Make it Today: Pumpkin Spice Protein Mix

Greetings Readers!
I'm so happy to join you again here on the LivingAfterWLS Blog. The research side of my work with weight loss surgery has taken priority of my time in 2016, but I am happy to say that my 2017 schedule is much more favorable for writing and sharing with you all I've learned. I have some great things to share that will help each of us achieve lasting successful weight management for life after surgery. I am looking forward to actively publishing to this blog, issuing our Newsletters, and participating with you in social media in the coming days, weeks and months of 2017.

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Earlier this year we published a newsletter that featured this Multi-Use DIY Pumpkin Spice Protein Mix recipe and ways to use it as we actively seek to increase our daily protein intake. This newsletter was so well received by our subscribers it has been our most popular publication of 2016. You can read this newsletter in full online in our archive: Pumpkin Spice Protein Mix

Multi-Use DIY Pumpkin Spice Protein Mix

A fortified mixture providing quality protein and superb autumnal flavor to a variety of health promoting treats. This multi-use dry mix makes 28 servings (2 tablespoons dry measure) per batch of Pumpkin Spice Protein Mix. The nonfat dry milk provides valuable nutrients including calcium and vitamin D and lightens the protein powder making the Protein Mix suitable in many recipes.

Ingredients:
2 cups Pure Protein Plus French Vanilla Dietary Supplement or your favorite vanilla flavored protein powder*
1 1/2 cups Carnation Instant Nonfat Dry Milk
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
1 pinch ground cloves

Directions: In a large bowl whisk together all dry ingredients. Store mixture in an airtight container (I like to use recycled mason jars) in a cool dark place. Use often for best freshness and to promote improved health with increased protein intake. In humid climates mixture may be stored refrigerated. Shake container well before using to ensure ingredients are well blended and evenly dispersed.

*For best results use a protein powder that contains at least 15 grams protein and 5 or fewer grams carbohydrate per serving.

Nutritional Estimate (based on products specified in recipe): Per 2-Tablespoon serving: 218 calories; 8 grams protein; 6 grams carbohydrate; 1 gram dietary fiber; 0 grams fat. A good source of vitamin D, calcium, B vitamins, and electrolytes.

Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Parfait

The above detailed Protein Mix is used to produce delicious protein fortified beverages and treats in the following recipes that can be obtained in the newsletter by clicking the recipe title or linking directly to the newsletter in our archive: Pumpkin Spice Protein Mix

• Pumpkin Spice Protein Latte
• Protein Pumpkin Spice Iced Coffee
• Pumpkin Spice Protein Coffee
• Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake Parfait
• Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie
• Autumn Pumpkin Oatmeal

For a limited time we are including an 8-page printed booklet containing these terrific recipes free with any order from the LivingAfterWLS Bookstore - No Coupon Required! Check out the quality publications in our store and get your booklet free, while supplies last!

 

From the Archives: Managing Slider Food & Evening Munchies

5DPT: May Bulletin - Managing Slider Food & Evening Munchies

ICYMI: In Case You Missed It the 5 Day Pouch Test May Bulletin is now available live in our online archive. Link to 5DPT Bulletin to read your information packed newsletter full of facts, tips, and hints to successfully manage your weight with weight loss surgery, the 5 Day Pouch Test, and LivingAfterWLS. Click now - the information is great & free! Enjoy. Link: 5DPT May Bulletin

    "Thank you for joining me today in this information packed 5 Day Pouch Test Bulletin. I have been following various conversations in social media groups about weight regain after bariatric surgery and share with you today articles that I hope will promote a calm understanding of how weight regain happens. Featured topics include slider foods, ways to relieve nausea, and protein supplements. I hope you find something useful as you pursue a long lasting healthy weight with surgery. Thanks for taking time from your busy life to join me here today."  Continue Reading

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Four easy things for a perfect WLS day

Hot Off the Press! LivingAfterWLS Inspired Reminders email bulletin.

Link to check out our fresh new layout and power-packed content to support your weight loss surgery health and weight management goals. View it live in our archive or subscribe to receive this valuable information delivered free to your Inbox.

LivingAfterWLS Inspired Reminders September 8, 2016

Enjoy a perfect WLS day by doing these four easy things this morning.

Do These Four Simple Things Today!

Broken eggs and a perfect day

by Kaye Bailey

The old wisdom warns that trouble comes in threes and I've found it to be more true than not. It seems if my day gets off to a rocky start things are unlikely to improve as one problem leads to the next. Maybe, like me, you have all the desire in the world to get your day off to a great start doing what is necessary to support your WLS goals and then, as the saying goes, life happens and off track we go. In the 5 Day Pouch Test we use the metaphor of broken eggs: if we drop one egg from the carton and it breaks we don't discard the rest of the eggs. We clean the mess and move forward understanding that broken eggs happen but one broken egg is not worth spoiling the whole dozen. In the day-to-day of living we can apply the metaphor and rationalize that one oops in a day doesn't mean the entire day is a disaster. But sometimes it is easier said than done, at least for me.

What if we had a sure-fire strategy to start the day with four easy actions that support our big picture goals of weight loss and weight management using the WLS tool? If we've already accomplished four simple actions in favor of a good day won't those help shield us from the bumps and bruises of the daily "broken eggs" we are bound to encounter?

Today's Inspired Reminders Bulletin offers four easy, quick, and affordable things we can all do to prepare the way for a perfect WLS day. I invite you to try these four little actions every day for one week and just see what a wonderful world of success opens for you as you pursue the best life, Living INSPIRED After WLS.

Link to the Bulletin

5DPT Special FAQ & Answers Spring 2016 Edition

Now Live in our newsletter archive and delivered to subscriber Inboxes today!

5DPT Special FAQ & Answers Spring 2016 Edition

Welcome to the Special Edition Spring 5 Day Pouch Test Bulletin. Each season we enjoy gathering your hot topic questions about the 5 Day Pouch Test and answering them here in an exclusive email dedicated to the topics important to people like you that are focused on maximizing your health and weight management benefits with WLS and the 5DPT. I appreciate the valuable time you've given this publication and will do my best to make it time well spent. So let's get started with this seasons hot topic FAQ and Answers!  (Don't forget you can always access our growing library of FAQ's and Answers at www.5daypouchtest.com - click the FAQ link).

Hot topics covered in this info-packed FAQ and Answers Newsletter:

• Why it's called a test?
• What if my pouch seems broken after the test?
• What are the time restrictions or liquid restrictions and why are they important?
• How are soups considered liquid?
• What about caffeine and coffee on the 5DPT?

These questions and many more answered for you in this quarterly special edition newsletter. Check it out online and be sure to subscribe so you never miss another issue.

 5DPT Special FAQ & Answers Spring 2016 Edition

5DPT: May Bulletin - Managing Slider Food & Evening Munchies

ICYMI: In Case You Missed It the 5 Day Pouch Test May Bulletin is now available live in our online archive. Link to 5DPT May Bulletin to read your information packed newsletter full of facts, tips, and hints to successfully manage your weight with weight loss surgery, the 5 Day Pouch Test, and LivingAfterWLS. Click now - the information is great & free! Enjoy. Link: 5DPT May Bulletin

"Thank you for joining me today in this information packed 5 Day Pouch Test Bulletin. I have been following various conversations in social media groups about weight regain after bariatric surgery and share with you today articles that I hope will promote a calm understanding of how weight regain happens. Featured topics include slider foods, ways to relieve nausea, and protein supplements. I hope you find something useful as you pursue a long lasting healthy weight with surgery. Thanks for taking time from your busy life to join me here today."

Remember the Official 5 Day Pouch Test website is open 24/7!

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5DPT Owner's Manual (Second Edition 2012)
We are making room for the third printing of the highly rated 5 Day Pouch Test Owner's Manual (Copyright 2012) that will feature a fresh new cover. The previous cover, shown here, is being retired. Take advantage of our inventory clearance and save $10 off the publisher price of $24.95. Only a few remain - Don't miss this one-time-only low low price!

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Dear loyal Friends and Readers:
We have so truly appreciated your support of the LivingAfterWLS publications for nearly 10 years.
It has come to our attention that some unauthorized vendors are listing our books at obscene prices for sale on Amazon. Please be assured that this is not the practice of myself or LivingAfterWLS, LLC. We are horrified to learn this and thus far have received no corrective assistance from Amazon.

Therefore we issue this plea to you:
When considering buying one of our titles please
be sure to look at “BUYING OPTIONS" and select
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We are not responsible for (and are disgusted by)
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We plead with you not to support these merchants.
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We invite you to shop at LivingAfterWLS Bookstore!

Thank you so much!
Kaye

Spring Eggs with Salmon & Asparagus

Young thin asparagus is a luxurious spring delicacy. Look for it at the market beginning in February. Bunches should be bundled tightly enough to prevent breakage, but loose enough to avoid collaring the tender vegetable spears. Store refrigerated, the cut ends of the stalks in water, until use. When properly stored young asparagus will stay fresh four to five days.

Larger asparagus may be slightly woody with tough outer fibers. Remove the tough fibers with a vegetable or carrot peeler. This reveals the tender insides while removing the tough outer fibers that some people with gastric conditions find difficult to digest.

Suitable for Day 6 & Beyond the 5 Day Pouch Test

Serving Ideas:  Serve warm with fresh buttermilk cheddar biscuits or warm buttered toast. Provide additional shredded Asiago Cheese and chopped parsley for garnish. In the summer vine ripened sliced tomatoes compliment this meal and provided heart health nutrients and sunshine sweet flavor.

Ingredients:
8 large whole eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons milk, 2% low-fat
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon butter, chilled and quartered
8 ounces asparagus spears, peeled and sliced
2 ounces Asiago Cheese, shredded
4 ounces smoked salmon, flaked
2 ounces parsley sprigs, coarsely chopped

Start to finish: 30 minutes
Spring Eggs Serves 4. Each serving provides 257 Calories; 21 grams protein; 17 grams fat (7 saturated); 4 grams carbohydrate; 1 gram dietary fiber. A good source of vitamin C, vitamin A, B-Vitamins including folacin (folate).

Directions: Place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven: heat oven to 325F.  Liberally coat a 2-quart oven safe casserole dish with unflavored cooking spray. (Alternatively, coat four 6-ounce custard cups with cooking spray and place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper for easy clean-up.)

In a medium bowl whisk eggs, salt, pepper, whole milk, and baking powder until slightly frothy and well blended. Pour mixture into prepared casserole or custard cups and bake 6 minutes. Remove from oven, stir with a fork, return to oven and bake 4 minutes, removing and stirring again. If eggs are curdled and near done to desired consistency evenly top them with the butter pieces, asparagus spears, shredded Asiago Cheese, and flaked smoked salmon. Return to oven a bake 2-4 minutes keeping a close watch. Remove them immediately when they reach your desired consistency. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Alternative Method: Cooks that are confident in their stove top skills may prepare these eggs in a skillet following the usual best practice and method for skillet scrambled eggs.

Store leftovers in single-serve microwave safe containers. Gently reheat 30 to 60 seconds and enjoy another high protein meal.

Today Inspired: Rise After the Fall

I know that we've heard the cliche since childhood, pick yourself up when you fall. But how many of us live the philosophy? This is one I need to work on and this one applies to the 5 Day Pouch Test. As you know I've written the 5DPT is not about perfection, but more about persistence and learning. Nobody has ever done the plan perfectly, but many have done the plan well enough to use it effectively as a vehicle for change in their weight management with WLS. So here is the Today Inspired for all of you today!

Today Inspired are original images by me, Kaye Bailey, with inspired quotes to elevate our mood and motivate positive personal growth. I hope you enjoy them.  Thanks for visiting the LivingAfterWLS Blog.

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Irish Flavor: Cock-A-Leekie Soup

The 5 Day Pouch Test: Express Study Guide

This week, in celebration of St. Patrick's Day, consider a refreshing and hearty soup that brings an Irish flair to your table while supporting your weight management goals after weight loss surgery. A well-made soup is a terrific remedy for carb cravings without taking us off-track in our post-WLS Protein First diet. (Protein First: Understanding and Living the First Rule of Weight Loss Surgery). The complex carbohydrates found in vegetables and fruit (celery, carrots, leeks, and prunes) and grains (barley) support our nutrition goals without adding empty calories from simple carbohydrates to our meals.

This cleverly named soup features chicken, celery, leeks, barley, and the surprise ingredient prunes for a delightful marriage of flavor and texture in one satisfying bowl.  Each 1-cup serving provides about 400 calories with 18 grams protein, 6 grams fat, 20 grams carbohydrate, and 4 grams dietary fiber.  Leeks are a beneficial digestive aid and can soothe an irritated WLS pouch. The prunes add sweetness and chewy texture to the soup for a refreshing flavor burst, don't leave them out. Preparation and cooking takes about an hour, a good option for a hearty weeknight supper. 

Cock-A-Leekie Soup 

Serves 6-8; 70 minutes to prepare and cook.
Ingredients:
1 (32-ounce) container chicken broth, fat free (about 4 cups)
4 cups water
2 pounds bone-in, skinless chicken thighs (about 3 cups cooked)
3 ribs celery, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 bay leaves
2 large leeks
1/2 cup uncooked pearl barley
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground allspice
12 pitted prunes, chopped

In a large pot or Dutch oven combine broth, water, chicken, celery, carrots, and bay leaves; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 30 minutes or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken to cutting board to cool.

While the chicken cooks prepare leeks by trimming and removing roots and damaged leaves and tough tops. Cut in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 3/4-inch pieces. Wash well to remove sand and debris from the growing fields that is trapped between the leaves. Add prepared leeks to the soup after you've removed the chicken. Add barley, 1 teaspoon salt, and allspice to pot; cover and cook at a low simmer for 30 minutes or until leeks and barley are tender.

Meanwhile remove the meat from the bones and cut or shred into bite-size pieces. When the leeks and barley are tender add the chicken and prunes to the soup. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves and serve warm in soup bowls or mugs.

Shortcut:
In place of raw chicken thighs use roasted or rotisserie chicken removed from the bone (about 3 cups). Place all ingredients except prunes in large pot or Dutch Oven and cook at low simmer 30-40 minutes until leeks are tender. Add prunes and simmer 5 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves and serve warm in soup bowls or mugs.

5 Day Pouch Test Recipes

The 5 Day Pouch Test is a back to basics program to help weight loss surgery patients return to the basics of the high protein diet following bariatric surgery. Today's blog post is about the recipes developed for success inclusion in the 5 Day Pouch Test.

The 5 Day Pouch Test: Express Study Guide

Today I'm catching up on emails and answering lots of questions. One question that keeps coming up:

Can I just use any prepared soup or soup recipe or do I have to use the specific 5DPT recipes?

The answer can be complicated and I often see others answering, "I don't know why you couldn't use this or that" or "Sure, that sounds fine to me."

Well, not so fast. I'm not a recipe snob and I certainly don't insist people follow my recipes exactly. But, the 5DPT recipes --- exactly as they are written-- have been tested by at least 8 individuals as part of a complete 5DPT plan development test. When a recipe did not yield the desired results of satiation, nutritional profile, and weight loss it was eliminated. When a recipe consistently produced desired results -- including weight loss -- we kept it in the plan. We know these recipes are successful for a variety of people with different lifestyles, cooking abilities, and back-on-track goals. That is why I always point people to our recipes first -- they get results.

5 Day Pouch Test Complete Recipe Collection: Find your weight loss surgery tool in five focused days. (LivingAfterWLS Shorts Book 2)

Will other similar recipes work? Maybe. Maybe not. If you need to make a recipe change or substitution try to do it with something that matches the nutritional data of the recipes provided. Additionally, if you are making recipe or menu changes then up your commitment to the behavioral basics of our post-WLS diet such as the liquid restrictions, the protein first rule, avoid simple carbohydrates and slider foods, etc.

Helpful Link: 5 Day Pouch Test FAQ's

More than anything in the world I want you to succeed with this plan! Do your best to follow it as we developed it. We did the testing over and over and over so you don't have to.
This is not intended as a scolding, just an explanation for why the best results come from staying true to the plan and focusing on YOUR weight management goals with WLS! I want you to succeed!
Here is a link to the website for your reference! 5 Day Pouch Test

YOU CAN DO THIS!