Why Bariatric Foodie Will Not Be Selling Holiday Survival Kits This Year

This video is very shaky. Sorry! It basically says the same thing you will read below.
 

But first, let’s get everyone on the same page. With so many new Foodies each day, some of you are going “What the HECK is a Holiday Survival Kit?”

In years past, to help folks cope with the holidays, I offered a limited number of Holiday Survival Kits, containing WLS-friendly holiday recipes and two holiday-themed “protein shake sample kits” which came with everything you needed to make a holiday themed shake flavor, except perishables.

So now that you know what it is you are going, “Why’d you tell us about this if you’re not doing it anymore???”

I understand. Trust me.

As for the "why?" Frankly, we've gotten pretty big and I feel like there are better ways I can support you guys through the holidays than trying to sell 200 kits to more than 14,000 people!

So, without further adieu, here's are the ways Bariatric Foodie will help you get through the holidays with the least amount of stress (and homicide) possible:

• Check out The Bariatric Foodie Holiday Survival Guide on Amazon. This book contains all the recipes I’ve ever included in any of my Holiday Survival Kits. You’ll find WLS-friendly recipes (and recipe alternatives) for all your favorites, including baked mac ‘n cheese (hint: no pasta!), stuffing and even a no-sugar added cranberry sauce recipe. And my wonderful friend Joy Muller, of Kosher Bariatric, contributed to this book as well with some WLS-friendly kosher meals! The book also has all the recipes to all the protein shake sample kits I’ve ever sold.

• For the past two years, I’ve also done the “Bariatric Foodie Season of Giving.” That’s where I invite companies we love to spoil you guys rotten with prizes. I'm bring that back this year BUT with a twist. I'm going to use the prizes to motivate you all to stay on track during the holidays. Stay tuned for details!

• Lastly, protein shake sample kits aren’t completely dying. As a part of the Season of Giving, I’ll also be making up some sample kits from years past to give away, to help keep you motivated.

In addition, I’ll be using Facebook and Twitter to be a support to you as you prepare your holiday meals. I’ll not only be starting threads leading up to the big days, I’m also always available via email at bariatricfoodie@yahoo.com to answer recipe questions (about my recipes or anyone else’s) as well as answer questions about The Bariatric Foodie Holiday Survival Guide.

So that’s my plan and I’m sticking to it! I hope you’ll join me for a great holiday season, full of fun, prizes, motivation and inspiration.

Keep playing with your food!

#PWMF Recipe Contest Snack Winner: Kimberly's Espresso Protein Balls



We’ve come to the final recipe winner, so I suppose I should say something about when the free contest recipe e-book will come out, eh?

Setting an exact date is tricky, because as soon as I do the universe begins to work against it. That said, I will try my very best to have the e-book done by Sunday, November 9. IMPORTANT: Once the 2014 e-book goes up, I’m taking the 2013 e-book down for a while (don’t call me a meanie, my shopping cart software only lets me have so many files without charging me up the wazoo!), so use this link to download your FREE copy before it goes POOF!

Ok! Now that we’re done housekeeping, let’s talk snacks. I like snacks. Do you like snacks? Or maybe you’re a bit afraid of snacks. Understandable. There is a very fuzzy line between a snack and grazing and most of us just don’t want to take the chance. But a good snack can help you get needed calories and nutrients and keep your blood sugar stable, especially in longer stretches between meals (like the dreaded “lunch to dinner” stretch).

That’s why I included a snack category in this year’s contest. And here’s your winning entry!

Kimberly’s Chocolate Espresso Balls
(inspired by the Protein Power Ball recipe on the Bariatric Foodie site)

Ingredients:

• 1 c crushed Cracklin Oat Bran cereal (or high-fiber cereal of your choice)*
• 1/3 c. Chocolate PB2 (Nik Note: In the absence of peanut flour ¼ c. natural peanut butter + 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder would do but note that raises the calorie count significantly – and no I’m still not telling you the calories, sorry!)
• 3 scoops of Click protein mix (any flavor; I usually do 2 scoops Decaf Mocha and 1 scoop Vanilla)
• 2 packets no-calorie sweetener
• 1/2 c. skim milk
• Optional: 2 tbsp. sugar free chocolate chips

Directions:

Put cereal, PB2 and Click into a mixing bowl and stir well.

Add Splenda. Stir well.

Add milk 1 Tablespoon at a time, mixing after each. Stop adding milk when consistency is a moist dough, not sticky.

Stir in chocolate chips, if using.

Check the consistency of the mixture, by rolling a small amount into a ball. It should easily form a ball, but be dry enough it doesn't stick to your hands. If the mixture is too sticky, put it in the refridgeerator for 30 minutes. The cereal will soak up the excess moisture and make it easier to roll
Roll dough into balls, using rounded tablespoon-full will give you about 24 balls.

Place balls into airtight container and store in fridge. Note: the longer they are stored, the softer the cereal will become. They are best within the first 2-3 days)

Judge Maryann said she liked the recipe because it produced a snack that was snack-sized that is tasty and adds protein to her day! Here's Maryann's picture of the Espresso Protein Balls.

#PWMF Recipe Contest Dessert Winner: Sue's Pumpkin Cheesecake



 

Y’all thought I forgot about the rest of the “Play With My Food” recipe contest winners, didn’t you?

NOPE! We’ve got two more Foodies to feature.

First up, Sue! She submitted a yummy WLS-friendly dessert recipe that judge Denise thought was out of sight!

Sue’s Pumpkin Cheesecake

 Here is Sue's entry photo:

Ingredients:

• 1 -8oz pkg Greek Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 scoop vanilla or unflavored protein powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4c. + 2Tbs Truvia baking blend
• 1 small can packed pumpkin
• 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

In a bowl beat cream cheese until smooth and add in protein powder, vanilla and 1/2 of the Truvia. 

Mix well.  Add eggs one at a time and mix well after each one. 

Add pumpkin, remaining Truvia and spice.  Mix well.

Pour into a sprayed glass pie plate.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. 

Nik Notes:

 I have extensive cheesecake experience so you KNOW I have to put in my three cents!

• Those of you who have followed my blog for a while know of my quest for a cheesecake free of cracks! For some of you, cracks are no problem so long as it's yummy! And sometimes (especially if you're having guests) presentation is more important. If you’d like to lessen the likelihood of cracks, it’s a simple thing to do. Just put an oven-safe pot of HOT water into the oven when you put your cheesecake mixture in there. The cheesecake doesn’t need to sit IN the water, you can put the water on the same or another rack. The steam helps it cook gently.
• I also have always cooked cheesecakes at 325 for 35 minutes, turned the oven off, and left it open a crack to finish cooking as the oven cools down. Why? Because Alton Brown told me to!
• Lastly, if you have a springform pan those make cheesecake extraction a snap! Just make sure to line the bottom with parchment paper so you can easily get it off the pan.

Here’s what Denise said about Sue’s cheesecake!

"The texture was moist and smooth. Flavor was good. Kid liked it. Passed all tests. Lol. Not as dense as classic cheesecake, but I didn't expect it to be. Easy, protein enhanced, and yummy."

The very first picture in this post is a slice of the cheesecake Denise made according to Sue's recipe. Here's a picture of the entire cheesecake:

#PWMF Recipe Contest Dinner Winner: Erin's Creamy Chicken Fajita Soup

 

 

(Heh...Dinner Winner...ok...moving along...)

 

Dinner! I don’t know about you but it’s always been a challenging meal for me.

I think it’s the finality of it all. Like dinner. It means you’re, like, done. With food. For the rest of the day. (In my head.)

My issues aside, a good, WLS-friendly dinner the entire family can eat is worth its weight in gold. It means you don’t have to play short-order cook to your family and you can all sit down and eat the same thing at the same time (theoretically). That’s important.

Hillery, our dinner judge, is a working girl. She manages to pack a lot into her day and now she’s having a baby! So she was looking for a good dinner that doesn’t take long to make, that both she and her hubby can enjoy.

Here’s her pick.

Erin’s Creamy ​Chicken Fajita Soup

Ingredients:

• 4 C. boneless, skinless chicken breasts , shredded
• 1 whole onion, diced
• 1 (28 Oz. Size) Can Stewed Tomatoes
• 2 (14.5 Oz. Size) Cans Great Northern Beans
• 2 (14.5 Oz. Size) Cans of Sweet Corn
• 2 (14.5 Oz. Size) Diced Carrots
• 8 C. Low-Sodium, Fat-Free Chicken Broth
• 8 Oz. Plain Greek Yogurt
• 1 Package of Fajita Seasoning
• Garlic Powder. Salt, Pepper to taste

Add chicken breasts to slow cooker. Add enough water to cover meat and cook on low for 6 hours. Take cooked chicken out, once cool enough shred meat. Set chicken aside.

Remaining liquid can be added with chicken broth.

Drain and rinse beans, carrots and sweet corn, set aside.

In stockpot, add diced onions and saute on low for 1-2 minutes. Add chicken broth, remaining liquid and greek yogurt. Bring to a boil and stirring constantly until smooth.

Add to stock pot, whole can of stewed tomatoes, package of fajita seasoning, beans, carrots, sweet corn and chicken.

Reduce heat, add garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Note: If you have picky eaters at home, I puree my beans and tomatoes prior to adding.

Additional add ins depending on tastes:

• Hot Sauce
• Diced Jalapenos
• Diced Green Chilis
• Use 1 can of Black Beans, 1 can Great Northern Beans
• Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese for topping

Unfortunately, Hillery had a family emergency (NOT the baby!) that has prevented her from snapping a pic of Erin's dish, but she assures you all that she loved it and will snap a pic and send it in very soon. I'll update when I get it.

 

Congrats, Erin! Keep playing with your food!

 

#PWMF2014 Recipe Contest Lunch Winner: Margaret's Avocado Egg Salad

(Dear Margaret: This is by far one of the BEST food pictures I've ever been sent!)

The lunch judge – Pam T. – is not easy to please.

We’ve been friends forever and two more days. You all know her without knowing her, especially if you’ve ever bought a Bariatric Foodiebook – she designed all the covers!

And as hard as she works on her design stuff and as meticulous as she is with it, she is a self-professed “lazy cook.” I can’t get her to try any of my recipes that involve more than a few ingredients or a few steps. When she does try my recipes, she always plays with it to reduce the amount of ingredients and steps! 

So I was especially curious to see which lunch recipe she chose as the winner. Pam would like you to know it was not an easy decision. Each judge had to prepare the recipe(s) they were considering for the win. I believe Pam tried three.

But in the end, here is the winner!

Margaret’s Avocado Egg Salad

• 4 hard boiled eggs
• 1 large avocado
• 1 tbsp dill pickle relish
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp onion powder or 2 tbsp minced onion
• Paprika (optional)

Directions:

Slice hard boiled eggs and remove the yolk.

Mix the yolk with relish, mayo, salt, pepper and onion (just as if you were making deviled eggs).

Chop the egg white, cut the avocado into bite size piece and add to the eggs.

Pour the mayonnaise mixture over top, gently mix to coat everything.

Spoon on a lettuce leaf and sprinkle with paprika. Serve.

Here's what Pam had to say about what makes this a winning recipe:

"It's egg salad, with a twist! I love that this is as easy to make as normal egg salad, but the addition of avocado takes this egg salad to the next level. I also loved that this is a low-carb option by using lettuce leaves as the vehicle for the salad rather than bread."

So there you have it. Simple. Nutritious. Good! Here's Pam's photo of Margaret's recipe:



 

#PWMF2014 Recipe Contest Breakfast Winner: Vicky's Strapatsada

 

I’m still working on the free recipe e-book for this year’s “Play With My Food” recipe contest, but I thought in the meantime I’d showcase the winning recipes. So check back this week as I post each of the five winning recipes in the following categories: breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and dessert.

First up, breakfast!

The winner of the breakfast category also has the honor of having submitted a recipe I had never, ever, EVER heard of in my life. But it’s kinda fun to say. Stapatsada!

This is a yummy breakfast recipe from Greece, where Vicky lives. (How awesome is it that we have Foodies, everywhere?)

Vicky’s Strapatsada

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoonful of olive oil
• 1/2 tomato finely chopped
• 1/2 green pepper finely chopped
• 50 gr feta cheese (1/4 c. for us non-metric using Americans!)
• Pepper, to taste

In a non-stick frying pan heat the olive oil with the green pepper until soft (2-3 minutes). (Nik-note: I’d set a pan over medium heat, allow it to get hot [2-ish minutes] then add olive oil.)

Add the tomato and let simmer for about 5 minutes.

Beat the egg and add to pan along with the feta cheese crumbled.

Cook for another 3 minutes. Add pepper to taste (no need to add salt as feta is quite salty), turn off heat and let stand for another 5 minutes. It will continue to cook.

 

Serve hot.

 

Here’s what the Breakfast Foodie-Judge had to say about why this was a winning recipe:

 

This recipe was super flavorful, the simmered tomatoes gave this dish a fantastic rustic flavor...and while I would have probably added a tiny bit of salt (not recommended in the recipe) they flavors were fabulous together. I also chose this recipe because 90% of the time when I choose to prepare an actual breakfast and not a breakfast drink, I am the only person who will eat said breakfast.

 

This recipe had all the flavors I love, and was a perfect portion for me. I started out with half of the finished portion (as the recipe said it was filling) but I found that the full portion with a couple slices of tomato was just the right size for me. No leftovers!

 

Before the judges could make a final decision on a winning recipe, they had to prepare the dish they were considering. Here’s Shannon’s Strapatsada.



 

Congratulations to Vicky, who will win a $50 Amazon gift card for her winning entry.

Nik's Eggplant Parmesan Casserole

So I had all this stuff I had to use up. Isn’t that how the best dishes are made?

The challenge: to use up ¾ of an eggplant I had along with an entire roasted spaghetti squash. To be fair, I didn’t really have a great plan for either when I bought them. They both just looked so gorgeous, sitting there in the farmers market just waiting for me to buy them. I’m a sucker for a plump piece of produce, ya know?

Anyway, since neither eggplant nor spaghetti squash are on the elder daughters “approved veggies” list, I knew this dish would be completely vegetarian so that the younger daughter could eat it.

Thinking about it, the kid is pretty easy to please. Bless her, she loves anything I cook for her. But I kept having Eggplant Parmesan on the brain. I wondered if the concept could translate into a casserole.

I call this “casserolizing” – the art of taking something that has never been a casserole…and making a casserole out of it. Here’s how this one goes down.

Nik’s Eggplant Parmesan Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 medium eggplant, cubed (you can remove the skin if you don’t like it.)
• 1 small onion, cut into slivers
• 1 green pepper, cut any way you like it (I diced mine)
• The yield of one spaghetti squash (if you’re not sure how to cook it, click here)
• ½ c. diced tomatoes (I used fresh you can also used diced)
• Salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, to taste
• 1 jar of light Alfredo sauce (which is what I used)
• 1 c. Italian-blend shredded cheese

ALTERNATIVE: I like the “Parm” part of Eggplant Parm best so that’s why I went with Alfredo sauce. If you are a purist, use a tomato-based sauce and top with cheese.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Spray your eggplant, onions and green pepper down with non-stick, season them however you like (I use salt, pepper and Italian seasoning) and put it onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Roast it about 25 minutes or so.

In a bowl, toss the roasted veggies with the spaghetti squash and tomatoes. Again, add seasoning if you like it as this is the best way to get flavor in there.

Add whatever sauce you are using and toss that until thoroughly mixed in.

Transfer to an small casserole dish (I used an 8x8) and top with cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and as brown as you like it.

This dish was a hit with the younger kid! I liked it too. The ONLY critique I have is that spaghetti squash is slightly sweet and it’s hard to play off of that. I usually allow myself to be a bit heavy handed with the salt for that reason. It didn’t make the dish bad, I just wish I had seasoned it better, which is why there are a few steps in the directions above so you can avoid that!

On Facebook I asked Foodies to vote for their favorite pic of the dish and the one at the top of the post is the one that is winning! Here are the others.

...I think I'm going to decide that, in general, close-up shots of casseroles generally are NOT a good thing! :)

 

BF Review: Celebrate ENS 2-in-1 Protein & Calcium Bars

See if you can identify with this sentiment.

You’re newly post-op and you have a LOT of requirements. You have to get so many calories and so much water and on top of all of that you have to get your vitamins. It’s stressful, isn’t it!

That’s why I’m a big fan of things that can do double duty. Protein shakes that double as liquid intake and possibly your vitamin does, stuff like that.

To that effect, Celebrate Vitamins has a new product offering for you – protein bars that help you get your vitamins!

The good folks at Celebrate sent me their ENS 2-in-1 Protein and Calcium Bars to try. They come in two flavors currently:

• Caramel Chocolate Crunch: 130 calories, 3g fat, 18g carbs, 5g fiber (so 13 net grams of carbs), 5g sugar, 5g sugar alcohols (combo of polydextrose and malitol), 15g protein.
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch: 140 calories, 4.5g fat, 17g carbs, 4g fiber (so again, 13 net grams of carbs), 4g sugar, 4g sugar alcohols (again, combo of polydextrose and malitol), 15g protein.

So here’s where I need to make a comment on the nutritional content, because I give this information and people freak out. Yes, there are sugar alcohols in this. If you are particularly sensitive to sugar alcohols you should take heed. If you don’t have a particular sensitivity, from my experience (and keep in mind I’m not a registered dietician) 4-5g of sugar alcohol usually doesn’t do anything too terribly wonky to your system. So take that for what it’s worth.

Each bar also contains 500mg calcium citrate and 333 IU of Vitamin D.

So what’d I think?

• Smell: Smelled like something sweet. The caramel had a whiff of caramel smell to it. I didn’t pick up any obvious protein smell (and I have with bars before!)
• Texture: As you can see in the above photo, the bars are coated but beneath that they are sort of like a rice crispy treat. Crispy yet chewy. The texture helped it to not be too heavy. But then again I’m 6.5 years post-op so newbies, take that with a grain of salt!
• Flavor: I really liked the Peanut Butter Chocolate Crunch (surprise, surprise). I didn’t dislike the Caramel Chocolate Crunch, however, like most caramel flavored things nowadays, I thought it was a tad too sweet (which is saying something coming from me, the person who adds tons of Splenda to everything)
• Cost/Value: A box of 7 bars is 15.75, which comes out to $2.25/bar. Each bar is about 1.5 oz. I always struggle with what a good “value” is with regards to protein supplements. I mean on the one hand you’re getting 15g protein out of 1.5 oz. of food mass. To give a comparison, 1.5 oz. of chicken is about 8-ish grams of protein, the same amount of tuna is about 5g. So if you really are limited in how much you can eat, it may be worth the investment, especially considering you are getting calcium and vitamin D as well.

Overall verdict: I actually would order the Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch. Why? Because I often forget to take my last calcium/vitamin D supplement! I like these bars and don’t envision it’d take much to convince me to have one as a snack. There’s that other calcium dose I need.

As for the Caramel, I’ll leave that to true caramel lovers. To learn more about all of Celebrate's great offerings, visit their website!

What say you, Foodie Nation? Who’s tried these bars. What did YOU think? I’d love to hear (and I’m sure your fellow Foodies would appreciate additional perspectives). Let me know in the comments!

#YWM2014 Lunch With the Experts Recap: Binge Eating

First, thank you for your patience in waiting for me to post this! And my apologies for the delay.

As it usually happens with me there was a bit of a challenge in writing this recap in that I lost my notes! I'm going from memory here but thankfully I have a good memory so let's get to it!

For background, this is a recap of a special "Lunch With the Experts" session that was offered as a part of the Obesity Action Coalition's "Your Weight Matters" Convention which was held in Orlando, FL September 25 - 28, 2014.

About the Expert

Michelle May, MD is the author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat: How to Break the Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle (Am I Hungry? Publishing, 2011). In this book, she lays out what she calls The Mindful Eating Cycle, which is a framework that shows how any person - no matter what size they are - approaches eating. She uses this framework to help people understand not only what they eat, but why they eat, especially when they are not physically hungry.

Some Binge Eating Resources

The notes I lost had a lot of binge eating resources but I went through and Googled quite a few for you guys. Here are some:

• BingeEatingDisorder.com - This site is mainly for health professionals but gives some good statistics about the prevalance of binge eating in the United States.
• Did you know Binge Eating Disorder is now contained in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual V (which is a manual that helps define psychological disorders so that they can be effectively treated? Click that link to read more, although I'm going to outline the definition a bit below.
• There is also a Binge Eating Disorder Association dedicated to providing accurate information about binge eating and advocating against binge eating and obesity bias. 

So what is Binge Eating?

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual V (DSM-V), a person with Binge Eating Disorder may:

• have recurring episodes of eating significantly more food in a short period of time than most people would eat under similar circumstances
• feel a lack of control over how much they eat
• eat quickly and even when not hungry
• have feelings of embarassment, shame or guilt about what/how much they eat, such that they eat alone to hide the behavior

Binge Eating disorder affects nearly 3 million adults in the U.S. and it affects twice as many women as men. (BingeEatingDisorder.com)

That means that if you are a binge eater, you are not alone. Far from it!

What to do if you think you are a Binge Eater

The thing Dr. May stressed again and again is that this is a disorder. Many people, because they feel guilt and shame about binge eating, try to handle the problem themselves. That rarely works. She strongly suggested going to see a licensed therapist and especially one who specializes in binge eating disorder.

Dr. May also stressed (as did several practitioners at the convention) that it's not so much about what you eat, but why you eat that's at the root of most people's problems with both binge eating disorder and obesity. That's not to say we shouldn't focus on eating healthfully but one point she made struck me as particularly important (so much so that I'm going to bold and underline it).

Even if you have limited yourself to bingeing on healthier options, let's be clear: you are still taking in more food than your body  needs or is asking for.

That's important to note. Many of us think we are doing less harm by choosing "healthier" binge options. In reality, while the substitution is probably more nutritious than a less healthy food we can choose, it is not necessarily healthier from a mental health perspective.

So again, if you think you may be a binge eater:

• Consider the DSM V guidelines and be honest with yourself. Do they apply to you?
• Seek professional help from a licensed therapist who has experience treating people with binge eating disorder. If you don't know of one you can ask your primary care physician OR your bariatric practice.
• Take heart. As stated above, if you binge eat you are not alone. There are many people coping with this problem and there are communities to which you can turn for support. But you have to take that first step!

Follow Dr. May for more resources

I highly recommend following Dr. May online for more information and resources. Here's how you can do that.

• If you'd like to check out Dr. May in general, her website is: www.AmIHungry.com.
• Her Twitter handle is @EatWhatYouLove
• Look for her on Facebook at the "Am I Hungry?" page
• Check out her book, Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat: How to Break the Eat-Repent-Repeat Cycle. I bought the book (along with a companion book specifically on binge eating and the companion workbook). As I go through it I'll share any insights I learn!

And for those of you still reading, I took many pictures during Dr. May's general education presentation at the conference, which I've housed (along with all the other photos of the fun I had while at the convention) in this Flickr Album. Enjoy!