The Bariatric Foodie 2013 "Year in Review"

It’s time for…The Bariatric Foodie Year in Review!!!!

(What? You’re not as excited as I am? I’m hurt!)

This is where I run down YOUR favorite posts of the year (according to how many times you viewed them) along with some of my favorite selections, in a convenient, month-by-month format.

Onward!

January

You guys were crushing on my Cinnamon-Raisin Protein Baked Oatmeal (and I kinda am right now too…I need to make some of that!). I also celebrated my five year “surgiversary” and did my customary reflections on another year post-op.

February

February always has been – and always will be – about The Bariatric Foodie Pledge! Congrats to Joy Muller, who was last year’s grand prize winner! This year promises to be even bigger and better so stay tuned – 2014 Pledge starts February 2!

March

We continued to replace super-fatty and sugary seasonal drinks with healthier versions with my Shamrock Shake! We also tried the then-brand spanking new Quest Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bar (and a few of you won some for yourselves!) and we talked about the ever elusive subject of maintenance.

April

In April I shared my feelings about the “Five Day Pouch Test” (and other quack-fad diets that don’t work!). Fellow Foodie Selby also shared her Jerk Shrimp & Quinoa. YUM!

May

I went to VEGAS BABY!!! Thanks to Quest Nutrition I got to represent the Foodie Nation at the Weight Loss Surgery Foundation of America’s annual Meet & Greet (wherein I made Carnie Wilson cry). It was quite a trip. Read my recap (parts oneand two)!

June

In addition to this being the month I visited five states in five days trying to get to FitBloggin’ in Portland, OR (thanks Spirit Airlines for leaving me stranded in Dallas, by the way!), it was also the month we discovered the fun of Spagilli, Theresa taught us how to make cauliflower tortillas and we did our very first Amazon review giveaway for the Bariatric Foodie Guide to Perfect Protein Shakes!

July

In July I hosted a bariatric barbecue for anyone who wanted to swing by. It was potluck and we had a lot of good contributions, including Berry Quinoa Salad, Spinach Crustless Quiche, Jerk Shrimp & Quinoa Salad and my Buffalo meatballs. YUMMY! We also had our very first cooking contest, the “Bariatric Foodie Play With My Food Contest.” This resulted in a kick-arse digital cookbook you can download for FREE by visiting the “Shop BF!” page.

August

Yeah don't ask me what's going on with my face there. Melting Mama seems to have a penchant for capturing images of me with crazy faces.

In August I attended the Obesity Action Coalition’s “Your Weight Matters” Convention in Phoenix, AZ (on Delta, thankyouverymuch!) and learned so much. This event was super special because YOU guys sent me (by ordering from the “Shop BF” page and buying the shake book), so it was only fair that I (hyper)Facebooked and Tweeted the entire conference. I also did some good recaps. If you liked the coverage, consider sending me again in 2014!

September

Here’s where the memory in my head gets blurry. Because I personally was in Holiday Survival Kit mode (while simultaneously entrenched in writing The Bariatric Foodie Holiday Survival Guide AND starting grad school!) but you guys had other stuff going on! Like White Cheddar Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower. And all things pumpkin, like the pumpkin chili, pictured!

October

We talked meatloaf, Quest Double Chocolate Chunk Bars and many other yummy things. That was actually the “calm before the storm” for me. The next month would bring…

November

The delivery of the kits! Oy. That was a job. But it was well worth it for the great feedback I got. Folks really seemed to enjoy them. YAY! We also sorta crushed on a certain WLS-friendly cheesecake…

December

Of course December was all about giving back with the Bariatric Foodie “Season of Giving” Giveaways. And they’re not over yet! There’s still time to enter this week’s drawing for BariMelts bariatric vitamins and then there’s one more giveaway next week!

THANK YOU for another great year at Bariatric Foodie. That’s just a highlight of all the fun we had and there’s more to come in 2014. So until the ball drops…keep playing with your food!

Lobster Faux-Mac & Cheese

Remember back in the day when ignorance was bliss? When you could o to a restaurant, order some food and, even though overwhelming evidence to the contrary, delude yourself that there is some redeeming health value.

Yeah...well those days are over.

This recipe started because of that fact. The "not-so-bariatric boyfriend" and I were at a restaurant where they served Lobster Mac 'n Cheese. Said restaurant also posted the nutritional information for all its food. Now I'm all for information. Knowledge is power. And that knowledge did empower me to do the right thing - skip the Lobster Mac 'n Cheese. But I wasn't happy about it!

Ever since that dish has been on my mind. I'd been thinking of making a WLS-friendly version but here was my challenge. There are two dynamics that make this dish WLS-unfriendly. #1 - All the carbs in the macaroni! But we can get around that. We've done it before. #2 was a bit harder. The fat. Ohhhhhh the fat.

So I thought on it and had resolved in the next week or so to figure it out and that's when fate stepped in. It all started with this baby:

Yes, a spaghetti squash. Now originally I was going to do this dish with cauliflower, in the same manner as my cheesy mashed cauliflower but this squash literally called my name from the middle of the farmers market. (It really did. It said, "Niiiiiiiikkkkkiiiii...Come take me home!"). Plus I've heard from a few of you that you like the faux mac 'n cheese concept but just don't like cauliflower so I figured I'd use something different.

Now...let's talk indulgence. Because the way I made this is indulgent. But it doesn't have to be! I am going to go over some substitutions you can make if you wish. But this is a good example of why I do not give nutritional information for my recipes. With so many variables, you need to be on top of what goes in your own food!

So here goes...

Nik's Lobster Faux-Mac 'n Cheese

(I modified the recipe to yield a smaller batch - approximately an 8 x 8 casserole dish worth)

Ingredients:

• The yield of one small spaghetti squash (The one pictured above would be considered large. Here's how I normally cook my spaghetti squash.)
• 4 - 6 oz. lobster meat (I used four 4 oz. lobster tails - they were on BOGO at the supermarket. If you don't want to use lobster, for the look of this, imitation crab meat will work OR you can go with a different protein entirely, just make sure to cook it first!)
• Half a lemon
• 2 tbsp. butter (You can use a lower-cal butter substitute if you like)
• 2 tbsp. low-carb baking mix (I used Big Train pancake and waffle mix, which is essentially the same thing. Click that link to check it out but you can also use a store-bought brand or, if you are comfortable with it, regular flour)
• 1.5 c. milk (whatever kind you use, although I would not use almond and I'll explain why in a moment)
• 1.5 c. very sharp cheese (I used Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar), divided in half
• 1.5 c. any other kind of less sharp cheese you like (I used Italian blend shredded, which included mozzarella, asiago, provolone, fontina and romano cheeses), divided in half
• Optional: 4 slices of pork bacon, cooked
• Salt, pepper and any other spices you like (I used garlic powder, onion powder and Old Bay Seafood Seasoning)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cook your squash until it is tender enough to be pierced with a fork (NOTE: Many of you have your own ways of making spaghetti squash and if you do, that's great! Go with what you know!).

Meanwhile if you're using raw lobster tails, use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the shell all the way down to the end tail. From there I squeezed some lemon into the tails.

Put about an inch of water in a deep pan and throw the remnants of your lemon in there. Once the water comes to a boil, use a steamer basket to steam the lobster (It takes about 5 - 7 minutes. Lobster will go from dark in color to bright orange and the meat will pull away from the shell). NOTE: If you have a favorite way of cooking lobster, again, go with what you know! Just make sure it gets cooked!

Remove lobster from the shell and cut into small pieces and set aside.

In a pan set over medium heat, melt the butter, then whisk in your low-carb baking mix or flour until full incorporated into the butter. Add milk and allow it to come to a slow boil (just bubbling). Whisk so that the flour doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.

Add one cup of each kind of cheese and keep whisking. Drop the heat to medium-low. Your cheese will first become gritty, but eventually it should get smoother (although if using real cheese from a block, as I did, it may not melt completely). Be sure to whisk as you go so that the cheese sauce does not burn or stick to the pan! Add desired seasonings to the cheese sauce. 

Once cheese sauce is finished, empty it into the bowl of spaghetti squash and stir well!

Add the lobster pieces, crumble the bacon (if using) and stir again.

Transfer to an 8 x 8 casserole dish (or ramekins work well...I'd say this recipe would make 6-8 of them though!) and top with remaining cheese (I put extra Parmesan on mine). Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and the desired shade of golden or brown that you like.

I invited my bestie over to try this with me. He is also six years post-op. We both enjoyed this a lot! My ONLY critique is that spaghetti squash has a natural sweetness to it that can be difficult to play down (and lobster is also slightly sweet. This is why I said don't use almond milk. Even the unflavored variety would add more sweetness to the dynamic!).

My original instinct was to go with all sharp cheese but I thought it might be too much so I backed down at the last minute. When I do this dish again, I'll go with that instinct as the sweetness of the squash can stand up to the sharpness of the cheese (and maybe even buttermilk instead of regular milk for the cheese sauce). Either that or you can use cauliflower rice, which is flavor neutral.

But other than that I really liked this! It's like seafood comfort food! I couldn't eat much of it. Had it not been for the size of the squash, I wouldn't have made so much of it! But I've notified my family and friends of this and they all seem to be of the mind that free lobster is something you don't turn down so I have faith that I won't have too many leftovers of this one.

Welp, Foodies, I do believe that is my last recipe of 2013! I'm going to post a "Year in Review" (hopefully) on New Years Eve so we can remember all the yumminess of this year. 

Until then...play with your food!

The Bariatric Foodie Season of Giving - Week Four!

What? You thought it was over???

No! We've got TWO more giveaways to do! That should ride us into "2014 Bariatric Foodie Pledge" Season nicely (click this link to check out last year's Pledge to get familiar - it's so much FUN!).

This week's giveaway is a little bit different. To explain how, I made a video BUT if you don't have 3:19 minutes (or just don't feel like listening to me talk) the run-down is below the video! (Or if you wanna skip it all and go to the contest widget, scroll down but do stop and read the information listed under IMPORTANT STUFF...cuz...like...it's important stuff....)

The Run Down

This week's giveaway item is BariMelts! It's a new vitamin product for bariatric patients and I got the opportunity to sample them at the Obesity Action Coalition's "Your Weight Matters" Convention in Phoenix. I liked the product and so I reached out to them to see if I could get some for my Foodie Nation.

As it turns out they are doing a full-on launch of their products in 2014: a website, Facebook Page, Twitter handle...the whole nine! You know what this means? You guys are getting the chance to win a product that few post-ops have tried yet!

So let me tell you a bit about this product.

BariMelts will offer four products:

• Multi-vitamin
• Calcium + Vitamin D3 & Magnesium
• Iron + Vitamin C
• B-Complex

And of course I had to ask all the important questions I think you guys would want to know.

• These are flavored vitamins, but they are made using only natural flavors and sweeteners.
• The tablets really do dissolve in your mouth (I've tried them, they do!) so there's no need to take them with water (which can be really helpful for newer and/or "on the go" Foodies)
• They are made in the United States (Florida to be exact and were formulated by a team of scientists/pharmacists)

If you have any other questions, leave them in the comments and I'll ask them and get right back to you! 

My full review of the vitamins is forthcoming BUT I didn't want to wait to give some away. THREE Foodies will get the chance to win the full line of vitamins. 

IMPORTANT STUFF (if you've skimmed thus far, please read this!)

Because BariMelts is such a new company, we want to get the word out there about this new option! As such, the rules for this giveaway are a bit different than others. You may claim as many of the entries in the widget below as you want, however, in order to be selected as the winner you have to have either liked BariMelts on Facebook or followed @BariMelts on Twitter. From there, grab up as many entries as you can!

I really want us to rock out this contest because I've told the BariMelts folks about the power of the Foodie Nation in getting the word out about a product. So let's DO this!

This giveaway is open to Foodies in the 50 United States and Canada.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Bariatric Foodie Season of Giving - Week Three Winners!

A Big Foodie Thanks to Building Blocks Vitamins for providing the prize for week three, a surgery specific supply of vitamins for three Foodies. Congratulations to:

• Trish Allen
• Patricia Vanderploeg
• Sonya Hiatt

All three of you should have received an email from me with instructions on how to claim your prize, but just in case you didn't, I need you to send your mailing address and surgery type to me at bariatricfoodie@yahoo.com by 11:59 p.m. PST, Thursday December 26. If I don't hear from you by then, I have to redraw. Don't make me do that!!!

The Bariatric Foodie Season of Giving isn't over yet! BUT we are going to take a pause for the holidays. But be sure to check back on December 26th for the next giveaway! There are actually TWO left. 

Until then, Foodies, I wish you the happiest of holidays. May your food be healthy, your family be supportive and your happy memories be many!

BF Top 5: Reasons I COULD dislike myself (but choose not to!)

So every once in a while I feel moved to write a manifesto. Today’s is loosely about gratitude. Or perspective. Maybe both.

One of the most frustrating things from where I sit is seeing folks who are doing amazing things with their bodies and lives not enjoying it. I can understand this sentiment because I was one of those people for a time. But I figured out pretty quickly that if great stuff was happening I ought to enjoy it. The universe only allows each person so much joy in life and I don’t need to waste any!

But I hear all sorts of reasons why folks just CAN’T enjoy their process, can’t like themselves. To that I have this to say: liking your life, liking your SELF, is a choice. And you can choose to do it anytime you want, whether you feel like you have logical reasons to do so or not. To illustrate, here are several reasons I COULD feel bad about myself (but choose not to). In no particular order.

I’m bald

Yep. I am. I’ve made no secret of it either. You all have seen these images of me:

But what lies beneath is this:

I want to note THIS IS NOT BECAUSE OF BARIATRIC SURGERY. I have a condition known as alopecia areata. In my estimation this is medical speak for “we don’t exactly know whyyou’re losing your hair but we recognize that’s not normal so we’ll give it a name so you can feel affirmed that you do actually have something.”

Which in itself should piss me off, but I digress.

I hear a lot of you lament about your hair thinning. And I get it, I really do. It’s scary and hair is a part of our identity. It’s perfectly natural to be scared or sad when your hair changes after weight loss surgery so this is not an admonishment!

But…in spite of it all I CHOOSE to be happy with myself. My baldness is a chance at reinvention. At my job I’m known as something of a chameleon. On any given day my hair can be any length, style or color I want it to be. I love that! The other day I was in a blonde mood so lookit:

Point is, I’m bald but I still like me.

I have the batwings of death

Yes, I know this pic is grainy but you can see the wings!!!

Batwings seem to be like these battle scars post-ops like to compare. I don’t know if my batwings are as big as yours but mine are pretty big. And they cause problems. My range of motion is not what it should be in my arms and trying to find a jacket that fits correctly is utterly frustrating. Unfortunately, arm skin removal is not covered by insurance so I’m stuck with the damn things indefinitely BUT…here’s the bigger point.

I still like myself. Those wings? They aren’t just skin hanging off of me. They represent a very large space that used to be filled with FAT. I’ll take the skin over the fat any day.

Truth be told unless I make a big deal of my wings most people don’t even notice them. I still wear sleeveless shirts in warm weather. I wear bathing suits or anything else I want to wear. Because my batwings don’t define me. I still like myself.

I weigh more than most of you and I probably always will

I don’t know why. Even at my lowest weight I weighed about 40 lbs. more than most of you will eventually. Hell, my current weight is probably the weight at which you all would consider yourselves a weight loss surgery failure!

But I’ve always weighed more than the average post-op. Part of that was my early focus on weight training. I used to lift a LOT. A LOT. So I got very muscular very quick. Since my body was mostly muscle back then I probably weighed even more than people who wore the same clothing size as me. So…there ya go.

I don’t judge myself by how much YOU weigh. I try not to judge myself at all. Instead, I try to take ACTION. If my weight is too high I look at what I’m doing and make changes. But for the most part I love being curvy. Before I had surgery I thought a size 16 was my dream size. For the past two years I’ve been a size 12. At my lowest weight I was an 8 which was ok, but I really like the fact that I managed to “regain” my cleavage so if taking a hit on the scale is how that happened, so be it universe.

Point is…I still like myself!

I can eat more than most of you

Being on social media, you have to have a thick skin. That’s why I TRY not to get offended when I post a well-intentioned picture of one of my meals and get told that the amount of food I can eat frightens people.

(Btw, Foodies, I know you don’t mean that to be mean…but think about how people are supposed to respond to those sorts of comments…k?)

In the early days of my surgery I was very restricted. Like most of you, I noticed a shift first at three months, then a bit more at 6 months then a LOT more at 12 months. Now I can pass for normal at most restaurants and food gatherings. I can eat a regular sized plate of food, leaving a little bit on my plate.

But for me my CHOICES define my meals now more than my restriction. I knew I wouldn’t always be able to count on that. So most of the time I fill my plate with a whole bunch of stuff I can chew that has virtually no calories. I plop some protein on that and call it dinner. I also allow myself some indulgence but I find especially fatty foods and sweet foods just don’t call to me as much as they used to (with the exception of Buffalo wings. I still love them!)

I could be bummed that I can eat a lot but considering my restriction initially had me contemplating suicide I think that end of the spectrum was equally unhealthy. Now I limit my intake because I WANT to, not because I HAVE to and I try to think of food in terms of what is healthful to my body and what I will really enjoy. Food is NOT just fuel people. Whoever told you that lie, smack them. If food was just fuel you’d eat tasteless gruel that is nutritionally superior. But you don’t. You eat food with tastes you like. Because you’re supposed to enjoy food! And I most certainly do!

But just because I can eat more than you doesn’t doom me to failure or make me any less of a post-op…and I still like myself!

My Point Here Is…

I know it’s hard to accept yourself. I know it’s even harder to look at yourself in the mirror and SAY you like yourself, that you’re pretty, that you’re doing well. My advice? Fake it ‘til you make it.

Honestly! Years of people telling you that you were unworthy, unpretty or un-something or other led you to believe that. So try telling yourself that you are a wonderful, beautiful creation and that even if you never change you are worthy of all the joy that life has to offer. See how that goes. Maybe you’ll start to believe it. And maybe if you believe it you’ll start to act like it. And maybe if someone sees you acting like it they will think it’s ok for themto act like it.

You never know. You could start out trying to find a more positive image in the mirror and accidentally start a global self-acceptance revolution.

The choice is yours.

(And yes I know I only gave four reasons. The fifth, I guess, is any myriad of things I could choose about myself but you know what...I still like myself!!!)

(/end manifesto) 

The Bariatric Foodie Season of Giving - Week THREE!

But first...you guys know the drill. We have to pick winners for week TWO! You might remember last week you guys entered to win...Quest Bars! And the winners are...

• Julie Kusz
• Kristene Boyle-Topete
• Melody Fox

Congrats, ladies! You should have each gotten an email from me with instructions on how to claim your prize BUT just in case you didn't, please email me by midnight PST Tuesday, December 17 to claim your prize or I have to redraw. Don't make me do it!!!

For week three, let's turn away from food and focus on another important aspect of post-bariatric life - vitamins!!! No matter what your surgery type you are required to take vitamins of some sort. And what sort can often be confusing.

I'm here to help! This week THREE of you will win a surgery specific vitamin pack from Building Blocks Vitamins!

These are the vitamins I take because they are (a) bariatric specific, so I know they have what I need in them (b) the staff was nice enough to sit on the phone with me a LONG time the first time I ordered to explain to me the ASMBS vitamin recommendations for RNY patients and (c) because they offer both flavored chewable and non-chewable swallow pills, so something to meet every need! (For what it's worth I do chewable. Long story short, I come from a LONG history of drug addiction in my family so anything that reads like a pill isn't going to happen but the chewables, I can comply with).

S'anyway, pay attention to the entries in the widget below. Most are the same but there are a few different ones. Namely I am allowing you to refer folks to the contest and if they tell me you sent then I'll add another entry to the hat! (NOTE: This will be done manually at the end of the contest week and will NOT show up on your Rafflecopter widget as an extra entry. Please also note that if you email me asking if someone's referral entry "went through" it may take a few days to respond! Please do not freak out, k?)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

#PWYF Moment: Tammy's Chocolate Peanut Butter Roll Cake

(Before we get to the cake...have you entered this week's "Bariatric Foodie Season of Giving" drawing? There's Quest Bars up for grabs, people go enter!!!)

Anyhoo...I love when you guys show me what you're cooking. Doesn't even have to be from this blog. I just love to see what you're up to in the kitchen.

Incidentally this submission was inspired by one of my recipes - my Protein Pumpkin Roll cake. Tammy has made it with success and decided she wanted to try another flavor...so she went with a flavor that I personally love! (Not because I love it, mind you...that's just a bonus...)

Tammy admits her original cake came out a tad dry (hence the cracks). That was because she took out the pumpkin (obviously) leaving the cake without a good source of moisture. The recipe below compensates for that!





Tammy's Chocolate Peanut Butter Roll Cake

Ingredients:

Cake wet ingredients:

• 1/4 c. Splenda  (Tammy found the original recipe's full cup too sweet. You should play with it and determine what you think. Start out with 1/4 c. then taste the final batter. You can always add more sweetener at any stage!)
• 1/4 c. no sugar added applesauce 
• 1/4 c. Brown Sugar Twin 
• 3 tbsp Blue Bonnet Light (or I can't believe it's...yadda...yadda...) 
• 2 large eggs 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 

Cake dry Ingredients:

• 5 scoops chocolate whey protein powder 
• 2.5 tsp baking powder 
• 1/4 tsp salt

Filling:

• 2 - 8 oz. packages Neufchatel cheese (1/3 less fat cream cheese) 1/2 c. Splenda
• 2 tbsp milk 
• 4 tbsp PB2

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix together wet ingredients. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet and mix thoroughly.

Line a half cookie sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. If using foil, spray it down with non-stick cooking spray. Pour your batter into the cookie sheet and spread it evenly over the entire cookie sheet. The batter will seem thin. This is ok!

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Watch the cake because protein baked goods cook faster than normal ones!

While cake is cooking, make icing and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Allow cake to cool completely (about 60 minutes) before turning it out onto a large sheet of plastic wrap (plastic wrap should have about 6 inches of overhang on either side).

Ice the cake with the filling and then CAREFULLY use the plastic wrap to roll the cake.

NOTE: If your cake cracks, as the above did, increase the amount of applesauce in future batches. It usually means the cake was not moist enough! The cake above was made WITHOUT the addition of the applesauce, hence the cracking.

Wrap tightly and store in refrigerator until ready to serve. When ready to serve, simply slice into pieces of desired size!

What Bariatric Foodie REALLY thinks about Quest Bars...

So this week we are giving away Quest Bars as a part of the “Bariatric Foodie Season of Giving.” But if you’ve never tried Quest Bars, I’ve got you covered!

For your reading pleasure, here are the reviews of every single flavor of Quest Bars I’ve  EVER tried!

• Double Chocolate Chunk
• White Chocolate Raspberry
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
• Banana Nut Muffin (Bonus! It’s a video!)
• Vanilla Almond Crunch/Chocolate Brownie
• Apple Pie/Peanut Butter & Jelly
• Peanut Butter Supreme/Mixed Berry

So now that you have the reviews, what are you waiting for??? Use this handy dandy widget to enter the contest and REMEMBER that you can earn extra entries each day by sharing about the contest on Facebook and Twitter. Earn those extra entries! Folks who have won in the past can tell you every entry counts!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I hope you’re enjoying the “Bariatric Foodie Season of Giving” so far. I’ve enjoyed partnering up with great companies so far to bring you guys great products that can help you along your journey! 

The Bariatric Foodie Season of Giving - Week TWO!

Firstly, congrats to the winners of week one! They are:

• Lori Follett
• Laura Sampieri Shepherd
• Annemarie Wilt

I've sent you emails at the addresses you provided, but just in case you didn't get them, please email me by 11:59 p.m. PST on Tuesday December 8 to claim your prize or I have to redraw!!! Don't make me do that...makes me feel like the Grinch.

Ok now on to week TWO. Ok...do you guys know how HARD it is for me to keep things confidential???

I have been sitting on something big. Huge. HUMONGOUS!!!

Firstly, this week's giveaway is for...Quest Bars! 

Three lucky Foodies will win a full box of Quest Bars to help them #CheatClean this holiday season. 

Now that by itself is exciting enough but guess what else???

Quest has agreed to make this the first WORLDWIDE Bariatric Foodie Giveaway. Yes, people...I said worldwide! Live in Canada? You can enter! Live in Cambodia? You can enter!!!!

So of all the entries you'll find in the widget below, please take advantage of the entries related to THANKING Quest for including ALL Foodies in this giveaway!

As per usual, you enter using the widget. The widget should work on both devices and computers (I've tested it on all major smartphone and tablet brands and it worked fine for me). BUT if you can't get it to work on a device, please try from a computer. If it still isn't working (or if you absolutely do not have access to a computer) please email me at bariatricfoodie@yahoo.com and I can add your entries manually. Be warned that I do need to verify that you did what the entry said (so if you're saying you Tweeted about the giveaway I'm gonna check!).

Entry is open through next Saturday, December 14. Winners will be announced, Sunday, December 15. Good luck everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pumpkin Toffee Protein Shake

According to my children, pumpkin time is over. 

This, of course, led to a discussion of the popular Christmas songs that actually include pumpkin references. (By the way, I could actually only think of two: "Hear Those Sleigh Bells Ringing" and "No Place Like Home for the Holidays" but if you can think of  others, help me build my case!!!)

So all that is to say I don't know if you consider Thanksgiving the end of "pumpkin season" but I...do not.

This morning I knew I wanted some sort of pumpkin shake but I wanted to play with the standard pumpkin pie shake recipe. And I'm glad I did because this is yummy!

Nik's Pumpkin Toffee Protein Shake

Ingredients:

• 1 c. milk (whatever kind you use)
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use this kind)
• 1 oz. canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling!)
• 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (or you can use sugar-free pumpkin pie flavored syrup, if you have some lying around)
• 2 tbsp. sugar-free English Toffee syrup
• Ice
• Optional toppings: whipped cream and a sugar-free caramel drizzle

Directions:

For a cold shake: Mix it up in your blender using the Triple X Method. Or not. Your choice!

For a hot drink: Omit the ice and mix it up according to my hot protein shake making instructions. Or not. Your choice!

So...this was good. But I have been stricken with the dreaded "little pouch sydrome," or, LPS as I like to call it. So as I type 3/4 of this yummy shake is sitting beside my computer staring at me. Hmph. It was still yummy though!

Taco Soup

(But first...have you entered week one of the "Bariatric Foodie Season of Giving" to win some Click Espresso protein? If not, go do it! I'll wait...)

…and a lesson about self-care.

Since I realize I don’t put date stamps on my blog posts, for future reference this is being posted on December 5, 2013, the day after my 37^th birthday.

I know many of you wonder what to do on your birthday. In a former life there was cake and ice cream and overly indulgent meals. But what do you do now that you’re trying to live differently.

Well, the answer isn’t the same for everyone. As a longer-term post-op I can say that I know some people who do cake and ice cream, just in smaller quantities or sugar-free. I know others who abstain.

I personally ditched the cake/ice cream paradigm right off the bat after surgery. Firstly, sweets just don’t captivate me the way they did before surgery but also I wanted to start a new tradition. For the first few years post-op I’d treat myself to a HARD workout (with a trainer even!) and I’d go out to sushi with my mother.

Then in 2012 things changed. Mama Foodie passed away in March 2012 and with her went my birthday tradition.

Last year I reacted to that by cancelling my birthday. I forbade folks from planning celebrations. Many folks were bummed about that because they wanted to make me feel special because they knew I was in pain. But in the end, I did what I needed to do emotionally and I’m proud to say I did not respond to my grief by overeating!

This year was my second birthday post-Mama. I didn’t cancel my birthday but I also didn’t make a big fuss out of it. Truth be told, I have no idea if I’ll ever feel the same about my birthday again.

So what did I do? I tried to reach outside myself a little. I volunteered to help wrap Christmas presents donated to homeless women and children. I went to work (true fact: Nik has a day job for an organization working to end poverty, injustice and human suffering). I came home and cooked dinner for my divas and we prepped the house for Christmas deco. And guess what? It was just what I needed!

The lesson here: some things in life can be overwhelming after WLS. And then some things in life can just plain be overwhelming. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need from people. Self-care is important to this process.

S’anyway, for dinner I made a simple and yummy taco soup. I thought I’d share the recipe! It was warm and comforting! I did indulge in a mini-corn muffin with some butter and Hot Pepper Jelly (the photo is actually of La Petite Diva’s corn muffing but mine looked similar).

Nik’s Taco Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 small green pepper, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 lb. lean ground meat (whatever kind you use)
• 1 packet of taco seasoning (I used extra spicy!) OR
• 1 heaping teaspoon each: ground cumin, ground coriander and onion powder + a pinch of cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.
• 1 can tomatoes & chiles (whatever heat you like), drained of canning liquid
• 1 c. prepared salsa (whatever kind you like)
• 1 can black beans (I used spicy black beans), drained of canning liquid and rinsed
• 2 c. water or low-sodium broth (matching whatever kind of meat you used)

Garnishments (optional)

• Shredded Mexican blend cheese
• Unflavored Greek yogurt (to use as sour cream)
• Sliced Jalapeno Peppers

Directions:

Spray a pot generously with non-stick cooking spray and set it over medium heat and allow it to get HOT.

Add onion and green pepper and sautee until soft, about 3-ish minutes. Add garlic and sautee another minute or two.

Add ground meat and brown, mixing onions, peppers and garlic into the meat mixture. Drain meat meat mixture if necessary (although if you use lean ground meat, the excess liquid should pretty much evaporate in the process). Add taco seasoning or spices (not both) and stir well.

Add tomatoes & chiles, salsa and black beans and mix well.  Add broth or water until desired amount of liquid is achieved (NOTE: for you this may not require the whole two cups called for in the ingredients. You want soup but you don’t want to dilute your spices too much!).

Drop the heat down to medium-low, cover and let it come to a boil. Turn off the heat and allow it to sit covered for a few moments before serving in bowls with desired toppings!

This was low-stress and allowed me and my girls to sit down to dinner together which is what I really wanted for my birthday. Over the course of the rest of my life, I'm sure I'll develop a new birthday tradition, but for this year, this suited me just fine!

The 2013 Bariatric Foodie Season of Giving - Week One Contest!

It's that time again, kids!

"What time Nik???"

It's the holiday season! Last year, if you were around, you might remember I did the "Mother of ALL Decembers" giveaway event. Well this year we're doing the "Bariatric Foodie Season of Giving."

Here's how it works. It's very simple.

1. Each week I put up a new item to give away. When I do please read the entire blog post. I know it's a drag but most times if you do read the post you run into fewer problems. :)
2. You claim as many entries as you can get your hands on.
3. Each week three of you will win a prize!

This week is my birthday week (Dec. 4 - and, yes, I am accepting all the love and well wishes I can get on that day, thank you in advance!) so in celebration of the "12th anniversary of my 25th birthday" I am giving away a product that is near and dear to my heart. Click Espresso Protein!!!

I literally drink this stuff every day. I mean...every. Day. Most often I drink it in a Click Frapp of some variety but I also like to drink it warm during the winter and my favorite way to do so is with a splash of Torani sugar-free English Toffee syrup.

New post-ops don't fret! Click also comes in decaf (although only in the mocha for right now) so you can win some too!

If Click isn't your thing, check back next Sunday, December 8 to congratulate this week's winner and see what else I'm giving away. Please note that if you are experiencing trouble with Rafflecopter, 99.9% of the time it's because you are using a mobile device with software Rafflecopter doesn't play nice with. If you can, try entering on a computer or laptop. If THAT still does not work, then email me at bariatricfoodie@yahoo.com, but be warned that if you did not try from a computer/laptop first, that's what I'm going to ask you to do!

Also be warned that I am out of town for my birthday this weekend. If a Rafflecopter armageddon happens and massive amounts of Foodies are unable to enter this contest do NOT freak out. Simply leave a blog comment noting that you tried to enter and could not, along with your email address. I'll contact you when I'm back and will credit you the chances if need be, k? Bottom line here: No freaking out allowed!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bariatric Deals for Black Friday

As I type this I am laying in my nice, warm bed with absolutely no intentions of doing any shopping today - online or in-store. Yes, there are great deals to be had and, yes, I could probably stand to go out and seek them but...no. It's the day after Thanksgiving, I'm tired and I have two final projects due for grad school so Nik is going to be here all day. Feel free to send me an email to say hey. I'm sure by this afternoon I'll be cross-eyed.

ANYWAY...I digress.

My email inbox is full of online deals applicable to the Foodie Nation so I thought I'd start a running list of them here. I'll try to update this list throughout the day if I get more offers in my email inbox. If you hear of anything good, post it in the comments!

Please note that my listing of these deals is in no way an individual endorsement of the products (although I wouldn't post anything I outright do not believe is good for us, I've simply not tried all these products).

AmeriWell Products (Bariatric Vitamins)

Deal: 40% off site-wide
Code: AMER40
Website: www.ameriwellproducts.com

Building Blocks Vitaimins
Deal: 10% off any purchase of bariatric vitamins or protein supplements
Code: BF2013 (enter at check-out)
Website: www.bbvitamins.com

Bi-Pro USA (makers of unflavored whey isolate protein)

Deal: Free shipping on any order
Code: BLACKFRIDAY
Website: www.biprousa.com

Click Espresso Protein

Deal: 30% off all orders over $25
Code: BLACKFRIDAY13
Website: www.drinkclick.com

Kay's Naturals (makers of protein cereals/protein snacks)

Deal: 50% off 1.2 oz. cereals (through Sunday, December 1), $20 off Kay's gift packs (variety gift pack and gluten-free gift pack, regularly $39.99, on sale for $19.99 while supplies last)
Code: None. Simply shop www.kaysnaturals.com and discounts are taken at checkout.

Portion8 (formerly Bari-Ware...that company that makes the teeny dishes and bowls with sections that are the right size for our portions)

Deal: 20% off site-wide (ends midnight Friday, Nov. 29)
Code: BlackFriday (note: case-sensitive, no spaces)
Website: www.portion8.com

BF Top 5: Best Food Photographs on Bariatric Foodie

Who's cooking for Thanksgiving? Not me!

Instead I'm at home trying to organize BF’s extensive food picture collection (God help me!) and in doing so I've come across some really bad photos (this is a learning process for me!) but also some really good ones!

So I thought I’d share my top seven (yes, seven) favorite photos on Bariatric Foodie!

In no particular order:

Curried Chicken

I love this photo for a few different reasons. Firstly, because I took it with my then brand spanking new Nikon D-5100 camera. I’ve been putting that thing to good use lately but in the beginning I was a little lost (and yes I did read the user’s manual!). I’d bought the camera so I could take better food pictures and I was about to lose hope until…this.

The other thing I love about this picture is that everyone assumes this is rice beneath the curried chicken (I’ve gotten more than a few snide emails to that effect) when in fact it’s my cauliflower rice! At any rate this recipe is quick, warm, pretty and yummy. 

Here’s the recipe!

Protein Pumpkin Bread

You’ll notice this wood table in a lot of my pictures. It’s ancient and soiled with years worth of water color, finger painting and other spills from when it was a play table for my kids. Now it sits in front of a window in my kitchen, making it the perfect spot to snap a picture because even on cloudy days the light is really good.

Here's the recipe!

Mocha Toffee Twist Hot Protein Drink

Yeah this photo…man…this photo. What more is there to say? I mean (not to toot my own horn) when you look at this photo you can’t help but think, “If this protein drink tastes half as good as it looks, things might just be ok!”

Which was the point!

The recipe was one of last year’s Holiday Survival Kit flavors, but now that that’s over I can share the recipe!

Nik’s Mocha Toffee Twist Protein Drink

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. cold milk
• 6-8 oz. boiling water (depending on the size of your cup!)
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tsp. good instant decaf coffee (I use instant decaf espresso)
• 2 tbsp. Torani sugar-free English Toffee syrup
• No-calorie sweetener, to taste

Directions:

In a mug, mix together protein and milk and stir until a smooth, lump-free paste forms (make sure to stir thoroughly…the entire success or failure of your drink depends on this!). After you’ve got all the lumps out, add the cocoa, coffee and syrup and stir again. The coffee obviously will not dissolve and you’ll be able to see it.

SLOWLY add the boiling water, stirring with one hand, pouring with the other. The coffee should dissolve in the boiling water and what you should be left with is a smooth drink. There might be a little bit of froth action at the top. Skim it off if you don’t like it.

From here if it isn’t hot enough for you, it’s safe to microwave it until it reaches your desired temperature. Top with whipped cream if so desired.

BONUS PIC: I was so inspired by this drink I made it into a Mocha Toffee Protein Pie! (Which also made a great picture!)

Taco Casserole

This has the distinction of being the ONLY photo on this list I did not take! Instead a Foodie sent me her picture and it is soooo good! I consider this the flagship recipe of this blog. It is the most accessed, most downloaded, most “played with” recipe. It combines the elements of many Mexican-style dishes into one dish that’s soft and easy to eat (and share!). If you haven’t tried this one yet, you must! 

Here's the recipe! 

Sugar-free Pumpkin Cheesecake with Salted Caramel Pecan Topping

Yes, I just posted this the other day. But it’s one of the best pictures on this blog! It’s not hard to see why either. Look at it. You just want to…eat it. Right? If you do, here’s the recipe!

Eggs Rosettes

This was a cute idea I came up with a few years ago mainly as a brunch offering. But many of you have told me you make them "just because!" It's basically an egg concoction baked up in a "crust" made of thin sliced deli meat. Here I served it with two slices of bacon and some homemade fruit salad. Doesn't it look delightful! Here's how to make Eggs Rosettes.

I hope this little foray into my photography efforts here on the blog has given you respite from all things Turkey Day. Now if you're cooking, get back to it! If you're like me, a guest at a dinner, well...do something...productive...maybe.

Happy Thanksgiving, Foodies!

Crustless Pumpkin Cheesecake (with Sugar-free Salted Caramel Pecantopping)

I know, ok? I know. I posted this recipe on Facebook like a week ago and folks have been patiently waiting for me to post the recipe.

As it usually happens, by the time I get around to figuring out a share-able recipe, very few people care anymore! But for accountability's sake, here we go.

This recipe was a bit tricky because it came about by accident. I was making a sugar-free pumpkin pie and I made the mistake of using the recipe on the can of pumpkin which yielded WAY too much pie filling for one pie shell. Not wanting to throw the rest of the filling away, I played with my food and came up with a very yummy (but small and thin) crustless cheesecake. Here it is:

But those who have made cheesecake before know the methodology is a bit different from a pumpkin pie and so I wasn't sure how this recipe went without me having first mixed up too much pie filling! That was my objective: to find out.

And I have!

I made a few noticeable changes to this recipe in its final format. Firstly, it's a full-size cheesecake. Secondly, as such I baked it in a springform pan. You can still use a baking pan if you want, just make sure to refrigerate it a few hours before cutting it and use a pie knife to lift the pieces if you go completely crustless. OR you can try one of these delicious nut crusts I keep hearing about. If you have a good recipe, post it in the comments so your fellow Foodies can share in the love!

Nik's Crustless Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. low-fat cream cheese (NOT fat-free), softened
• 6 oz. unflavored Greek yogurt (yes you still need this even if you use the cream cheese made with Greek yogurt)
• 1 (15 oz.) can of pumpkin puree (NOT pie filling!)
• 1/2 - 3/4 c. Splenda (or your favorite sweetener's equivalent of 3/4 c. sugar) NOTE: If everything tastes too sweet to you, go with the lower amount. If you are serving this to a lot of non-ops go with the higher amount!
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 3 egg whites
• Optional: 2 servings (whatever that is on the canister) of either vanilla or unflavored protein

Directions:

Arrange your oven racks so there is a rack at the bottom and one in the middle. Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees and put a large pot or full kettle of water on to boil.

In a large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and Greek yogurt. Beat on medium with a hand mixer until they are thoroughly combined.

Add in pumpkin, sweetener, protein (if using), pie spice and vanilla and blend again until thoroughly combined.

In a separate bowl, beat your egg whites until they form soft peaks (about 3-4 minutes on medium).

GENTLY, tip your egg whites into the cream cheese mixture and use a scraper or a long wooden spoon to gently fold the egg whites into the mixture (folding is gently turning the batter over on itself over and over again). NOTE: It may take a few minutes to get it all combined. Do not rush and do not use the hand mixer!

If you're using a baking pan, spray it down with non-stick cooking spray. If you're using a springform pan, line the bottom with parchment paper (you can also just spray it down, but parchment paper makes it easier to remove the cake from the pan later). Scrape the batter out of the bowl and then spread it evenly.

In the bottom rack of your oven, set a large baking dish and then fill it with the boiling water. In the center oven rack, set your baking dish.

Bake for about 35 minutes or until the cheesecake seems mostly set (it will start to pull away from the sides of the baking dish and will appear firm). Turn off the oven, prop the oven door open and allow the cheesecake to stay in there while the oven cools down, usually about 20 - 25 minutes. This is what it looks like at the point when you turn off the oven. As you can see it retains the little swirls from me spreading it in the pan. If you are a perfectionist...well...make sure you spread the top flat! You'll notice some cracking. That happens. I am not a master baker so my cheesecakes almost always crack a little. Usually small cracks are a good indication it's time for the oven to go off.

When the oven is cooled remove the cheesecake to a cooling rack and cool thoroughly before covering and refrigerating. I get the best results when I refrigerate overnight, but I think 2-3 hours would do the trick.

If you used a springform pan, run a sharp knife around the perimenter of the cheesecake before releasing the springform.

UPDATE:

So here's what had happened. After I shut down the computer and was all set to lie down while the cheesecake cooled down I realized it wasn't as set as I thought so I turned the oven back to let it cook a few more minutes...then promptly fell asleep!

Thankfully my little nap only lasted 20 minutes (I had intended to only let the cake go about 7 more minutes) but it was just enough time to...produce really HUGE cracks!

So how did I get to the thing of beauty at the beginning of this post? Well my motto is, "If life gives you a cracked cheesecake, make a topping!" For this one the topping is super-simple, with only four ingredients!

Nik's Sugar-Free Salted Caramel Pecan Topping

Before I give you this recipe I need to stress this is holiday or party food. Unless you have big family dinners regularly or just have a gargantuan sized family, don't be making this all the time, k?

Ingredients:

• 2 c. chopped pecans
• 2 tbsp. butter (or whatever you use in place of butter)
• 1/2 c. Smucker's sugar-free caramel sauce
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt

Directions:

Set a pan over medium flame with no non-stick, no nothing and let it get HOT!

Add the pecans and toast them, stirring often, until you can just begin to smell them. Transfer to a bowl.

In that same pan, melt your butter. Add your caramel sauce. Almost instantly the caramel sauce is going to change from a lighter tan to a darker brown. That is good and right and normal.

Add the salt and stir until it begins to boil and bubble. Make sure the sauce, butter and salt are all mixed together before pouring into your bowl of pecans. Then stir the mixture thoroughly. Here's my batch.

Allow the mixture to cool for about 3 minutes (you want it cooler but not completely cooled) before setting it atop your cheesecake. From there I DARE anyone to notice the cracks!