P2 Recipes

Found these on one of the facebook HCG groups, and want to try them all...so I posted them here for easy reference!  Let me know if you try them and let me know what you think!

Apple Crisp

Filling:

1 apple
half small lemon
1 T water2 t zsweet/granulated sugar sub. (adjust amount if not using zsweet)
cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400.Peel, core, and slice/chop apple.Place apples in small baking dish.Cover with juice of 1/2 small lemon, zsweet/sugar sub., water, and few dashes of cinnamon. Toss.

Topping:

1 grissini
1t milk
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t pumpkin pie spice

Grind grissini into a powder using food processor or coffee grinder.Add milk in 1/4 t increments. Slowly stir until mixture forms a slightly moist crumbly topping.Sprinkle on top of apple filling.Bake:Cover dish and bake 20 mins.Remove cover and broil 1-2 mins to crisp topping.

Serve immediately.
Curried Asparagus Chicken Soup

couple cups water (I used about 3)
100 grams chicken breast
asparagus (allowed amount-chopped)
1/2 t coriander
1 t curry powder
1/2 t cumin
salt / pepper to taste
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. onion powder

Poach chicken in water with spices to make broth.
Remove chicken and set aside to cool
Bring broth to a boil, add asparagus. Boil until tender.
Put asparagus with a little of the broth in blender, puree til smooth, place back in pan.
Dice chicken into cubes, and pan sear with additional curry, coriander and cumin, if desired.
Place chicken back into soup- stir well. Can let cook down to desired consistency if it's too watery. Yummy!
I go heavy on the spices, and I used hot curry powder for the extra kick, so may want to add to personal taste.

Garlic/Herb Chicken with Spicy Tomato "Relish"
100 g. chicken
onion powder
2 cloves garlic minced (or to taste) I like a LOT
generous shake of oregano, thyme, marjoram
Tomato (allowed amount)
crushed red pepper
salt/pepper to taste

Shake a generous amount of onion powder, the herbs, and garlic, and a little salt and pepper onto chicken. Rub onto chicken and place in plastic baggie to marinate for about 15 minutes.
Place in a nonstick pan with about 2 tablespoons water. Cover and poach until done. Remain covered
Dice tomato and add crushed red pepper to taste, a dash of lemon juice, onion powder, salt/pepper, and oregano. Let rest while chicken is cooking.
Pour onto chicken while still in pan and cover for about 3-5 minutes to slightly warm the tomato.

Spicy Asian Vinagrette Cucumbers
Cucumbers (allowed amount)
Splash of Braggs Amino
Splash of vinegar
Stevia to taste
Crushed red pepper

Slice cucumbers and toss in Braggs, Vinegar, stevia and crushed red pepper.
Let sit for about 10 minutes to "pickle" the cukes a bit....
Buffalo Chicken

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breast tenders
1 cup vinegar
1 cup water
1-2 T cayenne pepper
1-2 T chili powder (adjust as needed)
Directions:
In small bowl, mix vinegar, water, and cayenne pepper. Add chicken to marinade and refrigerate for 1-2 hrs. Preheat oven to 350. Add chili powder to a small dish and dip chicken in chili powder. Place on rack in baking pan. Bake 15-20 minutes turning halfway through. Serve immediately with some homemade buffalo sauce or Frank’s Original Red Hot Sauce.

Makes 4 portions. It is wonderful sliced over salad greens.
Spicy Mustard Chicken
1 lb chicken
Juice of 2 lemon
¼ cup spicy mustard
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat broiler. Broil 1 side of chicken 5-10 mins until slightly browned. In small bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Spoon mixture onto chicken. Flip over and coat other side. Broil uncooked side 5-10 mins or until no longer pink.

NOTE: This chicken stays really moist and juicy and full of flavor. Enjoy! I also like to bake this. It stays even juicier that way.


Steak (or Chicken) Pizzaiola
# 100g steak (or chicken)
# tomato (diced)
# 2-3 cloves minced garlic
# 1 t oregano
# 1 t basil
# 1/4 t chili powder
# black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Place 1/2 of the diced tomato in casserole dish.
3. Add meat on top of tomato and top with minced garlic.
4. In small bowl, toss the rest of tomato with the oregano, basil, chili powder, and black pepper. Place on top of steak.
5. Cover tightly with aluminum foil or with lid.
6. Bake 45-60 mins.

TIP: If using chicken, sear each side for a minute or two in a frying pan with a dash of salt/pepper (until just browned). Then follow with same steps as above.

Cinnamon Curry Chicken Soup
# 100g chicken - cubed
# diced onion (allowed amount)
# 2 c broth
# 3 cloves minced garlic
# 1/2 t curry powder
# 1/4 t cinnamon
# 1/4 t pumpkin pie spice
# salt/black pepper to taste

1. In saucepan, combine all ingredients.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 45 mins.

TIP: The chicken can go straight from the freezer to the saucepan or crockpot on this one. If frozen, place the breast in whole, and then when the soup is finished, cube or shred the chicken. Very flavorful

Lemon Chicken Soup
# 100g cooked chicken breast (diced or shredded)
# chopped spinach (allowed amount)
# 2-3 c broth
# Juice of 1 lemon
# 1 t thyme
# sea salt to taste
# ground white pepper to taste
1. Preheat saucepan over MED heat.
2. Combine all ingredients.
3. Bring to a boil, then simmer 20 mins.
4. Serve.

TIP: This is an easy way to use up that boiled chicken you used to make your broth. You can even make this in the crockpot using uncooked or frozen chicken cut into cubes.


CHILLI
# 100g ground steak
# 1 tomato
# 1/2 c water or broth
# 3-4 cloves minced garlic
Seasonings (to taste):
# 1/2 t onion powder
# 1/2 t oregano
# 1/4 t cumin
# 1/4 t black pepper
# 1/4 t cayenne
# 1/4 t basil
# 1/4 t thyme

1. Preheat pan over MED heat.
2. Add minced garlic and 1 T of the water/broth to pan.
3. Saute 2-3 mins. Be sure not to burn the garlic. Add more water/broth as necessary.
4. Increase heat to MED-HI.
5. Add ground steak and saute until brown - about 5 mins.
6. Add all seasonings and cook an additional 3 mins. Continue to add more water/broth as necessary.
7. While that is cooking dice 1/2 of tomato and place other 1/2 in food processor or blender to puree.
8. Mix in tomatoes, puree, and rest of broth.
9. Turn heat down to MED-LO and simmer until it reaches desired consistency.
TIP: Mix all my spices together in a small bowl so I can add them all at once.

Chicken stir-fry
100 g Chicken breast
Shredded cabbage
Braggs Amino Acids
Fat free Chicken broth

I like to cook my chicken breast in a skillet with broth and water, shred it as it cooks, then add shredded cabbage (more broth/water as needed) and spray Braggs amino acids onto it (gives it that soy sauce flavor) and cook until cabbage is tender
Its filling and pretty good! I also like to use shrimp instead of chicken to mix it up a bit!

Vegetable Marinade
1 1/2 Tablespoon of Braggs Liquid Aminos
1 Tablespoon of Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tablespoon of fresh squeezed Lemon Juice
Black Pepper to taste

Whish all ingredients together and pour of vegetables in Ziplock bag...let marinate about 30 minutes to 1 hour in Refrig....
Place Vegetables on George Foreman Grill...pour over excess and grill...
I used on Aspargus for Phase 2 but I am sure it would be very tasty on Zucchini for you phase 3 folks
Yummy ~Enjoy


ORANGE JULIUS

peel & slice orange....add to blender
add 5+ drops of Valencia Orange Stevia & 5+drops of Vanilla Cream---BLEND
add 1/2 c to 1 c crushed ice---BLEND

less amount of ice makes like a sorbet you can eat it with a spoon...more ice & you can slurp it with a straw!!!!

Asparagus Soup
Aspargus
Chicken broth -- be careful, choose your brand carefully
water to thin out
salt pepper
tarragon (optional, but delish)

cook til tender.. than blend to make a soup. splash a squeez of lemon at the very end.  goes with fish or chicken perfectly!

P3 Thanksgiving Recipes

Found these on one of the facebook HCG groups, and I want to be able to find them quickly, so I'm posting them here.  This is just the first of many recipe groups that I want to try that I will be posting.  Please note that I have not yet tried these recipes, nor do I know if they are good for everyone...Enjoy!

Mock Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients
* 1 medium head cauliflower
* 1 tablespoon cream cheese, softened
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
* 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1/8 teaspoon straight chicken base or bullion (may substitute 1/2 teaspoon salt)
* 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh or dry chives, for garnish
* 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Directions
Set a stockpot of water to boil over high heat.
Clean and cut cauliflower into small pieces. Cook in boiling water for about 6 minutes, or until well done. Drain well; do not let cool and pat cooked cauliflower very dry between several layers of paper towels.
In a bowl with an immersion blender, or in a food processor, puree the hot cauliflower with the cream cheese, Parmesan, garlic, chicken base, and pepper until almost smooth.
Garnish with chives, and serve hot with pats of butter.
Hint: Try roasting the garlic and adding a little fresh rosemary for a whole new taste.


Almond Flour Pie Crust

Ingredients:
* 1 and 1/2 cups almond meal or almond flour
* 3 tablespoons melted butter
* Artificial sweetener equal to 3 tablespoons sugar

Preparation:
Heat oven to 350 F. Melt the butter (if the pie pan is microwave safe, melt the butter in it) and mix the ingredients up in the pan and pat into place with your fingertips.  Bake for about 10 minutes until the crust is beginning to brown. After 8 minutes, check every minute or so, because once it starts to brown it

Piecrust recipe, this one is made with pecan flour. I think it would be best for pecan pie or pumpkin pie.

Ingredients:
* 1 cup pecan pieces (frozen)
* 2 T melted butter
* 2 T sugar equivalent from artificial sweetener of your choice
Preparation:
1. Take pecans out of the freezer and measure them into a food processor (you can use a blender, but be careful not to blend them down too small). Pulse the processor until the largest pieces are as big as lentils or split peas.
2. Add the butter and the sweetener (I prefer ”liquid Splenda”). Blend until it's mixed evenly and then quickly
3. Dump it into a pie pan, and push with your fingers to cover the bottom and sides. It should be the right consistency to mold the crust to the pie pan evenly.


Pumpkin pie recipe
Ingredients:
* 9-inch pie pastry
* 16-ounce can pumpkin
* 12-ounce can evaporated milk
* 3 eggs
* 3/4 cup artificial sweetener
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon*
* 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger*
* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg*
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves*

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Beat pumpkin, milk and eggs. Beat in rest of ingredients. Pour into pastry lined pie pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F. Bake for 40 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Serve with sugar free whipped cream.

R1P2D43- Where's TOM?

Daily Weight Loss .7
Total Weight Loss 26.2
Current Weight: 162.8

Anxiously awaiting TOM, since I'm ready to get started on P3. It is not actually due for a few days but since it was early last time, I just assumed it would be this time too. I have to admit, though, that the continued weight loss for the last two days has been really nice. And I definitely don't mind if it continues and I actually reach my 30lb loss goal for R1. Fingers crossed!

Headed over to a neighbor's last night with my older son while hubby was out with the guys and his parents watched my little guy. I love the company of these woman, and the fact that these evening playdates with all of Connor's favorite friends in the neighborhood wear him out so much he sleeps really well. At the end of the night, Moms and kids alike all had a dance party. What fun!

Had a delicious dinner last night, a little variation on my first bison chili, and it only took about 5 minutes. Lets call it Kelly's Bison Chili 2:

Ingredients
100gm bison (precooked)
1 tbl onion juice (or if you can mix veggies on P2, 1/2 cup onion)
1/2 tbl Bragg's Aminos (i dont use salt since the aminos are salty)
Pepper to taste
Chili Powder
2 Plum tomatoes, or 1 regular tomato
2 tbl minced garlic (I like it garlicy)

Directions
Put onion juice in pan with garlic and tomatoes. Cook on high or medium heat until tomatoes are soft. Add in bison, braggs, and chili powder and cook until bison is heated up. Enjoy! Just a little heat, warm and filling.

Hope you have a relaxing Sunday. Me, I'm up early with the kids since hubby was out late last night. And the kids are a little wild, so I'm going to just go with it.

R1P2D42-Date night

Daily weight loss .7
Total R1P2 loss: 25.5
Current Weight: 163.5

Love my weekly date nights with my husband.  We went to PF Changs last night (hubby loves it) and I enjoyed their chicken chopped salad without dressing or the wonton straws.  I was suprised at how good it was: mixed greens, flavorful chicken (without marinade), cabbage, fennel, and a little salt and pepper.  And funny thing, I only had a little plate but was full before I finished everything on it.

We then went to see Percy Jackson, and were pleasantly suprised how much we enjoyed it.  Both of us were interested in mythology in our youth.   When I took Latin in middle school, we devoted a whole month to reviewing it, and to see it come to life on the big screen was so cool.  Reminded me of Clash of the
Titans, without cheesy Harry Hamlin (though I did love him in LA Law).  I guess I'm really dating myself, aren't I?

Anyway, off to the gym with the youngens for a little swimming.  Happy weekend to you!

It was fun while it lasted

Up .2 today, and I feel my TOM coming on...not because I'm bloated, but because I'm being and feeling really bitchy.  I wouldn't want to admit that if it wasn't TOM :)...I need to remeber to take a deep breath and get through it. 

Did well with my eating yesterday, but did use Bragg's Aminos yesterday, so maybe that is finally catching up to me as well? 

At the office today, so need to get to work...have a great Friday everyone!  And to my not so BMB, I can't wait for our date night tonight, and I promise to be nicer to you than I was this morning...

25 lbs down!

Dropped another 1.1 today, so Im officially 25LBS DOWN!!!! YAY!  Yippee...And today is measurement day (click to see larger):

For the occasion, I decided to take some more pics, and try a new bathing suit this time:

The last one reminds me of the pics my sis n law takes...she is so cool!  Now Im like her :)

Tried Bragg's Aminos for the first time yesterday, and I loved it!  Take just like salty soy sauce and gave my chicken and salad a kick.  I was worried that it might make me stall, based on some comments from the HCG Dieters group, but it hasn't hit me yet.  Of course, I just used a little, but it went a long way.  Looking forward to having it again today.

Also had my monthly book club last night, and it was a blast.  Didn't end up leaving until after 11pm since we lost track of time (on a school night, oops!).  In bed by 11:40, and up today at 6 when my little guy woke up.  Still saw a loss despite the lack of sleep (I normally sleep 8 hrs if I can).

Listened to the Steve G Jones recording of Weight Loss (Hypnosis Sleep Script) last nigt at bedtime, and it was nice, but not sure if  I plan on buying any others.  Ill let you know after 21 days (which is how long they say it takes to work).

Suffering through a finger infection called parynochia (infection under the cuticle with pus) on two of my left hand fingers, and a little nervous since I know the medical treatment is antibiotics and I broke out in hives after my last time on antibiotics.  Ive been trying all sorts of home remedies (ASV with warm water soak for 1/2 hr, oregano oil on and under the skin) but nothing working yet.  Im going to try another tonight that consists of sticking your infected fingers inside a lemon for 8 hrs...sounds a little messy and painful, but hopefully it will work!

Had a lovely session of Reiki today...I asked my practitioner to set an intention for me to get rid of my finger infection and candida, and to help me stabilize perfectly during P3.  It was a wonderful session, and completely fits into P2 since its not a massage.  He told me that my adrenals are working really hard right now metabolizing my fat and that I should sending healing energy to them (and once Im on P3 Ill start taking my adrenal support supplements again), in addition to a lot of mental processing (since he said there is an emotional component to my weight loss-and he was exactly right!!!!!), and my uterus and related organs (specific details would be TMI for this pg rated blog) need healing.  It was interesting and so relaxing...Have you ever tried Reiki? 

Just re-read my post and Im all over the place..sorry for that, but I feel flooded with ideas, information, and items to do from my to do list...Ill be a little more sane tomorrow.  Hope you enjoyed the Happy Dance in my last post :)...feel free to post yours!

My 25lb loss Happy Dance

Weightview projections

Got this from weightview app on Facebook, and it is blowing my mind.  Attached is my pic at 169 lbs and my projected 130lb pic...

VLCD Day 39-Decision Time

Loss .2
Total Loss to Date: 23.9
Current Weight: 165.1

So all my bloggy peeps, I need your help. I lost .2 yesterday, which seems to be my average now (except for the epsom salt bath fluke) and have another 4 injections. I am thinking I would like to go into P3, but am expecting TOM any day and know I shouldn't end til 3 days after TOM...

Originally my plan was to switch to SL after I was done with my injections, and go as long as I could on this R1P2...until I reach immunity or my goal of 60 lbs 'released'. If I keep losing as slowly as I am now, it would take me many weeks to get to my goal. I am really nervous about regaining during P3 however.

So do I do P3 after my TOM, or keep going on P2?

For me, the pros of staying on P2 are:
Stable diet-easy to do
Stable small losses
Feel good on HCG
Probability that I would only need to do one P3

Cons of staying on P2
Only losing average of .2 per day
Potential of doing another round and losing significant amts again

Potential cons of going into P3
Could regain
Not being able to stabilize
Going crazy and right back into my food addiction
Having to spend more time planning meals, etc
Longer potential time on diet (ie doing 2 rounds with 2 p3s)

Pros of going into P3
Could start eating more
Could start exercising
Could treat my candida
Could stabilize really well and be refreshed to start another Rd

So help me out, what should I do? What did you do?

Header and Font

Hi guys,

Need some feedback.  What do you think of my new header and fonts?  I would love to hear your comments!

Im going to add a signature next (one I figure that one out!)...

Happy Tuesday!

VLCD Day 38

Down 1.1 today-YAY...thought that brought me to 165.4, but the Wii Fit says 165.3, so I'm going to take that!!!!!!  Maybe Ill do chicken and shrimp (and cut out the veggies once) and take an Epsom Salt bath everyday if these are the results I'm going to get.  Just realized that my last planned injection falls right at the beginning of TOM, so Im probably going to continue injecting til 3 days past TOM and then head to P3.  Not sure if I want to keep going on the sublingual (unless I keep having results like this), as I am really looking forward to eating more.  So I will keep you posted...

Have to take my son to school right now...see you tomorrow!

VLCD Day 37-is that right?

It's rough when you have a busy day at work and then at home, and can't remember what day you're on, poor me!...I think its 37...but I will still be doing 6 more injections sicnce thats how many needles will take me to 40 (due to skip days)...after that Ill be finishing my bottle of HCG sublingually unless I reach imnumity in the next 6 days...and the way my weight has been maintaining that could be happening soon...

Down .2 today, the same .2 I was down on Saturday, so back to 166.5.  Im hoping to get to 163 in the next six days, fingers crossed.  Today I ate chicken and shrimp, both really low cal, and have been drinking a lot of water, so I'm hopeful!!!!!

Got all sorts of spices at Whole Foods today...cream of tartar, mustard, celery seed, spicy shrimp rub, mexican, all purpose, as well as some 0 cal 0carb 0 sugar onion sauce and hot sauce.  Im going to try to get a little more creative in the kitchen at this tail end of the P2 into P3.  Im really having fun with cooking, and know that I will definitely be doing more of it in the future, diet or no diet.  I'm working from home tomorrow, and Im going to practice making oopsie rolls at lunchtime-if they work Ill freeze them til P3.  Really looking forward to making sandwiches and veggie pizzas with those things.  Also want to try the cauliflower pizza crust (look to the blog I link to called the lighter side of low carb for these recipes)-there are so many of them that look great!

Tonight was the first time I had shrimp throughout the protocol, and I have to admit that those nice big frozen shrimp steam up to little tiny things...I was really disappointed.  They were good, though, and really easy.  Just steamed them for 5 minutes and threw the shrimp rub on while they were steaming.  Definitely something to do if you are short on time and haven't precooked for the week yet.  I have a ton of chicken in the frig, but need to cook up some bison so I can alternate for lunch and dinner....and maybe one night Ill do steak and shrimp since I don't seem to have an issue mixing proteins (just veggies, ugh!).

Anyway, looking forward to reading all my blogroll's post today before bed, so Im off....have a GREAT evening!  And wish me luck for the next two nights-ladies night out tomorrow and book club on wednesday...can't wait til P3 when I can have some wine.

ps-I cheated a tiny bit yesterday-had three bites of my son's chicken tender from lunch-it was delicious, but definitely not worth any gain.  Im so glad I lost at least a little!!!!!!!

Happy Valentines Day...

to you!  Up .2 after sampling my husband's dinner last night.  I had a total of three brussel sprouts, a tiny bite of feta, and two tiny pieces of chorizo in addition to my steak and romaine.  Im sure the calories were low enough, but maybe the addition of foods not on the protocol, no matter how small did it.  Im glad I didnt have a glass of wine, I would've probably gained a ton!

My darling hubby (who is not on this protocol) of course only gained .7 after eating all the brussel sprouts, a whole plate of sushi, feta corn fritters, and a little chorizo mac and cheese, in addition to two glasses of wine, and three beers!  Oh, the inequality...

Hubby got me an alarm clock for valentines day...a really cool one that lets me charge my iphone and ipod, has a remote, and is much less bright than my last one.  I really love it, despite the fact that I never would have imagined I needed it,  and its not a typical romantic gift.  But it IS romantic...since he saw it on a commercial and thought it would be great for me...its all in the thought...and he thought too that maybe our iphones could charge together...kinky!

All together we had a great date night last night.  Vday the movie was cheesy, but cute.  And dinner was delicious....then on to drinks (for him) and dancing with some friends.  Today is brunch with the inlaws and kiddies, and then haircuts for all. 

And I walked for another 1/2 hr yesterday...its really nice to feel good when I'm walking.

How did (or will ) you spend your valentine's day!  Remember to honor yourself on this day-you deserve it!

Rd1, VLCD Day 35-that far already?

.2 down today; current weight 166.5.

I cannot believe that so much has changed in the last month with my body.  Im only 22.8 lbs down, but I feel so much lighter than I was, and my body has changed so much.  Scars faded, hair growing, I have NAILS (OMG!!!!!), cellulite slowly going away, body smoother and flatter and so much more proportioned.  It is amazing stuff, and I feel bad for those naysayers that choose to judge this protocol instead of trying it for themselves.  I'm still nervous about my first P3, but every time I look in the mirror I am more determined to make this work, since I NEVER want to go back to 189 again!

I walked on the treadmill yesterday for the first time since starting the HCG, 35 minutes at 3.5 miles an hour, just so I didn't overdo it and see a gain today, and then I bounced on my rebounder for 10 minutes.  No foot pain, no calf pain, its a wonderful thing....I was plagued by pains all through last season, so much that it was depressing, and hard to even walk!  Granted, I did not do too much when I was walking, so that could account for no pain, but I think it also makes a huge difference that Im carrying so much less weight on my body.  I can't wait to start training for my tris!

I also made another chili attempt last night, and this time it was delicious (and its going to be lunch today, too!).  Here is the recipe:

Kelly's Bison Chili

Ingredients:
100gm Bison Ground Meat (mine was precooked and chopped up...I love bison more than beef, its leaner, less calories, and I think its tastier)
1 cup onions (include as much or as little as you like, these pack in some calories for a veggie!)
1/4 tsp minced garlic (or more, mine had more :)
2 cups chicken broth (a kind with no sugar, I used Imagine Free Range Chicken Broth)
Dash of the following spices (more or less per your taste):
cumin
nutmeg
paprika
chili powder-I put in about double this compared to the other spices, maybe 1/4 tsp?
salt to taste (the broth I used was kind of salty so Im going to skip this next time)

Mine was not spicy, just good.  If you want more heat, add some cayenne.

Directions
If meat not already cooked, brown in a pan with the onions and garlic and skip this next step.
Brown the onions and garlic in a pan (i used a little of the broth to add flavor)-cook til onions are soft
Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a pot
Once boiling, add all the spices to the pot
Stir
Add all other ingredients to the pot
Cook for approximately 10-20 minutes on medium heat (more if you like less liquid, less if you like it a little soupier).

YUM!  Share some of your favorite recipes here...I would love to try some!  Also, let me know if you ever stalled on shrimp.  I would love to try some grilled shrimp but been sticking to my bison and chili just cause its easy and predictable...

VLCD Day 34: on my way to V Day!

.7 lost yesterday, after eating chicken for both lunch and dinner, and drinking less water than normal.  For the last few days, I've felt weird trying to force down .75liters x 4, especially as I usally end up waiting til right before bedtime, so yesterday I just drank what felt right, and hoped that it wouldnt make a difference on the scale.  Glad I went with my gut.  Current weight is 166.7. 

Today I decided to try the P2 chili recipe that HCG Diet Supplies included with my supply shipment.  It sounded delicious with lots of spices: chili powder, cumin, and cayenne, as well as cabbage, chicken and chicken broth (no sugar).  Turns out it was 10x too spicy for me.  I tried to dilute it with water, add some cinnamon, some basil and thyme, nothing helped.  I gave up and tried to guess how many gms of chicken I had and then heated up some leftover Ted's Bison Steak, and had some celery sticks.  I hope that the mixing veggies doesn't come to bite me tomorrow.  I really want to see the lower 160's before I start doing SL dosing.  Im also going to try the chili later again tonight, this time with beef, onion, and the spices that my hubby uses for his chili...thats gotta be better.

Only one more day til my Valentine's dinner with my hubby, and I'm so looking forward to it.  We are trying a new restaurant, and seeing what Im going to assume will be the very cheesy "Valentines Day" movie that came out today.  And I might just have a glass of wine with dinner instead of my fruit...I had read on Happily Thinner After that some people do that without issue...so I would just then need to bump up my water intake to make sure I don't get too dehydrated.  That would be awesome...one glass is all I would need.

Been reading a really funny blog titled the Month of Zen...and wishing that I was that witty in my posts.  She hasn't posted in almost a year, though, so Im assuming she's been at goal and that's that.  I emailed her on the Happily Thinner site to see if she might be interested in contributing to the HCG Success Stories book, and hope she replies!  I need a little sarcasm and light hearted banter in my book...

And Comcast finally came back to fix their little screw up that shut all the TVs (7 of them, can you believe it?) down for the last 24 hours.  And of course they did it on a Thursday night, when our DCR has trouble keeping up with all the shows we want to watch.

So all in all, Im in good spirits, its friday, and I'm feeling the love.  Here's a little love to all of you out there too...feel free to post your V Day plans (or lack of ) here and share how you are going to show yourself a little love...