Two more good photos

These are from a Tigers game in September and our Cedar Point trip in October.

Updated photo

Here is a recent photo of me with my girls.  I wanted to update since my original photo.  This is at Julie's 1st communion celebration in early November 2011.

More milestones

Today I lost just over 60% of the weight I want to lose.  I also have lost just over 75 pounds.  Lastly, I have a zero in the tens digit (I weigh 209).  Soon I will weigh under 200 pounds, I am hoping by January.  I has been so long!  In January 2009, I stepped on the scale and saw the biggest number ever, 300.  I lost 30 lb, but then gained 15 back, so when I started the pre-op diet I weighed 285.  It will just be so great to see 200 (or less) by this January.  :-)  :-)  :-)

My two cents

I get so frustrated hearing people blaming genetics for their problems in life (mental, physical, etc.). We ALL probably have several "hardships" in our genes. But to use it as an excuse to not do anything about it, I don't get. And, isn't it more likely not just genetic, but also some of it bad habits and traditions that you were exposed to growing up?

 

CELEBRATE the good things that have been passed down in the genes and traditions, and DO SOMETHING about the bad (prevention is always the best). I knew addiction ran high in our genes, so I did not EVER try smoking, and I was exposed to so much smoking that I had dreams that I was a smoker too! However, I was not as successful with food addiction, but I don't blame my ancestors. I am trying to change things for my descendants.

One more recipe

Chicken salad

by Jackie Madacki on Wednesday, November 23, 2011 at 8:33am

Great lunch!
1 3-oz can of chicken (sold in 3-packs usually)
Cut up apple (I use half of a small snack-size apple)
Grapes, whole or cut in half (I might use 6-8 grapes)
1 T. sliced almonds
Chopped celery (or celery salt if you don't have celery)
1 heaping tablespoon of Hellman's low-fat mayo
1 T. of apple cider vinegar
dash of Stevia
dash of pepper
dash of salt (if you don't use the celery salt)
Mix dressing items and seasonings with a whisk.  Drain chicken, and add it and the other items to the dressing.  There are probably all kinds of variations you can do with this, walnuts instead of almonds, add a little carrot, add pineapple, etc.  But this is what I like.  :-)

Great recipes

I may have posted some of these before (and they are all on my Facebook page) but I put them together to send to my dietician, so I decided to share them all together here too.

Jackie's awesome chicken tacos

·        6-8 individually frozen boneless/skinless chicken breasts ("tender" sized)

·        around 6 individually frozen boneless/skinless thigh pieces

·        1 cup water

·        1 can petite diced tomatoes

·        Garlic garlic seasoning from Tastefully Simple (not really needed, but I put this in EVERY crockpot meat dish, mmm delish!!!)

·        1/4 cup taco seasoning (more or less to taste)

·        shells, garnishes, etc.

Put all the chicken in the crockpot, add the water and seasonings, put the whole can of tomatoes on top.  Put it on high for 30 minutes or so, then mix it around.  Turn to low, cook all day, 6-8 hours.  Mash up chicken before serving, already tender so this is easy to do. 

I bought Old El Paso kit with 6 flour tortillas and 6 corn hard shells.  I put 2 cans of fat-free refried beans in a microwave container and heated those about 4 minutes.  You can also serve canned corn on the side.  Garnish with lettuce, sliced black olives, light sour cream, shredded cheese.  You could also do onions, green peppers (either cooked with the meat or served as a garnish), avocados, tomatoes or anything else that sounds good to you. 

This is really delicious, and everyone makes their taco the way they like it.  :-)

Cream of Chicken

• 6 frozen chicken breasts
• frozen or fresh veggies (I used frozen green beans, fresh baby carrots, a couple cut-up potatoes, and I may throw in a can of corn at the end)
• 1 can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup
• 1 can reduced-fat cream of mushroom & garlic
• 1 can chicken broth
• Garlic garlic (or other garlic seasoning)
• Egg noodles

I put in the chicken, then the veggies on top, then garlic seasoning.  I mixed the two soups and the broth together before pouring it into the crockpot.  We are serving it over egg noodles, but you could add the noodles in, or instead of putting in potatoes you could make mashed potatoes.  You can leave the chicken breasts whole, or shred them. 

Mom's Turkey Breast Dinner

This is taken from Gooseberry Patch Super-Fast Slow Cooking, but then I'll tell you how I modified it.

·        4 potatoes, peeled and sliced

·        4 carrots, peeled and sliced

·        2 to 3 lb. turkey tenderloins

·        10.5 oz. can of french onion soup

Place vegetables in slow cooker, then add turkey breast.  Pour soup over top.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Serves 6. 

Modified:  I used 5-6 potatoes. I used bagged baby carrots (just threw a bunch in). I had two 20 oz. packages of turkey tenderloins, but made a decision at the last minute to only use one. Trying to cut back on leftovers. Thought I had the soup, but didn't, so I used Campbell's Golden Mushroom, but also put in a package of Lipton Onion Soup mix combined with one can of water. I like extra liquid in the crockpot, just to make sure that it doesn't burn. I added pepper and Garlic Garlic seasoning. We ate it with a little light sour cream on the side, for the potatoes.  My daughter said it tasted like roast.ut didn't, so I used Campbell's Golden Mushroom, but also put in a package of Lipton Onion Soup mix combined with one can of water. I like extra liquid, just to make sure that it doesn't burn. I added pepper and Garlic Garlic seasoning. It came out really good, and once again Julie said "This crockpot is magic, it tastes like roast!" We ate it with a little sour cream on the side, for the potatoes.

Stuffed Cabbage soup

·        1.5 lb lean ground beef (more or less to your liking)

·        1 can tomato soup

·        1 can tomato sauce

·        1 can diced tomatoes

·        1 head of cabbage

·        1/2 cup water or beef broth

·        Garlic Garlic (or other garlic seasoning)

·        Pepper

·        Ketchup

·        Uncle Ben's Ready Rice

Brown and drain ground beef, putting some garlic seasoning and pepper in.  I also rinse it to remove extra fat and cool it off.  Cut up cabbage into 1-inch squares (or maybe a little bigger).  I put all the tomato products (except ketchup), some more garlic seasoning, and the water in crockpot, then the meat, then the cabbage.  In my large crockpot, it fills it to the top.  I stir it around a bit to mix the tomato mixture around everything.  Then I squirt a bunch of ketchup on top, and stir that around.  I am not sure how much, and I suppose the ketchup could go in at the beginning with the other stuff.  Cook on low all day.  Make Uncle Ben's Ready Rice and add it before serving.  I do not add it to the crockpot since I am unable to have rice, so my family just adds it to their bowl and mixes it around.

Taco Soup

*Super lean hamburger (94/6)
*Taco seasoning
*2 cans northern beans
*1 can diced tomatoes
*1/2 cup chopped onion
*1/2 cup chopped green pepper
*1 can corn
*1 can beef broth
*garlic seasoning
*shredded cheese and sour cream

Saute the onion and green pepper with Pam, then cook/drain/rinse the meat. (I sometimes use leftover taco meat from a previous meal, so I measure out 1 cup). I put all of the ingredients in the crockpot. Serve with crushed up baked tortilla chips, reduced-fat shredded cheese, and light sour cream.  You can add more meat and/or beans to make it heartier. You can also serve it with macaroni noodles or rice.

Tortilla Soup 

*1-2 cups chopped cooked chicken
*2 cans of northern beans
*1 can of corn
*1 can Campbell’s Tomato Soup
*1 can diced tomatoes
*1 really large can of chicken broth
*1 small can of salsa verde
*Garlic garlic (from Tastefully Simple) or other garlic seasoning
*Pepper
*1 package of Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice
*Baked tortilla chips, light shredded cheese and sour cream for toppings

Put the first 9 ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low all day. Just before eating, make the Ready Rice in the microwave (90 seconds). Put out the rice, chips, cheese and sour cream and people can add them to their soup. You can use other beans; my husband doesn't like black beans so we used northern beans.

Jackie's Stock-up List

Jackie's Stock-Up List

Ideally, these are the things that I would always have in my cupboard and fridge so that I don't have any excuses for not having a good breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  You can make many great crockpot meals from these too.

Breakfast:

·        Protein powder

·        ½% milk

·        Hard-boiled eggs

·        I Can't Believe It's Not Butter spray

·        Pepperidge farm mini whole-wheat bagels (toasted)

·        Low fat cream cheese

·        Banana

·        Bag of small snack-size apples

·        Turkey bacon (occasionally) or the small thin bacon from Sam's Club that you can just do a couple of pieces at a time in the microwave (I keep it in my freezer).  I like having one piece occasionally, or having a small "decadent" garnish on some potato or green beans.

·        Land O' Lakes Light Cream (made with cream and milk, no fake stuff

Lunch:

·        3 oz. cans of tuna or chicken (3 pack)

·        Hellman's Low Fat Mayo (15 calories per serving)

·        sliced almonds

·        Laughing Cow Light Cheese (garlic and herb)

·        Wheat Thins Fiber Selects crackers (I eat 5 crackers with one Laughing Cow cheese)

·        Light string cheese

·        Mini round sandwich breads (50 calories each) (Arnold or Pepperidge Farms?)

·        Markets of Meijer smoked turkey (at the deli)

·        Steve's Backroom hummus (half the fat of most store-bought hummus) with cauliflower or celery

·        Homemade ranch dip, made with low-fat greek yogurt, the above low-fat mayo (equal parts of each), ranch powder

·        Ken's Light dressings (ranch, Asian, etc.)

·        Healthy Choice Split Pea or Bean with Ham soup

      Dinner (or lunch):

·        Any beans (garbanzo, northern, kidney beans, fat-free refried (La Preferida or Rosarita in the ethnic section are the best).  When they are on sale, buy a whole case.

·        Beef and chicken broth (buy a case of each)

·        Campbell's reduced-fat cream soups (buy a case when on sale and use coupons)

·        Canned diced tomatoes (Buy a case)

·        Hunts spaghetti sauce (not as sweet as most store-bought sauces)

·        Bags of all kinds of frozen veggies, Meijers has some really cool varieties of mixed veggies

·        Bags of individually frozen chicken breasts, chicken breast tenders, and boneless/skinless thighs

·        Super lean hamburger (94/6)

·        Romaine lettuce - fast and easy to cut, lasts a long time, holds up really well when cut thin for a garnish, super nutritious

·        Baby spinach

·        Bags of baby carrots, match-stick carrots for salads

·        Cauliflower and celery

·        Plastic fruit cups of mandarin oranges, great for Asian salad or on a stirfry

·        Bags of broccoli slaw (good for stirfry, but watch expiration date, comes fast)

·        Water chestnuts - great crunch in stirfry

·        Fresh mushrooms - adds fuller taste in a stirfry or raw on a salad without the calories

·        Reduced fat shredded cheese (not fat-free)

·        Garlic garlic - from Tastefully Simple

·        Large container of taco seasoning from Sam's Club

·        Onion soup packets

·        Other spices

Snacks:

·        Weight Watcher Chocolate Fudge "snack size" frozen bars (only 45 calories, has fiber, and really delicious, no fake sugar)

·        Almonds - Sam's Club has natural no-salt ones that are great.  I keep these in my car and eat 10 when I am on the road, instead of a fast-food burger like I used to do.

·        Small apple - cut up with a little bit of crunchy peanut butter

Drinks:

·        Flavored coffee: I love my Keurig coffee maker for one cup at a time.  Favorite flavors: pumpkin spice, Jamaican Me Crazy, Hazelnut

·        Tim Hortons flavor shots have NO sweeteners in them, so you can add your own stevia or Splenda to taste, and bring your own light cream.  My 2 favorites are pumpkin spice and hazelnut.  Their decaf coffee is phenomenal if you are trying to break the caffeine habit. 

·        Lemon or limeade made with lemons, limes, water and stevia

·        Lipton Cold-Brew tea bags - regular or decaf

Fast food (if I must eat a meal while in the car):

• McDonald's Grilled Chicken snack wrap, light on the honey mustard or ranch, and I rip off as much extra tortilla as I can with an unsweetened iced tea, with Splenda and two lemons

November is here

It's been awhile since I have written.  I am at almost 20 weeks post-op, and I have lost about 73 pounds, almost 60% of what I want to lose.  Just 2-3 lb. more reach that mark.  They say you lose 60% with surgery alone, the rest is based on the time and effort I want to put in to lose the rest.  It is definitely going slower, but with spurts of still losing.  I am wearing a generous size 18 or a small 20.  I bought some 16's but they are generally small.  Lots more people are noticing my weight loss.  I told one of my classes that I had the surgery (we were talking about re-sale shops, I mentioned my weight loss, and a girl asked me how I did it, so I told them).  They were very cool about it. 

I am eating all kinds of normal foods, just really small amounts.  I am choosing low-fat options.  I ate some candy around Halloween, but nothing like I used to.  Absolutely no pop.  As always, I need to put in more exercise.  I know that it will really speed things up and boost my metabolism.  Life is busy but overall, all is well.