Real Food, Real Weightloss, Still Delicious

[Smye 694]

Hello BariBrothers, BariSisters, BariFamilies, and general lovers of healthy, good food. My name is Smye and I live on a small farm in the Pacific Northwest.

During both pre and post op appointments with my nutritionist, I was horrified by the suggested things I could eat once I was back to 'regular foods.' The suggestions I was given were flavorless, full of preservatives & junk, and/or otherwise reminiscent of the american 'instafoods' that are, in my opinion, a huge part of the original problems. That said, I wanted to share some of the real, whole foods I've been enjoying lately without hurting my sleeve or deviating from the dietary guidelines provided to me by my NUT. I'm down 86 lb since I started this journey on Jan 22, 2015, and loving every meal as much as, or more than, pre-op.

I've spent the last 7 years accommodating good food to meet my partner's corn, dairy, and gluten allergies without losing any of the flavor or texture with 80% of all ingredients sourced from my own small farm, so it wasn't too big of a jump to make these recipes low carb, high Protein and delicious.

Over the next few weeks I'll be posting recipes like:

Bariatric BibimBop
Pho
Pastrami Sandwich
Madras curry with fried tofu
chicken tenders with sauce
Sushi - Philadelphia rolls in particular
Personal Pizzas
Smoked cherry-glazed chicken
Barbeque-smoked chicken
Ham and cheese omlette
Pickled duck eggs
Quiche
Ham, egg & cheese sandwiches
Bari-bread
Guacamole Cheeseburgers
And many more

There's no need for food to be tasteless, uninteresting, or questionable in it's contents. If there's something you'd like to see that's not here, please PM me and I'll do my best - I also make sure to try everything myself and feed it to my executive chef neighbor before I post it to ensure it's excellent!

Edited May 2, 2015 by Smye

[Smye 694]

Bari-Bread: Prep time - 10 minutes, Cook time - 20-30 minutes

Let's start with the basics. I'm sure many of us wish we could still have some sort of bread, even if only as a vehicle for meat, eggs, or cheese on our sandwiches. Despite their apparent simplicity, this riff on Paleo Oopsie Rolls have a great flavor reminiscent of potato bread and easily modifiable to meet most any palatte.

Ingredients:

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

1/8 tsp salt

3 egg whites

3 Tbsp lowfat cream cheese or neufchatel, room temparature

2 Tbsp Water

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 300F

Beat egg whites & cream of tartar until stiff peaks form

Blend Water, salt & cream cheese

Fold cream cheese mixture into egg whites gently

Spoon in 6 equal sized 'patties' on nonstick surface (parchment paper with NS spray or silpat)

Bake at 300F for 20-30 minutes depending upon elevation. Remove when browned but at about the texture of the tip of your nose.

Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool to room temperature

Store in refrigerator in an open ziploc

Nutrition per 'roll'

Calories: 25

Total fat: 1 g

Total Carbs: 1 g

Total Protein: 3 g

Cholesterol: 4 mg

Sodium: 99 mg

Potassium: 50 mg

Modifications:

Add dill or dehydrated onion for sandwich rolls

Add caraway for a rye-like flavor

Add sesame seeds on top for burgers

Add basil & oregano to use as a pizza crust

Add taragon for a chicken salad sandwich

Edited May 4, 2015 by Smye

[Stevehud 1,790]

ok i will make this on saturday il let you know how it turns out. a substitute for bread would be a godsend, If its good ill nominate you for sainthood in any religion or devote one to you.

[Smye 694]

@@Stevehud, HA! Thanks. It may take a couple of tries to get the baking time right, but man oh man is it good. I use it for pastrami, burgers, ham sandwiches, pizza, with a little garlic & oil for naan. All in all, it ain't half bad.

[Smye 694]

Bariatric Bibim Bop Prep time - 5 minutes Cook time - 10-15 minutes

Alright, I know, Bibim Bob means mixed rice, so any true fan of Korean food, Korean or otherwise will probably want to shoot me for calling this bibim bop, but hey, I love Korean food and this ain't half bad for a bariatric modification. The trick here is to use a little rice vinegar in the 'rice' and then broil it before serving.

Ingredients (per serving)

Kale, spinach, bok choi, or other greens - 25 g

Gochujang (korean fermented pepper paste) - 1/2 Tbsp

Ground beef (or goat, or chicken, or pork) - 30 g

Egg - 1

Cauliflower - 50 g

Rice vinegar (unseasoned) - 1 tsp

Kimchee - 1.5 oz

Sesame oil - 1 tsp

Tamari or soy sauce - 2 tsp

Crushed garlic - 1/2 clove

Sesame seeds - 1 tsp

Stevia or other sweetener - just a sprinkle (optional)

Preparation:

'rice' the raw cauliflower in a food processor or cheese grater until rice-sized chunks form, mix with rice vinegar. DO NOT PUREE

Spread the cauliflower in a thin, even layer on a baking sheet, set aside - you'll want to broil this at the end but have it pre-riced

Add sesame oil to pan on med-low heat and saute garlic until not quite brown

Add greens and sesame seeds until wilted. Set aside.

Add ground beef, tamari, gochujang, and stevia to the pan used to cook greens. If you can't find any gochujang (usually found near the curry paste in asian grocers), you can use a black bean chili sauce - even fewer calories just not quite as tasty or authentic

Cook until beef is just done, set aside.

Now fry egg in the same pan, sunny-side up. You want it nearly raw, just cooked enough.

While egg is frying, broil cauliflower rice until brown and almost crispy but not burnt.

Add rice to bowl, top with beef, egg & greens. Stir and enjoy! For extra heat, add no-sugar-added sambal - but go easy. It packs a punch that may be hard to handle for casual-SE Asian cuisine eaters.

Nutrition:

Calories: 283 - but good luck finishing even 1 serving in a single meal - I usually split into two meals

Carbohydrates: 13 g

Fat: 10 g (use less oil, have less fat)

Protein: 13 g

Sodium: 555 mg

Edited May 4, 2015 by Smye

[Stevehud 1,790]

i think you have the sodium grams wrong on that 555 grams is over a pound and a half of salt lol.

[Smye 694]

Thanks, a factor of 1000 is quite a bit

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

I don't cook much, and just had my surgery so am on Clear Liquids. I am commenting on how good this looks Sao I can find this post when I get there.

[Smye 694]

Black & Bleu Pastrami Sandwich Prep time - 8 minutes Cook time - 2 minutes

I've never been a huge fan of pastrami. On it's own it reminds me too much of an over-cured hotdog, even when I make my own from my goats. But put it on this particular sandwich - WATCH OUT. For the recipe below, I used the columbus brand pastrami from costco as I doubt most others here do their own charcuterie. Also, please note that this sandwich is quite large (from a post-op perspective), I rarely can even quite finish a half, but it's just as good the next day.

Ingredients:

Pastrami - 3 Slices

BariBread - 2 slices

Dill Pickle - 1

Reduced fat cheddar, shredded - 20 g

Chunky bleu cheese dressing - 1 Tbsp

Stone ground mustard - 2 tsp

Arugula (optional) - 1 small handful

Yellow onion, diced - 1/4 cup

Preparation:

Carmelize your onions over medium low heat - this is essential! Just be careful not to burn them

Decide which slice of your bread will be side A and which will be side B, we'll be building these open-faced and the order is important.

Slice A:

Slather on the mustard - use more if you like, it's calorie free (nearly)

Slice your pickle into even slices and arrange to cover as much of the bread as possible

Fold the pastrami slices in half and arrange on the pickles evenly

Slice B:

Spread the bleu cheese dressing on this side evenly

Spread the onions over the dressing evenly

Spread the cheese over the onions, be sure to cover all of the onions as this will help hold the sandwich together.

Low-broil both slices open-faced until the cheese is melted and lightly browned. Watch it closely as it burns easily.

Remove from the broiler, place the arugula, if desired, between the halves of the sandwich, put everything together, slice into quarters and enjoy! Just be sure to chew thoroughly.

Nutrition - remember, I only ever eat, at most, half of one of these at a time

Calories: 338

Carbs: 7 g

Fat: 21 g

Protein: 30 g

Sodium (ACK!): 1,027 mg

Edited May 4, 2015 by Smye

[Smye 694]

@@Inner Surfer Girl, welcome to the other side! Let us know if you need ideas for your various phases, much like the 'forever' phase, most of the common suggestions out there taste awful after a few days.

[Smye 694]

Bari-Sushi Prep time - 10-15 minutes for your first try, 4-5 thereafter

Oh Sushi, how I love thee, let me count the ways. From our first date, to our 7th wedding anniversary this June, sushi has been a centerpiece to the culinary aspects of my relationship with my partner. Neither of us cares for any cooked fish with fins, but give it to us raw and we'll just about beg. I'm fortunate enough that post-op, I've had no problem with the nori (seaweed) in sushi, but note that some folks really struggle with it. If this is you, try soy wrappers that you can find at most asian grocers instead. If you're really stuck, ask your favorite sushi bar if they know where you can get some or will sell you one of theirs to try.

Also, with this sushi, the 'rice' is 100% omittable here - I've recently eliminated it from my sushi rolls, but hey, I'm just trying to cram more delicious salmon into my pouch, but that doesn't mean this 'rice' isn't great!

Oh, and I should point out that the term "sushi grade" is absolutely meaningless. To make sure your fish is safe for you, buy fresh fish, make sure it doesn't smell fishy at all, pre slice it into your preferred sushi style, and then freeze it for at least a week. The parasites and other bugs that might be in your salmon cannot survive a week at temperatures that cold. tuna is another matter - here you want it fresh fresh fresh and never frozen. If in doubt, find a local sushi chef and ask him/her.

The recipe below is for a single Philadelphia roll, about all I can eat in 1 sitting, but feel free to modify to your heart's content, that's the beauty of sushi.

Ingredients:

Nori or soy wrap - 1 sheet

Raw salmon, previously frozen for > 1 wk - 50 g

Lowfat cream cheese or neufchatel - 1 Tbsp

Avocado - 25 g

Cauliflower, riced - 35 g

Rice vinegar, unseasoned - 1.5 tsp

Tamari or low-sodium soy sauce - 1 Tbsp

Wasabi paste - 1/4 tsp

Preparation:

Thaw your salmon

Microwave the riced cauliflower, covered, for 30-60 seconds until soft

Drain excess Water from cauliflower

Stir in rice vinegar to taste

Spread warm vinegarred cauliflower onto nori sheet, leaving ~1 inch uncovered on 1 edge

Roughly 1 inch away from the edge opposite the bare edge of the nori, lay the salmon, cream cheese, and avocado in a line parallel to the line of bare nori

Tightly roll the sushi up, starting on the 'filling edge.' This takes practice, but can be helped a lot by using a sushi mat

Wet a sharp knife and slice roll into 1/2 inch rounds

Mix tamari & wasabi in a dipping dish

Dip your sushi, eat and enjoy

Nutrition:

Calories: 164

Carbs: 7 g

Fat: 10 g

Protein: 14 g

Sodium: 225 mg (assuming you don't drink the leftover tamari when you're done)

Deliciousness: infinite

Edited May 4, 2015 by Smye

[ssourgirl 151]

Thanks so much for sharing!

You should consider starting a blog and posting pictures of the food.

[Smye 694]

@@ssourgirl, not a bad idea... maybe I will

[SuzeMuze 338]

@@Smye I have a challenge for you! What do you have in your Bari Bag o' Tricks for those of us who choose not to eat meat or eggs? I'm not a vegetarian, but I don't care for the taste of most meats (can't tolerate them anyway) and the thought of eating an egg or drinking a glass of milk makes me gag. I'm living life on Syntrax & less than 30 carb a day & would love some suggestions of "real food"- I miss chewing!

[hillgirly 228]

I've always made the Bari-bread (oopsie rolls) mixing the yolks with the cream cheese. I'll have to try without them - is the texture a lot different? I bought a muffin top pan to make them in & it works great!! I usually store mine in a paper bag in the fridge & it seems to work well (not that they last that long). Thank you for the ideas/recipes!