Havarti Mac N Cheese

SO GOOD.

1 package (8oz.) Havarti Cheese (I use dill flavor)
1/2 cup milk
1tbl. low-fat margarine
I package whole wheat pasta (anyshape...I like twisties)
Fresh Parmesan

Make pasta acorrding to package.

Heat milk, margarine and hunks of havarti over med. heat.
Fold into pasta and top fresh parmesan.

Bake at 350 for 20 mins. or until it's brown and bubbly.


This does have a bit of fat content. But rich in protein and fills your pouchie nicely--especially when CRAVING carbs.

Enjoy.

PANCAKESSSSS!

Okay...this recipe is easy enough.

Make some pancakes according to the Bisquick box.

EASY PEASY.

THEN...


2 tbls. cream cheese
1 tbls. lemon juice
1/8 cup honey
splash of milk


Blend.


1 whole banana
3 tbl. olive oil
3 tbl. honey

Slice up the banana. Saute in oil and honey for 5-8 minutes.




Plate up the pancakes. Put on cream mixture. Then add hot bananas. YUUUUUUMMMO!

Back!

I'm back. And I'm bakin'....

Apple Crisp is today's choice. I'm making it for my boy toy. Who bought the apples for me when we were in farm town.

5 Fiji apples cut up
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup margarine/butter
cinnamon to taste
nutmeg to taste
salt (pinch)


Rinse and cut up apples into bite size pieces.
Spray cooking spray into a 9x9 casserole dish.
Dump the apples in.
Mix all the dry ingedients together while melting the margarine/butter.
Mix the wet ingredients with the dry.

Bake @ 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Check for a light/medium brown crust. Bake until crust is light/medium brown.



Eat. Amen.

SUMMER!

It's a bummer.

I honestly haven't felt like writing. It's too hot!

So sorry guys. I will be back soon. I promise!!!

Words to live by:


Popsicles
Yogurt
Water

Repeat.

Support Groups, Classes and other non-sense.

Support Groups


Eisenhower Medical Center Support group is run by the fabulous Sarah Vasquez.

Their group meets every second of the month and has a meeting coming up July 13th.

Call Sarah at (760) 837-8490 to RSVP.


Classes

Are you a patient of Dr. Bob-O's? Did you have the surgery at Desert Hospital?? These classes are so for you!!! I'm a year and a few months out and STILL don't know everything there is to know. These classes help!!

June 25th- Food Labels
July 2nd- Conscious Eating
July 9th- Journaling
July 16th- Cooking with Bariatric Surgery
July 23rd- Dining Out
July 30th- Vitamin and Mineral's (RDA)

Call double fabulous Marsha @ 323-6503. Classes are Thursday @ 1 p.m.



NON-SENSE!!

On a very personal note--I'm 17 pounds from "ONEDURLAND". What's "onedurland" you ask?? It's the 100 pound mark. I can't even remember the last time I was in the 100 pounds area (seriously) and am excited and weirded-out.
I am Carrie, Big Mama, Fat Santa and Pippi Fatstockings to all who know me....weighing less than 100 pounds DOES NOT fit into those equations. Now, this might be self-deprecating, sure, but know what? I was big a long time, I'm not going to change overnight. Sure, I appreciate when someone says something to me-- I.E. "You look great! You must be proud! Etc." What I don't like is telling me that I'm not that girl anymore.
I am that girl, just a smaller version. If you can bring your neuroses to the table so can I. If I make the occasional (or every 5 minutes) joke about the fact that I literally just flew in from Canada with my bat wings....let me. I'm uncomfortable and I've always dealt with my "big ladiness" this way. I won't change overnight and don't expect the real world to either.
It's a no win situation really. I mean, When I was 460, I used to be PISSED that no one would open doors for me. NOW, EVERYONE AND THEIR MOM seem to have grown arms literally over night. And I'm still pissed. It's unfair and the world sucks, blah, blah, blah.
Anyway, I digress.

Summer note: I made a slushie last night and it was so good.

Crystal light strawberry drink mix
water
coconut extract
ice


1. Blend all the crap together and it's a slushie.

**I might or might have not pounded 2 of these beasts last night, whilst watching Quantum Leap. :)

Smoothie Time....Duh, nuh, nuh, nuh...nuh, nuh, nuh, nuh.

If you're a gastric bypass patient, summer sucks. No way around it. Exercising sucks, we can't get enough water, blah, blah, blah. That's why it's so important to eat/drink things we can process, won't make us sick and are delicious.

All these recipes have something we need and are easy to make. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!!

*C*


Calcium-Rich Berry Peach Smoothie

1 cup frozen whole raspberries w/o syrup
3/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons sugar-free peach tea mix
6 oz. Light and fit White Chocolate Raspberry yogurt
1 bag frozen sliced peaches

1. In blender or magic bullet, place raspberries, milk, tea mix and yogurt. Cover, blend on high until smooth.
2. Add half the peach slices, cover and blend on high until smooth. Add the rest and blend until smooth.
3. Enjoy.



Spiced Carmel-Banana Smoothies

1 cup light and fit vanilla yogurt
1 ripe medium banana
1 1/4 cups fat free milk
2 tablespoons sugar free carmel syrup
1 1/2 cups ice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger

1. In blender, place ingredients. Cover, blend on high.
2. Serve.


Colada Smoothies

1 can of crushed pineapple
1 cup light and fit vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 teaspoon coconut extract
1 1/2 cups of ice

1. Blend pineapple until smooth. Add yogurt, orange juice, extract and ice. Blend until smooth.
2. Enjoy.

Chocolate-Raspberry Shake

1 1/2 cups of fresh raspberries
1 1/4 cups of fat-free milk
1 1/2 cups red raspberry yogurt (low-sugar)
1/2 cup sugar-free chocolate syrup

1. Blend all ingredients until smooth.
2. Enjoy.

Fiber One Strawberry Smoothies

2/3 cup low-sugar strawberry yogurt
1 cup fresh strawberry halves
3/4 cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoons Fiber One cereal

1. In blender, blend all ingredients.
2. Serve.


HEYYYYY!

All these smoothies have less than 15g of sugar, less than 3g of fat and fewer than 200 calories.

They are a great way to get in your protein, dairy and fiber.


YUM!!

Baby Poo Velvet.....EW!

This cake is the most moist when it’s made at least one day ahead and kept in the refrigerator.

1 1/4 cups cake flour (such as Softasilk)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup Nature Sweet crystals
1 egg
1 ounce red food coloring (do not substitute! I learned the hard way!)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 inch round or square cake pan with vegetable cooking spray and dust with 1 tablespoon cake flour, tapping upside down to remove the excess, and set aside.

In a medium bowl sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and unsweetened cocoa powder. Set aside. In a large bowl cream together the Nature Sweet, butter and eggs until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Carefully beat in red food coloring, scraping bowl frequently.

Beat in 1/2 of the flour mixture, followed by the buttermilk; then the remaining flour mixture. In a small bowl combine the vinegar and baking soda and quickly stir into the batter. Immediately pour into prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out still moist, but not wet, or with large moist crumbs. Do not over-bake! Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan by placing the wire rack on top of the cake and invert; allow to cool completely. (To ensure that your cake stays nice and moist, when the cake is out of the pan and on the rack, lay plastic wrap loosely over the top as it cools.) Split layers in half with a serrated knife and frost with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting. (This needs to be kept in the fridge and actually gets better a day later. I put toothpicks on the top to keep the plastic wrap from ruining the frosting.)

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
One 8-ounce pkg. reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups Splenda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a medium bowl beat the whipped cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside. In a large bowl beat the cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Beat in Splenda and vanilla. Gently fold in whipped cream. (This makes a lot of frosting, but it's worth it! You may not use it all on the cake, but it's great on other things, too.)