Bariatric Foodie

Bariatric Foodie has a NEW WEBSITE!

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 17:11:00 +0000

This blog platform has served me well for 6 years but alas, we've outgrown these digs, Foodies. It's sort of like living in a one-bedroom apartment after you've had two kids. It just doesn't work!

But the good news is that the new, improved Bariatric Foodie is just a click away!

Go there now and see!

Here are just a few of the things that await you:

Downloadable/printable/customizable recipe posts! That's right. You can download recipes, easily print them and...say my recipe made four servings and you only want two. You can change the servings to get the recipes YOU want!
Easier-to-find resources: Everything is so much easier to find on the new site. It's great!
Easier-to-share blog posts: You can share via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, all easily with one click!
The Foodie Store: Check out the Foodie store and make sure you're all stocked up on all the BF products you love.

What are you waiting for? It's all there for you!

Go Check It Out!

Please note I will leave this site up for a few more weeks so that everyone can get the news, but this site will go poof soon! So make sure you head over the www.bariatricfoodie.com and bookmark the new site (and sign up for email updates while you're at it) so you don't miss a beat.

BF Top 5: Summer Recipes

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Wed, 08 Jul 2015 17:54:00 +0000

We're now in what I like to call "the thick of summer." The first day of summer has passed. The 4th of July has passed. Now it's time to settle into summer until Labor Day gets here. I actually like the thick of summer. Holidays sometimes stress me out. You either have to host something or contribute a dish to something. I'd much rather have a lazy day with good food.

Here's a few recipes perfect for the thick of summer.

Thai Shrimp Skillet. This one was a contribution from one of our long-time Foodies, Julia! It's a skillet meal that combines all the luxurious flavors of Thai food into an easy, low-carb, high-protein meal!

Here's your Thai Shrimp Skillet recipe!

S'mores Protein Pudding. I mean c'mon...what says summer like S'mores??? When Torani released this sugar-free flavor I was so excited. So. Excited! You can make this as a pudding or dump it into popsicle molds for a delicious, chocolatey, marshmallow-y frozen treat!

Here's your S'mores Protein Pudding recipe!

Buffalo-Style Chicken Meatballs. So to be fair, I do this one in the oven, which is a bit counter-intuitive during the summer. These meatballs can also be cooked in a slow cooker (use whatever method works best for you). I LOVE me some buffalo wings. They actually remind me of both summer and football season, so expect to see this suggestion again come fall!

Here's your Buffalo-Style Chicken Meatball recipe!

Protein Orange Creamsicles. This is a more recent post but I swear...I'm on my third batch of these things! (To be fair the kids lapped up some before leaving for the summer and my boyfriend seems to like them as well.) It's cool and cream and, best of all, three ingredients!

Here's your Protein Orange Creamsicle recipe!

No-Sugar Added Tropical Lemonade. When I posted this recipe I got a lot of "Why not just make Crystal Light?" Ohhhhh, Foodies. Have you tasted real lemonade? Made from real lemons? It's out of this world! This recipe is really intended to be an occasion drink more than a "this is what I drink every day" because it does take some effort. But for the experience of having cool, tart, refreshing, real lemonade...I think you're worth it. But I may be biased.

Here's your No-Sugar Added Lemonade recipe!

Summer Shrimp Salad with Watermelon Champagne Vinaigrette

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 16:30:00 +0000

Ok so let me set the scene of this meal for you.

It’s Wednesday – Hump Day – mid-summer. It’s warm, but not offensively so. There’s a slight breeze that feels really nice against your skin and it’s evening so there’s just enough shade for you to think to yourself, “It would be nice to have dinner outside tonight.”

And maybe you have a spouse or significant other arriving home soon. Or, if not, maybe you have a good friend who doesn’t live that far away and you invite them over. Because this evening feels like the kind of evening for good conversations and relaxation. After all, you’ve only got half the work week to go and you feel kinda good.

Thinking about what you want to prepare, you don’t want anything fussy. It should take maybe 30 minutes to prep. You don’t want anything too heavy – it’s just a tad too warm for that. You want something fresh, light and good. But since this evening feels so breezy you also want something that feels a little fancy. Because…well…you deserve it!

This is the meal you make for that occasion. Ladies. This is a meal to put on a maxi dress to eat!

A word about the dressing. It totally makes the salad. So I tried to limit the amount of fat in other places in the recipe so you could spend it on the dressing. I can't even describe how good it is. And with the watermelon...swoon! It feels fancy because it is fancy - but not fussy!

Nik’s Summer Shrimp Salad with Watermelon Champagne Vinaigrette
(The above picture is either one non-op portion, two post-op portions, or a combination thereof)

Ingredients:

For the salad

10-12 cooked/shelled shrimp in the size of your choosing (I used medium, 24-30 ct.)
Garlic powder
Salt and Pepper
4 c. salad mix (I used spring mix…just make sure to use something hearty)
About 10 chunks/balls of seedless watermelon (I bought a small personal sized one and made the balls with a teaspoon measure)
2 tbsp. crumbled goat cheese (garlic/herb flavor works well here)
2 tbsp. pepitas (roasted and shelled pumpkin seeds – I used unsalted)

For the dressing (makes enough to toss into about 4 servings of salad so don’t freak out!)

3 tbsp. Champagne vinegar (it’s available in most grocery stores)
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 heaping tsp. honey Dijon mustard (or the same amount of regular Dijon mustard with ¼ packet no-calorie sweetener, if you want to skip the honey)
2-3 tbsp. juice from the watermelon (of which there should be plenty)
½ tsp. minced garlic
¼ tsp. black pepper

Directions:

Spray a small skillet generously with non-stick cooking spray and set it over medium heat, allowing it to get hot.

If your shrimp are frozen, run them under some cold water in a colander. If not, then season them with garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Place them in the hot pan and cook about 2-3 minutes, turning once. Set aside and allow them to cool.

Place salad greens in a mixing bowl with watermelon, goat cheese and pepitas. Add half of your dressing and toss salad with tongs.

Distribute evenly between two plates. Top with shrimp and serve.

To Make the Dressing: In a bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil, watermelon juice, garlic and pepper. Refrigerate at least one hour before straining through a sieve into a bowl or dressing bottle.

Outtake Photos

Not sure you've ever wondered, but I generally photograph on my front porch (I live in a row house which means my house is attached to other houses on either side). My neighbors think I am very strange!

I was trying to play with the mood on this one, but I think I just ended up making it look like it's about to rain on my salad. Hmph. The struggle continues...

This was almost the cover photo for this recipe but I wanted you guys to see the whole salad. Oh, fun fact: that super cute "napkin" is actually an apron I got as a souvernir from Haiti. I liked the pattern and I don't have many cloth napkins so I figured I'd just MacGuyver it!

No-Sugar Added Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Tue, 30 Jun 2015 17:43:00 +0000

Spoiler Alert: Nutella is never going to be health food. This is not health food. It will always be a treat.

I felt like I should lead with that because there are always new folks coming to this blog and I want you to know that we do, in fact, know the difference between a healthy food and indulgences. We talk about that quite a bit.

But my personal philosophy (your mileage may vary) is that my food life should be about 85-90ish% above board choices, 10-15-ish% indulgences. This is how I do moderation. Again, your mileage may vary.

So. Back to the good stuff. Nutella!

I had surgery in 2008. This was before Nutella was a common item on US grocery store shelves. It’s been around in Europe, apparently since Europe was invented or something. But here in the US it’s become a popular shelf staple only over the last five years or so.

My youngest daughter lives for Nutella. Like seriously…she will even do her chores if she thinks there’s Nutella involved. Unfortunately for her I don’t do food rewards, but who am I to get in the way of her motivation if she chooses to think Nutella will be her reward? (Did that make me sound like a bad parent?)

Now I’m all for moderation. And having a little of what you like and a lot of what you need. But Nutella has one big problem I can’t get around.

The sugar content. It would kill me.

So that’s why I was so happy when Buzzfeed produced a videoon how to make your own Nutella at home (btw…the Nutella people are probably preparing a lawsuit against me for the sheer number of times I’ve used the term Nutella in this post! Keeping that in mind…Nutella!).

Anyhoo…I basically followed their directions I just modified the recipe a little bit.

No-Sugar Added Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

Ingredients:

1 c. chopped hazelnuts (look in the baking aisle at the grocery store)
4 oz. baking chocolate (unsweetened), chopped
1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil (or you can use canola, I just had olive)
½ c. milk (whatever kind you use)
No calorie sweetener (use your preferred kind in amount equivalent to ¾ - 1 c. sugar, depending on your desired level of sweetness. To get the correct amount, consult the conversion chart on your packaging.)
1 tsp. vanilla
Dash of salt

Directions:

Place your chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 10 second increments until it’s all melted. (I did a double-boil but that’s because I have this weird Martha Stewart fetish.)

Heat a dry skillet over your stovetop (don’t spray it with nonstick, just leave it dry). Add the hazelnuts and toss them around a minute or two, until you can begin to smell the nuts. Remove from heat immediately.

Combine nuts, melted chocolate, oil, milk, vanilla, sweetener and salt in a food processor or blender (I used my Nutri-Ninja) until smooth. If it’s not smoothing out/blending, add milk by the tablespoon until it gets going.

Transfer to a clean container (I used a glass jar). This is NOT a recipe developed for canning. Refrigerate and use this within a month. I personally like it right off the spoon (and a spoonful is enough for me). I also tried it on a Pink Lady apple and that was divine as well.

To answer your inevitable question, no it doesn’t worry me having this around. Sweet stuff is not my trigger – salty food is! (Which is why you will never see a WLS-friendly Dorito recipe coming from me.) If sweet stuff is your trigger I would not be hurt if you decided to pass on this one. Seriously...it's ok!

Outtake Photos:

I like mine a bit nutty still, not completely smooth. The longer you blend, the smoother your final product should get.

Because...melted chocolate. That is all!

Red, White and Blue Protein Popsicles (Featuring Premier Protein)

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 17:50:00 +0000

This post is sponsored by Premier Protein.

It is my theory that the 4th of July is a blueberry's favorite holiday. Why? Because on that day the red/white/blue color combo is just everything -- and, really, what other food can you use to play that up?

I personally love blueberries, not only for their antioxidant qualities, but because they are a nice, mild berry. I like popping a few straight out of the fridge, adding to my cottage cheese and a multitude of other options.

That's why when the good folks at Premier Protein sent me the recipe for this Patriotic Protein Pop (see what I did there?) I couldn't wait to share it with you. It's so easy! Especially if you've invested in popsicle molds to make my Orange Creamsicle Protein Pops. Now you have not one, but TWO, three ingredient recipes to make in them!

Red, White and Blue Protein Popsicles

Ingredients:

Sliced Strawberries
Blueberries
1-2 Premier Protein® Vanilla Shake

Directions:

Line popsicle molds with sliced strawberries and blueberries.

Fill popsicle molds with Premier Protein® Vanilla Shake.

Freeze overnight.

Enjoy!

3 Things I Learned in Haiti That Changed Me

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 15:55:00 +0000

I struggled with how to do this blog post. This trip was so educational for me. I learned a lot about Haiti, about the world, but especially about myself. It would be impossible to summarize in one blog post. So I thought I’d concentrate it to the thee big things I learned that truly did change me.

But first…

Why exactly were you in Haiti, Nik?

Quiet as it’s kept, Bariatric Foodie is not my only “job.” My “day job” is as the staff writer for an organization that helps people around the world fight poverty and build strong livelihoods (and proud as I am of that work I will decline to name said organization because I like to keep my BF life and my day job life somewhat separate – thank you for understanding!). I traveled to Haiti to see our work there with coffee farmers and to document that work in video. I traveled to the city of Cap Haitien, which is about 6 hours north of Port-au-Prince, not that far from the border to the Dominican Republic. We also visited coffee farmers at two cooperatives, both high up in the mountains about 3 hours further north.

Without further adieu, here are my three things.

With a little support, you can overcome even the most difficult obstacles.

This is a photo of two leaves from a coffee tree that was struck by leaf rust, a disease that can kill coffee trees. Coffee farms all over the Caribbean and Central America have been affected by it. While I was in Haiti I got to see and hear a lot about leaf rust. It’s a truly devastating disease. It kills the branches of a coffee tree so it can’t produce “cherries” (little berry-like fruits that contain coffee beans).

To understand the full impact of that you have to know how coffee farmers use coffee to support themselves. Think of it almost like the reliability of your direct deposit in your bank account. Most farmers grow food they can eat. Coffee provides cash for all those other little things you must pay for like school fees for children, medical care and food to supplement what you grow. Many coffee farmers lost 60% or more of their coffee crop to leaf rust. That meant they saw a dramatic reduction in their income. Some dealt with it by switching their kids to less expensive schools. They knocked back on their amount of meals per day. It’s hard but folks are surviving.

They are coping by putting more effort into growing food for their families to eat but also testing out coffee plants that seem to resist leaf rust. They aren’t panicking. They are being organized, addressing their immediate needs and trying to recover for the future.

My Big Lesson: We face those situations sometimes too. Things that want to derail us. Knock us off of our big plan. I know in the past I’ve freaked about it. These farmers taught me that the most effective way to deal with those situations is to determine what you need most right now and work on that then, little by little, work on getting back to where you used to be.

Accept your shortcomings, get out of your own way, and great things can happen!

I wish I could tell you the names of these little girls. They are absolutely adorable (although this photo makes them look sort of serious). On our second day of shooting, high in the mountains, I was taking a quick break while our videographer got some footage of a coffee farmer’s house. The village we were in had quite a few houses relatively near one another and all had little kids laughing, playing, eating mangoes (from the trees in their yards!).

This little girl is six. Her sister is about two. And that was about the only thing I understood that she said. In this region, Haitian Creole is the first language. Kids learn French in school but she was a bit young to know much French.

When she approached me she started asking questions (universally I think our intonation is about the same when asking a question). I think she was asking me what we were doing and about the cameras. I had our local staff close by BUT they speak Creole and French but no English. I speak English but no Creole and French. And I was stressed out about that for a minute.

But then that sweet little girl smiled and started chatting on, not really caring that our words didn’t match up. It was a magical moment for me.

My Big Lesson: Accepting your shortcomings is not the end of the world. I didn’t speak Creole and I wasn’t going to try to butcher the language at that point. I also decided I wasn’t going to feel bad about not speaking Creole. The little girl certainly didn’t feel bad about not speaking English. And she also didn’t see it as a barrier to making a new friend. I think I need to be like that more in life. Shortcomings are a challenge, yes, but they don’t make or break my ability to survive a situation.

You only get one life and if it’s a damn shame if you waste it feeling bad about yourself.

I got this picture going up the mountain. Oh my goodness there was so much to see! There were people working in the fields. There were cows. There were pigs and chickens and baby goats that seemed to be playing tag with one another. There were streams and flowers. And bugs, yes, bugs!

But then there were also the mountains. I was awe-struck by them. My photos don’t accurately capture the scale of these mountains. They were majestic and beautiful. I have always loved mountains because they make you realize how small you are relative to the universe. Our individual worlds are so small that our problems sometimes seem to fill them up. The mountains expand that world (at least for me) and put things into perspective.

I could have focused on the bumpy ride it took to get up that mountain (I banged my head on the top of our truck about 57 times and I’m lucky I didn’t get a concussion!) but I was too busy being in awe of what was going on around me. There were many moments like that on this trip, where folks were having serious discussions and I just wanted to look out the window, drink it all in.

My Big Lesson: Life really is amazing, Foodies. And if you’re not careful, in the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, “if you don’t stop and look around every once in a while, you might miss it.”

So there you have it. Three big things I learned while in Haiti. I didn’t take a whole, whole bunch of pictures but I did get a few shots. Here are my best ones. If you’d like to know anything more about the trip, drop a comment. I’m happy to answer!

These are bananas on a tree. I had never seen a real banana tree before so I didnt' know what to make of that large...vine? With the flower on the end. I won't lie, my inner 12 year-old had a field day.

It's a bit fuzzy, but this is one thing Cap Haitien is known for. Lobster! My co-worker ordered this dinner (which, by the way, was a paltry $18!) and we were all really surprised byt he size of it (it's wider than she is). That's all lobster meat by the way, with seasonings on top.

This painting hung outside my hotel room door and I think it captures the spirit of Haiti very well. There's always stuff going on! Life doesn't stop. People are moving about, to and fro. It's a very industrious place but you can tell the people take care of one another and themselves!

Speaking of taking care of yourself...this is one lone jogger early in the morning. But by about 7 a.m. there are THRONGS of people - locals - jogging. Old people, young people, plump people, skinny people. Literally...there were dozens. It was inspiring!

There are even more pictures on my Flickr account. Feel free to check them out if you like!

Meatless Mexican Frittata (Featuring McCormick Perfect Pinch Mexican Spice)

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Sat, 06 Jun 2015 16:29:00 +0000

Saturdays are cooking days in my house. That's when most of the week's blog posts (if I have any) get cooked. I also like to make a nice breakfast or brunch.

Today I was in a bit of a bind though. The girls leave for Texas for the summer next week (they live with their dad during the summer) and I fly out to Haiti to do some videography work for my job. So I'm not stocking the kitchen until I get back. So that is to say, there isn't much in there!

I knew this morning I wanted a Mexican-themed frittata but I knew I didn't have all the ingredients called for in the Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book recipe. So I played with my food!

Nik's Meatless Mexican Frittata

(Makes a family sized, which is about 8 servings, which all freeze great when cut and wrapped tightly.)

Ingredients:

1 small green pepper, diced
1 small yellow pepper, diced
1 medium tomato, diced (I used a hot-house)
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 c. cooked black beans (I had some left over from lunches the previous week)
1 tsp. McCormick Perfect Pinch Mexican spice
1/2 tsp. baking powder
6 eggs, beaten (or equivalent of egg substitute)
1 c. shredded Mexican blend cheese
Optional: Unflavored Greek yogurt and salsa for topping

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray an oven-safe skillet with non-stick cooking spray, set it over medium heat and allow it to get hot.

Add peppers, tomatoes, and onions and sautee 1-2 minutes, or until softened.Add black beans and spice.

Place baking powder in a bowl and pour a little of the egg into it. Beat that with a fork until it's incorporated, then add the rest of the egg (if you just add the baking powder to the egg it will clump).

Pour eggs onto cooking vegetable/bean mixture and spread it around until it resembles a big, flat egg pancake.

Gently stir inside the circle of eggs with a wooden spoon, but do not disturb the edges, you want them to set.

Once edges set, top with cheese and place the entire skillet in the oven for about 10 minutes or until the top of the frittata is done and cheese is browned to your liking.

Cut and serve while hot!

NOTE: In the Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book all frittata recipes come in single-serve varieties (like this one!) requiring just one egg and a tiny oven-safe skillet! Perfect for cooking for one.

This was a good breakfast because everyone but one member of my family (my oldest daughter who hates eggs) will eat it. My boyfriend will eat it, I will eat it, my pescetarian younger daughter will eat it. It's in that wonderful Venn diagram of meals most of us will enjoy. #Winning.

Here are some outtake pics:

While this post was not a review for the McCormick Perfect Pinch, it really did make this frittata. It's full of flavor and took it from plain to Mexican in just a few shakes!

I like this shot but the kid in me always sees Pac-Man when I do this kind of shot of a cut frittata!

Sometimes I wish I could invite you guys over for a Saturday breakfast. I love weekend breakfast. I think it's because I get to actually wait to be hungry instead of having to eat when time allows.

Foodies, breakfast does not need to be a challenge after WLS!

In the Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book I've done the hard work for you. The book features single-serving recipes for things like eggs, frittatas, and protein pancakes, as well as make-ahead/grab-n-go breakfasts like protein baked oatmeal and protein muffins.

I'll also teach you how to amp up the protein in your favorite breakfast dishes, 11 creative ideas for cottage cheese, new ways to enjoy Greek yogurt (like cheesecake!) and lastly, I show you how to make an awesome "Un-Breakfast" (a dish that uses breakfast foods but doesn't feel like breakfast).

Check out the crave-worthy recipe pics on the Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book board on Pinterest, then you can browse and buy the book on hard-copy or Kindle on Amazon - you won't be sorry you did!

Protein Orange Creamsicles (featuring Premier Protein)

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Mon, 25 May 2015 14:54:00 +0000

They call this weekend the "unofficial" start of summer.

Damn that. I'm calling it. It's summer!

I mean after the winter we had? We deserve it. (Unless of course you don't like summer in which case...sorry...I love it so forgive my obnoxiousness over the next few months.)

Raise your hand if the highlight of your summer day as a kid was hearing the jingle of the ice cream truck? (Raises hand) Oh what a joyous sound that was! The first faint sounds were my signal to beg my mother (in the most annoying voice possible) for a few coins so that I could partake in my all-time favorite summer treat: Orange Creamsicles.

Today, I still eat Orange Creamsicles but - sorry, ice cream man! - I make them myself. Using the basic frozen treat instructions from my book, The Bariatric Foodie Guide to Perfect Protein Shakes, here's how I make this delicious summer treat!

Nik's Orange Creamsicle Protein Pops

Ingredients:

1 carton Premier Protein Vanilla ready-to-drink shake (11 oz.)
1-2 sugar-free orange flavored drink sticks (depending on the intensity of orange flavor you like. I use two.)
A generous squirt of lemon juice

Directions:

So let's not talk about how I got this Nutri-Ninja like a year ago and I am just starting to use it regularly.

Combine everything in a blender for two minutes, then pour into popsicle molds.

NOTE: The ones I used, I got at Family Dollar...for a dollar! For these I had to add about three additional tablespoons of milk (I use almond) to fill all 8 slots.

Freeze well. To remove, run frozen pop mold under cool (not cold, not hot, not warm but cool) water for a few seconds and try to coax it out. Repeat until pops dislodge from the mold.

TIP: For an extra protein boost you can add more protein powder before blending the first time (I'd recommend no more than one additional serving of protein powder that has at least 25g protein in it). Stick with vanilla. And DO use the lemon juice. Lemon juice brings out the fruitiness of fruit flavors. The pop will taste a bit flat without it.

Outtake pics!

My attempt at creating a summer scene. I will concede there may have been a bit too much going on here.

I handle my popsicles with the utmost care.

Yeah...being a food blogger is a tough job some days. But somebody's gotta do it!

And remember this recipe is just one of dozens included in The Bariatric Foodie Guide to Perfect Protein Shakes. The book not only gives you great shake ideas, but instructions on how to make your shakes into crave-worthy treats like this. Check it out on Amazon!

No Sugar-Added Tropical Lemonade

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Sat, 16 May 2015 21:36:00 +0000

So I know we live in this super high-tech, fast-moving world where everything is designed to be faster, easier, more convenient.

But every once in a while I like something that takes time, requires a little skill, and is a bit more involved. Good, homemade handmade lemonade is one of those things.

When I was an itty-bitty thing and my grandma was still alive (she passed away when I was five) she used to make lemonade. Helping her is one of my earliest memories. Now lemonade wasn't a quick-rush thing to her. No, no! You took your time with it. Because if you did, you got something really wonderful.

In my estimation, homemade lemonade is a great way to practice the old will-power muscle. It's not instant gratification. You get the very best results if you wait it out. But the moment you put that sweet nectar to your lips...ahhhhh. You realize it was worth it. Even if the waiting nearly drove you insane. :)

Nik's No-Sugar Added Tropical Lemonade
(The below recipe is what I used for this batch. Each batch can be different, the method of making it remains the same! This makes about 3 quarts of lemonade.)

Ingredients:

About 10 pineapple cores (see below)
2 mango seeds after I cut the flesh off
6 c. water
2 limes, juiced
About 8 lemons, juiced
No-calorie sweetener equivalent to 3 c. sugar (use whatever kind you like but check the conversion chart on the packaging to make sure it matches up against sugar!)
Another 8 c. (64 oz.) of cold water

Directions:

Pre-Step: Fruit Cores

So I had these two pineapples, right? And I needed to cut them up because they were sitting in my fridge doing absolutely nothing. I know from experience nobody in my family will cut them. They will go bad first. (Yes, that is sad!) So I decided to cut them up along with a mango I had. I wanted to show you a super simple hack for removing the cores of pineapples. I'm sure there are other ways. Please share in the comments!

Step One: Making a flavored simple syrup

This is usually how I get the non-lemon flavor into lemonade. You don't have to do it this way. You can also:

Infuse lemonade with flavor by adding fruits or herbs (like mint) to your final product and letting them sit for a long while
Pureeing fruit and straining out the flesh and adding it during step 4. (This method works especially well with strawberries).

But since I was using the cores of fruit, I incorporated it into my simple syrup by adding 6 cups of water to a sauce pan, dropping the fruit cores in there, turning the heat to high and letting it come to a boil. Then I dropped the heat to medium-low and let it simmer about 10-ish minutes before turning off the burner and letting it sit.

Step Two: Juice the lemons

I personally do it the way my grandma did it, which is by hand. But there are lemon juicers out there that do the job very quickly with no mess. I will say, though, that nothing beats how your hands smell after hand-juicing lemons. Since I had lemons and limes on hand, I used both. In general, you need about 8-10 lemons to make a decent sized, share-able pitcher of lemonade. As you can see I squeezed mine into a separate bowl.

Step Three: Complete your simple syrup

Remove the fruit cores from the sauce pan and turn it back on low heat so it stays warm. One at a time, add a cup of sweetener and whisk it in until it completely dissolves. NOTE: If you like less sweet lemonade feel free to use less sweetener than this recipe calls for!

Step Four: Putting it all together

Combine the lemon (and in this case lime) juice with the simple syrup then stir well. Then add that to a large pitcher. Then add the 8 cups of cold water and stir again. Give it a taste. Is it too sweet? Add more water. Is it not sweet enough? Add more sweetener. The tartness should be fine but if it isn't, you can always squeeze another lemon or two and throw the juice in there. I keep it a bit on the sweet side because I know I'll add ice when I serve it and lemonade is a social drink. You sip, you talk, you sip, you talk...I still want my lemonade to be sweet after the ice melts! But that's just me.

Refrigerate about two hours or until cold. Serve over ice. I serve it with bits of the fruit that's in the lemonade (shown are pineapple and mango bits).

Some other ideas:

If you want/need protein in this, once it's cold add some unflavored protein to your glass. I would say 1/2 serving for every 8 ounces.
My kids like to add soda water to this (actually the put it through their Soda Stream machine)
This makes a really great Arnold Palmer with the addition of some home-brewed iced tea (don't mess up the handmade momentum with the instant stuff - it's WORTH the effort!)

Outtake Photos

Here's the thing that irks me. I spent good money on a good camera...and sometimes my iPhone simply takes the better photo!

Obligatory direct overhead shot. Note to self: not appealing with drinks!

Doesn't that look downright SLURPABLE??? Yum.

Strawberry Cheesecake Pudding Parfait (featuring Premier Protein)

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Wed, 13 May 2015 18:15:00 +0000

Long-time readers...I know what you're going to say, ok? I KNOW. Yes this is the gamillionty-seventh cheesecake-inspired recipe on this blog.

But Google Analytics says 90+% of you reading this have never been to this blog before so...hi. I'm Nikki. And I like cheesecake!

But as we all know cheesecake can be fatty and sugary and all sorts of things that can cause certain gut-death. I won't lie. At 7 years post-op I do enjoy a bite or two of the real thing every now and again.

And on regular days I have this.

Nik's Strawberry Cheesecake Pudding Parfait

(Makes 5-ish servings)

Ingredients:

1 box sugar-free instant cheesecake flavored pudding mix
1 container (11 oz.) Premier Protein shake (Strawberry or Vanilla works best, in my opinion)
6 oz. container plain Greek yogurt (Note: Do use plain, it cuts the sweetness of the pudding mix and the protein shake combined!)
1 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, softened (it amps up the cheesecake factor…)
¼ tsp. lemon juice
About 10 strawberries (or 2 per parfait), hulled and sliced
Whipped cream
Optional (pictured): sliced almonds

Directions:

Place the instant pudding mix and protein shake in a mixing bowl and mix on medium speed about 2 minutes. (You want to work out any powder lumps.)
Add the Greek yogurt, cream cheese and lemon juice and mix again, until combined. Refrigerate at least two hours.
To assemble: place a few sliced strawberries at the bottom of a cup or bowl. Top with ¼ c. pudding mixture, then a dab of whipped cream. Repeat.

If you like a little crunch, you can use high-protein granola in there too. These days I like to crush a bit of Fiber One and add it as a layer.

I originally published this recipe on ObesityHelp.com and I did something unprecedented. I posted nutrition facts! (Dear folks new to Bariatric Foodie. I do not generally post nutrition facts for my recipes. Here's why.) But I'm going to make you head over there to get that information. It's a great site if you've not been there before...plus I can't be starting habits over here at Bariatric Foodie.

One habit I will keep, though, is posting outtake pics! Here you go:

There isn't a particular reason I didn't use this one at the top. I just didn't.

I usually use a slatted bench on my front porch to take photos (my porch is the only place in the ENTIRE house that gets good light!). But every once in a while I mix it up. This is actually my porch floor. I didn't like the pic because the right glass seemed skewed. #PerfectionistProblems

As I've said many times...direct overhead shots are my "comfort zone." I'm trying to get out of my comfort zone. Plus...it's a parfait. You gotta see the layers!

Premier Protein: Simple Protein for a Complicated Life. (Product Review)

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Thu, 07 May 2015 13:31:00 +0000

This review was sponsored by Premier Protein, and I was provided with free product for the purposes of this review. All opinions are my own.

I sorta feel like I'm preaching to the choir about Premier Protein. So many of you already use it! In fact, the sheer number of you who use it prompted me to want to give it another try. I tried the shakes at the very beginning of my post-op life and I liked them well enough, but then I started playing with protein powder and making recipes and...we all know where that went.

So here I am again trying Premier Protein. If you all follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you know they sent me a lot of product. Like...a lot. I think it's because they want me to share it with you. I intend to! After the grad school semester from hell ends. Until then all you'll get is procrastination and empty promises and, really, who needs that?

Anyway, let's get on with the review!

This review will cover the shakes. They sent me lots of bars as well and I think that may need to be its own blog review! Look for it coming soon.

So the shakes come in three flavors: Strawberry, Chocolate and Vanilla. The stats on them are pretty much all the same:

Here's some other important information:

Premier uses a blend of whey isolate and whey concentrate
It also contains sucralose (an artificial sweetener used to in Splenda)

Packaging

Yes, I start from the beginning, Foodies! But I think Premier's packaging is worth talking about. It's very convenient for a few reasons. Firstly, the shakes are shelf-stable so you don't have to keep them in the fridge. For those of you who work in places where you don't have a fridge, that might be very convenient. It also has a sturdy, "twist on/twist off" cap. As I was reviewing these shakes I can't tell you how many times this saved my shirts!

Taste/Texture/Yadda

Like I said in the title, it's simple protein for a complicated life. One thing I like about Premier Protein is that they keep their flavors clean. Each flavor tasted like what it was supposed to taste like. I was a bit put off by the fact that the strawberry was an off-white but then as I thought about it, that means there's no red dye in it, which is a good thing! But just to give you my initial impression (I actually wrote these phrases down as I tasted these):

Chocolate: "Tastes like a Yoohoo." (Do they still make those, by the way?)
Strawberry: "Takes me back to elementary school and those little cartons of strawberry milk." (Do they still make those, by the way?)
Vanilla: "Must Triple X this...would make an awesome thick vanilla shake!"

Which brings me to my next point. The shakes aren't super thick. (Newbies may disagree.) They pour easily. There are a few bubbles when you pour but nothing too serious. For the pics above I fanned the cups with a piece of paper and the bubbles dispersed. In all reality, most of you will drink this from the carton anyway. I will admit I didn't shake them first. They seemed fine even still.

So...was there an aftertaste? For this one I had to go outside myself. I've been on artificial sweeeteners and protein supplements for so long I don't think I could tell you even if the aftertaste tapped me on the shoulder and introducted itself. I had my oldest daughter (the "Picky One") taste it (I had to pay her to do it - the little extortionist!). She said there is no aftertaste. Then she asked if she could have the rest of it. Ba-da-bing.

Final Verdict

Well you all know me. I like to play with my food.

Here's one way I played with my Premier Protein Shake. Click here to get the recipe. There will be other ways!

Of all the flavors, I'd likely do the chocolate and vanilla most often. I'm not a big fan of strawberry anything, although I didn't mind testing out this flavor at all. I see that they are available all over. Check out this page to locate them near you. So they are convenient, affordable and not a special purchase.

So I think my final verdict would be to give them a try. It's good protein, for a good price, and easily accessible (check out the "Where to Buy" page on their website to find it near you). Especially if you are a person who doesn't need a fancy shake, you just need a good shake, with good flavor, and a good protein count, Premier has got you covered.

#PWYF

Panera Knock-Off: Nik's "Something Chicken Stew"

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Wed, 06 May 2015 16:00:00 +0000

"This looks fancy..."

That was my youngest daughter's reaction when she looked at the contents of the slightly modified bowl I presented her this past weekend. (I'll tell you why the modification in a sec.)

Now to her, "fancy" is a good adjective. With the elder girl, not so much. I was quite pleased how this recipe turned out, mostly because it was just so darn easy!

Backstory (because you know there always is one!). A few months back I went to Panera Bread and had their Spanish Chicken Stew. Oh. My. WORD! (As Pam would say.) That stuff is delicious! It's a combination of chicken, herbs, spices, vegetable, broth and there is some brown rice on the bottom. What made it unique and delightful for me was the sprinkling of sliced almonds on top. It did feel fancy!

Fast forward to this past weekend, when I wasn't feeling that great and didn't feel like standing over a stove to cook. I hadn't tried out my new Ninja Kitchen cooking system (it's like a crockpot plus four other things I've not figured out yet), and I had some almonds left over from another recipe I'd captured earlier in the week, so I decided to experiment.

Now if you've been following the blog for a while you know I am not a big fan of looking at other people's recipes before creating my own. I mean...where's the fun in that? Rather I like throwing stuff together and seeing how it comes out. Risky? Yes. But good!

I call this "Something Chicken Stew" because I'm not sure it's particularly Spanish, per se. It's something. And that something would be good. And easy. And good!

Nik's "Something Chicken Stew" (Panera Knock-Off)

Ingredients:

2 large pre-marinated chicken breasts (I get them in my local meat or frozen section. These are breasts that have already been marinated for you - big time saver! I got Garlic & Herb.)
6 c. of any assortment of veggies you like, chopped. I used:

Tomatoes
Asparagus
Red Peppers
Zucchini
Onions

1 tsp. additional chopped garlic
1 tsp. Mediterranean seasoning (I used Lawry's Mediterranean seasoning salt)
1 tsp lemon juice
4 c. water
1-2 tbsp. tomato paste (depending on how thick you want your broth)
2 c. cooked quinoa or 1 box of couscous (I used the latter in Parmesan flavor. If you've never cooked quinoa before, here's my super-easy tutorial!)
Sliced almonds, to finish

Directions:

Put everything exept tomato paste in the crockpot and set it on low for about 4 hours. Then go do something fun (yes, this is a legit part of the recipe).

By the time you come back your chicken should be cooked through. With a pair of tongs, move it to a cutting board and dice it into pieces of your desired size. Put the chicken back into the crockpot.

Taste the broth and adjust the seasonings as you see fit (I added a dash of oregano at this point but otherwise the seasoning was spot on). Stir the tomato paste into the hot liquid until incorporated. Let that go about another 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook your quinoa or couscous. Now at this point I'll say a word on this. It's up to you what grain you use in this recipe, if at all. Here are a few options, if couscous is not your thing.

You can use quinoa (here's my super easy tutorial on how to make it...again)
You can use brown rice, if that's your thing
You can use cauliflower rice if you want to avoid starches altogether

My point here is you have choices. Play with your food!

To serve: place a small amount of couscous/quinoa/rice/whatever in a bowl. Ladle some stew on top of it (for your portion, you get to choose how much broth, as I know some folks worry about taking in liquids and solids together). Top with sliced almonds and enjoy!

After these pictures were taken I got the inspiration to add sliced olives, which just made this all the more delicious. Now I modified this for my younger daughter because she eats a pescetarian diet (she eats seafood but no other type of animal protein), so I made another little pot of this stew with just the veggies and broth. Still wonderful and yummy!

Here are the outtake pictures of this dish.

Don't ask me why, when given a choice, I always go with the direct overhead shot. I just always seem to like it better. But this is a good one too!

I just didn't feel like this captured the full essence of this dish. Not a bad picture though. Please note I have two places I can take pictures with sufficient light: on top of my microwave oven (which is where the photo directly above this one was taken) and on a bench on my front porch (and yes, my neighbors do think I'm crazy, thanks for asking).

Let's have dinner together for Cinco de Mayo!

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Mon, 04 May 2015 20:09:00 +0000

I've been wanting to do this for a long time. Let's see if we can manage it.

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo. It's also my late grandfather's birthday. So I'm feeling festive! I already posted a delicious protein drink you can enjoy in the spirit of the day, but I thought it might be fun to have dinner together too! How? Easy.

Step One: If you haven't already check out my Taco Casserole recipe. It's the most popular recipe on Bariatric Foodie. Here's the recipe.

Step Two: Make Taco Casserole! This recipe uses ingredients you can find in any grocery store. The best part? It's easy to modify it and make it your own!

Step Three: Post about making Taco Casserole! Here's three ways:

On Facebook: Drop a pic on the Bariatric Foodie Facebook Wall
On Twitter: Tweet your picture and tag @BariatricFoodie
On Instagram: Tag your picture @bariatric_foodie_nation

As I see photos tomorrow night, I'll share them! I'm also going to pin them to this Pinterest board. Remember, if you make changes to the recipe, let us know what you did so we can get new ideas too!

UPDATED: Since I nearly had a brain explosion over some tech difficulties related to this post and you all hung in there anyway (like the champs that you are!) I am now offering a PRIZE for anyone who participates. If you make the casserole and share a pic (using one of the methods above), you'll be entered to win a prize pack of Premier Protein stuff PLUS a copy of The Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book.

All you have to do is share your picture using one of the three methods above. You don't need to register or do anything else. I'll note who submitted something and enter you. I'll announce who won on May 6. Easy, right?

That's my small way of saying I'm sorry for melting down. I'm human. It happens!

Recipe Remake: Cinco de Mayo Protein Shake (featuring Premier Protein)

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Mon, 04 May 2015 16:27:00 +0000

It's May! We made it! I'm reasonably sure that for most of us, there is no snow in the immediate forecast. I think that's cause to celebrate.

Tomorrow, as you know, is Cinco de Mayo. (Tell the truth: do you know what's celebrated on this day? I'll 'fess up and say I was not terribly aware, so I looked it up. Fascinating!) And the good folks at Premier Protein sent me a festive recipe to share with you! It's been a while since I've done a "recipe remake"post, but essentially that's where I take an existing recipe and show you how I would change it to make it work better for weight loss surgery post-ops. So, let's get to it.

Let's start with the recipe as Premier sent it to me:

Now I want to start by saying this recipe, in and of itself, isn't bad. It's got several servings of fruit along with protein. For someone who has not had weight-loss surgery, this recipe would be a great alternative to the oversized alcoholic beverages typically served on Cinco de Mayo.

For us? This shake might be challenging because of the levels of sugar. Let me be clear: there is nothing wrong with eating fresh fruit! But depending on your surgery type, combining multiple sources of sugar (even natural sugar) may be problematic. Only you know how your body works.

(Want to learn more about the different kinds of sugar and how they affect your body post-op? Check out my series, "BF Basics: Sugar Shock")

But that doesn't mean we can't enjoy a delicious Cinco de Mayo shake. That just means we have to to play with our food!

Interestingly, as soon as I saw this recipe, I thought of my Tropical Sunrise Smoothie. It's essentially the same concept (with a few different ingredients). Here's the original recipe but I thought there was even room to play with my version. So below is the updated recipe!

Tropical Sunrise Smoothie (featuring Premier Protein)

(This will either make one big shake or two small ones - remember...sharing is caring!)

Ingredients:

1 Premier Protein 11 oz. Vanilla Shake
1/2 c. fresh cut mango, cubed (note: if you use frozen, you can omit the ice listed below)
2-3 frozen peach segments (or if you happen to have a no-sugar added peach fruit cup hanging around, that works too. Just make sure to drain it first!)
1 c. unflavored Greek yogurt
1 packet True Orange flavoring (look in the sugar aisle of the grocery store)
A squirt of lemon juice
Optional: 1 tbsp. either sugar-free banana instant pudding mix OR sugar-free banana flavored syrup
Ice (especially if your fruit is not frozen)

Directions:

If using ice: Combine everything but ice in a blender 1-2 minutes. Add ice, blend an additional minute.

If not using ice: Combine everything in the blender for 1-2 minutes or until smooth.

Pour and enjoy!

And remember...

For even more reative protein shake recipes, tips and tricks, check out The Bariatric Foodie Guide to Perfect Protein Shakes. Available in hard-copy and Kindle on Amazon and for iPad and Nook on Smashwords!

Apple-Cinnamon Protein Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 13:00:00 +0000

You know what's hard? Living in a house with non-ops who have no qualms about eating stuff that would kill me.

Now granted, I love to bake so occasionally I'll bake them a cake or make some biscuits for breakfast but it's rare (a fact that is much complained about in my house...but when I say moderation, I mean moderation!).

But the game has changed, Foodies. Those kids that were so little when I started this blog are now teenagers. One has her own source of income. I believe in letting them make some decisions for themselves so while I can pout all I want to about junk they buy, so long as it's not all day, every day, I pretty much let it go (those with teenagers can attest that choosing one's battles at this point is essential!)

Why do I tell you this? ~~Because I ramble a lot~~. Because their latest junk acquisition (in this instance huge blueberry muffins...with the large-granule sugar on top!) prompted me to take action. I can't eat that kind of stuff. Either I'll dump or I will have a bad blood sugar drop. It's taken nearly 7 years, but even my food addicted brain doesn't want either to happen so I try to avoid stuff like that.

Instead, I whipped out my copy of "The Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book" and made these instead. Now this is a slight departure from the recipe in the book (I played with my food!), but the book has a bunch of protein muffin recipes. Way better choices than the sugar-topped muffins (or at least I'll keep telling myself that...).

Nik's Apple Cinnamon Protein Muffins

Dry Ingredients:

1 c. oat flour (I'll explain that in a minute)
1/2 c. soy flour (almond flour works too if you don't want to do soy but it will affect the protein count)
1/2 c. vanilla protein powder of your choosing (I used this)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Wet Ingredients

1 very large apple (I used a Honeycrisp but any large, sweet baking apple will do), grated
1 tsp. vanilla
Sweetener of your choice equivalent to 1.25 c. sugar (I use Splenda which measures 1:1 with sugar, be sure to check your favorite sweetener! Btw, the Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book also includes a complete conversion chart for all the major kinds of sugar substitutes.)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 c. milk

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

If you have oat flour on hand, great. If not, it's easy to make. Put a cup of quick oats in a blender and whiz until flour happens! Put that in a bowl and add the rest of the dry ingredients and then whisk them together.

In another bowl combine your grated apple with the rest of the wet ingredients and stir to combine.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix. It will seem as if there's not enough wet stuff there but just keep mixing. It will all coat, I promise!

After it's all coated, it should be pretty thick. Add the milk and then stir. That loosens it up a little bit (it'll be about the consistency of cooked oatmeal).

Fill lined cupcake tins (fill them 3/4 of the way). This recipe yielded 16 regular sized muffins for me. You can also do mini-muffins. If you do, report back on how many you get! (Note: yes, they freeze beautifully, just wrap them tightly).

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a fork comes out clean (or in my case the fork came out with a crumb and not liquid). Allow to cool. You can top them with just about anything. I like either whipped Greek yogurt cream cheese on top or a smear of peanut butter. Nom, nom, nom!

As is the custom, here are the outtake photos of the muffins.

True Fact: I actually am pretty obsessed with the swirliness of things like peanut butter in photos!

This one was good...but I wasn't sure if I was going to present the muffins with the PB so...yeah.

I reduced the size of this one so you can't see, but the photo is not in focus. Plus the glass bowl was way too close to the muffin! #FoodBloggerNeuroses

Now a funny thing happened with these muffins. I set them to cool with four set aside with a note that they were to be photo'd for the blog (in food blogging households effective communication is essential!). The next morning, four of my 16 muffins were gone. The next morning another four. The next morning another four. How 'bout that?

Anyhoo...for more protein muffin recipes than you can shake a spatula at, check out The Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book, available in hardcopy and Kindle on Amazon

Crustless Pizza Casserole

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 16:00:00 +0000

You know what's really empowering, Foodies?

Making something the way you like it, just because that's how you like it. Not the way the kids like it or your spouse likes it, but just the way you want it.

I had an epiphany recently. I've spent a lot of my post-op career catering to everyone's preferences in my crusade to get my kids and family to eat healthier. In the process I did several things:

I stopped even thinking about what I like the best and why.
I put my children under the delusion that they live in a 24-hour diner, complete with a short-order cook.
I got a case of "food burn-out."

What's food burn-out? You all have experienced it, I'm sure. It's when you just get tired of thinking about, prepping, and cooking food. So you don't. Instead you eat things that are convenient (and sometimes not healthy). Or worse, you fall back on take-out a lot.

As for me, I fell back on my default foods (stuff I could eat anytime like cottage cheese and Greek yogurt) and let the kids go crazy with take-out. Bad mom!

What I've learned from this is that even when it comes to cooking my needs are important too. So I vow to make more meals the way I like them!

Which is what brings us to this pizza casserole. There are several reasons why my daughters probably won't touch it. For Diva, the Elder, it contains three vegetables that are on her "no fly" list (I've tried to get her to embrace more veggies...she's 16 so at this point trickery doesn't work anymore!). For Diva, the Younger, (13) she now eats a pescetarian diet and so the ground meat is no-go. But me? I love it! So here goes.

Nik's Pizza Casserole

Ingredients:

2 c. whatever veggies you like, diced (I used onions, yellow bell peppers, and zucchini)
1 clove garlic, minced (or 1 tsp. already minced garlic)
1 lb. Italian-style ground meat (I used turkey)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1.5 c. your favorite pizza or spaghetti sauce
1.5 c. shredded pizza blend or Italian-blend cheese (or mozzarella if you like to keep it simple)
Toppings: I used one serving of turkey pepperoni (17 slices) and 1/4 c. sliced olives, but add anything you like on top of pizza!

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Set a skillet over medium-high heat and let it get hot (2-3 minutes) before adding nonstick cooking spray (or 1 tbsp. of oil if you like that better). Add veggies and saute for 2-3 minutes until soft. Add garlic and saute an additional minute or so.

Add the ground meat, breaking it up with a spatula and mixing in the vegetables. Cook until meat is done through. Drain meat of any excess fluid with a colander.

Turn stove heat to medium-low and add sauce, stirring to fully combine. Simmer about 5-7 minutes or until sauce turns a deeper shade of red. Your mixture should be saucy but not soupy. Ultimately the veggies will continue releasing water as they cook so you don't want your sauce to have too much liquid. If there seems to be a lot, drain some of it off before doing the next step.

Transfer mixture to a casserole dish (this is an 8 x 8) and spread to make sure it's an even layer. Now comes the fun part. Toppings! I love pepperoni and black olives on pizza so that's what I topped mine with, along with the shredded cheese.

I baked mine for about 20 minutes, long enough for the cheese to melt, brown just a bit and for the pepperonis to become slightly crispy. Technically it's ready when the cheese is melted so let it go as long as you want until it's the way you like it!

No need to let this casserole cool. The ooey-gooey factor is part of the joy of it!

This will be my lunches for the week. Meanwhile the kids are eating...something...(shrugs).

Easy Breakfast: Spinach & Eggs

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 19:21:00 +0000

I think I've said before, I'm a visual eater. And unlike when I first started this blog, I'm sort of a lazy cook now. These days I LOVE meals that don't take long to make. This is a quick throw-together IF you are the sort of person who preps veggies weekly (I am!).

Spinach & Eggs (and a few other things)

Ingredients:

Red pepper strips (I cut up peppers each week and stow them away for easy access)
Sliced onion (I used a regular yellow onion)
Sliced mushrooms
Spinach (I used about 1.5 c. since it cooks down but go with your instinct on the amount)
1 small clove garlic, minced (or 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. already minced garlic)
Nonstick cooking spray (or olive oil, about a teaspoon is enough)
salt, pepper, Paremesan cheese
1 egg (I used a large, again go with what's right for you!)

Directions:

Spray a pan down with nonstick cooking spray and set it over medium heat. If you're using olive oil put the pan on the heat and let it get hot before adding oil.

Add peppers and onions and sautee 2-ish minutes or until they are softened. Add mushrooms and sautee an additional minute followed by the spinach and any seasonings you are using.

I like to just toss the spinach with a pair of tongs until it's soft, but not completely limp. Transfer to a plate.

In the same pan, cook an egg any way you like it (obviously I like mine sunny-side up!). Place egg atop veggie mixture and sprinkle with Paremesan cheese. NOM!

Throwback Thursday: Nik Takes the Hunger Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Thu, 26 Mar 2015 15:11:00 +0000

So...three years ago this summer I decided to do something a little radical. Now to understand why I did this you have to know a few things about me:

By day I work as a writer for a non-profit that deals with global hunger (among other things).
My mother had just died.
My kids live with their father during the summer and so I was all alone (this was before I acquired my Bassett Hound, who now ensures I never truly feel alone!)

I decided to take the Hunger Challenge. That link gives you an example of a Hunger Challenge but the basic gist is that I spent five days eating on $1.25/day, which is about the amount of money people living in extreme poverty around the world have to feed their entire families, not just theirselves.

It was an interesting exercise to say the least. I was 4 years post-op at the time so I wasn't that concerned about physical implications (that is to say, don't try this at home, kids!) and I learned a lot about what hunger really is.

If you want you can peruse my daily videos as I went through the challenge. Some of them are long-ish, but all of them share the insight from what I was actually going through at the time.

Day One

Day Two

Day Three

Day Four

Day Five (sorta...)

Single Serve Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 20:29:00 +0000

Yesterday I posted the above picture on Facebook of my beautiful little lunch: about 2.5 oz. grilled salmon, along with a spear of brocolli (both leftover from a trip to TGI Friday's) along with a side of cheesy mashed cauliflower I made that morning.

Since I only wanted it that day, I made a single serving. I know some of you either live alone or have family who won't touch veggies with a ten-foot pole, so I though this recipe might be useful to you as well.

Nik's Single Serve Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower
Makes about 1/2 c. (ish) of mashed cauliflower. Divide that into as many portions as you see fit!

Ingredients:

4-6 frozen cauliflower florets
1/4 c. (ish) of water
1 wedge of Laughing Cow Light spreadable cheese (any flavor you like - I use Garlic & Herb)
1 tbsp. shredded cheese of your choice
1 heaping tsp. grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place florets and water in a bowl. Microwave on high for about 2 minutes. This should leave your florets pretty soft. If not, keep microwaving in 15 second increments until they are!

Drain the water and mash the florets (this can be done with a sturdy fork although for me any excuse to use my potato masher is a good one!).

While the florets are still hot, mix in your cheeses (Laughing Cow, shredded and parmesan), along with your salt and pepper. Mix in well.

I personally like to add parsely to the top (I'm a visual eater) but that's not necessary. If it's not hot enough for you, pop it back in the microwave about 30 seconds to reheat it through.

Enjoy!

The 2014 Bariatric Foodie "Play With My Food" Recipe Contest Cookbook (Free Download!)

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Tue, 17 Mar 2015 16:01:00 +0000

So...yesterday we say what happens when Nik gets "trigger finger." For those of you who follow BF on Facebook and Twitter, this cookbook was the "surprise" I'd been alluding to since last weekend. (So there will be no surprise tomorrow...sorry!) I really and truly did not mean to publish it until tomorrow, but hey...stuff happens.

In the end I'm glad I did because it gave me a glimpse into how easy/hard it is for you all to download things from various sources! I think I've got the bugs worked out (think being the operative word here). We shall see!

Anyhoo...let's try this again, shall we? I'm happy to present the 2014 recipe contest cookbook, which looks WORLD'S better than the 2013 cookbook (shout out to my chief branding consultant, Pam Tremble).

What the heck is the "Play With My Food" recipe contest?

So background: Each fall I do a recipe contest called the Bariatric Foodie "Play With My Food" recipe contest. Why? Because you all cook awesome stuff and you should share it! So I pick a theme and invite folks to submit a recipe. Fellow Foodies serve as judges. This year's theme was "Play With Your Food - All Day Long!" Foodies were invited to submit recipes in one of five categories:

Download the cookbook!

Each of the categories above had a winning recipe and all winners received a prize, but all recipes are published in this FREE e-book (did I mention that it's free?).

Download the Free Cookbook

IMPORTANT: I decided to ditch my shopping cart. It was giving too many folks problems. The above link is to a version of the cookbook housed on my Google Drive. You should be able to both view and download it from there. To download it, you'd go to the icon of the downward arrow with a line underneath that looks like this:

You'll also see an icon that looks like three dots in a vertical line. If you click that, "Download" is one of the options. From my both my iPhone and my Android-based tablet, this let me open the document and from there I had some options on saving it (for example, on Apple products you can save it to iBooks). Your mileage may vary, which is why you should keep reading if you're using a mobile device!

Mobile Phone & Tablet Users

You can download this e-book to your mobile phone or tablet the same way but keep in mind that your phone or tablet may or may not have the appropriate app to actually open it. If that's the case you should get a message (either from Google or your phone) asking you how you'd like to open the document. Here's the important part to note:

What happens after you click that button, I have no control over!

If you have trouble, leave a blog comment and I can try to help but I'm not a mobile tech expert (I'm not an any tech expert!) so I may not be much help.

Bottom line...and I say this with love...if you are tech challenged (like me!) wait until you can open this from a laptop or desktop computer and save it there.

I hope you enjoy this cookbook! It was written by Foodies, for Foodies, so feel free to share the download link far and wide!

Low-Carb Ramekin Shepherd's Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 16:08:00 +0000

So...St. Patrick's Day is tomorrow. And some of you already have your corned beef and cabbage cooking. Yum!

Here's another idea to throw onto the heap. I love cooking with ramekins. It's so fun! You can make a perfect portion (by purchasing the ramekin size that suits you), it's easy to ditch starches (like pie crust in this instance) and they are just darn cute, don't you agree? (TIP: For another St. Patrick's Day ramekin idea, check out my Reuben Ramekins!)

I love Shepherd's Pie. And I even love it without any modifications! In moderation I have absolutely no problem eating the full fledged version. But since I also want to enjoy a piece of Soda Bread with this meal, I gotta make a swap somewhere. (Why? Because Nik's blood sugar will sink like an anvil if I have more than one source of starch at a sitting!) This swap I can live with as a weeknight meal. I'm more inclined to use a more traditional recipe for weekends.

Here's how it goes.

Nik's (Version of) Lil Baby Shepherd's Pies

(Makes about 4 six ounce ramekins)

***For Shepherd's Pie purists, please read the recipe notes!

Ingredients:

1/2 of a yellow onion, finely diced
1/2 lb. lean ground meat (I used turkey)
8 oz. can peas and carrots, drained
1/2 bag frozen cauliflower florets (or about 2 c. fresh ones)
4 oz. (or approximately half a can) low-fat, low-sodium Cream of Mushroom soup
2-3 Laughing Cow style cheese wedges (any flavor)
1/3 c. shredded cheese for topping
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Put a small pot of water on to boil.

Set a skillet over medium heat and let it get hot. Spray it with nonstick cooking spray and add onions. Sautee about 2 minutes.

Add ground meat, browning and mixing in the onions until meat is fully cooked. Drain if necessary. Your pot of water should be boiling so drop cauliflower florets into it.

Add peas and carrots and stir. Then add soup and stir. If soup doesn't sufficiently coat the meat mixture, add about 1/4 c. milk. Allow the mixture to warm through then set aside.

When cauliflower florets are tender (about 4-5 minutes after returning them to a boil), drain and mash them (I use a basic potato masher). Add the Laughing Cow wedges while the florets are still hot. Mix with spoon until mixture becomes a mash (won't look exactly like mashed potatoes but will bond together and won't look like grated cauliflower anymore either).

Place your ramekins on a baking sheet. Ladle in about 1/4 c. meat/veggie mixture. Top with about 1/4 c. of the cauliflower mixture and top with a sprinkle of shredded cheese.

Bake ramekins for about 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and, if you like, browned.

A few notes:

If you are a Shepherd's Pie purist perhaps the soup shortcut just won't do. That's fine! Use whatever you like to make the gravy for the pie. Play with your food! (And if you come up with something good, let us know!)
If you are a Shepherd's Pie purist you might also prefer a potato topping. Don't let me stand in your way!
Every time I use canned soup in a recipe I seem to get scoffs from folks. I will say this. I have low blood pressure and therefore have been advised against a low-sodium diet. I know that's not the case for many of you. Use your best discretion with regards to canned soups. There are great low-sodium varieties out there!
Finally, if a 6 oz. ramekin is too much for you, feel free to make them smaller! They freeze beautifully when you wrap them properly and are a great, comforting meal to reheat!

Here are a few other photos of this delicious dish!

The addition of parsely in food pictures can make a real difference to the visual appeal in my honest opinion. Check out this dish before I added parsely. Doesn't it look more appealing with it?

Why Bariatric Foodie Hearts Torani

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 21:00:00 +0000

These are my "most frequently used" flavors. There are more in my kitchen though!

There are three questions I get asked pretty often about sugar-free syrups:

What do you use them for?
What’s the difference between Torani, Davinci, and other syrups?
If I’m gonna try Torani syrups, what flavor should I try first?

Call me ambitious…but I’m going to try to answer all these questions in one (hopefully not too long) blog post!

What do I (Nik) use sugar-free syrups for?

Left: Mocha Toffee Twist Hot Protein Drink, Top: Crustless Pumpkin Cheesecake with Salted Caramel Pecan Topping, Bottom: S'mores Protein Pudding Pie

The better question is what don’t I use them for. And the answer to that would be very few things! I use them in protein shakes, in yogurt, in pudding, in coffee, in baked stuff, in dessert. They can even be used as an addition to savory sauces! (Sorry I haven’t memorialized those recipes yet but soon!)

Here are a few helpful tips when using sugar-free syrups in general:

If you are baking using sugar-free syrups, remember that it would be considered a wet ingredient and, thus, you’d need to either adjust your other wet ingredients accordingly OR adjust your cook time (usually longer cook time, possibly lower temperature depending on what it is). In general, the syrups don’t have a big impact on the final texture of a baked product.
Be sure to use a flavor that stands out from whatever you are using. So if you are making…say…chocolate protein pudding, a nice Salted Caramel or S’mores flavored syrup would work well with that. Don’t use flavors that blend into each other. You won’t taste them and it will seem like a waste!

What’s the difference between Torani, Davinci and other syrups?

The main difference is their flavor offerings. Davinci makes some flavors that Torani does not (like sugar-free Kahlua and sugar-free Buttered Rum) and Torani makes some flavors Davinci does not (such as my absolute FAVORITE, sugar-free S’mores and sugar-free Salted Caramel). There are many other brands of sugar-free syrups, including those carried at your local Starbucks. There can also be differences in how syrups are sweetened. Both Torani and Davinci are generally sweetened with Sucralose (the main ingredient in Splenda). There are other syrups sweetened with other things such as aspartame, xylitol and stevia.

If I’m gonna try Torani syrups, what flavor should I try first?

Valid question. Many of us don’t have the budget for an unlimited supply (but we can dream…sigh…) so investing in the right bottle is important. Here are a few suggestions (all sugar-free flavors):

Nik’s All-Time Faves (of the moment): S’Mores, Hazelnut, English Toffee
If you're #TeamFruity: You might like Orange, Lime or Strawberry
If you're #TeamVanilla: there’s Vanilla, French Vanilla and Vanilla Bean
If you're #TeamChocolate: There’s Chocolate but also flavors that enhance chocolate like Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Peanut Butter flavors!

Five Reasons to "Celebrate" ENS 2 in 1 Protein & Calcium Bars!

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Fri, 20 Feb 2015 16:51:00 +0000

So here's something I hear a lot, especially from new-new post-ops: "I just don't know how I'm supposed to get all my vitamins in plus protein. It's too much!"

Although I'm not in that boat anymore (happy dance), I can relate. During the first six months after my surgery I had extreme restriction. I would take my vitamins and they'd actually fill me up. Ugh, it was horrible. I always felt like every time I got one area under control (protein, vitamins, water, exercise) another would fall behind!

Well our friends over at Celebrate Vitamins are trying to make things easier for us by making products that do double duty. This week, as a prize sponsor for the Bariatric Foodie Pledge, Celebrate is offering up a stash of their ENS 2-in-1 Protein and Calcium Bars (btw, here's my official review of the bars). I wanted to know more about these bars, so I had a chat with my buddy over at Celebrate, Shannon Kisha. Here's what she has to say.

Nik: Hey, Shannon! We already know Celebrate for its many vitamin offerings, but many Foodies might not know you provide other products. Can you tell us what else you have to offer?

Shannon: Sure Nik! We’re definitely known for our bariatric multivitamins, calcium and iron, but what some patients may not know or be familiar with is our combination products. We offer meal replacements, protein shakes, drink mixes and our newest product: protein bars! But they’re actually a protein AND calcium bar, which is pretty cool, because it does double duty (I’ll get to that later).

Nik: What made Celebrate decide to make the 2-in-1 protein and calcium bar?

Shannon: So, like I mentioned, it’s a protein AND calcium bar, not the norm for a protein bar. We recognized that getting the proper amount of calcium citrate was challenging for patients, so we created several products that combine 2, 3 or 4 different vitamins and supplements (all including calcium) that bariatric patients need to get in daily. We call this our ENS line, which stands for Essential Nutrient System.

Currently we have our Celebrate ENS + Protein 4 in 1 Protein Shake (combining a multivitamin, calcium citrate, protein and fiber), Celebrate 3 in 1 Drink Mix (combining a multivitamin, calcium citrate, and fiber), and our ENS 2 in 1 Protein & Calcium Bar. The idea behind this is to be able to provide the patient with a supplement that has the ability to decrease the amount of pills / doses needed in a day, and always including calcium. For example: our ENS 2 in 1 Protein & Calcium Bar provides 15 grams of protein and 500 mg of calcium citrate. Your getting an added dose of calcium in daily, which is one less calcium pill, and eating a protein packed snack that will help curb your hunger and cravings and get you closer to your daily recommendations!

Nik: So, what's in the bars? Are they sugar-free, gluten-free, etc.?

Shannon: The 2 in 1 Bars are a low calorie, low sugar snack, with only 5 grams of sugar! They have 15 grams of soy protein isolate and score a 1 on the PDCAAS scale, which means they are a complete protein and provide all of the essential amino acids. They have 500 mg of calcium citrate, as well as 333 IU of vitamin D3 and 50 mg of magnesium. We use sugar alcohols and Sucralose to sweeten the bar. And of course, they’re gluten-free.

Nik: Both the current bars have chocolate in them. Are there new bars coming that have other flavors?

Shannon: Right now we have two delicious flavors; Peanut Butter – Chocolate Crunch and Caramel – Chocolate Crunch! Yum! No new flavors yet, but you never know what we might think of next!

Nik: So tell us...which bar is your personal favorite?

Shannon: I’m a peanut butter fanatic! So you know my personal fav is the Peanut Butter – Chocolate Crunch! I love, love, love my peanut butter! Did I mention I like peanut butter? Haha!

Three of this week's Pledgers will win a prize pack from Celebrate Vitamins that will include a box of ENS 2-in-1 Protein and Calcium bars! So be sure to check them out and, of course, show them love on social media!

Like Celebrate Vitamins on Facebook
Follow Celebrate Vitamins on Twitter

Five Ways I Use BiPro USA Whey Protein

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 17:42:00 +0000

BiPro USA is one of this week's Bariatric Foodie Pledge sponsors. So this week I wanted to highlight a few ways I use their whey. (Corny, yes, I know...)

You know how they say necessity is the mother of invention? Well it's also the mother of adaptation! Before 2013, I used a brand of unflavored whey called Any Whey. It was discontinued but you'll see the name of that whey sprinkled throughout this blog (takes a while to do name replacements in blog posts - especially a blog that's a few years old like this one!). Well I needed a new unflavored whey option so I tried many, many, many samples and I liked BiPro the best.

Why? Mainly because most other proteins that claim to be unflavored are not. They usually have some sort of faint vanilla taste or smell or, worse, that trademark "monkey butt" aroma of protein. Ugh! BiPro didn't have any of that, plus it's low calorie (80 calories per serving), NO carb, and of course it's high protein (20g protein per serving) and, probably most importantly for me, mixed seamlessly into anything I use it in.

Keep in mind BiPro also has two other flavors (Chocolate and French Vanilla) and this week's prize winners will have their choice, but I figured I'd show you five ways I like to use unflavored, which is my favorite offering!

In Protein Hot Drinks

I love myself a protein hot drink in the winter (here's how I make them without the lumps). A lot of times I use my CLICK Espresso Protein Drink for the lovely espresso flavor but I want to amp up the protein factor. So I add a serving of BiPro unflavored whey. Doing that gives me the protein I need and doesn't interfere with the taste I love.

To get the recipe for the above drink (my Mocha Toffee Twist), download the free "50 Ways to Click" e-book!

Here's a link to check out "The Bariatric Foodie Guide to Perfect Protein Shakes" which has lots and lots and LOTS more ideas!

In Chili

(No pic because...well the pic sucks!)

Necessity was the mother of this idea too. My youngest daughter decided she did not want to eat meat anymore. She just can't bear the thought of consuming animals (this perplexes me but I respect it). My main worry was how she would get enough protein to have a healthy balanced diet. Now that I'm more educated I know it's perfectly possible for her to get enough protein without protein supplements, but by then the habit of putting extra protein in things like soup and chili had formed. She doesn't mind it and it also makes it possible for me to enjoy a meal with her and not worry about my protein needs, which are different based on my labs.

Here's my "easily modifiable for vegetarians" chili recipe!

In Dessert

Especially cheesecake! I've used vanilla protein before (in fact, I think the recipe link here probably calls for it) but when I do that it comes out too far on the vanilla side. I like my cheesecake to be...well, cheesy! So I add BiPro instead which preserves that classic cheesecake flavor I love.

While the above is a totally share-worthy Crustless Pumpkin Pecan Protein Cheesecake, here's a link to my individual serving cheesecake recipe.

In Protein Baked Oatmeal

I love baking oatmeal. I first heard of it during a visit to the Amish market (I love the Amish!). Some of my recipes call for vanilla protein (something about chocolate protein + oatmeal = no for me...I can't explain it). Adding unflavored BiPro whey allows me to concentrate on the flavor of my protein baked oatmeal. The photo above is of my Nutty Apple Baked Protein Oatmeal and it has the wonderful flavors of pumpkin, fall spices and nuts. In this one I will say I love either French Vanilla OR unflavored BiPro. I tend to use the unflavored when I want to put a smear of something on a slice of baked oatmeal.

Need more breakfast ideas? Check out "The Bariatric Foodie Breakfast Book," featuring more baked protein oatmeal ideas, regular protein oatmeal, egg scrambles, even pancakes!

In Fruit Smoothies

I love a good smoothie as much as the next person but putting vanilla protein in a fruit smoothie has always seemed bizarre to me. It makes it taste like a fruit custard instead of fruit. If I wanted a fruit custard, I'd make a fruit custard!

This Tropical Sunrise smoothie uses BiPro whey to let the fruity flavor shine through.

So there you have it! (I say that a lot.) My five favorite ways to use BiPro USA whey protein powder. If you pledged a goal for week 3 of The Bariatric Foodie Pledge, be sure to check in your goal this weekend (check-ins are open from Saturday at noon EST - Sunday at noon EST) for your chance to win!

Shannon's Foodie Review of Livliga Dishware

noreply@blogger.com (Bariatric Foodie) — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 21:31:00 +0000

From time to time I ask Foodies to try out a product, so you can hear from someone besides me! Since Livliga Home is providing a free set of dishes to the Bariatric Foodie Pledge grand prize, I thought we have to have a Foodie review! I'm so thankful long-time Foodie Shannon A. was available to give them a try. In the interest of full disclosure, Livliga did provide Shannon with a set of its Halsa dishware to perform this review, however Shannon was not paid for her review. Read on to hear what she has to say!

Hello Everyone, Shannon here! Last fall, Nikki asked me if I would be willing to do a review of dinnerware made by Livliga, which makes dishware catered to people who are trying eat healthy. I was excited try out the dishes and to document my findings, not only for myself but also my husband who is a Type 1 diabetic. His diabetes requires much control and he tries very hard to measure and understand his serving sizes.

Deciding on a dish pattern...

After being asked to review the Livliga dishes, the first thing I had to decide was which dish pattern I’d use. After looking at their website, I initially fell in love with the Halsa pattern. The delicate blue pattern matched my kitchen perfectly, and when I read up on the product realized that the colors were chosen for a specific purpose. These colors, as opposed to others, help us to eat more slowly, to be calmer during meal times. In that sense we stay calm we eat slower, we enjoy our mealtime, the portions on the plate are enough to make us satisfied.

The plates themselves are not too heavy or bulky, and though I expected them to be heavier, I was pleasantly surprised when they were not. The circular patterns on the plates are not just meant to be aesthetic, but each circle and line on the dinnerware serves to help portion the meal. On the underside of the large plate, there is what I called my “treasure map” which shows what each circle represents and what serving it holds. There are circles for a serving of meat, vegetable, carbohydrate, and a sauce, etc. The bowl and cup have lines on the inside representing a proper portions of liquid measurement.

Using the visual guides can be tricky...

After washing the plates in my dishwasher (and they held up to the dishwasher just fine) I used them to serve a meal. This is where things got tricky. I had a hard time remembering which circle for which portion of food. In fact, on several occasions I know I put the wrong kind of food on the wrong circle. Until I got a little more familiar with the plate and its layout, I used the treasure map pretty often. That was a tiny bit frustrating because it meant we could only plate one meal at a time, one of us was always waiting for the other to finish looking at the guide on the bottom of the plate. I think this is easily remedied with a separate guide that can be used to initially help plate the meals.

This dinnerware isn’t completely foolproof either. The place markings show a space, not necessarily a definitive serving size of something. The meat portion area of the plate can hold 2-6 ounces of meat. Understandably if you are looking into portion control dinnerware you aren’t going to try to stack your serving of mashed potatoes eight inches off the plate in a perfect two inch circle, but who is to say without still fully measuring your food with a measuring device such as a measure cup or scale, just how much food is on the plate?

...but the visual cues generally work (at least for non-ops!)

When food is on the plates, when you use the general portion guides they give, they look full. I have to admit that made me realize how the mind can fool you. Now my plate didn't always look full because I don’t often eat the carbohydrates I make for my husband at dinner time, but in general I felt satisfied after eating from the plates. The lipped plate, the closeness of the circles on the base of the plate, those all help get the mind in the right place to feel satisfied after a meal.

Where I had the most trouble most often was with meals such as casseroles. Living in the Midwest, casseroles are a diet staple. But from a portion standpoint, I was always flummoxed as to how to use the plates effectively, since everything was mixed together. I found it hard to estimate what I was eating.

Now I understand that is the bowl could probably be used for this purpose, and I used the bowls frequently with my stews and soups…but even then getting eight ounces of soup in a bowl still really didn’t help me know what portion of that meal was meat, which was carb, and which was vegetable, and perhaps that’s ok.

For me it wasn’t, I was having a hard time reconciling the idea that I was going back to get another few pieces of meat because I knew that there wasn’t enough in the bowl when I served myself my initial portion.

Cost Considerations

The dish set retails price for 59.99. I don’t think that it is an outlandish amount of money to spend on nice dinnerware…that being said, how often do many of us use our nice dinnerware? For my family and lifestyle, I don’t know that the price is worth it. My children are young and very rarely eat the same meal as my husband and I. They also have different nutritional needs than an adult. I would like to mention that Livliga does have a set of Kid plates, so there is an option for your young ones, but for us it still is not worth it.

Final Verdict

I really wanted to love this dinnerware as a post weight loss surgery patient, but in all honesty, it didn’t help me meet my personal nutritional needs as a bariatric post-op. There will probably never come a time when I would eat a full serving as indicated on the plate of carbohydrates, and my meals are protein heavy, so my plate always felt lopsided.

But I also understand that for some in the WLS community this dinnerware could be a life saver. If you are a post-op who finds that you can eat more than what you feel that you should, or has a very high tolerance to foods you were warned you might not tolerate well, and it concerns you, Livliga might be the perfect answer for you to keep your portions in control. It really is all about your personal needs.

I should note that my husband found the dishes to be very effective in helping him stay within his portions and keep his blood sugars regulated. And as a lovely set of dinnerware however, I am completely smitten with the Livliga Halsa dinnerware. The Livliga concept is ingenious, it can be effective, and its execution is stylish, trendy, and promising. I anticipate that this company will do quite well in its healthy vibrant living platform.

As another tool in the post-op arsenal, I would give this product a solid B. A great option for the more seasoned post- op to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but for some newbies this might not be as helpful. However, if your loved ones are looking to exercise greater portion control, be it for diabetes or any other health concerns, this dinnerware is highly effective and I would recommend it!