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Volume 8 - Special Thanksgiving Edition |
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To My Fellow Banded Patients and Friends
The holidays can be some of our most challenging times. Factors that make them so difficult are family stressors, the abundance of food, and all those darn desserts!
This is a time to reevaluate how we view the holidays. The first Thanksgiving after I was banded was the first time I realized Thanksgiving wasn't just about the food.
Food used to be the whole reason I looked forward to the holiday and rushed home to have my mother's cooking. After being banded, I came to enjoy my family and relationships more because I wasn't so focused on the food. I was truly thankful for the weight loss I had achieved, for the surgery itself, and the life I had to look forward to as a healthier, thinner me!
Here are some hints for holiday dining:
- No dessert tastes as good as thin feels!
- Serve yourself on a small plate rather than the buffet-sized plates.
- Taste small amounts of the foods that you want to eat, but don't overdo it on any one item.
- Get your protein in before the carbs and sweets.
- Keep in mind that turkey is a very dry meat and often causes problems for the band, so take your time.
- Eat slowly and put the food up when you are done so that you don't graze all day.
- Allow yourself a small portion for dessert, not the whole slice of pie.
You are in charge of how you handle these upcoming holidays. Make the best of them, stay in control and count your blessings!
Cheers,
Natalie Cook Akhavain
Patient Advocate and Fellow Bandster
Tips and Tricks for the Holidays
If you're hosting dinner, ask your guests to bring Tupperware with them to your house to take leftovers home. Most Thanksgiving dishes are high in calories, and those tempting leftovers do not need to linger at your house!
Eat your breakfast, lunch, dinner or a healthy snack before you begin your holiday cooking.
Leftover turkey makes a nice healthy sandwich on whole wheat bread with light mayonnaise or mustard with lettuce and tomato.
Now is a great time to do a good deed for the holidays: Take leftovers that can be served cold, like turkey, rolls and cranberry jelly, to a homeless individual. It' a nice touch to include plasticware and napkins. 
Time to Get Cookin'!
The words "holiday feast" and "healthful eating" don't need to be mutually exclusive! Just ask some of our successful Bandsters, who shared their favorite healthy holiday recipes just in time for Thanksgiving.
Our first three recipes are from Willie DePascale, a former professional chef who loves to cook creative, gastric band-friendly cuisine. Since his banding in July 2007, Willie has lost 116 pounds -- and still eats the foods he loves, in moderation.
Willie DePascale went ziplining in Maui after losing more than 100 pounds.
Don't Crab the Cake
From Willie DePascale
Makes 6 servings
1 pound lump crab meat
2 free-range egg whites, room temperature
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup nonfat Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped scallions
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (or less to taste)
2 tablespoons nonfat mayonnaise
1 tablespoon olive oil
In a large bowl, combine crab, egg whites, bread crumbs, nonfat Parmesan cheese, celery, scallions, parsley, pepper and mayonnaise. Use hands to mix. Add more bread crumbs if mixture feels too loose.
Shape mixture into patties. Heat olive oil in frying pan over low heat and add crab cakes. Fry cakes on each side until brown (about 5 minutes total). Serve crab cakes over a bed of field greens and add your favorite nonfat dressing, if desired.
 Living Large Low-Fat Stuffing
From Willie DePascale
Makes 6 servings
1 pound whole grain bread, cubed
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
2 Jennie-O Italian sausage links, skin removed, cut up
1 large onion, sliced
1 head celery, sliced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried sage
1 teaspoon thyme
Black pepper to taste
1/2 cup white wine
Nonfat chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 egg or egg substitute
Sea salt to taste
In a large pan, saute mushrooms, sausage, onion, celery, and garlic in the white wine. Add the sage, thyme, and pepper to the vegetables as you cook. Cook just until tender - don't overcook the mushrooms. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, mix the cooked vegetables with the bread cubes. Add the egg and broth and toss until mixture is moist. Stuffing may be used to stuff poultry or cooked separately. To cook separately, bake, covered, for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, then uncover and bake 15 minutes more.
Smashed Potatoes with Butternut Squash & Nonfat Feta Cheese
From Willie DePascale
Makes 4 servings
1 pound (about 3 medium) Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
1 small butternut squash (about 1 pound), peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil (divided use)
1/2 cup nonfat milk
2 ounces nonfat feta cheese
Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
In a 3-quart saucepan, cover potatoes and squash with water. Add the salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, cover and cook until tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
Thoroughly drain potatoes and squash. Return to pan and shake 1 to 2 minutes over low heat. Roughly mash with hand masher, leaving mixture chunky. Over low heat, gently mix in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and enough milk to reach a desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon into a serving bowl and drizzle with remaining olive oil and sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese.
 Cranberry Apple Crisp
From The Oaks at Ojai
Makes 14 servings
½ cup apple juice concentrate
½ tsp arrowroot
3 cups fresh cranberries, washed
3 cups pippin or Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced (do not peel)
1 tablespoon brown rice flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Topping:
½ cup rolled oats
¼ cup Grape Nuts cereal
2 tablespoons apple juice concentrate
Combine arrowroot and ½ cup apple juice concentrate. Stir over low heat to thicken (it will be thick and clear). Toss cranberries, apple slices, cinnamon and rice flour with thickened mixture. Place this mixture in a 9 x 12 inch baking dish that has been sprayed with a nonstick spray. For topping, toss all three ingredients together and sprinkle over fruit mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 40 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Serve warm or chilled with nonfat yogurt or nonfat sour cream if desired. Each serving contains 70 calories and 16 g carbohydrates.
Pumpkin Pie Mousse
From Patty Grosch
Makes 6 servings
2 (1 ounce) boxes of sugar free instant vanilla or cheesecake pudding mix
2 cups nonfat milk or fat free evaporated milk
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in medium bowl and mix with electric mixer on medium for 1 minute or until all ingredients are incorporated. Pour into small dessert dishes and refrigerate. Each 1/2 cup serving contains about 115 calories.
Easy holiday tips from some of our other bandsters:
Sandi Roberts:
I tried this last Christmas instead of having candied yams. Bake sweet potatoes or yams in their skins in the oven until soft. Use a knife to slice open, spray lightly with spray margarine and sprinkle with Splenda brown sugar. Everyone loved them.
Laura Gordon:
Use Belgian endive for pretty "endive spoon" appetizers:
Separate leaves of a Belgian endive and arrange on a platter. Top the wide end of each with a dollop of hummus and then top the dollop with either a small strip of roasted red pepper or a red grape sliced in half lengthwise 
Variations:
- Use a bit of apricot spreadable fruit and top with crumbled blue cheese.
- Use fresh guacamole and top with a slice of a cherry tomato and cilantro leaf.
- Use a bit of goat cheese and top with sliced almonds or a pecan half.
- Mix cottage cheese with either sliced green onion or chives and sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper.
- Use a canned mandarin orange or two and top with shredded, toasted coconut.
- Top with egg salad or tuna salad or shrimp salad and a small herb leaf (dill or cilantro)
'Tis the Season! Join Us For a Free Seminar
Learn how gastric banding with the LAP-BAND or REALIZE band can get you started on your weight loss journey. Join us for one of these free seminars.
Dec. 3 at 6 p.m. (MCC, Goldberg Auditorium, Room 2110)
Dc. 10 at 6 p.m. (MCC, Goldberg Auditorium, Room 2110)
Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. (MCC, Goldberg Auditorium, Room 2110)
More dates
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