Food/Protein Help PLEASE!!!!!!

Morning guys!!!
SO as far as my weight loss is concerned I am doing great! No complaints there but I must admit I have NOT been doing a good job at getting in my vitamins and making the best food choices (For example I will opt out of many meals and just grab a fruit smoothie from McDonald's or eat a sugar free cookie and go to bed instead of eating dinner.. I know.. Horrible)
I am not much of a cook but I am a decent planner when I apply myself...
Please everybody... Those just starting out.. Newbies... Vets... PLease give me any tips you have for quick and easy, protein rich, breakfasts, snacks, lunches, and dinners. (I dont do well with bread of any sorts)
I also have two young children that eat dinner with me.
What do you eat for breakfast? Lunch? Dinner? Snacks?
Do you still drink protein shakes? If so what kind?
Please help if you can. I dont want to mess up... Not get too goal... Or worst... REGAIN!

Thanks
Kiya

Good Morning Kiya,

I am new to this forum thing. (So bear with me)  However, I had my surgery in April and I have struggled as well.  First off, I drink a protein drink every morning,  It's called - Isopure (40g of protein)... Grape Frost is the best if you like grape.  :)      Otherwise, I have been eating 1/2 of a lunchable* at work - Turkey and Cheese has the highest amount of protein.  Occassionally, I eat the second portion of my lunchable or I eat chicken w a LITTLE gravy for dinner.  I have a husband and 4 children so I totally understand the troubles with this. Since I am soo new to all this I have also been struggling in that area.
 On a side note, I do know that the fruit smoothie at McD's are EXTREMELY high in sugars and you should be really careful with that.   
My doc tells me that I should concentrate more on my protein drink as my "FOOD" and have 3 "snacks" during the day.  Just a thought...
Good luck to you!
Jamie

Thanks for the tips Jamie! I bought some frozen fruit so I plan to make my own smoothies from now on with splenda and protein powder.. THose darn smoothies are soooo good! But I know they are a huge NO NO!

I have two young kids and I cook for them and my husband.  I refuse to make separate meals for myself.  I do the cooking so they are going to eat what I do like it or not lol.  The only difference is they can eat more and they get more grains and stuff like that than I do.  I usually plan my menus out for 2 weeks so when I go shopping I only have to go once and we're good until next payday.  

My breakfast is almost always a protein shake.  My pouch is pissy first thing in the morning and doesn't want food for a few hours. For breakfast the kids usually get yogurt and fruit.  Stonyfield farms has a brand of yogurt called YoBaby and they have two flavors that have veggies added in.  It's one of the many ways I sneak vegetables into their diets.  If I'm in the mood to actually eat I make one piece of french toast using the P28 high protein bread and an egg.  It fills me up and it's a decent source of protein.  I also make oatmeal and add protein powder to it.  

Lunch varies during the week but I usually stick to the same staples.  We eat a lot of Morningstar Farms Vegetarian Chicken patties around here.  They are full of protein and it is yet another way to sneak veggies into the kids' meals.  I also make wraps with WW tortillas, different meats, lettuce, cucumber and a little bit of greek yogurt.  I sometimes make them using leftover meat from the night before and pitas for the kids. 

Snack wise we eat a lot of hummus around here.  When I want something sweet I make a yogurt dip with greek yogurt and then I dip fruit in it.  I also make puddings and add protein to those.  There is a brand of high protein snacks that I love called Kay's Naturals.  I usually have a few bags of those laying around for when I'm on the go and need to eat.  

Dinner varies greatly each night.  Like I said before I plan my menus in advance.  DH and I go over what he may want and then we make our lists.  We have a lot of salmon patties (not deep fried), roasts, pulled pork and pretty much anything I can cook in a crockpot.  With 2 kids under 2 it is so much easier to throw something in the crockpot in the morning and not have to worry about it all day.  We also do a lot of soups with various beans and meats.  Tonight's dinner is a 15 bean soup with ham.  I'll make some broccoli cheddar cornbread for DH and the kids to go along with it.  I always make enough to freeze some.  So, I'll make a small container to be frozen for one day when I don't feel like cooking.  DH usually takes the leftovers to work the next day.

As I stated before I do still drink shakes.  My favorites are BSN Lean Dessert Cinammon Roll, Syntrax Nectar Cherry, Lemonade and Fuzzy Navel.  I also use NOW Foods unflavored whey proteins to add to recipes.

If I were you I would sit down and go over Eggface's and NIk's blogs.  Look for recipes, plan your menus and your grocery lists.  Once you start to get in that habit it's not too hard.  They both have recipes that can be whipped together fairly quickly and are delicious.

WOW! This is great! Thanks for all of the tips! Will go look their now!

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one with a cranky pouch in the morning!  Mine doesn't even like water in the mornings.

Kiya, there is another "worst case scenario" if you do not take your vitamins. Deficiencies of B vitamins and calcium (which we MUST take) can lead to irreversible damage to the nervous system and bones, and my doctor told me that these are often not detectable until it is too late. So get on the vitamin train as soon as you can! I use  a daily pill box ($2 at Walmart) and got 4 of these, so I set up my vitamins a month at a time. Much less hassle all around, and each day I know that the little box had better end up empty!

If you must eat out and do fast food, you do have the option to make wiser choices at many fast food places. Examples are:
Wendy's - chili or a salad with grilled chicken
BK - will do any burger "low carb" in a container with lettuce and tomato. The Angus burger is HUGE. I do recommend draining the burger on a napkin before eating it though.
Subway - will do any sub combination as a salad
Arby's - too salty for my taste, but the roast beef without a bun is an option.
I avoid McDonalds - just don't like their choices.
Instead of a smoothie (which is likely full of hidden sugar) - get a plain iced tea, a decaf coffee, or skim milk (which many FF places have).

With kids, I recommend cooking ahead as much as possible. It will help you plan healthy meals for them (and you) and will very likely also save a few $$! Even long before surgery, I cooked Sunday dinner, and did a full "set up" of meals for Mon. and TUes. Then we had leftovers on Wed., something out of the freezer on Thurs., and ate out on Friday.

I often use a protein shake for breakfast. The Premier Protein shakes available at Costco give 30 gm. of protein and only 5 gm. of carbs - if I have one of these, I KNOW I have a good jump start on protein for the day.

Here are some fast and easy protein meals that I use a lot:
Hard boiled eggs - I prefer to just eat the whites, which is where the protein is anyway
Cottage cheese mixed with a little SF pudding mix (try cheesecake flavor)
String cheese - toss it into my purse
Skim milk
Sliced deli meats
Leftovers from dinner

Today's meals for me will be:
B - protein shake
S - SF hot cocoa
L - Wendy's berry almond salad with grilled chicken, no dressing
S - Dannon LIght & FIt yogurt, blueberries
D - meatloaf (homemade, leftover from Sunday), 1/3 baked sweet potato, steamed summer squash

I do drink a LOT of fluids, and exercise about 6 hours a week.

Thaks a bunch Lynn!
I do set up my vitamins each Sunday and I take them every morning religously! The problem is I ALWAYS forget my PM dose. I have talked to my surgeon about this (Which is why I only do an AM & a PM dose each day) and I still forget!
I have to get better with taking my second dose. It's so important!

I also do NOT drink enough  fluids..
Usually I drink about 32 ounces of liquids a day.

So the Smoothies from McDonal's are definitely out... I just found out that Cold Stone makes a smoothie with Splenda that is only 110 calories... Is that a better option?

I absolutely love meat loaf but I dont do weel with beef at all! And I do not eat pork.

I think I may make white chicken chilli for dinner tonight.. I'm sure the kids would love it!

I also plan to purchase some protein shakes tonight for my breakfast. That should give me a great kick start to my daily protein intake, especially since my pouch doesnt always like food in the morning.

You all have gave me so many great tips!
I appreciate it!

Biggest tip I have for nutrition and money savings is for me TO PLAN.

I try to have food in the house so I am not needing to eat out.  It's better for me and the family.  Early on I did a lot of crock pot meats and vegetables.  Now I like to do alot of grilled meats and salads.

I take my breakfast and lunch and snack to work - and so does my husband.  It beats being hungry at lunch and wondering what you can grab quickly.

Thanks!!!