If I weren’t battling every creature known to man in my kitchen…er, having some household issues as of late, I would have taken pictures of all these suggestions but alas…it is what it is. There’s always some drama going on in my life!

So let’s talk about Labor Day. Unofficial last day of summer. Day before which the pumpkin takes over the affections and obsessions of most of the American public.

But for this day it’s still summmer, we’re still BBQ’ing and you still need a good plan. I’ve got you covered! Here’s my top 5 picks for good weight-loss surgery eats.

Instead of ice cream, eat this!

It’s 6 oz. Greek yogurt + 5 packets of no-calorie sweetener + 2 tbsp. PB2 (powdered peanuts). Although it’s not pictured here you can serve it alongside apple slices or if you want to get really fun make some little fruit kabobs out of banana and grapes and dip them!

Don’t ditch the dip!


Ok, in all fairness I love dip. I will never tell you not to eat it. But eat smart! Instead use:

Protein Onion Dip

• 10-12 oz. unflavored Greek yogurt (your choice, the more yogurt, the less “salty” it will be)
• 1 envelope of dry onion soup mix

That’s it! I’ve dressed this up with festive diced veggies before and even spinach (make sure you strain it first) and it’s all gone ever great! As for what to dip…that’s a personal choice but I will say I love veggie crudites. Just slice up your favorite veggies (for me that’d be zucchini, squash, cucumber and carrots) and get to dipping! Remember, it has lots of protein so don’t ditch the dip!

Make a faux-pas

Or have a faux hit with fauxtato salad! This replaces the potatoes with cauliflower and swaps out a few of the higher fat or sugar-added options with better choices but it preserves all the taste!

For the hot-dog lovers in the house…

It can be hard skipping the hot dog with bun (even if we do know a bun means certain gut death). I’ve got you covered! This single-serving chili-dog ramekin can be customized the way you want it. You love sauerkraut on your dog? Throw it in there! Are you a basic relish/ketchup/mustard kind of person, consider making up a batch of my “Everything Sauce” and toss the dogs in that. The point here is you don’t have to deprive yourself. And for guidance on choosing the right dog, click here. 

And if you must have pie…

Make this pie. It’s a Mocha Toffee Protein Pie but in you can use this pie making method to make any flavor YOU like. It takes about 20 minutes to make, an hour to chill and I swear people will swarm to them like moths to flames. I have a mostly-eaten-by-non-ops pie memory to prove it!