Friday, December 28, 2018

How Do People Do It? (And some really yummy chili, too!)

So I decided to pop in here and maybe do a little blog post since I knew it had been a minute since I'd last done so. Imagine my surprise when I discovered my last entry was almost two years ago? I mean, 22 months is close enough to say "almost two years," right?

How do people keep up with blogs? I, apparently, suck at this. Two years? Geez!!

So, what's been going on with me over the last almost two years? I'm so glad you asked.

Yeah, I've been on diets.. but there's a whole lot more to tell. Want the Reader's Digest version?

Here goes.

Feb 2017 I ended up having to leave my 17-year teaching career due to health issues... I suddenly couldn't walk into my classroom without having a panic attack. On top of that, major depression hit me hard. This all started in Sept 2016, but by Feb 2017 I had to officially walk away.

March 2017 I took a temp job making a whole lot less, but I wasn't having daily panic attacks. That's a bonus!

Rest of the year... work, diet, work, forget about diet, work, diet.... you get the idea. Not a whole lot to talk about.

Dec 2017 I was offered a permanent position with my company.

Jan 2018 I officially started with my new company and making a little bit more money, but still not what I was making teaching. Bummer on that, but it's a good job... and I'm not having daily panic attacks still. No complaints at all from me!

March 2018 Since I started my new job, I was able to pick up my own medical insurance. My husband's insurance is good, but the insurance I was able to pick up covers something my husband's doesn't. Weight Loss Surgery. Yep. I did it. On March 15th I started the process to get WLS. My starting weight was 317 pounds.

July 2018  The 18th, to be exact, I had a procedure called the duodenal switch. Best decision ever! I lost 20 pounds during the pre-op clearances and MD supervised nutrition/physical activiity monitoring, so the day of surgery I was 297 pounds.

December 2018 This morning I weighed in at 225.6 pounds. I am down roughly 92 pounds overall, 72 of that since surgery. I feel so much better. I was a size 26/28 when I started this journey. Now, depending on the clothing, I'm wearing either 14/16 or 18/20.



So, there ya go! The last two years in a (really big) nutshell.

Now, I want to share with you a recipe that I made a whole heck of a lot during my pre-op phase. I ate it almost daily. I'm going to be making up a big ol' batch of it this weekend... I call it "Tricia's Chili." I mean, hey... why not? Also, I'm not really original with names.

I don't really know where I got the recipe. I kinda adapted it from some other recipes I found online. I make it two different ways... one way with all ground beef and Ro-Tel tomatoes, and another way with ground beef and bulk sausage, but with diced tomatoes. I'll share both.

Tricia’s Chili

·        2 lbs of ground beef... I use 1 lb ground beef & 1 lb of Jimmy Dean Hot sausage
·        Garlic salt, to taste
·        2 cloves garlic, chopped
·        2 tbsp olive oil
·        1 ½ cups onion, diced (about 1 large onion)
·        ½ cup chopped celery, about 1 stalk
·        1 ½ cups carrots, peeled and diced (about 4 medium carrots)
·        3 bell pepper, diced  – 1 each red, yellow, orange
·        4 cups zucchini, diced (about 2-3 medium zucchinis)
·        1 15oz can tomato sauce
·        1 15oz can diced tomatoes
·        3 tbsp chili powder
·        2 tsp ground cumin
·        1 tbsp oregano
·        1 tbsp basil
·        1 tsp sage
·        ½ - 1 tsp salt, to taste
·        1 tsp pepper
·        1 tsp onion powder
·        ½ tsp cayenne pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you like)
·        Chicken broth (or broth of choice)

1.     Season meat with garlic salt and cook beef until browned. Drain. Set aside.
2.     Add oil and garlic to skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes, and then add onion, celery, carrots, bell pepper, and seasonings to skillet. Cook until translucent over medium-high heat, about 5-7 minutes. Add zucchini and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Be sure to mix well so that seasonings coat the veggies.

3.     Add the meat, tomato sauce, and tomatoes and stir well. Add broth to desired liquid level. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and stir for another 20 minutes.  Stir every few minutes. I often cook longer to get the veggies good and tender.

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     Version 2...  here are the ingredients... instructions are the same as above..


·        2 pounds of ground beef, 93% lean
·        Garlic salt, to taste
·        2 cloves garlic, chopped
·        2 tbsp olive oil
·        1 ½ cups onion, diced (about 1 large onion)
·        1 cup chopped celery, about 2 stalks
·        1 ½ cups carrots, peeled and diced (about 4 medium carrots)
·        3 bell pepper, diced  – 1 each red, yellow, orange
·        4 cups zucchini, diced (about 2-3 medium zucchinis)
·        1 15oz can tomato sauce
·        2 10oz can Ro-Tel tomatoes
·        3 tbsp chili powder
·        2 tsp ground cumin
·        1 tbsp oregano
·        1 tbsp basil
·        1 tsp sage
·        ½ - 1 tsp salt, to taste
·        1 tsp pepper
·        1 tsp onion powder
·        ½ tsp cayenne pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you like)
·         2 cups Chicken broth (or broth of choice)

      

Sorry I don't have any better photos... I don't usually do the recipe thing. I'll try to do better. LOL


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