Nik's Bariatric Shopping Bag

Well...maybe not THAT bag...



Ok, I’m just going to admit it. I have an affinity for Click Espresso Protein. I am not addicted, I don’t think, as evidenced by the fact that I’ve been out of it for a few months and have not gone bonkers. Partly because of my beloved decaf mochaccino. But now I have a few bucks in my pocket so I’m ordering some more.


While I’m at it I figured I’d stock up on a few other items: PB2 (which I use for a variety of purposes), some of my favorite sugar-free syrups…and I’m looking to try some new stuff.

Here’s what’s in my basket now. Some of it is based on what you order through this site. If you have any other suggestions, let me know. Or if there’s something you WANT to try but want a review first, feel free to suggest it in the comments, on Facebook, Twitter or e-mail me!

Nik’s Bariatric Shopping List

Click – Mocha (I like vanilla latte but it’s more of an “if I have extra money lying around” sort of thing)

PB2 (regular)

Davinci sugar-free Hazelnut and Peppermint Paddy syrups

Muscle Milk ‘n Oats (someone orders a LOT of that through this site. 300 cals, 30g of protein…Me=intrigued…review to follow!)

Kay’s Natural’s Better Balance Pretzel Twists – Cinnamon Toast

Glenny’s Soy Crisps - Creamy Ranch

Dixie Carb Counters Brownie Mix

I’m placing my order tomorrow before I leave work at 5 p.m. EST. If you have suggestions for me, please get them in before then. Help a sistah out!

BF Review: Hi-Lo Vanilla Almond Cereal



I've been meaning to do a review on this for a looong time. It seems almost too good to be true. A cereal that is higher in protein than in net carbs??? How could this be? It has to be nasty, right?

I decided to find out for myself.

My grocery store carries several different varieties of this cereal, of which I remember two: Flakes with Strawberries and the one I bought, Vanilla Almond.

The stats:

Serving size: 1/2 c.
Calories: 90
Fat: 2g (from the almonds, I presume because there is no saturated or trans fat)
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 120mg (that's damn good btw)
Total Carbs: 13g
Fiber: 7.0g (so 6g net carbs)
Sugars: 1g
Protein: 12g

Yeah. You can see why I might be skeptical.

Now since a) I had the munchies and b) I had been wanting to try these so long, the box didn't even make it home before I gave it a try.

My "hand-in-box" impression: the cereal is small flakes with little slivers of almonds mixed in. To me, it tastes sort of like a graham cracker and the consistency supports that. I didn't get a lot of almond flavor. To me, that's not necessarily a bad thing. I don't dislike almonds but I am of the opinion that almond is a background flavor to begin with.

The flakes were crunchy and lightly sweet. I like that in a cereal. I don't do cereal and milk. Technically that is eating and drinking together, among the chief roux-en-Y "no no's." Besides, cereal and milk leaves me feeling overfull and I don't like that either. I like to feel pleasantly satisfied which, to me, is halfway between "just satisfied" and "full to bursting."

The cereal is sweetened with Splenda, so there is no sugar alcohols to worry about BUT I did notice a slightly sour aftertaste by the time I got home. Considering that I went home and got to cooking (and tasting) a fresh batch of curried tilapia stew, that too was not a problem. If you are one that is bothered by food aftertastes, though, you might take note.

So this morning I decided to try the cereal another way. I measured out my requisite half cup and put it on top of some flavored Greek yogurt. Usually I do this with Fiber One (same amount, half cup). I like the crunch and something about a parfait makes me feel indulgent. Somehow, Kashi doesn't do the same thing for me unfortunately. There's some sort of weird moisture thing that always happens with it that makes it chewy instead of crunchy. I like Kashi...just not for my parfaits.

But this worked pretty nicely. The yogurt paired well with the cereal, which was hearty enough to retain its crunch. And it felt good knowing that the cereal boosted my yogurt protein count by an additional 12g without adding so much volume to my meal.

So...with the good comes the not-so-good. This box of cereal was expensive! Granted I am the cheapest person alive and I LIVE for Fiber One sales at CVS (seriously...they were on sale three weeks ago and I bought five of them and then gave the divas money to buy five each because there is a five box per person limit). Those of you who are independently wealthy...I am intensely jealous of you...I leave the decision to your discretion. But for this cheap gal, the more than $4 a box pricetag for a small box is prohibitive.

Still, it's a good alternative and you can rest assured that if I get a coupon or these babies go on sale, I will be stocking up!

Verdict: Diva Says Divine!

BF Review: Oscar Meyer Sandwich Combos

You know how some people sleep on flights? Others play on their laptops or read a book. I do magazines. Food magazines. Lots and lots of food magazines.


That’s most often where I get inspiration for the things on this blog. I look at that food and I wonder what I could do to make it healthier/lower cal/more WLS-friendly.

Anyhoo, it was in a food magazine (I think Food Network Magazine) that I read about today’s review subject: Oscar Meyer Sandwich Combos. I was on my way to Michigan to see Pam (yes, I will be referencing that visit for a time to come, thankyouverymuch) and I saw the ad and thought they looked pretty nifty. Got to Michigan and mentioned them to Pam. We tried but could not find them in the local grocery stores there.

When I came home, I was in the store with the kiddos who were begging for Lunchables. When I went to the section where they are stored, I saw them! Of course I wanted to review them, but I know that many of us aren’t inclined toward sandwiches and, even if we are, can scarcely complete everything in this lunch kit. So I wanted to approach this from the standpoint of being a better choice for the whole fam.

So naturally, I had to swindle the divas into trying them with me.

First, let’s go over the basics. There are two types of Sandwich Combos (that I’ve seen): turkey/cheddar and ham/Swiss. Both appear to come with the following: 2 oz. of meat, 1 oz. slice of cheese, a whole-wheat sandwich thin, a packet of mustard (Grey Poupon no less), a 1 oz. bag of Wheat Thins and a 4 oz. chocolate Jell-O Mousse Temptations cup. The front of the box tells me it’s 390 calories (in the “real” world those are damn good stats for lunch) and the back tells me there is 19g of protein (I’ll forgive them that since I’m not officially reviewing it for us).

For me, this is almost the perfect-sized lunch. For you, maybe not so much. So let’s move on to what the divas thought.

First off, they were pretty jazzed about this experiment. Usually their engagement in my blog experiments has them trying veggies they either don’t like or are downright afraid of, so this one was a welcome treat.

Each of the sandwich components are individually wrapped and were easy to open (this is especially important to La Petite Diva, who always has trouble opening packaging for some reason). The amount of meat seemed generous, although I did actually measure it on my handy-dandy portable food scale (doesn’t everyone have one?) and it is, in fact, 2 oz. of meat.

It was all very fresh smelling and tasting. I’d never thought to put Grey Poupon on my sandwich before (I usually don’t buy it because I am the cheapest person alive). It was pretty tasty. (Mental note: pick up some Grey Poupon) I did eat the whole thing. That was a mistake. Although I COULD eat the whole thing, there is a difference between could and should and I KNOW you know what I mean.

S’anyway. The divas also munched theirs down. I was particularly interested in whether this kit satisfied them. They, like me, are hearty eaters. They both reported feeling satisfied by the kit. Their only feedback was that they wished there was something to drink.

“You know what woulda been perfect mom?” La Grande Diva offered up. “If there was a bottled water and a Crystal Light stick in there.” Indeed! For us post-ops, the absence of water actually makes it a perfect little kit, but like I said it’s a bit much for us. It was even a bit much for me. I ate mine at noon and didn’t eat again until 5, even after about 40 oz. of liquid later in the afternoon. The kit also satisfied the divas for quite a good while.

The other addition I’d make, if the world were perfect, would be to have some fresh fruit in there. Some apple slices, a cutie Clementine, something. But to me that’s easy to insert into a child’s lunch if you want it in there. And the price of this thing isn’t outrageously more than the unit price of a lunch I’d pack for them (keeping in mind that I’m sort of a food snob with regards to my children).

School is out for the summer, but I definitely think these are a good thing to check out in general, especially if you ever find yourself on the go and hear the ominous, "Moooooooom (how do kids manage to make that one word seventeen syllables?) I'm hunnnnngry!!!!"

Yeah. For the STFU value alone it's worth every penny. Just sayin'.

Verdict: Diva says Divine!

BF Kid Zone: Strawberry "Tall" Cake Stack-ups



As Bariatric Foodie forges into the future (wow, that was a lot of “f’s”), you’re going to hear me talk more about eating healthy as a whole family. Why? Well, several reasons.

First, because I don’t think that we go into WLS with the intentions of only changing ourselves. While we know and understand that we can’t make others eat more healthfully, we hope. Second, the whole premise of this blog is to enjoy our food lives and part of that enjoyment is sharing meals with others!

For me, those others are my daughters, Annikki and Zariyah (collectively known as “the divas”). Up to now, I haven’t used their names much, mostly because kids Google and I wasn’t sure how they felt about the whole world knowing their mom was a Bariatric diva! Just the other day, they both professed undying pride for what I am doing with Bariatric Foodie and gave me the blessing to share their names with all of you ($10 bucks to the person who can correctly write out the phonetic pronunciation of their names).

S’anyway…how does this all relate to today’s post? Well, this is one of those instances where I went on a mission to find something good for my kiddos. They like dessert. What kid doesn’t? But between school, grandparents, neighbors and their own pocket cash, at the end of the day they’ve consumed WAY more sugar than I want them to. I’m trying in earnest to teach them about moderation but my kids are truly like everyone else’s. They don’t have any interest in learning about balance when it comes to treats.

You might also remember I have a rule about treats in my house. Being a single mom I can have this rule where some of you married folks can’t. In my house, if I can’t have it, neither can they.

Which brings me around to the dessert my lovely little diva is holding. We had a movie night. It was the same night I made that gargantuan whole-wheat lasagna. Later on that evening I served this for dessert. It isn’t a recipe so much as it is a collection of stuff that is well put together. At any rate, here it is:

Nik’s Strawberry “Tall” Cake Stack-ups
(sorry the picture wasn't better. I didn't realize it was so washy until I uploaded it!)
Ingredients

1/6 of a sugar-free angel food cake (I got mine from Super Wal-Mart)
3 heaping tablespoons of whipped cream
3 large, ripe strawberries, sliced
1 tablespoon sugar free strawberry preserves

Directions:

Microwave your strawberry preserves for about 15 seconds or until it turns to liquid.

Cut your cake into two pieces. Set one piece in the bottom of a dessert bowl. Top with about one teaspoon of the warm strawberry preserves.

Top the preserves with whipped cream and then the sliced strawberries. Repeat.

Top it all off with one last dollop of whipped cream for good measure.

Believe it or not, this dessert is not even 150 calories and my kids felt like they hit the jackpot!

So yes, it is possible to recruit your family into the church of healthy eating! Stick with me and I’ll show you more ways to bring your family to the light…

For even more great dessert ideas click here or if you are REALLY brave... here!

Bacon Cheeseburger Skillet



I tell you, I’ve been looking for ways to reinvent the cheeseburger since I had surgery. Why? Cheeseburgers shut me down QUICK. A few bites and I feel icky. I don’t know what it is. And it isn’t limited to burgers. Meatballs and meatloaves get the same treatment, no matter what I make them out of.


Well lately I’ve been missing bacon cheeseburgers in particular. Back in the day…WOO! I was a Big Bacon Classic girl. You know, the monstrocity from Wendy’s. Yep. Large Fry, large chocolate Frosty baby!

But we’re living life a little differently now. Sigh.

Some of you might remember the wonder that was cheeseburger soup. That’s nice, but this is June in Baltimore and I don’t have central AC, so soup is sorta persona non grata around my house.

So I invented this skillet meal to kill two birds with one stone. Back in the day the divas used to be big into Hamburger Helper. So I figured a skillet cheeseburger meal would satisfy us all.

Nik’s Bacon Cheeseburger Skillet

Ingredients

1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb. lean ground meat (I used turkey)
1 tbsp liquid smoke (optional but it helps)
1 can diced tomatoes (or tomatoes & chiles as I used)
1 tbsp tomato paste
4 c. cooked cauliflower florets
1 c. water
2 c. whatever shredded cheddar cheese you have on hand
½ c. milk (I used skim)
Salt, pepper, onion powder to taste
4 strips of bacon (I used the pre-cooked kind and nuked it for 30 seconds in the microwave), chopped

Directions

Spray down a pan and sautee your onion and garlic until tender over medium heat.

In a bowl, mix meat and liquid smoke thoroughly then add it to the pan with the cooked onions/garlic and brown thoroughly.

Add tomatoes and tomato paste and mix well . Add water and cauliflower florets. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and allow mixture to simmer about 3 minutes.

Add cheese, then milk and stir. Cheese will seem stringy for a while, but will eventually melt. Keep stirring until it does.

Cut bacon into bits and add to the mixture, stirring well.

Simmer on low heat a few minutes more then turn off heat. “Sauce” will thicken upon standing.

The first portion I ate of this (for dinner), I ate straight up. The second (lunch the next day) I put a dollop of leftover “Everything Sauce” on. Either way…YUMMY!

And if you have some leftover cauliflower hanging around, here are some other cool things you can do with it:

• Four-cheese mashed cauliflower
• Cauliflower Rice
• Fiesta Chicken and Rice Skillet
• Faux-tato Salad
• No-noodle tuna casserole

WLS-friendly Quesadillas



How do you know the food blogging lifestyle has REALLY penetrated your household?


When you make a yummy lunch to share with your little diva and she insists you photograph it before you can eat any of it. Yep, this is my life folks.

So, down to business. Quesadillas. Usually not such a great idea. I hated when restaurants started publishing calories on their menus because it forced me to face how devilishly WRONG those things are. But as the old saying goes, “if loving you is wrong, I don’t want to be right!”

Instead of trying to cut this crave-worthy treat out of my life completely, I decided to make a few changes to it. In the process, I managed to cut a LOT of calories and fat and still preserve the experience that I know and love.

Nik’s Crave-worthy Quesadillas (Basic recipe)

Ingredients

1 La Tortilla Factory whole wheat low-carb taco sized tortilla (I found mine at a local grocery chain called Safeway)
2 oz. canned chicken breast meat
¼ c. shredded taco cheese (I used taco instead of Mexican style because taco cheese has taco seasoning in it)
¼ of a small onion, in thin rings
A few thin strips of green pepper

Toppings: 2 heaping tablespoons unflavored Greek yogurt, 2 heaping tablespoons salsa of your choice

Directions

I used a griddle pan on a medium flame to do this. First, I sprayed it down with nonstick and grilled my onions and peppers until they were tender and removed from the pan.

Next I laid my tortilla out on the griddle and spread my cheese all over it (a quarter cup isn’t a lot of cheese but on this size tortilla it sort of works).

Then I topped one side with my canned chicken (you can also grill up chicken breast tenderloins. The canned is easier on my pouch.) and the onions and peppers.

After a few moments, fold one side over the other and press it gently just to get the cheese working as the “glue” of the quesadilla.

Flip and cook the other side until browned and crisp.

Transfer to a cutting board and cut into wedges. When I share with the little diva I make two of these which makes two wedges for each of us. You can cut the wedges smaller if you like.

I make these in a million variations and I’ll be sharing those over the summer. I served grapes with our little feast and then me and the kid watched her “I can watch it a million times” movie: The Sound of Music. Otherwise known to me as, the longest movie EVER once you’ve seen it ten times. But I like it. And I love her. So it was perfect.

Enjoy.

Peach-Mango (protein) Frozen Pops

First, a bit of business. Yesterday in the haze of excitement, I forgot to mention to you what I plan to do should I win the Magic Bullet Kitchen Magician contest. I think it’s important to know what you’re supporting (and I hope you DO support me on this!).

I’ve been this close to finishing my protein shake recipe book for a long time. Up to now it’s been a collection of recipes. I changed it so that it is a tool that WLS patients can use to really guide their protein drink experiences. It pulls together all the methods for making a protein treat (whether hot, cold or frozen), how to “troubleshoot your shake”…and oh yeah, it’s got even MORE recipes than you can shake a stick at!

Either way, this book will come out this summer. If I win this contest, obviously it’d be a lot easier. I still need to get a cover designed and pay for printing. I’m getting there but I’d love to be finished so that folks can start using it. After all, there’s no excuse for drinking nasty protein shakes!

S’anyway, that’s my song and dance. Here’s the video I made to submit for the contest (and the most candid you will EVER see me. No cutesy poses. No diva-prancing. Just me...and the blender peeps!)

If you like the video and want to support me, click here to vote for it. I think you can vote more than once. I’m not sure.

Last time I looked, the top vote getter has over 1,000 votes, so I have a long way to go. As usual, I am the underdog. But that’s ok by me. It makes victory all the more sweet.

Thanks in advance for your help. Now here's the "amped up" recipe:

Nik's Peach Mango Protein Frozen Pops

Ingredients

6 oz. unflavored Greek yogurt (I used non-fat)
1 c. really ripe mango, diced
1 c. really ripe peach, diced (I used fresh for both)
2 scoops vanilla or unflavored protein powder
1/2 stick sugar-free orange drink mix
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 oz. water
no-calorie sweetener, to taste

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix well.

Pour into popsicle molds and freeze until solid.

WARNING: If you can't handle high volumes of fruit, this is not the pop for you. But fear not! I am building a repertoire of alternatives and there's more to come!

Total World Domination!!!!

Let's try that again with the correct link, shall we?

Ok, long story short: I entered the Magic Bullet Kitchen Magician contest. The contest is simple:

Step One: Make a 2.5 minute video of a recipe using the Magic Bullet Blender

Step Two: Upload it to their Facebook Page

Step Three: Here's where you guys come in: GO LIKE IT!!! The top 10 finalists will get a shot at $10,000 and a trip to L.A. to shoot a Magic Bullet video!!!

The recipe I submitted was for a yummy peach, mango frozen pop. The version I made for the contest was a regular one but it could easily be protein powered with a scoop of vanilla whey.

So help me out...and represent WLS friendly food. Please go vote for my video!!! And ask your momma, daddy, cousins, brothers, sisters, neices, nephews and ex-boyfriends-sister's-fathers-cousin's-babydaddy's to do it to!

Nik's Protein Popsicles - Strawberry Banana



It’s summertime!!!

Well, maybe not. But it’s hot. It’s hot where I am and, more than likely, hot where you are too (if my weatherman is honest at all).

Raise your hand if you’ve already started buying sugar free popsicles in bulk from Costco for your deep freezer. Yeah, I thought so.

Those things are a delicious and low-cal way to satisfy your sweet tooth and you won’t hear anything negative about them from me. However, I do have another option to throw in the ring.

Do you have trouble getting your daily protein? Do you like frozen fruit bars, fudgesicles and the like? Well have I got something for you!

This is the first of many recipes that I’ll share over the summer for these. Like protein shakes, the possibilities are endless!

Nik’s Strawberry-Banana Protein Pops

Ingredients:

2 c. milk (I use skim)
1 box sugar-free banana cream pudding mix
2 scoops vanilla protein powder
1 c. frozen strawberries

Directions:

This is an easy three step process. While I use my bullet here (and you’ll see from the picture that it was too small to handle this job) I recommend using a traditional blender for this.

Step One: In your blender, combine milk, pudding mix and protein powder. Blend about a minute or until thoroughly mixed. Add in strawberries (if the mixture has thickened too much, add in about an ounce of water to help it along) and blend again until strawberries are distributed throughout. It’s ok if there’s small berry chunks in there (so long as you don’t mind it).

Step Two: Carefully pour your mixture into popsicle molds. I use molds that make four popsicles. The size of your molds determines how many pops this recipe yields, which is why I didn’t say how many above.
Step Three: Freeze for at least two hours. When you’re ready to have a pop, you may have to run your mold under the water tap (room temperature water) to release it from the mold.

Like I said, you really are limited only to your own imagination with these things. You can use any combination of pudding, protein flavor and fruit to make whatever flavor YOU like.

I will say this one is yummy. I chose to use banana pudding instead of actual bananas to limit the carbs. If you’re potassium deficient, feeding the kiddos or just dig real bananas, hey, I don’t micromanage your pouch! I’m just here to spread the love.

BF Family Style: Healthy(er) Lasagna

Try though she did, La Grand Diva does not like modified lasagna. I've tried replacing the noodles with zucchini, with eggplant, just leaving them out and doing a lasagna skillet - all to no avail. When it comes to lasagna, the child is a purist.

Recently she went on a four day outdoor adventure trip with her class. Upon her return I told her I'd fix her anything she wanted to eat. She modestly requested lasagna but made a stipulation. "I want regular lasagna." How could I say no? But how could I say yes? Easy! I just did what I always tell you guys to do. I played with my food!

I should say before I get into the recipe, the child, I think, was totally expecting a microwave sized Stouffer's lasagna and probably would have been thankful for it. Luckily for her, I can't let myself do that. This is probably a weekend dish or a prep ahead and cook during the week dish. At any rate, here we go!

Nik's Healthy(er) Lasagna

(the size I made serves...a million...but it's good if you want to make two or three small casseroles and freeze a few)

Ingredients

1 large onion, finely diced

1 green pepper, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. ground turkey or lean ground beef

4 links of turkey Italian Sausage

1 economy sized jar spaghetti sauce of your choosing (yes, I cheated on this part - shoot me!)

3/4 c. water

32 oz. container ricotta cheese (I used part skim)

2 + 1 c. mozzarella cheese

1 + 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

1/2 c. liquid egg substitute (or 2 eggs, or 3 egg whites)

1 box whole wheat, high fiber lasagna noodles (whatever you buy, look for the kind that doesn't require you to cook the noodles first)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350.

In a pan sprayed with non-stick (fat saving tip #1 - when using fatty meats, you don't really need olive oil unless you like the taste of it), sautee onions and peppers with garlic until tender. Set aside in a bowl.

Add in ground meat and sausages (cut from their casings of course) and brown. After browning, drain meat of excess fat in collander, rinse pan and re-spray it. Add veggie mixture back in and about 1/2 your jar of spaghetti sauce. Add water and then simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until sauce turns dark red and water is reduced a bit.

In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, 1 cup of mozzarella and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheeses with egg and stir until thoroughly incorporated.

In baking pan, spread a layer of the meat sauce mixture around the bottom of the pan. Then lay 3-4 lasagna noodles UNCOOKED across the sauce (how many depends on the size pan you use).

Next spread a layer of your cheese mixture. Repeat until layers twice more. Cover the whole thing with the remaining sauce from your jar and the remainder of your cheese. It should look like this in the end:



Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 50 minutes. Turn off the oven and allow lasagna to cool as the oven cools. It should look like THIS when it's done:


Cut and serve!

La Grande Diva was happy. She didn't mind the whole wheat noodles (although, to be fair, I've always given them whole wheat starch products so she's more likely to notice regular noodles) and has been happily plowing her way through this bad boy ever since. Even gave me the stink eye for inviting others over to share it!

This is a great "bridge" recipe in my opinion. Sometimes you have to ease your family into the concept of healthier eating. This dish is a good example because it has enough splurges to feel like comfort food but with healthy swaps!

Nik's "Everything" Sauce



This is Candice. In her hands is a steak and cheese egg casserole. I’ll get to that in a moment.

First, let’s talk about Candice. She came to my breakfast-themed Pouch Party about a week ago and she’s the kind of person I love to meet at my cooking demos. When I called on her to be my “kitchen assistant” she told me, emphatically, that she cannot cook but would like to learn. With that, I took the sous chef role and Candice made the beautiful creation she’s holding.

Her casserole was a hit! And so was this condiment I served alongside it. See? Here it is:



I don’t think it’s any kind of new invention but, as with all my food, it has a story behind it. I used to love steak and cheese subs. I could pack away a big one in my former life. I used to order them with “everything” which, I’ve learned, had different meanings depending on your particular region. For me, everything is well represented in this sauce recipe:

Nik’s “Everything” Sauce
(makes enough to set out at your next barbecue)

12 oz. unflavored Greek yogurt
1/3 c. no-sugar added ketchup
1/3 c. mustard (whatever kind you like — I used yellow)
2 heaping tablespoons mayo (light because I think fat-free is a freak of nature)
1 large pickle, diced (or ¼ c. unsweetened pickle relish)
5 banana peppers, chopped (omit if you don’t like spicy things)
1/3 c. chopped tomatoes
½ a small onion, chopped

Other optional add-ins: shredded lettuce, diced green peppers, olives…just anything really!

Directions:

Combine yogurt, ketchup, mustard and mayo in a bowl and mix well. Add pickles, peppers, tomatoes and onion and stir well. Refrigerate until using.

Two great things about this recipe. First, there are a million different ways to make it based on what YOU might put on your burger or sub. Second, it goes well with so many different things. I have put it on hot dogs, dipped meatballs in it. The whole nine.

I am the self-professed Queen of Condiments. I like to play with them as there is a lot of room to customize your food. When I was visiting Pam, she got to witness this first hand as I made myself a spicy mayo to top my chili lime chicken burger. I’ll be sharing more creative condiment recipes with you over the summer. If you have a recipe, feel free to share it in the comments.

Yes, yes, I know what you’re about to say. Where’s the recipe to the casserole??? It’s coming! I am doing a compilation of my various approaches to cheese steak cravings and will post that later on this week. Stay tuned!

The Bariatric Foodie Survival Guide to BD's Mongolian Grill



For my long-time readers (God bless you) this is the new name for what was formerly “Pouch Party Peeks.”

So…BD’s Mongolian Grill. If you are fortunate to live in a state where this restaurant exists, you are a very, very lucky person.

This place was made for post-op family reunification.

How so? Wait…let me not get ahead of myself.

So what the heck is this place? It’s a raw buffet. Yep, you read right. It’s a raw buffet.

Now before you go “Ewwwwww!” (and I know you’re doing it, I heard you) you don’t eat the food raw. It is just in the buffet raw. Here’s the concept. It’s simple, yet genius.

You take a bowl. You fill it with whatever you want. And the choices are plentiful. There’s all types of seafood, chicken, beef, tofu, whatever you want. There’s veggies beyond any stretch of the imagination. Then you add your sauce. They give suggestions based on what you might like but have everything from Hoisin to black bean sauce and everything in between (seriously…there were like 30 sauces there. I nearly passed out).

Then you take it up to the grill and ask the grill guy (Grill master? Seems appropriate here) to grill it up for you. They grill it to perfection, give it back to you and all God's children are happy. Easy, right?

My wonderful, wonderful, WONDERFUL friend Pam (there…I fulfilled the three “wonderful’s” contractual obligation…) took me there for the first time when I visited her in Michigan a few weeks ago. I found the staff very friendly and willing to explain the whole concept to me. The grill masters were even funnier. One tried his best to do a food trick for us, but ended up sacrificing one of Pam’s shrimp to the food gods (she was NOT amused).

So I said above this place is great for post-op family reunification. What’d I mean by that? Well, most of you have experienced, at some point in your journey, that sitting together, as a family, eating a cohesive and unified meal can be difficult. You’re either eating something completely different or a heavily modified version of what you served the rest of them. And you feel like you’re finished before them and their plates are so much bigger and filled up than yours.

The one striking thing to me about BD’s is this is a place where both non-ops and post-ops can get DOWN. There are two separate prices: one for just one trip through the buffet and another for people who plan to return. But get this: if you do the one bowl option you’re allowed to wrap your leftovers. (The person who invented this must have known a post-op. I’m sure of it.)

Pam also taught me a good strategy. I wish I’d taken a picture of it but I was too entranced by scallops and peanut sauce. You take your little bowl up to the buffet and load it UP. She has this technique whereby she stands up her sugar snap peas against the side of her bowl, along with any other vegetables that will stand upright, and fill in the proteins in the middle to get more in her bowl.

Now newbies are probably going, “but that’s too much!” Ah…but keep in mind you can take home what you don’t eat because you, my little grasshopper, have chosen the one bowl option.

I, on the other hand, did the typical post-op thing and went lean and ate my entire bowl there at the restaurant. Then I proceeded to watch, with jealousy as Pam had yummy leftovers for the next two days. Not fun. Go with her plan, not mine.

The other good thing about BD’s is if you like Asian food but don’t want the rice, they are fine with not giving you rice. My beloved P.F. Changs…much as I adore them…it takes an act of God to get them to not give me rice. I don’t eat it. But I don’t want it on the table either, reminding me of starving children in Africa.

Anyhoo…you might ask what I got. That would be a good question. I got a medley of chicken, andouille sausage (sp?), shrimp, scallops and too many veggies to remember them all. For my sauce I combined red chili sauce (very spicy) with peanut sauce (because you all KNOW me).

The verdict? Delicioso! The stuff came grilled just the way I like it, with the smoky aroma and that slight char on it that I love.

To be honest, that was one of the best damn meals I ever had.

So check out their locations and, if there’s one near you, head on over. And tell them Nik sent you! (Actually don’t. They probably have no clue who I am)