Starting the week with Applesauce Cake!

 now

  pre-op with my daughter Jamie.

If you don't know me, I'm a vertical sleeve gastrectomy patient and still obsessing with food - this time to get nutrients and protein in my system and to get the calories down as much as possible. I'm fighting to get the last 100 lbs off - yep that's right I've lost 78 lbs from my highest and still have a 100 to go. I stopped loosing when  I took a totally sedentary job. I literally sit at a computer for 8-9 hours a day. So I struggle. I'm determined to win it, however! So onward we go.


Geri’s/Alexandra's/Theresa's Applesauce – Yogurt Cake

Here's the plan, I am going to try this Applesauce and Yogurt Cake today. I have some nice organic apples that are getting tired and yogurt past its prime.

 2 1/4 (12.3 oz | 350 g) cups flour
    1/2 cup Almond Flour
 1/2 cup unflavored protein powder (Show Me the Whey)
 2 cups sugar
 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional, see notes)
 1 3/4 cups applesauce
 1 1/4 cups non fat yogurt (see notes regarding fat percentage)
 1 egg + 1 white
 1/3 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    1/2 cup walnuts or pecans

 1. Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan.
 2. In large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon (if using) and salt.
 3. In a separate bowl, mix applesauce, yogurt, egg, oil and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
 4. Pour into prepared pan.
 5. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Alexandra says hers have consistently been done at 55 to 60 minutes.  I'm not sure with my additions if time will need to be increased
 6. Cool 15 to 30 minutes or longer —She lets hers sit for 45 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack. Before turning it out, you might want to run a paring knife around the center circle to loosen it a bit.

 It's from: Alexandra's Kitchen and exactly matched my needs - not often a quick Google does that!

To beef up the protein I'm using Almond flour (1/2 cup) and adding 1/2 cup protein powder. . I'm using coconut oil just because I like it. I'm going to add an additional egg white and 1/2 cup walnuts as well. I'm not sure my math skills are up to the calculations to figure out the serving stats. OK, so it's not the same recipe but her's is the basis so ....

The rest of today's menu is clean out the the freezer, hamburger steaks with portobello and sweet onion gravy and mashed potatoes and roasted beets. Serenity begged for cabbage so we'll need to eat a bit of that this week too. Butch has raved about these so if he's up to it I'm going to let him make some for us.

For the rest of the week well, I got suckered at the Kroger this week by the great looking organic vegetables so on the menu will be Tuna sandwich, with leek and potato soup.  Chicken breast with with steamed cabbage and honey carrots if I can find some local honey anywhere. The sure didn't have it at Kroger. Their local honey had come from GA. Which we all know is NOT local to Maryville TN!