Fat Grafting Surgery

A week ago I had fat grafting surgery (taking fat from places on my body to give my implants a more natural appearance) as well as a small revision (lifting one side). I have over the muscle implants and the rippling honestly wasn't bothering me that much, but my surgeon recommended it, especially since I wanted to have nipple reconstruction - she said she would need somewhere to work with, the skin without fat grafting was just too thin.

I thought this is going to be a pretty quick surgery but it ended up being pretty long and involved. I think the surgeon was running a bit late, so I arrived at 8:30 for a 10:00 surgery but was waiting in the OR prep until well after 11:00 as everyone else came and went. The surgery itself must have taken about 2 hours, and I thought I was going to be in recovery for about 45 minutes, but it ended up being much longer - my ride was told to get there around 4:00. 8:30 -4 in the hospital is not what I expected for a small surgery! 

But other than that, recovery was very easy. I have to wear a waist binder. Some fat was also taken from my legs and I wish someone would have told me to wear some Spanx because I think that would have helped with a bruising - The bruises on my legs are larger than my head! But I barely needed Tylenol - I took it for 2 days and kept on forgetting because I really wasn't that uncomfortable.  It would have been really easy if my surgery wasn't on a Friday and I didn't have to chase after a 3-year-old all weekend! 

My paperwork said not to shower but my surgeon said that I could - I took a couple of shower so far and just tried not to get my breasts too wet. I'm also not wearing a bra which seems to be her recommendation after any surgery. I find it surprising how much this varies, some people have to wear a bra!

The surgeon was right, my breasts look so much more natural now! I'm seeing her on Monday and looking forward to getting bandages off if it's not too early.

Some Favorite Veggie Recipes

In my quest to eat the rainbow, here are three of my favorite veggie-heavy recipes from the last year. I have made these over and over! 

Beet Dip from the New York Times. It's basically raw beets, walnuts, lemon juice, a pinch of chili flakes, and lots of olive oil. I love this because sometimes I'm too lazy to roast beets. This is totally delicious and tastes like more than the sum of its parts. I haven't served it with the suggested labneh, I just dip vegetables in it. 

Big Flavor Broccoli from Bon Appetit. I especially love that this recipe uses the stems of broccoli because I had been getting long-stemmed broccoli from Imperfect Foods. Not that broccoli stems are complicated to add to a recipe, but I needed the extra encouragement. This recipe gets its deep flavor from anchovies and a squeeze of lemon.

Oven Baked Vegetarian Tofu Parmigiana from Mom's Kitchen Handbook. I bake this for much less time than suggested, making it a good weeknight meal. My 3 year old loves helping.

Growing Broccoli Sprouts at Home

Cruciferous vegetables are always recommended for anti-cancer diets, and I try to eat them a few times a week (I also love them!). Sulforaphane is one of the compounds that's especially prized for its effect against breast cancer, seen in both test-tube and population studies. 

Broccoli is the most sulforaphane-rich veggie, and...broccoli SPROUTS have 100x as much sulforaphane as grown-up broccoli! Even better, they are super easy to grow at home.

Here's how I do it:

I bought these sprouting lids which screw on to large mason jars, as well as this pound of seed mix which contains broccoli, alfalfa, radish and clover seeds. I'm sure there are lots of options out there, I liked that this was from the USA, non-GMO and organic. 

1. At night, I put 1 heaping tablespoon of seed mix in a large mason jar, cover liberally with water, and screw on a lid. I leave it upright in a cabinet overnight.
2. The next morning, I drain the water (through the holes in the lid) and rinse. I place it tilted upside down in a glass food storage dish so the water can drain. I keep it in a dark cabinet.
3. For the next 2-3 days, I rinse and drain the seeds about 3 times a day, returning to the dark cabinet.
4. When the sprouts are about 3/4 inch long, I move them to a counter so they can get some light and turn green. I continue rinsing for a day.
5. Then I remove the sprouts with a clean fork and put them on a paper towel in a shallow container in the fridge.

If you would like more detailed instructions, check out Clean Eating Kitchen!  

I read that sprouts are most powerful when eaten between around 120 - 140 degrees F, so it's good to heat them a little but not too much. I think it's better to eat them cold than overheat them. 

I used two tablespoons here - crowded!