Starwarsandcupcakes

I made a turkey butt cake for family thanksgiving this past weekend. Also used the rest of the cake batter to make cupcakes, then made cheesecake brownies, a pumpkin pie, a cheesecake pumpkin pie, apple pie sandwiches (pastry top par cooked and then the bottoms topped with pie filling and then par baked then topped and baked the rest of the way), peanut butter chocolate rice crisp treats, and my 12yr old made cake pop balls.

Made our at home thanksgiving meal yesterday to free up fridge space (it sort of worked). Turkey with a curry based dry brine, baked Chinese restaurant style green beans, an gratin potatoes, gravy (from a packet as I couldn’t be bothered to cook more), instant mashed potatoes (see above reasoning), instant stuffing (see above reasoning), cranberry chutney, candied sweet potatoes, mustard greens, and glazed carrots. Before, after the first try and then ended up eating the rest a couple hours later. Had leftover green beans and an eggnog and protein powder shake for breakfast this morning.

Also, the grand baby (will be one this month) and I had the same sized breakfast earlier this week and here’s our before and after. Mine is the light blue plate. Scrambled eggs with onion, mushrooms, and salmon with maple buttered toast.

Doing pretty good! My first meal post-op was liquids and since I kept it down I got mashed potatoes and soup for dinner. I have my 2 week post op this coming Friday and by then I should know when I’ll be allowed back to work. Meals this past week have been mostly on the older kids to make because I’m too tired by dinner to care. 😂🤷‍♀️ So for me I’ve been eating mostly salads. The one with corn is vegan ground beef, green chilis and corn. The kids topped theirs with cheese and cornbread batter and baked it.

This is hopefully something I’m doing right with my kids. Several have sensory issues around food so I don’t push it. My youngest has “exploration” bites and if he doesn’t like it then I’ll make him a pb&j which is a safe food for him. But I constantly remind my kids that if they’re done eating they don’t need to eat more and that listening to their body is the best thing they can do for themselves.

I use this recipe but omit the oil and use 1/4 cup egg whites instead of the egg and fold in the seeds with the cheese and flour before adding the egg.

An option not mentioned here is to mix with almond flour, low fat cheese, and egg whites to make seeded crackers. Really good with soups, salads, or dips like hummus.

Yesterday’s lunch and dinner and today’s breakfast. Lunch- after pics of the salad and mini cannolis. I only ate 2 bites of soup as lunch just wasn’t my jam. Dinner- only grabbed an after of the salad but ate a small roll with about a tsp butter, 3/4 the steak, 4 bites of the underside of the chicken (it was dry and the sauce was gross), both carrots, 2 bites of asparagus (less than 1/2 a spear), and about 1/3 of the mashed potatoes underneath. I ate about 1/4 of the 2 desserts offered because I split with a friend. I also had some 1/3 cup street corn dip, 2 mini pita, half an eggroll filled with black beans and corn, a mini eggroll, and 2tbsp hummus as a snack yesterday and chips with queso during bingo. I gave my alcoholic drink tickets to someone else because after half a glass of champagne I was done drinking alcohol. Breakfast- coffee had half and half and I drank it all. Drank about 6oz of the milk but ate the yogurt and oatmeal. I didn’t eat any of the mid-morning pastries offered today and the boxed lunch I picked was a roasted vegetable wrap with balsamic dressing, 4oz of potato salad, a cookie and I stopped and picked up green beans from the truck stop. I ate 1/4 cup of the green beans, 3/4 of the potato salad, pulled off about a 1/3 of the tortilla before eating the wrap and gave away the cookie. I can’t wait to have surgery next week because within 1-3hrs of eating I’m in unbelievable pain. I can chug my water like I could a few months ago for the same reason and I’m over it.

That’s honestly one of my favorite substitutes for pumpkin pie

It depends on size for time but I usually do 375 for roughly 35-40 minutes and check with a fork to see if soft. Not saying I’m gonna do it but I bet these would be amazing blended with ricotta, Parmesan cheese and eggs to make mini soufflé cups.

Uncovered. For sure! That way it gets the little crispy bits on it. If you don’t want those then flip it over skin side out and poke a few times with a knife to vent the steam

Roasting it! Steaming comes second. Winter squashes (acorn, butternut, spaghetti, pumpkins, etc.) provide a much better flavor if roasted I find. It brings out the flavors and you can serve them so many ways. For sweet I usually do cinnamon and clove with a bit of maple syrup l. For savory I like to do garlic and onion powder, salt, pepper and then the last few minutes broil with some kind of cheese.

Breakfast and lunch today. With the soup I made cornbread with green chilis and cheese in it.

@Arabesque Vegemite on toast with no butter is one of my favorite comfort foods recently. If Vegemite wasn’t so expensive here ($10US for the small jar!) I’d buy it more often.

Lunch and dinner today sautéed edamame, coleslaw mix and vegan chicken in Japanese bbq sauce with a mandarin orange Soup made with red lentils, carrots, onions, tomatoes, acorn squash, veggie broth and spices. With a small side of rice.

Ok, so the grocery shopping this week- $76.20 after sales, coupons, and rebates. Half the strawberries are gone already and the raspberries got made into jam. We’ve had pasta salad and rice bowls for dinners and they’ve had danishes, cereal, and crescent rolls for breakfasts. And about 2lbs of carrots from a previous week, a random bunch of celery in the fridge and a huge chunk of ginger got prepped for smoothies later this week and is in the freezer. My total would’ve been $13.40 less if I hadn’t taken a child with me- they asked for the kimchi and banana pepper rings. And pointed out the caramel apples.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner today. Breakfast- wheat toast with laughing cow cheese, strawberries and a protein coffee. Lunch- a mini raspberry danish. I actually made 2 dozen last night. Baked a dozen and the other dozen are in a freezer bag ready to bake when I have surgery in a couple weeks. There’s leftover jam in the fridge for toast/french toast later this week. (That’s what I get for using all 36oz fresh raspberries I’ve bought the past week!) Dinner- I picked up some vegan chicken on clearance so we had that in rice bowls. I ended up eating about 3/4c fluffed rice, a total of 1 cup cucumbers, about 1/2 cup carrots, and little less than 1/2 cup of the stir fried “chicken” with onions, epis, and garlic in it and 1/2tbsp of sesame seeds. I didn’t eat the seaweed and the grandbaby ate what I didn’t. Also had a protein fiber bar as a snack. Might have another protein shake before bed but honestly, I’m not hungry.

Late night snack- whole wheat toast with Vegemite, a white cheddar babybel cheese, and a microwaved apple with cinnamon and a packet of equal. 245 calories, 6g fiber, and 8.5g protein.

Yay! We can be hyster-sisters! 😂 My total is scheduled for Halloween unless one of my ovaries decides on gymnastics and moving it up before then (I’m looking at you, left ovary!). On a side note, today’s breakfast was a single mini tootsie roll and prescription pain medicine.

Ok so the first weekend of every month (so people don’t assume I have $82 grocery bills all the time) I do the majority of bulk grocery purchases for that month. I ended up spending $482US after rebates. Not pictured is 5 cases of water, 5 12pks Gatorade zero, a 20lb bag of rice, 4 6pks Pepsi zero, and 2 big bags of caramels that teens have claimed as their own. The last 4 pictures are Flashfood produce that was $15.75. Half of the plums will get the dehydrated treatment, half the peppers will get frozen, the dragon fruit and avocado cut and frozen for smoothies, and I might try my hand at preserved lemons. The very last picture is the yucky produce that was in the order. I usually don’t sweat a few things being bad as it’s usually such a good deal.

Lately by ovaries and uterus have been trying to kill me so I’ve been nauseous and in SO much pain. They’re being evicted soon so 🤷‍♀️ hopefully I’ll have relief. Like today I had a protein shake (maybe?), a large frozen coffee, 1/3 of a gas station pizza thing (like a calzone but honestly awful), a grape gummy, and 1/2 a serving of spicy carbonara ramen.

If I’m cooking it I’m team crispy. If I’m not cooking it, I’m team bacon!

Meals so far for today along with 6oz of caramel macchiato and a medium skinny mocha. Oh and my current calorie count. I’m not really hungry (it’s currently 6pm) so I might eat a snack but I dunno. Breakfast- plain nonfat Greek yogurt, strawberries, and a baked strawberry oatmeal bar cut up lunch- beans and peppers over Spanish rice and chihuahua cheese that I ate in the car because my son had an appointment.

I wish more people had it. It’s a great tool for me. However, if you have a Whole Foods there’s a QR code in your Amazon app that lets you save more in their store on certain items. Trader Joe’s is also a great option as well as local international stores for certain things. Im guessing by the user name you live in FL. If you have a publix check out their weekly ads and shop based on that and digital coupons. I know Kroger sends me coupons for stuff I buy often as does Meijer (Michigan, Ohio, Indiana based) which is mostly free or cheap produce or meat now so I’m sure other stores do the same.

😂 nothing like a workout to get the appetite going I guess.