Winter Hash

This morning, I decided I needed to use up some squash we had cooked a couple nights ago. I took that, some potato and Jack's Homemade Smoked Sausage (Midland friends, if you haven't tried this, you should) and made hash. Ultimately, I then used the hash in scrambled eggs, but I was hungry so I didn't get a picture of that finished dish (John was hungry too).

 Winter Hash

•  1 medium russet potato*
•  1/4 turban squash*, roasted
•  2oz Jack's "homemade" smoked sausage

 Wash and prick potato. Place in microwave on a paper towel and cook on HIGH for 2 minutes. Wrap in foil and sit for 5 minutes.

 Dice squash, potato, and sausage to 1/4-inch dice. Heat skillet, prepared with cooking spray, over medium heat. Cook all ingredients over medium heat until vegetables are slightly browned. Season with salt and pepper as desired.

*CSA ingredients

My exciting news on the bariatric front, I tried on a pain of size 18W jeans I purchased last night and not only could put them on, but was able to zip them as well. So much closer to normal sizes!

Cabbage and Sauerkraut

About once a year, I get both cabbage and sauerkraut in the share. When that happens, it is time to make Kapusta soup. Kapusta is the Slavic word for cabbage. In my husband's family, when they say kapusta, they are generally talking about sauerkraut. John's grandmother made a kapusta soup when he was a kid from cabbage, sauerkraut and yellow split peas. This is the recipe I am using today. I wasn't sure of proportions for the sauerkraut, so I thought maybe I could find a recipe online. What I found was that this is a very traditional Ukrainian recipe. The only difference being the addition of fresh cabbage. I think the cabbage adds a freshness and heartiness to the soup, so I completely understand why his grandmother added it. It is cooking now on the stove and smells heavenly.

 Kapusta Soup

•   1-1/2 cups dried yellow split peas
•  water
• 1 large onion*
•  1 stick butter*
•  1/2 large head cabbage*
•  2 1-lb bags homemade sauerkraut*
•  64oz chicken stock

 Soak split peas overnight in water.
 

Peel the onion, cut in half and then slice thinly.  Melt butter in large Dutch Oven; add onions and saute until translucent. While onion is cooking, coarsely chop cabbage. Add the cabbage to  the onions and cook until cabbage wilts.

Add stock, sauerkraut, peas and soaking water.

Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.

 Simmer until split peas are cooked.

*CSA ingredients 

Christmas Borscht

Once or twice a year, I get a bunch of beets with beautiful greens. The only thing to do with that situation is make a beautiful batch of borscht! I think it's interesti.g that this situation conveniently happens around Christmas. My husband's family is Ukrainian and borscht is traditionally served as part of the Christmas eve dinner (assuming it is made with vegetable stock). As luck would have it, I have a fresh batch of vegetable stock I made frome excess vegetables and the parts you usually throw away (i.e. the big broccoli stem) so, I think this latest batch of beets was destined for a pot of borscht. As I have mentioned before, the type of borscht I make is very simple. Just beets, stems, greens and vegetable stock. I stir in sour cream or plain Greek yogurt before serving. It's simple and lovely!

Eggs With Bacon and Greens

This morning I was packing up Renee's part of the share and decided the young greens we got looked really nice. I had also picked up some thick-cut bacon, so, I thought maybe scrambled eggs with bacon and greens would make a good breakfast.

Eggs with Bacon and Greens

3 slices thick-cut bacon*
1 small handful baby greens*
2 farm-fresh eggs*
1/4 cup skim milk*
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 ounces cheddar-jack

Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Place the slices of bacon in the skillet and cook, turning once until the edges start to brown. Remo e from pan and drain on paper towels. When cooled, cut into bite-size pieces and set aside.

Wash greens and dry on paper towels (or a salad spinner if you have one), cut into bite-size pieces. Drain bacon grease from pan, reserving 1 tbsp. Heat pan again, add greens and cook until wilted. Add bacon back to pan. Whip eggs with milk. Season with salt and pepper. Pour eggs over greens and bacon. Sprinkle with cheese and cook, stirring, until just cooked.

*CSA ingredients

Menopause

About a month before my surgery, I said to a friend "I'm so glad that it looks like I'm finally heading toward menopause (after 10+ years of perimenopause) She said to me "you know, losing all that weight might reverse that." The thought was ALMOST enough to make me change my mind!

I know, really? Well, if you knew the struggle I had trying to get pregnant in my late 30's and my ultimate decision that getting pregnant wasn't worth sacrificing my health, you might understand. When they started treating my for my body's lack of progeterone production, the drug they gave me was giving me symptoms of diabetes. When I checked the journals, it turned out that approximately 20% of women treated with this drug (Prometrium) DO end up with diabetes. The RE didn't know this until I told her. I stopped the drug and the symptoms stopped. That's the closest I have EVER come to a diabetes diagnosis and I didn't think that was fair to a child.

Well, the anxiousness of extending perimenopause due to weightloss, thankfully, seems to be unfounded. In the last year, six of my cycles have been 30 days or longer (with 2 being 34 days!). Only 4 have been 28 days (normal) or less. Leaving 2 at 29 days. I truly am hoping these longer cy les ate heralding the change for me! I'm ready to get off the roller coaster!

Doing Something Right

I am not sure what I am doing differently this month, but I am definitely doing something right.  The other day, I stepped on the scale and expected it to read around 240 or above.  Every month, when I enter the last week of my cycle, I start retaining fluids.  And that can mean a weight gain of 3-4 pounds (it used to mean a weight gain of 7-10 before surgery).  But what I saw was 239.2 (followed the next day with 238.8).  I am trying to figure out exactly what I am doing different this month from last.  I have to wonder if I am just that much more active (I walk to and from work almost every day now and don't necessarily go directly to my office).  Although that explanation doesn't seem like it would be the answer since I just returned from Florida over Thanksgiving break and I spent a total of 5 days in the car (very little activity, indeed!). 

The other thought that has occurred to me is the epiphany that I had last month about carbs and the end of my cycle.  Now that I am fully aware of those cravings, am I now being more careful about what I eat?  Is it possible, that even though I am allowing myself to enjoy those carbs, I am somehow changing the way I consume them that prevents the bloating and water retention?  I am not really sure about that.  But I am not going to complain or try too hard to analyze it.  If I can managed to continue to lose weight all the way through my cycle, instead of having that backstep for a week that reverses itself when "Auntie Flow" arrives, I will be happy indeed.  As it is, I have understood that for that week every month, I just had to wait it out and as long as I had a net loss after the beginning of my cycle, all was good (and yes, all 7-10 pounds would literally drop the second "she" arrived - it's a very disconcerting cycle).

At any rate, I am quickly approaching having lost my high school weight!  Less than 6 pounds and I will have lost what I weighed for most of my high school career.  Now, I will never again weigh what I did then, it is below my healthy weight range.  But I am thrilled to know that I am gaining on where I need to be.  As of yesterday, I have less than 75 pounds left to lose (wow, I didn't figure that out until just this moment!).  I am fast approaching what was my highest weight before I married the first time.  Once I reach and surpass that weight, I will KNOW I am in the homestretch!  It's so hard to believe all that has changed in the last year!