Okay, this might be kind of a lame question, but I was wondering what you guys are eating day-to-day? I've been keeping track of everything I eat on My Fitness Pal, and I feel like I'm in a rut (protein drink, salad, grilled meat + veggies). Maybe you guys have some ideas?

My average day consists of the following:

Breakfast: Protein drink (e.g., Muscle Milk Light, Lean Dessert, Lean Body for Her) or bar (Pure Protein are okay, but I think I prefer the drinks to the bars); on the weekend (when I have a little more time) I try to do scrambled egg whites and chicken or turkey sausage

Snack: Coffee with 1 tablespoon creamer (usually SF) or skim milk

Lunch: Spinach salad (1.5 cups) with reduced-fat cheese, light Ranch salad dressing (1 tablespoon), 2-3 ounces of turkey or chicken breast, and sometimes 4 diced cherry tomatoes

Snack: 1 ounce almonds or Chobani yogurt (I've only added this snack in the last week since I've been exercising more...I've been getting hungry)

Dinner: Grilled chicken breast, steamed/grilled fish or shrimp, turkey burger, or meat substitute (Lightlife and Morningstar Farms are wonderful!) with steamed veggies or salad; sometimes fruit if I'm still hungry (i.e., fresh strawberries, blueberries) -- a good tip I got from a friend is mashing up cauliflour and using it in place of rice or potatoes (I usually add in a little garlic and cheese). I also have been eating spaghetti squash in place of pasta -- it's really good.

I don't eat red meat or pork (DH and the kids do), but it doesn't work well with my system. I usually cook dinner for my family and then something separately for myself (i.e., if they are eating spaghetti -- I'll have the sauce with squash or over LF ricotta with a small salad or steamed zucchini). I guess I'm just curious to see what my fellow bandsters are eating to get some ideas and maybe we can swap recipes.

Thanks in advance!

Love my eggs too! I start my day everyday with one egg, feta & spinach. Yummy & a good start to the day!

Cottage cheese & fruit for a snack

Veggie burger for lunch with cheese

Protein snack - bar or more cottage cheese, yogurt

meat & veggies for dinner

Fat & sugar free pudding with protein for a snack

Lot of Water, crystal light & 2 cups of coffee.

If I have a drink when out usually caesar/bloody mary or 1 glass of wine

Treats - discovered Oh Yeah Protein Bars - like having a Oh henry bar with 20g of protein or Weight Watchers chocolate bar minis

I love anything made by Veggie patch. They also make yummy meatless Buffalo bites 12g protein

at this point, anything and everything (okay, not really, but close). I am VERY hungry--and actually it is so weird, I am hungrier than I was before my surgery, with OBNOXIOUS stomach growlings. It SUCKS, I feel like a complete failure! The only thing I'm not doing is eating a bunch of bad crap (no junk food/sugar)...but I'm definitely suckin' down 1500-`1800 cals with NO problems. I can eat a fajita, a BIG bowl of broccoli, and be so hungry for more that I eat the rest of the broccoli. I cannot WAIT to get some restriction. This is beyond crazy to me.

My only saving grace is I joined Lifetime Fitness!

My fill is next week. Can't come soon enough.

I'm still eating some of the things I did pre band but did cut the junk food and white carbs (bread, rice, pasta).. Mornings I get either a protein bar or cottage cheese/pineapple or 2 eggs and slice of whole grain toast... Lunch ... We go out alot.. Mexican.. I will have just a couple chips and salsa and then get something with chicken and refried beans... After just a little of the chicken and 1/2 the beans I'm done.. Box up the rest for the kids after school... Or I'll just order boneless wings and eat just a few...boxing the leftovers.... Dinners are a lot like lunch but I cook... Had stirfry veggies with chicken and maybe a 1/4 cup brown rice.. Made white for the rest of the family... That's been the hardest part.... Taking care of everyone else... Ugghh...

Kis ~ Veggie patch is a great suggestion! I love their meatballs. I used to be able to find it fairly easily at the grocery, but now it is harder. I need to look for Oh Yeah bars -- that would be a good snack. Also, good tip on happy hour Bloody Marys -- I try to avoid happy hour these days, but sometimes my boss really wants us all to attend...group morale booster. LoL. You are doing awesome!

TexasMama ~ I know how you feel...I totally blew it today, for the first time since being banded. Boo. We had a big celebration at work and everyone decided to go to eat at a Mexican restaurant -- since pre-banding I've made excuses not to go (Mexican food is my kryptonite :ballchain: ), but this time I couldn't come up with anything acceptable. So, instead of making wise choices -- what do I do -- I get chicken fajita nachos. The only good that came out of it was that I only (...yes, I said "ONLY" :der: ) ate 4-5 chips with salsa and then only 3 or so more of my nachos -- mostly I ate the pico de gallo, jalapenos, and chicken. Of course, it was surrounded by cheese and Beans. UGH (mental hand slap to self). I'm not happy with myself right now, but I know I just need to learn from it -- the plus, was that I got full indicators from my band (I get hiccups) and that's when I quit. I think the fear of sliming or PBing in public outweighs my desire for nachos. LoL. That's my weekly confession. Sorry to be so long-winded. How is Lifetime Fitness? Do you like it? I've been taking a Zumba class 3 x's a week (this is week 2 since surgery) and walking inbetween. I need to bump it up, but finding time is HARD.

Loozer ~ I hear you on taking care of your family's food making it hard. My toddlers live on white carbs (even though I add in a lot of multigrain items) and I am a white rice addict. I've had to commit to giving up white rice, bread, and Pasta -- and although it is hard, especially when the kids have it -- I know it is the best for me (I am IR). I've only eaten out a couple of times since being banded and boxing half the meal is definitely the way to go. Have you had any trouble eating toast or brown rice? I haven't tried yet -- today was the first day I had something normally off of my current eating list (e.g., tortilla chips). Also, for some reason (it's on my list to ask the doctor and nutritionist in a couple of weeks) -- my doctor lists beans as a food specifically not to eat (that and corn). Does anyone know why? I'm just curious because a lot of the banding recipes I've found use beans and they are good sources of Protein and folic acid.

Elle....no prob. With whole grain toast...going for another fill fri.though....who knows what will happen then..

Great idea all!

Texas Mama - don't beat yourself up. I have cheesy stuff all the time just kick up the cardio .

Have a good rest of the week!

K

Okay, this great EASY low carb high-Protein recipe came in from the Hungry Girl today, so I thought I would share. I think it would be great on a salad, and it's a recipe that the hubs and kids might eat too. I'm going to try it with turkey bacon pieces:

Ranch-O Bacon chicken

MAKES 1 SERVING

PER SERVING (entire recipe): 186 calories, 3g fat, 429mg sodium, 1g carbs, 0g Fiber, 0.5g sugars, 35g protein

Ingredients:

One 5-oz. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast cutlet

1/2 tsp. dry ranch dressing/dip mix

1 tbsp. precooked real crumbled bacon (like the kind by Oscar Mayer)

Spices: black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a baking pan with nonstick spray. Season each side of the chicken with a dash of black pepper, and then place the chicken in the pan. Season the top of the chicken with ranch dressing/dip mix.

Evenly place bacon over the top of the chicken. Use a spatula or the back of a spoon to gently press down and help the bacon adhere.

Bake in the oven until chicken is fully cooked, 20 - 25 minutes.

Thanks for the recipe. I will try that for sure.

As for what I've been eating... I am also a Mexican food addict and in order to get my itch scratched I've been cutting up zucchini and dipping into fresh salsa. Since the salsa is the main thing you taste anyway it is a decent substitute for the chips. I also like to grill chicken and put salsa and chicken over a salad...yummo!

HOWEVER, this past weekend we had real Mexi take out with friends and while I didn't eat as much as pre band I felt a lot of guilt about it. I got the taco salad which was delish but who knows what kind of calories I consumed. Then I did some chip binging late at night because I had consumed some crystal lite with vodka drinks and lost my willpower. Sigh...

My dh and I have made some yummy seafood dishes including grilled salmon that we used an Applewood Smoked sea salt rub on. There are all kinds of varieties of this item and it is made by Pepper Creek Farms.

Homemade chili using turkey chop meat and about five cans of Beans. This item is great to scratch that mexican urge and also can be put over a salad to make your own taco salad.

Campbells french onion Soup. A bander I know in town told me about this. Make the can up and then throw a few croutons in your bowl or cup...add low fat shredded mozzarella and you have a low calorie, yummy meal.

I have also given up most carbs which changes things very much for me being a carb addict.

Why has this board been soooo quiet lately?

JPT

Okay, this great EASY low carb high-Protein recipe came in from the Hungry Girl today, so I thought I would share. I think it would be great on a salad, and it's a recipe that the hubs and kids might eat too. I'm going to try it with turkey bacon pieces:

Ranch-O Bacon Chicken

MAKES 1 SERVING

PER SERVING (entire recipe): 186 calories, 3g fat, 429mg sodium, 1g carbs, 0g fiber, 0.5g sugars, 35g protein

Ingredients:

One 5-oz. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast cutlet

1/2 tsp. dry ranch dressing/dip mix

1 tbsp. precooked real crumbled bacon (like the kind by Oscar Mayer)

Spices: black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a baking pan with nonstick spray. Season each side of the chicken with a dash of black pepper, and then place the chicken in the pan. Season the top of the chicken with ranch dressing/dip mix.

Evenly place bacon over the top of the chicken. Use a spatula or the back of a spoon to gently press down and help the bacon adhere.

Bake in the oven until chicken is fully cooked, 20 - 25 minutes.

I've rediscovered a lower carb white carb replacement (for spaghetti) -- a lot of you may have tried it -- spaghetti squash. I had it this week while my family ate Pasta and it was VERY good and extremely filling. Here's the breakdown:

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient database, 1 cup of cooked spaghetti squash provides 42 calories, 0.4 gram of fat, 1 g of Protein, 10 g of carbohydrate (4 g as sugar) and 2.2 g of fiber.

The hard part for me was cutting the squash in half lengthwise when it was raw. There are methods for cooking it whole, but I have always cut it. After I cut and cleaned it, I sprinkled it with black pepper and fresh basil, and baked it face down in a 9 x 13" glass pan with 1/3 cup Water for about 45-50 minutes at 350 f.

I served it with a standard red sauce and turkey meatballs (made with ground turkey breast). If you haven't tried it, I would definitely give it a try -- I like it a lot more than Tofu Shirataki noodles, and it is much easier to find.