Leftovers Week: Vegetable & Turkey Casserole

~~posted by Jen




First and Foremost, a big Happy Birthday to Nik, our resident "Pouch Diva." She is taking a couple days off to enjoy her birthday, so y'all are stuck with me for the weekend. Nik, party it up, girl! We love you!!

Left to Right: Nessa, Nik, and Andrea. The guy in front is some random wedding guest in their hotel lobby. Pic by Melting Mama. Thanks, Beff!

Today is our last day of Leftovers Week, we hope you've enjoyed everything we've shared and that you use these recipes to make new meals from your holiday extras. At holiday meal time, everyone always has green bean casserole for the most part, at least where I come from. I made a healthier version of the traditional for the Holiday Preview and shared the recipe a couple weeks back. Well I clearly remember in packing up my things to come home from Baltimore, I still had a four pack of canned green beans leftover.

I know I packed them, I distinctly remember putting them in the re-usable shopping bag with the remaining Atkins baking mix and Splenda to bring back home. What happened to them between my hotel room in Baltimore and my home in New Jersey, only the good Lord knows. All I know is that when I went to make my green bean casserole on Thanksgiving Day, they were NOWHERE to be found! I had 5, yes, I said FIVE, cans of Fried onions. Not. one. single. can. of green beans.

Well of course there is a vegetarian in the house, I can't very well just serve turkey and stuffing and call it a day. Y'all know what I did. I made it WORK, people!!

I always have a ginormous Costco size bag of "Normandy style" (that's cauliflower, broccoli, baby carrots, and yellow squash, what makes it Normandy style is beyond me) vegetables in the freezer.

So I combined the idea of two of my usual Thanksgiving dishes, Green Bean Casserole and Broccoli Casserole, into one dish. A couple days after Thanksgiving, I needed to use up the leftovers, so I added some turkey breast meat to it and called it dinner.

This was a big hit with everyone, and in fact will most likely replace good ole Green Bean Casserole at future holiday meals. Here's how I made it:

Jen's Cheesy Mixed Vegetable Casserole with Turkey


Ingredients:
1 can (10 3/4 ouncese) reduced fat Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
Dash ground pepper
1 tbsp Garlic Powder
1 tbsp Onion Powder
3 cups "Normandy Style" mixed vegetables, thawed
1/4 cup Greek Yogurt
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can stems & pieces mushrooms
2 cups cooked turkey meat, chopped into bite-sized pieces
2/3 cup French Fried Onions


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together the soup, milk, Greek Yogurt, and seasonings. Stir in the vegetable medley, mushrooms, turkey meat, and 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Continue mixing together until thoroughly combined. 


Spray a 3 quart casserole dish with cooking spray, then pour the mixture into the dish. Spread it out evenly with a spatula. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes until it is bubbling and hot. Remove from oven, stir the mixture, then top with remaining cheese and the fried onions. Return to oven for an additional 5 minutes, or until the cheese melts and the onions are crispy.


Note: You can also cook this in the microwave if you prefer, just follow the instructions here. 

What Jen is Thankful for...

I don't even know where to begin counting my blessings, they are so abundant. I am thankful for reasonably good health, this has been a challenging year but I think everything is finally figured out and under control. At least it seems that way for the time being. I'm looking forward to going back to work in December and thankful that I have a job to go back to.

I'm thankful not to be 495 lbs anymore!

I'm thankful for my family, both the blood relatives, and those, like Nik and the divas, from "other Mothers." It's especially nice to know that no matter how far away I am from my real family, I am always surrounded by great friends who create a very special "family" all our own.

with my niece Karlee last summer

With my great-nephews Tyson and Trayden, or as their Momma calls them "TNT" (pun intended!)

with my Daddy last summer.

I am definitely thankful for my besties: Tina, Kathy, and the two Liz'es, plus my "Momma Peg" who adopted me as her "white chile" (as she calls me) about 20 years ago when I needed it the most. You girls keep me going when no one else can, and I know I can always count on you no matter what. Love Love Love you all!

My "Momma Peg" and my BFF Tina

I'm thankful  for my dogs, the two poodles Zeus and Mickey who actually are mine, and the two pitbulls Maya and Finn that have adopted me as their "person" too. There's no love quite like that of a dog, and these 2 boys and 2 girls always know when I need love the most.

I'm thankful for our military men and women and their families who sacrifice every day in countless ways to protect our freedom and way of life. Freedom isn't free, and that is a fact we should never take for granted.

God Bless America!

This may sound corny, but I am thankful to be financially independent and not have to rely on anyone else to support me or pay my bills. Like the song says, "I depend on me." Even though it is kind of scary (and occasionally precarious), it makes me feel good to know that I can and I am handling my own "bidness." It kinda sucks to be in the midst of divorce number two, but at least I am finding myself in all this mess and learning to put my needs ahead of the rest of the free world's. Definitely uncharted territory, but I'm glad to be here to explore it.

I'm very thankful for all of my friends in the WLS community, those I consider my friends are entirely too numerous to list here, but there are a few I wanted to single out as they have been there from day one of my journey and always given of themselves to help me on my path.

A heartfelt thank you from the bottom of my heart goes out to the following amazing WLS'ers:  Shari (Jupiter6 on OH) for her guidance, help, and occasional smacks with a clue-by-four as needed over the years. Tara (Tara K on OH) for her amazingly creative Crunchy Granola-ness and for always inspiring me to try harder.  Pam (Pam T on OH) for her tireless Googling and amazing research, not to mention her kickass graphic design work. Tony (Tony H on OH) for getting me addicted to Raving Rabbids and being his usual funny and hawt self.

Beth (Melting Mama.net) for just being the kind of take-no-prisoners, sarcastic, bed-jumping, cupcake eating, totally bad ASS, and hilariously in-your-face realistic friend that we all need at least a few of. Andrea (Andrea U on OH) for the absolute awesomeness she continues to share on vitamins and deficiency, and for being the voice of reason and knowledge in a very crazy post-op world. I would be dead somewhere right now if not for her and Shari, that is a no-shizzer. And of course, this list would not be complete without Carrie (RIWeasel on OH) for her stabbiness, and for making me laugh every damn day. I love that crazy girl to pieces.

Those are the select few who have been along for the ride this whole time, the rest of you certainly know who you are (Jaime, Ruth, Dee, Deb, Mandy, Angie, Crystal, Kris, I could go on and on and on)! Please don't be offended if you weren't mentioned by name, there is simply not enough space here to name every single person on this journey along with me for whom I am thankful. Thank you each and every one for your friendship, help, and support over the years. I'd never make it through this thing without all of you.

Last, and absolutely not at all least, I am thankful for Nik and the divas. Nik is an amazing friend and business partner, the perfect yin to my yang. She inspires me all the time, and we're like the perfectly matching opposite sides of the same coin. It's funny, but I would not want to even begin to try this with anyone else but her. She's the peanut butter to my jelly! Even though on occasion we work each other's nerves, we love each other enough to say so and get over it. That kind of friendship and business relationship is a rare gift indeed.

Partners in crime! Nik and Jen Summer 2009

The divas are a law unto themselves, they always make me laugh when I need it the most, and I love them as much as if they were my "real" nieces. Some of the things they come out with, I swear, are just damned hilarious. I would snap them up and bring them home with me in a cocaine heartbeat, but their Momma might not be too cool with that. At least not permanently! (On second thought, they are about to hit teens here soon, she may just pack them up and ship them to me!)

The Divas with my boy Zeus

Thank you all for everything, here's wishing you and your family a happy, healthy, and blessed holiday season. Happy Thanksgiving!

What Nik is thankful for...

Usually, I'm not into compilation lists of thankfulness. Mostly because I try to give thanks every day. But Thanksgiving is an opportunity to reflect on the bigger picture and I am learning to embrace that (or just get over myself). I thought I'd share with you just a few things I am thankful for this year. And this is me...so it's going to be a list of course!

#1...First and foremost, I am thankful that I am not THIS girl anymore

While this girl was nice and smart and funny...she didn't know it. And she didn't find herself worth the exploration to discover it. I remember her everyday and can only say that I recognize that she was doing the best she could with what she had to work with. But I am so thankful that I took this step to reclaim myself. Three years after surgery, the ultimate result, to me, cannot be measured simply in pounds lost. I often say I lost the weight but regained myself. That's sorta true. There wasn't much of a self in that girl. She barely knew who she was. Now, I still don't know the complete person...but I'm getting to know her and so for I like!

#2 - I am thankful for my divas

I quote them (and their antics) a lot. These two little women are my heart and soul. They challenge me (especially as le grande diva approaches adolescence). They make me think. They wipe my tears when I cry and bring me soup when I am sick. We are a single parent headed family so many times I don't have the patience that their friend's mom's (all of whom are married) have but I do love them fiercely.

#3 - I am thankful for my mother

She's struggling with some issues of her own right now but she's always been a symbol of strength for me. She has come through so much in life and is still standing. I know she'll come through her current trials. To me, she is a goddess and I love her!

#4 -  I am thankful for Goodwill

That would be me...for those of you not familiar!

And my imaginary friend Mischa...did I ever tell you about her? She is this fabulous girl who is exactly my size with impeccable taste. She is so fabulously fabulous that she changes her wardrobe every few weeks. But that's ok...because her trash is my treasure!

#5 - I am grateful to be a GUEST at Thanksgiving dinner this year

Last year I kinda delegated the collard green cleaning responsibilities...

Historically, I am the collard greens maker in the family. It's a tiring process. Yes, I know you can buy collards already picked and cut, but in years past we invited absolutely everyone to Thanksgiving and we made in excess of 30 lbs. of collards. Buying that many pre-cut is expensive. So my mom would haul crates of collards home and I would spend hours cleaning them (and cursing them). This year, my cousins are hosting and I am showing up...I'll eat my collards happily, knowing someone else did the work this year!

#6 - I am thankful for Jen...and all my friends

Jen and La Grande Diva within the hallowed walls of P.F. Chang's.

She is going to MURDER me for posting an unauthorized picture of her. Just remember me fondly peeps. I am so thankful the day I met her. Bariatric Foodie existed before we met, but Jen has taken this thing to a whole other level. Her Southern recipes (although, as she points out, technically Maryland is the south too...although it doesn't feel like it most of the time...), her no-nonsense approach to life and her absolute unwillingness to use anything but real butter! (I can't say I blame her on that one) I love her to pieces and thank God for her every day!

A few other special shout-outs: to the de-facto Pouch Party™ graphic designer, Pam, THANK YOU!!! You are my friend and sister and I love you! To my bestie, Lee, I adore you and thank GOD for the day you came to support group. A special shout-out to all my family on the OH RNY board and all of the Facebook fans! I appreciate you!

#7 - Last, but certainly not least...I am thankful for all of YOU!

This is me and Melting Mama at OH Conference in October 2009...who better represents the WLS "Everyman" than her? :) Love ya Beth!

Not just for reading this blog or coming to Pouch Parties™, but also for the encouragement you give me. I am not a guru. I am not an expert in anything. I learn from you and others, and I try to share neat things I come across. That's all. So thank you for giving me advice, giving me recipes, smacking me upside the head, lifting me up, occasionally deflating my ego and not laughing too hard when pictures of me on a mechanical bull surface on the internet.



Protein Shake: Chai Latte (Pam style!)

~~by Nikki

Ok, I'll admit it. I'm the one person in the whole RNY universe who never tried Pam's Protein Chai Tea. That is, until recently. I like chai just fine. I just wasn't passionate enough about it to go buy the ingredients and mix it up. And I get my protein well without it so it was always a "one of these days I'm a'gonna try it..."

So one day I am chatting with Pam (as I do about 40 hours out of every week) and told her of my wish to someday "Try the Chai." Well she had some things to send to me and when I got the box I found a little surprise: two containers of chai mix!

So I tried it hot. And it was warm and loverly. But I'm a cold protein drink gal ya see. So I decided to make it into a protein shake. Here's what I did:

Pam's Protein Chai Latte Shake

8 oz. skim milk (yes I KNOW there is dry milk in the mix...go with it!)
1 serving Pam's Protein Chai Mix
2 tablespoons sugar-free vanilla syrup3 packets of no-calorie sweetener (pink, blue, yellow...whichever)
Ice

Blend using the Triple X method. Top with whippage and a dash of cinnamon.

YUMMY! It's what I imagine a Starbucks Chai flavored Frappucino would taste like (I never tried one before surgery...one of the great tragedies of my life).

Now if you don't have the will to buy the ingredients for Pam's mix (and some of us just don't...although we should), know that Davinci makes Sugar Free Chai Tea concentrate or there's a great Sugar Free Oregon Chai Concentrate which you could easily add to a vanilla base shake. Results are not quite the same but it's still a really good shake.

...And then there were three (bon-bons that is)

~by Nikki

Bon-bon madness is catching on. Have you made yours yet? No? Well maybe a nice testimonial from our friend Lucia in Rhode Island might convince you. She says:

I love this recipe! To shake the pieces of banana in, I didn't have any of the things you listed. So I took some Fiber One twigs and a little cocoa powder and (somewhat) pulverized them in the food processor. This mix worked fine. Also the only syrup I had on hand was SF chocolate. So mine are nice and chocolaty!

And they look like it too. Thanks Lucia!

In other news, I think Jen just coined the latest in a LONG list of Pouch Party sayings. We have quite a few because, as a company, we have to be able to describe what we do in a few words. Here's a few that we already have going:

• "Cooking Big, On a Small Scale"
• "Your surgeon tells you how to eat, we show you what to eat."
• "There's no excuse for making a nasty protein shake!"
• "There's NO food that can't be made weight loss surgery friendly!"

Those are all nice, but Jen said something yesterday that so perfectly described our goal at Bariatric Foodie that I nearly fell out of my chair when I read it. Wait for it...wait for it...

"Play with your food people! And then let us see what you did."

Sounds simple but THAT is what we hope you'll do with our recipes. Play with them. Take out things you don't like and replace them with what you do like. Add some more stuff to them if you want to. We're always here to answer your questions and we love, love, love when you send us pictures of your BF-inspired creations. Truth be told, we love to see what you're cooking in general. So if you came up with something really great that you want to share, hit us up!

My mind is telling me noooooo....

But my tongue...my tongue is telling me YESSSSSS!!!! (get your minds outta the gutta! Well...for all you R. Kelly fans, your mind is there with good reason but still...this is a family friendly blog...)

So Valentine's Day. Not a big fan. Love should be celebrated every day in all its forms--not just romantic. So I get a little salty on V-day...so my choco-fix this weekend was perfect.

I'm all about giving credit where credit is due. This is NOT a BF invention (although we really, really wish it was because it is GENIUS) but the concoction of a fellow RNY'er who goes by the name of Jupiter6 who, discontent to accept the calories, fat and carbs in her fave Starbucks drink, decided to take action and DO something about it! Fight the power girlfriend!

Her website is forthcoming and even though we like you to use our recipes (because we seek total bariatric nutrition domination bwahahahaha!!!!) we will be sure to pass along Jupiter6's web site with her recipes once it's all up and ready.

Until then...you have GOT to try this...this drink is especially helpful if you are a) sex deprived or b) PMS'ing...

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate

8 oz Hot Water
4 oz Hood Calorie Countdown Fat Free Milk
2 teaspoons Cocoa Powder
Big splash DaVinci or Torani Caramel
Fleur de Sel or table salt (a couple shakes)
3 packs Splenda

Directions:
Pour DaVinci into BIG cup, add dry ingredients and stir until disssolved. Add milk/hot water. Stir and drink! Add whippage if you can afford it! And these 'bucks numbers are with nonfat milk AND no whipage!)

This version:     vs.                    Starbucks Version:

Cals: 52                                     Cal: 400
Fat: 1.7g                                    Fat: 15g
Carbs: 8.1                                 Carbs: 60g
Protein: 6.4                                Protein: 11

Bariatric Foodie Verdict: ...um...we can't talk right now...drinking cocoa...call back later!!!

While many have expressed the desire to put protein in this, we like it as is. Sometimes a drink can just be a drink, right?

Anyway, enjoy!

The Moment You've ALL been waiting for...

I have been promising my shrimp egg foo young recipe for forever right? The main reason I haven't posted it is because...well, to be frank, this blog is very real in my life. If I make it I gotta eat it and my pouch has not been feeling eggs so much lately. So I apologize for the hold-up.

I also apologize that you are not getting *my* recipe today either BUT...(don't walk away mad...come back here...)

The wonderful, beautiful, GODDESS of a WLS-cook Eggface has posted her recipe for shrimp egg foo young which is very similar to mine and it looks hella tasty! So mosey on over to "The World According to Eggface" and check it out. Then make it. Cuz it's good!