Fat Frog Diary

The much-anticipated news arrived on Friday, Sept 27. I got an email saying I had either a referral or an authorization. I knew what it had to be, having received the referral approval for the surgeon himself a few days ago. Now I must wait on the surgeon's staff to get the message and choose to set my date. I'll be surprised if it's before Halloween, to be honest. I know where: St. Vincent's Riverside, where I spent my three delightful days in June with the bi-lateral pulmonary embolism. In the meantime, I will be getting serious about the Phase 1 of the pre-surgery diet. I admit readily that it was difficult to be motivated before today. Going on a low-carb diet is not fun, but I've been at least trying. So, we start with a shopping list. Mine is mercifully short, because I'd already been buying and stocking up. I've made stocks and broths, purchased a few more, and even purchased a few frozen fish. I'm not very well-versed in cooking fish, so I

Have you seen the 21-Day Fix diet? I kept coming across pins on Pinterest related to it, and I was intrigued by the seeming simplicity of simply measuring by using colorful containers. No counting! Let me state right at the beginning that I didn't buy the book, nor did I buy the colored containers. While they are inexpensive enough on Amazon, I want to "try before you buy" and simply see if it would help me in my weight loss adventures while I wait for surgery. I'm a dedicated foodie. That's one reason why my BMI is a whopping 43. I love food, and I love combining my foods into interesting and tasty combinations such as mini-peppers cut in half and stuffed with half a mozzarella stick. Yumm! Who says diets have to be boring? Anyway, I checked around and found the number of colorful containers for my weight. Each color represents a different food group and each container is a specific size to match a serving of that food group. For instance, I am allowed 3 gr

Just a quick little tip for a snacker who doesn't want to fall off the wagon. (Me!) I'm sure you've seen those mini-peppers in the store in bags, looking colorful and tempting. Were you scared of the heat? Don't be. No heat! Those things wouldn't cause a hot flash even if Leonardo DiCaprio walked by stark naked. (Sorry Leo!) Cut them in half and you can stuff them with cream cheese and ground beef, but for a simple snack with no fuss, cut a mozzarella stick in half and stuff the pepper with that. I stuffed four peppers with four halves of two mozzarella sticks and microwaved them for a minute to melt the cheese to gooey deliciousness. Yum!

I found this on the side of a box of Jell-o Vanilla Sugar Free Pudding and tried it. I made one change and one omission. I changed the cookies to a sprinkle of graham cracker crumbs and I didn't use any Cool Whip. Oh, and I used the sugar free varieties of the pudding and gelatin. However, I will type the recipe faithfully. Do what you want. It's your life. Mini Lemon Cream "Pies"  1 pkg (3.4 oz) Jell-o Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding 1 pkg. (3 oz) Jell-o Lemon Flavor Gelatin 1-1/2 cups boiling water 8 vanilla wafers (or graham cracker crumbs) 1 cup thawed Cool Whip whipped topping (optional) Combine dry pudding and gelatin powder in a medium bowl. Add boiling water, stir for 2 minutes, until completely dissolved. Refrigerate 15 minutes. Place 1 wafer in the bottom of each of the 8 dessert dishes. Cover with the pudding mixture. Top with the Cool Whip. Chill for at least an hour. Refrigerate any leftovers.

Pre-cooking meat in the crockpot works! Being an "old hand" at the crock pot, I already knew the trick of adding Kitchen Bouquet to my ground pork to give it that "browned" look, but this was a side adventure. After cooking, I drained away the grease and weighed what was left. Two pounds of raw ground pork became 10 oz each for two quart bags of cooked pork ready for a meal another day. The stock "pucks" made in my silicone muffin tins are now ready  for use! I can't wait for my next beef stew. It worked great when I melted one in the microwave for use in my stroganoff!  I already know making tea and coffee cubes work for iced tea and coffee. The big experiment for the day is: does Almond Milk freeze well enough to be used in my daily protein shake? I have used frozen yogurt and of course ice cubes. I'm looking for a different boost to my shakes. Let's go into pre-cooking the meat a little deeper.  1. Pre-cooking Meat in the Crock

Go out for a walk Paint your nails Try cooking a new dish Read a book/ Go to a bookstore Take a long bath Write in your journal Catch up on your favorite shows Watch an inspiring TED talk Meditate Organize your room/closet Get a massage Experiment with your makeup Try a new workout class Explore your neighborhood Unplug Watch a funny Youtube video Apply a face mask Listen to an album you haven't heard yet Go to a comedy show Visit a museum Write a handwritten letter to someone you care about Make your own face scrub Head to a cafe for coffee/tea Research something you've been meaning to learn more about Clean your home Create a playlist Declutter your inbox Fix your resume Write a letter to your future/younger self Set intentions Work on manifesting all you desire Listen to a podcast Go to the movies Create a budget Drink water Take a nap Meal plan/ prep Find a new affirmation for your week Browse your favorite website Draw or color in a

Today I start on a long-term experiment in food management. I have a deep freezer, and I'm going to follow some of the Pinterest ideas for keeping food long-term rather than wasting it. For instance, tomato paste. What if the recipe calls for 2 T.? What do you do with the rest of the 6 oz can? Cut it into rounds, stick them in an extra ice cube tray, freeze them, then pop them into a labeled freezer bag. Voila! No more waste. Bonus: The cubes are perfect for popping into a stew or other emergency recipe. Yesterday I found three gallon bags of saved items I can't use because of the size of the bag. One giant bag of beef stock doesn't do any good if I only need 2 cups. Two cups in quart bags, labeled and frozen flat for easy storage. I did this for chicken stock and that was pure joy. The recipe was twice as good with homemade stock and it wasn't a massive amount of salt. Same goes for the giant bag of frozen watermelon. Good idea done wrong. That needs to be sa

I don't know about you, but most Jell-o Jiggler and Knox Blox recipes want you to use 4 boxes of Jell-o, and the Knox Blox formula looks like a chemist's list of ingredients. But what if you want enough for one person? What if you only have one box of three different flavors? Now what? Break out the calculator and guess? NOPE! Here's your simple formula. You can commit this to memory. For every one box of Jell-o, use one cup of hot water. Now here's the rest of the tricks: 1. Use a spray like Pam to lubricate the inside of your mold. Wipe most of the foam away with a paper towel, leaving just a slick surface. 2. When mixing the gelatin and hot water, stir with the whisk for two minutes. Yes, set a timer. There's one on your phone, microwave, and probably your stove. Use your Echo device. Use a timer. Seriously. Stir for the whole two minutes and pay attention. Create as few bubbles as possible. Stir, don't whisk. Bubbles leave unsightly pock marks on