My Bariatric Food Week

 

 

I don’t believe I am unduly nosy until it comes to food choice – I just love to see what everyone else eats! Sometimes for inspiration, often for research and just more than once in a while because I’m nosy! My favourite piece in my weekend newspaper is ‘What Tom Ate This Week’ (foodie Tom Parker-Bowles); the first section I turn to in a magazine is ‘What Favourite Recipe Joan Recommends After Losing 100 lbs’; and I scroll down Facebook and Twitter on an all too frequent basis to see what many had for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

 

I have steered clear of doing a regular ‘day in the life of’ or ‘day in my pouch’ posting because others do it better, although I have posted a sort-of typical day once before (see here). I have however bowed to requests this January and recorded what I have eaten every day for a week. I’m posting

in the hope that it will demonstrate the variety of foods that you can eat after WLS; that food on the run can also be as nutritious as that at home; eating out is doable and enjoyable; and that it doesn’t all have to be cooked from scratch but can be made with a few short-cuts. My mantra has always been to avoid convenience meals wherever possible but that doesn’t mean you can’t use convenient ingredients to cut down on time, money and effort, and once in a while they’re ok.

 

So here it is – my food week – not perfect by any means, but certainly honest. I think I will learn quite a bit from this exercise – not least to vary my breakfast perhaps? If you like the theme then please comment and I will look to making this a regular feature, and why not post some of your own (I’m sure to look and read them!) This wasn’t necessarily a typical week – there never seems to be one – see? I’m just like you on so many occasions –  harassed, very busy, too tired, can’t be bothered and fancy a treat!

 

MONDAY

Breakfast: Woke up to the first snow of winter and so a very chilly start. Porridge was the obvious option and to be honest I have this even when the weather is mild. Today I made my usual recipe (with original oats and semi-skimmed milk) and topped with some berries.

 

Lunch: I had my usual clear out of the refrigerator and vegetable rack this morning and made my regular Fridge Clear soup (see recipe here). No one soup is ever quite like the next but that’s what makes it so unpredictable and interesting. This one had a can of beans in it (to boost the protein but also thicken) so it was very hearty. A small low-fat fruit yogurt afterwards meant I was more than satisfied.

 

Dinner: This was a simple affair since I had some leftover ragu/bolognese sauce (see recipe here) that could be quickly reheated and served with a little wholemeal pasta and some peas. Aiming to start to and finish the week well I served on my portion plate to take away the guesswork. No pudding but a handful of nuts later in the evening ensured I met my protein target and went to bed satisfied.

 

TUESDAY

Breakfast: Still a bitterly cold day (thermometer went down to -4 overnight) so it was porridge again for breakfast. This time with some mango and blueberries on top. Thinking ahead to dinner (and not wishing to go out and do some shopping in this icy weather) I defrosted some salmon fillets from the freezer.

 

Lunch:  I have several patients who ask me for recommendations of ready-type meals that they can use in an emergency (they know I prefer to cook from scratch but sometimes needs must). I had been told that the newish Slimming World meals were pretty good so we cooked one of them for a trial. This was Chicken Pizzaiola and was very, very good. I like the fact that the recipe is also printed on the back of pack so if you like what you taste and have more time on another occasion then you can cook freshly for yourself. We added some broccoli and peas for a meal. The pack was very generous (especially with chicken) and would easily serve 2 bariatrics. At about £3 per pack (and sometimes with deals for less) this seemed good value. I would buy again.

 

Dinner: Made a family favourite from my first bariatric cookery book (details here and pdf download details here) Wild Alaska Salmon on Thai Potatoes. Didn’t want any pudding but did have a small portion of Chocolate Brownie (see recipe here) later in the evening watching the footie!

 

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast: I could have very happily had porridge again but this blog has helped me to see that I need to ring the changes and vary my food choices. So it was scrambled egg for breakfast. Just the one egg but scrambled with a little chopped smoked salmon that was lurking in the refrigerator and served with half a slice of wholemeal seeded toast.

 

Lunch:  It was a busy day work-wise and so we all raided the refrigerator and fruit bowl for some deli fare and fruit. On my plate there was a slice of ham, a slice or two of cheese, a couple of mini Dr Karg crackers, a couple of dill pickles, 3 olives, some grapes and a satsuma.

 

Dinner: I was going to make some hamburgers with some extra-lean minced/ground beef I had but then I changed it to a meatloaf instead. This recipe was something I made about 1 year out of surgery and it still has the same appeal to family, friends and other wls-patients. It’s good cold too with salad. We had it with some green beans and a little sweet potato and swede/rutabaga mash.

 

THURSDAY

Breakfast: Back to the porridge (I have this ritual covered and can have it prepared and ready on the table for eating in under 5 minutes). Today with some nuts, seeds and a few delicious fresh cherries.

 

Lunch: It was a day on the road for me – I had a client meeting in the morning and a support group visit later so took my lunch with me. Packed into my bariatric bento box (see here) was a piece of crustless quiche (see recipe here), a bit of salad and some more fresh cherries. I also packed a USN Protein Delite Bar (see here) in case I was delayed – I wasn’t but ate it anyway – great for protein and tastes amazing!

Dinner: I decided to recipe test something well ahead for a Valentine’s Day recipe – a salmon dish just for two with fennel, cherry tomatoes, lemon and dill. It worked well and for those who don’t like fennel then red onion would be good. Wrapped in a paper parcel (or foil) they have maximum flavour for minimum effort – recipe will be given nearer the time so look out for it.

 

  

FRIDAY

Breakfast: Up early because I needed to clear my desk before going out later. I fancied something warm and filling so settled for a few tablespoons of reduced-sugar baked beans on a slice of toast. Sometimes I can manage a whole small slice of toast sometimes not. Today I had mine with one half of a toasted Warburton’s Wholemeal Thin and it was just enough.

 

Lunch: Out with a friend for a treat so lots of gossip and food prepared by someone else on the menu. I opted for some fishcakes with spinach topped with a poached egg from their extra light menu. This isn’t the dish I specifically had (I wasn’t working so didn’t take my phone to grab a pic) but looks similar …

 

Dinner:  Dinner today was a meal from the freezer which I had prepared a couple of week’s ago. A vegetarian sweet potato plus spinach curry which we had with just a little brown rice, cucumber salad and a small spoonful of mango chutney. I added a handful of chopped cooked rotisserie chicken to my husband’s portion because, in his own words, he ‘doesn’t do meat-free’ (he should occasionally!)

 

SATURDAY

Breakfast: A boiled egg for me today (but just the one) with just a little wholemeal toast.

 

Lunch: Since I was up early I popped a couple of jacket potatoes in my slow-cooker to cook for lunch. On HIGH they take about 5 hours, on LOW about 7-8. We had them topped with a fishy mixture of tuna chunks with red onion, a little grated cheese, some virtually fat-free mayonnaise and seasonings. A bit of side salad with watercress provided some peppery crunch.

 

 

Dinner: There was a choice for dinner tonight since I had been cooking and testing some recipes in the afternoon for the next newsletter. These are along the lines of ‘comfort food specials’ but without the calories. So we tried a fish pie recipe and a taco style beef bake. Both passed the initial taste test so may well be in the next newsletter depending upon what else is up for consideration.

SUNDAY

Breakfast: Sunday is one of the few days where I go to the trouble of making an English breakfast. This can have anything from sausages, bacon ,eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, black pudding, baked beans and toast within the mix. I often cook altogether in one large pan and today I had a slice of bacon, half a sausage, some tomatoes, a large field mushroom, a spoonful of beans but no egg or black pudding.  It was a hearty affair… this was my husband’s plate …

 

Lunch: After such a filling breakfast we didn’t schedule serving lunch until 3pm and even then I could have made it nearer to 4pm. I’m a Yorkshire girl and so regardless of whether we’re having a beef, pork, lamb or chicken roast, then Yorkshire puddings are cooked too. I often don’t eat any myself but today did manage half a small one with a plentiful helping of rare roast beef. I always cook far too many vegetables (and use any leftovers to make a pie, soup or gratin dish the following day). Today we had carrots, broccoli, cabbage and just a few roast potatoes with gravy. No room for dessert or pudding!

 

Dinner: There isn’t any …. anyone still hungry or requiring something has to find it themselves! I heard the cheese biscuit barrel open at about 8pm and saw the remnants of a few rinds of cheese, a few cracker crumbs and a satsuma peel on a plate near the dishwasher that someone had found. I nibbled a few nuts from a pack with dried fruit leftover from Christmas and had too much coffee before bed and the end of another food week.