My Favorite Recipe links

As of today, these links are all still active. These are my stand-by meals when I am on cycle 1 of the 17-day diet. Cycle 1 is the hardest, for sure, but as long as I stay stocked up with fruit, plain yogurt, salsa (not together, gross) salad and the allowed proteins, I never get hungry. It's when I don't shop in time that I get into trouble. The key for me is to not get hungry!

So here you go - my favorites from other blogs:

Perfect Chicken from the recipe crayon box. This is delicious, and simple. Make lots and cut it up for your salad!

Carrot Soup! Who knew? I have never had carrot soup prior to this Fall when I ran across this recipe. It's wonderful! It's inexpensive, delicious and very satisfying. I love anything with garam masala, but this also works well with just curry and cumin. Change up the spices any way you like.

Chicken and Broccoli Dijon.
Another chicken dish, but this classic South Beach Diet recipe is a great standby. It's easy, includes broccoli and uses mustard for flavor. Very nice.

The 17 Day Diet: A Doctor's Plan Designed for Rapid Results 

Time to get back to it. I have really just been trying to follow a few of the rules, not really being strict about it. I still drink the lemon tea each morning, or almost every morning. I limit the sugar, but I haven't gotten back to totally eliminating it like the first time around. I'm not sure what's stopping me, but I do need to try in earnest again. Spring is coming and I wanted to lose more weight. The GOOD thing is that I have actually lost a couple more pounds! Without really trying! I haven't gained back any, but actually dropped a couple more. I think that's what I like best about this diet. It really changed the way I eat so that even when I feel like I am really living it up, no worries.
Life is good.
So what will I eat this week?
I just made a salad and packaged one up for work. It's a big one that will last me a couple days. I am going to cook up a package of Trader Joe's chicken patties (chile lime) and pout those in my work fridge also.
Maybe I will try some of these new recipes this week:

This Broccoli Chicken Dijon from Food.com looks good

And this, from eateggs.org

Cauliflower Poppers

Ingredients:

• 1 medium head of cauliflower cut into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 2 tsp nonfat parmesan cheese
• Nonstick cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 and spray cookie sheet with nonstick spray. Spritz cauliflower florets lightly with nonstick spray, then drop into a paper bag with spices. Shake to mix until cauliflower is well coated. Place in oven and stir after 5 min. Cook for a total of about ten min.


Having enough food available is definitely key. I will put in the Sunday prep-time and see how it goes.

Trader Joe's and the 17 Day Diet

Trader Joe's is a great place to shop for cycle 1 foods! If you are looking for some convenience or for great ingredients, Trader Joe's rocks.

I have been buying the Chile Lime Chicken Burgers that they sell under the Trader Joe's label. they are in the frozen section. You get 4 burgers, which I cook up all at once in about 5 minutes on the stove top. I eat it with salsa, and sometimes with a bit of fat free cheese. They are really tasty.

Here is the ingredients list:

Ground Chicken
Onions
Bell Peppers
Garlic
Cilantro
Natural Flavor
Salt
Lime Juice Concentrate
Red Pepper Flakes

Isn't that great?

Get cash back on purchases at Big Crumbs!!!!!

Here is the nutritional information for one burger:
150 calories
60 calories from fat
75mg Cholesterol
310 mg sodium
3g carbs
2g dietary fiber
0g sugars
19g protein

Pretty impressive, no?

This is one of my stand-by meals and it makes a great lunch to take to work. I try to have some salad with it.

I will post about more Trader Joe's convenience foods as I try them out.

Stick with it!

Scrambled Eggs with Spinach, Salsa and Feta

Scrambled eggs with baby spinach, topped with salsa and fat-free feta cheese.

This is my favorite cycle 1 breakfast.

This is how I make it

Spray a pan with olive oil spray (or coat with a few drops of olive oil)

Throw in a handful of baby spinach, and stir it around until it starts to wilt. 

Add 2 beaten eggs, and stir it around scraping up the bottom, until they are set.

That's it! 

Put it on a plate and top it with salsa and fat-free cheese.

Cycle 1 Food List

Proteins

Eggs

Chicken

Turkey

Salmon

Sole

Flounder

Tilapia

Probiotics

Plain yogurt 6oz.

Sugar-free flavored yogurt 6 oz.

Kefir 1 cup

Live-active cottage cheese 1/2 cup

Fruits

All berries

Apples

Red grapes

Oranges

Peaches

Pears

Plums

Prunes

Grapefruit

 Vegetables

All leafy greens

Onions

Cabbage

Cauliflower

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts

Carrots

Artichoke hearts

Asparagus

Peppers

Spinach

Celery

Cucumbers

Eggplant

Garlic

Green beans

Leeks

Mushrooms

Okra

Parsley

Scallions

Tomatoes (yes, it's really a fruit)

Watercress

Broccoli raab

Bamboo shoots

Bok choy

Pea pods

Most vegetables are really okay. This list is obviously not comprehensive. I think the only notable exclusion is corn, which a a grain but considered a vegetable by many veggie-hating children and adults, if only to get Mom off their backs. There are no grains included in cycle 1.

Other

Fat-free cheese 

Fat-free sour cream

Low-carb marinara sauce (check label for sugar content)

Broccoli Chicken Dijon

Here is a link to a delicious Chicken Broccoli Dijon recipe from Food.com.

http://www.food.com/recipe/broccoli-chicken-dijon-south-beach-diet-120351

My approach to the 17 Day Diet is to follow the first cycle to the letter when I want to lose some weight, then easing up a bit to maintain my weight. I did cycle 1 before the holidays and lost 6 pounds. Yea! During the holidays, I ate some treats, cooked a nice Christmas dinner, etc, etc. I didn't go crazy trying to stick to cycle 2 while all the parties were going on. And I was stunned to find that my weight stayed the same! So my goal after the holiday break is to do cycle 1 again for the 17 days and see what I can lose this time!

So this blog is intended to gather some more ideas and some more interesting meals that follow cycle 1.

My standby meal for lunch and dinner is a turkey patty with salsa on top and fat free feta cheese, when I have it around. Quick and easy and surprisingly good. I cook up a four-pack all at once and just reheat them  in the microwave.

For breakfast I have scramble eggs with salsa (yes, i love salsa), and sometimes just plain yogurt with a little Truvia sprinkled in.

Having these standby foods on hand keeps me from getting hungry or lazy about fixing food. I do get tired of building salads.