Smye

Just a few quick updates: 1) I hit 100 pounds lost today 2) A bari-friendly Philadelphia cheesesteak is coming tomorrow 3) New Phase 1, 2, 3, and 4 pages will be live on Saturday 4) The new batch of pink pickled eggs is ready - photos will be up on Sunday - YUM!

@@wascott, I've also made it with those egg whites and they're great that way!

@@Brigiter, absolutely! I'm just glad my trial & error can pay off for more than just myself. Also, as I told Wascott, some early-phase recipes are coming soon - just as soon as I ensure they still taste good to phase 4 folks

@@wascott, can't wait to see you on the other side. I'll also have some phase 1 and phase 2 stuff up there pretty soon you might be able to use. Let me know if there's anything in particular you want or need and I can work on it in the meantime. @@maggie409, just check with your NUT before you go too crazy. Fresh juice is incredible, but in terms of macro-nutrition is basically sugar Water. In the right amounts, I'm guessing your NUT will say go for it, and he/she is likely to be alright with green juices, but I'm guessing fruit juices will be too high in sugar for more than special occasions. I will say though, I absolutely used strawberry and cranberry juices to make my homemade Jello in phase 1 and it was excellent! I also frequently cook down a small number of berries to use in place of syrup on Protein pancakes or instead of jelly on PB&J.

@@wascott, wow, thats fairly restrictive - though I will say that eating roughly 1000 cal/day and eating mostly things off of the blog, I end up under 40 g almost completely.

@@wascott, the flavor is similar to potato bread, though the texture is a tad odd. For something closer to bread in texture and without the egginess you can also try the Caulibread.

@, you're right on - it's nuts some of the things people eat and, amazingly, manage to keep losing. Keep in mind though that if you actually look at the data (NIH has an excellent warehouse of research papers), those folks are the few and the far between - the vast majority of folks who are successful with WLS eat relatively low carb, high Protein, and mostly un-processed foods without artificial sweeteners. Again, there are definitely exceptions, but by and large those are the criteria for success. Mostly though, talk to your NUT. If there's something you want to eat or something you miss, ask him/her for their take. Your NUT knows your situation better than anyone on the forums and is going to be a hell of a lot more reliable and educated than the masses writ large. That said, I do have a blog of bariatric friendly, whole, foods that fit the criteria I mentioned here that you might find useful. I've run every recipe past my NUT with great success. Also, I do use stevia in one or two recipes, but as a seasoning rather than a sweetener and I use powdered leaves from my own plant rather than that processed, white powder.

Hello BariBrothers, BariSisters, BariFamilies, and general lovers of healthy, good food. My name is Smye and I live on a small farm in the Pacific Northwest. WHO IS SMYE? I've always been a big guy. I hit 100 pounds when I was 4-years-old, was 200 pounds before I turned 10, and was bumping 300 on my 13th birthday. I grew up in a fast-food home, 2 of every 3 meals were eaten in the car and I continued to 'grow.' After college I decided to turn my life around (despite hating the clichéd phrase) and started my farm with the goal of raising 80% of my own calories. Over the course of a year, my partner and I started a large garden, built a green house and started raising ducks, chickens & goats. Three years later, I was far healthier, felt better, and felt grounded - yet I continued to grow. Whenever friends would come to stay with us, helping me haul hay, split wood for the woodstove or process a goat, they would all inevitably ask the same question "I don't get it dude, why are you still fat? You work hard, eat well, and still you're huge." I'd smile, shrug, and wish I could figure it out myself. Turns out I was just eating too much of all the right things. When I hit 415 in January 2015, with the help of my doctor and an enormous amount of research, I decided it was time to pursue bariatric surgery - that dreaded procedure for the 'weak' I'd kept in the back of my mind for 15 years. On February 12, 2015 I had a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy and I couldn't be happier about it. Between beginning the pre-op diet and the end of April, I lost 91 pounds. I had more energy than I'd had in years, fit into clothes I haven't worn since high school, and found myself better able to navigate the socio-political mazes of life. Let me be clear, however, this has not been easy. Bariatric surgery is never the easy way out, nor is it for those who are weak. I'm sure I'll post specifics at a later date, but I want you to understand that my choice to have surgery, and my success in the meantime, were not in any way simple, straightforward, or comfortable. This has been FAR harder than any diet I've tried in the past, and it's going to be a lifelong effort to keep the success I've got, let alone losing the 100 remaining pounds I need to shed. But wow, has it been worth it. WHAT IS BARI-DELICIOUS? First, some background: During both my pre- and post-op appointments with my nutritionist, I was horrified by the suggested things I could eat once I was back to 'regular foods.' The suggestions I received were flavorless, full of preservatives & junk, and/or otherwise reminiscent of the American 'instafoods' that are, in my opinion, a large part of the original obesity problem I faced, that many of us face. I reached out to other bariatric patients, both on the web an in-person, and while several folks had one or two recipes for decent food, the majority offered me bland, uninteresting junk. Even those with a recipe or two had only those options and were struggling even then. So what is Bari-Delicious? Bari-Delicious is a space for me to share with you some of the real, whole foods I've been enjoying lately without hurting my sleeve or deviating from the dietary guidelines provided by my NUT (who is excellent, by the way and has been super supportive, despite my complaints above). Not only am I losing weight, I'm loving every meal as much as, or more than, pre-op. I've spent the last 7 years accommodating good foods to meet my partner's corn, dairy, and gluten allergies without losing any of the flavor or texture with 80% of all ingredients sourced from my own small farm, so it wasn't a huge jump to make these recipes low carb, high Protein and, above all, delicious. There's no need for food to be tasteless, uninteresting or questionable in it's contents. If there's something you'd like to see that's not here, please email me here and I'll do my best. I also make sure to try everything myself and feed it to my executive chef neighbor before I post it to make sure I'm only sharing excellent food with you. Whatever happens, my promise to you is that the blog will be a place where REAL FOOD, REAL WEIGHT LOSS and REAL DELICIOUS happen.

@@Brigiter, I was encouraged to use spices etc, just to make sure they're blended truly smooth during my phase 1. I'll absolutely be posting you some phase 1 food soon. As a quick starter - the pho broth is excellent, good for pouches, and high in Protein. I also mixed

@@Salonboi, Welcome to the other side, by the way, I'm sorry I didn't say that first. As for puree, I'll be posting some liquid and puree recipes shortly.

@@jess9395, let me know what you think. The pizza crust is a bit different from the Caulibread, but I imagine it'll still work. @@Salonboi, glad to hear it!

Two new recipes: CauliBread & cheese.html" rel="external nofollow">Grilled Cheese Sandwich - a new bread with a little more body that can take the abuse of being grilled, schmeered, or dipped in oil & vinegar.

Tune in on Friday morning for an update on my WLS journey - The first 100

Coming soon - Ham crust quiche & grilled cheese sandwiches - YUM!

@@Brigiter, I'm with you, absolutely unwilling to eat bland, tasteless junk now that I'm post-op. I've got a bunch of recipes here, and let me know if there's anything you're most interested in having back. I can also give you some good liquid-phase recipes if you like, but I highly recommend the pho broth with extra fish sauce and lime juice.

New recipe posted: Full Pho - the Soup of ultimate comfort and satisfaction

@@pink dahlia, I love Pinoeer Woman's stuff! My favorites, especially post op, are all posted here.

New recipe posted: Simple Salmon - It's quick to cook, and even tastes just a bit like bacon

@, welcome aboard and congrats on your sleeve (regardless of whether you're pre or post)! Let me know if there's anything in particular you want to see - whether a specific dish or a larger category. Before too much longer I'll be incorporating more foods from Southeast Asia, India, and other locales reflecting my favorite foods on the site - so speak up if there's something you are craving.

New Recipe Posted: Turkey Cesar Avocado Classic, the sandwich you've been missing since childhood

@@vsg_candy, I'm eager to watch yours when I get home from work. Mine is focused on post-op food ideas that are wholesome and delicious. Bari Delicious Food From the Blog:  The best part of waking up...

@@LousPeachy, please post yours for us to enjoy. Mine is focused on post-op food ideas that are wholesome and delicious. Bari Delicious Food From the Blog:  The best part of waking up... 

@@Sunshine_Gal, Thank you! And you're very very welcome.

@@Kathy812 and @@Sreeves, Do you think it makes sense to leave the recipes already up as-is, or go back and swap them to the cleaner photo-with-a-link? I'll wait for more responses before taking any action, but wanted to get your thoughts. I want this thing as user-friendly as possible and as users, I think you both with have good insight. @@Elode & @@LipstickLady, any insight from either of you? You both have such an accurate sense of the pulse of the forums and I'd love to hear from you.

@@Kathy812, Thank you! I'm just excited to get to share them. Let me know what you think of the BariBread - it definitely seems to be the most popular recipe. By the by, you're not doing too badly on weight loss yourself - you're well over 50% there!