Zucchini Slice

 

This is a remix of a family favourite...made many times over with copious amounts of flour & olive oil. I have made several reductions on this recipe to make it weight loss friendly.

Ingredients:

Makes 8 small slice serves

* 1/2 a zucchini - finely grated with skin left on

* 1/2 an onion - finely chopped

* 4 rashers of bacon (or more if you want to increase protein)

* 1/2 light mozarella cheese grated (use any cheese as long as its low fat & high protein)

* 1/4 cup Self Raising Flour

* 1 tbsp olive oil

* 2 eggs

* 1 eggs worth of eggwhites 

Method:

Place all ingredients in medium sized mixing bowl - stir to combine
Spray medium casserole dish with oil/pam & pour mixture into dish
Bake @ 180 degrees celcius (or moderate oven) until golden

How much sugar is in your milk?

As weight loss surgery patients - or indeed anyone who is trying to lose weight - we need to be aware of how many carbs (read: sugar) we are eating. It's a simple fact of life 

"sugar = weight gain..."

So today I thought I would do a quick comparison of the carbs in milk. Yes MILK...who would have thought there'd be so many carbs in milk??!! Check out this comparison chart:

When choosing an appropriate milk I like to look at 3 important factors. Calories, carbs & protein (ie. low calories, low carb & high protein). As you can see from this chart, the standard low fat milks have much more calories and carbs than the soy counterparts AND the amounts of protein are comparable! I never thought I would become a soy drinker but I prefer the nutty taste & I can actually drink it straight. The only downside is that you cannot use soy with coffee! The acidity makes it curdle & it's just bad news. But tea is fine.

Chicken, Bacon & Herb Puree/Soup

This soup is one of my go-to protein sources when my band is being tight...or after a fill. Sometimes you just get sick of sweet protein drinks & you want something salty/savoury. Many of the ingredients can be substituted for items that you happen to have on hand.

Ingredients:

Makes 3 small 1 cup meals & freezes perfectly to always have on hand

* 3 rashers of bacon

* 1 small chicken breast - cubed

* 1/2 can cream of chicken soup

* 1/2 onion finely diced

* 3-4 mushrooms sliced

* 1 clove of garlic - minced

* 1 tsp fresh basil, 1 tbsp italian herbs, a pinch of thyme (these can be subsituted for any herbs you like)

* 2 tbsp light greek yoghurt

* 1 tsp dijonaise

* 1/2 cup light milk or soy milk (I prefer soy as it has MUCH less sugar)

Method:

Saute onion, garlic & mushroom

Add bacon & fry til browned

Seal chicken is separate frying pan & then add to pot with onion & bacon

Add cream of chicken soup, yoghurt, herbs, & dijonaise. 

Cover & simmer for 10 mins or until chicken is cooked through

Pour mixture into food processor, blender or use a hand blender directly in the pot.

Add milk and puree until smooth. You can add more milk if you want to thin the mixture out. 

Top with grated cheese to serve

Spanish Baked Beans

I took this recipes from a tin of tomatoes so I cannot take credit for the original concept. This is my new FAVOURITE meal to make! So simple & wholesome. Would be a nice breakfast for a non-surgically modified individual...but for me this would be too difficult to get down in the morning - but perfect for dinner!

Ingredients:
Makes 4 small 1 cup serves (suitable for a lapbander)

* 1 Chorizo sausage
* 1/2 an onion - diced
* Garlic - Finely diced or minced
* Oregano or mixed italian herbs
* 1 bay leaf
* Splash of red wine vinegar
* 2-4 tbsp tomato paste (depending on personal taste)
* 1x 400g/14-ish oz can Cannellini beans - drained
* 1x tin of tomatoes (or fresh tomato puree)
* 2 eggs
* Low fat fetta to top 4x small ramikens

Method:
Pre-heat oven @ 180 degrees celcius (moderate)
Slice chorizo length ways in half & then diagonally into small half moons
Fry in small amount of olive oil until crisp
Add onion, garlic, oregano & bayleaf - fry til onions brown
Add splash of red wine vinegar, tinned tomatoes, tomato paste & beans
Simmer to thicken (6 minutes)
Spoon mixture into small single serve oven dishes (ramikens) NB*: Do not over-fill or it will bubble over!
Make well in mixture for each ramiken & crack an egg into each (2 will have whites only)
Top with fetta - bake until egg is cooked through and fetta is golden

Lemon & Greek Yoghurt Protein Cupcakes

Ingredients:

*Grated rind of two lemons
*4 tbsp lemon juice
*2/3 of a cup of caster sugar

"Original recipe was 2 cups!!!! You can substitute with artificial sweeteners if you prefer, but I'd rather the real deal if I'm going to eat sweet. Could probably even reduce it to 1/3 of a cup of sugar."

*2 eggs
*1/3 cup of olive oil (and a dash extra if your mixture is too thick) - original recipe was 1 cup
*1 cup light greek yoghurt
*1.5 cups Self Raising flour- original recipe was 2 cups
*1/2 cup Vanilla or plain Protein powder

"Make sure your choice of protein powder will bake well - a good indication of this will be to combine your powder with 100 grams of greek yoghurt - a good powder will not lump and will taste nice with the yoghurt. For us Aussies - I use Natures Way Figure Protein Vanilla"

Method:
Beat lemon rind, eggs, sugar & oil in a large bowl until smooth. Add lemon juice & yoghurt to mixture; beat to combine. Sift in flour & protein powder; beat to just combine (but no extra or the mixture will become too dense). This mixture can either be baked as a cake @ 180 degree Celsius (moderate oven) for 45 mins or as mini cupcakes @ 180 degrees Celsius for approximately 15 mins per batch. I cooked one batch til golden and one batch still white on the outside and they seem to be more moist and soft when they're not cooked for quite so long but this is up to personal taste!

Nutritional Content:
Serving size: 1 mini cupcake
Recipe makes approximately 27 cupcakes

Calories: 121    |   Fat: 4.3    |   Protein: 8.8   |   Carb: 11   |   Sugar: 6.6

Lapbander Friendly Foods

- Cottage cheese
- Thinly sliced chicken breast
- Thinly sliced turkey breast
- Tinned tuna with sauce or olive oil
- Tinned & smoked salmon
- Avocado
- Eggs (particularly poached)
- Babybel lite cheese
- Pastaless caneloni
- Slow cooker/crock pot meals
- Spaghetti sauce with mince
- Poached cod
- Veg with bechemal sauce & cheese
- Prawns
-Bacon, spinach, egg & cheese quiches (no pastry)
- Zucchini slice
- Low fat & low sugar yoghurt (No artificial sweetners)
- Optifast bars

I suggest stocking up on foods like this, especially if you're newly banded and not really sure what's easy to eat. All these foods are easy on the band and not likely to get stuck, while also being a healthy choice (high in protein, low fat, low sugar). When I first got a lapband I thought I would save money on food because I'd be eating less, but the reality is I have to spend MORE money on food now, because I have special needs. I can't just eat shitty cheap sausages anymore, or stuff out of a packet. I have to make sure the food I do eat is high quality. I'm focusing on keeping my diet low in sugar, with an adequate intake of GOOD fat (which is vital for losing body fat surprisingly) and as much protein as I can get. I DO NOT count calories! I got a lapband so I could live my life...not count calories in & out. I just try to eat well, small portions, high quality food...and so far it's working. I've lost 20kg in 4 months. Now that's amazing :)

10 Weeks Post-op

I'm kind of in a bad place. I had a nightmare experience with my second fill. Went from 4mls to 5.5mls and spent more than 24 hrs not even being able to swallow my own saliva. I had a lot of foam/bubbles come up and slime...ie plegm. I lost 2kg worth of water...but I havn't gained it back. Went back the day after the fill and had an unfill of 0.5mls which was heaps better, although I am very tight. I even got stuck on yoghurt last night.

I'm sitting at 97.6kg at the moment which is over 16kg lost o_O but I still dont feel satisfied with my progress. I don't exercise enough. I often drink high calorie drinks or high calorie "slider" foods. There's been some slight changes in my personal life and a lot of my motivation has gone because of it. I go shopping and get excited to buy a new top...I refuse to buy anything XL but L is still too tight. Even though I know the XL would look 100x more smashing on me now...I just dont want to buy something in a huge size that wont fit eventually. At least if I wait til i'm a large I'll sit in that size for another 10kgs or so.

I'm just not feeling the changes. I know its there, maybe I dont notice it. I don't feel like my clothes fit me any better really. Sometimes I think I'm more messed up in the head than I think. When I went to get my 2nd adjustment the dr. said I'd lost 5kg since my last fill...and I scoffed at it, without thinking. It should be more. I need to stop thinking like that. 16kg loss is amazing. I should be HAPPY with my progress, I should be proud of myself.