BadgerMom

Sorry to take so long. Try this: about 12 oz or so of crab meat (get the best you can afford) 1 egg, beaten 1 tsp worcestershire sauce 2 tbsp non-fat Greek yogurt 1/4 - 1/2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning (to taste) 1/4 cup crushed saltines or breadcrumbs salt and pepper to taste onion and garlic powder to taste The measurements are approximate. What you want is just enough bread or cracker crumbs and enough egg and yogurt to hold the crab together and to create a crab cake that is mostly crab. I would suggest adding about half of the egg, crumbs, and yogurt to all the other ingredients and see if you can shape it with your hands. If it's still crumbly, add some more, but don't let the cake get sloppy. Keep it really firm. Don't make them too big or they'll break when you're cooking them. Fry the cakes on a lightly oiled griddle or cast Iron frying pan over medium heat until they are nicely browned, turning once or twice. I like mine with lemon, but others may prefer tartar sauce. Be careful that you pick out any bits of shell in the crab. Sometimes you might find it in canned crab.

Yes, sometimes I do, but it's really all about her health, and when I see her so pleased to drop a size, it's worth it. Not to mention that I think she looks better to me. I think that the lapband process, for me, is a process that the two of us are involved in, not just her, so it's actually brought us together in some ways. I was able to build her recumbent exercise bike for her, and I was very selective about the restaurant we went to for our anniversary so she had lots of good and healthy menu choices. The long and short of it is that if the relationship is going to change, it will change whether you lose weight or not. If you have a strong, supportive partnership, dropping a few sizes isn't going to shake it, nor will staying fat keep it together. I think this is a "guy thing" - the idea that if a woman loses weight and feel good about herself and looks better that she'll bail on the relationship. Sure, if the guy is a total slob who has told her that she's so ugly that she should be grateful because he's the only person who would ever be willing to put up with her, that nonsense will probably come to a halt, but that kind of abuse should never have been going on in the first place, no matter what size the partners are. Have your SO join the Friends and Family discussion. It's ok for him to have his feelings, and maybe we can offer some support. Best of luck, BadgerMom

My partner had one that she had to inhale rather than blow into. The doctor said to use it until she got back to a normal routine, and she was right. My partner didn't use it often enough, and it made the first few days pretty hard for her. Consider it as part of your post-surgery healing procedures. And when you're done with it, you can give it to the kids for a science experiment. It's kinda fun looking. BadgerMom

Sounds like you may need a fill. Check with your doctor, and don't give up. BadgerMom

The secret to a good crab cake is lots and lots of crab and just a little bit of everything else. Get it fresh cooked from the fish counter at your market rather than in a can unless you can find some of the blue crab in a can (it's expensive but soooo worth it). The rest of the stuff is just to hold the crab together and give it some seasoning. You might want to try a small dollop of fat-free yogurt instead of the mayo (I like the Greek strained variety called Fage which is more like sour cream and very creamy even though it's fat free and holds up better in cooking) and ease way back on the eggs. Use very finely grated bread crumbs or cracker crumbs, just enough to hold the crab together. Old Bay seasoning is traditional, but if you can't get that, try Bell's Seasoning. It's similar in many respects. It comes in a little yellow box. BadgerMom

Well, it was one thing to make a shake or bullion for my partner when she was on the endless pre-surgery liquid diet, and making homemade Soup for her plus shakes in the two week post liquid diet wasn't so bad either, but these mushies! Oy! We've got one more week to go until she can eat soft foods, and Sunday night can't come soon enough for me. We have a big blender, a tiny blender, and a food processor, and none of them is truly adequate for making small amounts of food. The food either doesn't get chopped up enough or is too soupy. It took almost 10 minutes just to puree yams last night. In addition, there's no way to keep everything hot enough. While I puree the chicken, the veggies get cold or vice versa, and pureed brown rice, which I thought wouldn't be so bad, is just a complete non-starter :cursing:. Buying a "bullet" seems like a waste of money for a two-week need, but I'm using so many bowls and spoons trying to make a meal and make it look somewhat attractive that every night feels like the last minute rush at Thanksgiving. She was able to eat some soft tofu on Saturday which didn't need to be pureed, but if I had to do this on a regular basis for someone, I'd go out and get a super-primo food processor. Meanwhile, I've been making some exquisite Soups and posting some of the recipes. I've got a killer (not cheap, but worth it) blue crab soup recipe that I'm going to try to put up tonight. BadgerMom

I forgot I was on my girfriends computer...that last post was from Harvest, not Badgermom.:tt1:

Thank you everyone!!! You are all so wonderful to share you stories they have really helped me. As of today I am two weeks banded and I'm finally feeling like I can go for short walks. I took the dog out twice yesterday (am then pm) for a total of 1 mile :tt1: The morning walk went better than the evening walk. By the evening time my back is tired from doing the work of my belly muscles. It looks like rain today so I'm going to go to the mall to walk today. That should be good because there are plenty of benches to sit on if my back muscles start hurting. Before surgery I was walking 9 holes of golf without too much problem (the hills made me a little dizzy) so I'm looking forward to getting back to gold sometime next month. Also, I'm using that lovely $600 tax rebate we all got and putting it towards a recumbent exercise bike so during the winter months I don't become a couch potato again. Please keep the stories coming...I know I can't be the only one who needs to hear your struggle to success stories around exercise.

Baked Potato Soup 1 small baking potato (about the size of a large lemon) 1 cup low fat milk or plain Silk soymilk 1/2 - 1 teaspoon butter (optional) 1/4 cup chicken broth (use broth, not bullion, for the extra protein) salt and pepper to taste dash of Bell's Seasoning (comes in a little box) dash of paprika Bake the potato in the microwave or oven. Let it cool slightly, then remove the skin and any crusty bits of the flesh. Place into a blender with the milk, butter, and chicken broth and blend until liquified. Strain the mixture through a mesh strainer to remove any lumps, then put into a small pot and add salt and pepper and Bell's Seasoning to taste. You can thin it out more if you like by adding Water or more chicken broth. Heat through gently. Serve with the dash of paprika on top. Makes about 10 oz. Protein 9 gm Calories approx 200 Fat 8 gm. Sugars 8 gm My parter is getting toward the end of three weeks of liquid diet and is climbing the walls for something different. This seemed to be very satisfying. BadgerMom

My partner was also intolerant of the Protein drinks with whey. They gave her migraines. She's done quite well on the Spirutein soy-based shakes. She experimented with various brands prior to going on the liquid pre-op diet. They're not too bad, actually. She mixes them with Plain Silk soymilk, and since they were a bit heavy for her taste, she doubled the amount of soymilk to powder ratio. Just make sure you account for the additional calories. BadgerMom

We have now officially created that much-needed Family and Friends Support Group! If you have people around you who are curious about what life will be like with a "bandster," this is the place to be. Concerned about your bandster's health? Worried if you'll ever see the inside of a restaurant again once you have a lap band partner/spouse? Do you have a million questions about the whole medical thing? I'm right there with you! My partner was banded just last Monday, June 23rd, and I'm learning that this is about my own process as well as hers. Come join the discussion! BadgerMom "Feel the fear, and do it anyway."

My partner was banded this past Monday, June 23, and she has developed a low-grade fever since this afternoon. I was a bit concerned, but since we had seen the doctor this morning and her exam and blood tests were fine, I wasn't too worried. I got on the LBT site, looked up "fever" and presto! I got the information I needed. So, we're going to keep an eye on it, and unless it goes to 101 or 101.5, we know it's normal. It is so great to have this resource available to us! She's doing really well, by the way, and has been absolutely on with her pre- and post-op diets. She was back to non-Clear liquids today, and she really enjoyed her Soup and Protein shakes. Thanks everyone! BadgerMom

Jane, I think you have a point there - that being fat may create more social problems for girls and women than for men (not sure about boys). There's definitely a double standard there. My partner is less concerned about beauty than about her health, and there are things she wants to do that she can't do easily - hiking, biking, and so on - and that's the real reason for her decision. If all women thought they had to look like Brittney Spears (or whoever), most of us would be seriously disappointed since we just don't look like that, but if we want to be healthy, I think that's a goal that we can achieve at any age. BadgerMom