Whatcha eating these days, Nik?

A few months back me and a bunch of other WLS bloggers did a “day in post-op eating” blog-fest, all of us posting our eating schedules on the same day.

I personally vowed to do that more often and…haven’t. Life gets busy and all that jazz. But I want to get back on the good foot.

This is what I ate last Friday.

Breakfast (8 a.m.):

Like many, I’m not in the mood to eat straight out of bed. I can but it’s sort of forced when I do and there is no joy in forced eating. I like food joy. Still, it’s important to take in nutrition pretty soon after you awaken (it increases your overall daily metabolism and gives you the energy and brain power to take on those morning meetings).

I just went with a chocolate Muscle Milk ready-to-drink shake. They sell these at my local 7-Eleven, which is where I got it. They are probably cheaper if you buy them in bulk.

Lunch (1:47 p.m.)

My former NUT (I have a groovy new one now) once told me this is too long to go between meals. But then she also said eat when you are hungry. If I follow the latter rule, this meal is right on time.

Ok, so let’s get a few things out of the way. Yes, I eat bread. Per my new NUT, I am allowed two servings of starch a day. (She helped me figure out that My Pyramid stuff and translate it into what it means for me, as a 3.5 year post-op. God bless her!)

I don’t generally attempt a whole sandwich in any circumstance. It’s just too much. But at 3.5 years post op I can eat half a sandwich (this is roast beef with a slice of pepperjack cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions and half a packet of mayo) and about half that cup of split pea soup (I’m thinking that’s a 10 oz. cup, so 5 oz. soup?). I was very satisfied.

Snack (about 6:30-ish)

After work, I decided to go get a pedicure. I had it in my mind I was going to get Ravens toes in support of my home team (alternating purple and black paint)! And I also decided to throw caution (and my expendable income) to the wind and go for the SPA pedicure. While enjoying every moment of that blissful experience I had one of these:

A large McCafe non-fat sugar-free vanilla iced latte. I must say these things are improving. When McD’s first came out with them, they were WEAK. Now it tastes like there is actual coffee product in them. Score for McD’s!

Dinner (about 9:15 p.m.)

I am a notoriously late dinner eater. I just am. I had a smorgasbord of leftovers in the fridge, so I decided to combine some of them. My phone was dead, so I did not get a pic, but I did get a bit of my Chicken a la Nik, along with a teeny, tiny piece of Mexican Egg Casserole (pictured) and a bit of salad mix that needed using.

Late night snack (about 11:30 or so)

One of these babies + 2 tbsp of whipped cream. BLISS!

There you have it. A day in the life of a 3.5 year post-op Bariatric Foodie! I promise to do this more often. And if I don't, please get on my case about it!!!

Chicken a la Nik



Ok, let’s first talk about what Chicken a la Nik is NOT.

It is not (necessarily) a knock-off of Chicken a la King. There may be some similarities, but this isn’t that.

But this is a really decent, family oriented meal. It is a one skillet meal and has a “down home” feel to it.

So let’s jump on in.

Chicken a la Nik
Ingredients:

1 small zucchini, finely diced
1 small yellow squash, finely diced
1 small onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb. chicken meat of your choice, cooked and shredded (I got a small rotisserie chicken and used the white meat)
Salt, pepper and whatever other savory spices you like (I used some seasoned salt)

2 tbsp Atkins All Purpose Baking Mix (In the absence of that you can use either whole wheat flour or whole wheat pancake mix. In the absence of THAT, cornstarch also works but doesn’t have many health benefits)

1 tbsp butter or butter substitute (I used Blue Bonnet Light)
2 c. milk
½ c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 c. cauliflower rice (or if you do rice, the same amount of brown rice)

Optional: Something red. Bell peppers, perhaps?

Directions:

Spray a skillet down well with nonstick and set it over medium-high heat. Get it very hot then add the vegetables and sautee for a few minutes until soft. Add garlic.

When onions begin to brown, throw in the chicken meat and mix thoroughly. Add spices.

When the chicken is warmed through, add the butter and melt it into the mixture. Then add the flour and mix that in thoroughly.

(NOTE: It is VERY IMPORTANT to make sure the flour is mixed in there well. Break up any lumps. Everything should look “dusty” when you’re done mixing but there should be no identifiable clumps of flour.)

Slowly add milk while stirring. Reduce heat and stir. As sauce begins to thicken, add Parmesan and continue stirring.

(Give it a taste. Is it well seasoned? Yes. Not too salty? Brilliant! Ok, then. You’ve done a good job!)

Once the sauce is set, stir in cauliflower rice and allow the whole thing to warm through.

This is a good one for the kids. You can sub in any veggie your kids like. Next time I might do peas for La Petite Diva. Or broccoli for La Grande Diva. But this basic recipe and methodology will serve you well, no matter what you like.

Enjoy!

The Pre-op Kitchen Check-Up



Ok, so you’ve done your initial consult, your info session, your nutritional consult, psych consult, pre-op class and the other gamillionty-two things you have to do before you have your surgery.

Now it’s easy sailing, right? Well…maybe.

Those tests were meant to make sure you come through weight-loss surgery successfully. But is your kitchen set up to do the same?

If you’re not sure, start with these tips. Foodies, I know you have even more suggestions. Please make them in the comments!

The Bariatric Foodie Pre-Op Kitchen Check-Up

Food Cupboards

If you live alone, managing your kitchen cupboards could be as easy as donating or giving away food not on your post-op plan and replacing it with products that are.

For those with spouses and families, it isn’t always so easy. Remember: YOU signed up for surgery, not them. So while you should expect they’ll be supportive, they aren’t going to be eating the same things as you and you need to be prepared for that. Here are some tips:

• Take your cue from the grocery store. They put the most desirable items at eye level so that you’ll buy them (and as crazy as it sounds…it works). You can use the same strategy. Put your good food choices at eye level. Let the fam know their food is still in the pantry but is on a higher or lower shelf and should stay there.

• Consider giving a designated home to YOUR stuff. That way you don’t even have to look at that economy sized bag of Combos your spouse just has to have!

• Décor Tip: One of the best things I did for myself before surgery is take a tip from HGTV. I spray painted the inside panels of my cupboards with chalkboard paint and hung a small cup for chalk. Now when we’re out of something, we simply write it on the inside of the door. That helped post-op because I did not have to rifle through food I couldn’t have to figure out what we needed. Food was just…overwhelming…back then.

Dish Cupboards

I know what you’re thinking. “I have salad plates already!” Yes, you do but even those salad plates are going to look the size of China with a teeny bit of food on them. So if you don’t have any already, you might invest in a few saucers. Yep…saucers. The kind that tea cups go on. Yep….it is like that.

You might also just do a general dish check-up. Keeping in mind that bigger plates encourage us to eat more (studies have proven it), one very covert way to get your family into healthier eating habits is to change up your dishware. But don’t get rid of dinner plates outright. Lots of places sell more reasonable sized dinner plates now. You might consider switching them out and seeing what happens. Who knows? Yours might not be the only waistline that shrinks!

Bowls are another thing that tend to just be too big. Invest in some small ramekins or infant sized bowls.

The Cutlery Drawer

Yes, we are going everywhere in the kitchen!

Did you know Ikea and other places making children’s cutlery? It’s true. The spoons and forks are smaller than their grown-up counterparts making them perfect in those first days of eating and figuring out a proper bite. I don’t want to scare you but, taking the wrong sized bite can sometimes have severe consequences. I’m just sayin’.

Your Countertops

Not much going on there, right? Wrong! There is lots!

• Check out your spice rack. If you don’t know when you bought a spice, it’s probably time to toss it. When you’re already sensitive to extreme tastes, stale spice just makes it so much worse.

• Label your sugar, flour, salt jars. Be sure to clearly label the container in which you keep your sugar substitute.

• For things like sugar substitute or oatmeal, put a measuring device in there that correlates to the portion size you want to consume. For instance, I keep a tablespoon measure in my Splenda jar and a ¼ c. measure in my oatmeal jar.

• For goodness sakes, put SALT in all caps. You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve grabbed the wrong container!

The Refrigerator

I must say of all the places in the kitchen, this is the one that’s the most post-op friendly in my humble opinion. Why? Most food that has to be refrigerated is because it is made from ingredients that will spoil which means they are at least less processed than other things in your fridge. You just have to make sure you have the RIGHT stuff (that is a whole other post):

• For RNY patients especially, if your post-op eating plan includes dairy, invest in a few types of milk (cow’s milk, almond milk, soy milk). Some post-ops find themselves lactose intolerant after surgery. Having milk there already will help. You can get either the kind that needs to be refrigerated or the shelf stable variety.

• Again, claim a space for you and your stuff. At this point it doesn’t need to be a big space. No matter what surgery you have, you can’t eat that much up front. I suggest something like the deli storage drawer or the veggie or fruit bin. These things can go back to their normal functions eventually but to avoid food stimulus overload, it’s sometimes good to keep your stuff segregated so you know where it is and can get to it fast.

• Use the front of your fridge!!! Post anything you think will inspire you. That might be bible scripture, aspirational quotes, pictures of you from high school, your dream vacation that you want to take when you get to your goal weight…just anything. Trust me, it helps. As time wears on, this is also a good place to clip your before picture. You wouldn’t believe how many midnight snacks my picture has shut down!

The Freezer

In addition to just generally cleaning it out (trust me, you’ll be freezing a LOT of food post-op) you might also:

• Eke out some space for a few non-ice ice cube trays. Ice cube trays make perfect, one ounce portion sizes for soups, yogurt and other things you might use a lot.

• While you’re at it, stick a box of Arm & Hammer in there. Trust me when I say that, while it is generally unpleasant for your ice cubes to smell and taste like last week’s garlic chicken, it is exponentially MORE so when you are just out from surgery!

Gadgets

I was the QUEEN of them in my early post-op days. Most are not necessary. But here are a few things that REALLY helped me:

• A Food Saver Machine (or some other form of vacuum sealer). It really does make a difference in the life of your leftovers. And until I learned to cook for one post-op and two divas (instead of a large, fundamentalist family in Arkansas) there were a LOT of leftovers.

• A good, sturdy blender. Whether you like the Magic Bullet, the Ninja or just a regular old Hamilton Beach, make sure you have a quality blender and that you know how it works!

• (I don’t have one but it would have helped if I did) A Keurig coffee maker, especially if you are the sole tea drinker in the family. You can brew yourself one perfectly soothing cup of tea with no fuss. In the absence of budget for such things, might I recommend a whimsical teapot? It may take a bit longer, but the things are so cute! And don’t you deserve something cute?

Your Expectations

This is the hard one. As much as you listen to post-ops talk about their first kitchen melt downs after surgery, I don’t think you can truly GET the big deal about them until it happens to you. So let’s just do a little work to get our heads on straight.

• Since your family is still going to eat what they will eat, you will likely see and smell it. This may bother you. That is okay. It is NOT, however, okay to guilt trip people about what they are eating. So you might want to figure out how you want to deal with that ahead of time. To practice, try giving up something for a week that you and your family usually like to eat. How does it make you feel? Practice ways of dealing with it WITHOUT being grouchy.

• Getting into any new routine or system of organization takes time. So even though you’ve done this check-up (and threatened slow death on anyone who undoes it while you’re in the hospital), expect that it will take time for changes to keep. To make things easier, involve your whole family in the changes you’re making to your kitchen. That way you are making decisions together and everyone is on the same page!

• Take a coaching mentality. If you are the cook of the family and always have been, you might want to recruit some culinary trainees before surgery. Teach your family how to make a few of your favorite dinners and other meals. Make it fun and look at it as family time together. That way when you are fresh from surgery (and may want to avoid food like the plague) your family will know how to make food for themselves and not resent it.

•  …Or better yet, while you’re teaching the fam to cook, make some meals to freeze so that they can warm them up themselves. And to the extent that you can make future meals for yourself, do that too. Just be sure to label clearly!

Like I said, this is by no means an exhaustive list. If I’ve left something off or you have a neat tip or trick to share, please do! Put it in the comments so your pre-op Foodies can benefit.

The 2011 BF Holiday Survival Kit

Ok, it took some time but I am happy to FINALLY put the Survival Kits on sale. These are what I was formerly calling the "At Home Tasting." I'll spare you the details of why I changed the name. But since I did an FAQ on the live event, I thought I'd do one on the Survival Kits as well.

So what comes in the kit?

The kit will include the following:

• All of Bariatric Foodies 2011 Holiday Food Tasting Recipes on recipe cards
• All of the 2010 Holiday recipes on recipe cards (they will be Pouch Party cards...vintage!)
• A printable shopping list for all the recipes
• A printable collection of Bariatric Foodie holiday survival guides
• All the free goodies that the guests at the live event receive
• Two Bariatric Foodie Holiday Shake Sample Kits - these kits come with everything you need to make the Bariatric Foodie holiday shakes (the same that will be sampled at the party) except water! These shakes are a good way to "try before you buy" ingredients for a specialty shake.

In addition, I am putting the final touches on a door prize for my Survival Kit customers. So just like at the live event, when you buy a Survival Kit, your name will be entered into a contest for a prize!

How much is shipping?

Shipping is included in the cost of the Kit, which is $25.

Do you ship to Canada?

I'm going to put a big, phat MAYBE. Email me and I'll let you know the details of the maybe.
When will my Kit ship?

I plan to begin shipping Kits on October 31. Kits will be shipped in the order in which they were ordered. The Kits will remain on sale through the end of the year. I suggest you buy early so that you can have your Kit in time for your holiday events. Shipping will be first-class via the good old US Postal Service. If you want or need an alternative method of shipping, email me to discuss. I can do it but the cost would be different for the Kit. I will email you once your Kit has shipped.

What's your refund policy?

You may receive a 100% refund (although I hope you wouldn't want one!) if you return your Kit with unopened contents.

Can I order more than one set of Shake Sample Kits?

The Shake Sample Kits are designed to allow you to try before you buy the ingredients to a specialty shake. As such, I am not selling the Holiday Shake Sample Kits individually. In order to get more than one set of Shake Sample Cups, you'd need to order more than one Holiday Survival Kit. However, with each Sample Cup you get the recipe for the shake so that you can gather the items to make it at home!

What's in the Shake Sample Kits?

The Shake Sample Kits contain everything you need to make a Bariatric Foodie Holiday Shake recipe except water. Please note that the Sample Cups are made with whey concentrate protein and do include powdered milk. Unfortunately, at this time I cannot offer lactose or whey-free Shake Sample Cups. If you are lactose intolerant or whey intolerant, you may order the contents of the Survival Kit without the Shake Sample Cups (you'll still receive the shake recipes) for the reduced price of $15 (which also includes shipping).

Hey, you didn't answer MY question!

No worries! Hit me up by email and I'm happy to answer and every question you may have!

Just a little something...



I thought I'd give you guys a peek into the insanity er...joy of planning the 2011 Bariatric Foodie Holiday Food Tasting (click here if you are going "The what???").

Ultimately I decided NOT to sample out this recipe, so I am sharing it now!

But this gives you an idea what yumminess awaits if you attend!

It's basically the same concept as my Apple Brown Nik, with a few tweaks.

Nik's Apple & Nectarine Crumble (with sugar-free streusel topping)

Ingredients:

8 medium apples (I used a mix of Granny Smith, Gala and Fuji), peeled cored and sliced
4 large nectarines, seeded and sliced
2 tablespoons butter (or butter alternative)
1/3 c. sugar substitute (I use Splenda)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger (OR you could use 1/2 tsp apple pie spice instead of these three)
1 tbsp Atkins Baking Mix, Carbquick or multi-grain pancake mix
A dash of salt

Sugar-free Streusel Topping

1 c. almond meal
1/2 c. sugar substitute (again, I used Splenda)
1/4 c. sugar-free pancake syrup
2 tbsp. butter (or butter substitute), melted

Directions:

Spray a frying pan with nonstick spray then melt one tablespoon butter in it (that's my tip for using less butter without things sticking). Add sliced apples and nectarines and cook until just softened. Transfer to a bowl.

Add spices to apples and nectarines and stir. Add flour and stir again. Set aside.

In another bowl, combine almond meal, sugar substitute, syrup and butter until a crumbly mixture forms. It should be the consistency of wet sand. It should not be wet. If it is wet, add a bit more almond meal.

Place apple/nectarine mixture in a 13 x 9 casserole dish and top with crumb mixture.

Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until topping is hardened.

Now usually I use my beloved Fiber One for the topping (I truly do love it), but I tweaked this to incorporate something else for those who aren't fans.

So...that's a little sneak peek of what's going on in my kitchen as we near the big event. I don't want to give away too many details, but let me just say this recipe PALES in comparison to the dessert recipes I did decide to serve!

If you still need to get your ticket, you can do so securely using the PayPal link to your right! I hope to see you there!

Want some free stuff?

Who doesn't???

Well, it's giveaway time here at Bariatric Foodie!

I'm trying to build up my Foodie Nation on Facebook (Twitterverse...don't worry. I'm coming for you soon!)The concept is simple, as more people like or follow me, I give away bigger prizes!

The first prize will be awarded when we reach 400 Facebook likes on the Bariatric Foodie page!

What am I giving away? These!

A sample pack of Kay's Natural's Protein Puffs. These puffs, that are the texture of a traditional cheese puff, deliver 12 satisfying grams of protein for only 115 calories!!! And you're eating munchies!!! They come in almond delight, veggie pizza and tomato basil. I'll do a full review once the sample packs ship.

But wait! There's more!

If we get to 400 likes by midnight tomorrow I'll give away not one, not two...but THREE sample packs to my Foodies!

Once we're past 400 we'll work for 600. What will I give away for 600? You'll just have to stick around and see!

Well...what are you waiting for? Go like the page!!!

What the HECK is a "Holiday Food Tasting???"

Hello my wonderful Foodies!

I just wanted to take a moment to talk a bit more about the 2011 Holiday Food Tasting. I’ve gotten some good questions about the event and want to answer them here.

Why are you only doing this event in Baltimore and Pittsburgh?

Do you want the long or the short version of that story? Basically I am not a large operation and so, as much as I want to take Bariatric Foodie any and everywhere, I have to tend my resources wisely (which, for me, means staying close to home aka Baltimore). I do hope to travel to more places next year and look forward to updating you on that when I have more information.

Ok, so what’s the event again?

You can get specific dates/times/admission prices for events here. Long story short: it’s a gathering where you get to taste weight loss surgery friendly holiday dishes, including some of your favorite side dishes, food you can pass (successfully) at holiday parties, desserts and holiday themed protein drinks.

I realize that sometimes trying a new recipe (and especially during the holidays) can be tricky. This event will allow you to see how the food is made (I will demonstrate!), taste it and go home with all the recipes. There will also be a lot of other holiday fun, prizes and swag. One attendee last year said, “it was like Thanksgiving dinner, just for us post-ops!”

What is this at-home thingie you keep talking about?

I apologize for the tardiness in getting the information out about that. I’m trying to tweak the packaging so the darn thing doesn’t cost so much to ship! The Bariatric Foodie Holiday Survival Kit gives you all the take-home stuff from the live event, straight to your door.

Every attendee of the food tasting and everyone who orders a Holiday Survival Kit will receive the following:

• All the recipes from the 2011 Food Tasting
• All the recipes from the 2010 Food Tasting
• A downloadable shopping list for all the ingredients
• A set of “Bariatric Foodie Survival Guides” to making it through the holidays
• A complete guide to baking with added protein 

In addition, for the Holiday Survival Kit, I am sending you a sample kit of each of the two holiday themed protein drinks I’ll demonstrate at the live event. The sample kits come with everything you need (except the liquid) to make these yummy protein shakes and you’ll get the recipe so you can keep making them throughout the holiday season! (Live attendees, these same Kits will be available at the live event for a small fee.)

Lord willing, the Survival Kits will be on sale by the end of this week and I’ll post lots more information about them. Please stay tuned!

Can’t I just get the recipes from the blog?

The recipes that will be presented at this year’s event will NOT be shared on the blog. To make sure you get in on these good recipes, you’ll want to either attend the live event (and get the added bonus of TASTING the dishes as well) or order a Survival Kit.

Can I buy my tickets at the door?

Sorry, but you cannot. And to get the best price on these events you should buy your tickets as early as possible! Advance admission for each event is $25. The advance ticket sales for the Baltimore event end October 8. The advance sales for the Pittsburgh event end October 15. You can order your tickets securely online here on the blog (look to your right at the top).

So if you’re in Maryland or Pennsylvania (or any place that is easily accessible to both), I’d love to meet you in person! If not, stay tuned for more information about the Survival Kits!

If you have any other questions about this event, by all means, hit me up!

Spaghetti Squash Alfredo a la Nik

(Yesterday on Bariatric Foodie….)

You made a spaghetti squash. Possibly your first. Congrats! Now let’s translate it into a yummy meal.

I love spaghetti squash because it makes a great family type meal. The divas know (intellectually) that it is not pasta, but seriously? Anything covered in sauce is going to be good. The trick is to make it a health benefit as well.

We like Alfredo sauce. A lot. Unfortunately, it has a gamillion calories, so I have to make some concessions to make it all work.

First off, I make it into a casserole. What does that do? Casserole = finite amount of sauce. With a traditional pasta dish you tend to dump sauce on it and not think about how much. With a casserole you add sauce then reheat it, which infuses that flavor into everything in the casserole, removing the need for a lot of sauce.

I could write a book on this stuff (wink), but I think I’ll give you the recipe now:

Spaghetti Squash Alfredo a la Nik

2 yellow squash, diced
2 zucchini, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 lb. chicken breasts, cubed
Yield of one spaghetti squash
½ c. skim milk
½ c. grated Parmesan cheese (you can get the shelf stuff but grating your own is so much better!)
Fresh ground pepper (to taste) and sea salt
½ a jar Alfredo sauce (I use Ragu reduced fat)
4 o 5 slices of Provolone cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray down a sautee pan with nonstick and cook chicken breast cubes thoroughly and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
In the same pan, sautee both types of squash and onions until just tender. Add garlic and mix well. Transfer to same bowl as chicken.

Turn burner down to low and add milk, scraping up the bits at the bottom of the pan. When the edges of the milk begin to bubble, add the Alfredo sauce, mix well and warm through.

Add spaghetti squash to the large mixing bowl and mix chicken and veggies completely.

Add parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and mix again.

Add the Alfredo sauce and mix into the veggie mixture thoroughly. Transfer to a 13x9 casserole dish.

Top with slices of provolone cheese and bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

This is a seriously yummy dinner. And here’s the kicker. When you give it to the kids…and they wolf it…you’ve snuck not one, but THREE veggies into their meal!

I let that fact slip to La Grande Diva a few days ago. Messed up her whole world.

And THAT...my lovelies...is what I call playing with my food!

Have a great weekend!

How to Make Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is one of those veggies where there are as many ways to prepare it as people to prepare it.

That is to say, my method isn’t the only method, just the one that works best for me. If you have another method, by all means share it with the Foodie Nation (in the comments section)!

Wait…let’s back up a minute.

If you’ve never heard of spaghetti squash, they look something like this:



When cooked the “meat” of the squash is stringy, much like angel hair pasta. Cooking one is probably about the easiest thing in the world. Here’s my four step process.

Step One:

Place your squash in a cooking pan and fill it up to halfway up the sides with water. Cover it with aluminum foil and pop it into a 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes. The photo I used is cut in half. I usually don't bother to do that, though.

Step Two:

Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool completely before handling it. Seriously. I theorize 99% of spaghetti squash injuries are a result of skipping this step! When it's cool, fork test it. The fork should easily pierce the skin and go into the flesh.

Step Three:

Once it's cooled is when I usually slice it in half length wise (and might I say it's MUCH easier to do it at that point). See the center part that is sort of gooey with seeds in it? Yeah, scoop that out with a spoon, but JUST THAT PART.

Step Four:

Then run your spoon (or fork) just under the tough outer skin to extract the good stuff into a bowl. If you see any seeds, pick them out. Usually where there are seeds, there is more gooey stuff, so if you see it, get it. It’s not pleasant to eat!
Ok, so you’ve made your first spaghetti squash. Now what? You eat it! How? Tune in tomorrow to find out!

Corned Beef Hash a la Nik



You know what's been missing on this blog lately? FOOD!

So what better way to jump back into playing with our food than with a spin on one of my fave breakfast foods.

Corned beef hash. Oh how I miss it!

And miss it I did until I had a light bulb moment (these are few and far between for me so they are very special moments).

Corned beef hash is a good example of when what you THINK you want from a food is not what you really want from a food.

What I thought I wanted (and could not have) was those little bits of fried potato. But that’s not what I wanted. When I thought about it, what I wanted was caramelized veggies with my salty corned beef. THAT is what I wanted.

And here’s the thing. You can caramelize damn near any veggie and it can taste just as good as, if not better than, those potatoes.

So here’s how I made corned beef hash work.

Corned Beef Hash a la Nik
(Makes about 2-4 “us” sized servings, depending on surgery date)

1 cup yellow squash, diced large (and if you like, peeled)
½ an onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 oz. deli sliced corned beef, chopped up
Fresh ground black pepper

Get your frying pan (or, in my case, a griddle) very hot and then spray down with cooking spray.

While my pan is heating I typically dice up my squash. By the time I'm done, my pan is nice and hot. I then lower the heat to medium and add squash and onions. Sautee until they are softened and then add garlic.

While all THAT is cooking, I cut up my deli corned beef. Then once the veggies are done I add it into the veggies well.

Continue to sautee until meat is crispy and veggies are caramelized (onions will become golden and skins of squash, if left on, will brown).

And that’s it! Now, if you want to stop there, that’s great. You’ve got a tasty little meal there. If you want to take it to the next level, you can scramble in an egg (or some Egg Beaters if you prefer) as shown above. For me, this would equal the perfect breakfast!

This recipe is super simple. The corned beef has enough salt to season the whole thing. The garlic gives it that extra savory punch. And by sautéing most of the water out of veggies, they get nice and caramelized and explode with flavor.

2011 Holiday Food Tasting Tickets (for Baltimore) Now on Sale!!!

No idea what I'm talking about? Understandable. Click here...then come back!!!

So like I said above, the tickets to the Baltimore event are now on sale! Unfortunately, I am still working out the final price on the at home tasting kits but I'll post information about that no later than next week. Just to re-cap, the Baltimore event will be:

Saturday, October 29th, 2-4 p.m.

701 S. Charles Street

Baltimore, MD 21230

(Christ Lutheran Church)

Admission: $25 until October 8

$40 per person from October 8 -21 

NO TICKETS WILL BE SOLD AT THE DOOR

For those in the 'burgh...save Saturday, November 5. That will be the date for the event in Pittsburgh. Tickets for that event will go on sale by September 8 and there will be an announcement when the pay button is up on the blog.

Foodies in the MD/VA/DC/PA area, I really hope to see you at this event. There's something for everyone:

• For pre-ops: You'll get a good glimpse of post-op holiday eating and in my demos I will show you some cooking techniques that will serve you well year round!
• For new post-ops: If this is your first holiday season and you're anything like me, you are wondering what you'll do when faced with holiday parties and family dinners. These recipes are post-op tested, non-op approved, which means you can share these wls-friendly dishes with your family and (chances are) they will eat it too!
• For further out post-ops: Perhaps you're trying to get back on track OR perhaps now that you've conquered your excess weight you want to get your family healthy. Either way, you'll find great recipes and inspiration!

So many times we think "well I can't eat that much so it doesn't matter what we cook." IT DOES! We deserve to be a part of holiday food traditions. Just because they are no longer the center of our lives doesn't mean they are not important.

I invite you to come and see what I keep raving about (and will continue to rave about until the event is over...and maybe even after that). There will be food for all food stages (yes, even liquids), I'll have your favorite holiday side dishes, desserts, holiday party food and even holiday themed protein shakes! And (perhaps most meaningful to me) there will be other post-ops who can and will share their holiday experiences.

Oh yeah...and there will be me. I'm always good for at least a few moments of entertainment.

So that's my (first) pitch. I am so excited about this event and hope to see you there!