This time of year when the air turns chilly I love to cook hearty stews. Ive found since having gastric bypass weight loss surgery stews are easily tolerated and a great way to incorporate vegetables and fiber in my restricted diet. There are so many great flavors to explore the palate is engaged and satisfied. One of my favorite recipes is for Chicken & Carrot Stew. It can be prepared in less than an hour and packs a whollop of great flavor and nutrition.

Chicken & Carrot Stew
Prep: 20 minutes/ Cook: 20 minutes

This stew is so tasty and nutrient rich! I enjoy taking leftovers for lunch. Be sure to measure an appropriate portion for your gastric bypass stomach pouch because it is very easy to get ahead of the pouch with a stew.

Carrots are the leading source of beta-carotene in the American diet. They also contain flavonoids that are the phytochemicals that function as antioxidants. That is a very good reason to include them in the diet as flu and cold season approaches.

Ingredients 1 tablespoon olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (1 pound total) cut crosswise into quarters
2 tablespoons flour
1 large onion cut into 1-inch chunks
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound peeled baby carrots
2/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
teaspoon dried marjoram
teaspoon ground ginger
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over moderate heat. Dredge the chicken in the flour, shaking off the excess. Saut for 2 minutes per side or until lightly browned. With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a plate.

Add the onion and garlic to the pan and saut for 7 minutes or until the onion is tender. Add the carrots, tossing to coat. Add the broth, 2/3 cup of water, the marjoram, ginger and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 7 minutes or until the carrots are crisp-tender.

Add the chicken, cover and cook for 4 minutes or until he chicken and carrots are tender. Serves 4 (normal).

Per normal (non-gastric bypass) serving: Calories 248; Fiber 5g; Protein 29g; Total Fat 5g; Saturated Fat 1g; Cholesterol 66mg; Sodium 565mg.

Gastric bypass patients should measure one cup of stew and eat until full, but no more than one cup.

Kaye Bailey

An award winning journalist and former newspaper editor Kaye Bailey brings expertise in writing and personal experience with gastric bypass surgery to EzineArticles.com. Ms. Bailey developed a passion for writing at an early age. As a teenager she found writing her feelings about obesity helped her cope in a world that is often cruel to overweight children and adults alike.

Ms. Bailey says she found out she was fat in kindergarten when another child told her she was fat. “I didn’t even know what fat was but I could tell it was bad and I didn’t want to be fat. Until that day I had been unaware I was different. But there I was, a five-year-old girl sitting cross-legged on the floor learning a new word that would define me.”

At age 33 she underwent laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery. For the first time in her life after multiple failed diet attempts she lost weight. She said the decision to have surgery took courage, nerve, and a little bit of plain old faith. But she learned surgery was the easy part. Dealing with newfound emotions, struggling with food choices and fighting to keep from regaining weight were unexpected bumps in the road following massive weight loss with surgery.

Having spent most of her life overweight Ms. Bailey is strongly empathetic toward the obese, particularly overweight children. This compassion compelled her to found the website LivingAfterWLS.com, a fast-growing resource of information, understanding and support for the weight loss surgery community. While weight loss surgery is publicly perceived as an easy fix to obesity Ms. Bailey maintains the struggles after surgery challenge the vigor of even the most dedicated individual. As WLS becomes more readily available patients are finding there is a lack of long-term aftercare and support from bariatric centers.

The LivingAfterWLS.com site is complimented with daily blog. The blog, livingafterwls.blogspot.com offers readers the chance to comment or leave feedback about fresh content added daily. This site contains success stories and recipes as well as general information and WLS inspired topics. Complementing the site is a monthly newsletter titled “You Have Arrived” available exclusively to people who subscribe through the website or the blog. The path forward includes community forums, nutrition and fitness tracking tools.

Ms. Bailey makes her home on a ranch in the Rocky Mountains with her husband of eight years who has been her consort in life after WLS.