My Sexy Forever Mother
I don't know if the Sexy Forever recipes are starting to grow on my mom, or if she's just appeasing me ... but she ate asparagus and leeks today! And, even more shocking, she ate turkey meatballs.
While I was mixing the turkey meatball mixture, she wrinkled her nose at me and said, "You know I don't do ground turkey ... couldn't you use ground meat while I'm here?" That kind of shocked me because I wasn't expecting her to eat the soup in the first place because of the asparagus and leeks. But, she said she'd give it a try.
The first thought that came into my head was, "who is this lady ... and what did you do with my mother?"
Breakfast - Fruit; then after 20 minutes I ate puffed wheat cereal and non-fat milk.
AM Snack - Slice of cheese.
Lunch - Leftover taco salad from yesterday.
PM Snack - Philadelphia roll-ups. These are so easy, and very delicious because I love genoa salami. All you do is spread a little cream cheese on the genoa slice, then place sliced red pepper and cucumber in the center, and roll. Even my finicky mother had a couple.
Dinner - Chicken Meatball Asparagus Soup (from SS web site). First, I have to mention that I'm not a fan of ground chicken because it's dry, so I substituted it for ground turkey. Plus, to give the meatballs a little more flavor I added 1/2 cup chopped onions since I was already chopping some for the broth.
I also made 6 servings, as the recipe yields 4 servings. You know I like leftovers for lunch. Plus, soup is so easy to reheat the next day ... and always tastes better, too.
Basically, you saute chopped onions in EVOO for 7-10 minutes. Then add thinly sliced leeks and asparagus; then saute for another 5 minutes. Add chicken broth. Bring to a boil; then simmer for 15 minutes. I let it simmer longer; 40 minutes.
Then, fry up the turkey meatballs in olive oil until browned on all sides. Then, plop into the soup. The little bit of olive oil left on the meatballs gave the soup a velvety texture. It was simply delicious.
And, shock of all shocks ... my mother ate the whole bowl and commented several times at how tasty the veggies and stock were ... but felt the meatballs were bland ... but ate them anyway. While the addition of the onions helped, I think I'd add some chicken spices to the meat mixture the next time because it needed a little more punch.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Level 1 - Day 41
Food Finesse
I just read a helpful article about how to prepare healthy foods correctly to maximize their benefits and thought I'd share some tips with you.
Eggs - scrambling eggs activates avidin, a protein that binds to biotin and renders it useless. Biotin is an important B vitamin that helps energy support and thick, lustrous hair. The fix: Try poaching, frying, or boiling.
Tomatoes - Raw tomatoes are nutritious but difficult for the body to absorb lycopene, a powerful antioxidant linked to prostate health. The fix: cooking tomatoes or breaking them up or mashing them plus combining them with some type of fat or oil may enhance absorption.
Potatoes - When potatoes are cooked at high temperatures, such as french fries or potato chips, it creates the chemical acrylamide, which has been linked to cancer and neurological problems in lab rats. Frying causes the greatest acrylamide formation, followed by roasting and baking. The fix: boil or microwave potatoes.
Breakfast - Bacon and eggs, fried in the bacon grease, plus leftover yellow squash from yesterday. These eggs are absolutely delicious, and hard to believe they're on any weight loss plan. Suzanne's trick is to put a lid on the eggs for a couple minutes. They come out crispy at the edges and no runny egg whites.
This dish also pleased and delighted my visiting mother, who hates any kind of veggies mixed in with eggs. So that leaves out frittatas, omelets, and egg scrambles.
AM Snack - A delicious fruit smoothie. Remember, you can't add milk, cream, sherbet, or ice cream to smoothies as you must eat your fruit alone.
Lunch - Leftover chicken salad from yesterday.
PM Snack - My mother and hubby had a cocktail along with tortilla chips and cheese salsa. I refrained and had a glass of lemon water, plus a whole grain Wasa Crisp and fresh salsa.
Dinner - My mother loves tacos, so I made the taco salad I made while in Detox, week one. All you do is add taco seasonings to fried ground beef (I used chuck). Then, in a large bowl combine mixed greens, tomatoes (I used green and red), scallions, shredded cheddar cheese, and sour cream. Then, top it with the beef mixture. We all loved it.
I just read a helpful article about how to prepare healthy foods correctly to maximize their benefits and thought I'd share some tips with you.
Eggs - scrambling eggs activates avidin, a protein that binds to biotin and renders it useless. Biotin is an important B vitamin that helps energy support and thick, lustrous hair. The fix: Try poaching, frying, or boiling.
Tomatoes - Raw tomatoes are nutritious but difficult for the body to absorb lycopene, a powerful antioxidant linked to prostate health. The fix: cooking tomatoes or breaking them up or mashing them plus combining them with some type of fat or oil may enhance absorption.
Potatoes - When potatoes are cooked at high temperatures, such as french fries or potato chips, it creates the chemical acrylamide, which has been linked to cancer and neurological problems in lab rats. Frying causes the greatest acrylamide formation, followed by roasting and baking. The fix: boil or microwave potatoes.
Breakfast - Bacon and eggs, fried in the bacon grease, plus leftover yellow squash from yesterday. These eggs are absolutely delicious, and hard to believe they're on any weight loss plan. Suzanne's trick is to put a lid on the eggs for a couple minutes. They come out crispy at the edges and no runny egg whites.
This dish also pleased and delighted my visiting mother, who hates any kind of veggies mixed in with eggs. So that leaves out frittatas, omelets, and egg scrambles.
AM Snack - A delicious fruit smoothie. Remember, you can't add milk, cream, sherbet, or ice cream to smoothies as you must eat your fruit alone.
Lunch - Leftover chicken salad from yesterday.
PM Snack - My mother and hubby had a cocktail along with tortilla chips and cheese salsa. I refrained and had a glass of lemon water, plus a whole grain Wasa Crisp and fresh salsa.
Dinner - My mother loves tacos, so I made the taco salad I made while in Detox, week one. All you do is add taco seasonings to fried ground beef (I used chuck). Then, in a large bowl combine mixed greens, tomatoes (I used green and red), scallions, shredded cheddar cheese, and sour cream. Then, top it with the beef mixture. We all loved it.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Level 1 - Day 40
I'm Going Back To Boot Camp
For me, I think the best way to get back into the swing of the Sexy Forever plan (after 2 weeks of faltering off plan) is to go back to the Detox level. I don't want to tempt myself with that additional carb. So this week I'll be preparing meals as if I were on Detox. Then, next week I'll go back to the Level 1 plan.
Suzanne suggests this strategy when you stray from the plan, or if you hit a plateau. So, I'm going to take her advice. She hasn't let me down, yet.
Breakfast - Scrambled eggs with Feta Cheese and Veggies (from SS web site), plus turkey sausage. The feta cheese was wonderful in this egg dish. In my opinion, it brought it up to the gourmet level. Plus, it was so easy.
As a side note, my mother wouldn't even try one bite because she likes her food plain. Sometimes I wonder if I was switched at birth. Consequently, I had to make some plain scrambled eggs on the side. However, I kept the turkey sausage a secret and she ate two links. Guess how many she would have eaten if I had told her it was turkey?
AM Snack - A delicious fruit smoothie with 1-1/2 cups frozen fruit and a good splash of pomegranate juice. It really hit the spot on a 90-degree day!
Lunch - A big salad with a hard boiled egg, deli roast beef, a little bit of shredded Monterrey jack cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, and scallions. Topped with natural salad dressing I found chilled in the produce section. A perfect lunch for a hot day.
PM Snack - We took my mom miniature golfing today, and skipped our snack. It was too hot to keep anything in the car. However, while my mother enjoyed an iced-cold, Coke from the vending machine, my hubby and I purchased bottled water. I wanted a Root Beer so bad, but I'm focused so it wasn't that tough. Maybe it was because I won 2 out of 3 games.
Dinner - When we got home my hubby fired up the grill. I had the butcher butterfly a whole chicken, except for the wings and legs. Then, using the recipe for Butterflied Rosemary Chicken (pages 254-255 in Sexy Forever) we prepared it on the grill instead of the oven. Since my mother likes her food plain I didn't put the seasonings on the wings and legs.
If you remember, we had this dish during the first week of Detox, and it was one of our favorites. It was incredible back then, but preparing it on the grill elevated it to an even higher level. I groaned all night with joy!
We also grilled some yellow squash, too. Delicious! I don't know how my mother could pass these little yellow gems up. But ... she did ... so I sliced some green peppers for her ... which she loves ... cold ... with nothing on them. Boring!!!!!
NOTE: If you prepare the chicken on the grill you won't be able to make the pan juice using the drippings. But, the wood charcoal taste more than makes up for that loss.
For me, I think the best way to get back into the swing of the Sexy Forever plan (after 2 weeks of faltering off plan) is to go back to the Detox level. I don't want to tempt myself with that additional carb. So this week I'll be preparing meals as if I were on Detox. Then, next week I'll go back to the Level 1 plan.
Suzanne suggests this strategy when you stray from the plan, or if you hit a plateau. So, I'm going to take her advice. She hasn't let me down, yet.
Breakfast - Scrambled eggs with Feta Cheese and Veggies (from SS web site), plus turkey sausage. The feta cheese was wonderful in this egg dish. In my opinion, it brought it up to the gourmet level. Plus, it was so easy.
As a side note, my mother wouldn't even try one bite because she likes her food plain. Sometimes I wonder if I was switched at birth. Consequently, I had to make some plain scrambled eggs on the side. However, I kept the turkey sausage a secret and she ate two links. Guess how many she would have eaten if I had told her it was turkey?
AM Snack - A delicious fruit smoothie with 1-1/2 cups frozen fruit and a good splash of pomegranate juice. It really hit the spot on a 90-degree day!
Lunch - A big salad with a hard boiled egg, deli roast beef, a little bit of shredded Monterrey jack cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, and scallions. Topped with natural salad dressing I found chilled in the produce section. A perfect lunch for a hot day.
PM Snack - We took my mom miniature golfing today, and skipped our snack. It was too hot to keep anything in the car. However, while my mother enjoyed an iced-cold, Coke from the vending machine, my hubby and I purchased bottled water. I wanted a Root Beer so bad, but I'm focused so it wasn't that tough. Maybe it was because I won 2 out of 3 games.
Dinner - When we got home my hubby fired up the grill. I had the butcher butterfly a whole chicken, except for the wings and legs. Then, using the recipe for Butterflied Rosemary Chicken (pages 254-255 in Sexy Forever) we prepared it on the grill instead of the oven. Since my mother likes her food plain I didn't put the seasonings on the wings and legs.
If you remember, we had this dish during the first week of Detox, and it was one of our favorites. It was incredible back then, but preparing it on the grill elevated it to an even higher level. I groaned all night with joy!
We also grilled some yellow squash, too. Delicious! I don't know how my mother could pass these little yellow gems up. But ... she did ... so I sliced some green peppers for her ... which she loves ... cold ... with nothing on them. Boring!!!!!
NOTE: If you prepare the chicken on the grill you won't be able to make the pan juice using the drippings. But, the wood charcoal taste more than makes up for that loss.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Level 1 - Day 39 (weigh-in day)
It's Weigh-In Day And I'm Back On Track
After almost a week's worth of straying from the plan, I'm happy to report that I didn't falter today. However, I did feel tempted several times, but I think that's normal after your body gets a taste of bad carbs. It wants more, so I'm trying to stay the course because I know that after a few days the cravings will go away.
The scale rewarded both my hubby and me for our food violations this past week with a one pound GAIN, each. Not good, but I'm thankful it wasn't more. As, I was prepared for a 2-3 pound gain. So, I went from a 12 pound loss back to 11 pounds. And my hubby went from a 21 pound loss back to 20.
I know there are many people out there that continue to falter once they go off their weight loss plan. From what I've heard and read, it's a very common reason why people fail or give up. Well, I'm not going to be one of those statistics.
Life happens and circumstances sometimes make it challenging to stay on course. You just have to find a way to stay focused and get thru those times without letting them get into your head and mess with you. Past habits can be fragile, so you have to dig deep when they occur because life isn't perfect.
Breakfast - Fruit; then I exercised. Then, Quinoa with non-fat milk and Agave Nectar.
AM Snack - The rest of my fruit for the day.
Lunch - A big salad with strips of roasted chicken and a hard boiled egg for my protein.
PM Snack - Whole grain Wasa Crisps with fresh salsa. Yum. My favorite.
Dinner - Stir fried white shrimp in EVOO, sea salt, and pepper. Saute for 3 minutes on each side, or until the shrimp curl. Plus, steamed broccoli with a little shredded cheese on top.
Beverages: Eight, 8-ounce glasses of water.
After almost a week's worth of straying from the plan, I'm happy to report that I didn't falter today. However, I did feel tempted several times, but I think that's normal after your body gets a taste of bad carbs. It wants more, so I'm trying to stay the course because I know that after a few days the cravings will go away.
The scale rewarded both my hubby and me for our food violations this past week with a one pound GAIN, each. Not good, but I'm thankful it wasn't more. As, I was prepared for a 2-3 pound gain. So, I went from a 12 pound loss back to 11 pounds. And my hubby went from a 21 pound loss back to 20.
I know there are many people out there that continue to falter once they go off their weight loss plan. From what I've heard and read, it's a very common reason why people fail or give up. Well, I'm not going to be one of those statistics.
Life happens and circumstances sometimes make it challenging to stay on course. You just have to find a way to stay focused and get thru those times without letting them get into your head and mess with you. Past habits can be fragile, so you have to dig deep when they occur because life isn't perfect.
Breakfast - Fruit; then I exercised. Then, Quinoa with non-fat milk and Agave Nectar.
AM Snack - The rest of my fruit for the day.
Lunch - A big salad with strips of roasted chicken and a hard boiled egg for my protein.
PM Snack - Whole grain Wasa Crisps with fresh salsa. Yum. My favorite.
Dinner - Stir fried white shrimp in EVOO, sea salt, and pepper. Saute for 3 minutes on each side, or until the shrimp curl. Plus, steamed broccoli with a little shredded cheese on top.
Beverages: Eight, 8-ounce glasses of water.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Level 1 - Day 38
I'm Back!
When you last heard from me I had just received a large custom order for Sugar Notes. It's been a hectic work week, but the order shipped on time due to lots of extra hours on my part. However, my regular work activities got a bit behind, so unfortunately my blog post got delayed an extra day. So sorry.
I'm going to fess up right away and tell you that I wasn't able to plan my Sexy Forever meals as diligently as I like, and therefore I didn't eat the way I should have on countless occasions. Plus, as you may remember, my mother is visiting so I had that obstacle, too.
However, I did learn a few things regarding Suzanne's plan. Planning is very important, but you can wing it for a while without doing too much damage to the plan. While I only made a few of Suzanne's recipes, I relied on salads, purchasing roasted chicken, and preparing proteins like beef and chicken ... then serving them with canned organic veggies.
Breakfast and dinner were very manageable, but lunch was the kicker. Since I didn't have time to plan ahead for them, I found it hard to prepare balanced lunches that included the veggies. Suzanne's plan calls for 6 servings of veggies per day and I probably averaged about 3 per day.
Then, there's the snacks. I fully planned on trying to fit a veggie into one of my snacks, but since I was so busy with work I usually grabbed some fruit or a piece of cheese because it was quick. Many days I forgot about my snacks all-together, and then found myself hungry at night. And, you know how hard that is to stay on course! My hubby and I caved a couple times when we saw my mom eating cookies or ice cream.
In short, I kind of train-wrecked ... then got on track for a bit ... then train-wrecked. Plus, my mom didn't help either. She was quick to suggest take-out food or frozen dinners, because that's what she likes to do. I will admit to giving in a couple times. We had a Subway sub sandwich for lunch one day and on another day a frozen entree called "Voila". And one night we went out for Mexican food and I had an enchilada. Yikes. Not the best choices, but it could have been worse.
Tomorrow is weigh-in day and I'm nervous. However, I got back on track today and planned a week of Sexy Forever meals. Which is something I didn't have time to do last week. I can't stress this enough, but when you go for too long without a plan, it catches up with you. Old habits can rear their ugly heads. So, I strongly suggest making some kind of food plan that you can stick to ... because if you don't, it's too easy to stray off course.
So, I'm off to the grocery store later today, and will be back on plan tomorrow. And, as always, tomorrow is weigh-in day. Stay tuned.
When you last heard from me I had just received a large custom order for Sugar Notes. It's been a hectic work week, but the order shipped on time due to lots of extra hours on my part. However, my regular work activities got a bit behind, so unfortunately my blog post got delayed an extra day. So sorry.
I'm going to fess up right away and tell you that I wasn't able to plan my Sexy Forever meals as diligently as I like, and therefore I didn't eat the way I should have on countless occasions. Plus, as you may remember, my mother is visiting so I had that obstacle, too.
However, I did learn a few things regarding Suzanne's plan. Planning is very important, but you can wing it for a while without doing too much damage to the plan. While I only made a few of Suzanne's recipes, I relied on salads, purchasing roasted chicken, and preparing proteins like beef and chicken ... then serving them with canned organic veggies.
Breakfast and dinner were very manageable, but lunch was the kicker. Since I didn't have time to plan ahead for them, I found it hard to prepare balanced lunches that included the veggies. Suzanne's plan calls for 6 servings of veggies per day and I probably averaged about 3 per day.
Then, there's the snacks. I fully planned on trying to fit a veggie into one of my snacks, but since I was so busy with work I usually grabbed some fruit or a piece of cheese because it was quick. Many days I forgot about my snacks all-together, and then found myself hungry at night. And, you know how hard that is to stay on course! My hubby and I caved a couple times when we saw my mom eating cookies or ice cream.
In short, I kind of train-wrecked ... then got on track for a bit ... then train-wrecked. Plus, my mom didn't help either. She was quick to suggest take-out food or frozen dinners, because that's what she likes to do. I will admit to giving in a couple times. We had a Subway sub sandwich for lunch one day and on another day a frozen entree called "Voila". And one night we went out for Mexican food and I had an enchilada. Yikes. Not the best choices, but it could have been worse.
Tomorrow is weigh-in day and I'm nervous. However, I got back on track today and planned a week of Sexy Forever meals. Which is something I didn't have time to do last week. I can't stress this enough, but when you go for too long without a plan, it catches up with you. Old habits can rear their ugly heads. So, I strongly suggest making some kind of food plan that you can stick to ... because if you don't, it's too easy to stray off course.
So, I'm off to the grocery store later today, and will be back on plan tomorrow. And, as always, tomorrow is weigh-in day. Stay tuned.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Level 1 - Day 33 (weigh-in day)
It's Weigh-In Day!
As I mentioned earlier this week, our nephew and his bride came for a visit over the weekend to celebrate our birthdays. And, we splurged. I couldn't help it! I'm a doting aunt and I love spoiling my nephews. Between the wine, a Key Lime Martini, homemade pizza, a grilled brat and bun, plus the ultimate ... a Health Bar Twirl from our ice cream stand ... I was worried when I stepped on the scale. I had great fun last weekend ... but was hoping I didn't do too much damage to the scale.
Well, to my surprise the scale stayed the same. Whew!!!! So, that meant zero pounds lost this week, with a total of 12 pounds after 9 weeks. What a relief. But, at the same time, amazing.
My husband cheated a little more than I did because he had leftover pizza for lunch on Monday. Plus, a couple beers on Saturday. So, I'm literally shocked that he didn't gain any weight. We fell off the wagon over the weekend, but to help make up for it we exercised one extra day and ate extremely good the rest of the week. And, I drank extra water each day. I guess that made the difference.
Blog Bulletin: Due to a large, custom order for my Sugar Notes business, I will not be able to post for the next couple of days. I'll be working 24/7 until the order is done, as it's a rush job and needs to ship on Tuesday. It's for one of my favorite customers, so I don't mind. Plus, I don't get custom orders very often and they're usually fun because it's something different.
So, you're on your own for a few days. Stay strong. Keep motivated. And, if you need a little inspiration, read some of my earlier posts.
Hugs,
Cathy
As I mentioned earlier this week, our nephew and his bride came for a visit over the weekend to celebrate our birthdays. And, we splurged. I couldn't help it! I'm a doting aunt and I love spoiling my nephews. Between the wine, a Key Lime Martini, homemade pizza, a grilled brat and bun, plus the ultimate ... a Health Bar Twirl from our ice cream stand ... I was worried when I stepped on the scale. I had great fun last weekend ... but was hoping I didn't do too much damage to the scale.
Well, to my surprise the scale stayed the same. Whew!!!! So, that meant zero pounds lost this week, with a total of 12 pounds after 9 weeks. What a relief. But, at the same time, amazing.
My husband cheated a little more than I did because he had leftover pizza for lunch on Monday. Plus, a couple beers on Saturday. So, I'm literally shocked that he didn't gain any weight. We fell off the wagon over the weekend, but to help make up for it we exercised one extra day and ate extremely good the rest of the week. And, I drank extra water each day. I guess that made the difference.
Blog Bulletin: Due to a large, custom order for my Sugar Notes business, I will not be able to post for the next couple of days. I'll be working 24/7 until the order is done, as it's a rush job and needs to ship on Tuesday. It's for one of my favorite customers, so I don't mind. Plus, I don't get custom orders very often and they're usually fun because it's something different.
So, you're on your own for a few days. Stay strong. Keep motivated. And, if you need a little inspiration, read some of my earlier posts.
Hugs,
Cathy
Friday, April 1, 2011
Level 1 - Day 31 (Top 5 Recipes)
Top 5 Recipes From The First 30 Days In Level 1
We thought it would be fun to share our favorite recipes every 30 days. If you missed the top 5 recipes from the Detox Level, check them out. Go to the February postings under, Detox, Day 30.
As with the last time, my hubby and I agreed on four meals, but could not come to consensus for the fifth. So, I've listed both. While I must mention that all of the meals by Suzanne are good, a few are exceptional. And worth giving them their just due because it's hard to believe they're on any weight loss plan.
Breakfast - First, I exercised, then had a frozen, gluten-free waffle and natural peanut butter.
AM Snack - Fruit smoothie.
Lunch - The last of the grilled hamburgers from Sunday and a large salad.
PM Snack - Whole grain Wasa crisp and fresh salsa. Yum ... yum.
Dinner - Leftover Chicken Drumsticks from yesterday. They were very tasty re-heated because they were so moist to begin with, and I sprinkled a little McCormick chicken seasoning on them, too. We also had organic, canned green beans.
We thought it would be fun to share our favorite recipes every 30 days. If you missed the top 5 recipes from the Detox Level, check them out. Go to the February postings under, Detox, Day 30.
As with the last time, my hubby and I agreed on four meals, but could not come to consensus for the fifth. So, I've listed both. While I must mention that all of the meals by Suzanne are good, a few are exceptional. And worth giving them their just due because it's hard to believe they're on any weight loss plan.
- Mozzarella Marinara with Sweet Tomato Sauce from Day 11.
- Green Eggs and Ham Sandwiches from Day 6.
- Roasted Chicken Breast with Basil Pesto Sauce under the skin from Day 21.
- Fennel and Leaks au Grautin from Day 15.
- My pick: Philadelphia roll-ups from Day 2. This is a snack. My hubby's pick: Chicken and Zucchini Soup from Day 5.
Breakfast - First, I exercised, then had a frozen, gluten-free waffle and natural peanut butter.
AM Snack - Fruit smoothie.
Lunch - The last of the grilled hamburgers from Sunday and a large salad.
PM Snack - Whole grain Wasa crisp and fresh salsa. Yum ... yum.
Dinner - Leftover Chicken Drumsticks from yesterday. They were very tasty re-heated because they were so moist to begin with, and I sprinkled a little McCormick chicken seasoning on them, too. We also had organic, canned green beans.
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