Protein Packed Parfait

After longing admiring the yogurt parfait at Starbucks the other day, I decided there has to be a better WLS friendly version for me. Here is my take on it:

• Plain Greek Yogurt (I used Fage)
• Organic Wild Blueberries (Frozen - they tend to be smaller/you get more per serving)
• GoLean Kashi Honey Almond Cereal (9 grams of protein per 3/4 cup serving)

Get your favorite parfait glass, include your selected serving size of plain Greek yogurt (I go with 1/2 cup), top with blueberries (1/4 to 1/2 cup), and sprinkle with cereal (about a tablespoon). The cereal gives you the right crunch and sweetness, and eliminating the need for additional sweetener. You could also substitute slivered almonds for the cereal or just throw them in for more protein.

• I know some of you may be upset about the inclusion of the Honey Almond cereal, but I am definitely not using an entire serving. Instead, I am "sprinkling" for some serious crunch. I also like it because of the amount of protein the cereal contains. 

Roasting Vegetables

In getting back on track, and the recent buzz about upping vegetable intake to lengthen your lifespan (always a good thing), I have been using my oven to roast a variety of vegetables. My personal favorite (at least currently) are roasted mushrooms (Baby Bellas) with sour cream/Greek yogurt and chives. Delicious and filling.

You can also simply roast almost any vegetable you have (again, almost is the key word). I tend to wash, chop, and mix my vegetables with extra virgin olive oil (amount depends on how many veggies I have), salt and pepper. I put them in an oven safe dish and roast for about 40 minutes at 400 degrees. I like to stir them every 15 to 20 minutes, just to make sure they don't stick. Also, you can always experiment with flavors and seasonings. Meaning, throw some cloves of garlic in or some delicious spice blends from your cupboard.

Roasted veggies are a great starting or ending point for your recipes. You can eat them right away, use them in delicious soups, blend them up as flavorful purees, or create your own dish. Think outside the box - for example, I will roast butternut squash and blend it up to include in my toddler's mac and cheese.

Baby Bella "Salad"
1 container of Baby Bella Mushrooms (clean them with a damp paper towel or mushroom brush)
2 tablespoons of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt (your choice)
2 tablespoons of fresh chives
2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees (F).

Clean your mushrooms, remove the stem, and cut them in half. Add the mushrooms to a bowl and add the oil. Stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper (or whatever seasonings you desire). Stir to distribute the seasoning. Pour the mushrooms into a oven safe dish or pan. Roast for 40 minutes, stirring every so often. Once done, remove from the oven and allow to cool. Cut the mushrooms into quarters and add to a clean bowl. Add sour cream/Greek yogurt and chives to the mushrooms. Stir to coat. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

• Another variation on this (which I enjoy), is to leave the mushroom caps whole and once they are cool, fill them with the sour cream/Greek yogurt mixture. 
• If you have Chive Dip available in your area, this can be a great substitute. Also, you could mix the mushrooms with other sour cream/Greek yogurt based dips to achieve the same effect.

3 months post-pregnancy

I'm back. This means a lot of things. Back to work, back to working out, and trying to get "back" on my healthy eating plan. Fortunately, I did not completely go off the rails during pregnancy with my eating or exercise. Instead, my difficultly came with the last month of post-pregnancy leave. Given a series of events (highly emotional), I became focused and mindful about my eating choices. Too much sugar, refined carbs, and snacking. With going back to work last week, I am slowly but surely resolving to get back on track. For me, this has a lot to do with planning and preparation. If I don't plan, I am not prepared. If I am not prepared, I tend to just "go" with whatever sounds good. Not a good plan, right? Some of my preparation this week involved reading up on some new recipes from other WLS blogs, went shopping, and stocked my fridge with some appropriate choices. So, other issues? Working out. From about 8 weeks post-partum, I started walking at the Mall of America for about an hour and a half every day (about 5 times around). This was a great way to segway back into exercising (particularly post c-section). Now that I am back at work, I am aiming to go work out during my lunch hours. I went three times last week, but my goodness, was I exhausted by 7 pm at night. This week, I am resolving to go 4 times. Slowly but surely, right? As someone who has been successful at losing weight with the help of WLS, I am terrified of gaining. I am terrified of failing. I am terrified at looking at the scale again, only to see the numbers higher than I wanted. But, I feel that I am facing these fears and getting my mind on track to be successful. I look forward to using this as a platform for charting my success (and, let's be frank, also my struggles).