Eggface 2015 - The Blog Year in Review

A look back at some of my favorite blog posts, healthy recipes and menus, ideas and tips from the past year. My 9th year post weight loss surgery.

January: Happy New Year from Snowy Temecula! (We had snow and not just a dusting, honest to goodness real snow)

February: Oscar Eats: Top Hat Bacon Cheeseburger Sliders (they went on to win Wolfgang Puck's Contest)

March: Post Weight Loss Surgery Menus: A day in my pouch (a particularly yummy day) and Easy, Elegant, Healthy and DELICIOUS Easter Dinner

April: All About the Avocado and Post Weight Loss Surgery Menus: A day in my pouch

May: Cha-cha-cha Chia Jam (I LOVE this stuff) and a great honor the blog was named one of Healthline's Best Obesity Health Blogs of the Year

June: 9 years and Stuffed Squash Spaceships

July: Friday Five and Beach Day Snacks

August: 15 Protein Packed & Portable Snacks (or Lunch) and That's a wrap #YWM2015 The Your Weight Matters Convention

September: Life After Weight Loss Surgery Q & A - Couldn't you just try exercise and dieting? and Flavors of Fall: Pumpkin Spice Protein Muffins

October: Healthy Travel Tips: Keeping Your Health On Track While Traveling and Life After Weight Loss Surgery Q & A - Long Term Success, Newbie Advice?

November: Post Weight Loss Surgery Menus: A day in my pouch and Thanksgiving Leftovers Transformed: Lazy Chili Rellano Casserole

December: Super Easy Appetizers and Merry Christmas

Past Blog Year in Reviews:

2014 Blasts from the Past
2013 Blasts from the Past
2012 Blasts from the Past
2011 Blasts from the Past
2010 Blasts from the Past

I am thankful to be on this road with all of you! Happy New Year! May our 2016 be filled with good health and lots of laughter.

New Year's (Or Any Time) Resolutions You Can Actually Stick To

Do you set a New Year's Resolution?

The 1st of the year is seen by many as a fresh start; a time to look forward and set a New Year's Resolution. New Year's resolutions aren't for everyone - in fact, only a small percentage of people set a new Year's Resolution, and an even smaller percentage will actually keep theirs. This time of year is often criticized or joked about for that very reason - New Year's Resolutions to lose weight, work out more, eat healthier, get stronger, walk more steps, run faster, get to the gym more, cook at home, pack your snacks, are really difficult to keep.

These resolutions are usually hard to keep because people tend to set too many goals at once and their goals are very broad! It can be really easy to go into the new year with several very broad goals in mind (usually worded something like "do this activity more" or "do this activity less") and because the wording isn't very specific, that handful of goals suddenly morphs into one big, non-specific goal, which eventually morphs into an even less specific form of whatever goals you wanted to meet, which eventually just dwindles away. Sound familiar?

As a Registered Dietitian, I think any time of year (not just the New Year!) is a good time to set a resolution, or a goal, and it's my job to help people meet their goals related to nutrition and health. We wrote about this here - instead of going into the New Year with a regular old resolution, make a SMART goal.

A SMART goal is a goal that is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bound.

Specific - This is the What, How and Why. One reason those goals to "lose weight," or "get healthier" don't work is because there are no specifics on how you're going to meet those goals. It can be really easy to drop your resolution "eat healthier" if you never wrote down the specifics of what that goal meant to you - did it mean you were going to eat salad for every single meal, or give up all sweets? You need to define all the specifics of your goal to achieve it.

Measurable - How will you know you've achieved your goal? How will you measure your success?  By being able to measure a goal, you will have tangible evidence that you're working towards your goal or meeting your goals. Instead of "going to the gym more" you would set a goal to "Go to the gym 3 nights per week."

Attainable - Your goal should challenge you, but shouldn't be too out of reach that you never attain it. You should be able to write down the steps to meet your goals. I like how Heidi Greenwood wrote in her recent post: "It may be helpful to view your health goals as if you were training for a marathon.  Not literally training for a marathon, but knowing that to reach your health goals is a process that requires planning, time, and external support." You wouldn't set a goal to train for a marathon and then never run more than 3 miles during your training - you would usually follow a very detailed, specific plan that has you meeting certain milestones before being able to run the full marathon. You should do the same with every one of your goals. 

Realistic - This is the one that gets a lot of people. Don't set yourself up for failure by setting a completely out-of-reach goal. Remember, you can always set a new goal after you've met your first goal. This is especially true for those goals that might reduce certain habits - a lot of people want to "give up sweets" or "eat better", so they deprive themselves of the foods they like in an attempt to meet their goals, which ends up in failure. Be realistic with yourself and be flexible with your goal. If you've never been able to give up sweets completely, maybe try reducing your sweets intake to a couple squares of dark chocolate per day that you will really savor. Another big goal people have is to "lose weight" and they usually have big goals in mind and not a lot of patience.

Sometimes it's better for people to focus on goals that are focused more on health and fitness (for instance, lifting heavier weights or packing your lunch), which will lead to weight loss, instead of being so hard on themselves for not losing 10 lbs. in a week. A realistic goal to set is to throw away the New Year's Diet - if diets worked, there wouldn't be so many of them.

Time-bound - This means you will have a time frame for meeting your long-term goal, but also for those shorter-term goals and steps along the way. Having a time-frame helps you determine what your steps along the way should be to meet your long term goal.

Once you've written your goal, write your actions to meeting the goal.

Examples:

Eat more meatless meals by making 2 new vegetarian recipes per week.
Action: Bookmark recipes online or in a vegetarian cookbook. Make a plan to shop once a week for ingredients for new recipes.

Walk 10,000 steps every day by March 1st, 2016.
Action: Increase steps by 200 steps per day each week starting January 1st until step count reaches 10,000 steps per day.

I will eat better to fuel my training this year by substituting my usual candy bar and chips snack with a healthier option.
Action: Write out which snacks I will have for the week and pack in my bag: apples and walnuts, cheese stick and grapes, homemade trail mix, peanut butter and jelly, hardboiled egg and a pear, Greek yogurt with berries and granola, etc.

Get stronger by going to the gym 3 times per week.
Action: Find gym and get membership. Make the most of your gym time by getting a personal training plan.

Note on training plans - Fitness isn't one-size-fits-all, and the team at Sanford POWER develops training programs to help you meet your personal fitness goals. From individual to large-group training, Sanford POWER training programs can help you reduce your risk of injury, improve overall health and fitness, and increase mobility, flexibility and strength.  Call today at 605-312-7800 to find out more on training options. 

There are many goals you can set for yourself, but make sure you set a SMART goal instead of a regular old resolution to ensure you'll be able to follow through with it during the whole year. Does a whole year seem daunting to you? Write down a short-term SMART goal for the month. My smart goal this month is to take time each Sunday to go grocery shopping and prepare food (rice, sweet potatoes, cut up vegetables, hummus/dressings, salad and protein) for the week. 

Share: What goals have you set for yourself that you didn't think you would achieve? How did you achieve it? Do you have any New Year's Goals?

Read More:

Sanford Sports Nutrition || Getting SMART About New Year's Resolutions

Food and Nutrition Magazine || 5 Tips for a Guilt-Free New Year's Eve Party

U.S. News Health || Forget About the Weight, Let's Eat For Better Health

EatRight || Toss Out Fad Diets and Quick Fixes; This New Year Resolve to Develop a Healthful Lifestyle

Heidi Greenwood || How to Approach Your Health Goals in 2016

Meeting with the Sports Dietitian can help you set your own health and nutrition-related goals!

Celebrate a Healthy New Year Giveaway

When you sign on the dotted line for weight loss surgery it comes with some non-negotiable, lifelong rules that must be followed, one of which is taking vitamins and mineral supplementation faithfully. So many post-operative issues and complications can be avoided if we just make sure to take our vitamins every day.

Not all vitamins are created equal. Celebrate Bariatric Supplements are developed specifically with bariatric surgery patients altered guts in mind, they understand our unique post-op nutritional needs and they design quality (and super yummy) products to meet those needs like these new Essential 2 in 1 vitamins.

From Celebrate's web site: The Essential Multi 2 in 1 is a unique multivitamin that contains all of the essential vitamins coupled with calcium citrate. This is the only bariatric combination chewable that uses only calcium citrate (the recommended form of calcium for WLS patients) but does NOT include iron, so you will not have to worry about iron-calcium interaction.

We're starting a new year so if you are having surgery in the new year, are a new post-op just beginning this wild ride, or a post-op that wants to try something yummy and new (Mmmm Protein 20 shakes) this healthy start prize pack is something you'll want to get in on... and tell a friend... maybe they will share :)

*Thanks to my friends at Celebrate Vitamins for partnering with me on this giveaway. 

It's Giveaway Time!

The Prize: a Nike Workout (or Carry-on) bag filled with all the essentials you will need for a healthy start to 2016 including:

1 huge bottle of Celebrate Vitamins Essential Multi 2 in 1 Chewable Multivitamin & Calcium (Mango), 120 ct.
1 bottle Celebrate Vitamins Iron + C, Chewable (Grape) 30 ct.
1 bag Celebrate Vitamins Protein 20 Powder (Caramel Vanilla Swirl) More about Protein 20
1 bag Celebrate Vitamins Protein 20 Powder (Iced Decaf Coffee)
28 oz. Blender Bottle Shaker
7 day Vitamin Organizer
Eggface Reusable Lunch Bag with a Slim Ice Pack
Eggface "Remember Why You Started" Healthy Reminder Bracelet
Plus a sample of Celebrate's other flavor of Essential Multi 2 in 1: Orange-Pineapple

How to Enter: LEAVE A COMMENT on this blog posting (be sure to include a name and some email address where I can contact you if you are the winner) Scroll down to # of comments/post a comment below to leave yours. That's it, easy peasy.

Example: Jane Doe jdoe@someemail.com

If you aren't already following Celebrate Vitamins on Facebook be sure to do that and tell them The World According to Eggface sent you. They have fun giveaways on their page. 

Contest Period Ends: Sunday, January 3rd, midnight (Pacific), sometime Monday, January 4th. I'll draw a name using a random number generator and announce the winner here on the blog! I will also email the winner at the address provided. You'll have one week (7 days) to respond to my email or another winner will be chosen. One comment entry per person. Blog comments are moderated so there may be a slight delay (up to a few hours, especially at night if I'm sleeping Zzzz) in seeing your comment/entry post. Giveaway is open to anyone in the contiguous United States (48 contiguous, AK & HI) (sorry it's a legal issue: international laws govern giveaways and a money $ thing)

P.S. You'll want to follow my Instagram account because something fun will pop-up there soon!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! I'm trying to muster up the merry despite being sick. I started feeling crummy on Wednesday night (I'm 99% sure it's bronchitis) my Dr's office is closed for the holiday and the nearest urgent care in-network is over 50 miles away (Hey Anthem Blue Cross: what's up with that?!) so I'm doing all the home remedies and hopefully I'll be feeling 100% before the New Year.

Today's plan is to curl up on the couch surrounded by some of my current favorite things (Puffs with Vicks tissues, cake batter flavored Chapstick and eucalyptus oil bubbling away in my oil diffuser), maybe watch a movie and eat yummy leftovers. Thankfully, I took advantage of whatever bursts of energy I had and made a pretty festive spread yesterday and there is plenty for today.

Since I wasn't feeling well, our usual Christmas Eve tradition of the Feast of the Seven Fishes was shy a few fishes but my Guacamole Shrimp Cocktail were especially delicious this year. It was a great year for avocados. Who needs (or would want) chips?!

I also assembled a little tidbit party. Cheeses, cold cuts, nuts, a few dried fruits, olives and veggies (avocado, cucumber, tomatoes). I love these little cheese spreaders with great sayings I found at TJ Maxx the other day (umm they were supposed to be a hostess gift but loved them so much I kept them, close-up pic on my Instagram.)

I made a dip for my roast beef roll-ups (Greek yogurt with a dollop of fresh grated horseradish mixed in) that will clear your sinuses for sure.

I set up a do-it-yourself hot cocoa bar with a few Christmas Quest Protein Bar "Cookies" and my Mini Apple Breakfast Loaves for breakfast this morning.

Hot Cocoa Bar: (left to right): Fit Frappe Spiced Chai, No Sugar Added Swiss Miss Cocoa, NSA Whipped Cream, Toppings: Shredded Unsweetened Coconut, Crushed SF Peppermint, Cinnamon & Nutmeg, Sugar Free Torani Syrups in my bottle holder, Keurig for hot water (or an electric tea pot would work great too)

and now I'm sipping on a SF peppermint hot cocoa with no sugar added homemade whipped cream and wishing you all a lovely day filled with joy and laughter with family and friends and some much needed peace on earth.

Healthy Holidays: Christmas Protein Shakes

Santa Claus has a lot of work to do Christmas Eve trekking across the globe delivering all the well behaved whippersnappers the latest and greatest gadgets. So many stops, so many cookies. May I suggest leaving him one of these holiday themed protein shakes and some protein bar cookies instead.

These festive shakes are delicious and will help Santa stick to his health and fitness goals.

From left to right: Shelly's Award Winning Candy Cane Shake, Shelly's Double Chocolate Mint Protein Shake, Shelly's How the Grinch Stole Christmas Protein Shake, Shelly's Cranberry Protein Shake.

You might make one for yourself too ;)

Another Holiday Treat for the Health Conscience Santa
My 10 Healthy Holiday Tips

Super Easy Appetizers

As we inch closer to Christmas we're bound to have a few guests over. Here's a few super easy appetizers that are healthy, protein packed, low carb, weight loss surgery friendly but most importantly they are so good your non-op pals just may thumb wrestle you for the last one.

Shelly's Italian Meatball Stuffed Mushrooms

Stuffing Mushrooms, stems removed
Cocktail-size Meatballs (beef, turkey, whatever you like)
Marinara Sauce (I used Tomato Basil)
Shredded Italian Cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Clean and remove the stems from however many mushrooms as you want to serve. Place mushroom caps round side up/stem side down on a non-stick baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Remove and carefully tip any liquid out and turn over on the tray. You'll need 1/2 a meatball for each mushroom cap. Math. Ugh. I just use the pre-cooked, cocktail meatballs that I defrost and saute for a few minutes on each side to give them some color. I know... store bought... shame on this Italian girl... you do whatever you like but you need them to be cooked and cooled if you make them from scratch. Place a 1/2 of meatball in each mushroom cap.

Top with a teaspoon or so of marinara. I use Rao's brand, straight out of the jar (it tastes like my Grandma's sauce) and top with a sprinkle of shredded Italian cheese.

Put the tray back in the oven for 10-15 minutes till cheese is golden and bubbly.

From left to right: Veggies and Greek Yogurt Dip, Holiday Shrimp Cocktail on Ice, Antipasto Skewers, Pizza Bites (crustless Quiches), Greek Hummus Rounds, Italian Meatball Stuffed Mushrooms (recipe above), Red & Green Shrimp Cocktail.

More Appetizers and Party Snacks on my Pinterest Page

Fat Focus: Why You Should Eat More Healthy Fats

This year's news sites may have left you feeling conflicted on how you should feel about dietary fats - after decades of low-fat recommendations, news articles started popping up, talking how butter isn't bad for you, why you should eat egg yolks, and why you should embrace fats.

It wasn't too long ago when all Americans were advised to adopt a low fat, low cholesterol diet. 

All of a sudden, there was a lot of conflicting information, and a lot of questions from clients about fat - how should we feel about them? Should we ditch the low-fat products and bring back the butter? Should we eat the beef and throw out the bacon? Well, yes and no. It is really the types of fats you're choosing most of the time that makes a difference.

There was a lot of research coming out in the 1970's ad 1980's that led to recommendations for Americans to decrease the amount of total fat (especially saturated fat) and cholesterol in their diets, which was often replaced with over-processed low-fat foods and carbohydrates, and without much guidance over what sorts of fats were still OK to be eating.

Use fats and oils sparingly

Usually when a food is processed and the fat is taken out of a product, companies have to add something else, and that something else is usually sugar, thickeners, additives and flavorings, which led to more processed low fat foods and refined carbohydrates. Replacing fats with carbohydrates (especially those refined carbohydrates) can lead to increased cholesterol and triglyceride levels. We replaced butter with margarine and vegetable oils, increasing our use of trans fats, like hydrogenated vegetable oils, which has now been shown to increase our bad cholesterol and decreases our good cholesterol. This is obviously the opposite of what the guidelines wanted!

Those low-fat foods also just don't leave consumers as satisfied as the original product, which can lead to over-eating in the long run.

 How many 100-calorie snack packs or fat-free flavored yogurts could a person eat without getting full? Probably quite a few! 

These foods are sometimes seen as better than a higher-fat food because they're lower in calories, but those foods often contain a lot of sugar and just don't leave you satisfied. Low in fat and low in calories doesn't mean something is healthier.

The research can get confusing, and there are so many schools of thought on what type of diet we should be eating with varying levels of fat intake (vegan, paleo, raw food, the list goes on...) Based on the research on the benefits of healthy fats, people should focus on adding more of the whole foods (including more healthy fats) to replace more of those pre-packaged/processed snack foods.

Including good fats in your diet.

Good fats are the fats found in seafood, seeds and nuts - monounsaturated (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fats (PUFA). These fats can lower your risk for heart disease (and related deaths), help lower cholesterol, and are  likely to keep you satisfied longer when paired with a complex carbohydrate (vegetable, fruit, or whole grain). 

Polyunsaturated fats:

Omega-3's are always a hot topic.Fish and fish oil are great whole-food sources of these fats.   Omega-3's are a type of PUFA that helps to reduce inflammation in the body, lower triglyceride levels and improve heart functioning. 

Include more healthy fats in your diet by eating fatty fish (salmon, albacore tuna, sardines, trout or mackerel) at meals 2 times per week, adding ground flaxseed or chia seeds to snacks (sprinkled on oatmeal/cereal, on yogurt, in baked goods), and add walnuts to a homemade trail mix.

***If you are looking for a fish oil supplement, not all supplements are made the same. Look for at least 500 mg of DHA+EPA per serving of the capsules. 

Monounsaturated fats:

You may have heard that eating nuts and olive oil can be good for your health - these are two great sources of monounsaturated fats. Although nuts are high in fat (and even contain saturated fats), this is where we again draw the line that not all fats are created equally. These sources of healthy fats are minimally processed and can not only make your heart healthy, but will again be more satisfying if added to meals:

• Nuts and nut butters- a great source of heart-healthy fats, protein, and fiber. Look for nut butters with the oil on the top - it is easy to stir it in, and some of the other varieties contain trans fats/hydrogenated oils and sugar. For a snack, grab a small handful or ~1 oz of nuts and pair it with a piece of fruit or dried fruits. 
• Avocado - packed with vitamins E, C, potassium and loaded with fiber. Try swapping your usual sandwich spread for avocado or try topping your toast with some avocado instead of butter.
• Olive oil - great on salad! A salad dressing with fat helps you absorb the fat-soluble vitamins in the vegetables

Coconut oil is actually high in SATURATED fats, not the heart-healthy MUFAs and PUFAs that have been shown to benefit our health. Although this fat is highly-regarded in articles on many popular health sites, there hasn't been much research done on this fat.

Instead of focusing on cutting out processed foods entirely, make an effort to increase these healthy fats (nuts, seeds, fish, avocado, and olive oil) in your meals and replacing snack foods with sources of these fats. 

How do you incorporate healthy fats into your diet?

This easy post-workout smoothie recipe is a great way to eat those healthy fats, has plenty of healthy carbohydrates to refill your glycogen stores, protein to promote muscle repair, and berries and healthy fats to reduce inflammation after a hard workout.

• 1 cup frozen berries
• 1/2 frozen banana (makes smoothie extra thick, like a milkshake)
• Several handfuls of spinach
• 1-2 Tbsp ground flaxseed (you can buy it ground and keep it in the refrigerator or grind it yourself with a coffee grinder) or 1-2 Tbsp chia seeds or 1 Tbsp nut butter of choice (peanut, almond, cashew butter)
• 1/2 cup - 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup milk of choice

Add all ingredients to blender and blend until smooth. You can customize the smoothie with different fruits and seeds/nut butters. 

Perfect post-workout breakfast. Top with additional healthy toppings - oatmeal, granola, dried fruit, frozen berries, peanut butter, hemp seeds, chia seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, etc!

Call or e-mail the Sports Nutritionist to make an appointment and get recipes to incorporate more healthy fats into your diet.

You might also like:

EatRight PRO || Quick Tips for Making Environmentally-Responsible Seafood Choices

Kath Eats Real Food || Why This Registered Dietitian Eats More Fat

Fact Sheet || Coconut Oil and Health

Washing State Dept. of Health || Farm Salmon vs. Wild Salmon

Harvard Family Health Guide || The Truth About Fats: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Healthy Holiday Food Ideas Round-up

Bring one of these healthy holiday food ideas along to your next party or potluck and show the world that embracing health doesn't mean an end to holiday fun. Some of these are mine and a few I've spotted on the web (links below)

From left to right: Caprese Wreath, Strawberry Cannoli Santa, Rudolph the Reindeer Ricotta Pancakes, Joy Veggie Tray, Pinecone Cheese Ball, Apple Christmas Wreaths, Snowman Cheese Sticks, O Cheese-mas Tree

Taking something healthy to a party always ensures there will be something I can enjoy and surprisingly it's usually one of the first trays to empty. I think something healthy is a welcomed reprieve from the piles of sugar cookies.

More Tips for Surviving the Holidays Post Weight Loss Surgery 

Happy and Healthy Holidays!

Holly Jolly Premier Protein Pudding Jars

This weekend I made these protein packed, delicious and super festive little pudding jars to fuel the Christmas decorating. If you fancy a little something sweet as you deck the halls this holiday dessert in a jar is just what Santa ordered...

Shelly's Holly Jolly Premier Protein Pudding Jars

6 - 4 oz. jars (or clear cups)
2 Premier Protein Bars, chopped (any flavor)
2 cups Premier Protein Shake (Ready to Drink RTD, any flavor)
1 - 1 oz. small package Sugar Free Instant Pudding Mix (dry, any flavor)
Optional: 1 Tablespoon Sugar Free Syrup (any flavor)

Spoon a layer of chopped protein bar on the bottom of each 4 oz. jar. Set aside while you mix up the protein pudding layer.

I used Premier Protein Chocolate Mint Fiber Bars. Chocolate Mint just screams holiday to me.

Pour the chilled shakes, pudding mix and optional syrup flavoring into a shaker bottle. If you choose to add a flavoring put one less Tablespoon of the shake. I sometimes change it up by adding sugar free caramel or hazelnut syrup. I used Sugar Free Vanilla Pudding and Premier Protein Vanilla Shakes. Shake for 3 minutes or until thickened slightly and place in fridge for about 5 minutes to thicken further. Spoon the thickened protein pudding on top of the crumbled protein bar base.

You can top with all sorts of things to make them festive: a squirt of Homemade No Sugar Added Whipped Cream, Nuts, Berries, Nonpareils, Crushed Sugar Free Starlight Mints, more Crumbled Protein Bar. You can make these a day in advance just don't put the festive toppings on till you serve them or better yet put out little bowls of toppings and let everyone create their own delicious masterpiece!

I love these individual jars... because well... they are super cute but they are also portable so if you want to take a neighborhood walk to look at Christmas lights, you can take this dessert with you, just screw the lid on and go. Don't forget a spoon!

We decorated the house in stages over the weekend. So Friday I cleaned and put away the pumpkins, leaves and turkeys and started dragging out all the boxes and this great big old fashioned suitcase we have full of ornaments. We are not the matching balls and ribbon, perfect color scheme, Christmas tree type of family. Our tree is like a walk through our family history. I love our tree of memories.

Saturday we carefully unwrapped each ornament. They filled every flat surface around the house. I love this part. No matter how many times we have heard the stories that go with some of our favorite ornaments we share them again or suddenly a new memory will awaken. We laugh (and sometimes shed a tear) as we remember. It's mostly laughter and smiles though and yummy snacks, let's not forget the snacks.

This post is sponsored by Premier Protein. For the purposes of this post Premier Protein provided me with products used. Thanks for the yummy shakes and bars. Want to learn more about Premier Protein products LIKE their Facebook page and tell them The World According to Eggface told you to stop by.