater, but this is today's lunch.

I'm embarking on a project:  to completely cook through and ear through everything in the cabinets and freezer.  I find that I routinely forget about things I have in the house and end up throwing them away because they're expired or freezer burned.  I figure I'll save money and and it will force me to cook more often.

So in an effort to reduce waste and economize, which unfortunately is necessary right now, I've decided to finally eat for lunch one of the many cans of soup I own. It's Progresso Light Chicken Corn Chowder. And I'm using my new special soup container I bought a few months ago. The soup is pretty good. A little skimpy on the chicken, but good overall. I'm having some crackers with it. Can't have soup without crackers.

I'm hoping it will fill me more than it used to. Before surgery it seemed like soup just wasn't filling enough so I usually avoided it. But my stomach is smaller now so I should feel full for a bit. Hopefully.