Alert: Recalled Grape Tomatoes in Ready-to-Eat Salads

Many of us include vitamin packed fresh tomatoes as part of our weight loss surgery diet for their easy digestibility and high water content. Today in the news we have been alerted to an outbreak of salmonella in fresh tomatoe. Please take a moment to review this article from WebMD and evaluate your risk. This contamination scare coupled with the recent drastic increase in the price of tomatoes

AOL Success Stories - Submit Yours

I've just stumbled on a great selection of weight loss success stories at AOL's "That's Fit" website. Check it out at That's Fit: Success Stories. They have motivational stories from a diverse range of people of all age groups.

If you would like your weight loss story profiled at this AOL website, please contact Martha Edwards there. They have also put out the call to feature and link to bloggers who have weight loss success stories.

Mediterranean Pizza

(makes 12 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 oz.) thin-crust pizza dough (i.e. Boboli)
  
  


• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
  


• ½ cup onion, chopped
  
  


• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  
  


• 4 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
  
  


• 1 cup eggplant, peeled and chopped
  
  


• 1 tsp dried basil, crushed
  
  


• 1 small zucchini, sliced
  
  


• 2 tbsp sliced, pitted, ripe black olives
  
  


• 2 red tomatoes (or yellow), halved lengthwise and sliced
  
  


• 1 cup ripe olives, chopped
  
  


• 1 small yellow summer squash, sliced
  
  


• ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
  
  


• ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  
  


• ½ tsp sugar
  
  


• ¼ sp salt
  
  


• ⅛ tsp pepper
  
  

Preparation:

• Cook onion and garlic in 2 tsp of the olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium skillet for about 3 minutes or until tender.
  
  


• Add tomatoes, eggplant, basil, sugar, salt and pepper and cook, uncovered over medium-high heat until liquid has evaporated (about In a medium skillet), stirring occasionally.
  
  


• Place pizza dough on a lightly greased baking sheet. Spread the eggplant mixture over the pizza dough.
  
  


• Arrange the red tomatoes, squash, and zucchini over the mixture. Brush vegetables with remaining olive oil.
  
  


• Sprinkle with feta cheese and olives.
  
  


• Top with mozzarella cheese.
  
  


• Bake, uncovered at 400 degrees F until cheese is melted (about 15 minutes).
  
  


• Cut into wedges and serve.
  
  

Make 12 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(1/12 of recipe (146 g)): 143 Calories, 5 g Protein, 19 g carbohydrates, 2 g Dietary Fiber, 6 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 7 mg cholesterol, 248 mg sodium

A little about PCOS.

PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and it effects 1 in 15 women. I personally was diagnosed with this seventeen years ago and also know several ladies who have this. It's so common, chances are you or someone you know has it too.

Woman can have one or all of the following symptoms:

• Acne
• Weight gain and trouble losing weight.
• Extra hair on the face and body. Often women get thicker and darker facial hair and more hair on the chest, belly, and back.
• Thinning hair on the scalp.
• Irregular periods.  Often women with PCOS have fewer than nine periods a year.  Some women have no periods. Others have very heavy bleeding.
• Fertility problems.  Many women who have PCOS have trouble getting pregnant (infertility).
• Depression

List from WebMD

It's not the worst thing to be diagnosed with, but it is time consuming to deal with.  Doctors don't understand why a woman gets this syndrome and they know even less about treating it so they prescribe drugs to manage each symptom.  At 20, my medicine cabinet resembled that of a grandparent. Little orange bottles of various sizes lined the shelves and it was overwhelming to not only look at but to keep track of when to take those little pills.

One day I looked at my future and I realized that the various medicines I had perscribed to me were for asthetic purposes.  At that time, I decided I would spare my liver and spend more time either in front of the mirror plucking or finding the right cleanser to control my acne.

Nearly two decades later and I still don't take anything for my crazy symptoms since they have remained topical. I am grateful for this since women with PCOS are likely to have heart and diabetic issues. I hope to continue to avoid such health issues by paying attention to my body now.

As for weight loss, PCOS does make it more challenging, but it doesn't make it impossible. Weight loss efforts can be effective if I put the focus on my exercise and eating and understand there is no wiggle room.  Gone are the days where weight just "accidently" disappeared because I was too busy to eat. I know if I eat a chemical free diet, exercise regularly and get plenty of sleep, my body will respond as I expect it to whether I have PCOS or not.

*I plan on discussing further in future posts. 

LivingAfterWLS Weekly Digest: Royal Treatment

Link to the Newsletter Archive: May 2, 2011
From today's LivingAfterWLS Weekly Digest Newsletter:

Greetings Neighbors!
Were you among those who enjoyed watching the Royal Wedding of Prince William to Catherine Middleton last week? I confess to pulling an all-nighter just to watch it! It seems we are obsessed with all things royal. I cannot help but wonder that while we enjoy watching the

Linguine with Olives, Eggplant and Artichokes

(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp olive oil, divided
  
  


• 4 small eggplants, quartered
  
  


• 1 (14 oz.) can artichoke hearts, drained and halved
  
  


• 1 red onion, chopped
  
  


• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  
  


• 1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
  
  


• 2½ cups canned peeled tomatoes with juice
  
  


• 2 tsp sugar
  
  


• 2 tbsp tomato paste
  
  


• 1 cup pitted black olives
  
  


• 12 oz. linguine
  
  


• Salt and pepper to taste (Nutrition Fact calculated without added salt.)
  
  


• Fresh thyme leaves (optional)
  
  

Preparation:

• In a large-sized saucepan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat.
  
  


• Add onion, garlic, lemon juice and eggplant and cook until lightly browned (about 5 minutes), stirring occasionally.
  
  


• Stir in tomatoes, sugar and tomato paste then raise heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes.
  
  


• Add artichoke hearts, black olives and continue to simmer for about 5 minutes.
  
  


• Cook linguine according to package instructions. Drain pasta and add to a large-sized bowl. Toss with remaining olive oil. Add tomato mixture and toss well to coat.
  
  


• Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately garnished with fresh thyme.
  
  

Make 6 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(1/6 of recipe (399 g)): 380 Calories, 17 g Protein, 63 g carbohydrates, 9 g Dietary Fiber, 9 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 571 mg sodium

White Bean and Sun-Dried Tomato Pizza

(makes 6 servings)

Ingredients:

• ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil), chopped
  
  


• 1 (15 oz.) can Great Northern or Navy beans, drained
  
  


• 1 package (10 oz.) thin crust pre-made pizza crust (such as "Boboli")
  
  


• ½ cup shredded, reduced fat, Mozzarella cheese
  
  


• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
  
  


• ¼ tsp dried oregano
  
  


• 1 cup shredded fresh basil leaves
  
  

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  
  


• In a small bowl, place sun-dried tomatoes and pour boiling water over them enough to just cover and let stand for about 10 minutes until soften them. Drain well then chop into thin strips.
  
  


• Place beans, garlic and oregano in a blender. Cover and blend until smooth.
  
  


• Spread bean paste over surface of pizza crust.


• Sprinkle with sun-dried tomatoes, cheese and basil.


• Place pizza on a (ungreased) cookie sheet or pizza pan and bake at 425 degrees F until cheese is melted (about 10 minutes).
  
  

Make 6 Servings:

Weight loss recipes Amount Per Serving(1/6 of recipe (143 g)): 261 Calories, 14 g Protein, 42 g carbohydrates, 5 g Dietary Fiber, 5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 6 mg cholesterol, 419 mg sodium