Fish And Bagle Bento

Bagle and cream cheese waves,PB&J fish, goldfish crackers, peapod crackers, sesame seed snack, apple slices, cheese fish, pumpkin seeds, and carrots

Ocean Pasta Bento

Fish Bento

Fish sticks, peapod kelp, peapod crackers more kelp, cantaloupe ducks in pond, goldfish crackers, mixed nuts, cheese dolphins, and a chocolate heart

Not the best way to lose 10 pounds in 3 days!

I had an eye opening experience this week. I was reminded the hard way that after having this surgery, we will always be different. ER Physicians, friends, coworkers, employers, relatives, even some other post ops, might not realize this but it is true. Certain things will always affect us differently and there are certain foods that might agree with us one minute and make us horribly ill the next.
I hate to vomit, as a child I would say, "ooh how gross" or as I got older, "this is disgusting", when I would find myself being sick. I have found that since my surgery, if I eat something that my pouch doesn't like, I will most prob. vomit. I have a small but ever present (cue the jaws music) fear of this happening so I eat very clean when I am at work, out with friends, and at any celebration or event. I guess this is kind of a good thing. I also had a penchant for projectile vomiting before the surgery and lets just say, it hasn't lessened any post operatively.
Usually however, once I vomit, I feel much better. Kinda disgusting but true.
Not so this week however.
I had purchased a grill for my husband for our 5th anniversary present. He decided to treat me to some grilled fish. He over cooked it. In his defense, he hasn't grilled in forever and really tried to cook it nicely, he just suffers from the cook any animal protein to death syndrome.
In my desperate attempt to make my husband feel appreciated for trying to cook me a nice dinner on his new toy, I ate the fish even though it was almost rubbery in places.
I felt sick, then I felt I was going to vomit. I did and thought I felt better and it was all over with. I went to bed only to wake up chocking on my own saliva. I had to run to the sink to vomit more. The next morning, I couldn't even keep water down. I called into work and stayed home vomiting all day while Lilith was at school and Will was at work. By the time they got home, I must have looked pretty bad because Will insisted that we go to the ER. We went. We sat in the lobby for 2 hours before being taken into the back. I vomited into the public bathroom trash a few times during that 2 hours of waiting. I am sure this looked very charming to the other patients. When we got back to an exam closet (they really are too small to be considered rooms), they started an IV and kept pushing the pain meds. I had to admit that I was still breast feeding. The male nurse asks how old my infant was, and I pointed to Lilith who said, "Hi, I'm Lilith", and who was standing there, (all 36 inches of her) almost three years old but looking like she is almost five years old! Even in as much pain as I was in, I felt embarrassed.
They dope me up, Dr. Sndyer (my surgeon from Colorado), talks with the ER Doctor and tells them to give me a cat scan. They tell me that I have a bezoar (fish that had formed an obstruction) and give me more pain meds. After 6 hours, they sent me home with instructions to call the gastroenterologist that morning (they discharged me at 5 am doped out of my ever loving mind). I went home and slept till past noon. When I called the gastroenterologist that they recommended, I was told that they were closed and that no one would be available till MONDAY(this was Friday). I tried to convince myself that I was okay, even though I remembered through a drug filled haze, throwing up the liquid pain medicine that the RN from the next shift was trying to give me as they were discharging me. Needless to say, I wasn't better, in fact I had a lovely constant burning sensation in my belly in addition to the inability to keep even a few sips of anything down. My husband looks scared at this point (he and Lilith had both had to stay home because neither of them had any sleep after being in the ER all night with me).
After much debate, a call to my gastric bypass surgeon in Colorado (Dr. Snyder)during which my husband had to tell him twice that, "Yes, they really sent her home after the cat scan showed an obstruction!" "No, I don't know what kind of medicine they are practicing here" "Yes, we wish we were there in Colorado right now also!", back to the ER we went. This time the male nurse from the night before escorted me right back. I vomited a few times and they started another IV. The ER doctor, a different one from the night before thank goodness, calls in the endo team and they scope me and break up the blockage (the male RN feels the need to tell me that it looked like a macaroon, when I get the discharge paperwork complete with photos, I have to admit, he was right. I will never look at macaroons the same way again!)and I instantly feel much better, just very weak.
We went home at 2 am and I drank a decaff chai and passed out. The next day I felt like I had been hit by a truck but I could drink and eat soft foods. I was still very weak however. When I weighed that morning, I discovered that I had lost almost 10 pounds. Nice but not much compensation for all of the pain, missed work, and co pays however!

Taco-Loco Salmon Wraps with Omega-3

I found these in the frozen food section at my local Fred Meyer. They were on sale (For $5 I believe)so I noticed them and decided to give them a try. They are very tasty and filling. They state on the package that it is made with mild red chile sauce and it is indeed very mild so I add salsa to mine (see the photo with the salsa poured over them and a big bite out of one of them) Unfortunately they only have 16 grams of protein and 29grams of carbs and they are 230 calories EACH, so they really are sort of an indulgence but it is a lot healthier than many other indulgent dinners you could have. I like them a lot.visit their website here!

Husband makes dinner!

Fillet of Sole with vegetables baked in parchment
4 (5 ounce) sole fillets
2 tsps olive oil
1/8 tsp salt
4 thin lemon slices
1/8 tsb ground pepper
2 tbs chopped fresh parsley
12 asparagus spears
2 small summer squash, stems removed and cut in half lengthwise
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut 4 sheets of parchment paper into 12x12 inch squares and fold each in half. Open the sheets and place one fillet in the center of the sheet, just below the fold. Rub both sides of each fillet with just enough oil to give shiny appearance, then sprinkle evenly with the salt and pepper. Place a lemon slice in the center of each fillet and evenly sprinkle with parsley. Trim the ends from the asparagus and discard, and then place 3 spears directly under each fillet.
Slice the squash into about 1/4 inch half circles and pile the pieces equally on top of the asparagus. Carefully fold the open three edges of the parchment together tightly, leaving room for air and steam to circulate around the contents of the packet. Staple the folds shut with 2 or 3 staples for each edge and place 4 packets on a baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Let stand for about 5 minutes before placing the packets on dinner plates.
If you are watching the Lilith Easter videos, you can hear husband taking the fish out of the oven in one and tasting it. It is really funny. He was raised by the way that all fish is yucky and loved this recipe. Every recipe we have tried from this cook book so far has been really great!