What's the plan? (January 27-February 1)

Today is day 26 of the South Beach Diet and I am down a little over 10lbs!  My Mexico goal of -15 seems possible!

I am really loving the way I feel and my sugar cravings have almost entirely disappeared.  I have added my english muffin back into breakfast, but am still staying away from starchy carbs at lunch and supper.

My parents left for Florida this week, so we inherited a bunch of miscellaneous perishable food items that I am trying to use up.  Fresh cranberries and three bricks of cream cheese needed eaten the most urgently.  I made a delicious low-sugar spicy cranberry chutney last night and the husband is already making some serious headway on the cream cheese.

The plan for this week...

Sunday:  Cheeseburger wrapped in romaine lettuce (no bun), cauliflower buffalo "wings"
Monday:  Pork tenderloin stuffed with cream cheese and chives, topped with homemade spicy cranberry chutney side and a side of roasted broccoli
Tuesday:  Chicken breasts stuffed with brie and cranberry chutney, green beans
Wednesday:  Sole fillets stuffed with crab, green beans
Thursday:  Venison steaks, mashed cauliflower and green beans

Mexican Breakfast Skillet

For almost 10 years, I have eaten an english muffin, cheese and a fried egg for breakfast.  Shaking up my breakfast routine has probably been the hardest part of the South Beach Diet for me.  I have a feeling that adding this "carb" back into my menu a lot of days will likely be one of my first moves in Phase 2.

In the meantime, I have been making omelette's and breakfast skillet's the night before that I can heat up when I get to work.  The Mexican Breakfast Skillet is extremely filling and from running it through MyFitnessPal, I can see that it is quite low-calorie as well!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 green pepper, diced
• 1/4 red pepper, diced
• Red onion to taste, diced
• 1 large mushroom, diced
• 1/4 c. black beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 large raw shrimp, tail off and cut into 3
• Mexican seasoning (I used Kirkland Sweet Mesquite)
• 1 egg, 2 egg whites and a dash of milk, beaten
• 2 tbsp shredded cheddar (1/2 oz.)
• Salsa
• Green onion

Directions:

1. Sautée veggies, black beans and shrimp in the mexican seasoning until the veggies are softened and the shrimp is cooked and most of the liquid released is cooked off.
2. Add the eggs and scramble.
3. Top with shredded cheddar, salsa and green onions.

South Beach Diet Chili

This chili recipe is pretty close to my standard chili, I just nixed the corn and carrots.  We always have a lot of deer meat on hand, so I used ground venison, but extra-lean ground beef or turkey would do the trick too. 

I usually make it the day before we plan to eat it, because it's even more flavourful if it sits for a day.  It comes together very quickly though, so it would make a great weeknight meal as well.

The recipe is full of veggies and protein, it doesn't get much healthier!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp of olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 5 stalks of celery, diced
• 6 large mushrooms, diced
• 1 tbsp crushed garlic
• 1 large can of diced tomatoes
• 1 large can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 packet of sweetener (or 1 tbsp of sugar or honey)
• 1lb of ground venison (or extra-lean ground beef or turkey), cooked and fat drained
• 1 can of beans (I used six-bean blend, but kidney or black would be fine too!), drained and rinsed
• Seasoning to taste:  chili powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, cayenne, salt & pepper
• Hot sauce to taste

Directions:

1. Pour olive oil into a large dutch oven and heat to medium.  Sautée the veggies until softened.
2. Add the remainder of the ingredients and simmer for up to an hour.
3. Serve and enjoy!  Shredded cheddar, low-fat sour cream and scallions make great toppings. 

The Plan (January 6-10)

The first week back to healthy eating was most definitely a success.  The Christmas weight is gone and I am on track to keep losing.  Now that I have the eating part down, I need to add exercise into the mix.

I am not sure that I mentioned this in my last post, but I am following the South Beach Diet right now and making my way through phase 1.  At first, I was scared it was a bit of a "fad diet" and the restrictiveness would make it impossible to follow.  I was wrong!  After a week, I have never felt better.  DH has noticed a big difference too.  My tummy troubles are gone and even my mood is better. 

Phase 1 has been somewhat difficult, but I was eating so much sugar and junk over the holidays, it was no surprise I had a few days of headaches coming off the carbs.  I really do not miss the starchy carbs, but I am looking forward to adding some fruit and yogurt back into my diet next week, when I start Phase 2.

For breakfast, I have been eating different omelette's and egg scrambles.  Snacks are veggies and hummus, celery and natural peanut putter and deli meat, laughing cow and lettuce roll-ups.  For lunch, I usually have leftovers or a big salad with protein.

Dinner plans:

Sunday: Chili with shredded chedder, green onion and low-fat sour cream
Monday: Meatloaf muffins, cauliflower "rice" and green beans
Tuesday: Italian stuffed portobello muchrooms and cesar salad
Wednesday: Sundried tomato sole in a bag and roasted asparagus
Thursday:  Mediterranean chicken thighs and roasted asparagus

Back at it! (January 1-6)

I am back to work after almost 2 weeks off today.  What better time to get back to healthy eating?

We are off to Mexico in just 8 weeks, so I really need to crack down!  It might be far-fetched, but I would really like to lose 15lbs before we go.  I figure the first 5lbs of Christmas bloat should go pretty quickly, so perhaps it is possible?

Breakfasts:  1 egg, 2 egg whites, protein and veggies
Snacks:  Veggies with peanut butter, hummus or laughing cow and deli meat roll-up's

Tuesday:  Pork tenderloin stuffed with goat cheese, sundried tomato and spinach with roasted broccoli and garlic toast

Wednesday:  Seafood chowder and biscuits (my cousin's husband makes a mean chowdah!)

Thursday:  Marinated venison steak and roasted green beans, mushrooms, red pepper and onion

Friday:  Low-carb shepherds pie (with mashed cauliflower and edamame)

Saturday:  Salmon and veggie stir-fry

Sunday:  Spaghetti at the parents after a little snowshoe trek