Casual Dish: Cycle 2 Taco Salad

Happy Thursday!

Well, I am on to Cycle 2: Activate for the 17 Day Diet which is designed to re-set your metabolism so you stay in a fat-burning zone. It’s quite easy, basically you are alternating each day between Cycle 1 and Cycle 2, always changing it up and keeping your body guessing.

Before I go on, I just wanted to answer a couple questions that some have had.

Can you drink coffee/alcohol on this diet? You are allowed 1-2 cups of coffee a day. As for alcohol, it is restricted up until Cycle 3 which then you are allowed 1 drink a day.
Have you been hungry at all? No! I am eating so much more food now than I was before and I’m even finding it difficult to finish everything on my plate. One of the biggest obstacles that I have overcome is snacking at night while watching tv, not even hungry anymore!

So for Cycle 2 shell fish, lean cut meats (sirloin steak, pork tenderloin, lamb etc.), natural starches, starchy vegetables and legumes are added back into mix! Yahoooo for carbs! Again, there is a whole list in this chapter for each group, you pick the ones you like! You are allowed 2 servings of natural starches per cycle 2 day, such as oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, couscous etc. Some of the starchy vegetables listed are sweet potatoes, yams, butternut squash, spaghetti squash etc. For the next 17 days, these are some new options that I can have, every other day alternating with Cycle 1. Not bad, right?! Although I am not following it strictly but using it as a guide I am still enjoying it and am feeling lighter and more energetic every day!

Here is a Sample Day on Cycle 2

Wake up drink - 1 cup of hot water with 1/2 squeezed lemon
Breakfast – 1/2 cup oatmeal or grits, cooked, 4 scrambled egg whites, 1 peach and 1 cup of green tea
Lunch – grilled chicken or shrimp on lettuce with lots of veggies, 1 medium baked sweet potato and 1 cup green tea
Dinner – Grilled pork chops, steamed or boiled cabbage, large toss salad, 1 cup green tea
Snacks – 1 medium orange and yogurt

Since I don’t eat pork and very rarely eat red meat my choices are chicken or turkey. Well lately Kailey, my oldest daughter and I have been on a ground turkey breast kick. She loves taco’s and could eat them every night but after looking at the sodium content (even on the low sodium option) on the back of the seasoning packet my mouth dropped! After searching the web I found a GREAT taco seasoning recipe with only 9mg of sodium compared to 560mg that’s in the packet!

I decided to try it out on my version of the 17 Day Diet’s Taco Salad!

Turkey Taco Salad

1 lb. ground turkey breast
taco seasoning (see link above)
lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, peppers, etc
monterey jack and cheddar cheese, shredded

First of all make sure you are using ground turkey BREAST, just regular ground turkey contains the skins so it’s as fattening as 80% ground beef. Brown the turkey in a pan until cooked through and sprinkle several teaspoons (or more to your liking) on the cooked turkey. Serve on a bed of lettuce with your favorite salad toppings along with the shredded cheese. Where’s the dressing? I feel it really doesn’t need any since there is so much flavor form the turkey but feel free to add your favorite!