What's on your Tuesday menu RNYers?

It's 6:50 AM on the East Coast and I will get us started if no one objects. Today I am taking sixty 5th graders to see/hear the Philadelphia Orchestra. It is a field trip planned by the music teacher and has been a total nightmare planning it. (He had never planned a field trip before) so I am hoping for a smooth day.

I am really worried about Chico. Seems we played too hard and his back hip is really bothering him. He is eating and drinking and still moving around but is stiff and I just feel bad that he is getting older but thinks he is still a puppy.

QOTD: Today is Giving Tuesday. I just found this out on the news - never heard of it before. It's a day to give to charitable organizations. Do you participate in giving to charitable organizations? I am going to our local pet shelter after school. I have collected a bunch of collars, leashes, fleece blankets, treats and dog food for my favorite 4 legged friends. I am not sure if that counts because I was planning on going anyway before I knew it was Giving Tuesday.

11 months out weight 164 pounds

M1: PP chocolate shake & HB egg

M2: cheese stick (on the bus)

M3: 3 ounces chicken thigh

M4: Buddigs turkey packet & more cheese

M5: 8 ounces of fresh milk

All water and vitamins

Going to the gym after the pet shelter.

Good morning! I hope Chico feels better soon - he probably just needs some rest. They are always our puppies aren't they? If you think about it, people would probably be like that too if not for outside responsibilities. They often feel much younger inside than their bodies are.

QOTD: Yes, I have always done my best to donate money, time or goods to charitable organizations depending on the need and what I have available. Lately I have donated goods and time to the Animal Shelter and I have donated furniture to Habitat for Humanity. I will think about what to do on this "Giving Tuesday".

Accountability: 100% on CAMAW, but those carb cravings were VERY strong yesterday.

2 Years 8 months post-op (maintaining below goal for 2 years)

Always lots of coffee...

B: eggs, cottage cheese and Canadian bacon

L: deli chicken and cottage cheese

D: pork roast

S: homemade cottage cheese

I'm going to have to try making cottage cheese...I'm very curious!

It is super easy (easier than yogurt). It took me a while to get a technique that yielded a version I like best. For instance, I don't rinse it though some recipes say you should. And I let a little whey sit with the curds while it is refrigerating which it often reabsorbs. I don't add the half and half and salt until it is fully chilled and have cut back on the amount of salt over time.

how do you make your version? Just curious. I think I'll try it...

Here is my current method:

Homemade Cottage Cheese

• 1 gallon fat-free Milk
• 3/4 C distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 C half and half
• 1 t. Salt

Remove seal from IP lid (won't be under pressure). Can use a glass lid alternatively.

Pour milk into IP, put lid on, press Yogurt button, then Adjust button until "boil" appears ("boil" may appear automatically). After about 45-50 minutes changes to "ygrt" mode. Leave in "ygrt" mode for 1 hour, then turn it off. So total time from IP start to next step about 1.75 hours.

Remove pot from IP. Pour vinegar in and take a spoon and dip it up and down gently a few times. Let sit in pot for 10 minutes.

Pour into large stainless steel mesh strainer to drain whey. It can still have a small amount of whey in it when put in container.

Put into an airtight container, and refrigerate until fully chilled.

Mix cream and salt together and add to cottage cheese after it is chilled.

Use by sell by date on milk.

thanks! I was going to ask if a lot of it turns out to be whey that's just poured out, but then....I make Greek yogurt, so half my milk ends up getting poured down the drain (as whey), too!

Yes unfortunately a lot goes out as whey. The finer the strainer the less solid you lose with the whey. I use a rubber spatula a lot to scrape the strainer.

Good morning! Wow good luck on the field trip with 60 fifth graders. The orchestra part sounds cool but both my kids are in orchestra so I would enjoy that.

i actually had a great first day yesterday getting back on track. I stayed home and concentrated on drinking water and getting my protein in. I didn?t feel any carb withdrawals so I was excited about that. I mustered up the courage to get on the scale and it devastated me but it is what it is. I woke up this morning with a headache but I?ll be ok.

QOTD: I give weekly to my church with my time and money. Also donating to our church food pantry. Of course it counts even if you were already planning on giving today.

B coffee (I wish I could do black) and hb egg

L buffalo cauliflower and chicken bowl

D chicken taco salad

s protein iced coffee

s veggies with Greek yogurt ranch dip

i will be 5 years out next month.

Your menu looks great! And we are both five years next month - remember when we were newbies together?!

I am with you on getting back in the groove.

My daily breakfast tends to be deli turkey or chicken and cheese and a mini avocado. I also LOVE to mash up two hard-boiled eggs with 2% cottage cheese and Everything But the Bagel spice (from Trader Joes or Amazon).

My pouch still works when I eat dense protein - I can't have much more than 5 oz generally. It's the crap that seems to fit in endlessly.

I also recently cut out my flavored creamer. The calories were creeping in. I was using more than 1 tbsp and it really adds too many calories. I use half and half and Splenda again.

Sorry for the devastating scale number but it's always good to know what's required. I figure even if I have to lose 25 lbs, I'm still down significantly...but losing takes a lot more effort now, doesn't it?!