Asparagus Season!

Yes!! That great time of year is fast approaching (even though winter doesn't seem to be receding), the growing season! When we get fabulous fresh fruits and vegetables from our own yards or farmers' markets. One of the first things to appear in the spring is asparagus and so you should be seeing a lot of more it in stores and on restaurant menus for the next few weeks. Look for thin stalks with little white at the bottom, that don't look (or worse yet - feel) dried out. I like to steam or grill them, but if they are thin enough you could just eat them raw like I did last night, when I caught a glimpse of these little guys popping their heads up in our garden : )

High Protein Power Lunch (or Dinner)

I came up with this last night (mostly due to lack of groceries), but I realized that this was super high protein, high on taste and soft enough for the soft foods' folks post-op.

**please note - serving size will be slightly different for the post-op patient

2 eggs, soft poached
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon homemade pesto sauce (see recipe on blog under 'Sauces' link)
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Akmak Armenian cracker bread (or other whole wheat cracker)

1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil - add 1 tablespoon vinegar (any kind BUT balsamic) or lemon juice, then crack eggs right into water. The vinegar will help the whites of the egg to curl up around the yolk and form a tight ball instead of having pieces of the white floating all over the pan. Let cook one to two minutes - I like for the yolk to be runny, but you could cook longer if you do not.
2. On a plate spread down the ricotta and then top with pesto sauce.
3. Remove eggs from water with a slotted spoon or mesh spoon. Place over the top of ricotta/pesto.
4. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, place pieces of cracker bread on the side for scooping.

ENJOY!!

Total protein in this is about 20 grams

Our pesto sauce is not oily, that is why I added the extra teaspoon of olive oil, to give it some of that rich flavor but you could abstain from using it if you wish.

Fun Fact of the Day

Today's fun fact doesn't have anything (really) to do with food but some of the items on the list still need to be 'cooked'.

You thought gas was expensive check out what some of the most valuable/expensive substances in the world will cost you:

Saffron $11.13/gram ($5,040/pound)
Gold $56.73/gram
Methamphetamine $100/gram
Heroin $131/gram (losing market share to meth thanks to Breaking Bad)
Cocaine $215/gram (for the richie rich folks)
LSD $3000/gram (apparently now the even richier rich are slumming it with cocaine they demand LSD instead)
Plutonium $4,000/gram
Diamonds $55,000/gram (making gold look cheap these days!)

"Freedom Salad"

I had this so called 'Freedom' salad at a pub over the weekend, and while everyone else had burgers or fried foods, this salad was delightfully satisfying and left me feeling ready for an action-packed afternoon without feeling weighed down. Try to mix it up for yourself!!  (this will make enough for 2-3 people)

1 cup Mixed greens
1/4 cup cooked green (French) lentils
1/4 cup Israeli couscous (that is the larger sized couscous - could substitute quinoa if you prefer)
1/4 cup carrots
1/4 cup chick peas
1/4 cup bell peppers
1/4 cup red onion
1/4 cup edamame
2 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds (can be purchased at a store like Trader Joes/Whole Foods/Dave's Market)
2 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
fresh chopped mint leaves (5-6 leaves otherwise flavor is to strong)
balsamic dressing

Enjoy!!

Healthy Tips from all angles

Weekly Health Tips Archive from Miriam Hospital's Center for Bariatric Surgery Newsletter

Balsamic Tofu, Cranberry, and Apple Stir Fry

This is wonderful recipe by Marni Sumbal over at the vegetarian nutrition group. To make it bariatric friendly - substitute quinoa for the long grain rice, the quinoa will be easier to digest and sit lighter in your stomach. Tofu tastes like whatever you put on it, so in this case it will absorb the balsamic and any juice released from the apples. Purchase extra firm tofu as it will hold its shape better during cooking and remember to open the package over the sink as tofu is packed in water!

Enjoy!!

Balsamic Tofu, Cranberry and Apple Stir Fry