Fat Frog Diary

This email begins a series sent to a friend considering bariatric surgery. I've decided to share my emails with her, since this uses some of the recipes and concepts previously expressed herein. I want to reiterate that the opinions expressed in my blog are my own. I am not a medical or nutritional professional. The information I give is based solely on my personal experience. Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV).  I promised I'd give you information on how to make the process of getting ready for bariatric surgery easier, so here goes. I'll be doing this in sections, mainly because it takes time to absorb the concepts and put them into practice. Not only that, but there's a lot of information to share! First we'll go over the boring, repetitive basics every yo-yo dieter knows. Still, this is important to remember. After all, practicing now means you avoid dumping syndrome later, and who really wants to feel nauseated, stomach cramps, weakness, shakiness, and sweating...

Call me a skeptic. This I had trouble believing in. I could mix my own powdered laundry detergent? Well, I had an old cannister that had once contained cat food leftover from a trip to Costco, so why not? My daughter recommended it and she's as frugal as I ever was. 1 Box of Borax 3 bars Fells Naptha soap, shredded using a box grater 1 5 lb tub OxyClean 3 c. baking soda 1 box washing soda 2 bottles of scent crystals I spent about $25 at the grocery store to get those. No biggie. If it works, that's several months of laundry for a large family, and since there's just the two of us here, it should be even longer. Shred the Fells Naptha soap first into a small bucket or bowl. It takes awhile. Sit in front of the TV or something and wear gardening gloves, just in case. My scraped hand was a hard lesson in paying attention. Box graters are cheap at the dollar store, but handy when you need to shred just a little bit. All ingredients get dumped into any la...

This recipe is so naughty, I can't believe I'm publishing it where my bariatric friends can see. Well, mainly it's for me. I don't drink hardly at all, but when I do, this is my drink of choice. Why is it called Monkey Coffee? I have no clue. I call it sinful and that's enough.  Squirt the syrup on the sides of an old-fashioned glass. Add coffee cubes or ice cubes. Coffee cubes are simply coffee poured into an ice cube tray and frozen. Once solid, put them in a zip-top bag for storage. (You did label that bag, didn't you?)  Now pour in the vodka, Bailey's, and amaretto. Top off with some half-and-half. I like mine fairly blonde, but that's a "to taste" thing.  You may garnish with a maraschino cherry, if desired. Serve immediately. 

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/238037/chef-johns-salmon-mango-bango/?clickId=right%20rail1&internalSource=rr_feed_recipe_sb&referringId=82923%20referringContentType%3Drecipe#recipe-toolbar OMG, this is soooo good! I used frozen mango, but it worked just as well. The salsa was out of this world good. I could slather a brick with the stuff and eat it.

That's 1/2 soup can of water. Sorry about the flash. I ended up adding another 1/2 can of both milk and water when I made it.  For those of us with a post-op bariatric surgery, I highly recommend cutting up the sprouts, or better yet, pulse them in the food processor long enough to shred up a bit. I used the food processor and pulsed about ten times.  I personally cut up my bacon with kitchen shears right into the hot pan so they're already in bite-sized chunks. 

At this time of year, social occasions are inevitable. I, as a morbidly obese person, found social interactions awkward. I had no idea who these people were, so how could I converse with them? And then I discovered the FORD method. By remembering that simple acronym, I now had the ability to do what I did best: be quiet, smile, and nod while listening and learning.   F—Family. Ask anything about their family. Are they going home for the holidays or will relatives be showing up on their door? By the time you exhaust this subject, who knows how late it might be? You'll be shown pictures of the kids, the dog, last year's trip to Aspen, and all you have to do is smile and admire. Sometimes laugh at the dog with the reindeer horns and reference Grinch's dog Max.   O- Occupation. Ask about what they do for a living or any good side hustles. Do they work as a programmer by day and drive for Uber at night? Maybe you'll find a new business to patronize, and don't forget to a...

This holiday spice mix is a version of one I found online for a Scottish recipe. If you notice, variations of this set of spices are used in many recipes. I know I've done something similar in fruit cakes, baked apples, and other holiday recipes. Mixing it now makes sense to me. I can't wait to try this in a shake for a taste of the winter holidays anytime I want.    1 T. allspice 1 T. cinnamon 1 T. nutmeg 1 t. cloves 1 t. coriander 1 t. ginger 2 t. mace (optional)   Lee Plumb