P2 Rogue Recipe Greek Chicken with Cauliflower Rice and Greek Salad

I made some Witch Hats, Bats and Pumpkins!!!

I worked late last night on a tutorial for an online glass workers magazine and ended up working even later making beads! AND I just love halloween beads! 

I am known for my Day of the Dead Sugar Skull Focals and so I generally fill my late summer and early fall making those. But decided that it was time to break out the traditional Witchery for Halloween! 

So maybe my late night might be the reason for my lack of hunger today... I don't know but it sounds good. ;) 

I hadn't eaten until dinner with the exception of my tea. I keep my tea hot and full on rainy days like this. That might be part of the reason I'm not hungry. I did eat a couple slices of dried apples just because I thought I should eat something... But that's it. 

It's a daily chore! I have to make dinner not just for myself but for my husband and my boys. Even if I'm not hungry. But when I started cooking this! Oy vey! I found myself Hungry Hungry!!! The scents! The texture!!! What a great dinner! I'm glad I did get off my lazy tea drinking rear and made dinner tonight!!! 

This meal is almost Greek... I say almost because I have not included Kalamata Olives or Feta Cheese or even Olive oil. But the seasonings make up for that in a big way!!!

Try this recipe and let me know what you think!!!

Greek Chicken and Cauliflower Rice with Greek Salad/Salsa
Ingredients:

Chicken Ingredients ~
2 Chicken Breasts trimmed and sliced into lengthwise strips
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon greek seasonings
Ground pepper to taste
1/4 Onion sliced thinly

Cauliflower Rice ~
1 head of cauliflower ran through your food processor to rice consistency

Greek Salad/Salsa ~
1 Cucumber chopped into cubes
2 Tomatoes chopped into cubes
2 tablespoons Lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon greek seasonings
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions:

Cook chicken breast over medium low heat with all seasonings, lemon juice and onion until done. Remember to cover with a lid. You'll want the sauce to top your meat and "rice" with.
If you don't have greek seasonings you can improvise with italian seasonings and add rosemary, dill, cinnamon, nutmeg, marjoram, and garlic. Just season until it smells yummy to your nose. I add a little bit of the cinnamon and nutmeg...not a lot as they are very strong in small amounts.

While that's cooking rice your cauliflower and pop in the microwave until finished.

Then chop up your cucumber and tomatoes put in a bowl. Then add seasonings and mix.

When everything is done place meat over rice with a bit of sauce. You can either top it with your greek salad/salsa or put it on the plate as a side dish.
Makes 4 servings @ 178 calories each.

This was Delish!!! If you're in P3 or P4 add feta cheese and the kalamata olives!!! It makes this dish even better!!!

Happy Sunday!!!

Sabrina

The Rogue HCG Diet Support Group on Facebook!

Rainy, Lazy Day Lunch HCG P2 Rogue Recipe Zucchini Egg Skillet with Ground Turkey

Lunch is Served!!!

It's a Rainy day out and I need to get moving!!! It's after 12 pm and I haven't gone out to the shop to make beads yet because I was stuck in the world of Pinterest looking for dinner idea's. Oh how I love Pinterest!!!

Needless to say I started to get hungry and thought I should get my butt in gear and eat before I get so hungry that I eat those dang Oreo's that my husband is currently eating...and he's sitting next to me... AND They're Peanut butter!!! Ack!!!

Seriously! Ok, so now you see my dilemma... cook and eat healthy or dive bomb into those nasty cookies. I choose healthy. Even if I'd like to be naughty! I still choose healthy!

To gain the sense of rightness physically ~ to eat healthy and actually feel satisfied ~ I hit the refrigerator and stove!

Breakfast for Lunch on a Sluggish Day!!!
Looks so very naughty!
This recipe makes 2 servings at 186 calories each!

Quick Zucchini Egg Skillet with Ground Turkey

Ingredients:
4oz Leanest ground turkey
Poultry seasoning to taste (is similar to sausage seasonings)
Garlic to taste
1/4 small onion sliced thin
1 cup zucchini cubed
1 tbs tomato paste (no sugar added etc)
1/4 c water
2 eggs
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat up a pan with a little dab of coconut oil (medium heat).
Add meat and onions stir then add seasonings.
Cook until done, then stir in zucchini. Add tomato paste and water, stir. Cover pot for 4 or 5 minutes. Then open pot and make two small wells/dents and crack your eggs into each well. Cover and let cook for another couple minutes until whites are done but yoke is still wiggly. Cook longer if you don't like liquid egg yokes.
Serve Hot!

If you are looking for a Facebook group for Support Join my group!
The Rogue HCG Support Group!
I'd love to see you there!!!

Ok, now I need to head out to make beads! Someone kick me in the butt now!!! ;)
Happy Saturday!
Sabrina

HCG Peach Meringue Cookie Recipe

Peach Meringue Cookie Recipe Altered to work for HCG Diet!
Yay!!!

As you know I already have posted a delicious recipe for Meringue Cookies prior to this. Well these are a recipe I found on Pinterest that I took inspiration from and created Peach Meringues!

They're light and airy with the sweet tang of peaches! The coloring is soft, peachy and inviting. This treat is a must have when you're feeling deprived and want to cheat. Why is that? Well BECAUSE the whole recipe only has 50 calories! 

That's approximately 12 cookies for 53 calories!!! No Joke! (I'll break down the calories for you later.)

I cannot stress to you enough how this diet is life altering for those on the journey. It's at times very frustrating and other times so joy filled and occasionally depression filled. Gotta be honest. 

If you had to go completely off your normal eating habits and were used to having what you wanted when you wanted it you'd feel very deprived of the joy's of eating. I know I did! 

And at times when I see my family consume ice cream or even kielbasa sausages hot off the grill I very much want to chuck that little bottle in the trash can with some words of hate and lob off a hunk of that yummy grease filled meat or grab a bowl of that creamy cold ice cream top it with chocolate sauce and nuts and dig in. But then I remember the feeling of being the sausage I was before I started this journey. Yep! Stuffed in a pair of jeans or shorts. Not so good a feeling. So I decided I'd start to think outside the HCG box and find ways to trick my mind into feeling like I am filled and emotionally fulfilled by the foods I eat and create so much so that I can get my family to join me at the table. 

So with the invention of the ever popular search engine that Pinterest is I am able to find things and augment or alter all together to make a meal or treat that fits into the HCG diet parameters or is only a bit Rogue but still fits the bill. Hell, it ain't lying, cheating or stealing until you get caught right? Or you stall... maybe gain. But that's how you learn how your body works and how you need to change things for you. Because that is what this diet is really about... Y O U. 

It's all about you. You're the center of the universe right now. The foods YOU eat, the number YOU see on that scale, the measurements YOU see on the ribbon, the injection, drops, tablets YOU give yourself to encourage YOUR body to do as YOU say. The compliments YOU receive or (and Please Do this Part it's VERY Important!!!) the Compliments YOU give YOURSELF! It is Truly ALL ABOUT YOU! :)

And after you're done and have reached your goal weight hopefully you'll still continue to focus on you. It's still important. You're still important. Even if you stop hearing "Wow! You've lost so much weight!" or "You look GREAT!" It's still about you. About how YOU Feel. How YOU eat. Etc. You still need to focus on eating healthy and taking all those great eating habits with you into the future for the You that YOU have become! The Healthier, Happier You. 

That's what this Journey is supposed to be about. Nurturing yourself and healing all the bad we've done to our bodies with the foods we've stuffed ourselves with without even thinking or sometimes even knowing the serious consequences of doing so. 

So this recipe is HEALTHY and can be used beyond HCG in Your New Eating Style created by you for you. 

Ingredients:

2 egg whites room temp (I use eggs from a local gal who has hens that give her those pretty green globes. Love them! So Yellow and untouched by chemicals. )

1/8 tsp Cream of Tartar

Stevia Powder to taste (Trader Joe's in the shaker without the added powdered milk.)

1tbs Peach Compote (recipe follows)

Peach compote:

1/3 Ripe Peach or 5-6 slices frozen

2 tbs Water

1/4 tsp Vanilla 

Stevia 1 small scoop (Trader Joe's comes with a tiny scoop in the shaker bottle. Use that as your measurement)

Toothpick Tipped Wilton's Red Frosting Dye (if wanted. Not Needed! It's only to add a bit of a pop of color)

First Things First! Heat that oven to 300f. This has to be done first!!! Trust me!

Separate your egg whites fro the yokes and set them in the mixer so they reach room temp, covered.

While those are sitting take your peach slices and place them in a small sauce pan with 2 tbs water. Cook your peaches down, chopping, stirring and breaking apart. You're making a quick jam otherwise known as a compote. When they're soft stir in the vanilla and a scoop of Stevia. USE the small scoop provided in the Trader Joe's shaker. If you're not using Trader Joe's stevia add 1/4 pkt plus or minus depending on the sweetness you want. 

Once peaches are done puree in your Magic Bullet. You will end up with approximately 2 tbs compote... We only need 1 for the recipe so save the rest for a frozen ice blendy treat!

Pour out onto a plate to cool. Take your toothpick with the tip dipped in red frosting dye and run through the compote until you're happy with the color. (AGAIN! You do NOT have to add food dye to your compote unless you want to. For me color is fun. I absolutely favor colorful foods.)

Set aside to finish cooling while you whip up your egg whites.

Now that your egg whites are room temperature add the cream of tartar and turn the mixer on medium/high (make sure you're using the wire whip). Watch your eggs go from liquid to frothy in a couple minutes. Whip until they get stiff and come to peaks. Gently fold in stevia. 

Then take 1/2 of the frothy egg whites and gently fold it in to the peach compote. Take that mixture back to the main bowl and gently fold into the rest of the whites. Doesn't have to be perfect here. Marbled is ok because it looks pretty. 

Spoon out your batter onto a parchment lined pan. I used a teaspoon as my scoop. This gave me approximately 13 cookies. 

Place in the oven and immediately turn it off! Set the timer for 1 hour. When the dinger goes off your meringues should be done. If they're still moist in the center you can leave them in for another 10-15 min. or until dry. 

That's it! :)

Caloric breakdown!

2 Egg Whites = 34 calories
1/8 tsp Cream of Tartar = 1 calorie
1/2 Peach = 30 calories ...cooks down to 2 tbs. We used only 1 tbs = 15 calories
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract = 2.5 so lets make it 3 calories

Stevia = 0 Calories
Water = 0 Calories
Total Calories for the whole recipe = 53 Calories!!!
That's 4.4 calories per cookie!

Joy in Eating those Little Delights = Priceless!!!

Hope this makes your journey a bit more colorful and tasty!!!
Sabrina

Phew it's HOT!!!

It's hot and I'm fussy...not because of the heat but because TOM has arrived and I'm doing the whole no NSAIDs thing.

TOM (time of the month) started yesterday. I was wondering why my weight loss slowed down to a crawl! That and I haven't been hungry at all. I was actually relieved when I figured out it wasn't because of me and how I was doing on HCG.

So while I am relieved that my slow losses just had to do with my natural bio rhythm I'm not so happy with my real pain tolerance. Seriously!!! I don't remember ever having cramps this bad. It's making me seriously want to run down to the store and grab a bottle of Ibuprofen. Honestly.

It feels like I'm going through some sort of withdrawals or something. One minute I'm fine and coping ok then the next I'm feeling like I'd eat my own child just to get one of those little brown pills. It's really scary. I never realized how dependent on pain relievers I was. Crazy!

In order to lessen the cramping and to ease my psycho brain I ate a tomato and cucumber salad with LOTS of dill!!! Dill is supposed to help with cramps. It definitely took the edge off for a bit. But I probably should have just stayed still.

I really want to make this happen in my back garden!

I went outside to plant a few plants I picked up today. I got through 4 pots before I had to stop. My arm decided to join my uterus. LOL Why?! Ugg!

Other than that I'm doing pretty good! :D Really!!!
Today is P2VLCD12 and I'm down 11.3lbs so far! I actually am seeing with my eyes the difference! The measuring tape shows that I've lost almost 2 inches around my waist and a solid inch around my bust, ribs, hips, thighs and ARMS!!! Seriously!!! This is so Awesome! Real results that you not only see on the scale but actually see in real time!

So tomorrow when I hit that scale I don't expect to see any change...maybe a gain because of water weight.

I'll let you know! :)

HCG P2 Thai Chicken Cucumber Salad

Here's a salad where I took a recipe and augmented it to fit my taste buds. This is what I do for lunch or dinner with my leftover chicken breast. Make it into salads!
This recipe is for a family of 4 eating dinner in my house. You can lower the recipe to fit one meal by quartering the ingredients.
Hope you like it!

P2 Thai Chicken Cucumber Salad   With Dressing that can be used as a Sauce!

Ingredients:
2 Cooked Chicken Breasts Cubed
2 Cucumbers Cubed or Julienne like in the photo

Sauce/Dressing
1 Green Onion Chopped Small
3 tbs Chopped Cilantro
2 Large Basil Leaves Rolled and Cut Thin
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder (or 2 Garlic Cloves Mashed and Chopped Fine)
1/4 tsp Chille Pepper Paste or more to taste
1/4 tsp Lemmon Grass (dried)
2 - 4 tbs Braggs Liquid Amino's (it's salty so you might want less or to cut it with water)
2-4 tbs Lemon Juice
2 - 4 tbs Rice Vinegar (No Sugar)
Stevia to taste

Mix all Sauce/Dressing ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Cut your chicken breast in to cubes and set aside. Slice/julienne your cucumbers and put on top of your chicken. Pour your dressing mix over the top and toss.

Remember I said that Braggs is a bit salty! This is where your tastebuds come into play here. If you're ok or craving salt go ahead with the 4 tbs. If you're not use less and substitute with water. ALSO if you make it with all the ingredients at full strength you can add water to lighten the salt. This can be a sweeter dressing if you'd like. Just add Stevia to match your mood!

I also will use this Dressing as a Sauce over chicken while it's baking or just cook it up to reduce it a bit and pour over my chicken after it's done.

Enjoy!!!

Well Then! ~ & ~ a Yummy Summer Salad Recipe

Well! After that little post about NSAID's I'm back to fill you in on my HCG journey!

These were chickens roasted on the spit from last year. Don't they look Yummy!

They are much larger than the little Cornish Game Hens featured below. 

Yesterday was a FUN day filled with running around and fixing our gargantuan barbeque. It has sat broken down and missing a jet for over a year now. Last year my husband decided to take the barbeque back behind my shop and deep clean it. While doing so he removed the jets to inspect and clean. While removing one jet it came out in two pieces. That sucked but we figured we could find the part and have it back up and running in no time. NOPE!

We found the part and ordered it. Waited and waited and waited...no part delivered. This was after a month. We called and they said it was on back order. So we waited again. More time goes bye and still no part or no contact from the appliance sales people. We call again and this time were informed that they discontinued that part but they were on back order if any parts should be around they'd be the first to receive them and they'd ship our part out to us as soon as they got it. We ordered this part in May last year. This was in August of that same year. And then back to them again in October. We finally have them refund us and sit and sulk. We use our barbeque all the time! Good thing we had our tailgate barbeque! While tiny it still cooks steak ok.

So a couple weeks ago we were looking at replacing our monster barbeque and my husband had a great idea. Let's see if we can find the part once more before we go looking for another. This is a huge Jenn Air Grill and is not going to be cheap to replace. So I agree. He looks and finds it in 10 minutes! AWESOME!!! And it's actually in stock. The only problem is that it's not like the original part but is a re-configured part that was made to work and replace the old jets. So we order it.

Ok, I'm thinking for 100.00 it better work! But mostly I'm thinking it better actually be in stock and get shipped. You know?! Sheish!

So it arrived on Thursday! Yay!!! It's definitely different from the others. But we'll see. It took a couple hours to tear the beast apart and put the new part in. We fired up that baby and my sweet husband cooked us some Cornish Game Hens on the spit! Oh So Yummy!!!

I wish I had taken photos! They were so pretty!!!

Well, remember for HCG we don't do fat, starch or sugar of any kind! So I had my portion of a game hen without skin. Which is cool anyway because YUCK! Unless it's crunchy. This one had crunchy skin in spades. But YUCK anyway! Yep! Keep telling myself that! ;)

I made a cucumber and tomato salad. So delicious and super easy!!!

Cucumber Tomato Salad ala Sabrina

1 Cucumber cut into cubes
2 Tomatoes cut into cubes
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1/4 c Rice Vinegar (No SUGAR Added)
1/8 tspRed Pepper Flakes
1/2 tsp Liquid Amino's
1/8 tsp Garlic Powder (or 1 clove fresh)
1/8 tsp Onion Powder (or 1/4 onion chopped fresh)
Stevia to taste

Mix and Eat! Now when I say stevia to taste you choose if you want to have a sweet salad or a salty salad. You can add it or leave it out. What ever goes with the meal you're making or your mood. I omitted the stevia last night because it fit the meal.

The reason I didn't use fresh onions is that I have Vidalia Onions which are super sweet/high on sugar content. I had the 2 veggies above and don't want to add more to my caloric content. I have made this with all fresh raw ingredients~ Garlic, Onion Cuc's and Tomatoes before and it's delish! So you decide how you want to make it.

Now if you want to know how the cornish game hens were cooked it's simple...
Grab your thawed hens, season them with your favorite seasonings and slip on the spit. Cook until they reach a temperature of 160 (breast area) -170 (thigh area) on your meat thermometer.

We seasoned them in this order:
Sea Salt rubbed in
Sprinkled them with part of a packet of "Balsamic & Roasted Onion Veggie Roaster" by Urban Accents. Weird I know but Oh So Good!!!
And finally a bit of Johnny's because that's a staple in our house.
They sat after that for about 30minutes waiting and marinating and then were trussed and put on the spit then placed on the rotisserie until they were done.
Easy Peasy!

My VLCD5 Results (This is after my 4th day of 500 calories):
Down another .7lbs!
I decided I needed to see if anything was actually happening besides eliminating water weight. There is!!! I have already lost over an inch on my waist! Seriously!!! I didn't measure anywhere else because that was enough to reassure me and to thrill me for today. :) So far so good!

By the way! I've found that by using the freeze-dried unsweetened unsulfured fruits like apples, strawberries, blueberries or raspberries I can satisfy that need for a sweet crunchy snack. They run about $3-5 depending on what you pick out. Go check them out! Yummy!!!

Each bag is listed as a single serving with 130 calories. If you break these down into smaller portions your purchase goes farther and gives you the space for the foods you're supposed to eat like protein. In other words they're good for a snack like your apple is. BUT don't go crazy!!! They are a snack not a meal! That's 130 calories of your 500 calorie allotment. Be smart about how you want to incorporate these delicious treats into your food program.

Ok, I'm off! Errands this morning and hitting the torch to fill bead orders this afternoon!
Have a Great Saturday!!!

OMG Becky! Look At Her Butt...

I have a Big Butt and I Cannot Lie! etc etc etc...

I can definitely go on and on but all I want to do is shake my rear like Cameron Diaz does in Charlie's Angels. Except it's really not as cute. My kids say it's kinda scary and that I'm freaking them out. LOL I definitely do it anyway just because of that reason! Gotta get it in before they leave home right? Because after that I'll probably be using a walker and embarrassing them is going to be in a way different category. ;) I'm assuming anyway.

Ok back to my butt! Yep! that's the subject for today. My big ass-pect. Pun is always intended when ass is used in any word or phrase.

The last time I did HCG and got down to my lowest...this is before I gained all my weight back... I lost my big butt. Literally. Saggy rear all the way. I've never felt my butt skin touch my thigh skin before so it kinda freaked me out. It didn't look bad. It was just an odd feeling. It's normal for your arms to touch your sides but not butt skin to touch thigh skin in a folding manner, for me at least.

This sagging skin is part of what I fret over with the results of loosing so much weight. I have what I call chicken tenders on the back of my shoulder area just above the bra line. These were still there last time but oh so much smaller. But my arms!!! They waved and were saggy. So were my thighs. You know when you lay down on your back to sunbath and you bend your knees up? My skin sagged down noticeably, to me that is.

The whole point of this diet is to feel better in my skin. To feel healthier. Sagging skin is a thing that makes me not feel so comfortable in my skin. I found out that I'm not alone.

While doing research on what I can do besides have it removed surgically. There have been reports that using MSM helps not only for sagging skin but wrinkles on your face. Wrinkles?!!! Yep. Wrinkles. I noticed that with the weight loss I also saw wrinkles on my face that I didn't have before because of my plump features. ;)

So to avoid this happening this time or to lessen it as it's bound to happen because my skin is stretched from holding all that fat in for safe keeping I've started a morning and night regimen of taking MSM and Powder C. I started this 2 weeks before I started this round of HCG.

I'm not going to lie to you...This stuff is BITTER! But as fast as it is bitter with a drink of water it's gone like that! Like you never had it in your mouth to begin with.

The best way I've found is to do it in a shot. 1 scoop of Powder C and 1 heaping spoon of MSM in a small amount of water and stir. Get it all floating and shoot that sucker! Then use the same cup for water.

You have to make sure you drink lots of water when you're taking this stuff as it's removing toxins from your body. As you release toxins the water will help you eliminate it from your body. Yep you're going to need a large amount water for HCG so you'll pee a LOT this works in your favor. Because while you need water for MSM you're already going to be drinking it for HCG. Win Win right?! :)

They say that  you're supposed to drink half your weight in ounces of water every day. I read somewhere that this counts for tea too. I'm an iced tea and hot tea drinker so this is perfect! Water/Tea are really all that I drink. I can't remember the last time I had coffee or anything else drink like that wasn't water or tea. I cannot stomach soda pop so I don't drink it.

How was that for rambling on about saggy skin and msm? I should probably share with you my daily HCG stats!

Today I woke up to a small 1/2 lb loss. BUT that's still Awesome because the scale is still going in the right direction. Small losses are still BIG!!!

Yesterday was a big loss of 2.7lbs.

So if you add my gain of 1.5
my VLCD1 loss of 2.5
and VLCD2 loss of 2.7
with VLCD3 loss of .5
you get a nice 4.2 pounds so far!

Remember this is in 3 days. 3 days!!! So imagine what tomorrow and the next day and the day after that will bring.

More Awesome Results!
xoxo

Results Already!

Yesterday was the first official day of the 500 calorie part of this diet.

I wasn't hungry. I was busy so that might have helped.

I woke up this morning down 2.6 lbs already. My scale actually said one weight the first time I stepped onto it and then when I was eager to look at it again it said a different weight .3lbs more than what it was before. Then again 15 minutes later it reflected the first weight. But I decided to stick with the higher weight because I think it will make tomorrows weigh in even better. ;) Besides if the scale can't make up it's mind I feel it's better to go with the higher weight just incase.

Today I have noticed I didn't get hungry until about 1pm -ish. It was an all of a sudden OMG I'm Starving! moment. That made for a quick grab of some chicken slices and mustard so I could calm down. After eating a couple bites I was fine. I got distracted and forgot to finish eating. Oh Well. I suppose I can make up for that with steak dinner! Yay!!!

Other than that my day has been busy and good. No longterm hunger pains. No headaches. No griping and complaining. Although I did put on my sweatshirt because I did get really cold. It was only 65 at the time so I'm blaming it on actually being cold and not the HCG.

Want to see why I was so busy yesterday? Here's a photo! 

Remember when I said I made beads? This is the batch that I made yesterday. I pulled them out of the kiln this morning. There are a couple sets and singles that I think I need to re-create for myself.

Once Upon A Time in a Land Not So Far Away...

Once Upon A Time in a Land Not So Far Away...

There lived this woman who did HCG and Loved her results! She got to one of her goal weights and was feeling so good about herself! Then she quit her job to pursue her home based business/art. This was an Awesome Decision and one she would never regret! But there comes a time in a girls life when she's not paying attention to her physical being as much as she's paying attention to her business.

One day she looks in the mirror and see's that she's let the view become distorted. She's gained 15 pounds of that hard earned weight loss back. So she thinks to herself. I've got this. But in all reality she doesn't. She had forgotten the way of the clean eating lifestyle and set herself up for disappointment when she gained another 5 pounds back. And then a pound here and a pound there. Finally ending up way back where she started.

Yep! That woman is me. I did that to myself. I was all gung-ho about getting back into my next round that when I started and failed I just gave up.

The second round started off with a great 7 pound loss and ended up with my being hungry all the time and only thinking about food. Food Food FOOD! Not apples, chicken or steak. But Whipped Cream and Cookies! I was dreaming and daydreaming about that crap!!! Anyway, one cookie lead to another and BAM! No more HCG round. But I was ok with that because lets face it. I couldn't control my mind what makes me think I could control my mouth. Not to mention I was at a comfortable weight.

That was before the Christmas From Hell!!! I kid you not. It was absolute hell and we're not going to go there. ;) Let's leave the past in the past and move on.

Well, needless to say the Christmas Hell brought me full circle back to my old habits and straight into my old pants. Not a good feeling when I've already taken all of them to the secondhand shops. Yep. I had to break down and buy larger shirts and pants.

This is what happens when you don't follow P3 or P4 properly OR when you ignore those couple pounds. Don't skip those stages just because you're at your goal weight. The weight WILL come back! AND with a FATTY VENGEANCE!!! I kid you not! Look at my before and after photos. They're friggen backwards. It's supposed to be fat to skinny not skinny to fat.

 

You know, I do have to say that HCG does work! It works if you follow the protocol all the way through to the end of P4. I did it before! That's how I stayed under 200 for over 4 years. Just so you know after that first round I got under the 200 mark and was happy. Very happy. I kept it off and ate what I wanted. Moderation was definitely the key. But I could have cookies and ice cream and not think twice. It was the subsequent round where I wanted to drop from 190 to a much slimmer me. The me that I know is in there. When I didn't follow the protocol after failing my third round that's what messed everything up. I went back to my old habits with a jacked up system that didn't know that it wasn't supposed to hold onto the fats etc. 

So here I sit today with a much larger ass-pect on this process. ;) Pun fully intended here. 

I'm currently on my second day of loading (R3P1D2 ~ Yes, I'm officially calling this round three even though I did a round three in October of last year that only lasted 2 weeks. I think I can consider that a Non-Round round. Don't you agree?) 

I'm doing injections that I purchased through NuImageMecical. I weighed in at 189.1 on D1 and this morning I'm at 190.0 so I've gained 0.9 pounds so far. It's not a large gain because frankly I was nauseous all day yesterday. Might be the HCG. I did eat and drink...just not that well. 

Today I started off with my morning dose of HCG followed by my daily drink of MSM and Powder C. Now I'm sitting down with my morning cup of tea. I drink tea every morning now that I quit drinking coffee. I drink a mock london fog. I drink Earl Grey with Vanilla Stevia and some Almond Milk. Truly I love it with soy as well. But definitely not with milk any longer. It's not a lactose thing, I just don't like the taste of milk anymore. Haven't for years. As far as my MSM and Powder C drink goes, I just mix a scoop of Powder C in a small wine glass with water then add a heaping spoon of MSM and stir until it looks good enough to drink. Sometimes it dissolves easily other times it doesn't. I have to be honest! This is the most bitter drink evah! Glech! But the bitter goes away quite quickly once it's down. 

Ok so here are today's photos. No makeup, no softening of the skin via editing. It's the Real Deal Baby!!!

 

 

Ok, so several comments. Notice my bulgy sides and belly? That was gone before. And look at my thighs. That bulge at the apex? That was gone too. My arms were much slimmer as well. 

Oh! But! Hey!!! My hair is longer!!! :) 

Ok, enough for today. I've got to hit the torch! Those beads don't make themselves!

~ xoxo ~

HCG Week 1 Done! Onto Week 2! And HCG P2 Chicken Chili Recipe!

Done with my first week of HCG!

Ready to tackle Week 2!

Today is day 8.
I've done 2 Loading days and 6 VLCD day's. My scale has gone down 7.2lbs! That's awesome! I can feel a difference in the way my pants fit through my hips and thighs. It's probably slight but it's enough that I can feel it.

On my first loading day I weighed in and did my measurements. Then loaded up on fatty foods. I did have some sweets in there but I really kept it low. On my second Loading day I kept it to foods that were fatty and high in protein.

For my first few VLCD days I noticed that I was craving sweet treats and feeling hungry. I figured it was time to load up on water and had extra salad with my lunches. By my 4th VLCD day I decided to try an adjustment with the amount of my injection. I went down to 0.15ml from 0.17ml which helped immensely! It definitely helped curb my hunger. With that tiny adjustment I seriously didn't get hungry and haven't felt hungry since.

What have I eaten lately?

Chicken for the first couple days.

Well, I did make my P2 Seafood with Tomato Saffron Sauce recipe for VLCD day 3. That was a delicious treat!

On VLCD 4 I made myself some delicious Simple Meringues for a protein. Those were OH SO Yummy!

VLCD 5 was Steak and Salad Night! That was an easy dinner night and when you cook enough steaks to have left overs they make easy to pack lunches for the next day.

VLCD 6  was P2 Chicken with Peanut Sauce (my recipe)

And yesterday, VLCD day 7,  I created a yummy Chili that fits right into P2 nicely!
**RECIPE ALERT!!!
It's created with fresh tomatoes cooked down with fresh garlic, onions and cracked pepper. Once that's cooked down and smells great I added a can of tomato paste and 6 c water, chicken breast cubed, chili powder, cilantro, cumin and sea salt. Stirred it up and cooked it all over medium low heat for about 40 min. OMG so delicious!!! Next time I make it I'll take photos for you. Yes, there will be a next time!
**RECIPE ALERT!!!

Tonight...What to cook for tonight? I'm not sure. The jury is still out on that one! I'll let you know. ;)

HCG P2 Tomato Saffron Sauce with Scallops and Cod Recipe

LOVE is in the Air!

I'm gearing up to start my next round of HCG and gathering all my favorite recipes to keep them close at hand! This recipe is one that I use even if I'm not doing a round of HCG. It's delicious! It helps that I live in an area where I have access to fresh seafood all year long too! This one can be made with any shell fish and any white fish. In fact when you're on P4 you can use any dark fish and several other ingredients to change it up a bit. It's a dreamy sauce worth the price of Saffron!

I'll get photos of this recipe posted later after I make it for dinner...maybe tomorrow since it's my birthday and it happens to be my favorite!

HCG P2 Tomato Saffron Sauce with Scallops and Cod

Ingredients:

Sauce~

1 Onion ( I like sweet onions but a yellow will work), chopped

3-4 Garlic Cloves, minced

1/2 tsp Saffron Threads, crumbled

1/4 tsp Fennel Seeds

Red Pepper Flakes to taste

1 can Diced Tomatoes (14.5 oz can)

4 cups Chicken Broth (fat free and low sodium) You can use vegetable broth if desired. 

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp Herb de Province (or more if you would like)

Seafood:

1lb white fish of your choice. I use cod, halibut or whatever is available at the market.

1-2 lbs Scallops (you can use large scallops or small) 

      Why the large gap in amount of scallops? Because I love them and I'm usually making dinner for the whole family. They're scallop lovers too. So it depends on how many are eating dinner at home that night. I also use the leftovers for lunch the next day. 

Since we're not using oil to saute the onions and garlic in, use a non stick pan or do what I do and use water when the onions start to stick. You can go rouge and use cocoanut oil for sautéing if you choose. But sticking to the no fat part of P2 I use the water. When you're in maintenance phase feel free to use a couple tablespoons olive oil. Cook over a medium low flame until the onions are soft. Add the crumbled saffron, fennel seeds and pepper flakes. Stir for a few minutes just to blend/meld them a bit. Then add tomatoes (juice and all) and broth. You can add some salt here if you desire. Simmer on low flame for about 20-30 minutes.

While that's going on we're going to prep our seafood. 

Put defrosted scallops in a bowl large enough to hold the fish with them.

Cut your white fish into cubes (bite size), add to scallops, sprinkle with a little salt and if you like some herb de province. Give them a gentle toss to spread the seasoning.

If you don't have any you can mix these ingredients to make it: 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp sumer savory, 1/2 tsp lavender, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1/2 tsp oregano or 1/2 tsp basil, 1/4 tsp sage. I use a seafood seasoning or I'll just use some oregano, basil, sage, thyme, and rosemary since they're usually handy. You choose. It's your meal after all. ;)

This is my favorite part! Taste the sauce! If you like it leave it. If you think it needs more salt or pepper flakes add it. Then add the fish and scallops. Cook until the fish is white and flaky. Then you're done!

Remember this recipe is for my whole family so I'll be feeding anywhere between 3-6 people depending on the day. So expect leftovers if it's just 2 or 3. Don't expect any if you have 4-6, unless you set aside a small portion for your lunch the next day. 

Ok, Nutritional Content!

Scallops: 6 large scallops .... 78 calories, .6g fat and 15g protein

Cod Fish: 3 oz .... 89 calories, .7g fat and 19.4g protein

Canned Tomatoes 1/2 C .... 32 calories, .3g fat and 1.6g protein

Chicken Broth 1 C .... 10 calories, .4g fat and 1g protein

Onion Medium Yellow .... 40 calories, 0g fat and 1g protein

Garlic Clove .... 5 calories, 0g fat and .5g protein

So if you add it up for the whole pot you'll have 

107 calories canned tomatoes

312 calories in approximately 1.5 lbs of scallops

474 calories in approximately 1 lb of Cod

40 calories in 4 c of broth

40 calories in onion

20 calories in 4 cloves of garlic

------------------------------------------

993 calories in the whole pot!

Divide that up into 6 portions and that makes it 165.5 calories per serving!

VIOLA!!!

See, eating while on HCG doesn't have to be boring or blah. You can have color and flavor and still stay on track! Awesome isn't it!!!

Have a great week!!!

HCG P2 Peanut Sauce Recipe! Nope! I'm not Joking!!!

I told you that I'd have a super duper awesome surprise for you!

P2 Peanut Sauce!!!

It happens to be one of my favorite things to make for Phase 2 because it's so much like the real thing!
Peanut Sauce! Yep the same stuff you pour over your chicken atop a bed of spinach. Yummy!!!
Ok, I'll admit that it's not quite the same but DANG it tastes close! AND it works for that "I need REAL food!" desire. No Joke!

Ok, you know how I rant and rave about Walden Farms products?

Well, I'm ranting again!

Get your rear over there and order some of their delicious sauces! Even Salad Dressings! OMG if you haven't done it yet you're missing out! Seriously! AND in order to make this recipe you need one key ingredient from them~ Duh duh Duuuuhhhh ~ Walden Farm Peanut Spread!

Run over there right now and order it! It's the main ingredient for my peanut sauce recipe so you're gonna need it and love me when you're done! BUT you can't blame me when you end up ordering some salad dressing, some marshmallow dip, or even chocolate sauce! Nope! Well, I take that back! If you order those things and are in HEAVEN when they arrive then by all means blame me! But if you spend more than you were planning~ bite your tongue. I can't be blamed for your shopping spree. I can only take the blame for mine...Because I go nuts there too! Just ask my husband! ;)

Here's the link:
http://waldenfarms.com/products/spread_peanut.html
You'll need 1 whole jar of this for the recipe.

Recipe Follows! Woot Woot!!!

P2 Peanut Sauce by Sabrina Koebel of Sunny or Money! 

1 Jar Walden Farms Peanut Sauce
1/2 tsp Garlic powder Or 4 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp Ginger powder or 1 tbs minced Ginger Root
Crushed Red Pepper to taste. Depends on how spicy you like it. I use about 1/2 tsp via my little grinder.
Pinch of Lemon Grass if desired. Sometimes I add it other times I don't.
2 TBS White Vinegar
2 TBS Soy Sauce
2-4 TBS Sweet Cooking Rice Seasoning Optional when on P3. Since this has 70 calories per 2 TBS
1 tsp Sesame Seeds Optional
4-6 pkts Stevia Powder (I use this in place of the Sweet Cooking Rice Seasoning while on P2.)
1/2 cup Water

Mix all this up in a pan on the stove.

Cook over medium until it comes to a boil while stirring constantly.
Keep it from scorching. Let simmer for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and Serve.

I serve mine over chicken that I've cut into cubes (for "rice") or sliced into thin strips (for spinach) and cooked with garlic and ginger either over a bed of Miracle Noodle Rice or a bed of Spinach. Depending on my mood.

Calories in the whole pot:
Peanut Spread = 0 calories!
Soy sauce 9 per TBS = 18calories
Stevia = 0 calories
Garlic (powder) 9 calories per tsp = 4.5 calories
Ginger (powder) 19 calories per TBS = 6.3 calories in our tsp.
Vinegar = 0 calories
Sesame Seeds per TBS 52 calories (Optional)
Sweet cooking seasoning per 2 TBS 70 calories (Optional)
-----------------------------------
Total without the optional seeds and sweet cooking seasoning = 28.8! That's in the WHOLE Pot guys!!! No Joke!!! The whole pot makes up approximately 3-4 cups of sauce depending on how much water and vinegar you put in. Like I said, you can augment this recipe to fit your tastes. If you like a runny sauce add more water. I love the bite of vinegar some days so I'll add more. And other days I want it sweeter with more soy sauce.  I'll adjust with stevia and keep track of my soy because that's where the calories are. But this is the best Guilt Free meal on earth while you're on P2!

By looking at the calories you can indeed add the optional sesame seeds and sweet cooking seasoning for a total of 160.8 calories in the whole pot for P3/P4. But because in the Sweet cooking seasoning there is sugar I would steer clear of it for now.

Now if you put this over chicken and Miracle Noodle Rice then you've got a filling meal for basically the calories in your chicken. Crazy! But true!

AND it refrigerates great!

I really need to take a good photo of the sauce over chicken so you can see how yummy it is! Feel free to email me your photos of your sauce! Let me know what you think!

******************

Review time...
What do I think of the Walden Farms Peanut Spread outside of my sauce? I really don't like it by itself. I do however add it to my chocolate "ice cream" recipe to change it up now and again. I'll add cocoa powder to it and make a quick dip for apples. But by itself it's not my favorite. That's why I came up with the recipe. I had ordered a case of the stuff and was stuck with it. So what do you do? Figure out how to use it. LOL I'm sure I'll come up with more ways to use this marvelous stuff soon. But for now my favorite is still peanut sauce! I will be using it from now on because it's so guilt free! No fat or calories? And tastes great? You Bet!!!

That's it for today!
Have Fun Eating Guilt Free!
Sabrina

Follow Me! Follow Me!!! I know where I'm going... I think...

So this blogger thing is a new thing for me of sorts. It's been a long time since I did the blogging thing and prior to this I did it for my digital scrapbook hobby. Now I do it for my life choices and things that I want to talk about. But since it's been years since I've done it things have changed around and it's a bit of a confusing mess for me so far. I'm sure I'll figure it out like I did before and then I'll be just fine.

I really really have wanted to add a follow me button. I had one on my old blog and it was simple to do. I just had to tick the box next to what I wanted and bam! There it was on my blog. These things were called widgets. Guess what? They're still called widgets! LOL So I suppose not much has changed there.

Today I figured out how to add a widget again! Yay me!!!

Now you can follow me via google+. You'll figure out my real name...
(insert  dramatic noise here) "Bum Bum Bummmmm!"

The cat is out of the bag! My name is Sabrina Koebel and I'm a bead addict. Yes, if you google my name you'll find that I am indeed a glass bead artist and that I create jewelry and odds and ends. I sell my creations via my website, ebay and a few other online places. I also do some art shows. But the best part is that you will see that I am a real person! Yep! Just like you! I eat and diet, I shop, I work at a real job and I am a wife and mother. I sometimes even do the dishes!

So feel free to follow me and definitely leave me some comments so I know I'm not just talking to myself. ;)
Have a Great Wednesday!
Sabrina

Busy Hands...Do they really Work? And a P2 "Cookie" Recipe!

Have you ever heard of keeping your hands busy so you stay away from the cookie jar? Or just anything you can get said hands onto?

I think I found a flaw... No I'm serious! I think it only works when you don't have children and a husband around to ask for and make oatmeal craisin cookies with white chocolate chips piled high! So even though my hands were seriously busy making various creations of Awesomeness I kept finding myself grabbing cookies on my way from heaven only knows where up to my studio. Then again when I was on my way out to my glass shop I looked down and wouldn't you know it! Hands full of cookies again! FLAW! I was so totally busy today and yesterday. But apparently I was also totally busy eating every stinking cookie in sight too! LOL

"Queen Bee" Vintage Glass Shadowbox Stained Glass Pendant 

Proof that I was indeed busy making things not just eating cookies!

BACK to my theory. I think that if we have busy hands that the other hands in the house cannot be busy making delicious cookies at the same time. That needs to go down in the Rule Book. Don't you think? 

So how does this work for HCG? Not so good. No Cookies while on HCG. It's very important! 

This poses a question for P2 HCG and Treats...

Is a meringue cookie ok on P2?

If you're allowed to have eggs occasionally on P2 then it would be easy to assume you could have meringues. Right? RIGHT! If you're needing a quick cookie fix the meringue might be your go to treat now and again. 

Egg whites are about 15 calories each. With the yolk they are 80 calories. Remember that if you eat a whole egg that there is fat in those yellow beauties! That's why it's suggested in Pounds and Inches to only eat them occasionally. (It also says to add the whites of 3 eggs to make a protein.)

There are 8 calories in cream of tartar & 1.8 carbs.

So have cookies...of sorts...Meringue Cookies! 

Meringue recipe for P2

3 Egg whites

1/8tsp Cream of Tartar

1/2tsp Vanilla Extract.

(This is where you can use your Vanilla flavored Stevia. Use it to taste...Don't eat raw eggs. But use your knowledge of your Stevia. For me I use vanilla and then powdered stevia from Trader Joes.)

4-6 packets Stevia (I use 6 because I like them sweet!)

*Now you can add your flavor:

*Lemon Zest

*Cocoa Powder

*Even Orange!

You could even use your flavored Stevia Drops in place of the Stevia and Vanilla.

The possibilities are endless for variety! 

Heat oven to 300

Whip egg whites and cream of tartar and Vanilla/Stevia until fluffy stiff peaks are formed. Then fold in your flavor if you chose to use cocoa powder, lemon zest etc. 

Now if you use the powder stevia you will mix them in with the egg mix after they have formed soft peaks. Then whip until they have formed stiff peaks. Then fold in your flavor.

Use a teaspoon to drop little dollops onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and then back for 25-30 min. 

That's It! :) Enjoy!

I'll have to take a photo of my Meringues to share with you! Recipes are great but they're even better when you can see what you're making. ;) Let me know how you like your meringues!

Man I wish February would hurry and get here! I can't wait to start my next round of HCG. We decided that it might be better to wait until after our Birthday to start. You know, Birthday Cake...I don't know why I love the stuff but I do! 

Have a Great Week Guys! I've got something good to share with you next week!

Sabrina