Hits and Misses: 17 Day Diet

I have completed my first week and have said farewell to seven pounds! That is a pound a day if you need some help with the math. So far it has worked out well because I actually get to eat, I actually get to eat food! What a novel concept. All those diets that I have tried before, I should have known something wasn't right. This one is working for me. 

It hasn't all been sunshine and roses this week though. While I haven't had too many cravings, I have found the hardest part for me is to make sure that I eat often enough. That and that I make sure that I eat enough protein as well. 

Today I will touch base on the hits and misses that I have experienced so far this week. 

In the last post I have explained some of the misses. One being Faux Mashed Potatoes. I had done quite a bit of research to look for recipes that would hopefully make me feel like I wasn't depriving myself. And by research I mean I spent hours and hours on Pinterest, but you probably guessed that already didn't you? 

I stumbled across the recipe for the for the faux mashed potatoes, read the reviews and thought that I had found what would be a staple in my diet for at least the first 17 days. I was mistaken. Now just because it was a miss for me doesn't mean that others will have the same experience. In the reviews that I had read lots of other people actually enjoyed them. For that reason I am including it here: 

Faux Mashed Potatoes

(modified from I Breath...I'm Hungry)

1 head cauliflower

2 Tbls heavy cream

1 Tbls butter

2 ounces Dubliner or other sharp cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Clean and trim the cauliflower, breaking it into medium sized pieces. Place in a microwave safe bowl with 2 Tbl of cream and 1 Tbl of butter.  Microwave, uncovered, on high for five minutes. Stir to coat cauliflower with cream/butter mixture. Microwave for another 4 minutes on high. Remove from the microwave and put into a high speed blender or food processor along with the cheese. Puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. You can adjust the cream and butter to your preference. 

The modification that I made to this was that instead of the heavy cream and the butter I replaced both with Greek yogurt. This most likely accounts for texture of how my attempt turned out. My cauliflower was pretty grainy. I also replaced the Dubliner cheese with about four ounces of reduced fat cheddar cheese.

I also experienced two hits. One came from the 17 Day Diet book and the other came from my own creation. 

Eggplant Parmesan

(from The 17 Day Diet)

1 lg eggplant (peeled)

4 egg whites

1 c. grated parmesan cheese

4 cloves garlic

Spaghetti sauce (or low-carb marinara)

Pre-heat oven to 400F. Cut eggplant into 1/4" slices. Beat egg whites and 4 tablespoons of water until foamy. Dip eggplant in egg mixture, then into FF parmesan cheese, pressing cheese into eggplant. Place eggplant on prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with minced garlic. Spray vegetable spray over the top. Bake 30 minutes, then turn and bake 20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Cover with sauce, bake another 20 minutes and serve.

This was amazing and turned out to be the perfect Thursday night dinner treat. This next recipe is all me and I am pretty proud of it. It really is as easy as they come. 

Leafy Tacos

1 pound ground turkey

1 pkg low sodium taco seasoning

Bell pepper, sliced 

Red onion, slicedRomaine leaves 

Salt and pepper to taste

Fat free sour cream

Fresh salsa

Fat free shredded cheese 

Prepare turkey meat according to the directions on taco seasoning package. Remove meat from pan. In seasoning left behind from the meat add about a tablespoon water and saute bell pepper and onion. Add salt and pepper to taste. Use romaine leaves as 'taco shells' and add meat, sauteed vegetables, sour cream, salsa and cheese. 

Good stuff. I was able to eat four guilt free because I didn't have to worry about the taco shells. 

The Incredible Shrinking Woman

As you may have guessed by the lack of posting, I am again in the working world. No more wiling away my time catatonic in front of Pinterest ('See More Pins'? It begs me. How can I not?) I have redecorated my house about a gazillion times thanks to that website, all in my head of course. And just like every other pinner out there, I have both fantasized about glorious baked goods and exercise regimens...simultaneously.  Talk about setting someone up for failure...

But I digress. 

With this new job is the attempt at a brand new me. The Mr. spent a few weeks visiting his family in the Midwest so I took that time to reflect inward. I wanted to make some changes. One was to become more like a duck and let everything run right off me and not let myself get affected by things that I had limited control over. I have a few moments where anxiety takes over and I start to freak out but for the most part I am much more relaxed. The other was make some superficial changes. I am now a blonde thanks to Cocodoodle. I haven't figured out if they truly do have more fun but I will keep you updated. The other was to again try to battle the bulge. 

Being a little plump growing up, I had been on every diet imaginable since about the age of nine. Just at the start of the year I dropped 10 pounds in 10 days doing the Master Cleanse. Not the healthiest of means to lose weight, but effective. Within 3 months the weight had gradually crept back. I overindulged quite a bit with the Mr. away and vowed to myself to be strict in my eating habits when he returned. Over the course of three weeks I melted away 10 pounds just by watching what I ate and the portions that I consumed. 

My new boss at my new job mentioned that he had lost 40 pounds on the 17 Day Diet. He wouldn't shut up about it. I let it go through one ear and out the other for a few weeks until a friend of mine had mentioned that it was working for her sister. I did some research and read the reviews. There wasn't a bad one out there. I bought the book and waited for its delivery. 

I started the diet four days ago and so far have lost five pounds. 

Amazing, right? It takes a bit of work but it is doable. Let me share some of what works for me. 

Planning is EVERYTHING for me! 

The night before I started I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, chopping vegetables, bagging up fruit, baking hand held egg cups, making beefed up broccoli meatloaf and faux mashed potatoes. I was excited for the next day. 

I am not an egg fan and dressed these eggs up as much as I could. The first day I let myself believe that they were delicious, the second day they 'weren't that bad'. By the third day, I could barely look at them. The egg cups were a success, but like I said I am not that much of an egg fan. 

Onto the meatloaf and mashed potatoes. The meatloaf was ok. I made it with ground turkey and doubled its size by added shredded broccoli. In the end all I really tasted was the broccoli. I need to work on that recipe still. The faux mashed potatoes, in my opinion, weren't fooling anyone. Pulverized cauliflower still tastes like cauliflower to me...yuck!

As long as everything is planned out it is an easy diet to stick to because you can actually eat. 

Tonight is Eggplant Parmigiana. Mmmmm...

Lazy Saturday Blogging

This morning (because I didn't have a cake order to fret about) I was able to sit down, relax with a cup of my favorite coffee from the Blue Bottle Coffee Co., and tool around the internet catching up on some of my favorite blogs.
Here's the recap....
From A Cup of Joe

(Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water ala LEGO)

(Sandcastle Popscicle Molds)

(Transparent Kayak)

From Our Best Bites:

(Brown Paper Bag Popcorn)

(Strawberry Sauce)

(Carrot Cake)

...and from Martha Stewart

(DIY Wedding Centerpieces)

(More Centerpieces)

(Book Themed Baby Shower)

Sensing Sunday: February 13, 2011

What I am:

Hearing: 'Stop Dragging My Heart Around'-Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty

Seeing: My Valentine roses on the kitchen table next to the half flat of strawberries I brought from the roadside vendor. 

Smelling: My husband's delicious clam chowder bubbling up in the kitchen. 

Tasting: A glass of Pinot Noir. Mmmm....

Feeling: I was hoping to get some rest this weekend, but with the Crab Feed on Friday, the 4 miles in the gym on Saturday, the 6 miles with dad and the dogs on Sunday, the brunch of the Mr.'s homemade crepes and strawberries on Saturday with the brother in law and the kiddos, the evening of karaoke with the Garcias on Saturday night, the grocery store with my mum and then again with the Mr. to get supplies for her cake, my pie and his clam chowder....I am exhausted. To think, I still have to help mum with said cake tonight and I have to attempt my pies....thank goodness for my little glass of wine. 

Picture This: Day 4

Day 4:
A picture of your night.
Pretty sad because I had hoped to make scones tonight but instead I vegged out on American Pickers while eating a dinner of pork chops (grilled to perfection by the Mr.) and stuffed potatoes (made by yours truly). The stuffed potatoes were one of the first things I learned to make from my mum that was somewhat impressive. I made these when I was in my early 20s and thought I was very high class. Oh yeah, cheap Gallo Cabernet topped it off...now I am ready to catch some zzzz's...night y'all.

Belated Birthday

My birthday happened to fall on a Friday this year so it made it a perfect time to have a party. A backyard BBQ to be specific. I was excited to entertain and agonized over the menu. I spared myself from making my own birthday cake again this year (it was quite the feat last year). Instead we had pie. This was the menu I decided on:

Homemade Lemonade
Iced Sun Tea
Sangria
Cheap Beer
Chips and Mom's Salsa
Assorted Sausage Slices
Grilled Chicken
Grilled Tri-Tip
Green Salad
Fresh Fruit Salad
Corn on the Cob
Carmel Apple Pie
My Brother's Berry Peach Pie

We ended up with too much of everything after all of the guests arrived. I knew that I wanted to have my mom's salsa and was happy that my brother brought the pie. I have been to parties and dinners where there was that one thing that stood out amongst the rest. I wanted to have a party where everything that was served was that 'one thing'. I skipped the cake because I knew that the pie I wanted to serve was already a tested favorite. I knew that my mom's salsa was another crowd pleaser and has been for the last 20 or so years. The Mr. and I are lucky to have a butcher as a best friend. He was the one that brought and cooked all the meat. The sausages are a staple at every party he provides for. After much research on my end I found the lemonade and Sangria online. Both went over so well that they are now permanent staples as part of my summer menus. The best part of the BBQ was that we were able to provide food and drink for 30 people (30 people didn't show up so we had tons of left overs) for around $100 (meat, salads and salsa excluded) I have saved you the trouble and have listed the recipes for lemonade and Sangria below:

Sangria
Serves 8
* 3 cups dry red wine (I used Charles Shaw (Two Buck Chuck from Trader Joe's) Cab Sav)
* 1 1/2 cups carbonated lemon-lime beverage (ie: 7-up)
* 1 1/2 cups orange juice
* 16 lime slices
* 16 lemon slices
* 8 orange slices
* 1/2 cup brandy
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 2 Tablespoons Cointreau or orange liqueur (I used Triple Sec)
* 2 Tablespoons Grenadine
* 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
Ice Cubes
Stir wine, orange juice, 8 lime slices, 8 lemon slices, orange slices, brandy, sugar, Cointreau, Grenadine, lemon juice and lime juice in large pitcher and combine. Let stand for at least 30 minutes to steep. Add soda right before serving to maintain carbonation. Fill 8 large wineglasses with ice and divide sangria evenly amongst them. Garnish with remaining lemon and lime slices. Serve.

(recipe from Food.com)

Best Lemonade Ever

Serves 20

* 1 3/4 cups white sugar

* 8 cups water

* 1 1/2 freshly squeezed lemon juice

Ice Cubes

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and one cup water. Bring to boil and stir to dissolve sugar. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until chilled. Remove seeds from lemon juice but leave pulp. In pitcher, stir together chilled syrup, lemon juice and remaining 7 cups of water. Pour over ice cubes before serving.

(recipe from Allrecipes.com)