the diet needs a break

Ok since this cold has taken a turn I need to stop my drops :(  I have had success already but I have been advised to get healthy and restart.  So sadly the diet stops today with a plan to restart after antibiotics are done, which should still give me time prior to my big vacation! 

DAY 5 and Day 6

OK yesterday was tough but mostly because of this horrible cold I have.  I don't have much of an appetite and had to force down an apple and some cooked chicken in broth.  today has been pretty much the same.  Apples seem to be fine but I don't have much of an appetite at all and the oranges just don't sit well.  I do say that I have some cravings for bread and tyring to use the Melba toast to fight those urges but just the typical cold feeling of just wanting soup and bread and rest!

I wish this cold would go away so I could really get an idea of how this diet is making me feel, right now I feel like crap thanks to this darn cold! 

stewed crockpot chicken

start by making the tomato sauce

on a cookie sheet place:
1 pint of cherry tomatoes
diced mushrooms
slices of onions
place in the oven at 350 until tomatoes start to pop.

place all of these items into a slow cooker on high.  I added a bit of chicken broth from my soup, water would work as well, some dry italian seasoning,  2 cloves diced garlic, and some basil. Let it simmer for a long as you can.  You can keep in chunky or you can use a stick blender and puree the sauce a bit which is what I did.

add the Chicken or meat of choice
Once the sauce is cooked I added 4 pre-measured pieces of 3.5 oz of chicken to the sauce and allowed it to cook through.  I am looking forward to trying it over my miracle angle hair noodles.  the chicken absorbed tons of flavor, and I plan to eat it with some noodles tonight and maybe with some spinach or cauliflower tomorrow.

you really can't overcook this in a slow cooker.  I let the sauce go on low for about 8 hours and added the chicken and let it go on high for another 4.  I think the longer the sauce cooks the better.  I like my tomatoes sauce with a bit of sugar normally so I added a tiny amount of stevia but that is up to your taste.

day 4

ok the cold is getting worse.  not much of an appetite today but I got down some more soup and an apple so far.  I plan to try some soup again tonight.  i have some yummy stewed chicken I had planned to eat, may have to throw that in the freezer for today.  I wish I didn't have a cold so I could really tell how hungry and how much energy I would normally have on day 4.  Right now hunger is not an issue, but energy is, however I think that is thanks so the cold.... wish me luck for tomorrow.

day 3 meals

this was a tough day as I woke up with a cold. The oranges didn't sit so well, probably all the acid, but the apple was fine.  So I had my morning fruit but didn't have much of an appetite at lunch.  I ate my 3.5 oz of chicken but not the salad and dressing.  I ate another apple later that day and some chicken soup that night.  The Chicken soup was easy.  Boiled my 3.5 oz of chicken in seasoned water with veggies.  added small amount of miracle noodles at the end.  Very tasty and with some melba toast was perfect for someone who is sick!

HCG BRUCHETTA

Bruschetta recipe:
1 pint of cherry/grape tomatoes
1 bunch of basil
3-1 head of garlic (depending on your love of garlic)
splash of vinegar
S&P
Diced cucumber or chopped browned mushroms (optional)

let it sit for a few days and you won't even miss the olive oil. I added the cucumber to give it some substance, slightly browned chopped mushrooms would also be a good addition to add some volume. I have added browned portabellos to my regular recipe so this version would need to be baked or grilled mushrooms or if you like raw shrooms that would work too!  once I am back on dairy this same recipe with some crumbled low fat or fat free feta is a great summer salad.

It would be excellent on your melba toast.

Leftovers can be simmered and blended for a yummy tomato sauce which I plan to do this week with some miracle noodles and cooked chicken.

day 2 meals

I did notice last night I was a bit hungry after dinner, I ate while at work and probably didn't finish all my veggies so it is probably partially my fault. I had a cup of tea when I got home and a couple pieces of celery and that helped.

This morning I started with a coffee about 30 minutes after my drops.  I used only 1/2 a packet of stevia and it was much better.  At 10:30 I had some fruit, had my drops at 11:30 and ate my lunch at 12:00.  Lunch today was a mixed greens salad, that I topped with a diet friendly version of my Bruschetta.  I threw in my 3.5 oz of grilled veal and I was good to go, the Bruschetta was so juicy I didn't even need my homemade dressing.

I have meetings the rest of the day, so I am taking the rest of my fruit to the meetings to snack on have a big jug of my iced tea.  I am really excited to make some spicy shrimp pasta tonight with my miracle noodles so I will give you a review tomorrow.

Tip of the Day

My Trick of the day:
Grilling my meat: I cut up my 3.5 oz of meat in small sizes.  I marinade them in amino drops, S&P, garlic and herbs.  I put meat, onions, mushrooms and tomatoes on the kabob... 3 kabobs got me all my meat and some yummy veggies, plus the grill requires no oil and adds tons of flavor!

 I also made some Kabobs with all of the 3.5 ounces of meat on 1 kabob and froze them for later in the week.

day 1 meals

I started my day with a cup of coffee with Stevia.  I used to use Splenda so for those of you switching to Stevia know that it tastes alot like Sweet n Low and has a bit of an after taste.  So I used 1 packet but now that I am familiar with the taste I will use less tomorrow.

I made a big jug of iced tea that I pre-sweetened with the Stevia and added a bit of range zest for extra flavor.  I have it ready to go in my frig for a quick drink and brought a big jug to work.

I started with my drops and then had a snack as I drove to work.  I had pre-cut 1 apple and 1 orange and placed in baggies for the whole week so it is easy to grab and snack on.  I ate half around 10am and the 2nd half around 2:30.

around 11:45 I had my 2nd set of drops and ate lunch around 12:15.  Lunch was lettuce wraps.  I cooked my 3.5 oz of chicken in a non stick pan with some mushroom that I marinated in the Amino drops (similar to soy sauce but no calories and permitted on HCG diet).  They are bit salty (but I like that) but the mushrooms added alot to the chicken and made it very filling.  I finished lunch with 2 pieces of Melba snack toasts.

My dinner is faux mashed potatoes (cauliflower mash with roasted garlic, salt and pepper) with some grilled Veal and Chicken and Veggies.

Day 1 of my super diet

Today is day 1 of my diet!  Strict calories and HCG drops.  I am starting with the 18 day program and I will see what progress I make and may up it to a 25 day program.  My hope is to lose 15 lbs but I think it is a bit of a stretch, but I am dedicated.  I pre-made my lunch and dinner for the whole week, and plan to do the same for next week on Sunday.  I think having everything pre-made will be a big help in staying on track!