Back on Track

I haven’t done a whole lot of cooking or baking the past few weeks, hence the lack of recipes on my blog lately. After the holidays, like everyone else I feel like I am on a sugar and carb overload and in dire need for a complete cleanse of everything.

So I thought this would be a great time to get back on my healthy lifestyle and to help me get started I borrowed this from a friend…

The 17 Day Diet by Dr. Mike Moreno. I have seen him on all the morning shows talking about his new diet that consists of  four 17 Day cycles; Accelerate, Activate, Achieve and Arrive. He states that if you follow this diet strictly and exercise you can lose as much as 12-15 lbs during the first cycle.  On this diet you eat lean proteins, vegetables, low sugar fruits, natural carbs, probiotics and good fats. This sounded pretty sensible to me so I decided to go ahead and give Cycle 1 –Accelerate a try. My main goal is not to lose a lot of weight but to get back on a healthy balanced diet, so I am not strictly following this, just using it as a guide.  On this cycle you can eat unlimited amounts of protein and cleansing vegetables, some fruits, healthy fats and probiotics but are restricted from carbs.  Did I mention how much I love carbs?! I’m going to be honest, by day 3 I wanted to cry! But once I got over that hump I felt great! It’s actually very easy to follow,  there is  a complete menu and recipes for 17 days of each cycle so all the guess work has been taken out for you. Each food category has a list and you choose your favorites.

Hear is a sample menu:

Wake up drink - 1 cup of hot water with 1/2 squeezed lemon (At first I thought no way can I wake up and drink that…..turns out I love it and it gets things moving if you know want I mean!!

Breakfast – 2 hard boiled or poached eggs, 1/2 grapefruit or other fruit from the list and 1 cup of green tea

Lunch – Super salad with unlimited veggies with 1 tbl olive oil mix with balsamic vinegar and 1 cup of green tea

Dinner – Plenty of grilled chicken with unlimited amounts of veggies, steamed or raw, 1 cup of green tea

Snacks – yogurt and 1 fruit from the list (I usually have these between breakfast and lunch)

drink plenty of water throughout the day

Why green tea with every meal? It contains natural chemicals that increase fat burn.

My biggest challenge besides no carbs has been getting in the veggies, this diet has definitely helped me try things that I have never tried before! Lunch has also been difficult because I am used to just having greek yogurt with some fruit and now I am eating so much more whether it’s a salad, homemade soup or a grilled chicken wrap.

How have I done so far? After finishing up Cycle 1, I feel great, I have so much more energy and much to my surprise I have lost over 7 lbs. Yikes!! This cycle is great if you have a special occasion coming up that you want to look and feel great for or just to get you butt back on track like me!

On to Cycle 2 – Activate which incorporates natural carbs back into the diet! Yay, I can’t wait!!

This week I made my version of the Chicken -Vegetable Soup, one of the recipes from the book. Although it may not look very appetizing in the picture it was AWESOME!!!

Homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup

Makes 4 large bowls

• 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast – cooked
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 cup of frozen okra
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 cup cauliflower
• 1 pkg.  spinach
• 15 oz. can  crushed tomatoes
• 2 14 oz. cans  low sodium chicken broth
• pesto*
• salt and pepper

In a large pot cook onions, celery and carrots in a tsp of oil until tender. Add crushed tomatoes and chicken broth, bring to a boil. Add the cauliflower and okra and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Next add the cooked chicken and spinach, cook until its wilted down then just before serving stir in pesto. 

*If you remember my post here about freezing pesto in ice cube trays, I thought this would be a perfect soup to add one of those cubes and boy was I right! Delish!!!

 

On to Cycle 2, wish me luck!!

Did I mention I’m taking my hubby along for the ride???