A Video Update: Got A Fill Today

Getting a Fill Today...

I have an appointment to see my surgeon today.  I am so incredibly frustrated with the weight gain.  I knew it was going to be rapid once I could eat again, but I had no idea it was going to be so much, so fast.  Even with my exercise plan this month, Atkins, and my 3x's a week walk/run and Yoga, I've managed to gain 23 lbs since Thanksgiving.  Very upsetting. BUT--I am not giving up.  I will be back under 200 again.  I am hoping that we are able to find my supposed "sweet spot" so that I can lose. I will report back when I return!  Prayers are appreciated.  Three years into my band and I can't seem to get this thing to work with me, it's always an extreme (like...oh....starving to death <500 calories a day?).   Self-pay sucks when you're fine-tuning all the time.  I just have to stay focused on my mission, which is overall fitness, and my 1 year goal which is running the Disney 10K next January with my sister Robin.

I know I can do it. 

What I Have Learned About My Body, My Thyroid, and My Weight

Oh boy.  Well, in a nutshell--I have to exercise every day.

Every single day.

Some form of aerobic exercise: walking, jogging, swimming.

30 minutes, really.  Not a lot.

But every day?

Yes, if I want to eat actual food.  Not junk food.  Just food.  That I cook.

I had no idea, really.  Not until the light bulb popped up over my head when I weighed in this morning 3 lbs heavier than when I started Atkins last week.

Big time sad face.  I hate my thyroid.

I'm going to have to learn to love exercise more than I love chillin'.

I can't wait until my lap-band fill on the 29th.

That is all.

https://plus.google.com/+NeilaRey/posts/KgWjqzeakhh

Homemade Oreo Cookies...Valentine's Day Sweets

I love Valentine's Day!  When I was a kid, my Mother would make a fun deal out of it, with a little treat, trinket, or toy for my sister and myself to see when we got home from school that day.  I couldn't walk home fast enough on those special days. She always had the right touch and unique style to make it a holiday to remember.  When I got older, it was obviously less interesting, as I was hoping for a "real" valentine from some goofy boy (and that never materialized), but it was still a comfort to know that Mom already thought of me.  In fact, she thought of me almost every single Valentine's Day until she passed away, with a card or little something.  That's just how she was.  I miss that.  It is gone forever.

Now, it is my turn to pass on that love to my kids.  One of their favorite cookies in the whole world is a Nabisco Oreo, much to my surprise, as we never had Oreos growing up.  If we had chocolate sandwich cookies of any kind, they were Sunshine Hydrox, or my personal favorite, Famous Amos.  I say "if", because we really didn't have very many packaged cookies, unless they were Windmill cookies or Vienna Fingers for my lunchbox.  Sometimes assorted Mother's cookies--Taffy or Iced Oatmeal. If we had cookies for special times, my Mom made them from scratch.  But occasionally, there would be chocolate sandwich cookies in a package up on the top shelf of the pantry (later I realized it was my Dad that had bought them).   They were a treat for sure.

In my Good Housekeeping "Cookies!" cookbook, there is a recipe for Refrigerator Cookies using cocoa.  I adapted it in only one way, using Dutched Cocoa rather than Natural Cocoa.  These chocolatey cookies turn out to be just the right crunchy texture and size to sandwich a fluffy layer of my vanilla icing into bite-sized goodness.  I made them last night to test out and the girls gobbled their samples right up.  Paige (my 5 year old) said, with a grin, "Oh! They're Mommy Oreos!"  and proceeded to lick the filling from the two cookies like a pro.  She then wanted to dip the cookies in milk.  Phoebe (my 8 year old) was my biggest worry, since they don't exactly look like Oreos (my girl has autism and is quite par-tic-u-lar)...but she devoured hers, and asked for more. I was the happiest Mommy on the planet. <3

For Valentine's Day, you could make the dough a few days ahead of time, wrap it in waxed paper, and cut when you're ready.  You can also make the icing ahead of time and keep it in the fridge with the dough.  When you're ready to assemble, just put a little bit, about a teaspoon or so--on the bottom side of one of the cookies and top it with another...and voilá!  Put  a half-dozen together and place them in a small treat bag or box, wrap with ribbon, and leave for your child to see when they return home.  A sweet treat for your loved ones that they will surely enjoy!

And now, the recipe:

Chocolate Refrigerator Cookies (from Good Housekeeping)

1 2/3 c. flour
1/2 c. white granulated sugar
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1/2 c. dutch-process cocoa (cocoa with alkali)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. unsalted butter
2 squares of semi-sweet chocolate, melted and somewhat cooled
1 tsp. vanilla
1 large egg

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat butter and both brown & white sugars until light and fluffy.  Beat in chocolate and vanilla until well combined.  Beat in egg. Reduce speed to low and beat in flour mixture until well combined.
Divide dough in half. On seperate sheets of waxed paper, shape each half into a 12" x 1 1/2" log.  Wrap each log in waxed paper and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350*F.  Move one rack in the oven to the top and one rack to the bottom. Cut one log into scant 1/4" thick slices.  Bake until firm, 10 to 11 minutes, rotating sheets between upper and lower oven racks halfway through baking.  Cool on cookie sheets for one minute before transferring to wire cooling racks.
Repeat with remaining refrigerated log.

Icing:
1/2 c. high-ratio shortening
1 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla
1-2 T milk
pinch of salt

Beat shortening until light and fluffy; add powdered sugar slowly.  Add milk, vanilla, and salt.  Beat until combined thoroughly. Let icing rest for about an hour before use.

spoon on about 1 tsp of icing, and use another cookie to top it.

Yummy!

I hope you make Valentine's Day special for someone you love, or that someone makes it special for you!

Polly

Quick Ketostix Pic...Induction is ON!

Nothing makes an Atkins dieter happier than seeing this!

HOYEAH!  I feel like Peggy Hill... :-)

Energy Burst Has Arrived!

Wow, I just love Atkins.  Love, love, love.

Yesterday was day 3 of induction, and it was the worst!  I fell asleep sitting up in my chair here for 45 minutes.

Today?  Totally different story--I've already dusted, vacuumed, and loaded/run the dishwasher.

LOOK OUT PEEPS!  I'm liable to go wash the car or something crazy like that.

Off for a walk with Havana.  Will report back, but just had to share!

Wednesday Weigh-In and Creamy Portobello Mushroom Soup Recipe

Wow.  It's Wednesday! I'm pretty tired.  Went to sleep at 10, woke up at 5. Today or tomorrow I should be feeling my big burst of energy I usually get around the 3rd or 4th day on Atkins induction.  I did notice this morning that I was already mapping out my day--a sure sign that the burst is right around the corner.  Usually, in the first few days, I have what is known as "induction flu" where I'm a bit fuzzy/groggy and my body is switching from using carbs for fuel to using my own fat for fuel.  I love when that really kicks in and I can see it on my Ketostix.  Can't wait!

So okay, the weigh-in.  I'm sitting not-so-pretty at 222.  Matt, 242.  I could look at my weight gain (a total of 14 lbs since Thanksgiving) as a really awful thing...or I could look at it as this: hey!  I stopped myself and turned it around before it got completely out of hand.  I *am* in control of my body, after all!  Better to do it now, at just 14 lbs, than 30 or 40.   And yes, I do want to lose more than the 14 lbs--I was not yet to my goal at Thanksgiving--but that's when I sort of threw caution to the wind as many of us do during the holidays...and coupled with my band unfill, I was not going to have good results no matter how you slice it.  Matt, on the other hand, gained 3 lbs during the holidays.  Of course, he didn't really change his eating. Not so much quality with Matt, but quantity.  The boy can put away some serious calories. He can scarf down a double cheeseburger and fries, and help the girls finish theirs up as well.  This week, he's done well, but I think we can still lower his calories further.  He had coffee and half-and-half this morning with 2 fried eggs and 1 piece of ham, 1 slice of bacon. 295 calories if you include the fat used for cooking and half-and-half.

His lunch and snack today:

LUNCH
2 c. Creamy Mushroom Soup (homemade): 190 cals, 3 carbs
1 pickle spear: 5 cals, 0 carbs
3 oz egg salad (made with 1/ 2 mayo and 1/2 light sour cream), 250 cals, 0 carbs
4 small ribs of celery, 25 cals, 0 carbs

Total Calories/Carbs: 470 cals, 3 net carbs

SNACKS
1 oz almonds: 170 cals, 3 carbs
1 piece of light colby-jack cheese: 60 cals, 0 carbs

Total Calories/Carbs: 230 cals, 3 net carbs

He has a faculty invocation tonight, and they're serving dinner.   I have no doubt in my mind he will make the right choices.  He's like me: when we put our minds to something, we just do it.

Speaking of band un-fill, I am actually going to have a RE-fill on the 29th.  I am hoping to have another .5 cc put in to have me just at 4.75 cc total.  I think that will also help things. Right now, I'm hungry all the time.  That's no good!  I hate feeling my stomach growl.  I also know that when you get to that point, your body (stomach) begins to release the hormone ghrellin, and that is really no good for dieters!   It tells your brain, "Hey! Get something in here, STAT!" and your brain responds, "Well, what do you want?" and the ghrellin says, "ANYTHING and EVERYTHING!"

I'M DYING!!  When was the last time you fed me??  AN HOUR AGO?!? 

Of course, your brain is looking to make this easy for you.  It doesn't want you to have to go and slaughter a boar in the woods, so it suggests something like...berries or fruit.  In 21st-century eater terms, that means: cake. cookies. candy.   And as a 21st-century eater, I am looking to change that and go back to more, oh, I dunno, 16th century eating? lol. 

Now, I don't know whether Creamy Mushroom Soup falls under 16th century culinary feats or not, but I sure as heck made it for the 21st century.  And it is darned tasty.  I can't take credit for that, because the recipe is actually only slightly adapted from a restaurant chain in the NW called Redstone Grill.  Apparently, their Wild Mushroom Soup with Brandy Cream is delicious and very (wildly? har har) popular.  Well, I had neither wild mushrooms nor brandy, and yet, the soup I made is so delicious I nearly licked the bowl clean.  If you like portobella portabello portabella portobello 'shrooms, then this just may be your go-to soup.  It's easy, that's the first thing.  And by easy, I mean you don't need to slice up 100 tiny mushrooms.  I did that the first time I made this. Totally not necessary.  I bought baby portobellos, pre-sliced, and it made my life SO much easier. .30 more per package, so I was all over it.  This bowl of deliciousness can be made in less than an hour.  You can halve this recipe as well--if you're feeding two, half is perfect and gives you a little leftover.

Creamy Portobello Mushroom Soup

2 lbs sliced baby portobello mushrooms, rinsed (yeah, yeah, I hear you're not supposed to, but do you know what they grow these things in?!)

2 medium yellow onions

1 stick of unsalted butter

2/3 c. white table wine or sauvignon blanc (or you can use part cooking sherry, part wine)

2 T. cornstarch

2 whole bay leaves

1 tsp ground thyme (I do not recommend using dried leaves)

1/4 T black pepper

1/2 T. kosher salt 

1 large container of Chicken Broth (48 oz)

1 T. balsamic vinegar

1 pint of heavy cream

1 c. beef broth (optional)

In a dutch oven, melt butter over med-low heat.  Add onions and cook 10-15 minutes, or just until they slightly brown.  

Increase temp to medium, and add mushrooms.  

Cook 10 minutes. Stir well and cook an additional 5 minutes, adding wine to deglaze pan.  Add beef broth at this time (optional--just gives it a heartier oomph) Make a cornstarch slurry (2 T cornstarch to 2 T cold water) and add to pan.  Add bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix and cook for 5 minutes. 

Add chicken broth, slowly and in sections.  Pour a little in, whisk, allow to bring soup to a simmer (not a rolling boil) before adding more.  Continue until all the broth is in.  

Add cream and balsamic vinegar, mix well.  Simmer 10 minutes.

Remove bay leaves.  At this time, you can serve as is, or you can use an immersion blender to puree it a little bit (leaving it mostly chunky).  I like it both ways, it's so good!  You can also add a few thyme leaves for garnish.  Pretty!

Bon Appétit!