7 Months Post-Op!!!

It is unbelievable to me that 7 months have gone by already and that the person you see in the picture above is ME!  I have lost 90 lbs. so far and I still want to lose at least another 40 to 45 pounds more.
I continue to eat small amounts of food 5 to 6 times a day.  I still drink my protein shakes at least once a day.  Sometimes as my morning snack, but mostly as my bedtime snack.  I haven't incorporated many new foods to my diet yet, but now that I am almost a year out I plan to start trying new things.
I have to say that I have been drinking socially and it so far has had no ill effects.  I do try not to over do it.  I have stuck to drinking flavored rum with fruit juice, which seems to work well for me.  (Drinking is not something I plan to do everyday or very often.)
I plan to start exercising again with the additional motivation from my husband! :)
Here is a before and right now picture to show you just how much you can change in 7 months!

Creamy Shrimp with Mushrooms

Since having my surgery almost 7 months ago I find that shrimp is one of the foods I tolerate best.  This recipe for shrimp with mushrooms reminds me a lot of a stroganoff.  It's creamy tangy and delicious.

Ingredients
20 Large Shrimp (peeled and deveined)
6 White Mushrooms (sliced thin)
1/4 cup Onion (sliced)
1/2 tsp. Goya Adobo seasoning
1/4 cup Plain Greek Yogurt (you can substitute with sour cream)
1/2 cup Water
1/4 cup Shredded 6 Cheese Italian blend
1 tbsp. Fresh Parsley (*optional)
Black Pepper to taste
Nonstick Olive Oil spray

Preheat a large skillet with nonstick spray.  Add sliced mushrooms and onions and 1/8 tsp. of the Goya Adobo seasoning.  Reduce heat to medium and saute for 5 minutes or until tender and slightly browned.  Meanwhile toss the shrimp with the remaining seasoning and add pepper to taste.  Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the shrimp.  Saute for 2 minutes then add the water to help deglaze the pan.  Cook for another 2 minutes or until shrimp are just cooked through.  Turn off the heat and stir in the yogurt, cheese and parsley.  Serve on top of some low carb pasta noodles or as is with a side salad.  Enjoy!

Cheesy French Onion Bacon Rice

This is a remake of one of my favorite dishes that my mom makes.  She always makes it with white rice, which I no longer eat since having my gastric bypass.  So since I was making some of this for the family using my mom's recipe I decided I should come up with a way to make it WLS friendly.  I've substituted the white rice in my mom's recipe with instant brown rice plus I added a little extra protein by topping the whole thing with some gooey swiss cheese.

 

 Ingredients

 

1 cup Instant Brown Rice

1 can Campbell's French Onion Soup + 1/4 cup Water

8 slices Reduced Fat Center Cut Bacon (cut in 1" pieces)

1/4 cup Chopped Onion

2 slices Swiss Cheese

Pepper to taste

Heat a small saucepan.  Add bacon pieces and cook until nice and crisp.  Move bacon to a plate lined with paper towel to remove excess fat.  Drain bacon fat from pan reserving 1 tbsp.  Add onions to the pan and saute for 3 to 4 minutes on medium high heat.  Add soup and water to the pan and bring to a boil.  Once boiling add the rice, bacon and pepper to taste.  Stir, cover and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed.  Remove from heat and let it sit covered for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile preheat your broiler or toaster oven.  Now divide the rice between two 4 oz. ramekins.

Top each ramekin with a slice of swiss cheese.

Place them under the broiler for 5 minutes or until the cheese is browned and bubbly.

Serves 2