Ok, so I could post a picture with this recipe. But it wouldn't be of this shake. Why? Well I'm in the process of packing up my house (while simultaneously decorating for Christmas...how psycho is THAT???) and all my pretty glasses are packed away.
Besides, I tend to make this shake at work, thanks to these babies:
Smaller sized bottles of Davinci that I get at my local Wal-Mart (or Wally World to some of you) for less than $3. Sweet! When I do shakes at work I drink them in my purple cup. My purple cup does not lend itself to a beautiful photographic moment.
So just imagine what this shake looks like in your head and know that Bariatric Foodie does, in fact, have artistic integrity. Although this shake may LOOK like a million other chocolate shakes I've made...I will not pass off a fake photo!!! (/end melodrama)
Nik's "Peanutella" Protein Shake
8 oz. milk (whatever kind you use)
1 scoop chocolate peanut butter protein powder
- OR -
1 scoop of chocolate protein powder +
1 tbsp PB2
1 tsp good instant decaf coffee (no cheap stuff)
2-3 pumps (or one tbsp) sugar-free Hazelnut syrup
Directions:
Mix everything in a blender according to the Triple X Method. Or not. Your choice.
Add a poof of whippage (whipped cream). Or not. STILL your choice. Heck, you don't even have to drink it cold. I know some of you like it hot! (Especially you...the one sitting in the computer chair...YOU like it hot).
Have it your way!
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Hunger: What Your Surgeon Didn't Tell You...
Today, instead of food, I thought I would share some stuff I’ve picked up over my nearly four years as a post-op bariatric patient.
You may (or may not) have noticed on the sidebar that this month Bariatric Foodie is going to take on the subject of hunger – what it is, how we experience it post-op and how hunger should (or should not) guide how we behave. I admit I’m a bit behind on my production of this but it is on its way and I hope it is helpful to you all!
The title of this post was SORTA tongue-in-cheek. But it's sort of true too. One thing I became keenly aware of post-op is that I didn't have a great working understanding of hunger. When you take away the stomach growling, the pains in the midsection, etc., what is hunger? And why, if I don't feel all those things, do I still feel compelled to eat (and eat things I am not supposed to eat)? Those questions are what started this investigation for me.
So in order to really delve into the series (tentatively due out in December), I thought I’d share some things I’ve learned about hunger and eating that might help folks who are a little more “recently cut.”
Hunger and Appetite are Two Different Things
Merriam-Webster defines hunger as, “a craving or an urgent need for food or specific nutrient.” Conversely, they define appetite as, “an inherent craving, taste or preference.”
To the naked eye these may seem like the same thing but they are not. Distinguishing the two becomes supremely important in post-op life. I have my own definitions for both which may be a bit more helpful.
HUNGER is the need to eat. APPETITE is the desire to eat. Many people assume the two are mutually exclusive but they are not. You can need to eat even when you have no desire to eat and you can have a desire to eat even when you don’t need to eat. As I go through my other few points, this information becomes important.
Snacking vs. Grazing: Can you Tell the Difference?
Sometimes it’s easy to distinguish. For instance, if I plan to have a 200 calorie “mini-meal at 4 p.m., which falls in between lunch at noon and dinner at 7, we would commonly regard that as a snack, right? Conversely, if I ate lunch at noon, had a bite of a bagel at 1, a handful of nuts at 2:30, a yogurt at 4 and some popcorn at 5 then dinner at 7, we would easily call that grazing.
But sometimes the distinction is not so clear. Is grazing still grazing when you are snacking on “no cal” food like carrots or lettuce? And when does meal planning cross the line into grazing? Say you’ve planned your meals so that your day ends with a perfect 1200 calories (for the sake of argument) but you’ve broken that down into 8 meals that have you eating every two hours throughout the day. Is that a meal plan, planned snacking or grazing? See…it’s not always so simple to tell.
Going back to what I said above about appetite and hunger, that can be a good measure to start with. Many simply don’t feel hunger post-op, but our bodies find ways to tell us that we need to eat. Learn those cues (light-headedness, shaky hands and fatigue are common ones). Then use what you know to determine how much and how often you need to eat. You might enlist your nutritionist in this effort if this is hard for you.
There is really no such thing as “tiding you over.”
For those unfamiliar with this term, it’s when you eat a little something to “get you through to the next meal” which would be very soon after that snack. Many newbies right now, I know, are looking at the computer confounded, thinking, “how is this possible?” But as you get further out from surgery your eating capacity rightfully increases, making you able to do things like have a “tide you over snack.”
I’m here to tell you it’s not a good idea. It wasn’t a good idea pre-op and it’s STILL not a good idea now. Why?
Hunger (in whatever way you experience it) indicates the need for food. If you are feeling hunger that means you probably need a meal (preferably one that contains a good balance of nutrients and micro-nutrients). It’s a warning sign and you should regard it as such. Rather than consistently “tiding yourself over” with a snack, if you feel hunger during a certain part of the day, you might consider putting a meal there.
This becomes problematic to people like me, though. I am a self-professed food addict. I don’t WANT to have a full meal in these situations precisely because it eliminates the possibility of eating more later. (To other food addicts this will make perfect sense.)
Rather than trying to tide yourself over with a snack, it may be smart to face a few essential facts:
It’s happened to us all. We see something, we grab it and eat it. Five seconds after we swallow, we think, “Why did I eat that? I wasn’t even hungry!” Impulse eating.
In my estimation, impulse eating is a result of allowing your appetite to dominate your food decisions. Like I said, appetite can exist outside of hunger. You can WANT something you don’t need at that moment. Appetite is further complicated by the fact that we don’t simply get an appetite for food in general (that’d be easy to remedy – we’d all eat lettuce every time we got the impulse to eat!) but we get an appetite, a craving for certain foods. Many times these are NOT the foods we should be eating.
Overcoming impulse eating is a matter of slowing down the situation. It takes a certain commitment to stopping yourself (sometimes when you are in “mid-reach”) to ask yourself some questions. Why am I reaching for this food? Am I hungry? What am I feeling? How will this food make me feel after I eat it? Is it going to make me sick? Is it going to make me depressed.
I stand before you, food addict and all, and tell you this: if you can master slowing down that “reach” process, you are well on your way to overcoming impulse eating. If you can just give yourself that 30 seconds to think about what you’re doing, most of the time you can talk yourself out of it.
Of course, this is not as easy as it seems. That urge to eat is powerful. Your brain has actual chemicals backing it up. Your body’s every inclination is to act on that impulse. It doesn’t want to slow down. And for us food addicts, it’s even worse. It’s a gauntlet. We MUST have what we want now or we will never, ever be happy or satisfied. Crazy as it sounds, these are common thoughts to food addicts.
I’ll stop there. But that’s just a taste of what’s coming in “BF Investigates: Hunger.” We’re going to really dive into the subject of hunger, what our expectations are before and after surgery with regards to hunger and how we should manage our hunger for long-term success.
You may (or may not) have noticed on the sidebar that this month Bariatric Foodie is going to take on the subject of hunger – what it is, how we experience it post-op and how hunger should (or should not) guide how we behave. I admit I’m a bit behind on my production of this but it is on its way and I hope it is helpful to you all!
The title of this post was SORTA tongue-in-cheek. But it's sort of true too. One thing I became keenly aware of post-op is that I didn't have a great working understanding of hunger. When you take away the stomach growling, the pains in the midsection, etc., what is hunger? And why, if I don't feel all those things, do I still feel compelled to eat (and eat things I am not supposed to eat)? Those questions are what started this investigation for me.
So in order to really delve into the series (tentatively due out in December), I thought I’d share some things I’ve learned about hunger and eating that might help folks who are a little more “recently cut.”
Hunger and Appetite are Two Different Things
Merriam-Webster defines hunger as, “a craving or an urgent need for food or specific nutrient.” Conversely, they define appetite as, “an inherent craving, taste or preference.”
To the naked eye these may seem like the same thing but they are not. Distinguishing the two becomes supremely important in post-op life. I have my own definitions for both which may be a bit more helpful.
HUNGER is the need to eat. APPETITE is the desire to eat. Many people assume the two are mutually exclusive but they are not. You can need to eat even when you have no desire to eat and you can have a desire to eat even when you don’t need to eat. As I go through my other few points, this information becomes important.
Snacking vs. Grazing: Can you Tell the Difference?
Sometimes it’s easy to distinguish. For instance, if I plan to have a 200 calorie “mini-meal at 4 p.m., which falls in between lunch at noon and dinner at 7, we would commonly regard that as a snack, right? Conversely, if I ate lunch at noon, had a bite of a bagel at 1, a handful of nuts at 2:30, a yogurt at 4 and some popcorn at 5 then dinner at 7, we would easily call that grazing.
But sometimes the distinction is not so clear. Is grazing still grazing when you are snacking on “no cal” food like carrots or lettuce? And when does meal planning cross the line into grazing? Say you’ve planned your meals so that your day ends with a perfect 1200 calories (for the sake of argument) but you’ve broken that down into 8 meals that have you eating every two hours throughout the day. Is that a meal plan, planned snacking or grazing? See…it’s not always so simple to tell.
Going back to what I said above about appetite and hunger, that can be a good measure to start with. Many simply don’t feel hunger post-op, but our bodies find ways to tell us that we need to eat. Learn those cues (light-headedness, shaky hands and fatigue are common ones). Then use what you know to determine how much and how often you need to eat. You might enlist your nutritionist in this effort if this is hard for you.
There is really no such thing as “tiding you over.”
For those unfamiliar with this term, it’s when you eat a little something to “get you through to the next meal” which would be very soon after that snack. Many newbies right now, I know, are looking at the computer confounded, thinking, “how is this possible?” But as you get further out from surgery your eating capacity rightfully increases, making you able to do things like have a “tide you over snack.”
I’m here to tell you it’s not a good idea. It wasn’t a good idea pre-op and it’s STILL not a good idea now. Why?
Hunger (in whatever way you experience it) indicates the need for food. If you are feeling hunger that means you probably need a meal (preferably one that contains a good balance of nutrients and micro-nutrients). It’s a warning sign and you should regard it as such. Rather than consistently “tiding yourself over” with a snack, if you feel hunger during a certain part of the day, you might consider putting a meal there.
This becomes problematic to people like me, though. I am a self-professed food addict. I don’t WANT to have a full meal in these situations precisely because it eliminates the possibility of eating more later. (To other food addicts this will make perfect sense.)
Rather than trying to tide yourself over with a snack, it may be smart to face a few essential facts:
- Hunger is NOT an emergency. Yes you are hungry. No you will not die if you have to wait 20 minutes or so until your next meal. For those who have reactive hypoglycemia or diabetes, this may be different. But barring those circumstances, it truly is your head freaking out. Your body has a defense mechanism against starvation. It’s called fat.
- Those feelings you are feeling that are pushing you to have that “tide you over” snack? They come from somewhere. Something is driving them. Figure out what that is and you’ve done yourself a great service.
It’s happened to us all. We see something, we grab it and eat it. Five seconds after we swallow, we think, “Why did I eat that? I wasn’t even hungry!” Impulse eating.
In my estimation, impulse eating is a result of allowing your appetite to dominate your food decisions. Like I said, appetite can exist outside of hunger. You can WANT something you don’t need at that moment. Appetite is further complicated by the fact that we don’t simply get an appetite for food in general (that’d be easy to remedy – we’d all eat lettuce every time we got the impulse to eat!) but we get an appetite, a craving for certain foods. Many times these are NOT the foods we should be eating.
Overcoming impulse eating is a matter of slowing down the situation. It takes a certain commitment to stopping yourself (sometimes when you are in “mid-reach”) to ask yourself some questions. Why am I reaching for this food? Am I hungry? What am I feeling? How will this food make me feel after I eat it? Is it going to make me sick? Is it going to make me depressed.
I stand before you, food addict and all, and tell you this: if you can master slowing down that “reach” process, you are well on your way to overcoming impulse eating. If you can just give yourself that 30 seconds to think about what you’re doing, most of the time you can talk yourself out of it.
Of course, this is not as easy as it seems. That urge to eat is powerful. Your brain has actual chemicals backing it up. Your body’s every inclination is to act on that impulse. It doesn’t want to slow down. And for us food addicts, it’s even worse. It’s a gauntlet. We MUST have what we want now or we will never, ever be happy or satisfied. Crazy as it sounds, these are common thoughts to food addicts.
I’ll stop there. But that’s just a taste of what’s coming in “BF Investigates: Hunger.” We’re going to really dive into the subject of hunger, what our expectations are before and after surgery with regards to hunger and how we should manage our hunger for long-term success.
BF Top 3: What the heck to do with these leftovers???
Last year BF did a "Leftovers Week" (and a Soup Week...and a Dessert Week. I was really into themed blogging at the time). This year I'm going to add a few more recipes to that but I figured I'd go over what is already here for your culinary enjoyment.
So without further adieu...my top 3 fave ways to use Thanksgiving leftovers!!! You can find all six of last year's "Leftovers Week" selections here. (And click on the title of the dish to get to the recipe!)
#1 - Leftover Stuffing: Nik's Swirly Stuffing Meatloaf
I love this. Unfortunately I had to go and make a reasonable amount of food this year so there is no leftover stuffing. Boo. I can't really justify making MORE stuffing just to make the meatloaf. That would be all kinds of wrong. But this is a way to turn a carb you love into a protein source!
#2 - Leftover Sweet Potatoes: Nik's Protein Sweet Potato Pancakes (with dipping sauce)
Whaddya mean you have leftover sweet potatoes??? Did they not LOVE my Salty 'n Sweet Potato Casserole? Ohhhh...you didn't order the Holiday Survival Kit. Yeah. It happens. I understand. Well, these pancakes are just too cute. And btw...for folks who DID order the Kit...I'm going to start adding Christmas content to the Kit page soon! For those who have not yet ordered their Kit (of customized recipes and resources), you can still order! See the PayPal button at the right!
#3 - Leftover Turkey: Nik's Turkey & TVP chili
I no have a picture. Sorry! But the chili is oooooooh so good. But don't tell anyone there's TVP in it. It just weirds them out unnecessarily. I don't know why. It may remain one of the greatest mysteries of our time!
Stay tuned later this week for what to do with that meaty turkey carcass you have sitting in a baggie in the fridge. Don't worry...it's still good for another four days! ;)
Enjoy!
So without further adieu...my top 3 fave ways to use Thanksgiving leftovers!!! You can find all six of last year's "Leftovers Week" selections here. (And click on the title of the dish to get to the recipe!)
#1 - Leftover Stuffing: Nik's Swirly Stuffing Meatloaf
#2 - Leftover Sweet Potatoes: Nik's Protein Sweet Potato Pancakes (with dipping sauce)
#3 - Leftover Turkey: Nik's Turkey & TVP chili
I no have a picture. Sorry! But the chili is oooooooh so good. But don't tell anyone there's TVP in it. It just weirds them out unnecessarily. I don't know why. It may remain one of the greatest mysteries of our time!
Stay tuned later this week for what to do with that meaty turkey carcass you have sitting in a baggie in the fridge. Don't worry...it's still good for another four days! ;)
Enjoy!
What Nik is Thankful for...(2011)
Four years ago…this was me.
She was a nice woman. She had a good-heart and while she deserved a better life she didn’t believe that she did. But she saw other people around her who were happy. Even though that happiness seemed elusive, she dared to believe that perhaps she could find it for herself. But to do that she had to face her demons head on. And to do that she had to change her relationship with food which, until that point, had been the shield she used to protect herself from the demons.
So then she had surgery and within months she looked like this.
Still a nice girl…but now a nice girl on a mission. She was going to lose the weight, get fit and everything was going to be ALL right. Right?
Well after a year and some change she looked like this.
She lost the weight but…she wasn’t quite happy. She missed being able to sedate herself with food. She hated counting every calorie and gram of protein. She resented the vitamins. She felt like she was not skinny but was no longer plus-sized, the identity she had her whole life. She was confused and in a very bad place.
And in time some of the weight came back. But a funny thing happened. She started to ask herself questions like “Why do I think the way I think? What hunger am I trying to feed when I want to eat beyond my pouch capacity? What do I want out of life? And for that matter…who the HELL am I?”
Today she…I…look something like this.
I have learned so much about myself this year. And all those lessons can be categorized by one simple phrase: I can do it.
This time last year Bariatric Foodie was two people. Now it is one. I didn’t think I could run this blog alone, even though I began it alone. But you know what? I can do it. I have done it. I even pulled off two great events in two cities!
This time last year I was petrified of the infamous “bounce back” weight. I thought I was on a conveyor belt back to obesity. But I wasn’t. I realized that through exercise and good choices I could control SOME of what happens with my body (although it does seem to like the weight I am now, no matter how much or little I eat or exercise).
This time last year, I was coping with a horrible incident that happened last summer that left me feeling very unsafe and unsure about the future. But here I am, still standing. And I learned that everything that happens in my life is the result of some decision I’ve made. So now I try to make wiser decisions.
This time last year, I was so depressed because it was the first Thanksgiving that would not be in my grandfather’s house, which we recently lost to foreclosure. This year, I honor my grandfather’s memory by having Thanksgiving in my humble little house.
I can do it. And you can do it. Whatever you think is holding you back, knock it down! Lord knows if I have, you can too!
So this Thanksgiving I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from my mistakes, grow through my struggles and I am most thankful for community. This community here, of wonderful Foodies, is precious to me. And I give thanks for you each and every day. You keep me on track and motivated, thinking and curious. And for that there are not quite enough thanks…
But I’ll give just one more. THANK YOU for reading this blog. Happy Thanksgiving.
So then she had surgery and within months she looked like this.
Still a nice girl…but now a nice girl on a mission. She was going to lose the weight, get fit and everything was going to be ALL right. Right?
Well after a year and some change she looked like this.
She lost the weight but…she wasn’t quite happy. She missed being able to sedate herself with food. She hated counting every calorie and gram of protein. She resented the vitamins. She felt like she was not skinny but was no longer plus-sized, the identity she had her whole life. She was confused and in a very bad place.
And in time some of the weight came back. But a funny thing happened. She started to ask herself questions like “Why do I think the way I think? What hunger am I trying to feed when I want to eat beyond my pouch capacity? What do I want out of life? And for that matter…who the HELL am I?”
Today she…I…look something like this.
Thicker than my thinnest, thinner than my biggest and well on my way to this elusive thing called happiness. I have learned so much about myself this year. And all those lessons can be categorized by one simple phrase: I can do it.
This time last year Bariatric Foodie was two people. Now it is one. I didn’t think I could run this blog alone, even though I began it alone. But you know what? I can do it. I have done it. I even pulled off two great events in two cities!
This time last year I was petrified of the infamous “bounce back” weight. I thought I was on a conveyor belt back to obesity. But I wasn’t. I realized that through exercise and good choices I could control SOME of what happens with my body (although it does seem to like the weight I am now, no matter how much or little I eat or exercise).
This time last year, I was coping with a horrible incident that happened last summer that left me feeling very unsafe and unsure about the future. But here I am, still standing. And I learned that everything that happens in my life is the result of some decision I’ve made. So now I try to make wiser decisions.
This time last year, I was so depressed because it was the first Thanksgiving that would not be in my grandfather’s house, which we recently lost to foreclosure. This year, I honor my grandfather’s memory by having Thanksgiving in my humble little house.
I can do it. And you can do it. Whatever you think is holding you back, knock it down! Lord knows if I have, you can too!
So this Thanksgiving I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from my mistakes, grow through my struggles and I am most thankful for community. This community here, of wonderful Foodies, is precious to me. And I give thanks for you each and every day. You keep me on track and motivated, thinking and curious. And for that there are not quite enough thanks…
But I’ll give just one more. THANK YOU for reading this blog. Happy Thanksgiving.
Hey, Nik, what are YOU cooking for Thanksgiving?
This year I am hosting Thanksgiving for the first time!!! It’s exciting but also a bit sad. Next year we’ll move from the house where we have lived for the last 13 years so this will be my first and last Thanksgiving in this house.
That’s why I want to make this meal special. We’re not expecting a big crowd, but for my attending family I’ve planned a mix of traditional (to Thanksgiving and to us) dishes and a few “remixed” favorites!
Here’s my Thanksgiving menu:
Turkey
I contemplated not doing turkey, thinking nobody in the family was that passionate about it. I was wrong! La Grande Diva kicked up at the thought of not having a Thanksgiving turkey. My family affectionately deems our annual turkey “Bruh Bird.” He is currently thawing in a nice snuggly spot in my kitchen.
If you need tips on roasting a bird, the instructions on the Perfect Roasted Chicken also work well on turkey!
Stuffing
For this one I’m sticking with our family’s traditional recipe with just a few tweaks. We combine corn bread stuffing with pork sausage, onions, red peppers and green peppers and bake to perfection. We don’t cook it in the bird but in a baking dish. It’s very yummy! This year I’ll use a leaner sausage but will keep the rest pretty much the same!
Collard Greens
These are a family and cultural favorite. I think overall, collard greens can be deemed Southern, but they are a staple in many African-American holiday celebrations. For this one, I am not modifying at all (last time I tried to do so I nearly got kicked out of dinner). Collard greens are typically seasoned with some sort of smoked meat and spices. My family uses corned pig tails to season collard greens, which is what I’ll use as well.
Baked Mac ‘n Cheese
This is by far the divas favorite thing on Thanksgiving. Nana is going to make her FAMOUS homemade mac ‘n cheese. I don’t deny them the pleasure, however I am going to make a small baking dish of my four-cheese mashed cauliflower for myself. Me and noodles don’t get along. At all.
Sauerkraut
This is La Grande Diva’s 2nd to favorite dish for Thanksgiving. For this one, I keep it simple: I throw some country ribs in the crock pot with onions and spices then drain the sauerkraut and add it to the ribs (we don’t like it in the canning liquid – too sour!).
Candied Yams
While I am making the traditional (which, by the way, MUST employ King Syrup in my family – nothing else will do), I am also making a side dish of my “Salty ‘n Sweet Potato Casserole.” (The recipe for this dish is included in the Holiday Survival Kit for those who ordered one. For those wanting the recipe, it’s not too late to get it! See the PayPal button on the left!) My version cuts out most of the sugar and plays on a salty/sweet combo that is SOOOOO satisfying.
Green Beans
To save time, I am doing canned (but I’m draining them of the canning liquid to get rid of some of that sodium!). In my family, we do green beans much the same way as collard greens – cooked with some sort of smoked meat. This is an area where I made a simple swap. Instead of smoked pork neck bones, I am using smoked turkey necks. Saves a few a calories (JUST a few).
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
What is Thanksgiving without these? I am a mashed potato snob though. I don’t like the boxed version. I mash my own potatoes and mix with a combination of garlic, spices and Greek yogurt for an extra kick of tangy creaminess (and a negligible amount of protein). Those who came to the Holiday Food Tasting got to taste a mashed potato swap that I thought about serving. But I’m not too passionate about mashed potatoes so I’m just going to serve my family the spuds!
I make a simple gravy by boiling the turkey "innards" in onions and spices. Then I remove the turkey parts and add a thickener (1 part Atkins Baking Mix: 1 part COLD water - usually 1/4 c. of each) and boil an additiona 5-7 minutes. It thickens upon standing and is yum, yum, delicious! (Hint: if you want it to be yum, yum lowfat, make the day before, and stick the broth in the fridge before adding the thickener. The fat will rise to the top and you can skim it off!)
Rolls
Since I’m not eating any, this didn’t seem a battle I wanted to fight. I got normal brown ‘n serve.
Sweet Potato Pie
My family does not eat pumpkin pie. I tried to swap it out for them, thinking they taste pretty much the same. They could tell! For one thing, the color is different. But still…this year I’m going to be good and give them their sweet potato pie…with a little something extra. ;)
Apple Pie
I am also a pie snob. I don’t do Sarah Lee, I do Granny Smith!!! Apple pies are a great way to get the divas involved in the dinner too. They peel the apples and use their (washed) hands to mix in the spices. Instead of corn starch, I use a bit of Atkins Mix to thicken the apple juices (in the absence of this, multi-grain pancake mix will also work fine). And of course my pies are made with Splenda instead of sugar. ALL my pies. (Although the fam doesn’t need to know that!)
Yep...this ought to satisfy the crowds!
There is one other piece of business related to Thanksgiving before I leave you to creating your own holiday masterpieces. Be sure to check in with Bariatric Foodie on Facebook and Twitter on Thursday for encouragement, fun polls and other comraderie to help you keep your sanity on this food-centrick holiday!
Happy Thanksgiving!
That’s why I want to make this meal special. We’re not expecting a big crowd, but for my attending family I’ve planned a mix of traditional (to Thanksgiving and to us) dishes and a few “remixed” favorites!
Here’s my Thanksgiving menu:
Turkey
This would be "Bruh Bird: 2009." It was a rough year for me. I had to take over cooking when my mom got sick and accidentally left the turkey in the oven too long!
If you need tips on roasting a bird, the instructions on the Perfect Roasted Chicken also work well on turkey!
Stuffing
For this one I’m sticking with our family’s traditional recipe with just a few tweaks. We combine corn bread stuffing with pork sausage, onions, red peppers and green peppers and bake to perfection. We don’t cook it in the bird but in a baking dish. It’s very yummy! This year I’ll use a leaner sausage but will keep the rest pretty much the same!
Collard Greens
Collard Green Duty requires INTENSIVE training. INTENSIVE.
Baked Mac ‘n Cheese
That would be the Four Cheese Mashed Cauliflower folks!
Sauerkraut
This is La Grande Diva’s 2nd to favorite dish for Thanksgiving. For this one, I keep it simple: I throw some country ribs in the crock pot with onions and spices then drain the sauerkraut and add it to the ribs (we don’t like it in the canning liquid – too sour!).
Candied Yams
The "Salty 'n Sweet" Potato Casserole was a hit at this year's Bariatric Foodie Holiday Food Tasting!
Green Beans
To save time, I am doing canned (but I’m draining them of the canning liquid to get rid of some of that sodium!). In my family, we do green beans much the same way as collard greens – cooked with some sort of smoked meat. This is an area where I made a simple swap. Instead of smoked pork neck bones, I am using smoked turkey necks. Saves a few a calories (JUST a few).
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
What is Thanksgiving without these? I am a mashed potato snob though. I don’t like the boxed version. I mash my own potatoes and mix with a combination of garlic, spices and Greek yogurt for an extra kick of tangy creaminess (and a negligible amount of protein). Those who came to the Holiday Food Tasting got to taste a mashed potato swap that I thought about serving. But I’m not too passionate about mashed potatoes so I’m just going to serve my family the spuds!
I make a simple gravy by boiling the turkey "innards" in onions and spices. Then I remove the turkey parts and add a thickener (1 part Atkins Baking Mix: 1 part COLD water - usually 1/4 c. of each) and boil an additiona 5-7 minutes. It thickens upon standing and is yum, yum, delicious! (Hint: if you want it to be yum, yum lowfat, make the day before, and stick the broth in the fridge before adding the thickener. The fat will rise to the top and you can skim it off!)
Rolls
Since I’m not eating any, this didn’t seem a battle I wanted to fight. I got normal brown ‘n serve.
Sweet Potato Pie
Apple Pie
I am also a pie snob. I don’t do Sarah Lee, I do Granny Smith!!! Apple pies are a great way to get the divas involved in the dinner too. They peel the apples and use their (washed) hands to mix in the spices. Instead of corn starch, I use a bit of Atkins Mix to thicken the apple juices (in the absence of this, multi-grain pancake mix will also work fine). And of course my pies are made with Splenda instead of sugar. ALL my pies. (Although the fam doesn’t need to know that!)
Yep...this ought to satisfy the crowds!
There is one other piece of business related to Thanksgiving before I leave you to creating your own holiday masterpieces. Be sure to check in with Bariatric Foodie on Facebook and Twitter on Thursday for encouragement, fun polls and other comraderie to help you keep your sanity on this food-centrick holiday!
Happy Thanksgiving!
