No-Brainer Fruit Smoothie

Phase II  |  Day Thirty-three
Weight Loss: 36.8 lbs

It appears I have caught the cold I had a few weeks ago so I am not feeling very well today.  I think we are passing it back and forth at the office.  So to combat it, I have concentrated on getting a bit more fruits and vegetables and lowered my protein slightly to compensate.

To help get some of the extra fruits down I decided to make myself a strawberry smoothie.  I start with 4 oz. of fresh strawberries.  I pulse it quickly and then add two cups of ice cubes.

Then as it is whirling away I add a bit of water to loosen up the ice and strawberries and it really starts to spin!

Next I add drops of liquid Stevia - Chocolate Stevia if you're feeling really sparky.

Viola! The No-Brainer Strawberry Smoothie!  Now if only I could convince myself there was some rum in it! ☺

Whip It ... Whip It Good

Phase II | Day Twenty

Weight Loss: 27.6 lbs

Tonight was our first official dinner party while on the HCG VLCDiet - Phase II. Since our diet is so limited this was going to pose quite a challenge.  How can I entertain without the usuals: delicious hors d'oeuvres, wine, decadent desserts?

We talked with our guests and made sure to clear the food selections with them first. On the menu:

Filet Mignon

Steamed Spinach

Israeli Cous Cous (for our guests only)

The preparation for the filets was a easy breezy - simple is always best; just a little cracked pepper and sea salt. Then onto the spinach! If steaming the spinach, I find that about 4-5 ounces of spinach is a good healthy serving.

The biggest challenge of the night was what to do to finish. I needed to find a dessert that would satisfy even the sweetest tooth and stay within our budgeted amount of calories. Regular strawberries would just not cut it for guests so I decided to kick it up a notch and make my own meringue with the an approved ingredient - egg whites!  

To begin, I tossed about 4oz of sliced strawberries for each guest in some chocolate Stevia and placed them in martini glasses. Then for the meringue, I measured two ounces of egg whites and added eight drops of regular liquid Stevia. Normally meringue calls for cream of tartar, however I left it out this time and instead decided to whip it...whip it good.

I grabbed my whisk and went to town. WOW, talk about working out those biceps! Gym? I don't need no stinkin' gym!

Note: I got so excited I forgot to take a photo until I had already served three so what is show here is about enough for one dessert.

So here is the finished product!

Who says being healthy equals complete sacrifice?