You can pile on the vegetables with minestrone soup. 

I recently purchased a pasta machine and I'm busy making homemade pasta. 

With homemade, I can control the amount and the thickness of the pasta as well as the ingredients that go into the soup. 

Here's the ingredients you'll need for Minestrone Soup:

• Ham Steak
• Cabbage
• Celery
• Yellow Squash
• Zucchini
• Butternut Squash
• Carrots
• Green Beans
• Onion
• Potatoes
• Cauliflower
• Flat Leaf Parsley
• Pasta (ditalini)
• Plum Tomatoes
• Navy or Cannellini Beans
• Olive Oil
• Thyme
• Oregano 
• Rosemary
• Sea Salt 
• Pepper
• Water

With a little freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for serving, this was a big hit at my house. Yes, we can. We have many more miles to go!

Recently I discovered I liked fennel. Fennel has an "anise" like quality, similar to licorice, but roasted, it doesn't taste anything like licorice. I think it has a mild flavor. 

I roast fennel in the oven with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme until golden brown. That's it. Simple and delicious. 

Fennel doesn't just taste good, but it's also good for you. It has a high concentration of anethole, which has anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. 

Fennel bulbs contain (vitamin B-6), folic acid, niacin, riboflavin, and thiamin, folates, vitamins, A, C, and potassium. It also contains minerals such as copper, iron, calcium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, and selenium. 

So, get cooking, with fennel. 

My new favorite recipe for Brussel sprouts—Caramelized Brussel Sprouts, Plump Golden Raisins, and Toasted Pecans, with a name like that, how can you resist? 

Here's how:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil  
• 8 ounces Brussels sprouts, cored and quartered
• 1/4 cup toasted chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup golden raisins, (soaked in dry white wine for 1 hour—optional)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with the butter or olive oil. Add the sprouts and cook, tossing occasionally, until they begin to wilt, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the pecans and raisins and continue cooking until the sprouts are tender, 3 to 4 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper.  

Note: Soaking the raisins could easily be eliminated, in my opinion, it wasn't necessary.

Recipe from Hook, Line, and Dinner.

I have loved root vegetables ever since I was a small child, but as time goes on, I keep falling in love with them over and over again.

Several years ago I began roasting vegetables in the oven with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a few simple seasonings or seasoning salts. Several months ago roasting root vegetables took on a whole new dimension when I discovered I could also roast turnips, parsnips, and red and golden beets. (I love the way the red from the beets kisses the other vegetables with just a hint of pink!) Throwing in a few cubes of white and sweet potatoes is fun—and if I'm feeling a little sassy—I toss in a few bits of butternut squash and sprinkle on a little thyme. Oh, I'm in heaven!

I have always enjoyed cookbooks, but recently I have been inspired to cook and my cookbook craze is in full swing. Although I get a lot of my recipes from magazines, friends, television, and the internet (including Pinterest), it seems I never tire of spending an afternoon with a cup of hot tea and a plethora of the hardbound varieties.

Weight-loss surgery is no excuse for not enjoying food or cooking. Most recipes can be adapted to fit bariatric guidelines. I've learned to substitute ingredients such as stock or broth for oil when sautéing vegetables or fish. Culprits such as dressings and sauces can most often be served on the side. 

In the beginning, just after surgery, I leaned closely to the old familiar recipes I used from old "dieting" cookbooks. Soon I moved to the ones that offered lighter versions of old favorites. Although I still enjoy those from time to time I have become more comfortable at adapting recipes from a few of the newest additions in my collection such as this one—"Purple Citrus and Sweet Perfume", "What Katie Ate", and (although I've been married for over 37 years) "The Newlywed Cookbook."

Although cookbooks have many recipes that can't be adapted to become bariatric friendly, I can still enjoy preparing them for friends, dinner parties, and gatherings, or just looking at them in the photos. (Which brings me to my first consideration when selecting a cookbook—each recipe must have a photo.) They say you eat with your eyes first...(and although I do take a bite from time to time), sometimes it's the only way to "eat them". So find a new cookbook (or an old favorite) and enjoy!

(see more of what in my reading stack in "the reading room" section on the left side bar)