Starwarsandcupcakes

Try silken tofu in smoothies! I forgot all about it. It’s smoother and not as grainy as regular tofu and blends great. Also maybe see if you can find collagen powder. It might sit better as it’s a different protein structure than whey, pea, or brown rice.

I haven’t read through all the replies but- bone broth- has protein and the added bonus of liquids. You can make high protein milk- 4 cups skim milk with a cup of dried milk powder stirred in. The bonus to this is liquid and you can use it to make soups to add variety. Ricotta bake- it’s basically ricotta cheese, a couple eggs, spices and topped with marinara (or can add after) and baked. I used to make them in muffin cups to warm up later. There’s tons of recipes out there for it. Maybe try a plant based protein shake to see how that goes. Many of the prepared ones and powders are whey protein as either concentrate or isolate.

Here’s todays meals and calories- breakfast was a protein shake with special k protein cereal (a whopping 39g of carbs per serving- I probably won’t but it again). And obviously coffee was needed with the rest of that protein shake because clearly I can’t even function to make it. Lunch was fajita meat and veggies and pea salad. I counted what I ate while making it but was done after the meat and veg. Dinner was surprise, another salad! The lonely piece of chicken didn’t make the cut into the digestion club. 😂 Also, in case you’re wondering what I do with ALL that fruit I buy. Tada- fruit salad! A mini watermelon, a whole fresh pineapple, 2 containers of blueberries, a 2lb container of strawberries, 4 apples. It made about 2 gallons of fruit salad and almost half has already mysteriously disappeared but I think it was the children. 🤔

@Vivis I know both my sister (she has gi issues) and myself (no gi issues) both had looser stools on the pre-op diet as it’s mostly liquids and no real fiber. It only lasted a couple of days for me and about a week for her. Hopefully it gets better for you!

Chicken breast, baby broccoli, and baby carrots with everything bagel seasoning. The chicken ended up getting dry so I couldn’t eat anymore.

Dinner last night- a salad! 😍 I ate the whole thing.

Honestly it was accidental 😂 I just wanted to add unflavored protein powder to my broth but it basically turned into cheese curds because the protein powder was whey based. If you like cheese curds you might like it.

I was only allowed 3-4 shakes a day, 2 cups of broth, cucumbers and celery. I found that freezing the ready to drink shakes for a couple hours made them slushee like and I could eat them with a spoon. I also used a cirkul bottle for water so I could switch the cartridge flavors pretty often and adjust the amount of flavor as I wanted. They have some good ones now like green apple and watermelon. I also mixed unflavored whey protein powder with bouillon powder and boiling water to make it into flavored “cheese curds” to eat in broth. Or I’d thinly slice celery and boil in broth to have a sort of noodles (not helpful for you I know, sorry.) Also freezing prepared crystal light into popsicle molds wasn’t against the rules for me so I did that so I could eat those.

A grocery haul- So I did most of my weekly shopping today and thought I’d share. This is for myself and 4 kids. I spent $125.19US and got $5.75 in cash back rewards so just under $120US total. 10lbs strawberries 5 pints blueberries 5 half pints raspberries 2 English cucumbers 4 zucchini 4 bell peppers 10oz Bag of spinach 5oz Bag of kale Bag of shredded carrots 6 individual yogurt cups 3 8oz bags reduced fat Mexican cheese blend 4 Gatorade real hydrations Olive Garden light Italian dressing New Primals BBQ sauce Unsweetened coconut flakes 1.5lbs shaved beef 5-count pack protein bars 2 12-count toaster pastries 1 16-count cereal treat bars A bag of Twix popcorn 2 Twix candy bars stovetop popcorn kit A pack of taki meat sticks Pack of cookies Not pictured- 5 boxes brownie mix (for work goodies as they were on sale) 5 24-count cases of water (we have hard well water) 3 2-liter bottles Diet Pepsi A 4-count box ice cream cones A 2.5lb bag chicken tenderloins (already in the slow cooker)

I bruise easily. I also got several lovenox injections in that area before leaving the hospital. I also ended up getting an iron infusion before discharge because my hemoglobin was a 7.1 thanks to period related anemia and surgery the same week.

Made a monstrosity of a 3-cheese and onion quiche for dinner tonight. Ate a whole 34g before my stomach said, “yeah, maybe not.” At least I have my blended protein shake as backup. 😂🤷‍♀️

I wasn’t prescribed any blood thinners after surgery buuuut I did leave the hospital with this doozy. It never hurt but man, was it ugly!

Mostly for price, quality, and taste comparison. I have teenagers who have claimed the remainder of them all mixed together. 🙄 My usual order is usually a Starbucks venti mocha made with nonfat milk and an extra double shot of espresso. If I go out for coffee. At home (and work) I drink the equivalent of about 4 cups of strong brewed coffee a day on top of a couple Diet Pepsi bottles and about 80oz of water. My dolphin mug in my pictures is my coffee mug and I drink 2 of those most days. 😂🤷‍♀️ I’m actually surprised it flies with both my cardiologist and bariatric team.

I ate around the sour cream on top and salt would’ve helped for sure. But seeing as I rarely drink (first time since 11/2020) I don’t even own wine glasses. Although, I could probably find a use for margarita salt….

Today though… the majority of my calories have been from sampling half a dozen iced caramel macchiatos… ya know, for science! Ok, mostly to see which one is the best. They’re all a “large” and vary in ounces pretty significantly. And contrary to the amounts drunk, the one with the coffee mug on it (a local coffee place) and the one from Dunkin are my favorites. Timmy’s was disappointing as it weirdly tasted of burnt maple syrup and the one from Winan’s (a chocolates and coffee shop) tasted like chocolate. Starbucks lacked any real caramel flavor and McDonald’s was a caramel overload. Left to right top picture- Dunkin, Starbucks, McDonald’s, local place, Winan’s, and Timmy’s. Also, it’s now dinner time and I’m not hungry and need a nap.

Last night’s dinner was from a local Mexican place. I got mixed fajitas. The before and after is misleading as one kid ate about 1/3 of my beans and another had a pretty stuffed fajita. I ended up throwing away the other tortilla. Also, I hardly ever drink and managed maybe 4oz of a frozen margarita. 😂🙃 Although I did end up eating 2 pieces of sopapilla and 2.5 churros.

I was too lazy to slice brisket for bulgogi so I used ground beef instead. Even my picky eater loves it so I consider it a win.

Y’all my new foods to try came in! 😍 The gondre (the one on the right) has a whopping 20% of daily calcium and iron needs in a 14g serving. These are definitely for cooking on my days off because most of the recipes I’ve seen require a 24hr soak and then another 30 minutes of boiling after.

The closest connection I have is a father who was stationed in South Korea in the 80’s. He did bring home a love of kimchi though. I get loads of strange looks when I walk into Asian or Hispanic grocery stores which I find hilarious. When I was about 4-5 months post VSG I was able to eat a few pieces of sushi but that was pretty much my extent then. After my revision I think it was about month 4. It wasn’t ever very much at first maybe a couple of tablespoons. I’ve since learned that rice is a slider food for me so I try to limit it to a half cup or less but I know it’s different for everyone.

I’m 2.5 years from VSG and 19 months out from VSG to RNY revision from hernia and GERD. I can’t eat a whole bunch about 1/3-1/2 cup at a time as I find it more filling than actual rice.

Since I had been up for 4hrs I was finally ready for breakfast! Today’s was bibimbap with the remaining tteokbokki in place of an egg, also, bulgogi, cucumber salad, daikon radish salad, and the first tastings of the daikon radish kimchi (definitely needs more time to ferment!). I’ll be finishing the rest later because it’s leftover worthy. Weirdly since surgery leftovers haven’t appealed to me.

I keep telling myself “I’ll post that later” and then never do but I take the pictures. 🤦‍♀️ Anyway, my stomach has been on a “let’s eat Asian” kick the past couple weeks so I’ve been making mostly Korean food. Hot and sour soup (Chinese) bulgogi (Korean marinated beef) tteokbokki (SPICY Korean rice cakes, I bought these because I can also, they’re a lot of work in a home kitchen) 😂 kani (Japanese cucumber and imitation crab/surimi salad) that I’ve made twice because a teenager ate most of the first batch without me! oi muchim (Korean cucumber salad) Musaengchae (Korean daikon radish salad) Chadol doenjang jjigae (Korean- it’s a beef stew of sorts-light on the beef and has zucchini, potatoes, and tofu) I’ve also made some daikon kimchi but it’s not fermented enough yet to eat 😩, some pickled red onions, simmering roasted beef marrow for bone broth, and last night made roasted Cornish hen with potatoes, carrots, and onions that my youngest refused to eat because the “chicken” wasn’t breaded. 🤦‍♀️

I’ve been on a salad and smoothie kick lately. When I went to the store hungry yesterday I bought like a dozen premade salads and the stuff to make more. 🤷‍♀️ Today’s smoothie- spinach, kale, strawberries, almond milk and protein powder. Then there’s chicken caeser salad, my fruit and veggies box, a cheese stick, 2 protein drinks, a mushroom and havarti cheese omelette, a granola bar, 2 wasa crisps, peanut butter, and a sugar free energy drink. This one is from Saturday- pineapple, kale smoothie with protein powder, Caesar salad, fake chicken and onion stir fry, pork fried rice, hot and sour soup, seaweed snacks, 2 protein drinks, wasa crackers, peanut butter, and a granola bar.

Post Valentine’s Day picture dump of the goodies I brought into work. I also made Reese’s stuffed peanut butter brookies and lemon poppyseed pound cake that I didn’t get a picture of. -cheesecake brownies, “mint to be” cookies, snickerdoodles, Valentine’s Day white chocolate fudge, salted caramel fudge, and hot chocolate fudge. I’m a fan of trying new meats. Camel, bison, deer, duck, lamb, cow tongue, and rabbit are all things I’ll definitely eat again. I’ll have to redo the emu though because I think it might’ve been the way it was cooked. And if I ever want to try alligator I only have to drive south.

That’s where I got the idea from but I definitely wanted corned beef hash so it replaced the other meat options and surprisingly scrambled eggs goes great with crispy tortilla chips.