Wedge Salad

Ingredients:

One head of iceberg lettuce

Blue cheese dressing

One medium-sized tomato, diced (or grape tomatoes, halved)

4 slices SF bacon, fried and crumbled

1/2 cup blue cheese, for garnish

Freshly ground black pepper

1 hard-boiled egg, optional

One tablespoon minced chives, optional

Directions:

Assemble as seen below and enjoy!

VLCD Day #39

Current Weight: 129.2 lbs. (-0.6)

Dose: 160iu (SQ)

Breakfast: Yerba Mate Chai w/ milk

Snack: 1 Apple Ring (to help with light-headedness this morning)

Lunch: Chili

Snack: Apple

Snack: Chocolate Delight

Dinner: Shrimp and Cabbage

Dessert: Strawberries or 1 (or 2 or 3) more chocolate delight

Snack: Roma

I don't even want to talk about this day. I was so stressed and feeling so emotional. I almost caved many times (in fact I did cave on the chocolate delight). It was not a good feeling. I cried from feeling so down.

I know I am going to be up tomorrow, I can just feel it.. I feel very discouraged. DH and I are going to watch a movie. Hope it helps me forget today.

Blue Cheese Dressing

Ingredients:

2 cups mayonnaise

1/2 pound crumbled blue cheese

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1 pinch garlic powder

1/4 cup buttermilk

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix mayonnaise, blue cheese, balsamic vinegar, pepper, and garlic powder. Gradually blend in the buttermilk until the dressing has reached the desired consistency. Cover, and refrigerate until serving.

Amount Per Serving Calories: 200 | Total Fat: 20.8g | Cholesterol: 17mg

Chicken Pot "Pie"

*Recipe uses Crepes

Filling

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup diced onion

1/4 cup finely diced celery

1/2 cup finely diced, or shredded carrots*

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon sage

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon Splenda/sugar (brings out the flavors, yes it does!)

Dash grated fresh nutmeg

3/4 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup ff half & half

1 cup frozen peas, thawed*

2 cups diced or shredded, cooked chicken

Directions:

Melt butter over medium-low heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots, and slowly cook until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in flour and cook for one minute. Add salt, pepper, sage, thyme, Splenda, and nutmeg. Whisk in chicken broth and cream. Cook until bubbly and boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in peas and chicken. Cook for one minute to heat through. Wrap filling in crepe and cover with filling. Makes twelve 1-crepe servings.

Per Weight loss-size serving: 150 Cal; 13 g Protein; 7 g Tot Fat; 8 g Carb; 1 g Fiber; 1 g Sugar; 290 mg Sodium

(Double for regular serving)

*Substitute other veggies early in P3.

Crepes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup ricotta cheese (stats are for Part-Skim / lowfat)

4 eggs

1/4 cup flour

3 tablespoons milk

Pinch of salt

Directions:

In a medium bowl beat the Ricotta with the eggs. Beat in the flour, salt, milk. Allow to sit for 15 minutes.

Heat an 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Coat with vegetable cooking spray when hot. Pour in 2 tablespoons of batter and immediately swirl the pan to coat the entire surface in a thin layer. Allow to cook, without turning, until completely done. The top should be no longer shiny and when you touch it it’s not wet. The bottom will be have a very slight golden color. If it’s too dark, lower the heat.

Gently loosen the edges with a spatula and slide out of the pan onto a plate. Very lightly spray the top with vegetable spray – this way you can stack them on top of each other.

Lightly coat the pan with cooking spray before each crepe. Proceed with above directions until batter is gone. Allow the crepes to cool to room temperature and then wrap the plate tightly with plastic wrap. These keep well in the fridge – unfilled – for several days.

Since these are so moist, letting them sit uncovered for a half hour or so will help them get that dry, ‘lacy’ edge.

You can add 1 tablespoon Splenda, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, or sweet spices for a sweet version. Or herbs and other spices for savory.

Makes approx 12 crepes.

Per Crepe: Calories 57; Protein 4 g; Fat 3 g; Carb 6 g; Sugar 1 g; Sodium 35 mg

Beefy Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef

1 small onion, chopped, 2 1/2 ounces

1 clove garlic, minced

16 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

15 ounces canned pumpkin *

14 ounce can beef broth or 2 cups homemade beef broth

2 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup dry white wine or water

1-2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

In a 6-8 quart pot, brown the ground beef along with the onion, mushrooms and garlic; drain the fat. If using canned broth, add water to make 2 cups. Add the pumpkin to the ground beef mixture; blend well then add the broth and bouillon. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 20-30 minutes. Add the cream and wine or water; simmer 10-15 minutes longer. Adjust the seasoning, if needed.

Makes about 8 cups or eight 1-cup servings

Per Cup: 302 Calories; 19g Fat; 23g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 4g Net Carbs

Recipe credit goes to: Linda's Low Carb Recipe

Waffles

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons butter, melted

6 large eggs

1/2 cup Da Vinci sugar free vanilla syrup or water (see my comments below)

1/4 teaspoon salt (or less)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup coconut flour

Directions:

Put the butter in a medium bowl. I used a 4-cup glass measuring cup and melted the butter right in that in the microwave. Whisk in the remaining ingredients in the order given, blending well after each addition. Let stand for 5 minutes so that the coconut flour absorbs some of the liquid. Bake in a preheated waffle iron slowly pouring in just enough batter to almost fill the grid. Bake until golden brown. Gently remove from the waffle from the waffle iron. Cool completely on a rack, then freeze if not using right away. I suggest freezing them in a single layer before putting them in a plastic bag. To reheat, warm them in a toaster oven.

Makes 4 1/2 waffles 6 1/2" in diameter *

Can be frozen

* I barely had enough batter to make a fifth waffle so I counted that one as half a waffle.

Per Round Waffle: 214 Calories; 18g Fat; 10g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 2.5g Dietary Fiber; 2.5g Net Carbs

Per 2 Round Waffles: 427 Calories; 35g Fat; 19g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 4.5g Dietary Fiber; 5.5g Net Carbs