What's on Your Wednesday Menu, RNYers?

Good Morning! Wow I didn't realize so much went in to making honey, And, I may just have to google what a refractometer is. Yesterday, I did get in for a mani/pedi so that was nice and went to support group last night. I tried to talk myself out of going (pure laziness and just wanting to stay home and get to bed early) but I am glad I went. It helps the head part (that whole "normal" thing!) of this process to hear other peoples stories and that they may struggle with some of the same things I do. I mean I have the support of my hubby, daughter and many friends but I think it really takes going through this process to "get it" sometimes. Well, of course is also this fantastic group/community too :) 

Time since surgery: 1 year

B: SF latte, egg beaters with spinach, broccoli and cheese, fruit (dried figs, apple slices, and grapes)

S: Cranberry thin addictives and a laughing cow cheese wedge 

L: Copy cat panera strawerry poppyseed salad, carrot sticks, string cheese and blueberry ricotta bake

S: L&F Greek strawberry cheesecake yogurt with 1/2 a banana mixed in, and a SF iced latte made with Fairlife milk

D: Grilled chicken, broccoli with melted cheese and some SF pudding

E: 45 stepper

V/W: On track

Totals: Cals:1196 Protein:98 Carbs:137 Fat:24

Have a great one!

I can definitely relate to that overwhelmed feeling after grocery shopping. The thought, "I bought all of this good food... how soon can I eat it all?" still goes through my head.  It's getting easier to control now that we aren't buying as many 'bad things'. Like, right now - the ready-to-eat convenience/binge foods aren't fatty/sugary so the draw isn't there for me.  My problem seems to be taking the time and preparing a meal, then eating more of it than I should.  I know one solution is to prepare smaller meals but I haven't yet figured that out in my head!  Although my family is just me + my DH, I by default prepare a full pan of 12 servings of lasagna, or a full 7-QT crockpot of whatever!  Granted, I can vacuum-seal the leftovers into individual portions, I am still cooking too much quantity!  I do have muffin pans and such, and considered trying to mini-size and pre-portion some recipes, but that will only apply to some things... Any tips?

Surgery Status: 33 Days to go!!

B:  ¾c Unsweetened Soy Milk + Coffee Protein Powder

L:  Buffalo Chicken Salad w/ 2 celery sticks (thanks for the recipe AV, I love it!)

D: Eggplant Lasagna

S: 1oz Jack Links Beef Jerky, Babybel Light Cheese

TOTALS:  Calories:  747   |  Carbs:  36  |  Fat:  28 |  Protein:  88  |  Fiber: 6 | Sugar:  19

I have 4 kids, and even the toddler eats more then I do.  I have NO IDEA how to cook in smaller batches! LOL  My parent's haven't had kids at home in YEARS (they had 4 kids as well) and my mom STILL cooks like she is feeding a small army!

I got one of those mini lasagna/meatloaf pans...well see if I can make it work... I also liked that article OH put out this week titled "SUGAR", that reccomeded only shopping on the four outer walls of the grocery store. IE dairy, meat & produce. The only reason to enter any other aisle is to get something on your"list".  Interesting theory...maybe it can work...

I think I had read that before as well (to stick to the outer walls). I didn't realize it was a good suggestion until my most recent trip.

My grocery store has an app which tells you what isles your items are on. We're used to walking the isles until we get all we want... this time, we were in a hurry so just went directly to where we needed to go.  The only thing we needed from the middle isles was Crystal Light, Bottled Water, and some items from the asian foods area I wanted to try (Miso Soup Mix). It was so strange to not even walk down some isles that we didn't need at all!

Thanks for the comments about quantity cooking. I keep thinking of getting recipes from the guy that has videos on line of his special meals for his hamster, tiny foods made gourmet style and very attractive.they are really adorable. Lots of effort for tiny meals.  I have yet to figure out how to shop when I am not able to eat the packaged quantities. I Suppose it takes way more planning than my past habits. 

When I started out right after surgery I was so freaked out with grocery shopping. Now I have a list when I go to the store. I only shop for like three days. I have things I buy every week. It is only my husband and I so it makes it easy. He is easy he likes meat and veggies and is not someone who snacks. If we are out somewhere and there is a chocolate chip cookie he will eat that before a meal. 

B:Sugar-free cocoa/ Egg whites with ham and polly cheese

L:Quest protein bar. I have therapy today and it is at lunch time

D:Black bean salad with chicken

S:Yogurt with strawberries/ Cheese stick

Vitamins are in and 60oz of water have gone down this morning I have been up since 5 so I figured I would get a jump on it. 

Exercise is maybe walking on the beach

Hrm. I wish I could go grocery shopping every 3 days! My eyesight is too bad to be on the roads right now, so hopefully in a few months - after cataract and bariatric surgery - I will be able to drive again, and have the freedom to grocery shop!  As it is, my DH and I do Sam's Club every 2-3 weeks, and the supermarket every 1-1.5 weeks. As we're eating healthier, it's become a bit more frequent.  For a while, we'd go about shopping about once a month! It's awful to think about - not eating fresh food for 2-3 weeks per month!

Now, I want bees!  I already plan to get chickens in the spring (I guess I need to get my husband working on the coop) and I really am hoping to get some pygmy goats before too long... so how much more work can bees be??  LOL, I know, AV, LOTS of work!!

I have said before that I make soy candles on the side and soap... I have found that local farmers markets are great places to sell. And, I know down here, the customers would eat up honey. Last year, there was a bee keeper association having a demonstration at the flea market and it drew a great crowd! Also, you might want to consider some local fall festivals.

Okay, grocery shopping... I still buy too much! My biggest issue now seems to be deli meat... I really don't like the prepackaged stuff, it seems too "wet" sometimes. I have found that I like the prepackaged meats at Sams but that brings up buying in bulk and that is my main problem. It ends up going bad before I can eat it all... 3B is probably the smartest, only shopping for 3 days at a time. Might need to consider that.  

My menu today:

B: Tea with Truvia and a chocolate Premier Protein shake

L: 1/4 cup whole wheat spaghetti with about 1/2 cup of homemade spaghetti sauce (made this last night instead of what I had planned). The pasta set in my pouch okay but could only eat a few bites so I probably won't be able to eat 1/4 cup. Was going to make zucchini noodles but the darn zucchini had gone bad!

S: Lite and Fit strawberry greek yogurt

D: tuna salad over lettuce (because I bought 10 freaking cans at the store...why?)

Totals:  Calories - 729, Protein - 73, Carbs - 64 (this is why no more pasta will be in my diet!), Sugars - 20, Fats - 25

Vits/Water - going in.

Everyone have a great day!

Hah! We have the same Sam's Club practices. I tried to convince my husband that we should buy deli meats from the grocery store instead of Sam's Club, but we ended up getting sliced roast beef AND turkey when we were there Sunday. Granted, we used a good chunk of the RB right away by making no-bread philly cheese steaks... I am worried about how much of it will go bad!!

I buy too much tuna as well! I think I had a Sam's Club 8- or 10-pack already in my pantry and bought another at my last trip. Whoops!  At least it doesn't go bad!