As promised the holiday meal mixes are starting to be put together.  Thanks to the hCG diet, I will not be making all the cookies, muffins and treats everyone likes so much.  Nope, this year I will be making mixes up for them and sending them home so they can cook them up themselves.  I love making my own mixes and today is a personal favorite.

Curried Lentil Soup Mix

This is a delightful curried soup on a cold day.  The curry smells waft through the kitchen sweetly and the peppers add that extra color pop to make this a true delight.  The recipe below is for one jar. 

• 1 cup normal lentils (greyish brown color)
• 1/2 cup yellow lentils
• 1/2 cup red lentils
• 5 dry sun dried tomatoes.  
• In a small plastic bag combine 2 teaspoons curry and 1 teaspoon turmeric, seal it up
• 1 dried chile pepper
• 2 bay leaves

To assemble:

In the bottom of your jar, pour all your normal lentils, then your red lentils, then your yellow lentils.  Place your sun dried tomatoes and bag of spices on the next layer.  Then your dried chile pepper and top with your two bay leaves.  Seal it up, decorate the jar if you would like and include the following recipe.

 Curried Lentil Soup……………………………………8 servings

Heat 3 tablespoons of  butter in a large stock pot over a medium high heat.  Add 4 cloves of garlic, smashed or pressed and one red onion sliced thinly.  Saute this until the onions turn translucent.  Add the contents of the spice bag, the bay leaves and the chile pepper from the soup mix and cook about 3 minutes.  Add the remaining soup mix and 8 cups of water and simmer until the lentils are soft.  About an hour.  Season with sea salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish each bowl with a little bit of sour cream and one basil leaf.  Enjoy!

What a surprise this morning to find I was down to 147.4 pounds.  They say this diet is like Ebb and flow.  hCG helps your body release the fat from your storage cells, your body then fills the storage cell up with water before it gets rid of it all together.  Yeah, obviously while I was sleeping they went away.  It is moments like this on the scale that make this diet totally worth it and keep your spirits going strong. 

I am so looking forward to fish and chicken pow today.  To follow todays menu visit here. 

I am feeling really weak today.  Don’t really know what that is about.  Good thing today is follow up day with my doctor.  When I say I am feeling really weak, I mean my legs feel like they are asleep, it takes a taxing amount of energy to type this on the laptop.  I have had to take a break already to let energy come back to my arms.  It is strange.  I only drank 1/2 gallon of water last night and my lips are really feeling chap today.  I wonder if the reduction in daily water intake has anything to do with it. 

Today with Thanksgiving so near, I was going to start the assembly of the Christmas gifts.  Rather than silly gifts they may or may not need, everyone is going to get food mixes of foods they can make for themselves.  Cookie, pie, drinks, main dishes, you name it, I will be making the mixes, sharing them with you and giving them away for Christmas.  I used to put them in pretty glass jars.  Now I put them in zip type bags.  Reason being is I include a dish towel, dish rags and a scrubber or two.  It not only saves money, but looks really pretty all decorated and dressed up in each christmas box.  For boxes I go to the local copy shop.  The boxes their paper comes in is perfect.  If you promise to pick them up, they normally will save them, just don’t miss any days or they will stop saving them for you.  Anyhow, today I am making up the lentil soup.  Layer them carefully in the zip type bags, push all air out of the bag while sealing them up or the contents will not look as pretty because they have room to move.  You can find the recipe and instructions here.

Well, better get the coffee brewing, perhaps that will help me out this morning.

See all you skinny minnies tomorrow.

Morning again everyone.  Hope you are ready for the next day of eating.  I am nearing day 7 now and at last the hCG has built up enough in my system that I am not hungry.  What ever you do, resist the temptation to go without food.  Eat, even if you are not hungry.  Today the menu however comes at a cost.  If you have been eating two Melba toast squares with each snack with me, today we can only have 1.  Ugh, but I promise, the extra flavor will be worth it. 

I have been missing some nice rich and robust flavors at meal time, so today we are going to add in a few extra flavors to the menu.

If you don’t like the menu for today, you can find other daily menu and recipes here.

Breakfast:

You know, black coffee, make pitcher of tea and pitcher of water.  You need to consume 1/2 to 1 gallon of water/tea per day, this is a very important part of this diet. 

Lunch:

Citrus tilapia

• 100 grams tilapia fillet
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1 teaspoon fresh tarragon
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, minced (may use parsley)
• small head of romaine lettuce
• dash fresh pepper
• dash sea salt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or run through press
• 1 tablespoon organic, filtered, apple cider vinegar

In a large bowl combine all but the tilapia fillet, romaine lettuce and juice from 1/2 lemon.  Combine and mix well.  Cover and set aside.  Take your 100 grams tilapia fish fillet, place into the marinade for a minimum of 15 minutes.  A nice trick when things call to be marinated for a bit.  When you take your hCG drops, you can’t eat for 30 minutes.  Why not make your marinade, take your drops and go relax for 30 minutes!  You deserve it, you are sticking to your diet and looking so beautiful.

Rinse your small head of romaine lettuce well.  Leave it intact, don’t break the leaves from the head.  Turn your broiler on and broil each side of your head of lettuce until it gets char marks on all sides.  Remove from broiler and place on your meal plate, set aside.  In a hot fry pan, pour your marinade and fish fillet into fry pan.  Add an additional 1/4 cup of water at this point to help give you some extra sauce and to keep things from sticking to the pan. 

While fish is cooking, combine the apple cider vinegar with the lemon juice. 

Remove fish and marinade from heat, carefully place the fish fillet to the side of your lettuce head, pour marinade onto your plate on top of your head of charred lettuce and fish.  Sprinkle the vinegar and lemon over your head of charred lettuce. 

Eat slowly and enjoy.

Snack:

• 1/2 sliced ruby red grapefruit
• 1 breadstick or 1 Melba toast square

Dinner:

Chicken Pow

I have been really craving some nice spices.  Right now about the only food I am really missing is curry.  I love a good coconut curry.  So if this dish seems too spicy for you, omit anything that might be over the top and you will still have a nice chicken curry without the POW.

• 100 grams chicken breast, remove all visible fat and cube
• 4-6 red radishes, sliced thin
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon chile powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced
• 2 sprigs fresh Thyme
• 1 sprig of fresh mint
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or run through press
• 1 sniff of the maple syrup, put top back on, will use that when off diet, it was just to smell. (maple is great in curry dishes)

Combine all ingredients except the radish in a hot fry pan.  Cook till chicken is fully cooked and tender.  You may add additional water if you would like more broth.   While chicken mixture is cooking, slice your radishes. 

Serve it up by garnishing with parsley, eat it very slowly and enjoy.

Snack:

• Handful of fresh strawberries, sprinkled with cinnamon, fresh cloves, fresh nutmeg and stevia if you like it sweeter. 
• 1 bread stick or 1 Melba toast square.

Thats all for today.  Go to bed feeling revived and beautiful because you are, and your beauty just keeps shining through.  Guys, you know you are beautiful as well.  Gah, so guys substitute the word beautiful for hunky, grade A, cupcake or what ever it is yall might say these days.

I hope you enjoyed the menu today.  See you all tomorrow.

Yeah, I made it into the 140 pound range.  With any luck it will only be 10 days till I am in the 130 range.  I am so looking forward to that day.  Well, of course every day I look forward to hitting the scale to see how much weight I have lost. 

The headache I have suffered from due to taking hCG finally is gone, this is great news.  My energy levels are starting to rise again.  Last night I even sat down and made a big mess with my daughter while we made the holiday wreaths to go on the four garage lights in the front yard.  She is growing up so fast and is becoming a delightful woman.  With she and her boyfriend talking about marriage, it is a good thing I started this diet.  I was a 90 pound bride, would hate to be a 160 pound mother of the bride.

Started my day off the same way as always, two cups of black coffee and fruit tea.  Today I am going to see how it goes using 4 fruit tea (peach tea today) and 1 green tea in my pitcher.  See fruity green recipe tea here.  I purchased lots of lemons last night at the market so today I will infuse my water with the juice of 1 whole lemon and a sprig or two of mint leaves from the back yard.  Even though we are under snow, the mint is still growing and smelling great.  At first I didn’t think I was going to be able to drink a full gallon of water/tea each day, but it is rather easy.  I always seem to be thirsty.

On the menu today is Ginger Shrimp and Orange Chicken for dinner.  To see the full hCG diet menu with recipes, go here.  If you don’t like my menu selection today, you can find all my daily menus with recipes here.

It was bustling at the market last night.  I tried to go shopping saturday, but the parking lots were all backed up and filled with lots of cars.  I hate huge crowds at the grocery store so I waited till sunday night.  That was a mistake, few vegetables to select from.  Not that Wal-Mart has many vegetable selections in the first place for this diet.  So I ventured down the street to the new Fresh Market (formerly Albertsons) and they had so many selections this week should be great fun with more variety. 

Again today my workout will be Tai Chi which is great for my energy levels on the hCG diet.  It amazes me how fast my body says, “okay, I am tired now” on this diet.  I know it is due to the VLCD, 500 calories per day isn’t a ton and it does impact my workouts far more than I thought it would.

See all you losers tomorrow, have a great day, don’t cheat and eat really, really slow.

I am a loser!  down .8 of a pound, as of today an even 150 pounds.  I had hopes of making it into the 140 range today, but cheated last night by having 111 grams of meat on my last meal.  Hence, didn’t quite make it.  Also didn’t quite drink a gallon of water/tea, this might be part of it.  I didn’t like the flavor I selected, it was heavy and too much sweet for me.  Today I have brewed a straight 1/2 gallon of green tea with a touch of fresh grated ginger added to it. 

The menu with recipes I will be following today are located here.  If you don’t like what I am eating today, you will find all my menu guides and recipes located here.  Just keep in mind, I only develop it one day at a time.  In the beginning of my diet there will not be many recipes.

I am adding ginger as my stomach is a bit uneasy today.  The headache is much improved.  Just enough of it left to feel it, but not the massive pain as it was last night.  I am having muscle cramps today when I am moving around.  One of my friends suggested Natural Calm which should help with both headache and muscle cramps.  I noticed that my multi-vitamin contains no vitamin K, so I am going shopping today to find one with vitamin K in it.  Can’t believe a multi-vitamin missed that one.  If vitamin K doesn’t help, I will try the Natural Calm.

I have to say that I am not hungry at the moment.  Though last night my family had beef ravioli with a fresh marinara.  Why I taught my daughter to make fresh marinara before I started this diet I will never know.  The smell of the meats and cheeses being prepared for the pasta drove me nuts.  I had to go to my bedroom and try to ignore the great smells.  My escape from the great smells of a typical dinner in our house was not very long lasted.  The garlic roasting on the fresh garlic bread made me want to eat it.  It was not a good night around here.  The home-made brownies, topped with caramel sauce, chocolate chips and marshmallows my husband brought into the bedroom to show me was SO NOT a cherry on top. 

I had to remind my family that as they are all adults and can fend for themselves, they were no longer going to be allowed to open the bedroom door and bring in any of their pretty plates of deserts and or meals.  Last night I was hungry, to the point that it was driving me crazy.  All the tea and water in the world would not have done a thing for my hunger pains.  But that was what I stuck to.  I am so glad that today I will be having heavier flavored foods.  The hCG is finally in my system enough that I don’t feel hungry.  I woke up hungry yesterday, so this is a much welcomed progress.  But, the SMELLS of good cooking still drive me crazy.

Not much else to say, other then I really hope these muscle cramps go away very soon.

Hello again all you losers, I hope today welcomed you with joyful progress.  I cheated last night and had 111 grams of meat because I was too lazy to divide it out again.  Today my weight loss was only .8 pound, so I missed my 140 pound mark.  Hence, today there will be no cheating. 

Breakfast:

Made a 1/2 gallon pitcher of green tea, 1/2 gallon pitcher of water and cherished every drop of my 2 cups of black coffee.  I doubt I will ever take a liking to black coffee, but love the heavy flavor when breakfast is nothing but liquid. 

Lunch:

Ginger Shrimp

• 1/4 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, minced
• 1 tablespoon sweet basil, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or run through press
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
• 100 grams of shrimp
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 Roma tomato, diced
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

In a large ceramic bowl, combine all ingredients except the shrimp and garlic, mix well.

In a fry pan, toast the garlic with 2 tablespoons of water.  Add your shrimp and the remaining water and cook until the shrimp is pink.  Toss in your marinade mixture and cook until the diced tomatoes are slightly warm. 

Garnish with a sprig of parsley, eat slowly and enjoy.

Snack:

As we are having orange chicken tonight and you will want some orange zest (the orange peel) have an orange with one breadstick and or 2 Melba toast rounds.

Dinner:

Orange Chicken

• 2 tablespoons orange zest
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or run through press
• dash chinese five spice
• dash onion powder
• dash anise (optional)
• two saffron (optional)  I purchase whole saffron, so when I say two, I mean two pistils. 
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, whole leaf or light chop
• 1 teaspoon fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 cups shredded cabbage

In a hot fry pan, add the chicken and garlic, saute till almost done.  Use just enough water to keep it from sticking to the pan.  When almost done, add all remaining ingredients cover pan, turn down to low and let it sit on the heat for 5 minutes.  This will infuse the flavors together.

Garnish with a sprig of parsley, eat slowly and enjoy each bite.  I love the orange and saffron notes of this dish.

Snack:

• 1 medium sized apple
• 1 breadstick or two Melba toast squares

Thats it, hope to see all you losers in the morning having been big losers overnight.  If not, remember, its all about not cheating and in the end, your weight will balance out to about 1 pound per day.

See you then!

Copyright Laughing cloud 2009 all rights reserved, no copy of any kind allowed without expressed written consent.

First, I am not a proponent of people going on any diet without following each week with their medical practitioner.  I feel the hCG diet because it is a VLCD (Very Low Calorie Diet) doubly needs to be followed weekly by your medical practitioner.  This list is simply the ingredients minus your food that you will need to make the hCG diet a little more comfortable on you.  I am not giving any medical advice, diet advice, just telling you what I purchased and where I got my ingredients.

22 day program:

• 2 bottles of hCG, best price and honest customer service is found here  This is for the hCG drops, which if you are following my progress on the hCG diet, this is what I am using.  Keep your hCG in a brown bag in your refrigerator.  Make sure you screw the cap on really tight.  You will only need one bottle for 22 days, but if anything happens to that one bottle, by purchasing two, you have a back up.  Remember, if you have to stop your hCG for any reason, you have to go back to the beginning of the diet process, so just do yourself a favor and purchase an extra bottle.
• 1 insulin syringe.  I purchased from the local pharmacy.  Rather than counting out 10 drops, you simply fill your syringe to .4 and squirt it under your tongue.  Keep the drops there for a minimum of 1 minute.  Longer if you can, I shoot for two minutes.  Keep your syringe clean at all times.  You won’t need the needle, so throw it away, it is just easier to measure and squirt than trying to count drops.  Don’t eat anything 30 minutes prior to and after you take your drops.
• 100 tea bags of green tea (other if you prefer) that contains NO SUGAR.  I personally like the stash brand.  If you can’t find this in your area, you can always purchase from their website.  Can be a green tea with other flavors to break up the monotony of the diet.  Green Tea is said to help with energy levels, which since you are eating so few calories you will need.  Also, the nature of the hCG diet is dumping all that fat into your bloodstream; with it all the toxins stored in it, so you will want the antioxidant properties of the green tea.  You will be using 5 tea bags per day if you make a pitcher of green tea up in the morning like I do. 
• 1 bottle of pain reliever.  Remember the hCG diet is dumping all that fat and its toxins into your blood stream, in the beginning you will get some killer headaches.  Mine started day 3 and are still bugging me day 4.  Some people report that this headache lasts till the 6-10th day.
• 8 tea bags of organic Smooth Move or any other senna tea.  Because of your VLCD, they say that you will get constipated.  Senna is a natural laxative.  It is common to have your bowl movements moved to once every three days on this diet.  Being a regular person this alarmed me, but my doctor said I would be okay as long as I had a movement every three days.  If on the third day you don’t, drink a smooth move tea.
• Assortment Stevia liquid bottles.  For those of you with a sweet tooth, you might like these.  I don’t have much of a sweet tooth and find it too sweet for me.  But, when I do just have to have that chocolate flavor, or strawberry shortcake flavor, these come in handy.  Purchase the liquid kind, tote it with you when you are on the go or just keep in your refrigerator and use in your tea, coffee, or on your fruit.  However you might like it.  I do use the orange flavor for “Orange Chicken”.  Purchase in your local store, or try here.
• Vitamins.  Go with what your doctor tells you to take, but a must is that they not contain any sugar of any kind.  This is rough for some of the cheaper brands.  I got liquid B6 and liquid B12, but then my doctor just said it would be easer for him to give me a B complex shot, so this is what I did.  A good multi-vitamin is also good.
• Review the list of personal products and make any adjustments you may need to.  Its important to cut out as many fats from your diet and this includes hand lotion, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, deodorant, bath soap and the likes.  I have a list here for you.
• A high quality kitchen or postal scale.

There you go, that should just about do the basics for you.  Again, I encourage you to be followed by your medical practitioner as this is not exactly a weight watcher type diet where you can just go to the freezer section of your market and pick out your food.  Your doctor can help you keep this VLCD safe so you don’t harm your health in any way. 

Yeah, by tomorrow I should be in the 140 pound range and I am so excited.  I lost 4 pounds in 24 hours.

I am feeling a little tired, my head is stuffed up and my energy levels aren’t very high.  I guess it is a good thing I cleaned my house deeply on my last fat loading day because frankly I feel like joining the throws on the couch today.  Too bad the laundry will not agree with me.

Filled my two pitchers up.  One with green tea and the other with water.  I didn’t drink all my tea last night, will have to be better about that today.

The hCG menu with recipes that I am following today are located here.

Yeah, I get to eat crab today.  Though I will not get to dunk it in butter as I normally do. 

Even though my energy levels are a little low today and I have a slight headache, the christmas lights have to be pulled out today.  It is tradition that we turn the light on the house Thanksgiving night, which is just around the corner.  It takes me about two days to check each strand another two days to get them all strung on the house.  I hope the storm coming though will be quick so I can get up on the roof.

The energy levels are a little concerning to me, I hope this is about as low as it gets.  Maybe it is partly from my body getting used to the hCG and getting over all the fat and sugar I ate on the fat loading days.  Either way, I certainly can reduce my activity level for a little bit.  While it doesn’t happen often for women that we lose 4 pounds in a day, in fact they state women don’t even lose a pound a day.  Rather we lose a little, a little, a little, then a bigger amount.  In the end we are supposed to average a pound a day like our male counterparts.  It sure would be nice however to lose 4 pounds again tomorrow.  That would drop me into the 140 range. 

Another Christmas tradition is that I bake cakes, cookies, muffins and all sorts of goodies for friends, family and neighbors.  I will not be doing that this year because as all cooks do, I taste along the way.  Because of this, this year I will be making mixes and placing them into fabric bags.  Everyone will just have to follow the directions and cook them up themselves. 

Well my fellow losers, see you tomorrow.

P.S.  I almost forgot to tell you.  When I woke up my skin felt so dry, I reached for the bottle of lotion and realized STOP THE BOAT, I CAN’T USE YOU.  Put them away and again soaked in a warm tub with epsom salts.  My skin felt great when I stepped out of the tub.  So for those of you with dry skin, give an epsom salt bath a try.

Hello all you fellow losers.  Are you ready to lose some more?  Today we will be delighted with some decadent spices and even a desert.  Are you ready?

Breakfast will consist of the usual coffee, tea and water.   Tea recipe is found here

Don’t like the menu for today, click here to see all the other menu items I have created.

For a pop at lunchtime we will be eating Turkey salad

Turkey Salad

• 2 cloves garlic, minced or run through a press
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme, minced
• dash of celery salt
• dash of onion powder
• dash of cumin
• dash of chile powder
• 1 tablespoon organic, unfiltered apple cider vinegar
• 100 grams turkey breast, remove all visible fat
• 2 cups of salad greens

In a ceramic bowl combine all ingredients except turkey breast and garlic.  Toss together until the greens are evenly coated.  Cover and chill until your turkey breast is cooked.

In a fry pan, toss in your turkey and garlic with enough water to keep it from sticking to the pan.  Brown and fully cook your turkey, remove from heat, cube the turkey and toss it onto your salad green mixture.

Garnish with a fresh sprig of parsley, eat slowly and enjoy.

Snack:

• Bread stick or two Melba toast squares
• 1 orange

Marinated Veal

It is important to understand why steak does not work on the hCG diet.  American beef is fat!  We are an overweight society and yes, we like our cattle nice and fat for our table.  Well, that doesn’t work for the hCG diet.  If you have to have beef, treat yourself to Veal, not steak, not hamburger (not even 90-10). 

• 2 tablespoons organic, unfiltered, Apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or run through press
• dash of onion powder
• dash of celery salt
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cucumber sliced how ever you like it (hint, small pieces)
• 100 grams Veal

In a ceramic bowl, combine all ingredients except the cucumber and Veal.  Mix well and set aside.  Cube your veal into small pieces, place in the marinade.  Cover and let set for at least an hour. 

Spoon Veal into a hot fry pan with enough water to brown and cook it without it sticking to the pan.  Once it is cooked, pour the marinade over it and cook on low while you slice your cucumber. 

Arrange cucumber slices on a plate, pour your Veal and marinade mixture onto your plate.

Garnish with a sprig of parsley, eat slowly and enjoy.

Snack

• Core but do not peel one medium apple
• Place into the microwave in a bowl with 1/2 cup of water.  Cook on high for 3 minutes
• Remove apple from microwave and sprinkle with pumpkin pie seasoning or some cinnamon and cloves
• Two Melba toast squares or one bread stick

Today try a little Tai Chi for your workout.  Don’t over do it, you are looking so beautiful!

Copyright Laughing cloud 2009 all rights reserved, no copy of any kind allowed without expressed written consent.

I have looked forward to this day for quite a long time.  So glad it is finally here. 

Started the day with two cups of black coffee.  Reminded me of the chicory beverages mom used to serve us growing up.  I don’t really like black coffee, but it wasn’t so bad.

Made my two pitchers of liquids to drink today.  One 1/2 gallon of water and one 1/2 gallon of fruity tea.  You can find the tea recipe here.

The menu I will be following today is found here.  All of the daily menu items with their recipes will be loaded here if you don’t like what I am eating for the day. 

Today started the morning at a weight of 154.8 pounds

Had a rather large surge of energy last night.  Don’t know if this is from getting my whole house cleaned, the holiday season or the fact that I was going to get into the meat of my hCG diet today or not.  After being up now for four hours, I expected to be hungry from the knowledge that I wouldn’t be eating much today, but I really am not feeling hungry. 

Speaking of VLCD (Very low calorie diet) and the lack of food.  Your brain will think what ever you allow it to think.  If you have an attitude that “I can’t eat anything, I am going to be very hungry and this diet will not work or I will cheat this diet”.  That is exactly what will happen.  Planning my menu ahead of time allows me to let my brain think something different.  All day yesterday I knew what I would be eating today.  And now I can be telling myself, in a few hours I will be preparing my chicken, for dinner I will be preparing my shrimp.  At snack times I will be eating …………….

This allows me to change the subject my brain might be trying to talk about with me.  You know, the brain says “Stomach, you are hungry, you need to cheat just a little because you aren’t eating very much”.  Well, I just tell my brain “The smell from the fresh herbs and the garlic cooking with the chicken are going to smell delightful, you will savor each and every bite.  A few hours later you get to eat an orange, for dinner you are having …..”

I have noticed that I am not feeling down from the small portions, rather I am looking forward to each meal.  By knowing ahead of time what I am going to be preparing, I am able to look forward to food, not focus on the fact that it will be small portions.  This is a big help.  So plan ahead what you will be eating, know your ingredients and when you get the urge to cheat on your diet, just tell your brain to shut up and how much it will enjoy the preparation of each meal and snack.