Superbowl Preparations

Let me start by saying that we (meaning the Otero family) are not really American football fans. No, we like the other type of football. I hear you now asking "What? You mean that there is another type of football?" Yes, I am afraid so, but not to worry, tomorrow we WILL be celebrating and watching the Superbowl like the millions of crazed fans that do this every year. We are watching it this year (for the first time, believe it or not) in memory of one of those crazed fans. To make a long story short, the son of a very dear friend of mine passed away recently and he was a fan of the GB Packers. I know he has a much better seat to view the game than we do. So this year we are watching the game in his honor.

I have planned out a menu of Superbowl snacks that are (for the most part) WLS friendly. I'm going to share one with you so that you can enjoy it too.

Many people ask me about Mexican restaurant salsa. There are 2 main ways to make it: 1. involves using all fresh ingredients (time consuming)  2. involves using some canned ingredients (quick & easy). They are both good and the end result is the same. Here is my version. I think you'll like it.

First let me show you the participants:

You will need a large can of whole tomatoes, 2 cans of Rotel (or equivalent), cilantro, 1/2 large onion, 1 lime, 1 jalapeno, sugar, salt, and cumin (not pictured). Forgive me and my being frugal, but I try to buy store brand to save a penny or two.

First of all, get out your food processor (or blender).

Roughly chop up your half an onion, like so.

Then chop up about a cup of cilantro. Leave it kinda leafy.

Chop the jalapeno too. (I didn't take pictures of this. I don't like to handle anything after chopping peppers.)

Open the cans of tomatoes and Rotel and pour them, juice and all, into the fp. Throw in the onion, jalapenos, and cilantro.

Now add 1/4 tsp of each of the following: sugar, salt, and cumin.


Now pulse the fp a few times.

Pulse it again.

And again. Until its the right consistency.

I personally do NOT like chunks in my salsa. I like it to have an even consistency.

This (for me) is just right.



This makes alot of salsa. Cut it in half if you want just enough for a few people.  Make this ahead of time so that the flavors have time to love on each other. It will keep for several days in the fridge. I'm telling you now though, it's so good,  it won't be around long enough to go bad.

Fix some for your family and friends and they will love you.


You're welcome! :O)


Stay tuned tomorrow for something REALLY special!

F is for...

F is for FOOD!

Many overweight people have a very unhealthy relationship with food. Food, over the years, has evolved from the necessity that it once was. It has become a source of comfort as well. Just think about it.

Holidays
Sports events (Superbowl)
Weddings
Birthdays
Funerals
Church events
Sickness

Do I need to continue? Most every celebration includes food.

WLS patients have to learn how to change the relationship that they had previously with food. Essentially you are forced to change. You can not eat a bag of chips when you feel bad. You can only have a handful or else you'll throw up the rest. You can't have a half pint of ice cream either (you're lucky if you can eat it at all). Umm hello dumping syndrome . WLS makes you face the head issues that caused you to develop the unhealthy relationship with food to begin with. Now do you see why it's not an "easy way out"?
I believe that my issues with food will be a life-long battle (as with any addiction). I also believe that learning about and facing the issues is an essential part to being successful.

E is for...

E is for exercise!

It is amazing how much more willing you are to exercise when you aren't carrying so much excess weight around with you. My previous exercise plan had been put on the back burner (due to abnormally weird NC weather) but I will soon be out and running again!
Exercise, when you are overweight, is a vicious cycle. The more overweight you get, the harder it is to be physically active, and let's face it...that's when you need to be MORE active.

Apart from the serious gravitational pull on my boobs, and the pain if they aren't strapped down well supported, exercise is fun for me.

Tacos de Lengua (Tongue Tacos)

Yes, you read that right.

Tongue.

Bear with me people.

I promise it tastes just like roast beef. Really!

Many countries because of poverty (mainly) use all of the edible parts of an animal when it is killed. In Mexico the tongue is eaten (as well as other unmentionable parts).

My first time eating tongue tacos was when Luis and I were dating. He had prepared tongue before and offered it to me, but I never wanted to try it due to it looking weird. He never seemed offended...just determined. One day while we were out we stopped by a taqueria (place where tacos are made) and bought us a few for lunch. Luis ordered them and brought them out to the car to-go. I ate them (not knowing they were tongue) and really enjoyed them. When I finished Luis just grinned at me and asked how I liked the tacos. I said they were good. He then told me that they were made from cow's tongue. I have since prepared tongue at home and now enjoy occaisionally a tongue taco. Here is my recipe.


Take one fresh cow tongue.

Sorry, not quite THAT fresh.

That's better. One cow tongue (fresh or frozen) whatever floats your boat. Put it in a pot with a little beef broth and with a bay leaf and salt to season. Boil it for an hour or two.

Remove it from the pot when it is thoroughly cooked and looks like this. (yummy huh?)

Get yourself two of these primative-looking tools.

With the forks and maybe a knife (if needed) pull off the outer layer of skin and gristle on the tongue. See the yummy roast-beef looking meat under there?

This is what it should look like when you're done peeling it. Now shred it up with the forks.

This is what you'll have when you're finished. The meat is edible now but is very soft in texture ( like boiled meat tends to be). Put it in a pan with a little bit of olive oil. Fry it until it begins to get crispy on the edges. Salt it if needed.

Now for the rest of the cast of charecters:

Wash, then chop the cilantro and onion together. Slice the lime into wedges

Heat some corn tortillas and pile some meat into it.

Top off the taco with a little cilantro and onion, a squeeze of lime and a dash of salt. Enjoy!

Now see...it wasn't so bad, was it?  :O)

D is for...

D is for dining out.

There's nothing more fun than being a fat girl dining out. The waiter/waitress, people you are with, and even the nosy people at the next booth eavesdrop to hear what you order. Then they whisper about it. They analyze it. Order a salad or light meal and they assume you are "dieting again". Order a normal meal and they they smirk about it. Order a large meal and they whisper "no wonder why shes fat". There is no "safe" place to go. Even at Mcdonald's they are expecting you to supersize everything. Once you get your food, people watch how you eat. They watch to see if you eat like a pig, or if you eat slow. The stares are annoying. Even worse though are the comments afterwards. When they take your plate (if you ate everything) the comments is usually "Wow, you must have been hungry." or something else related to the amount that you ate.

I don't mind eating out now. I order what I want and either share or take home leftovers.

C is for...

C is for camera.

Cameras aren't nice to fat people.  There's this whole procedure of turning a certain way so that the quadruple chin only looks like a double or triple chin. You have to pull your clothes out of the fat rolls. You have to suck in your gut and turn a certain way. *sigh*  Then you (as a fat person) are never content with the end result picture. No wonder I was always the one taking photos of everyone else.

B is for...

B is for booth.

Restaurant booths to be specific. I hated going out with the family to certain restaurants. The busy restaurants where you didn't have a choice of a booth or table, you took first available. My luck usually got us stuck in a tiny booth where I spent most of my meal having the Heimlich performed by the table. Sometimes I was lucky to have a table that was so tight my boobs were where my plate should have been. I memorized the restaurants that had tables that weren't bolted to the floor. Why you ask?  So that I could discreetly slide the table out and give me more room, of course!

I love going into any restaurant and not having to worry if I will fit in their booths.