Eating with My Lap Band – Having High Protein Staples on Hand Helps Me Work My Tool

Let’s face it.  I have a love/hate relationship with food.  Up until August 16, 2006, the day of my lap band surgery, I’d spent my life thinking about dieting, on a diet (and hungry), or feeling bad about blowing my last diet.  I was a professional yo-yo dieter.  Now I’m finally learning how to enjoy food; I’m less afraid of it.  I think that’s because when I use my lap band correctly, I finally have this amazing gift we call satiety, that feeling of having enough. 

For me a big part of working my tool and achieving that feeling of satiety is having the right high quality, high protein foods on hand.  What does that mean to me – I’ve found that it really helps to have some staple meals that are high in protein and relatively low in calories.  The key here for me is to have foods that I really enjoy, that I have on hand and I don’t have to think about.  I’ve learned, and my husband will back me up here, that when I don’t have the right foods easily available I start looking for and dabbling in the wrong foods and that creates a vicious cycle of cravings for me.

My staple foods change; some foods I never seem to tire of – like anything prepared with Trader Joe’s Rustic tomato sauce.  Others become a “favorite” for a while – like smoked salmon – which I crave for a few weeks, then I get tired of.  My tastes also change from season to season.  In the winter I need some warm, comfort foods; in the summer, I like cold, refreshing foods.

These are some of the protein rich staples that I usually have on hand.

So what are some of my go to, staple foods right now?  What am I stocking up on this week?  Here’s my list (keep in mind I am listing protein grams and calories for the key protein rich foods – make sure if you try these that you consider the nutritional information for the other ingredients; also I’m not a nutritionist – the nutrition information should be roughly correct.  I pulled it off containers or the web.)  

• Greek yogurt (1 cup of 0 % Fage Greek yogurt has 120 calories and 20 grams of protein; 1 cup of 2 % Fage Greek yogurt has 150 calories and 19 grams of protein).  I add berries and a small, measured portion of nuts.
• Egg beater omelet (1/2 cup of egg beaters has 60 calories and 12 grams of protein); I make an omelet by cooking the eggbeaters with olive oil spray in a non-stick pan.  I add my favorite veggies – this week I’m into onions, peppers, and mushrooms with a tablespoon of rustic tomato sauce form Traders Joe’s; I top my omelet with ¼ cup shredded low-fat cheese (¼ cup Kraft 2% Milk Reduced Fat Sharp Cheddar Cheese had 80 calories and 7 grams of protein)
• 2 eggs easy over (eggs, glorious eggs, 2 large eggs have 156 calories and about 13 grams of protein).  I can add a seemingly decadent slice of bacon (1 medium slice of bacon adds 46 calories and 3 grams of protein).
• Smoked salmon; luckily salt is not an issue for me. (3 oz Kirkland smoked salmon has 165 calories and 19 grams of protein).  I’ll add a fruit or baby carrots to make a meal.
• Trader Joe’s prepared egg white salad with chives (the entire container from Trader Joe’s has 100 calories and 14 grams protein).  I eat the egg salad on celery sticks for crunch, fiber, and resistance.

Lunches/Dinners

• Prepared Grilled Chicken Strips or home-made pan-grilled chicken strips (3 oz Tyson fully cooked chicken breast strips, grilled has 100 calories and 19 grams of protein). If you don’t want to cook, pre-cooked chicken strips are available in most supermarkets these days.  I make my own so I buy the individually packed, raw chicken breasts or tenderloins from Costco; they freeze easily and I make them a batch at a time.  I eat the chicken over salad or with a side of pre-measured barbecues sauce.  I always have cooked chicken in my fridge!  Chicken prepared ahead of time can be used a zillion different ways and is also great to have for my kids.
• Chicken with fresh salsa, low-fat cheese, warmed.  Do you see a theme here? I use the chicken that I already prepared; top it with a few tablespoons of salsa, and ¼ cup low-fat shredded cheese, served over romaine lettuce.  I put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds and I have a warm, hearty, flavorful meal.   
• Chicken sausage (Trader Joes’ Trader Joe’s Chicken Andouille Sausage – 180 calories per link and 21 grams of protein) There are other great one’s out there that I like – Amy’s and Al Fresco are 2 other brands that I’ve found that taste great and are also a good investment of my calories for the protein! I look for at least one gram of protein per 10 calories.  I love these sausages – so tasty.  I’ll eat one alone and I also use them it in all sorts of recipes.
• Trader Joe’s Mahi Burgers.  This is something new that I’m trying this week.  A friend suggested them.  (110 calories and 15 grams of protein per patty)
• Thawed frozen shrimp (4 oz shrimp has 112 calories and 23 grams of protein). I make my own cocktail sauce with organic catsup and horseradish.  Great with celery and carrot sticks; perfect to serve as a high protein, low-cal appetizer when I have company.  I have to be honest here.  I ate shrimp almost every day for breakfast during my first year of lapbanded living. (Yes I said breakfast – whatever works, and that worked for me!  Eventually my colleagues got used to my shrimp for breakfast at work LOL!)
• Costco prepared rotisserie chicken.  No cooking required- woohoo! ( 3 oz of this chicken has 140 calories and 19 grams of protein)
• Morey’s marinated wild salmon filets (6 oz has 245 calories and 30 grams of protein).  This is not one of my staples, but I always have it at Sandi’s.  These frozen filets are individually wrapped and are yummy.

 Snacks.  With my doctor’s approval I use snacks as part of my plan. I try to keep snacks at 100 -125 calories. I ALWAYS include protein for satiety.  Eating fruit alone leaves me feeling hungry.  I have to plan the calories in my snacks into my daily totals.  You can look up the protein and calories for some of these snacks on  sites like calorieking.com or fitday.com.

• ½ cup cottage cheese with  salsa
• 1 – 2 oz turkey breast sliced wrapped around pickle
• Hard-boiled egg and ½ apple
• Lowfat beef jerky
• Low-fat cheese stick with grapes
• Eggplant hummus with carrots and celery.  There’s a big variety in calories in hummus so I’ve learned to read labels very carefully.  I’ve found that the ones with other added vegetables usually have less calories and more flavor.
• Organic chicken broth (warms me up in the winter for only 10 cal/cup). This is a liquid so I don’t drink my chicken broth with solid foods.  Warm and savory.  Sometimes I had red pepper flakes when I’m in the mood for a kick.
• Leftover meat from the night before 1-2 oz (sliced steak, turkey, salmon, roast beef…).  Left-overs work really well for me, but some people have trouble having them around.  If you’re someone who has trouble with leftovers try freezing them in individual portions
• Can of protein drink on the go
• Shelled, frozen edamame 

My shopping List includes:

• Greek Yogurt
• Egg Beaters
• Eggs
• Smoked Salmon
• Bacon
• Turkey Breast
• Frozen Chicken Breast
• Prepared Rotisserie Chicken
• Chicken Sausage
• Trader Joe’s egg white salad
• Mahi Burgers
• Frozen, Cooked Shrimp
• Walnut pieces
• Beef Jerky
• Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (onions, mushrooms, broccoli, lettuce baby carrots, celery  and whatever looks good)
• Frozen Vegetables (spinach, green beans, artichoke hearts)
• Organic, Chicken Broth
• Canned protein drinks (110 calories and 21 grams of protein)
• Pickles
• Salsa
• Hummus
• Catsup
• Prepared Horseradish
• Barbecue Sauce
• Spices

Planning this way helps me ensure that I am getting the protein I need to keep my hunger in check, and the taste I enjoy to keep me happy.  That helps to keep me out of trouble.  I get to enjoy the foods I love.  We’re all different.  Not everyone likes the foods I like!

I hope I gave you some ideas. What are your high quality, high protein, staple foods, and meals?  Please share your favorites on our forums at bandedliving.com.

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