ObesityHelp

Advise to Newbies...
Welcome to ObesityHelp & to the IN board. Congrats on making the first step..the decision to improve your health! That is a biggie step right there. 

The first step would definitely be to talk with your PCP. With your old insurance, did you regularly see your PCP? Most insurance will require that you have had 6 months of PCP supervised dieting. For some (mine), seeing the PCP regularly while on his plan is enough. For others, they want you to go to a regular weight loss center. You may also be required to go see a dietician. Some require proof of long-term obesity (+5 yrs) (my old PCP lost my records so I submitted a statement from where I work for my annual physicals/weights there). Some like to see a journal of some sort of your own efforts (I submitted one on my food and exercise which I had done in Excel). Each insurance has their own little tweaks of what they want. And the tweaks are often governed by the employer they are contracted with. I also have BCBS but their contract with my employer may differ than the one they have with yours.

After you have all of your stuff together, then it's time to think of who, where, and what. All three of these are often tied in together. The most common WLS is probably RNY. Duodenal Switch is fairly new but terrific for those who are super morbidly obese (*came out ~1987, came to Indy area ~early 2005). And then there's lap band...which can be a very effective tool, but you have to be strict with yourself...whereas with RNY & DS, your pouch is strict with you. The best way to decide is researching all three procedures. Yes, there's a 4th (VBG...Vertical Banded Gastroplasty) but so many people have had problems with it that I'm not giving it the time of day...k? All surgeons don't do all procedures. For instance, Dr. Inman is the only one I know who does the DS. Most do the RNY and some still do the lap band. Also consider the hospital you'll be staying at post-op. How to decide????

There is a ton of information on here about each procedure. Read up on each. Check members profiles and those who are POST-OP, write them and ask them all the ?? you have. I say post-op because the pre-ops just have an idea of how it SHOULD be, not how it was. JoMac would be an excellent lap-band resource person. Several of us would be good for RNY. Be sure to ask about complications as well. They DO happen. We all like to think that they won't happen to 'ME'. But they do. Read my profile. But...I would do it again in a heartbeat. Once you decide what procedure you want, then start checking out the surgeons & hospitals. The reviews on here can be a great place to start. If you see where someone has had a certain surgeon, contact them and ask them their opinion about the surgery, complications, hospital, was their laparoscopic or did it end up being open, etc. On the board, just about everyone will say 'my surgeon is the best'...so if you want to improve the chances of getting straightforward talk, send them a note through 'contact'. I would contact more than one person for each surgeon. Some people have negative attitudes about everything and I'd hate to see you get a slanted opinion because you happen to have wrote one of them. Also, try to ask one who isn't too far post-op (~6 months) and one who is quite abit out (+2 yrs). It's good to get the short term and long term opinions.

Once you decide on who, go have a consult with them. Be sure they are one you can talk easily & open with. If not, consider a 2nd consult with someone else. Their office should help guide you through the insurance approval process. Once you are approved (2 days to 4 weeks), they will set you up for the surgery, pre-op testing, etc. The pre-op testing to be sure you're healthy enough for surgery and that there won't be any surprises. You'll probably also have a dietician class in which they'll give you your post-op instructions for a healthier lifestyle. Then, it's wait for the surgery date.

A little pre-op poem for you....
Twas the Morn of the surgery;
And it's time to go.
I have butterflies in my tummy;
I wonder, does it show?

My surgeon's the best;
So I know things will be fine;
So why are these doubts;
In the back of my mind?

I had to say good-bye;
To friends so dear.
My sugar, my carbs;
My fats, my (root ) beer.

A brand new life;
Is waiting I know.
But food was my best friend;
And now it must go.

Today is the start;
Of finding the healthy me.
So I'll shove out the jitters;
And let the surgery be.


Post-op, you will absolutely hate the first 4-6 weeks. Period. You are learning how to drink water all over again. Sip, Sip, Sip. I think of it like pouring water in a funnel. Once you master what speed you can pour the water in without it wanting to come back out at you, you're all set with getting in your liquids. You're also trying to find a protein drink that your taste buds will approve of. Don't try to do this pre-op as your taste buds change. And then there's meals. 1-2 oz seems like so little when you're pre-op, but post-op? It's all you can do to convince yourself to pick up that spoon some days. It doesn't help that the food choices are very limited. They have to be. You have the size of a pouch of a newborn and it has just had major surgery on it. You have to feed it gently. As you get further out, you will be able to enjoy food again...just not in the quantities you did pre-op...and hopefully, prepared in a healthier manner. In between all of this, you are also learning to take your vitamins. These are a MUST. Your body can no longer break down the food to give you all the nutrients you need so you must get them from supplements. If you aren't willing to do this, do NOT even have the surgery. 

When you are about 2 hours post-op, the nurses will (should anyway) get you out of bed to walk. That is starting you on a healthy beginning. 

There are three main components of losing weight: PEW. Protein, Exercise, Water. Be sure you get in plenty of all three and you will have a successful weight loss journey.

What can you do in the meantime???? It never hurts to start a healthy lifestyle. I would recommend you joining SparkPeople.com. Complete your profile & goals on there. Make your goals reasonable!! No more than 2 lbs a week pre-op is reasonable. Let it help guide you. One thing I cannot stress enough, drink at least eight 8oz glasses of water a day, every day. Water flushes out the fats. It also keeps you from being dehydrated. Once a person gets dehydrates, liquids can make them queezy (and lightheaded and a host of other problems). The more queezy, the more dehydrated. It's a vicious cycle. Don't let it start. 

Stop smoking (if you do). A smoker heals slower and has more complications than a non-smoker. Once you quit, stay off of them...you never know when you may have to have additional surgeries (again, see my profile). 

Stop the coffee. Caffeine stimulates your appetite as well as dehydrates you. You don't need either thing going on. For each ounce of caffeinated drink a person has, they need to drink 2 oz of water (in addition to the 64 oz) to make up for it. So...a 12 oz can of soda? Even if it is sugar-free but not decaf? You have to drink 24 oz of water in addition to the 64 for a total of a minimum of 88 oz of water that day. Do yourself a favor and drink sugar-free decaf or water. Post-op, you'll be instructed not to drink pop for 6-12 months post-op. The carbonation can cause problems for your pouch. I'm 3 yrs post-op and carbonation still doesn't set right in my tummy..

I think that about covers everything. Most of all though, have a good support system in place. You made the right first step...you sought advise on here. It's a great bunch of people here and they don't mind helping in any manner. We often have get togethers, etc. You are welcome to join in. Or if you are going to be somewhere on a certain day/time (say...TGIF at ___ this Friday at 6 pm), post on here and chances are great that you'll get a few people who are able to meet you there. We are definitely NOT an online only board!

Again, Welcome!

Sherri
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......Recipes....
Plateau Buster
How to break a plateau, but wait until you have a true plateau..which is 6 full weeks at a stall.
#1 - Do this for 10 days to break a plateau
#2 - Drink 2 quarts of water a day
#3 - You must have 45 grams of protein supplement and all your vitamins/minerals supplements each day
#4 - You may consume up to 3 oz of the following high protein foods, 5x a day
beef
pork
chicken
turkey
lamb
fish
eggs
low fat cheese
cottage cheese
plain yogurt or artificially sweetened
peanut butter
beans/legumes

You may also have:
sugar free popsicles
tea or coffee
sugar free soda
sugar free jello
broths/boullion
crystal light drinks

#5 - If it's not on the list, you can't have it for 10 days!!!!
#6 - Keep a food diary and try to get up to 30 mins of exercise daily

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WLS Friendly Recipes
Here's the recipe for the no-bakes as was given to me by my sister Cindy..who had her WLS November 2003. I think the next batch I make I'm going to try replacing a small portion (1/2 c maybe) of the oats with Flax seed to give it a little more fiber.

No Bake Cookies
3 c quick oats
2/3 c peanut butter
2 c splenda
*1/4 c sugar (Cindy thinks they are a little bitter if you omit this..so I never tried it without adding it)
1/2 c low fat butter (1 stick)
1/2 c milk (skim)
1/3 c HERSHEY's cocoa (Cindy has tried other brands and they just didn't taste as good)
2 tsp vanilla

Measure out oats & peanut butter & set aside.
Combine splenda, sugar, butter, milk, cocoa, Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring to a rolling boil then remove from heat. Add oats, peanut butter, and vnilla. Stir quickly and mix well. Immediately drop by heaping tsp onto wzx paper or foil. Cool. Makes 2-4 dozen...depending on size of cookie.
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SF...Flour-less Peanut butter cookies
1 c Splenda
1 c Peanut Butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Mix well, spoon onto cookie sheet. I smash them down with a fork to give them that 'peanut butter cookie' appearance. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 for 15 minutes. Let cool thoroughly on a rack before storing.
Yield: Depends on size of cookie, usually ~12-18 cookies per batch.
For nutritional info, add the values for the PB you used plus that for 1 egg, divide by # of cookies. Mine are usually ~90 calories/cookie...although, I do think that some of the fat from the peanut butter cooks off because you can see the greasiness on the cookie sheet.
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SF Chocolate Eclairs
Dough
1/2 c water
1/4 c butter
1/2 c flour
2 eggs
Vanilla Filling
1-1/4 c cold fat-free milk
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 pk (1 oz) sf instant vanilla pudding mix
1 c fat-free whipped topping (*they just came out with SF Cool Whip)
Chocolate topping
1-1/2 c cold fat-free milk
1 pk (1.4 oz) sf instant chocolate pudding mix

For dough, bring water & butter to a boil. Add flour all at once, stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from heat & allow to stand for 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue to beat until mixture is smooth & shiney. Transfer to a resealable plastic bag, seal. Cut a 1" hole in one corner of bag. Pipe eight 3-1/2" logs onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 450 for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 400, bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Transfer to a wie rack. IMMEDIATELY cut a slit to allow steam to escape (I used a pair of kitchen shears for this in order to do it fast). Cool completely. Split and set tops aside. Remove inside soft dough if needed. (I didn't need to)
For filling, beat milk, vanilla, vanilla pudding mix until thickened with a mixer on low speed (~2 minutes). Fold in whipped topping.
For topping, Mix for 2 minutes or until thickened on low speed milk & chocolate pudding mix.
Assemble by spooning vanilla pudding mixture on top of bottom dough layer, add top top layer, top with chocolate topping.
* If you make more than one batch, I wouldn’t double the chocolate topping or you are going to end up with A LOT left over. For every 3 batches, I’d double the topping recipe instead of tripling it.
yield: 8
1 eclair = 170 calories, 7 g fat, 70 mg cholosterol, 418 mg sodium, 19 g carbs, 6 g protein
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No-Bake Strawberry dessert
1 load (10-1/2 oz) angel food cake, cut into 1" cubes
2 pk (.3 oz each) SF strawberry gelatin
2 c boiling water
1 pk (20 oz) frozen unsweetened strawberries, thawed
2 c 1% milk
1 pk (1 oz) SF instant vanilla pudding mix
1 carton (8 oz) frozen reduced fat whipped topping, thawed

Arange cake cubes in a single layer in a 13"x9"x2" dish. In a bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water, stir in strawberries. Pour over cake and gently press cake down. Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.
In a bowl, whisk milk & pudding mix for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Spoon over gelatin layer. Spread with whipped topping. Refrigerate until serving.
Yield: 20 servings
1 serving = 92 calories, 2 g fat, 2 mg cholesterol, 172 mg sodium, 16 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein
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I didn't dump or have any problems with any of these. Remember, if use lower (or higher) calorie items than what is listed above, adjust the serving nutritional items as needed. Myself, I used light butter instead of regular, I'll use SF when-ever possible (like the Cool Whip) and fat free milk instead of 1%.
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No-Pasta Alfredo

Brown:
2 onions, chopped
mushrooms (fresh or can)
4-5 cloves garlic
May add additional garlic powder to kick it up, if desired
Olive oil (just enough to keep food from sticking)

When onions are sauteed, add ~2 lbs of meat (I usually use either chicken breast or seafood).

While the above is cooking, cut 1 spaghetti squash in half, length-wise. Remove seeds (I use a set of kitchen shears to help me do this). Wrap each half in seran wrap so that the entire half is fully wrapped. Microwave each half for ~10 minutes.

Using a fork, removed 'spaghetti', add to meat mixture.

In a separate pan, warm up 1-2 jars of Ragu Light Parmasean Sauce. When hot, add to first pan. Stir well, then put all into a baking dish.

Top with small bag of Kraft 2% Mozzarella cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with oregano.

For serving, I like Kraft light parmasean cheese.

*When I fix this at home from just Bill & I, I usually omit the cheese & oregano. I also usually only use 1 jar of the sauce. Sorry, this one I didn't measure to be able to say 'use # cups of ....'
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Dawns Mint Chocolate Cheesecake
1 Package s/f double fudge dipped mint Murrays Cookies-crushed
2 philly cream cheese fat-free boxes
1 tub cool-whip lite or s/f
2 boxes Jello pudding s/f cheesecake flavored
4 c Skim Milk

Put crushed cookies on bottom of 9x13 pan (save back some cookie crumbs to garnish).
In mixing bowl whip together the cream cheese and the cool-whip, then add the jello pudding mix, and 4 c, mix together.
Pour pudding mixture over cookie crust.
Can also use this same mixture but replace the mint cookies with fudge dipped s/f graham cookies (Murray's) or sf Oreo’s and/or top with lite cherries.
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3-4 zuchinni quartered and diced
1 yellow squash quartered and diced
1/4 c (about) onion
either steam all of the above or saute in nonstick skillet until tender crisp..no need to use any oil the water from the veggies will "steam" them.

2 eggs beaten
1 c (or more) cottage cheese
1 c (more or less) monterey jack cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Mix the above and stir in veggies. Pour into casserole. Top with 1 cup Pepperidge Farms Herb stuffing mix tossed with about 2T melted butter. Sprinkle topping over veggie mix. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly and top is browned.

This gives you protein from the eggs, cottage cheese and cheese. You could do this without using the stuffing mix, but that's what makes it taste so good, and you really aren't getting that many carbs with them.
Like I said before this isn't an exact measurment recipe, you can adjust according to your taste.

Another good thing I've done with zuchinni is to slice it like you are going to fry it, place the slices on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper and bake in a hot oven, like 400-450 ish until they are browned and a little crispy. Delish!!
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Taco Dip

Ingredients:
1 Can Refriend beans
1 C. Lite Sour Cream
1/2 C. Lite Miracle Whip
1 Packet Taco Seasoning
1 bag of 2% milk shredded Mexican Cheese.
About 10 grape tomatos sliced
1 small can of sliced black olives
About 4 "stalks" of green onion sliced.
1 foil pizza pan

Recipe:
Mix sour cream, miracle whip, and taco seasoning together. Set aside. On foil pizza pan, cover with refriend beans. Next layer the sour cream and miracle whip concoction. Next layer with cheese. Place slices of tomato, black olives around the top. Sprinkle with sliced green onion.

Can be served with raw vegetables, baked tortilla chips (I prefer the bite size.) Or Try spreading on a FlatOut Flat Bread.
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Fruit Cocktail Snack Cake

Ingredients:
1 large egg
1 c Splenda
1-15 ounce can fruit cocktail (I use Del Monte’s Carb select), minus 2 tablespoons of the juice
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 ¼ c all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF. Coat an 8” square pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl beat egg, Splenda, and fruit cocktail with a hand mixer until smooth.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together dry ingredients.
4. Fold dry ingredients into fruit cocktail mixture with a whisk; then add vanilla extract.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until top springs back when touched. Cool & serve.

Serves Nine
Per serving (Calculated using fruit cocktail in light syrup. Calories, etc will be lower if the Del Monte Carb select Fruit cocktail is used instead.)
Calories: 110
Carbs: 23 g
Protein: 3 g
Fat: 1g (0 saturated)
Fiber: 1 g
Sodium: 200 milligrams

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Easy Pear Crisp

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake time: 40-50 minutes

1/2 c Splenda granular, divided
3 graham crackers
1/4 c light butter
4 tbsp all purpose flour, divided
2 tsp ground cinamon, divided
3 c Barlett pears, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp water

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 8x8" baking dish with PAM
Place 1/4 c Splenda, graham crackers. light butter, 2 tbsp flour, and 1 tsp cinnamon in bowl of food processor. Blend until crumbly.

Toss remaining Splenda, flour, cinnamon, pears, lemon juice, and water until fruit is evenly coated. Place in prepared baking pan. Cover with crumb topping.

Bake 40-45 minutes or until bubbling around edges. Serve warm.

Makes 6 servings (2 1/2" squares)

Nutrients per serving:

Calories:  130
Total fat:  5 g
Calories from Fat:  40
Saturated fat:  2.5 g
Cholesterol:  15 mg
Sodium:  70 mg
Total carbohydrates:  22 g
Dietary fiber:  3g
Sugars:  9g
Protein:  2g

For weight watchers; Exchanges: 1/2 starch, 1 fat, 1 fruit

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Cheesecake Puffs

2-3 boxes of Phillo Pre-made/pre-baked mini crusts 

4 oz tub-style light cream cheese
4 oz fat-free cream cheese, at room temp
1/2 c sour cream
1/4 c Splenda
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 c light whipped topping 

Optional: Fruit or sugar-free jam/jelly to add to the top of each. Hint: some restaurants have the little containers of jam/jelly in sugar-free varieties. Instead of leaving them on the table when they come with your eggs, bring them home! The blackberry jam that I had gotten and brought home made a yummy cheesecake flavor! Each one of those containers has enough in it to give  ~4-6 puffs a little flavor dallop!

At low speed, cream together the cream cheeses. Add sour cream and Splenda. Beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Fill each mini-crust. Top with fruit, jam, or jelly if desired.
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Steak Appetizers

Many post-ops avoid beef because it is higher in fat than poultry & fish. They also avoid it because it can be hard to chew...and therefore, harder to keep down. This recipe should help with both of those issues and give you a sence that you got to have steak again! 

Steak:  First, choose a thin sliced cut. Since you are going to marinate it over night, it really doesn't matter if it's a chuck steak or a New York strip. Both will end up equally tender! The less fat, the better...but I always try to cut away the excess fat before cooking it so I be sure the fat would be easy to cut away and not marbled & ingrained into the meat. For this, I also buy boneless. For 48 appetizers, I used ~4 pounds of steak (3 steaks that were ~10"x6"x1/2").

Marinade:  What you choose to marinade your steak in is up to you...and what you basically have on hand. I'll put what I used, but feel free to substitute it! 
Steak rub:  I VERY liberally coated both sides of all the steak pieces and then placed in a plastic container.
Then add:  
1 chopped onion
2 tablespoons minced garlic (I buy the jars of garlic at Kroger rather than having to peel the cloves each time...WAY easier to use!)
1 can beef broth (can use beef boulon diluted in 1 c of water instead)
1 bottle of BEER (yes, beer! It is the absolute best tenderizer I have found so mooch one of your hubby's football stash! Since Bill doesn't watch football nor does he drink beer, we keep some on hand JUST to cook with! this does not have to be high quality beer...get the cheep stuff! By the way..any meat that you prepare by boiling the meat first..I do any meat I'm barbequeing so chicken, pork chops, ribs, etc...boil them first in beer and they will be extra tender! Don't worry about the alcohol. It all cooks out so no alcohol makes it to the body.). 
Cover. Place in refrigerator for overnight (or at least 6 hours).

Won-ton crusts:  1 pk (~48 won-tons). I haven't been able to find these at Kroger's at all. If you do, let me know what section to look in! I can get them however at the WalMart Neighborhood store in the produce department by the tofu. Spray a mini-muffin pan with PAM (plain or canola oil flavor). With a pastry brush (or a NEW paint brush), thinly coat 1 side of the won-ton with Canola Oil. Press down into the muffin tin. The sides will fold over each other a little bit. Repeat until muffin pan is full. Sprinkle each lightly with salt. Bake at 375 for 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove, cool thoroughly, and set aside. Repeat until all the won-tons are bake.

The next day.....
In a large skillet saute:  
4 medium onions, chopped
3 cans mushrooms, drained, chopped 
1 tbsp minced garlic
Canola Oil, ~1/4 cup or enough to not burn the veggies but not enough so they are swimming in it either (I don't really measure this, can you tell?....lol)

While this veggies are cooking, remove steak from marinade. On cutting board, remove any excess fat. It should be fairly easy to do. Slice the meat in ~1/4" strips, then cut the strips into ~1/4" pieces. When all the meat is cut, add to the veggie skillet. Continue to cook, stirring ~5 minutes or so, until steak is done. Then add 1/2 bottle of Heintz 57 sauce. Allow to simmer an additional 10 minutes. Spoon steak mixture into prepared won-ton cups.

Optional:  When I served these, I had added a little bit of Frenches fried onions to the top. When I reheated a few at home, I also added a small dallop of fat-free sour cream. Both equally yummy!
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Sugar-Free Peanut Butter/Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats

Ingredients
10 oz sugar-free Marshmallows*
6 c Rice Crispy cereal
4 Tbsp Light Butter**
3/4 c low fat peanut butter (all of them have basically the same things on their nutritional values, so your choice)

* I used 5 pkg per batch. PerfectlySweet.com and BariatricEating.com both have sugar-free marshmallows in ~2.6-2.7 oz pkgs. That BE ones are larger..but don't melt as easily as the PS ones.I keep the BE ones for sf Schmores in the summer and the PS ones to cook with and for my hot chocolate.

** I use Land O'Lakes butter so the nutritional values are based on that.

Instructions
Prepare large cake pan by lining with Seran Wrap. 

Melt butter in large pot. Once melted, add onr package of marshmallows. Stir until melted. Then add next package. Repeat until all the marshmallows are melted. Add peanut butter. Stir until well blended, remove from heat. Add rice crispies. Mix until all cereal is coated well.

Pour out into prepared pan. Gently smash the cereal down to level the mix in the pan. Do not smash down too hard or treats will be too dense. 

Set pan aside.

For chocolate topping
1 pkg bittersweet dark chocolate chips***
1 tsp light butter
2-3 tbsp skim milk

 ***I used organic ones (available at Kroger in 16 oz packages)...not sugar-free, but very low in sugar! You can add some Splenda if you wanted to take out some of the 'bitter' in the 'bittersweet'. Myself, I think with the 'sweet' from the treat, the 'bitter' balaces off good...but bittersweet & Dark chocolate isn't for everyone. So...you can also get sugar-free milk chocolate for baking from PerfectlySweet.com (no, I don't own stock in PS...but they are an excellent source for sugar-free stuff!).

Instructions

I don't have a double boiler. If you do, use it. I place a large saucepan in my big soup pot..with the soup pot 3/4 full of water. I add the butter to the sauce pan and allow it to melt. Then I add the skim milk, mix, add the chocolate. Stir frequently until all the chips are melted (I use a nylon whisk once it is all melted to ensure I have it all mixed well). I have found that the addition of the butter & milk helps the chips to melt quicker and spread easier.

Pour chocolate mixture on top of the rice crispy treats. Spread out over the entire top. Set aside to cool completely. I set my pan in the freezer...it helps with the cutting!

Once cooled (or frozen), Using the bottom of a 2nd pan or a cake board which has also been covered in Seran Wrap, remove crisps from pan, using the Seran wrap to help do this. Then flip it back so that the chocolate side is facing up. Place onto large cutting board. Cut into squares. 

This recipe is for 24 servings. The nutritional values are based on that...and just for the treats alone...not for the chocolate topping..since it all depends on what chips you use as to the effect they will have on the values. Remember though that if you use 16 oz..and you DO make your squares to where you have 24 servings, you will be getting in less than 1 oz per serving..which, most chocolate chip food labels are based on 1 oz servings. So..you'll have less than that in addition to what is below. I had cut mine up in about 35 servings per batch for the clothing exchange...so what you had was LESS than what is listed below.

Nutritional Value
Calories: 93
Fat: 4 g
Protein: 2 g
Sugar: Not available through Fitday (where I calculated the values) but only had what little sugar was in the peanut butter.
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Reeces Pudding

I used the Pampered Chef Trifle bowl.
3 large mixing bowls, 2 whisks, spatulas, measuring cup

3 pk sf chocolate creme filled cookies (I didn't use Oreo brand but the cheaper ones)
4 pk of instant cheesecake pudding mix
3 pk of chocolate fudge pudding mix
1 c peanut butter
1 large container of sf or fat-free cool whip: set aside 1 cup
7 c skim milk
1 pk sugar-free peanut butter cups

In 1 mixing bowl: Crush cookies

In 2nd mixing bowl: Whisk together 3 pk chocolate pudding mix & 3c milk.Then fold in half of remaining cool whip.

In 3rd mixing bowl: Whisk together 4 pk cheesecake pudding mix & 4 c milk. Add peanut butter and mix well then fold in remaining half of cool whip.

Spread evenly in trifle bowl:  1/4 of cookies, 1/3 of light pudding, 1/2 of dark pudding. 
Then repeat with cookies, light pudding, then dark pudding.
Then repeat with cookies (leave ~1/2 cup), light pudding.
Top with the 1 c of cool whip that was set aside and then sprinkle on the cookies that was held back. Unwrap & decorate with peanut butter cups
* I have also layered the chocolate and peanut butter puddings in phillo cups (available in freezer section already baked & ready to use), then topped with a sf Reeces cup.
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Chicken & Spanish Rice

Cut down for family serving...for large gathering I times it by 4.

Pressure cook 1.25 lb chicken in chicken broth. Cool well. De-skin and de-bone. Add 1 can of Mexican style stewed tomatoes, 1 pk of taco seasoning, heat until hot, set aside.

Prepare 1 box of rice-a-roni Spanish Rice as on box. I use the Mexican style stewed tomatoes. When done, mix with chicken mixture. Pour all into a long cake pan which has been strayed with PAM. Top with taco cheese. Bake until cheese is melted.
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