What's On Your Thursday Menu, RNYers?

I haven't been post-op for colder weather yet, but here are some of my old favorites!  I will tweak most of them and still use :) beef-stew-with-beer-and-paprika , sausage-kale-and-lentil-soup , Haven't tried this one yet, but it looks good chicken-bacon-crock-pot-chowder

4 Months 1 week since surgery

B: 3/4c Fairlife skim milk, 1 scoop Syntrax Milk Chocolate

S: Light string cheese

L: 1/2c homemade chicken salad made with greek yogurt, red grapes, celery and walnuts

S: Dannon L&F Strawberry greek yogurt

D: 1oz chicken breast stuffed with 1 slice swiss cheese, sauteed onions and mushrooms, 1/4c green beans if I have room

Totals: Cals: 583  Protein: 83  Carbs: 25  Fat: 16

You, I like.  LOL  These all sound really good!

I am a recipe *****!!  I LOVE NEW RECIPES AND COOKING!!

So do I!!!  I love trying new things. And I am finding that I am worse about this now than before surgery. I have to ask, though, describe how a lentil tastes... I have always wanted to cook with them but find them intimidating for some reason! The chowder sounds amazing!

Lentils are amazing. They are SO filling and to me, they taste like ANYTHING you put them in. Just butting in, I know you didn't ask me. LOL

I'm not sure how to describe them.  Nutty?  Delicious?  They are both and one of my favorite things.  I boil them and eat them with a little salt and an egg on top (yum).  I also make summer salad using lentils instead of pasta with red and green grapes, red onions, red peppers, cucumbers, hazel nuts and a lemon vinaigrette dressing.  So good and a great alternative to a pasta salad.

Well, I made chili over the weekend. LOL... even though it is warm in NC, I just felt like it. My chili is really simple and it's good but plain. I think I am going to experiment with other recipes during this fall and winter. I think mine has too many carbs... I figured it out on My Fitness Plan, but I dont' have the #s right in front of me. What I do is use either ground turkey or hamburger, about 2 lbs, 3-4 cans of light kidney beans (usually I sub in a can of dark kidney beans, if I have them), canned tomato soup... you just have to add the beans and the soup in until it looks like enough of both... usually a family size can of the tomato soup. also add about 1/2 cup of water, and chili powder to taste. After it cooks for a while, if it needs thickened and it usually does, I make a roux of flour water and chili powder to add to it. 

I think my main problem with eating chili is that I want to eat crackers with it. And, I know that crackers are my "crack". I am looking forward to making some good beef stew this fall but I also have a love affair with potatoes, so I am going to have to find a suitable subsititution... any suggestions??

As to heated seats, LOVE them!! LOL, I thought they were a stupid extravagance until I got my last truck. It does a body good!! 

My menu today:

B: Tea with SugarLeaf (got a new Contigo mug that keeps my tea warm... loving it!), Pure Protein chocolate shake (store was out of Premier Protein, so I got this instead. First... it only has 23 grams of protein, Second... doesn't taste so good.... hating it!)

L: P3 pack, string cheese and 2 oz of kosher dill spears

S: throughtout the day... 1 oz Bridgeford Sweet Baby Ray beef jerky (kind of a let down), 1/4 cup of GG cauliflower, broccoli and carrots in cheese sauce

D: Healthy Choice Low Carb Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo, 1/2 cup of sauteed zucchini  (if room)

Totals: Calories - 790, Protein - 86, Carbs - 36, Sugars - 18, Fats - 34

Vits/Water... going in. Exercise - since so pleasant outside and I am not cooking, going to take Zoey for a long walk and then swim/jog in the pool. 

Everyone have a good day!

I'm late to the party today but I'll play anyway.  This is by far my fav chili recipe.  It is even AWARD-WINNING!!  I won the chili cookoff at work with it a few years back and netted a large basket of booze!!  I can't think of a higher honor ;)

Best Chili Recipe EVER!!

Hello everyone.  Late to the party as usual.  It is going to be a hot day today, so no heated seats for me this morning.  I have been known, however, to turn them on even when the weather is in the 80's.  I am always cold, and sometimes I need a little heat bump.

 I love making soups and chili type things.  I rarely use a recipe, so I will try to give you a list of ingredients for my favorite chili that can be whipped up in a short time.  I combine a chopped onion, chopped red pepper, a couple cloves of chopped garlic, 2 cans chopped tomatoes, 1 can black beans (drained and rinsed), 1 can white or red kidney beans (drained and rinsed), chipotle powder, cumin and salt and pepper to taste.  I saute the onions, and then add the rest of the ingredients and cook approximately 1/2 hour until the veggies are soft.  Then I take about 1/3 of it and put it in a blender and puree and then add back to the rest of the chili.  It makes it all nice and creamy.  You can add meat too, but if I do that, I usually add it to an individual serving as opposed to the whole batch. Delish!

Time Since Surgery:  Almost 9 months

B:  Egg Beater, FF mozzarella and bacon omelette

S:  Trader Joe's Omega Trek Mix and lite string cheese

D:  Shrimp Salad

S:  Light and Fit Greek Yogurt - Strawberry Cheesecake

D:  Vietnamese chicken meatballs

S:  Ham and pickle roll ups

V/W:  In process

Exercise: Pilates!

Totals:  Calories 772, Carbs 37 (yay!), Protein 78, Fat 36, Sugar 19

Have a great day everyone!

This is a Chili-ish type dish I made this week. I am calling it Chicken Taco Stoup. Put 1 package boneless chicken thighs in crockpot, sprinkle Taco seasoning over and add 1 cup chicken broth. Cook 6-8 hrs. Shred chicken and add 1 can Rotel tomatoes and 1 can rinsed and drained cannelli beans. Easy and yummy... serve with cheese, avocado and/or sour cream. yummm