Dining out-noodles and company

Lately, the energy levels have not been what I’d like. Can’t say why, though I think the lack of protein may have something to do with it. So yesterday, the hubby wanted to go out with a friend and I decided that it might be good to go out. The decision had been made to eat at Noodles and Company and since I like to eat there, I didn't have an issue.

I decided on the Tomato basil bisque, with some sliced up parmesan chicken mixed in. Nice and tangy, I like the chunks that were still in it. The portion, even at half a bowl, was still huge. I never realized the portion sized until I couldn’t eat the whole thing.

Do we really eat this much food?

I did not have any problems with the soup or the chicken, though most of it came home with me. I’m going to have it for dinner tonight, therefore not wasting a thing.

This weekend we’re going to be emptying the pantry and the fridge to get in the right frame of mind when it come to eating. the hubby does not want to, but it’s for the best.

What should I include on the list? I know whole wheat thing, but any other suggestions?

6 week check up…solid food

Today was the 6 week check up for me. Had to say, all was well. though, the belly button thing is irritating. It’s not healing as well as I’d like for it to. Since it’s still raw, no swimming. But…that’s not the best part.

Best Part: I’m on solid food now. I was mostly before, but now…the gates are open. Not saying I’m going to go crazy now. I still have to take it slow, since we don’t know how my system will react to things. I’m very excited to be at this point. I feel that I’ve made it this far in the process. I never thought that I would, but…oh yeah, it feels good.

what this means though is that I’m now going to have to really be careful what I eat. I can’t be as careless as I used to be with my foods. Also means that I get to use more cooking methods and recipes. Basically, it’s on.

Dining out

The hubby wanted to eat out and I now wanting to cook, said okay. Only thing was where to eat. With the stage of the diet that I’m at, I have to be very particular about what it is that I eat and where. A steakhouse…doesn’t make sense. Denny’s…ok. So, the hubby decided that he needed to go to Red Robin and have a monster burger. Fine with me. Taking one of my BFF’s with me, we headed out.

We got there and I asked for a kids a menu. For some strange reason, I thought that it would be ‘lighter’ than the adults. NO SUCH LUCK. the menu was minisucle, with about 7 items to choose from. The only think that even remotely looked like I could eat it was the chik on a stick. Some kind of grilled chicken pieces shoved on a stick. Hmmm…did not catch my fancy. The sides they had for the kids menu were good, but the main entrée’s…eh.

So I went back to the main menu and found the salmon burger. that looked promising, so I ordered it. Very tasty, with a nice spicy sauce on top. I had about an ounce of meat, no breat or the fries since they were fried and then I was done. I know the waitress was looking at me crazy, but hey…my stomach is smaller than a baby’s so get over it.

So, Red Robin is a viable place for me to eat later on. they had a few entrée’s like chicken and such, but those plates were too huge for me to eat at this point and I would have had leftovers for days. But still…not a wash out.

Good times.

Polenta and salmon

Yesterday was a good day. Deciding to forgo the chicken again, I made something new. I’m trying out these recipes from a book titled “The Baby Bistro Cookbook”. I know, baby food? But for the stage of the bariatric diet that I’m at, baby food is as hood as I’m going to go. So, we’ve been trying out recipes from it to see what I like and maybe, add it into the routine of daily eating. So, after the disaster of the chicken, I made something simpler…mostly. Polenta and salmon. I say simper mostly because I have never made polenta…ever. To me, it was some kind of mystery that needed to be studied further, by someone other than me. Don’t get me wrong, it looks delicious and I’m always ready to try it. As long as someone else is making it or it’s store bought. The hubby *sigh* was feeling cheap and decided that we could make it from scratch. Reluctantly, I agreed.

After forcing him to go online and get/find a recipe, we embarked on this new adventure, which turned out very tasty.

The salmon was simple enough and with the polenta and peas, very good. I must say, this is going in the recipe book for good.

 

Recipe adapted from The Baby Bistro Cookbook

Salmon:

2 salmon filets (I used frozen defrosted)

1 tsp. of salt

1 tsp. of pepper

1/4 tsp. of curry powder

Olive oil

Preheat oven to 325. Combine the the salt, curry powered and pepper. In a foil lined pan, place fish. Lightly coat the salmon filets with olive oil, making sure to spread it out and cover the filets. Sprinkle the mixture over the fish, rubbing in on the sides and top to evenly coat. Put into oven and cook for approximately 25 minutes.

Polenta:

3 cups of water

1 cup polenta

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/3 cup half and half

1/2 tbsp. salt, plus more to taste

Pepper to taste

Bring the water to a boil in a large, heavy pot. Add the salt. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring often, until the mixture thickens and the cornmeal is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat. Add the cheese  half and half, peas and pepper. Stir until cheese has melted. Peas will thaw in the hot polenta, coming out nice and crisp, with their green color still bright. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the polenta to a bowl and serve.

Since the fish took a bit longer than the polenta, the peas were nice and tender by the time dinner was ready. I only a little, but the hubby wiped his plate clean, so I’m taking it that was good.

Bad day…

Yesterday was a really bad day for me and the cooking bug. Started off nice, found a recipe in a kids cookbook about how to make food for toddlers and you. Seemed simple enough…chicken nuggets. the original recipe called for frying them, but since I can’t eat fried food, I baked them.

1st mistake: I had the oven set at 400 for the beets I was roasting when I put in the nuggets.

2nd mistake: baked them too long at this high heat and thus…they were dried out.

Now, I didn’t think this would be an issue, since I normally eat dried out white meat. Yes…I’m crazy like that. I also like stale peeps and popcorn, so sue me.

Anyways, ate a few bites of the chicken nuggets and they seemed to go down…okay…until they got stuck in my tube. Now…when you have bariatric surgery and it’s the gastric, the narrow the passage way that the food takes to the size of a pencil eraser. Which is why you have to chew your food to a literal pulp to get it down, that and small bites. Something must have gone wrong, because I was in pain for a long time last night. that is, until I got it to come back up. I know, gross, but a warning to others in my postion.

So…I guess this means no more dried out meat. DAMN!

Something new…though not

I should have guessed this little fact, but I was too busy trying to be cute. I can no longer chew gum. It puts too much air into my stomach and bloats me up. This is a true bummer. I have an oral fixation, needing to put something in my mouth if it’s not food. Usually, it was sugar free gum that I turned to, but now…I need to find something else. I don’t want it to be food and I sure as hell am not going to start smoking again, but really what are the options?

On other news, grocery shopping is tomorrow. This should be such fun. My energy levels are up from the past couple of days, so I should be having fun.