South Western spaghetti squash bake

This was a hit! I even got my husband to eat it! My husband is the type of man that likes his meat so anything that is mock(soy) he will not touch.

Ingredients:

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 1 can whole corn kernels
• 1 can black beans
• 1 cup of fire-roasted salsa verde
• fajita mix veggies ( red,yellow, green bell peppers, and onions)
• 1 package of soy taco “meat”
• 1/2 cup fat free shredded cheese
• 1 Tbs minced garlic
• optional:chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

• cut spaghetti squash in half and clean out the innereds
• * I cook my halves in microwave* in microwave safe dish with about a cup of water place first half face down and cook for 14 minutes
• after the have been cooked let cool and shred with fork and set aside
•  Chop fajita mix veggies and saute in a pan and cook for 10-15 minutes
• Add soy taco meat and your minced garlic and cook for another 5 mins
• pre-heat oven to 425
• in casserole dish  add your cooked spaghetti squash,  veggie and taco meat mixture, corn (drained), beans (drained),fire-roasted salsa verde,half of the cheese and(chopped cilantro if you used it) mix all together
• place the rest of the shredded cheese on top
• bake for 45 minutes

Tofu Patties with a avocado greek yogurt sauce

I was wanting to make something with tofu and decided to try making tofu patties. O-M-G they turned out some much better than I thought! You will be happy you tried this recipe. 

Ingredients:

• Two 15oz bricks of tofu 
• Ten baby carrots
• Two eggs and one egg white 
• One packet of McCormick meatloaf seasoning 
• Two cloves of garlic 
• 1/3 cup gluten free bread crumbs 
• One small onion chopped 

Directions: 

• Drain tofu for about an hour
• once tofu is drained crumble with hands 
• finely shred baby carrots and garlic into tofu 

 

• Add chopped onion, meatloaf seasoning packet, eggs and and egg white, and bread crumbs to tofu and mix all together 

 

• pre-heat oven to 425 and prep your baking sheet.

 

• Form tofu mixture into patties and make for 25 mins.

Avocado greek yogurt sauce:

In a blender add 1 medium sized avocado,2 Tbs dried minced onions, 12oz of Non Fat greek yogurt, 2 cloves of garlic, salt to taste, and lemon juice from one small lemon. Blend it all together and place on top of your tofu patties and enjoy. 

My 600 lb life….Penny

 

 

The other day I stumbled upon a TV show on TLC called my 600 lb life. I sat on the couch and watched at least 4 episodes. This show shares WLS journey’s of individuals  who weigh 600 lbs or more. Watching this show and knowing I had something in common with these men and women kept me watching. At times I found myself happy and cheering them on from my couch and other times trying to give them encouraging words (even though  I knew they couldn’t hear me).

Each story was different. Some understood  that having gastric bypass or VSG  was a tool and a life changer and that life as  they knew it was going to change for the better. That foods they were used to eating and cooking were no longer the norm for them; And others just thought it was a GET SKINNY quick fix which angered me. I don’t know if they just didn’t understand, or if that’s how they really felt, or if their surgeon’s office failed to educate them properly. All the individuals that had their story shared all went to the same surgeon; which was Dr. Younan Nowzaradan  in Houston TX . I did enjoy watching  him  throughout each episode and how he becomes more stern with the ones who are not getting it and aren’t trying.

The reason the title of this post is titled: “My 600 lb life… Penny” is because this is the story that really had me going! See Penny is 46 year old mother who weighs 530 lbs (which is not her highest weight),  her, her husband, and son live in MD. Her episode started out like the others where she stays in the house but her main reason she stays in doors is because she is unable to get up to walk. I felt compassion for Penny because in the beginning it seemed  like she was really ready for a change and to start working towards a healthier life; but once you see more of this episode you see she just wanted to have the surgery and not use it as a tool and hope just because she got the surgery  the weight would JUST MAGICALLY FALL OFF.  I will tell you more about this later on in this post.

So in going to her first appoint with Dr. Nowzaradan; Penny and her husband will travel from MD to TX in their mini van. In getting Penny to the van they must remove the seats and call for assistance from their local EMTs to transfer her from the house  to the van where her hospital bed mattress awaits. Penny’s husband Edgar is forced to drive an incredible amount of miles without stopping off at a hotel to catch some sleep in fear of leaving his wife in the car to sleep alone in the van.

      Finally making it to TX they meet with Dr. “Now” at a local hospital as there is no way to get her into his office. In meeting with Dr. “Now”  he asks Penny why she is on oxygen being he saturation level was just fine, but once her oxygen with turned off, she became uncomfortable and  had no real reason as to why she was on the oxygen and started to get upset so he ordered for it to be turned back on. At that time  the doctor  put Penny on a 1,200 cal diet and was able to loose 40 lbs while in the hospital. In loosing the 40 lbs her surgery was scheduled for 2 weeks later.

Penny ends up having the VSG and recovers in the hospital for about a month. In the first week of surgery Penny did not want to even try to  sit up in the bed, stand up for the few seconds that she could stand, or even dangle her legs. After the whole month she had no weight lose what so over. That right there tells me her husband must have been sneaking in food.  So after four months of Penny being in the hospital not wanting to try to do anything for herself or to start this journey, Dr. Nowzaradan  sends Penny home because she is not complying with what is being requested of her in her treatment.

In being sent home Penny and her family now live in TX so she is able to go to her follow up appointments with Dr. Nowzaradan. During month five  Penny is provided with a PT (physical therapist) to help her start walking.  In knowing she will be working with a PT Penny’s goal is to be walking by time her son’s kindergarten graduation so she can be there to see it for herself. Well that doesn’t seem like that will happen as she works with the PT and doesn’t seem like she really wants to like she even wants to try to get up and walk and has an excuse for EVERYTHING!

Now at month six and seven  she is still unable to walk and has missed every post-op appointment with Dr. “Now” ; he even gave her strict guidelines as to sticking with a high protien low carb diet which she failed to follow.  After missing all her appointments Dr. Now calls Penny and request she be be brought to the hospital so he can check on her progress.  Once at the hospital she is weighed and has gained 5 lbs. When Dr. “Now” questioned Penny about the weight gain she had excuse after excuse and lie after lie and refused to listen to anything Dr.”Now” had to say; after he realized he was not getting through to her he just walked out of the room. I found myself upset at this point and realized she was really one of those people who just thought the weight was just going to melt off on it’s own.

At the end of the episode which was month twelve Penny was still not walking, missed her son’s kindergarten graduation, and missed  all her follow up appointments once again; Dr.”Now” once again requested she be brought to the hospital for another check up. At this point she had no more weight loss and Dr. “Now” is at wits end and has finally realized she is not going to change her ways and seems to know  the WRONG answer to EVERYTHING. At the end of the episode it shows Penny partaking in a large meal of ham,rolls, mash potatoes, and mach and cheese, (soooo much for that high protein  low carb diet huh) and her  making the choice to go back to MD where she thinks she will be more successful with her weight loss journey.

This epiesode angered me because Penny seemed so upset and ready for a change and was not happy with being stuck in the bed and not being a bigger part of her son’s life like a mother should me. But in the end she really had no desire to try and use this weight loss tool ( her VSG) and put to it work and make life as enjoyable is she was hoping it was going to be. I am sooooo greatful for having gastric bypass and understand it was not just a quick fix; and wished people like Penny understood that having WLS is a gift and you are  being provided with a tool. A tool that you must work with to see results and to have a better and healthier life. It’s just sad knowing she will die in that bed because she was not willing to give it her all and push herself outside of her comfort zone and give it 110%.  Having WLS is a BIG deal and some just really don’t see it that way which breaks my heart!

 

Panniculectomy post op!

Hey guys had my Panniculectomy  last Tuesday ! all went well. I was in surgery for about 3 hours. I must say I was making all kind of strange requests once I woke up lol!  Then didn’t remember till my husband either showed me out told me  the next day. The procedure was  out patient so I did go home once I was in recovery for an hour or 2.

I had 2 drains I am going to let you know right now  it is shown below so if you would like to bypass go right ahead.

I had my drains in for about 8 days. While I was at hope I had to  drain them myself and record the amount once a day. I must say having these drains removed  kinda hurt and felt strange! 😦  Now that I have had my drains removed the Doctor has told me to take it easy and  slowly work myself back into my daily living.

The reason I had the panniculectomy was because after loosing 171lbs  one ends up with a large amount of excess skin! Looking at my lower abdomen I felt like I wasn’t ready to have the surgery and was going to see if I can loos more weight but my PS told me now is a great time to do the surgery! The way my PS explained it to me was that when I lost my weight I lost the fat that was closer to my muscles and there for that’s why my panniculus lays the way it lays.  I didn’t go into this thinking I would have a flat abdomen. I was well aware that I was just having the lower abdomen area removed and I am very happy with my results. No more rashes and feeling uncomfortable trying pants/jeans on now! the excess skin and fat on my upper abdomen can be fixed with exercise. So all I need to do is stay on the path I am on and I will see my upper abdomen reduce in size! lol! below are my before and after pics.

Baked Wontons

So I was really trying to come up with a new dish. Something I have not made yet. So after all my brain storming I finally GOT IT! Baked won-tons!

Ingredients:

• package of Won Ton wrappers
• 3 Morning Star Griller Prime patties
• 1 bag of broccoli coleslaw mix ( it has shredded carrots, shredded broccoli stems, and red cabbage)
• 2 medium sized zucchini ( chopped in small squares. You have to remember they need to be small because  this is for the stuffing of your won tons)
• 2 large cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 2 Tbs of low sodium soy sauce
• small glass of water

Directions:

• Cook morning star  griller prime patties in microwave or on stove top. Once cooked chop and set aside
• after you have chopped  your veggies( zucchini and garlic)
•  
• in a medium sized sauce pan add enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan; let oil warm and add zucchini and cook for 5 mins
• After the 5 Mins add broccoli coleslaw mix  and chopped garlic to pan cook down; once they have cooked down add  your chopped griller prime patties and add soy sauce. once done cooking set aside and let cool

• Once Won-ton filling is cool  it’s time to build our wontons
• fill wonton wrapper with one tbs. of filling
• 
• wet the edges and  fold in half
• keep repeating till you are at the amount of won tons you wish to make
• I light covered my wontons with olive oil before putting them in a oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 mins

Finished product:

Donating to my extension surgery!

This is my fund me profile I set up and  have posted this ALL OVER the internet I hope this works !

I had gastric bypass a year and 3 months ago. I have lost a total of 171 lbs and continue to eat healthy and work out daily to keep this healthy life I have learned to love.I am scheduled to have my panniculectomy next month. My Doctor told me it is recommended that I have a panniculectomy with extension to get rid of the excess skin. Unfortunately my insurance does not cover the extension. I am a recent nursing school graduate and am trying to pay off my student loans and am unable to pay for the extension. I would be grateful to all that can help.

you can help donate by donating on my fund me site. Thank you all that can help!
http://www.gofundme.com/moniqueWendtsfunding

Soy Rizo Bake

so lately I have been craving enchilada casserole lately and found a recipe I turned into my own. I  will post their link at the end of this post to give them their credit but I will post my version first.

Ingredients:

Cilantro lime cream-

• small container of Non fat plain greek yogurt
•  1 large clove of garlic
• green onion
• cilantro
• and  the juice from half a lime

Soy Rizo bake :

• corn tortillas ( I used yellow but you can use white or yellow)
• can of corn
• 2% shredded cheddar cheese
• chopped onions
• chopped yellow and green squash
• chopped poblano chilies (seeded)
• green onions

Directions:

Making my Cilantro cream:

• I used my blender cup to do this
• empty out yogurt in to blinder
• add cilantro
• add  chopped green onions
• add lime juice from half a lime
• garlic
• and blind
• set aside to chill

Soy Rizo bake:

• in saute pan add tbs of oil and add chopped onions
• let oinions cook for about  4 minutes then add yellow and green squash
• while that is cooking together chop poblano chillies and add together and let cook for about another 4 mins
• add soy chorizo and cook and let brown
• drain corn and add to pan cook enough to let corn become warm then remove from heat
• line baking dish with cork tortillas and sprinkle lightly with cheese
• then cover with soy rizo mixture
• then cut 5 corn tortillas into strips and sprinkle on top with shredded cheese and green onions 
• preheat oven @400 and make for 20 mins
• let cool and server with cilantro cream

Soy Rizo Chili

So it’s still cold outside here in Cali! Ever since I have had my surgery  I have been COLD ALL THE TIME! so I figured I would make something that would keep me warm and cozy! What better than a nice bowl of chili; this chili turned out GREAT! so here’s the recipe!

Ingredients:

 

• One can of Rotel hot
• one can of pinto beans
• the smaller size can of hominy
• can of corn
• one packet of McCormick mild Chili mix 30% less sodium
• one large yellow onion
• small clove of garlic (but only used about half)
• pack of soy “Rizo” (chorizo)

Directions:

• Chop onions and garlic

 

• Add a small amount of cooking oil to the bottom of pot and add onion and garlic
• let garlic and onions brown and then add soy rizo and let cook for a few mins
• then drain your hominy and corn and add to pot
• add can of pinto beans
• then add 2 cups of water and seasoning packet to pot
• let cook for 1 hour an 30 mins

* I used fat free greek yogurt in place of sour cream and fat free cheese  

Kung Pao Seitan

This is one of the dishes I made with my seitan; which turned out pretty good!

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sized zucchinis
• one half red onion
• one half yellow onion
• 1 medium orange bell pepper
• 4 heads of garlic *or as much as you would like*
• your choice of kung pao sauce
• reduced salt soy sauce

Instructions:

• chop all the veggies but slice the halves of onion
• in sauce pan add cooking spray or your choice to bottom of pan add zucchini first  and let cook slightly before adding onions. once onions have started cooking then add seitan. once seitan is warm in veggies add your bell pepper and chopped garlic and cook slightly and then just add your choice of kung pao sauce and your soy sauce to your taste! and enjoy!

Getting back on my grind

Hey all! Hope you all had a very lovely holiday season! Enjoyed food and your loved ones while making healthy choices. This holiday season wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be. I made healthy choices and went for veggies first but did partake in some of the things I don’t get to have VERY often!   For Thanksgiving I made something healthy but tasted so out of this world no one would ever guess it was healthy! I made sweet potato mash and used a table spoon of cookie butter for the sweetness and it turned out sooooo great!

Now that the holidays are over it is time to get back to the normal eating habits I have learned to love so dearly! I did some research on home made seitan; I was trying to figure out if it was healthy or not for gastric bypass patients to consume and if we are able to break it done. For those of you that don’t know what seitan is; It’s just mock meat but made with vital wheat gluten. Now I don’t recommend this for those of you that are gluten intolerant. It’s VERY easy to make and is good to make in a large batch and freeze it for a later time.  Gluten is the main protein from wheat and is a great source  of protein.

Here’s the recipe for the seitan; I used the recipe on the side of the Bob’s red mill vital wheat gluten bag but add some things to it:

2 cups of vital wheat gluten

2 cups of water or chicken broth

1 tsp powder garlic

* I chopped and minced 4 cloves of garlic

*  I also minced half a onion

6 cups of broth  to boil seitan

and other seasonings if you want for broth

Directions:

-In one bowl mix dry ingredients

-* I added the minced garlic and onion to gluten mixture

-bring broth to boil

-Add water or broth to mixture and stir into a sponge-like dough. This should not be
excessively wet. Knead dough a minute to make dough tougher and more elastic.
Cut into 2 x 2 inch pieces and place into boiling broth. Cook in broth for about
1 hour, lowering heat as needed. Drain, let cool , and use as you would like.