IsoPURE Delight!

Protein Shake (60g) and Sugar-Free Crystal Light in Water.

If you’ve ever had Gastric Bypass surgery, been a serious gym-head, had a vitamin deficiency, or just indulged in protein shakes for the heck of it, you’d know that they aren’t exactly yummy. Generally, the taste isn’t so bad, I mean, it’s not optimal, but it’s not crappy either. My problem comes with the thickness of the shake. I have a problem with the thickness and consistency of the shakes. Not sure why. I’ve explored different brands and methods of liquid protein intake, and I must say that I’ve found my favorite. I’ve been drinking protein shakes now since June 29th and to this day, I’ve still not found a brand that worked better for me than Isopure. For those of us who cannot do thick shakes or chalky-tasting blends, Isopure offers protein juices in a variety of flavors. They have several different types of juices, but with my diet, and needing a minimum of 75 g of protein per day, I chose the Zero-Carb Protein juices. They are a bit pricey at around $4.00 a drink (I get them from my local Vitamin Shoppe), but well worth the money in my opinion. All of the juice flavors are incredible, though I haven’t tried Coconut or Apple Melon yet. The protein taste is not overwhelming, either, so I was very much pleased with that. These juices are great chilled in a refrigerator, but I prefer to drink mine on the rocks! ❤

Isopure Zero-Carb Protein Juices.

Again, though I am not a huge fan of the powder protein shake mixes, I did really enjoy Isopure’s Dutch Chocolate Zero/Low Carb protein mix. They have several flavors of this protein mix, but as a wise man once told me, “Stick to chocolate” when it comes to protein shakes. It’s as close to normalcy as you’re going to get without it tasting to incredibly gross or odd. And this shake mix, though also pricey, is very tasty and very worth it. 🙂

Isopure Zero/Low Carb Dutch Chocolate Protein Shake Mix.

New Adventures!

You guys. Seriously. Does anyone else get super excited to go food shopping? I do! It’s like each time I do, I feel as though I’m on this adventure to save the world, except the world is my own body and I have to fight all the evil bad guys and by evil bad guys I mean chips and soda and pasta and bread and anything fattening and delish. I get such a sense of accomplishment now when I go shopping. I make much more informed decisions about what I buy and what I put in my stomach. I don’t put ANYTHING in my cart without looking at the nutrition label. I don’t get anything that I used to love because it’s just torture and I don’t need that. I am a friend to myself and buy yummies like fresh fruit from the farmer’s market by my house (which is AMAZING, by the way). I haven’t purchased soda (huge soda fan, BTW) in months and I feel great! 😀

Portobello Mushroom Pizza. Cilantro, tomatoes, black Olives, mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Delicious!

I never IMAGINED that I’d like this recipe but it is delicious! I may add some low-fat marinara sauce next time just to get the feel of a real pizza. My next cooking adventure will be to try cauliflower crust. It’s a bread substitute and is DELISH from what I hear!

Cauliflower Crust.

Cauliflower crust “bread” slices

1 small head cauliflower, cut into small florets (should yield 3 cups of cauliflower rice)
1 free-range organic egg, lightly beaten
½ cup / 1.7 oz / 50 gr shredded mozzarella cheese
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

All done! Finished Cauliflower Crust.

This cauliflower crust can be used as a bread substitute for practically anything – and I mean that! Pizza, grilled cheese, you name it! Mike at The Iron You is responsible for this and tons of other delicious recipes for you to try. Go check him out!

Cauliflower Crust Grilled Cheese.

Cauliflower Crust Grilled Cheese                                                                          Print this recipe!

Ingredients
Makes 2 grilled cheese sandwiches

Cauliflower crust “bread” slices

1 small head cauliflower, cut into small florets (should yield 3 cups of cauliflower rice)
1 free-range organic egg, lightly beaten
½ cup / 1.7 oz / 50 gr shredded mozzarella cheese
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Grilled cheese

1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
⅓ cup / 3 oz / 85 gr sharp cheddar cheese, grated/shredded, room temperature

Directions

Cauliflower crust “bread” slices

Preheat oven to 450°F (220°C) and place a rack in the middle.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and liberally grease it with olive oil. Set aside.
In a food processor rice the cauliflower florets (it should be evenly chopped but not completely pulverized).
Transfer cauliflower rice (about 3 cups) to a microwave-safe dish and microwave on high for 8 minutes, until cooked.
Place the cauliflower rice in a tea towel and twist it to squeeze as much moisture as you can (I usually squeeze out over a cup of liquid). This is very important. The cauliflower rice needs to be dry, otherwise you’ll end up with mushy dough, impossible to use as slices of bread.
Transfer the cauliflower rice to a mixing bowl, add egg, mozzarella, salt, pepper and mix well.
Spread cauliflower mixture onto the lined baking sheet and shape into 4 squares.
Place in the oven and bake for about 16 minutes until golden.
Remove and let cool 10 minutes before peeling them off the parchment paper (be careful not to break them!)

Assemble cauliflower crust grilled cheese

Heat a pan over medium heat.
Butter one side of each slice of cauliflower crust bread (preferably the top part).
Place one slice of bread in the pan, buttered side down, sprinkle with the cheese and top with the remaining slice of cauliflower crust bread, buttered side up.
Turn the heat down a notch and cook until golden brown, about 2 to 4 minutes.
Gently flip and cook until golden brown on the other side, about 2 to 4 minutes.

Nutrition facts

One grilled cheese yields 374 calories, 29 grams of fat, 8 grams of carbs and 23 grams of protein.

If you try this, let me know how you like it! 🙂

Yummies! So Delish!

FOOD PORN. You ready?

BOOM. Steak Burrito from Chipotle.

One thing about me? I live for two things on this Earth: bacon and Chipotle. Nothing more satisfying IMO. Absolute feel-good food. And for the record, I loved Chipotle before it was mainstream.

Celebratory Dinner!

Yes, I treated myself to Chipotle. No, I didn’t indulge as I normally do by getting all the delicious ingredients. And Yes, I had a few chips with my guac, and YES, I chewed it to a watery consistency as directed *gross* (the pouch can’t handle the crunchy food stuffs just yet). Sorry, part of that #postoplife. I got a chicken burrito bowl since the tortilla would’ve filled me up very quickly. I’ve never gotten chicken from Chipotle before. Gotta be honest. Nothing compared to the steak. That’s expected, though, I mean, it’s steak. And it’s incredible. Either way, I was SUPER excited to have Chipotle again. I made due with what I could have and it ended up being really good. Ate it and watched Kung Fu Hustle with the bae. ❤

No Thank You!

So last week, I hit my 17-day post-op diet change. I will follow this diet for the next 6 months while I get used to life post-op. I’m permitted to have grilled chicken, soft foods like low-fat cheeses and yogurts, and other lean meats/low-fat/sugar items. I’m doing really well with the new diet for the most part. That is not to say, however, that there has not been the occasional bump in the road.

When you have Gastric Bypass, there is really nothing that can prepare you for your post-op body, diet, and way of life. Sure, they tell you what to expect, and maybe that is fine for some people, but for me, I learn best by example, and by brick method. It is recommended that you eat extremely slowly after GBS so that the pouch can both receive and pass the food correctly. This is SO important! I made the mistake (a few times so far, sadly) of eating too quickly and paid the price for it. Your pouch is so small and overloading it too quickly without chewing your food thoroughly will have very undesirable consequences. My experiences with this have been very uncomfortable. First, there is an immense amount of pressure right around my sternum area. This is accompanied by nausea and burping. There is a process that starts when this happens that I believe can only be described as regurgitation. I can actually feel my body trying to expel the food that it just received. It’s a slow, steady rhythm of muscles and organs working in unison to get the food back up. Ladies with children will understand this to be similar to contractions. The first “regurgitation contraction” starts with a sharp instance of pressure, and slowly builds getting more painful, then hits a climax and subsides and starts all over about 6-10 seconds later. There are only two outcomes to this. One: vomiting. The second is a gradual cessation of the symptoms until everything settles in the pouch normally. Moral of this story: If you have had GBS, take your time eating! Chew your food thoroughly for as long as you can possibly stand it so that you’re not swallowing any large chunks, and for Pete’s sake, DO NOT DRINK while you’re eating! You will do so much more harm than good. This way of life is all new to me and I am learning something new about myself and the way my body works every day.

I did something at the age of 30 that I’ve never done before and I feel absolutely amazing about it! Yesterday, I went and purchased a gym membership. My surgery is a huge help in getting into shape, but it’s not a miracle, cure-all. It’s a tool that I can use to get the desired results that I want. I will not see results if I do not change my habits and so, I have to put forth the effort to I decided to go through my local YMCA instead of a large gym because it’s much more family oriented, I can bring my children with me (no more excuses not to work out), and there are so many incredible fitness programs that incorporate family activities! I’m very excited to get to work!

Is this thing on?

Hello! I’m Sammy Jayne and I’d like to welcome you to my blog. I like to get right to things, so here goes. I am a plus-sized girl living in an anti-plus-sized world. This year, I made the biggest decision of my life; 6 months ago, I began my weight-loss journey by committing to undergo gastric bypass surgery. I made this blog to document my amazing post-operation odyssey to finding happiness in healthiness. I had my surgery on July 13th, 2015. Now, I’m on my journey to discovering a whole new reality; a reality that explores exercise, healthy eating, discipline, dedication, and NEW CLOTHES! OmgNEWCLOTHES! Ok! So that’s that. Let’s get personal, shall we?

I’m 30. 2 kids (boys). Dog, cat (Kaeko, Malice). Boyfriend (my moon and stars). Full-time job (mental health). Student (psychology). Gamer (Xbox, PC). I’m a smartass, I’m intelligent, I’m outspoken, opinionated, and passionate. I believe in many great things like equality, the Oxford comma, and food. I love food. I LOVE food. Everything. Well, not raw-fishy-smelling food, but other than that, we’re good. Fried foods, white, starchy foods, green, leafy foods, sweet foods, tart foods, seafood – seriously could go on forevs. Problem is, loving food that much requires self-discipline and willpower if you want to stay healthy which, up until now, I had NO trace of. Who turns down fresh mozz sticks? Or a fat, juicy, medium-rare steak with loaded mashed taters? Or an angus burger with fresh, salted fries? Plus, I kind of eat my emotions. I’m an emotional eater. Good god, now I’m hungry. I want Chipotle. Maybe this was a bad idea. 😛

The biggest, most important development of my life began 15 days ago when I underwent Gastric Bypass surgery. Everything went really well with my surgery and right now, at 2 weeks post-op, I’m on a soft-food diet. Things like grits, oatmeal, sugar-free pudding/Jell-O, mashed potatoes, etc. My operating table weight was (deep breath, exhale) 356 lbs. When I started this journey, I was (another deep breath, exhale) 382 lbs which, I might add, is the biggest I have ever been in my life. Today is July 28th, and after 15 days post-op, I’m down to 326 lbs. Total weight loss to date: 56 lbs. Feeling pretty damn good.

So that’s my back story. I hope you’ll stick around and come back to visit me from time to time. I’ll be uploading fun photos and videos, recipes, stuff that I find funny, and personal accounts of my struggles, successes, and stories! Glad to have met ya! See you next time!