Smye

Experiments in Charcuterie - Part 1 Anybody have any experience making their own prosciutto? Got any tips? I'll post the recipe when it's done. According to my calculations, about 20 minutes worth of work spread out over 2 weeks seems to be about what we'll need.

New Recipe Posted: Looking for a healthy, umami-filled treat to help you stay cool in the summer heat? Look no further than kimchi. Odd though it may sound, Kimchi, along with other spicy fermented foods, has been shown to greatly cool off the human body on a hot day AND it's packed with all sorts of other nutritional benefits - leading the National Institutes of Health to declare it one of "the few true superfoods."

Weekly recipe: Curly Fries They take about 15 minutes to make, are low carb, high nutrition, and taste shocklingly like those you would find at the fast food joint downtown that sells those roast beef (sorta) sandwiches. They go great with Smye's Catsup  @@linedancer718, have you had any more success with the site?

It was about 6 weeks, but be careful, eating Protein bars can, for some, be something of a gateway drug. Not to mention all of the junk they have in addition to the protein. I definitely use them for an on-the-go emergency food when I need to, I don't mean to say they're 'evil' or anything, but your body will do better with less processed foods (a recent NIH study confirmed long term weight loss is significantly greater among those who eat their protein in meat/cheese/etc rather than shakes/bars). Check out this blog for some recipe ideas that taste pretty darned good.

Turkey Meatballs now posted @@Tanika81, no problem - thank you for your ask!

@@Tanika81, they're in the oven now and the post is written. As soon as they're out I'll snap a photo and post.

No one noticed mine (or said anything at least) until I'd lost 87. Now at 120 they all ask "we're worried about you, you've dropped a TON of weight in the last couple of weeks." It's hard not to pull out graph paper and chart it for them.

@@India928, Here here!

Any addiction's going to screw up your life - rather than hoping for an exercise addition (albeit one I've wished for in my previous life), I'd suggest to anyone dealing with WLS to get a good therapist and see them, at least monthly, for 2 years post op, if not longer. We're far better off seeing a therapist when we're entirely psychologically healthy and addiction free (excepting food, of course) and staying that way rather than waiting until we need it. That said, the likelihood of addiction switching from food to sex, drugs, alcohol, gambling, exercise, etc is no greater (and no less) than the likelihood of anyone else quitting another addiction swapping to another one. There's a reason for all of that coffee and those buckets of hard candies at AA, NA, etc meetings - folks just swap to something more socially acceptable. I'll agree I'd rather my own child was addicted to coffee than nicotine or narcotics, but I do wish 12-step programs did a better job writ large (I get that this is a HUGELY oversimplified generalization) of helping folks do more than just 'kick the ____ habit' and focussed on building a whole self in recovery. But that's just my 2 cents. In short - yes, you've got a higher risk than someone without other addictions, and a higher risk than if you stayed in your food addiction, but nothing some dedicated, honest, and vulnerable work with a good therapist can't help you through. Good luck!

@@Tanika81, that sounds excellent!

@@Tanika81, I'm not ready to post the recipe, likely not until Saturday, but you'll need carrots, onion, chipotle peppers (if you like those) and parsley for these meatballs if you don't already have them.

@@linedancer718, near Olympia, WA. As for finding things on the blog, you can just scroll through the blog or use the labels links on the righthand side. I'm working on an index for the entire blog but it turns out that's more work than I'd imagined so I'm about 70% there. Your last option is use the 'blog archive' drop down menu on the right to see a list of what's been posted when. Is there something particular you're looking for? Or something specific you have in mind in terms of site navigation? I'm always open to ways to improve my blog!

@@Tanika81, I do indeed. I'll see about getting it up in the next few days. Congrats on your progress by the way!

@@sunshine22, glad you like them - let me know what you think when you get a chance to try them

New recipe posted: Lettuce Soup Phase 2 friendly and yet still worth eating 4 months post op

The blender works 95% as well.

@@lisaanewme67, great question. just pop raw cauliflower into a food processor and pulse a few times until you get rice-sized chunks. Don't let it puree. If you have a grating blade, all the better, just grate and call it good. I've got a step by step here. Also, congrats on your surgery!