What's on your Wednesday Menu?

Good morning all and Happy Hump Day,

The weather is freaking nuts. It's October and it's 85 degrees for the second day in a row. Chicago usually sees snow in October, IIRC. I'm not complaining but what happens when it's 90 degrees in December?

I'm so frustrated with insurance and the CT scan. The latest is a new prior auth needs to be submitted and should now be approved. However, the hospital insurance dept says a new prior auth can't be submitted until October 17. My surgery is October 13.

My surgeon will do the surgery next Friday without the Mako robot. Can everyone provide their thoughts on having the surgery without the Mako robot?

QOTD- I have some recipes memorized but still refer to my notes. I am always concerned that I'll forget an ingredient or step. I am going to make one of those recipes tonight or tomorrow, in the form of meatloaf. I have gone the WLS turkey meatloaf route and the real version is irreplaceable. I will do anything for meatloaf but I won't do that. No, I won't do that.

Grandma's meatloaf: 1 1/2lbs ground beef 80/20(or 75/25 if you can find it), an egg, 1/2 cup whole milk, medium white onion - roughly chopped, days old bread = breadcrumbs, couple cloves of garlic minced, S & P @375° for 45ish mins. During last 15 mins of cooking time, glaze twice with room temp ketchup. Can save fat/juice to pour over. Plenty of ways to fancy it up with ground sirloin or chuck, bacon fat, Vidalia onion, diced green peppers or shrooms, add Worcestershire, for the glaze - include brown sugar, chili sauce, or touch of Honey. I've heard of weird things in the middle of the loaf like a whole egg, a king cake baby, or the kitchen sink. Everything can be substituted with healthier ingredients except the days old bread crumbs.

B: Dannon Light and Fit Coconut Yogurt, Tangerine.

L: P3 protein pack, Taco in a bowl, guac, carrots.

D: Meatloaf, salad, and mashed cauliflower.

I have no first hand experience with the robot. But my surgeon, who had done many thousands of weight loss surgeries, never used it. He just considered it either a crutch for the less experienced, or as a kind of mandate from the hospital administration for shelling out lots of money for new equipment.

I'd rather have a highly experienced surgeon than a robot, personally.

I took had mine done as open surgery. My doctor felt the same. He was one of the front liners in WLS surgery. I just felt safe with him . Here I am over 20 years post op. So glad I had this done. Congratulations to all !!

The robot is just an assist for the surgeon to help decrease fatigue and increase precision.. If you can have a highly experienced surgeon and a robot.....

I am a fan of meatloaf. Both the food and entertainer. You must try this recipe before saying no to Turkey meatloaf. you will be pleasantly surprised.

We just saw Meatloaf in an episode of Monk. Always a pleasure to see him.

Matt, we need to do a cook off for meatloaf because I have my grandma's recipe. I had lost it when I moved here but lo and behold I found a recipe book from a group of nuns that make the meatloaf the same way.

In my version:

I put whole eggs in the middle, actually 3 of them.
Def no ketchup is involved.
Spinach gets put in there too.

As I said meatloaf cook off is in our future. Our grandmas will be rooting for us.

I have had this type of meatloaf before when you get a chance, please share I remember I loved it.

Sounds like a plan. I have to warn you though, my grandma was feisty.

Hah! Did your grandma get on a submarine with 2 little kids and went from Europe to India, during WWII, as the only woman on the submarine? My grandma invented feisty, bring it on Mr!