I think I'm ready for the Holidays...but its hard to be sure until I'm at the parties, events, family gatherings.... staring at the left overs, or dodging loudly intoxicated family members.

Its going to be a combination of avoiding questions (I've kept my surgery mostly to my self), avoiding drinking and making sure I've brought something I can eat..in case everything else is out of bounds.

Has anyone found recipes that they love for the holidays?

I'd love to be able to make Pumpkin Pie, gingerbread, Stuffing, basically any of the old carb-tastic favorites...only less carb-tastic... I hate how Splenda, Stevia, Truvia..so forth tastes but know I really need to keep avoiding high sugar content. .

Anyone have wizard level kitchen tips?

Check out Skinnytaste.com for great low-cal recipes. Her specialty is making healthier versions of favorite foods. She includes all the nutritional info at the bottom of the recipes. Between that and your limited portion size, I think you'll be great. Good luck!

17 hours ago, Leia said:

I think I'm ready for the Holidays...but its hard to be sure until I'm at the parties, events, family gatherings.... staring at the left overs, or dodging loudly intoxicated family members.

Its going to be a combination of avoiding questions (I've kept my surgery mostly to my self), avoiding drinking and making sure I've brought something I can eat..in case everything else is out of bounds.

Has anyone found recipes that they love for the holidays?

I'd love to be able to make pumpkin Pie, gingerbread, Stuffing, basically any of the old carb-tastic favorites...only less carb-tastic... I hate how Splenda, Stevia, Truvia..so forth tastes but know I really need to keep avoiding high sugar content. .

Anyone have wizard level kitchen tips?

Congrats on 60 pounds down!

Experiment with recipes. Even with splenda etc. You may find what works for your taste buds.

It's pretty hard to avoid the weight loss conversations. People will take notice that you have lost weight and are eating healthy. It's weird and uncomfortable that conversations seem to revolve around weight loss.

Thanksgiving doesn't have to be off limits. Their are healthy flavorful options if you want to stay on plan. (If you choose to indulge that's up to you)It felt amazing that Thanksgiving didn't revolve around food. I didn't feel overstuffed and guilty the next day.

These recipes are not wizard level. Lol - Make sure these fit your plan, calories and macros for the day.

• Turkey
• French green beans with sliced almonds and bacon ( option - leave out almonds to keep calories lower)
• Stuffing - Garlic roasted riced cauliflower, celery, onion, sour cream and alfreso sweet italian chicken sausage. (not the pre cooked ones) The type you remove the casing, brown in a pan crumbled
• Gingerbread hot cocoa: unsweetened cashew milk warmed, hershey's sugar free chocolate syrup, Davinci sugar free gingerbread syrup
• No bake pumpkin pie - Sugar free vanilla pudding, unsweetened cashew milk (vanilla protein powder/shake optional) pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice - Use less milk/protein shake than instructed for a thicker consistency
• Cranberry pumpkin apple side dish - (This is seriously sweet. A small amount goes a long way) Peel and cube a sugar pumpkin and apple, Drizzle with sugar free maple syrup. Sprinkle with cinnamon and splenda to taste. Roast 400 degrees until soft and browned. add no sugar added dried cranberries.

.

Edited October 12, 20187 yr by skinnylife

9 hours ago, Orchids&Dragons said:

Check out Skinnytaste.com for great low-cal recipes. Her specialty is making healthier versions of favorite foods. She includes all the nutritional info at the bottom of the recipes. Between that and your limited portion size, I think you'll be great. Good luck!

Thank you!!! I'm going to go take a look and start saving recipes to try asap!!

6 hours ago, skinnylife said:

Congrats on 60 pounds down!

Experiment with recipes. Even with splenda etc. You may find what works for your taste buds.

It's pretty hard to avoid the weight loss conversations. People will take notice that you have lost weight and are eating healthy. It's weird and uncomfortable that conversations seem to revolve around weight loss.

Thanksgiving doesn't have to be off limits. Their are healthy flavorful options if you want to stay on plan. (If you choose to indulge that's up to you)It felt amazing that Thanksgiving didn't revolve around food. I didn't feel overstuffed and guilty the next day.

These recipes are not wizard level. Lol - Make sure these fit your plan, calories and macros for the day.

• Turkey
• French green Beans with sliced almonds and bacon ( option - leave out almonds to keep calories lower)
• Stuffing - Garlic roasted riced cauliflower, celery, onion, sour cream and alfreso sweet italian chicken sausage. (not the pre cooked ones) The type you remove the casing, brown in a pan crumbled
• Gingerbread hot cocoa: unsweetened cashew milk warmed, hershey's Sugar Free Chocolate Syrup, Davinci sugar free gingerbread syrup
• No bake pumpkin pie - Sugar free vanilla pudding, unsweetened cashew milk (vanilla Protein powder/shake optional) pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice - Use less milk/protein shake than instructed for a thicker consistency
• Cranberry pumpkin apple side dish - (This is seriously sweet. A small amount goes a long way) Peel and cube a sugar pumpkin and apple, Drizzle with sugar free maple syrup. Sprinkle with cinnamon and splenda to taste. Roast 400 degrees until soft and browned. add no sugar added dried cranberries.

.

Thank you!!! Almost half of it is from before surgery, so I am not 'seeing it' as much as I should. The family that is in the know though says they see it. I'm hoping that the extended family at gatherings wont. . or will put it up to one of my many ups and downs. Might be naive of me. I don't like fibbing, but I also dont want to spend Thanksgiving defending my choices.... or talking about my weight.

Those recipes sound amazing! Especially the green beans and cauliflower stuffing!!!!! I'd say they qualify for 'Wizard level!"
Have you tried the pumpkin pie with a protein drink? I'm wondering if it would come out too sweet or not. . ..I might have to experiment before the holiday. And feed it to EVERYONE ELSE of course.

43 minutes ago, Leia said:

Thank you!!! Almost half of it is from before surgery, so I am not 'seeing it' as much as I should. The family that is in the know though says they see it. I'm hoping that the extended family at gatherings wont. . or will put it up to one of my many ups and downs. Might be naive of me. I don't like fibbing, but I also dont want to spend Thanksgiving defending my choices.... or talking about my weight.

Those recipes sound amazing! Especially the green Beans and cauliflower stuffing!!!!! I'd say they qualify for 'Wizard level!"
Have you tried the pumpkin pie with a Protein Drink? I'm wondering if it would come out too sweet or not. . ..I might have to experiment before the holiday. And feed it to EVERYONE ELSE of course.

I made a pumpkin pie shake. It was fine for my taste. The no bake pie above was a bit too sweet for me.

Here is my dieticians bariatric friendly recipes site:

http://insidekarenskitchen.com/bariatric-friendly-recipes/

I'm going to try this one out. Pumpkin cheesecake pudding parfaits ( for bariatric patients she says to substitute splenda for sugar)

http://insidekarenskitchen.com/pumpkin-cheesecake-pudding-parfaits/

20 hours ago, skinnylife said:

I'm going to try this one out. Pumpkin cheesecake pudding parfaits ( for bariatric patients she says to substitute splenda for sugar)

http://insidekarenskitchen.com/pumpkin-cheesecake-pudding-parfaits/

Ooo!! Those look kind of fantastic! Thank you for the links!!!! I'm going to save both of these to my recipes.

I always had trouble with coffee creamers giving me indigestion. Try Califia Almond Milk creamer. Their Pecan Caramel flavor is very nice.