gamergirl

You know I went to an in-person support group this weekend and took my 13-year old son with me. All around me were people saying they'd lost 100lbs, 200 lbs etc. When it was my turn, I told them that my teenager weighed 120 lbs, so they should take a good look at him, because that's how much weight they'd lost. It's mind boggling isn't it?

Good! I'd cut the tomato paste a bit more and put a few spoonfuls of yogurt in it just to reduce the acidity a bit. On my blog, I have a few other Indian food recipes as well a few Thai, Ethiopian, etc. If all we can eat is meat, we have to keep it exciting, right?! The blog is at www.sleevers.wordpress,com

Spent a little time cooking this weekend. Recipe with pics here: http://sleevers.wordpress.com/2013/09/15/crockpot-chicken-tikka-masala-recipe/ This is a little more fidgety than my typical recipes but still doable. One short cut is to make twice the recipe of the chicken kebabs I posted. Split the chicken in half and use half to cook on stove-top and the rest, add to your crockpot. Don't be intimidated by the list of ingredients, they all get processed together and thrown into the crockpot. Here is the chicken tikka recipe. Make about 1 lb of chicken tenders/thighs this way. Ingredients for the masala Grind together the following in your food processor: 1 onion roughly chopped 4 cloves garlic peeled 4 in piece of ginger roughly chopped 1 green chile 3 large tomatoes 1 small can of tomato paste 2 tsp home-made garam masala (or store-bought) 1 tsp turmeric 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp ground cumin 2 tsp ground coriander (grind coriander and cumin together in a coffee grinder) 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 cup of water Additional Ingredients to add later 1/2 c half and half or cream 4-5 tbsp fresh cilantro chopped Method 1. Pour the masala ingredients into your crockpot. You want a fairly thick mixture. 2. Add the marinated chicken. Honestly, if you run out of time or couldn’t be bothered to make the chicken tikka recipe, just get some fresh chicken and add it in. 3. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-6 hours until the chicken is falling apart. 4. Remove the lid toward the last hour of cooking and add in the cream or half and half and mix well. If you want a thicker curry, leave the lid off. 5. That's it! Enjoy. I think this would taste good with Zucchini "noodles" or Spaghetti squash because it's got a really rich taste and may be too much by itself. Typically it's eaten over rice, but we probably don't want to do that.

Yes I found that during the first few weeks if I overdid it (and I did that a lot because I can't sit still too long), various parts of my stomach just HURT. I too was on a stationary cycle at 3 weeks even though my surgeon had said don't do anything but walk at first. (I didn't mean to disobey him, I honestly forgot he said that). I was cycling in a leisurely fashion and then got off and realized my stomach area was hurting. Reminded me of his instructions real quick! It's just your body telling you to chill so all good I think.

Just like its mama.

I was sleeved 8/2 and I stalled for two weeks too, or near to that. I know it was at least 12 days. I did NOTHING different to get out of it. Well I take that back. I fretted, I panicked, I got depressed, I got impatient, I went 3 days without weighing, i wondered if I was eating too little or too much, i scrutinized my carbs and my Protein....but through it I ate and drank and walked just as i was supposed to. And then one day it was gone. I lost 21 lbs the first month since starting pre-op and then I lost only 7 lbs the second month. But despite that, somehow it magically added up to 28 lbs in two months so I thought I better be happy about that! so frustrating right?? Just be patient. It will happen.

yes but this one's FREE!

I don't think it's you. Everything I'm reading says put in airtight container, but really, eat them fast I will have to experiment with smaller portions at a time so we can eat them fast in a house with two sleevers and one picky 13-year old.

we used to buy the veggie chips that looked like dehydrated veggies or something like that at central market. And then we found out they were fried. Ugh.

At the risk of sounding like I'm pimping out my blog, all the recipes I've been cooking are on my blog, www.sleevers.wordpress.com I also have a section on there that says what I'm eating but lately it's a little neglected because I'm pretty much eating what I'm cooking! Also several of us are on MFP and there's a thread here with our usernames on it. I love to peek at others' diaries to see what they're having. Today I had homemade thai chicken sausage for dinner and homemade crab cakes for lunch along with 2 shakes, and 1 serving of cottage cheese. yesterday I had an Ethiopian ground beef recipe I made for lunch and crab cakes for dinner along with a Protein Bar because I didn't eat all my calories. I eat a lot of chicken, fish, ground beef, a little cheese, some yogurt and cottage cheese, at least one shake a day, and every once in a while, a little side of zucchini or cucumbers or some other veg. hth

wow! I think i might get a dehydrator. The one gadget my techy husband and nerdy me do not yet have in our kitchen. Thanks for the link!

i luuuurrrve Jade's recipes! Pre-sleeve, I used to make her fried rice. Simplest and best recipe I've ever tried. Post sleeve, we made her egg drop Soup with tomato. SO good! Actually they make roasted chickpeas in India for a snack but they're made in industrial ovens so I had no idea how to do it. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

I'm so glad you mentioned a dehydrator! I was wondering what veggie chips in a dehydrator turn out like? are they crunchy? or just...dry? I mean apart from spinach and kale and "light" things like that. What would happen to apples or carrots in a dehydrator?

I've seen those before and there's very little veggie in them unfortunately. First ingredient is potato flour

So i saw something cute on pinterest yesterday. Little tiny sliders made from one meatball each. Like this: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3443/3306861303_6638d65637.jpg Totally doable, right??

Today I have lost this much. Yup one bag of dog food and a pineapple, which is the same as 32 lbs So thankful for this surgery. Been staring at that bag of dog food going...daaaayyyymmmm!

Just posted a recipe on my blog for thai-style peanut chicken with a picture of the finished product. http://sleevers.wordpress.com/2013/09/19/thai-style-chicken-in-peanut-sauce-high-protein/ Very simple recipe goes together in 15 minutes for a delicious dinner. Serve on top of fresh cucumber “noodles” for a wonderful blend of tastes. Ingredients 2 tsp ghee or coconut oil 2 cloves crushed garlic 1 tsp grated ginger 1 lb. ground chicken or turkey For the Sauce 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter 1/2 cup hot water to emulsify the peanut butter 1 tbsp Sriracha sauce (adjust for your spice needs) 1 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp sweet chile sauce (I used Target’s Asian inspired sweet chili marinade, use any sweet-hot sauce) Juice of one fresh lime Salt to taste For the garnish 5-6 tsp cilantro chopped fine 2-3 tbsp crushed peanuts Method Heat ghee or coconut oil in saucepan When lightly smoking, add garlic and ginger to fragrance the oil. Cook for 30 seconds while stirring. Do not let it burn. Add ground chicken, or turkey. Break lumps and saute until you no longer have raw lumps. Meanwhile, mix together all ingredients for the sauce. Add hot water last, and mix well with a spoon until you have a smooth mixture. Pour it over the chicken, turn heat to low. Mix the sauce & the chicken well. Cover with a lid and let it simmer together, and let the sauce thicken. Remove cover in 5 mins and garnish with cilantro and peanuts if desired. The cilantro does lend a nice fresh taste. Serve over cucumber juliennes or noodles for a fresh taste or enjoy with sprouted mung beans for crunch.

Oh re vitamins. I take and enjoy my gummies very much! Look forward to them each night. Vitafusion women's multivites, b complex, omega 3, vitamin d, and some fiber gummies plus bariatric advantage caramel calcium. It's our little treat at night and if I forget, my husband demands them . Nice, easy way to get your vities

I'm at 7 weeks out. I eat at or less than 700 calories but I have to do that over 5 meals. So each meal is about 150 calories which is very little food at one time. A lot of times, my entire meal could be one egg and that's it. As to drinking, for the first few weeks, I set a timer after my meals. As soon as 30 mins were up, I picked up my cup and started sipping. It's a lot of timing and planing at first! But it gets to be more second nature over time. HTH

We're at 7 weeks now. I haven't yet tried a salad but plan to inch up into it by trying one raw veg at a time. We have been eating small amounts of cooked veggies from the beginning but the only raw one we've tried so far is cucumbers which created no issues. I think before I dive into my much-missed salad, I will probably have us try each of the veggies separately.

So glad you posted this! Wonderful to read how "normal" life can be in time.

I drink coffee and absolutely love it. Love it so much that although it made me illl the first few rimes I kept trying it after short breaks . and Lo and behold, I now have no trouble with it. If you like iced coffee you might try the Chike Protein coffee. We have that every morning. My husband puts one shot of espresso in it (coz you can never have too much), two scoops of chiike coffee, 1 c of soy milk, and tops with ice and blends it, and itd makes enough so we both have a cup each. Wonderful flavor plus protein. What more can you ask for?

I've been lactose intolerant for years now, but I can drink/eat dairy with lactaid pills. Maybe worth trying that? Sorry you're having such a hard time.