Ezma

TURKEY BREAST MUSHROOM STEW A clean-eating stew that will warm your insides with its slow-cooked, soft pepper blend. INGREDIENTS 1 tbsp olive oil 1 1/4 lb extra lean ground turkey breast 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 large onion, chopped 1 large red pepper, chopped 1/4 tsp crush red pepper 3 tsp Italian seasoning 1/2 tsp freshly ground 4-pepper blend 3 28-oz cans diced tomatoes, with liquid, no salt added 1 15-oz can Bush's Best pinto bens, with liquid 3 strips cooked extra-lean turkey bacon, chopped 2 tsp hot pepper sauce 1 small zucchini, sliced 2 pkg 6-oz each, sliced, fresh mushrooms 3/4 cup all natural, no sugar apple juice 1 cup frozen corn, thawed METHOD: Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Cook the turkey until browned, stirring with a spoon to seperate and brown evenly. Add the garlic, onion and red pepper. Cook for 3 minutes and add crushed red pepper, 2 tsp Italian seasoning and fresh ground 4-pepper blend. Cook for 8 minutes, then transfer to a large pot. Add the tomatoes with the liquid, the pinto Beans with the liquid, the cooked turkey bacon and the hot sauce. Stir in the zucchini and mushrooms. Bring to a simmer and add 1 tsp Italian seasoning, then reduce to low heat. Cook for 1 hour, stirrnig occasionally. Serve over brown rice. YIELD: Makes 19 servings NUTRIENTS PER SERVING: Calories: 100 Fat: 2g Carbs: 10g Protein: 10g Cholesterol: 13 mg Fiber: 3g

HAVANA salad Escape to the Caribbean the clean-eating way with this Cuban-inspired salad combining fresh vegetables, spices, rice, and Beans. INGREDIENTS 1 cup avocado, peeled and diced 1 cup Roma tomatoes, chopped 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped 1 tsp cumin, ground 1/4 tsp black pepper, ground 4 cups brown rice, cooked 15 ounces black beans, cooked, rinsed and drained 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar METHOD: In a large bowl, combine the avocado, vinegar, olive oil, cumin and black pepper, and then toss. Now add the rice, tomatoes, beans, parsley and cilantro, and mix thoroughly. Let the salad chill in the refrigerator before serving. YIELD: Makes 6 servings (about 1 cup serving) NUTRIENTS PER SERVING: Calories: 277 Fat: 7g Carbs: 45g Protein: 9g Cholesterol: 0 mg I really liked this one but my husband thought it was a bit bland. I think a little sea salt might perk it up.

I really want the back issues too. I went to Bookmans, our local used books, cds, magazines, etc store, and didn't find any there. There have only been three issues so far. I did find the magazine site - Welcome to Clean Eating Magazine!and also found a place to order the back issues - Shop Musclemag - Clean Eating. I'll try to post another recipe or two here today. How soon today just depends on how I'm feeling after they fix my port. There's a cucumber and jicama salad that I'm going to make soon. I'll let ya know if that one is worth it.

:tt1: I want a drink! Feels like the old army has tromped through this mouth of mine. It's one of the worst parts of surgery - no liquids beforehand. I'm going in to fix my port in a couple hours. I'm a little bit nervous but it's supposed to be a piece of cake. Crossing my fingers and toes. I really need a fill even though I'm afraid to be too tight. The last couple of nights I've had the last meal syndrome. I know it's a mix of nerves, depression and just wanna get a few things in before I'm too tight to eat them. Anyone know if they unfill me when they do this? Really hope not cause I'm close to my sweet spot now.

Welcome Sherri! Always nice to meet another Double V. Looks like you're doing great. You're right in line with most of us. And yep, excercise is definately key for me. Keep up the great work and congrats on your new life. Ain't it grand? :biggrin2:

Thought I'd start a thread for Clean Eating recipes. Please feel free to add to this. First one I have is for a yummy dip or spread. Garlicky Spinach & Ricotta Dip 1 tsp olive oil 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 leek, washed and thinly sliced 2 large bunches of spinach, washed and coarsely chopped 1 cup light ricotta cheese 1/2 tsp sea salt 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg Instructions: One - Coat a large nonstick frying pan with olive oil and set over medium heat. Add garlic and leek. Stir often until soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Add a few drops of Water if leek starts to brown too much before it softens. Two – Increases heat to medium-high and add a few handfuls of spinach. Stir until wilted, then turn into a food processor. Continue to cook rest of spinach in small batches until all is wilted. Place in food processor. Whirl until blended – make it as chunky or fine as you like. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate until cool. Three - Stir spinach with ricotta, sea salt and nutmeg. Taste and add more seasonings if needed. Dip will water out as it sits; stir before serving. Nutrients per ¼ cup serving: Calories – 30 Total Fat – 1g Sat. Fat – 0.4g Carbs – 3g Fiber – 1g Sugars – 1g Protein – 3g Sodium – 100mg Cholesterol – 2mg

Ouch! Take out or fast food is a killer for me. I still do it once in a while but I check the nutrition information ahead of time and try to order something on the lower side. And I really hate myself when I do it. Last week we had Arby's - beef and cheddar with a couple mozzarella sticks and a couple potato bites. OMG! It was basically a full day's calories. All the lovely things I could have eaten instead. Another thing is now fast food makes me sick. So that helps keep it out of my mouth. I try to cook up a few things on the weekend and chop up a big bowl of fruit so I have it there when I really just don't have the time to cook. I also keep a wide variety of tuna and chicken, some dehydrated veggies, dried fruits and nuts in my desk at work. Usually they can ward off a snack attack. Keep talking to us here. It will keep you accountable. Plus we're fun. :crying: There's nothing more motivating than the scale moving in the right direction. Go, April, Go!!!!

April - welcome!!! I'd love to try and help. Hope you don't mind the questions. How much exercise are you getting each week? I know that helped me a lot. At first all I was doing was a few short walks a week. When I moved up to 10 minutes of aerobics it helped a lot. Now I usually do 20 minutes about 6 times a week and walk a bit. Also, how many calories are you averaging daily? And what types of food are you eating? Do you track your food intake anywhere, like The Daily Plate or a site like that? That helps me too cause I wouldn't have any idea without it. I'm sure I won't do it forever but right now it's working so I'll keep at it.

I think it's great that so many of us have started eating healthier. I'm not there all the way but every day I make better choices. I totally understand about the convience/time factor and I think the Kashi frozen dinners are supposed to be pretty good. Think I'll check them out. Would be great to have something fast on hand.

As of June 18th, my 4 month Bandiversary, I have lost 85 pounds. Of the 85 pounds, 49 were since my surgery date. I have had 2 fills, and I'm not sure how much I have in my 14 cc band. The doctor won't tell me but I do know that the second fill was 1.5ccs since I overheard it. He also put some in at surgery time.

Hi Angie. First off, congrats on your surgery date and best of luck with the surgery and new life. Probably the best place for you to post is going to be this section - July 2008 Bandsters - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum. It's the section for people who are going to have their surgery in July of 2008. VVs or Double Vs or Victorious Valentines are the names the people who had their surgery in February 2008 use. That happens to be the section you posted in. No biggie cause we're all really in the same Lap Band boat. :grouphug:

Well said Amy. We miss you guys. Stop by and at least say "Hi" once in a while please.

Yay us! I can't wait to see your new haircut. Whenever you're ready, of course. The hair is so much fun. I still have to do a double take cause I don't recognize myself.

Woo hoo Gibson is back! Great to have you back hon. Hope you've been well. Glad you're hanging in there. Fruit is good, good stuff. I crave it like crazy now too.

This is the one I listen to - Dr. Fitness & the Fat Guy Making Healthy Living Fu It's pretty good, they have a lot of humor on it. Sometimes there's so heavy sell guests, but they are easy to detect.

It's so funny to watch my son and husband at meal time. They don't know what to do with all the fresh foods I'm shoving at them. Mostly they like what I've made but the new spices and fresh tastes are quite a change for all of us. They have a choice - they can eat what I make or fix something for themselves. Guess what they eat? Healthy!!!! coolcrystal - I wouldn't see the nutritionist but I have to each appointment. She's okay but not flexible at all. So I just don't tell her. I actually tell the doctor what I'm eating and he's good with most of it. Only thing he has a problem with is the ice cream and I know I shouldn't eat that too. Jachut - Agree with you soooo much. I remember reading your posts shortly after surgery and thinking "Yep, that's the way a person should eat.". I still keep my carbs on the low side even though they're good carbs (except the ice cream - lol). I'm almost always under 80g for the day and most of the comes from calcium rich dairy products, fruits and veggies. Once in a great while I'll have some brown rice, low-carb tortillas or couscous. heartfire - Yay you!! Don't you love that magazine? I made the garlicky spinach and ricotta dip on page 47 - yummy with carrots. The Moroccan Grilled chicken with Cherry and Bulgur salad was good too but I did use couscous instead of bulgur wheat. I want to try the Cucumber and Jicama salad next. I was so sad it's only quarterly. I too am doing it partially for my son. I fed him well for the first year and then fed him and let him eat junk and stuff that didn't nourish his body. He'll thank me later. LOL

Since my surgery I've had a real problem with the way my nutritionist thinks WLS patients should eat. They really push the low carb/ketosis thing and lots of processed low-fat, sugar-free foods. Add to that the fact that I have a very hard time keeping my carbs that low and it seems I was destined to fail it. Anyway, I've naturally been progressing to an eating lifestyle that included whole, natural, fresh foods from all the food groups. Lots of lean Proteins, whole grains, healthy carbs, Calcium rich dairy items - they are all so wonderful. During one of my healthy grocery shopping trips I found a magazine called Clean Eating and finally got a name for how I wanted to eat. Great magazine! It's packed full of information and great recipes. Then I remembered someone I had heard talk - Tosca Reno. She has a book called The Eat-Clean Diet. Went out an bought that yesterday. Just wondering if anyone else is following this kind of eating lifestyle and what they think. Or anyone have tips or recipes. Or just wanna chat about healthy eating?

I get my chewable multi Vitamins there. They are very comparable to the bariatric ones. I just need to take a Calcium citrate supplement. And best part is they are under $6. Also love there tomato and roasted red pepper Soup, mediterranean hummus, frozen roasted veggies with balsamic sauce, frozen green Beans and cheeses. They used to have a wonderful bruschetta but I can't find it anymore. Two other things I love but can't eat anymore are their store brand of honey greek yogurt and the Just Clusters granola.

I'd say it was a combination of two things - lack of Protein and ketosis. From what I can tell you're getting very, very few calories and you're probably burning through your body's energy stores very quickly. When you're on a very low carb diet your body goes into ketosis. This is a process that converts fat and muscle for energy. Symptoms of ketosis include headache, light-headed, dizzy, grouchy, bad breath and body odor. Not glamorous but it drops weight fast. What were the instructions you received from you doctor on post op diet? I've never heard of one that didn't include Protein shakes.

Anyone have any good podcasts for health, fitness or weight loss surgery that they like? I've been listening to Dr. Fitness and the Fat Guy and I've just about finished all the shows they have. Need to find a new one and I just can't seem to find anything good. Thanks.

Ready!!!!!! I missed you! And thank you. When the heck have you been hiding. Hadn't seen you or Queen for a bit and Gibson is MIA. Well, I'm very glad you're back. :biggrin2:

Hi guys - I'm very confused about what guidelines a doctor uses to determine eligibility for Lap Band. I know that insurance generally uses 40+ BMI or lower with medical co-morbidities. Is there a point where they wouldn't do it? I've seen some people in the other areas of the board that had fairly decent BMIs (under 35) and under 50 pounds to lose and that surprised me. Just curious if anyone knows cause I have friends who could possibly qualify that I didn't think would before. Thanks.

That does not sound fun at all. I think I'm glad I didn't get that last fill though fighting the hunger beast is a pain. Hope you get used to it soon. PS - I'm like you ... never throw up. I've only thrown up once in over 14 years and that was because of a surgery.

What a wonderful picture. The two of you look so warm and happy. It brought a smile to my face. Thank you.

Thanks so much everyone! I know I still have quite a ways to go but I'm so excited with how far I've come already. I look in the mirror and think how much I've changed in the last few months. It's like I don't recognize myself except that I do....it's the old me coming back.