Level 1 - Day 55 (Easter Meals)

Happy Easter Everyone!

When planning my Easter meals I ran into an obstacle.  I couldn't find any recipes in Suzanne's books or web site for ham.  And, as you know, for most families that's the main event for the Easter meal.

Since Easter is about Jesus, I remembered a Bible story where Jesus fed over 5,000 people with 5 loaves of bread and two fish.  So, that story was my inspiration for my Easter meal.  We had fish.  But, I skipped the bread.

Also, before church some friends came over for an Easter brunch.  I found a recipe on Suzanne's web site for Easy Eggs Florentine, which uses ham.  So, I decided to feature ham in my brunch menu.  How perfect ... right?

Plus, for my birthday, my sweet sister gave me the book, Somersize Cocktails.  So, I splurged a bit and used two of the drink recipes to go with my meals.  And, if I say so myself, they were perfect. 

My sister, Dinah, is one of my biggest supporters in everything I do.  So, I have to thank her for this wonderful gift.  I can't wait to try the other drink recipes when I get closer to my goal weight.   

Breakfast Brunch - This meal was so festive and pretty from start to finish.  And, what's even better is that, other than the alcohol, it was on the Sexy Forever plan.  Yeah!

First, instead of a Mimosa, we started with a Cosmosa.  Plus a Suzanne friendly version of Ambrosia Fruit Salad.  As you know, when eating fruit you can't mix anything else with it.  So, to get around the cream sauce that's typically on ambrosia, I pureed some fresh strawberries and mixed some shredded coconut in it.  Then I drizzled it on a mixture of fresh fruits.  Both the drink and fruit salad were extremely delicious and very festive.

Then, as you know, whenever you eat fruit you have to wait 20 minutes before eating anything else.  So, we chatted while I finished preparing our main meal, Easy Eggs Florentine (SS web site).  You prepare them in a cupcake tin and they come out looking like cupcakes.  But, they're made with ham, spinach, eggs, and cheese. 

I wish you could have seen how beautiful they looked on my Royal Albert bone china serving dish.  Plus, a small two-tiered pedestal held my breakfast sausages.  And of course, the individual place settings matched.  So, it was indeed a beautiful table, topped with an Easter Lily as the centerpiece.  So you see, you can prepare holiday-appropriate meals on the Sexy Forever plan.

Tip:  Here's a recipe tip.  When baking the eggs in the oven, the recipe says to bake for 10 minutes.  However, they were still a bit runny, so I put them back in the oven for an additional 3 minutes and they were perfect.  And, so as not to be confused, after the 13 minutes you top them with shredded cheddar cheese and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

AM Snack - After eating our delightful brunch, neither one of us was hungry for a snack.

Lunch - Leftover Flattened Pan-Fried Pork Chops and Buffalo Mozzarella, Fennel, and Celery Salad, both from yesterday.

PM Snack - In keeping with the Easter theme, we had deviled eggs as an appetizer.  Get it?  Plus, a small glass of wine.  I justified the wine because I needed one cup for the fish I'm making for our Easter dinner.

Dinner - Citrus Pesto-Encrusted Fish (SS web site) and Zucchini Ribbons with Parsley Pesto for 4 (SS web site).  To save time, I made both pesto recipes the night before.

The combination of these two dishes were elegant and festive.  The pesto sauce on the fish gave it an exotic presentation and the gravy sauce on the zucchini ribbons looked like something you'd get in a 5 Star restaurant.

Both were incredibly delicious.  I've never had sea bass before, but it was a light and flaky fish with wonderful flavor.  Mainly in part to the yummy sauce that's made with white wine, lemon and lime juice, and a little butter.  Yummo! 

NOTE:  Because of the wine, the fish was a Level 1 meal.  To make it appropriate for Detox, substitute the wine for vegetable stock.

Dessert - To top off the meal we had a Lemon Drop Martini (from Somersize Cocktails) and ONE dark chocolate covered strawberry.  The combination was decadent.  I didn't even miss my Marshmallow Peeps, Chocolate Cake, or Key Lime Pie!  Also, this dessert is definitely a Level 2.  But since we only ate one strawberry each, it wasn't a full portion.

NOTE:  Suzanne recommends using dark chocolate with 60% cacao for the best benefits.  Many of you probably know that dark chocolate is actually good for you ... in moderation of course.  Also, if anyone would like the recipes for the Lemon Drop Martini or the Cosmosa, please send me a message.