I was wondering where to start with this, I have been keeping a blog at ObesityHelp.com for a while now, but am ready to try something different...
That is really what all this is about isn't it, doing something different...
Let me start somewhat at the beginning. On October 11, 2010 I had bariatric surgery done. After a life time of Obesity, I took the very drastic step of having surgery. The first week I lost 25 pounds. Whoo Hooo you may be saying, (I was) but that really is not realistic, and I knew that as well. The second week, I lost 6 pounds, much more realistic.
I have promised myself that I will not allow myself to weigh more then once a week. I have seen way to many posts where someone has had their day or week ruined because the scale did not move, I refuse to live and die by the scale.
Right now I am on mushy foods. One of the things that bothered me is that I happen to enjoy food. I enjoy cooking, and I enjoy eating "really good" food, and I refuse to take the mind set that food in my enemy. I was concerned that part of who I am would have to change, and it has... its even more so... when I can only eat a few bites of something I want those few bites to count... I want them to be bursting with flavor. So now I think about how I can make something taste better.
For instance.. I went to the farmers market and bought 2 yellow summer squash,(1.00) 2 zucchini (1.00) and 2 sweet potatoes (1.00), and 1 bag of baby spinach (1.00) so for 4.00 I have veggies for more then a week
Summer Squash and Zucchini with canned chicken
I sliced 1 squash and 1 zucchini and 1/2 yellow onion thinly
and then sauteed it in a little olive oil and a pat of unsalted butter til tender
then I added the can of chicken, drained, and 1 chicken bouillon cube with 1 cup of water, with some garlic power and celery salt... I simmered this until the broth reduced...
This was soft enough to mush up with a fork and was OMG good...
This makes about 3 or 4 cups of food, but I can only eat a spoonful, (about 1 to 1 1/2 ounce) so this makes many meals for me. The rest of the family even liked it and I had to hide it so I could have some later :-)
Sauteed Baby Spinach
1/2 pound of fresh baby spinach, rinsed, drained and patted dry
2 slices of bacon
about 1/2 med yellow onion (what was left over from the squash)
1/2 cup of water
1 chicken bouillon cube
I diced the bacon and sauteed it, I added diced onion and cooked both till the fat rendered out of the bacon and it was crispy and the onions were translucent, I then added the baby spinach and sauteed it till it cooked down... it would be wonderful for anyone at this point but was still not tender enough for my purposes, I then added the the chicken cube and water and simmered it till the water was reduced, I then put it all in a food processor and pureed it...
I added a spoon full (about 1 oz ) to my plate and topped it with a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese... OMG that was delicious.
These are two very simple recipes, but full of flavor, made with fresh organic produce and cost me very little.
Yes I have to change.. that's what transformation is really all about isn't it? The thing is, change does not have to mean stop, or different... change can mean better, improved, I have to change the way I deal with food, but I don't have to change the fact that I enjoy food and like to cook... that is part of who I am and one of the many parts that I like about me.
