Thursday, March 11, 2010

Don't Just Survive - Thrive! (On Mushies)

So from what I hear, mashed potatoes are little bits of heaven after surviving for weeks on the liquids only pre-op and post-op diets.  But once again, fairly bland.  So here's some recipes I have bookmarked for the mushie stage that will hopefully provide some tantalizing tingles to the taste buds!

Once again, these are from the  Hungry Girl: 200 Under 200 book.  Two hundred recipes under 200 calories....great idea for those of us counting calories and eating smaller portions.  I got my copy at the local Hy-Vee, but they are available through her website and other retailers.

Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole

1 large head of cauliflower, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 wedges The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese, room temperature
1 cup fat-free cottage cheese
1 cup low-fat  or light ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
1 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
Optional Topping: Paprika

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place cauliflower and onion in large microwave safe bowl with 1/2 cup water.  Cover and microwave for 6-8 minutes.  Once bowl is cool enough to handle, drain  water and set aside.
Place cheese wedges in a microwave-safe dish and microwave for 10-15 seconds.  Mix until smooth.  If needed, return to the microwave for an additional 10 seconds and stir again.
Add cheese and all other ingredients to the bowl with the cauliflower and onion and stir until mixed well.
Spray a medium-large baking dish with non-stick spray.  Transfer contents of the bowl to baking dish.  Sprinkle paprika lightly on top, if you like.  Bake in the oven for one hour.
Let cool for at least 10 minutes.   Serve warm or at room temp (warm sounds better to me).
Makes 9 servings.  117 calories, 2g fat, 10g carbs, 14.5g protein

Spinach, Mushroom, and Mozzarella Supreme


Two 16oz bags frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and thoroughly dried
1-1/2 cups canned sliced mushrooms (about 2 med cans or 1 lg one), drained
3 wedges The Laughing Cow cheese (any Light flavor), room temp
1 cup diced onion
1/3 cup shredded fat-free mozzarella cheese
3/4 tsp garlic powder
Optional:  Salt and Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a pan sprayed with non-stick spray, cook onion over high heat on the stove until browned (about 3 minutes).  Set aside.
Pat spinach with paper towels making sure all excess moisture has been removed.  In a mixing bowl, combine spinach, onion, cheese wedges, and garlic powder.  Mix well until thoroughly combined.
Spray a medium casserole dish with nonstick spray.  Spread half the spinach mixture along the bottom.  Layer half the mushrooms evenly over the spinach mixture.
Spread remaining spinach mixture over the mushroom layer.  Layer remaining mushrooms on top.  Sprinkle casserole with mozzarella cheese
Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes, until cheese layer begins to crisp slightly.
Season to taste with salt and pepper if desired.
Makes 6 servings.  106 calories, 1g fat, 11g carbs, 8g protein

Miracle Mashies

1 large potato (about 13oz)
3 cups cauliflower florets
3 Tbsp fat-free half & half
1 Tbsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread
1/4 tsp. salt
Additional salt and black pepper, to taste
Optional: 1/2 tsp. crushed garlic

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
While waiting for water to boil, peel and cube potato.
Once water is boiling, add peeled potato cubes and cauliflower florets.  Allow water to return to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium.  Cook for 15-20 minutes until potatoes and cauliflower are very tender.
Remove pot from heat and carefully drain water.  Transfer potato mixture to a large bowl.  Add half & half, butter, and salt.  Add crushed garlic, if you like.
Mash with potato masher until completely blended.  Season to taste with pepper and additional salt.
(I think adding some fat-free cheese to these would be super yummy and add some protein.)
Makes 5 servings.  82 calories, 1g fat, 16g carbs, 3g protein.


Once again, if you give these a try before I do, please leave a comment and let us know what you thought of it!  I chose the above recipes because they're ones I think I can probably get my family to eat as well and what a way to sneak in some veggies!  ;)

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Don't Just Survive - Thrive! (On Liquids)

I found a few recipes I'm bookmarking for my full liquid stage.  I mean, one can't survive on protein shakes alone, right?  Maybe one could, but I know my tastebuds are going to want some excitment!  Maybe yours do, too!  If you try these before I do, please leave a review in the comments section.  I'm sure myself and other bandsters would appreciate it!

The following recipes were taken from Hungry Girl: 200 Under 200.

Mint Chocolate Chip Freeze


1 TBSP Coffee-Mate  Sugar-Free  Frenh Vanilla Creamer 
1 TBSP Sugar Free Chocolate Syrup
1 tsp instant coffee granules
1 tsp mini chocolate chips
1/4 tsp spearmint or peppermint extract
2 no-calorie sweetner packets
1 cup crushed ice or 5-8 ice cubes
2 TBSP Chocolate ReddiWhip

In a tall glass, combine powdered creamer with 2 TBSP warm water.  Stir until powder is dissolved.  Add 3/4 cup cold water and transfer mixture to blender.   Add all of the other ingredients except for the Reddi-whip.  Blend on high speed for 30-45 seconds.  Pour into your glass and top with the Chocolate Reddi-Whip.  Enjoy. 
Makes 1 serving.  87 calories, 12g carbs, 4.75g fat

Freezy-cool Lemon Slushie

Two 2-serving packets sugar-free lemonade powedered drink mix
1 tsp fat-free non-dair powdered creamer
1-1/2 cups crushed ice or 8-10 ice cubes

In a tall glass, combine powdered creamer with 1/4 cup warm water.  Stir until dissolved.  Add 1-1/4 cups cold water and powdered drink mix, and mix thoroughly.  Transfer contents of the glass to a blender and add ice.  Blend at high speed until thoroughly blened .  Pour into your glass and enjoy!
Makes 1 serving. 30 calories, 2 g carbs, 0g fat

Chocolate-Banana Smoothie

One 25-calorie packet diet hot cocoa mix
1 small ripe banana, sliced adn frozen
2 tsp. fat-free non-dairy powdered creamer
1 tsp. mini chocolate chips
1 packet no-calorie sweetener
1 cup crused ice or 5-8 ice cubes

In a tall glass, combine cocoa mix, powdered creamer, chocolate chips and sweetener.  Add 1/4 cup very hot water and stir until dissovled.  Add 1/2 cup cold water and stir.  Transfer contents of glass to a blender.  Add frozen banana slices and ice.  Blend at medium speed until completely mixed.  Pour int your glass and enjoy!
Makes 1 serving.  164 calories, 35.5g carbs, 1.5g fat, 3g protein

Raspberry Mocha Madness Swappucino

1/2  cup light chocolate soy milk, cold
1/4 cup sugar-free calorie-free rapsberry syrup (Torani Sugar Free Syrup is recommended)
1-1/2 tsp. instant coffee granules
1 tsp Coffee-mate sugar Free French Vanilla powdered creamer
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa
2 packets no-calorie sweetener
1-1/2 cups crushed ice or 8-10 ice cubes
2 Tbsp. Fat Free Reddi-Whip

In a tall glass, combined coffee granules, powdered creamer, cocoa, and sweetener.  Add 2 Tbsp. hot water and stir to dissolve ingredients.  Add soy milk, raspberry syrup, then transfer to blender.  Add ice and blend on high speed until thoroughly mixed.  Pour into your glass, top with Reddi-Whip and enjoy!!
Makes 1 serving.  82 calories, 15.5g carbs, 1.75g fat, 3g protein.


If these look yummy be sure to check out the Hungry Girl website.  Be sure to share your fave recipes, too! :)  Tomorrow - recipes I plan on trying for the mushies stage.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Cole's Story

Today, I want to share Cole's story with you.  Cole is the 8 month old son of my very dear friend, Sabrina and her husband Trey.  He's also the little brother of Miss K, their beautiful 8 year old daughter.  He is the other little guy I'm walking on behalf of in the March for Babies next month.

Cole was born on July 5th in East Meadow, NY at a healthy 8lb, 21in. However, despite how young he is,  he has already endured so much. He spent his first few weeks in the NICU on a ventilator because he could not breathe on his own.  The medical team feared he was born with a surfactant deficiency that would require a double lung transplant.  They also discovered he was in renal failure with creatinine levels being three times what is considered within normal limits.  He was transferred via helicopter to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where he spent another month.  However, by God's amazing grace, Cole's lungs seemed to be healing themselves and got stronger with each day.  The doctors still don't know what caused his respiratory distress or how his lungs got better.  However, his family and friends know it was God answering the many prayers lifted up for little Cole.

Because of Cole's respiratory distress, he was fed via an NG tube for fear of aspiration.  Once his lungs got stronger while in the care of CHOP, they tried to introduce the bottle but he would tire himself out and his oxygen saturations would drop.  Eating was just too much work for him.  It was also around this time that he was noted to be hypotonic, meaning he had decreased muscle tone.  At the time they thought it was due to the amount of time he had been in the hospital and how much energy he expended just trying to breathe.  After two months of living in the hospital, Cole was well enough to be discharged and finally go home.  He was discharged with an NG tube in place to supplement his bottle feedings.  That was later changed to a PEG tube, which is a surgically placed feeding tube that goes directly into the stomach.

According his mom and team of doctors, Cole is the "healthiest sick kid"  around.  He continues to have an elevated creatinine level for reasons unknown, but thankfully, the levels have continued decreasing. Genetic testing has been done but still there are no answers for his family as to why he continues to have the irregular breathing patterns, feeding issues, low muscle tone and elevated creatinine levels.   He works very hard with his speech therapist, physical therapist and occupational therapist.   With all his hard work he is now only behind about 2 months developmentally.  He also visits his pediatrician,nephrologist,  gastroenterologist and neurologist frequently, as well as the lab for blood draws. He's such a trooper and so is the rest of his family.

Cole seemed to enjoy and do well with solids (pureed baby food) when they were introduced.  However, recently he has completely refused to take anything by mouth, meaning his family is having to meet his nutritional needs via his G tube.  The therapists and team of doctors again have no explanations for this.  Cole and his mom are headed back to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on Monday to be evaluated for an intensive feeding program designed to help Cole learn to eat.  Unfortunately, insurance companies rarely approve this treatment, despite it's success in helping infants like Cole.  We are praying that with the results of Monday's evaluation, it will be approved by their insurance company.  If it is not, the program will cost nearly $40,000 not including travel expenses, lodging, parking, meals, etc. that go with having to be near the hospital for treatment.

I am asking that you will keep this family in your prayers.  I am also seeking out volunteers to assist in fundraising for this family to offset the treatment related costs not covered by insurance.  If you are interested in volunteering, please contact me at unspokenangel24@hotmail.com with "COLE" as your subject.

You can follow Cole's Story here.


Wednesday, March 3, 2010

That Bites...

and not in a sexy, Edward Cullen kind of way!

Today was my pre-op appointment with surgery scheduled two weeks from today. Did you catch that? Scheduled...as in past tense!

I had to re-submit to my insurance back in January, which involved paperwork related to symptoms of possible co-morbidities. Well, when I gained that 15 pounds after my post-Thanksgiving course of prednisone, I started snoring and so I checked off that box. A year ago, I didn't snore.

Anyhow, at that appointment in January we discussed possibly doing an apnea link, which is a take home test to see if your oxygen sats drop through the night. If it's positive, then they order a sleep study. Well, they never ordered the apnea link, today's pre-op appointment was scheduled as was surgery. I get there today and they inform me that because I indicated snoring, I need a sleep study. No biggie, right?

Wrong! They can't get me in to do the sleep study until March 24th which is over a week after my surgery. So, you guessed it! No surgery until the sleep study is done, the results are in and I have the necessary equipment, if indicated. Really? They couldn't have figured this out before today considering my appointment was over a month ago?! Talk about feelings of frustration and disappointment!

Surgery is now scheduled for April 2nd. Instead of being two weeks away, I'm now a month away from getting my band. Did I mention feelings of frustration and disappointment with this?

On the bright side:

I can go to dinner with the family for my birthday and have a slice of cake ala mode.

We can take the kids on a 4 day trip instead of only 2 for Spring Break.

I'll be able to eat on said trip instead of being on the pre-op diet.

The surgery is on a Friday so, hopefully, the hubster won't have to burn any of his leave. Munchkin will be in school that day so I only have to find child care for Noggin.


How telling is that two of my "bright spots" have to do with eating?!

Monday, March 1, 2010

Operation St. Louis Surprise

This past weekend the hubster and I surprised the kids with a trip to St. Louis.  The best part of the surprise though was that we got Grandma in on the act.  Grandma met us there with my two nieces.  The older girls are BFF's and love getting together any chance they can.

We then headed to the St. Louis Science Center. It was very crowded but we still had a good time. The dinosaur exhibit on the lower level was our favorite part. We also watched "Under the Sea" at the Omnimax which was pretty neat, too!

We had dinner at the hotel restaurant, Tigin Pub & Restaurant. We made sure that kids were allowed, and the staff assured us it was all good as long as they were serving food. However, it was still quite awkward to walk four children ranging in age from 9 down to 3 through the restaurant. It definitely felt more pub like and there wasn't really any fare for the kids. The older two shared a burger and fries and the younger two shared the mini burger appetizer. I had a cheesesteak sandwich on a toasted hoagie with a horseradish mayo that was awesome! <---Sorry for the food porn, but it was good! Grandma then took the kids swimming while the hubster and I headed out for a bit. We headed across the river to Casino Queen, which boasts the loosest slots in the country. Apparently, others had already cashed in on that, because we didn't! LOL After that we headed back to the hotel pub for a few cocktails and then back to our room. Grandma and the kids had just returned from the pool and wanted to swim some more. So we got them ready for bed with the promise to wake up early and swim before we all had to head home. That worked and they all went to bed without a fight! However, getting up at 06:00 to swim was harder for me than them! LOL

After our swim, it was time for everyone to head home. We packed up and said our goodbyes. Mom and the nieces headed back to Indiana and we headed back to Kansas. However, we did make a pitstop in KC to go to Cabela's where the kids talked us into some homemade kettle corn. Yum!

What a fun weekend for everyone! I hope we can plan more surprises like this in the future!

With that said, though, it is Monday. Therefore, it is also weigh day and I'm up 3 pounds to 221. Back to protein shakes it is!

Hope you all have a great week!