R4 P4 D16....

Sorry it has been awhile! Life has been keeping me busy :) The weight has been fluctuating between the 2 lbs and doing well. I weigh some days, and not others. Just trying to practice eating for the rest of my life and not taking it too seriously :) I have been out of the habit of exercising for so long now, I find myself not making time for it. So unlike me. I definitely need to get into a routine again. I have a few food finds to share with you.

The first is heaven in a jar :) This is sunflower seed butter, with added flax and hemp seed. This is sooooo good. It does not list sugar on the label, just organic vanilla powder. After one taste I immediately called the company because I knew there was some sort of sweetness in there!! They said their vanilla powder does have some sucrose, and they are changing the label. Even though there was not much, during P3 I was careful to have just a little at a time. It is amazing and most of the time eaten just off the spoon! I found it at Good Earth. It can also be found at Naturally Nutty. They have all sorts of flavored nut butters. My next one to try is White Chocolate Coconut Peanut Butter...... :)

Next up, makes life easier and delicious at the same time! This is from Costco. Nothing but the pork, salt and water. Heats up in seconds and can be used a million different ways. My favorite lately is pork tacos in romaine lettuce leaves.

For someone who LOVES anything coconut, I can't believe I have lived without this all my life. If the sunflower butter is heaven in a jar, this is heaven in a can. I use it in everything. Soups, sauces, puddings, over fruit, frosting etc. It thickens things up and makes them creamy. I don't really taste the coconut once it is mixed in something else. Only when I put it on fruit can I really taste the coconutty goodness :) For those in P3 looking for a decadent treat without the sugar and starch try this pudding.

1 pkg sugar free pudding of choice

1 cup of cream

1 cup coconut milk

I said decadent. You can also use 1 cup greek yogurt and 1/2 cup cream, and 1/2 cup coconut milk to add in some protein. Basically you are adding 2 cups of liquid to the pudding. If you want less fat then use 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 cup coconut milk. Just make sure to blend the pudding and the thinnest liquid first really well then add the others and blend completely so you don't get pudding mix chunks. Here was my latest. I used Banana Cream pudding, with the 2 cups split evenly between cream, coconut milk (can), coconut milk (box). Of course I had to sprinkle with unsweetened coconut and some sliced almonds and cinnamon :)

R4 P4 D10...English Muffins!

Here is a picture of my favorite breakfast these days:

That is cottage cheese with sliced almonds, fine shredded coconut flakes, cinnamon and some market fresh raspberries. Usually I stir in a little greek yogurt, but I am out today! And along side that is my "english muffin" with butter and honey. I love these.

English Muffins

I use a magic bullet to blend. So in a magic bullet cup put:

1 egg

1/4 cup almond flour

1 TBSP flax seeds

2 tsp butter

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 TBSP water

Blend till smooth. It will be really thick. Spoon the mixture into a ramekin about the diameter of an english muffin. You can also use a mug. It will just be taller rather than wider. Microwave for 1 minute and 10 seconds. Invert onto plate and slice in half horizontally. Voila! Perfect english muffin :) Since I am putting butter and honey on mine I don't add any salt or sweetener. Feel free to sweeten or spice it up as you please.

Chocolate Cake.....with a secret!

Photo courtesy of Healthy Indulgences.

First off this morning was 147.0. That is +1.8 above LIW. I am wondering if being up could just be the natural transition of adding sugar and starch slowly, or still related to ovulation. Either way I am ok with it. My overall goal is to stay between 145.2 and 150.0 from here on out.

Second, I found this wonderful Chocolate Cake recipe over at Healthy Indulgences! It has NO sugar and NO flour! It is essentially made with black beans and eggs! Tasted exactly like cake. My husband hates beans with a passion. After 2 slices I told him the ingredients and he about died :) I would have taken my own picture, but they ate it all before I got any shots! She also has a vanilla version. You can also find a vanilla bean cake recipe at The Spunky Coconut. I will definitely be using these in the future. I am not one that likes frosting very much, but I made a frosting that was excellent. More like a thick chocolate mousse. So simple, but so good.

Sugar Free Chocolate Frosting

1 and 3/4 cup cream

1/4 cup coconut milk (regular milk is fine too)

1 pkg sugar free chocolate pudding mix (you can use any flavor you like)

Just put into a bowl and mix until thick and spreadable. It takes awhile to get it there. Very good!!! I cut the cake in two and filled the middle and frosted the top!

R4 P3 D16...

First off I have to say the Almond Butter Pumpkin Brownies were awesome! The family ate the whole pan by nightfall! For dinner I decided to try out Baked Chicken Meatballs from Elanas Pantry. They were really good. I served them on a bed of zucchini noodles. Just slice them up thin and boil for 2 minutes. They made perfect noodles. Then I topped with the meatballs and some no sugar added marinara sauce. A little parmesan cheese would have been great, but I was out. Ever since I quit work, I have been busier than ever :) Between the renovating, mucking out, and baking, I don't have enough hours in the day!

R4 P3 D15...P3 Cookies and Brownies!

Still at 146.0! The past 2 days I have tried out some P3 baking recipes! They both were excellent. My husband and kids even said they were pretty good :)

Photo courtesy of Everyday Paleo.

The first is a cookie recipe found over at EverydayPaleo. I followed the recipe as is except for adding some vanilla stevia and about a table spoon of sugar free maple syrup. The only bananas I could find were not all the way ripe, and it felt like they needed a little more sweetness. I just added a little of both until the batter tasted right.

The second were some Almond Butter Pumpkin Brownies!

This one is a variation of a recipe found over at This Primal Life. The original recipe would be great, but I added a few things, and changed the sweetener to fit P3. Here is what I used:

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

3/4 cup almond butter

1/4 cup cinnamon vanilla sunflower butter ( just use a full cup of almond if you don't have this)

1 egg

1/3 cup xylitol, powdered (or p3 sweetener of your choice)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (to taste)

splash of vanilla

I then chopped a small handful of each of the following: pecans, walnuts, sugar free baking chocolate, and tossed them into the batter. Oh yeah, and about a tablespoon or two of fine shredded unsweetened coconut flakes of course! :) To finish it off I drizzled a little sugar free maple syrup over the top.

Bake in a greased 8 x 8 pan at 350 for 20-25 minutes. (Some people posted they had to bake a little longer.) Bake until a tooth pick comes out clean. I probably could have gone a little longer, but they were still really good and very moist.

R4 P3 D5....Chocolate Coconut Macadamia Mug Cake!

Still exactly at LIW! Loving that! I am also loving having dessert for breakfast :) Those of you who know me, know that I think coconut is one of the four food groups! So, this morning I took the choc mug cake and added coconut flakes and macadamias! Tis was pure heaven...... :) Here is the Choc Mug Cake recipe:

2-3 tbsp almond flour

1.5 tbsp xylitol (or sweetener of choice to taste)

1 egg

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa

2 tbsp cream

1 tbsp butter

splash vanilla

1 large coffee mug!

** my substitution was 2 tbsp almond flour + 2 tbsp unsweetened fine shredded coconut flakes, and 3 crushed macadamias.

Just puree and pour into a coffee mug or ramekin. I use a ramekin and wipe it with a little coconut oil first. Microwave for 90 sec to 2 min. It will puff up, but don't worry it will come right back down :)

It is extremely moist and delicious! Eat it warm with a little real whip cream!

Today we are getting the tile backsplash done. One more thing off the list!

R4 P3 D4.....Pumpkin Pie Mug Cake!

Exactly at LIW! Who says you can't have pie for breakfast?? I just had healthy pumpkin pie/cheesecake for breakfast :) I have had the chocolate mug cake before, but have been craving pumpkin. So I decided to try and make one. It turned out great!

Pumpkin Pie Mug Cake

3 tbsp almond flour

1 tbsp plain pumpkin

.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or as much as you like)

1 egg

1.5 tbsp xylitol (or sweetener of your choice)

1 tbsp cream

1 tbsp cream cheese

.5 tbsp butter

3 drops vanilla stevia

*I think next time I will try to add 2-3 chopped pecan halves.

Put all into the blender or magic bullet and puree. Pour into a coffee mug or ramekin. Microwave for 90 seconds to 2 min. It will puff up, but will come back down. Invert onto a plate and top with a little real whip cream if you like! Yum! I will make again tomorrow and get a picture for you. It smelled so good I had to eat it before I could take a pic!

R4 P3 D3...

Right at LIW! :) I am so loving food right now :) I think I might have a slight obsession with raspberries... last p3 it was In-n-Out burgers, so I am making progress right?? I had tons of great food yesterday. This morning my jeans were even looser than a few days ago. Yesterday I took 1/2 a small apple, 1/2 small peach, and some raspberries and put them in a ramekin with several drops of vanilla stevia. I then mixed 2 tbsp almond flour with 1 1/2 tbsp xylitol and cinnamon. Drizzled coconut oil until it made the mixture crumbly, and put over the top of the fruit. Then baked at 350 till bubbly. That with a dollop of real whip cream was heaven! This round feels so much better than my last one. I am going to try to go pick up the tile for the backsplash today so we can get it done this weekend!

R3 LM D66..... Crispy Nut Herb Fried Chicken & Self Sabotage!

Photo courtesy of Marksdailyapple.com.

Does that look good or what! I love the recipe ideas over at Marksdailyapple.com! You can click on this link for the recipe:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/crispy-nut-and-herb-fried-chicken-with-creamy-avocado/#more-13093.

I have been noticing lately that I have been more "crazy" about calories and coming up with plans to try and lose weight. I have done very well for a pretty long time and could not figure out why I am being such a nut ball. It finally dawned on me....... VACATION. In the past I would have a vacation coming up. I would be doing just great, but then would decide I needed to lose more weight and try to look better for vacation. I would start messing with my eating and exercise and start creating stress in those areas. It never failed that by the time vacation got there, I had ended up gaining weight and had become an emotional wreck. If I would have just continued with my regular plan I would have been fine. I realize that I have been doing that a little lately. I am putting a stop to that right now! I lost 75lbs! Do I have some room for improvement.... Yes! Is that a reason to become a freak and risk gaining..... NO! So- I will not try to LOSE for vacation. I will try to continue doing what I have been doing for the past year. Eating right, exercising, and loving life. Anything else just isn't worth it! It's pretty bad when we can drop 75lbs and still just be focusing on our flaws :) I am going to RELAX and look forward to enjoying my favorite place on earth ;)

Pumpkin Almond Butter Brownies.....

Photo and recipe courtesy of thisprimallife.com

Here is the recipe to the Pumpkin Almond Butter Brownies: You can also use peanut butter if you prefer. I personally will add dark choc chips ;)

Ingredients:

1 cup almond butter
¾ cup mashed pumpkin or other squash, canned or steamed
1 egg
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp baking soda

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. Pour into a greased 8 x 8 in pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Serves 8.

R3 LM D53....Chicken Curry Clafoutis!

I can't believe it is June and I just barely turned on the AC, and spent our first weekend at the pool! It's about time :) I am loving the sunny weather and loving that school is out. I was checking out Marks Daily Apple and found this yummy looking recipe! This is curry chicken, but you can make it sweet rather than savory too! Click here to get the recipe. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/chicken-curry-clafouti/

I am noticing that it is harder to keep free days to once a week. Lately they seem to crossover from Sat into Sun.... :) I still correct it back over the week but I don't like the habits I am forming. I am a perfectionist/overachiever type. The HCG diet is perfect for that. You always have a goal and rules to follow for each phase. I am great at achieving goals! BUT- in lifetime maintenance there is no more goal I am trying to achieve in the next month. This is very hard for me. I am leaving for my vacation in the middle of July. So I have about 5 weeks. I think I am going to give myself a new challenge. I would like to lose 5lbs and see if I can get back to my original LIW of 144.4 before I added in exercise. I will zig zag my calories and try to average 1650 to lose. I will also just do one free hour a week like I had planned originally. I will keep up with my same workouts, but I am going to try to do core everyday for swimsuit season :) Here is a sample of the fat loss zig zag I will follow in the middle column.

R3 LM D41.... Coconut Pudding!

Photo courtesy of: karlmacphee.com

I came across this recipe on karlmacphee.com Is is called coconut pudding. It only requires almond flour, coconut milk, egg yolk and maple syrup (or honey or stevia). I was trying to keep the carbs lower so I just used 2 tbsp sugar free maple syrup and a sprinkle of stevia. I also put a little vanilla and cinnamon in mine. It was warm and delicious! Click on this link for the recipe and directions: http://karlmacphee.com/2010/05/22/coconut-pudding/.

My variation was:

56g or 4TBSP almond flour

1 egg yolk

1 can coconut milk

2 tbsp sugar free maple syrup

stevia, cinnamon, and vanilla to taste.

* about 8 70% cocao dark choc chips :)

After making this a second time here is what I did:

28g almond flour

1 cup almond milk

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp sugar free maple syrup

1 packet stevia, cinnamon, and vanilla

1 tsp arrowroot

7g pecans, 7g coconut flakes, 7g dark choc chips

This is one serving, while the other one was for 2. YUMMY!

Yesterday when I got to work, I was greeted by a policeman! Someone had busted out our front window and stolen all of our product and stevia! So sad! We were able to get more shipped in and are putting things back together. I can't believe what people will do these days! Starting a new business is hard enough without having to deal with things like this. So frustrating!!

R3 LM D37....... Pancakes!

I was going thru some old recipes and found my favorite pancake recipe that I used to use during Body for Life. They are really good with tons of protein. Perfect way to start the day!

Protein Pancakes:

4 egg whites

(56g) 1/4 cup cottage cheese

(40g) 1/2 cup oats

1 packet NuStevia sweetner (0r sweetner of your choice)

cinnamon to taste

Syrup:

1/4 cup sugar free syrup

(31g) 1/4 cup costco frozen berry mix (or fresh berry)

I just put all the pancake ingredients into the magic bullet and blend. Then make like regular pancakes over medium heat. While that is cooking I put the syrup in the small magic bullet cup along with the berries. Put in the microwave for 30 seconds, then take out and blend for 10 seconds. Instant berry syrup! This makes 3 good sized pancakes. The picture only has about 1/2 the syrup recipe because I wanted you to be able to see the pancakes before I covered them completely!

Calories: 306.5 Protein: 27.75 Carbs: 34.25 (I don't count the sugar alcohol carbs in the syrup. The carbs would be even lower if you subtract the fiber from the oats and berries.)

R3 LM D33.... Bacon,Egg,Tomato and Avocado salad!

I was catching up over at marksdailyapple.com, and came across this recipe! YUM! I am going to have this for lunch tomorrow. All of my favorites in one dish :) The recipe can be found at this link: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/bacon-egg-avocado-and-tomato-salad/#more-12570. I had a great free day on Saturday. First I went to kickboxing class and sweated my guts out. Then I went to Cafe Rio and had my favorite salad and Key Lime Pie! Delish! Next, we went to the park and I just chilled in a lawn chair in the sun while reading the latest gossip mag and snacked on some swedish fish :) Finally, we went to see Iron Man 2. It was really good and I enjoyed my favorite glazed almonds. Pretty good day, if I do say so myself :) Sunday, I got right back on program and have been doing great and have even managed to stay off the scale :) Let's see if I can make it to Saturday as planned..... we will see ;)

R3 LM D31.... Primal Energy Bars!

I keep finding these great comic strips, so until they run out your stuck with them :) And besides, they make me laugh and remember to not take all this stuff so seriously! Lighten up!

So, I have been staying between 148.8 and 149.6 over the past few days. I was hoping to get back to 147.2 which was my adjusted LIW, but when I started running this week it bumped up slightly. Oh well, I can live with that. This morning I was at 149.4. It was a little mentally stressful while bringing the weight back down from the gain, but if I had not been weighing, by the end of the week it would have been back to normal and I wouldn't have even known! I am going to have my free night tonight, and then my regular program all week. I am really going to try to not weigh until next saturday morning and see if I can end up at 149.4 or lower. I saw on Jens blog that she made the primal energy bars, so I made some and they were great! Of course, mine had coconut, macadamias, and dark choc chips as usual :) Here is the link if you are interested. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-energy-bar-redux/.

Here was yesterday for those of you who are interested:

Almond Oat Banana Walnut Pecan Choc Chip Muffins!

I tried out a new recipe and they are awesome! They are my new favorite muffin. Here is the recipe. If you try them, let me know what you think :)

1 cup almond flour (Honeyville grain blanched almond flour)

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup no sugar added applesauce

2 mashed bananas

1 egg

2 Tbsp sugar free maple syrup

2 NuStevia packets

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

*1/4 cup pecans

*1/4 cup walnuts

*1/3 cup 70% cocao dark choc chips (whole foods 365 house label)

* are optional, but too good to leave out :)

Makes 8 muffins. Preheat oven to 350. I find using the paper muffin cups helpful. Mix all dry ingredients together in one bowl, and all the wet ingredients into another. Add dry to the wet and stir. Fold in pecans, walnuts and choc chips. Bake for 30-35 min until golden. Let them sit in the muffin tin for 20-30 minutes to cool.

My calculations for each of the 8 muffins with the optional items is: 214 calories, with 5.85 grams protein, and 12.75 effective carbs. (carbs minus the fiber content).

Without any of the optional items: 163.25 calories, 4.96 grams protein, and 11.2 effective carbs.

Homemade Chocolates!

I forgot in my post to include the recipe for these yummy legal treats! I got some mini muffin paper cups and put some nuts and raisins in the bottom of each one. Then take the cocoa crack and spoon over the top. Put in the fridge until hardened. Who needs See's Candies???

For those of you who forgot the cocoa crack recipe:

2 Tbsp coconut oil

2 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1 packet NuStevia

5 drops english toffee stevia

* I add about 2 Tbsp unsweetened fine shredded coconut.

Breakfast Bars and Glazed Nuts....... YUM!

Breakfast Bars:

Gluten Free Breakfast Bars
1 ¼ cup blanched almond flour
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup grapeseed oil
¼ cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup shredded coconut
½ cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup almond slivers
¼ cup raisins

1. In a small bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda
2. In a large bowl, combine grapeseed oil, agave and vanilla
3. Stir dry ingredients into wet
4. Mix in coconut, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almond slivers and raisins
5. Grease an 8x8 baking dish with grapeseed oil
6. Press the dough into the baking dish, wetting your hands with water to help pat the dough down evenly
7. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes
8. Serve
9. recipe printed from Elana's Pantry:http://www.elanaspantry.com/breakfast-bars/

** I don't use grapeseed oil. I always substitute butter in her recipes when it calls for grapeseed oil. In this recipe I used 2 TBSP butter and 2 TBSP coconut oil. I used chopped almonds, and added dark choc chips. I also used a pie dish because I could not find my 8X8 pan.

Glazed Nuts: I have been dying for these!

Now I can have them sugar free! :)

1 egg white

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 cup perrier

1/2 cup splenda or sweetner of choice

2 cups nuts

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Wisk egg white until frothy.

Add perrier and wisk until frothy again.

Add salt, cinnamon, sugar and nuts.

Stir until completely coated.

Pour out onto a nonstick cookie sheet,

so they are one layer thick.

Bake for 1 to 1.5 hours,

until liquid is absorbed,

and they are shiny and crispy.

Mine took an hour. Stir half way thru.

These are so good,

and the house smells good too!

You can double/quadruple this recipe.

R3 P3 D4.... Nutball Recipe

+0.4 today. That puts me at +1.4 above LIW over all. I am fine with that. I have been having lots of fun trying things and eating good food. I am not going to be so obsessive this time around. I do need to calm down a bit and start eating some real meals rather than so much snacking and trying stuff out. But I think everyone goes a little nuts the first week when we finally get to EAT :) I tried the mug cake yesterday with some real whip cream and strawberries! YUM!! And I am very addicted to my nutballs :) So here is the recipe for them:

Nutballs: (A variation of a Jonas Colting recipe found at Mark's Daily Apple.)

1/2 cup each of: raw

walnuts

pecans

almonds

pumpkin seeds

sunflower seeds

-put in food processor until ground into a nut meal. Remove and put into a bowl.

6-8 dates (if small. 3-6 if large)

little water if needed

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

-put in food processor and blend to a paste. Remove and add to nut meal.

add 1 packet stevia sweetener.

4 table spoons of coconut oil

about 2 tbsp almond butter (enough to help it form into balls)

-mix the nutmeal, date paste, stevia, oil, and almond butter together by hand. Should be just sticky enough to roll into balls. You can adjust this by the amount of dates, or almond butter.

Roll into balls and then roll in unsweetened coconut. Refrigerate. YUM!!

Optional items:

cinnamon - I sprinkled this in.

unsweetened cocoa- I sprinkled this in.

fresh ground coffee.