What's on your menu today (Thursday) RNYers?

NSV:   so the guy at the check-in desk at the YMCA last night didn't believe I was the same person as the one on my ID.  Ha!  Well eventually he did (after I explained I'd lost over 100 lbs (I didn't want to admit it was actually over 200!)), but boy was he shocked!  So funny!!

QOTD:   every morning!  I only record my weight once a week, but I'm on that scale first thing every morning.  NOT doing that has gotten me in trouble in the past (pre-surgery).   I remember so many times stepping on the scale and being shocked that I'd gained 20 (or more) lbs.  Not this time!!

18 months out:

B:  L&F coconut vanilla yogurt, NSA blackberry/blueberry sauce, 1 T Kashi Crunch granola

S:  coffee with half & half, SF protein pumpkin latte

L:  tuna with balsamic, 1 C coconut/carrot/chia soup

D:  pork chop, cole slaw made with sesame-miso vinaigrette

maybe another Greek yogurt later if I can fit it in

exercise:  weights last night, Aqua Zumba tonight!

Yummy menu! Do you have recipes for the blackberry/blueberry sauce, protein pumpkin latte, coconut/carrot/chia soup, and the sesame-miso vinaigrette?

Hi!  I use the vinaigrette recipe from this page (see link).  It keeps for a long time, so I triple or quadruple the recipe.  I usually spoon a tablespoon or two over coleslaw (depending on how much cabbage I'm eating).  Lately I've just been buying those bags of pre-shredded coleslaw mix (that include a couple different kinds of cabbage + carrots), which makes a super quick side dish.  I also spoon this sauce over grilled fish whenever I make it.  It's great!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/sauteed-cod-on- snow-peas-and-cabbage-with-miso-sesame-vinaigrette-106743

as for the blueberry/blackberry sauce, I just cook the berries down with a little bit of one of the fruit-flavored Torani SF syrups (any of them work - I've used both the raspberry and the black cherry Torani - both work well).  I usually put in two of those little boxes of each type of berry.  You don't need much Torani syrup because the berries will put out a lot of liquid when they cook down - you're just going after a little bit of sweetness.  I don't know how much Torani I add because I just pour a little in there - maybe 3 or 4T?  

 I've made the sauce with just blackberries, too, but it's pretty liquid-y.  I started adding the blueberries because the pectin in the blueberries thickens up the sauce nicely.  Another option (if you don't have any blueberries) would be to add a little cornstarch to the blackberries to thicken up the sauce a bit.

the sauce also keeps for quite awhile (longer than fresh berries would - although even fresh blueberries and blackberries last awhile...).  I end up with 2 or 3 C of it, but that's fine.  I use it almost every day.  I just spoon some over my Greek yogurt.

I'll send the other recipes in a sec

Thanks so much! Can't wait to try these out!

here's the soup recipe.  I used that Silk unsweetened coconut milk instead of canned coconut milk to cut way down on the calories.  Once the soup was done, I added some coconut extract since the Silk coconut milk is not very coconut-y, but I probably didn't need to do that because the curry taste was so strong I couldn't really taste the coconut at all.  I doubt I could have if I'd have used regular coconut milk, either.  This was really good.  I made it for the first time last night.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/creamy-chia-coc onut-ginger-carrot-soup-51250210

btw - I didn't have vegetable stock so I used some turkey stock I had in the freezer.  It was fine.  Chicken stock would be fine, too.

Thanks! Sounds so good - especially for a cold winter night!

SF protein pumpkin lattes:   I make them two ways - one with coffee, the other with chai tea.  I always drink them cold, but you could modify this for a hot version, too.  First, here's how I do the coffee and chai tea:

coffee - you can buy cold processed coffee at some stores - I know Trader Joe's has it, but I've just been double brewing regular coffee at home to make it stronger (I send the water through the grounds, let it cool a bit, then run it through the grounds a second time.  This probably isn't as strong as cold processed coffee, but it works for my purposes...).  I make about 4 cups at a time and store it in the fridge.

chai tea - I use two tea bags of chai tea for every cup of water, to make it really strong.  I also make a bunch of it (usually a half gallon), and store it in the fridge.  I actually use cold chai tea for other concoctions as well, so I usually have some in my fridge at all times)

Now, for the recipes.  These both make a lot, but I sip on them all day long (often I have enough left over for the evening, too!)

coffee latte:

1 C cold strong coffee

2 C unsweetened cashew or almond milk (if I want it creamier and can afford the calories, I'll sometimes substitute some of the nut milk with 1/4 C of Fairlife 2% milk or 1/4 C sugar free Cool Whip)  

1.5 scoops of vanilla protein powder (I've also used vanilla latte-flavored protein powder, but that gives it a stronger coffee taste)

1/4 C canned pumpkin (I don't know if this really makes a difference taste-wise, but it does add some fiber)

Torani SF pumpkin pie syrup, or Torani SF cinnamon and brown sugar syrup to taste (if you can't find either, I've also used Torani SF vanilla or French vanilla syrup and then added some dry pumpkin pie spice)

add some ice and whip it up in your blender

chai tea latte:

1.5 C cold chai tea

1.5 C unsweetened cashew or almond milk (again, if you want it more creamy and can afford the calories, you can substitute some of this milk with 1/4 C Fairlife 2% or 1/4 C sugar free Cool Whip)

1.5 scoops vanilla protein powder

1/4 C canned pumpkin (again, not sure if this makes a difference taste-wise, but it does add some fiber.  Or you can just leave it out altogether for just a regular protein chai tea latte (i.e., not a  pumpkin protein chai tea latte)

Torani SF vanilla or French vanilla syrup to taste (don't really need the spicy syrups here since the chai tea will provide the spiciness)

add some ice and whip it up in your blender

This will be great when I start my new job with a longer commute in January. No need for Starbucks! 

Great NSV, Catwoman!  

Three weeks! I'm so excited for you!

I haven't been eating enough the last two days, and I could tell when I hit the gym yesterday. My trainer gave me a lecture. Work has sucked lately (we lost two patients, one suddenly and one less so, but they both hit our whole unit really hard), and my depression has been bad. I just haven't felt like eating.

I'm hopped up on Ritalin (legally and within my prescription instructions), because I have to work tonight and tomorrow, and my Christmas stuff still isn't ready. Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! 

QOTD: Until I started my pre-op diet, I totally avoided the scale. I knew I weighed over 350, so I didn't even try to weigh at my doctor's office (They have an old scale that maxes out at 350; my doctor hates it. Thankfully, my doc is awesome and never lectured. He knew that I knew I needed to lose weight. His approach was always "How can I help?" or "Here are some options", which I appreciated. He is positively giddy over my decision to have surgery and the resulting weight loss.) Otherwise, I'd occasionally weigh myself on the scales at work, and was always really depressed about it. Now, I weigh at least every other day, if not every day, but I only count the Monday weights. That way, if I notice that I've gone up a bit, I can analyze my habits and correct before the next week.

B: Peach Ginger protein smoothie

L: Ground turkey burger

D: Ground turkey burger, cheesy cauliflower bake

S: TBD, but I have a Quest bar in my work bag if I need it

Here's the recipe for smoothie. It's much more ginger than peach, but I'm a ginger person:

1 c Chobani FF Plain Yogurt

2/3 c frozen peaches

1tsp ground ginger

1tsp vanilla extract

4tsp Splenda

2 scoops Syntrax Nectar unflavored protein

Cal: 275, Prot: 42g, Carb: 23g