Years before I ever thought about having gastric bypass surgery I always sought out the "real" egg restaurant fare. It all started with one of my children. When we would eat the "other" eggs at fast food places he would have a tummy ache. Moral of this story: look for the real thing. 

So let's talk about breakfast at the golden arches.  Yes, I've done the research...and the eggs in the McGriddles and McMuffins are real eggs, they are not cooked in the McDonald's restaurant, but rather cooked and shaped in the processing plant, then shipped in little squares to the store. The individual restaurants heat the eggs up on the grill before serving. This information came from a store manager.  

The eggs are perfectly round because they are cooked in a ring-shaped mold. The grill is sprayed with margarine to prevent sticking, then the eggs are cracked into individual rings, covered with a lid, and cooked until the yolk is gelled.

Their scrambled eggs are a liquid egg mixture from a carton, no different than what you would buy from the grocery store.  I take this to mean; they are real eggs, just scrambled, then packaged and shipped to the restaurant, so they are ready for fast service. 

Now, this morning was just a McDonald's kind of morning. OK...I know, it's "fast food" but I have a two year old grandson, and breakfast today on the way to preschool was just looking more and more like a good "McDonald's for breakfast" idea.  And yes, this is real life, and sometimes you just have to do these things. Gavin loves to go for hot cakes at "ole McDonalds"! Besides, I had to take along a healthy snack and juice and "good ole, "ole McDonald's" has sliced apples, which I didn't have time to fix either! Breakfast is the only meal I eat at McDonald's, so enough excuses...let's do breakfast.

I looked at the nutrition information on the back of the serving paper that comes on the tray.  "I'm lovin' it" that this information is so accessible.  (By the way, all restaurants will be required to do this soon, or at least calorie counts, I wonder if our food industry will make changes when they have to reveal calorie counts and will honesty prevail?) whoops...back on the topic...breakfast at Mickey D's...

The nutrition information...the Egg McMuffin and Sausage McMuffin are the only items under 400 calories. The Egg McMuffin is 300 calories with half the fat of the sausage, and it also has a little more protein. Don't be think'n about switch'n the muffin, 'cause the biscuit choices run from 410 to 600 calories. Well, if you eat half, I suppose, but for hypoglycemia in my case,  the white flour items wouldn't be a good idea, but then again, neither would the muffin.  

The best choice is the Egg McMuffin with the real egg, canadian bacon, (kraft) cheese slice, and you could remove the bread, or at least half.  And kudos to McDonald's, they have apples slices, which is a great choice, "I'm lovin' it"!

But now, Gavin and I have the Big Breakfast with Hot Cakes and a biscuit for a grand total of 1090 calories. Yep! We go big! 56 grams of fat! uhgggg!  And oh no, I don't eat all that...together we don't even eat all that!

"I'm lovin' it", I didn't have to cook or clean up breakfast and we got to school on time! Gavin gets the hot cakes, that's all two year olds care about anyway!  As a "somewhat" responsible grandmother, I do make sure he gets milk and as much egg and sausage as he will eat.  That, by the way, leaves me plenty of egg. Real egg, and 1/2 the sausage patty. Oh...and I did take a few bites of his potato cake, which he refers to as "chicken". In all the confusion, I forgot to order myself the apple slices...great option instead of the breads...I'm lovin' it!

At home I usually eat turkey sausage, so McDonald's is my rare splurge...but McDonald's has one really big thing going for it in my opinion...their sausage....Oh, their sausage!!! Best I can tell, they get their sausage from Brooks Sausage Company...I wish I knew where it was available to cook at home...well, on the other hand...maybe I don't need that information! By my calculation my breakfast was under 300 calories. The key to having that extra splurge is keeping the portion low (especially with the sausage) and substituting the breads. 

Here are my personal suggestions:

• During my weight loss phase I would have ordered the egg and canadian bacon. Maybe eating 1/2 the bread or a better choice would be the apple slices.
• During maintainance I could eat the bacon or sausage, just less sausage. Maybe half the bread or choose apple slices instead.  
• Because of my hypoglycemia, I avoid the white breads, biscuits and hot cakes and replace with the apples. (not apple juice, too much sugar, and apples have great fiber).  I can have hot cakes, the key for me is keeping my carb count around 15 to 20 carbs per meal, which in this case would be 1/2 of a 3" apple, or 2/3 of a 6" hot cake) 

To make my 8:30am McDonalds breakfast even happier, I didn't have a blood sugar low. I made it all the way 'til lunch at 12:30. Now that is what I call a happy meal.  

 Now, you too can have happy meal at McDonald's...yes we can, we have many more meals to go! 

One of the challenges after weight loss surgery seems to be eating out in a restaurant.  In this series of post I'll be giving some "tips" on eating out.  

Make sure you catch the entire series, I've separated it into six separate shorter post to make reading easier. You will find them listed under the title "tips please".  

Dining out should be enjoyable, you just need a few strategies to keep you "stress free".  You need a plan, but never fear, I'm here to help.  I have lots of experience in dining out!  The "tips" on me! 

Choose wisely

Most problems can be avoided by choosing the restaurant you eat at often, wisely.  Sometimes I am in a situation with others that I don’t get to choose, but most of the time I can make suggestions that might cater to my needs better than others. Planning ahead will help.  

If you can call ahead or investigate regarding the menu and your options. Ask to speak to a manager and explain your eating challenges and that you are trying to choose a restaurant that can best fit your needs.  If you are not allowed to order off the "kids" menu, ask if they can suggest another option.  Be kind and if they are not agreeable, find another option.  It has been my experience that most places will be accommodating.  

The internet is also a good source to check out menus.    

Portions sizes 

Restaurants are offering smaller portions and healthier choices these days making it easier for us with special eating challenges.

Most places will inform you on nutritional info or portion sizes.  

Take out boxes are a great way to start.  Setting aside the portion you can eat and placing the rest in the box will help you stop eating before you overeat.

My husband and I often go out with friends, especially for dinner.  We join one couple who loves to go to the early bird appetizers at Yosake.  This usually works well, because the appetizer portions are small, I just order one and at half price, I'm a cheap date! 

Sharing 

My husband and I often share a meal.  That means both of us are cutting our portion sizes.  Sharing is a great option, the only trick is to agree on what to order.  Most of the time, he caters to me, since I have less options. On occasion an extra side item might be needed.  It's still a lot less food than two full meals.  

We also have other friends that often join us when dining out for dinner.  One thing we like to do is order two entrees and share them. The guys do the meat and potatoes thing, while the girls get fish and veggies.  We sometimes order an appetizer to share as well.  And, yes, most times dessert, but with four of us eating one dessert...everyone gets a little taste and what great fun!  It's great to get together with friends over dinner, and especially when we enjoy being creative. Sometimes, it's the journey or creative experience we enjoy along with the food, we have been as far as an hour and half drive for dinner, once we took a limo, what great fun!  

With just a little planning, I can enjoy the meal and the best thing is that I don't feel deprived, guilty, "stuffed" or dread stepping on the scales after I'm done.   

More "tips" ...next post!

Anytime is sushi time for me, lunch, dinner or snack...

One of my favorite thing to eat since having weight loss surgery is sushi.  

Sushi is a great source of protein, I just have to watch the rice.  I must say, this is about the only time I eat rice.  Before having surgery, rice was my number one food item I did not want to give up.  I just didn't think I could live without it.  Rice, especially sticky rice is a high glycemic index food, which spikes your blood sugar.  

One of the "success" tips about eating sushi, for me, has been to keep the rice serving very low (1/2 cup or less) and make sure I get plenty of fish, salmon has enough protein and fat to balance the meal. Tuna has little fat, so I often add spicy mayo with flaxseed oil (when at home) or sesame seed oil when at a restaurant.  Fat helps slow down the absorption of the carbohydrates.  

I didn't eat it for years after having surgery.  Then one day I found sushi. Sushi is a great source of protein and with nigiri sushi you can better control the amount of rice you eat. Nigiri sushi has the protein on top of the rice not rolled in.  

Yes, I did give up this food for awhile, but it doesn't mean forever.  Just until I could gain control, learn the proper portion size that works for me and making better, wiser and more balanced food choices.  

My favorite place to eat sushi is Fresh Market.  They make it fresh everyday and if I go at the right time...I can catch the attendant making it, then I can get it just the way I like it.  

I must admit, I get a funny look when I ask for only half the rice.  

The first time I purchased it.  I came home and disassembled it, measured it, weighted and counted the calories. This way I can be a better judge when eating out.  Memorizing in your head what certain amounts look like is the key.    

I usually ask for the multi grain brown rice.  The brown rice keeps my blood sugar more level.  Since I ask for only half the rice, I measured out about 1/2 cup. Then I weighted the tuna, salmon or shrimp.  It is usually somewhere around 2.5 to 3 ounces.  I usually add a little avocado, - got to have that mufa-good fat food with every meal!  I ask for avocado on the side and usually get about about 1/8 to 1/4 cup.  

Another caution about rice, take it slow and easy, eating a little at a time, stopping with the measured amount will ensure you don't overdo it.  Rice swells in the tummy, so be sure not drink while eating.  

When eating at my favorite restaurant, I try to find a roll with no rice, or remove some of the rice before eating.  Getting enough vegetables is another concern for me, but soybeans fit the bill if I'm not eating rice. Ask for steamed or grilled veggies on the side, most sushi restaurants should have them.

Habachi is also good, again, watch the rice.  Pasta noodles might be a better choice, since pasta is low glycemic. You just have to ask for what you want, be kind but assertive. They have egg, chicken, shrimp or seafood, and grilled veggies, perfect.  You don't have to accept the rice, ask for extra egg or veggies.  I also don't get red meat, I find it too dry and not nearly tender enough.  

And of course, there is always tofu,  not my favorite, but if you are a vegetarian, or if you like it, go for it! 

Some of my local favorites are Niki's Steakhouse, Bento Box, Yosake-downtown (they have a 1/2 appetizer special for early birds) 

enjoy...yes you can, you have many more miles to go.

I've not eaten at Olive Garden in a while, but I do remember their great Parmesan Encrusted Tilapia. Today, the Sunday lunch entree had a much larger portion than other times I have ordered it during the week.  I should have asked why, but I do know that sometimes Sunday lunches at some restaurants are dinner size portions...interesting! 

Today however, I ordered the Tilapia with a different twist...

I ordered the tilapia and instead of regular pasta, I ordered the whole wheat (I sometimes forget to ask).  I got asparagus instead of the veggies and the minestrone soup.  The soup is 6 ounces and only 100 calories for the entire portion.  I only ate about 1/2, to save room for the fish.  I manoeuvred around the pasta and just ate the veggies and beans.  

I had enough left of everything to bring home for dinner, except the asparagus! OK...you guessed it! I'm on an amazing asparagus craze, can't get enough of it...you are bound to see me eating at a restaurants in town that serve either green beans or asparagus!

I realized when we got up to leave the table, that we had eaten with no sign of bread!  Hoooray! That bread is just way too tempting!  My best option is not having it at the table.  

My next challenge is to tell them to keep the mints...Those little Andes mints, which I love, are high in calories. They look so little and innocent!  One of those little guys packs 25 calories, they add up...for the same amount of calories as 2 mints, you could eat a half bowl of soup, pasta and all!

Next time I'm at Olive Garden, I've already decided, I'm going to order the soup and a meatball...so until next time, warm up with a bowl of soup, Olive Garden style.  

Winter is a time when we think fondly of having that warm cup of soup, and now you can at Panera.  

I know, I know, I keep posting Panera Bread, what can I say, I'm hooked.  I can go to Panera and blog, read and get lunch. During these cold days I discovered the pick two...1/2 sandwich and 1/2 soup...my new find...

The half soup is only 8 ounces, (one cup), as opposed to the 12 oz size.   (tip for those just starting out, memorize those ounces and how they translate in relation to cup portions, this is a great tool for understand portion sizes) 

Here is a comparison on the soup:  

The regular 8 oz size of French onion is 200 calories, 10 grams of fat, 19 carbs, 5 sugars and 8 proteins. 

However, leave off the cheese and bread and you are looking at 80 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 10 carbs, 4 sugars and 3 proteins.  

Here is the trick...I order the veggie sandwich with turkey and whole grain bread.  I only eat about 1/4 or a 1/2 of one half slice of bread and usually I can only finish half the soup, but with the slash of calories I could have the whole cup.  

Ok, I can hear ya...the cheese and bread are the best part, ok then order it and only eat half the portion. Remember this is about lifestyle, not depravation...do what you can live with for the long term.  Choose which you would rather have, the bread in the soup or the bread on the sandwich.  At Panera, one of the options instead of added bread with your meal is an apple.  Although the apple is a few carbs, it will fill you up and a half of a small apple is less than 40 calories, 10 carbs. Half the soup would be 100 calories and 11 carbs.  20 carbs would be "right on" for  the meal.  Remember you still have the turkey and veggies on the sandwich...which is a lot of food. Most of the time the apple goes in my pocket for the afternoon!

My suggestion: give up the cheese and the bread in the soup: here's why:  the soup is very flavorful and you'll never miss it, in light of the meal as a whole.  The whole grain bread takes longer to digest than white bread and it will keep those blood sugars steady throughout the remainder of the day.  

Here is what my meal looks like:  2 oz turkey, cucumber, tomato, feta cheese (on the sandwich), bell peppers, 1/8 - 1/4 slice whole grain bread, 1/2 serving French onion soup, plain, 1/2 apple.  That would be 4 ounces of soup. This lunch is around 250 calories, 7 grams fat, 22 carbs, 3.5 grams fiber, 13 sugars, and 23 grams of protein Toasty!

It pays to know a few tricks to counting down calories while still enjoying a great cup of soup! The friendly folks at Panera have always been gracious to help me retrieve nutritional info from the in store guide... Go Panera! ...yes, we can, we have many more miles to go!

ps  ...  if you're reading this post today, Jan 6, 2010, and are local, we'll be sharing more menu tips at night's support group meeting on eating out and planning menus!  See ya there!