Fashionable without trying

I slept like absolute crud last night.  For those of you new to my blog, I had a hysterectomy due to endometriosis a few years ago.  Because of this I am on hormones and for some reason, they are off right now.  I must have had at least a dozen hot flashes last night.  So it is fan on and covers off and then I am freezing. So not much REM sleep for me or my poor husband  Which leads to the "fashionable without trying" part.  As I crawled out of bed, one eye open, after hitting snooze at least twice, I meandered over to my closet and grabbed the first thing that caught my eye.  It is a dress I hardly ever wear because I think it is too dressy for work.  Apparently, I was wrong because I have been getting compliments left and right.  This also surprises me because I came in with no make up, hair a mess, and minimally applied some and threw my hair in a bun in the bathroom at work.  One coworker stated I look like a flamenco dancer!  I am thinking, I need to change my morning routine and just go with the first thing that catches my eye every morning.

Michigan tomatoes and asparagus with marinated artichoke hearts top with blue cheese egg salad

This was simple and yummy.  I just took a bunch of Roma tomatoes, blanch asparagus, and jarred marinated artichoke hearts and tossed them with some dried basil (I can't wait for fresh!!) a little EVOO and white balsamic vinegar.   Put that in a bowl and lay a few leaves of Boston Bib lettuce.

The egg salad is easy

6 hard boiled eggs
1/4 of low fat or fat free blue cheese crumbles
1/4 cup of fat free sour cream
2 tbsp of white balsamic vinegar

cut eggs in half and put yolks in a bowl.  Add to other ingredients to yolks and mash up.  Chop egg whites and then add to yolk mixture.

Spoon on top of lettuce.

Salt and pepper to taste!

Enjoy :)

chocolate cheesecake low fat low carb

< 1 package of graham crackers crushed 1/4 cup of butter melted 1/4 cup of stevia 2 tap of coco powder Mix together ans press into bottom of tart dish and chill while prepping filling 1 15oz container of low fat ricotta 1 brick of fat free cream cheese 1/3 cup of fat free sour cream 1/3 cup of fat free milk 1 package of fat free sugar free chocolate fudge instant pudding Mix in a bowl with a hand mixer until well blended and spread over crust layer. Dust with coco powder and chill for at least am hour



Per request, here is the nutritional information.  You could cut the calories, fat and carbs even more by using low fat graham crackers and a butter substitute.  or cutting out the crust all together!

Low carb Low Fat No Bake Cheesecake

I made this for a surprise for a co-worker.  I will post a photo this afternoon.

Bottom Layer
1 package of graham crackers
1/4 cup melted fat free butter substitute I can't believe it's not butter melted
1/4 of Stevia In The Raw
2 tsp of coco powder

put crackers in a food processor until crumbs add other ingredients until mixed, spread in the bottom of an 8"x8" glass cake dish or other dish of approximately same size.

add layer of Fresh Strawberries cut in halves


Filling

1 15oz container of low fat ricotta cheese
1 brick of fat free cream cheese
1 envelope of fat and sugar free instant vanilla pudding
1/4 cup of fat free milk

Mix all with a hand blender until smooth and spread on top of strawberry layer.  Add another layer of halved strawberries and refrigerate overnight. 

Drizzle with chocolate syrup or dust with chocolate shavings and serve with Fat Free Rediwhip.

Tuna Salad on a bed of greens with veggies and Marinated Artichoke Hearts

Tuna Salad
2 -7 oz cans of albacore tuna packed in water, drained and flaked
2 Claussen Dill Pickle spears chopped
1/2 of red onion chopped
2 ribs of celery chopped
2 tbsp of EVOO
1/4 cup of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tbsp of dill
salt and pepper to taste
1 squirt of Rooster Chili sauce(optional)

Mix all ingredients together and chill overnight

 I had this on a bed of bib lettuce, spinach, shredded carrots, alfalfa sprouts, tomatoes, and marinated artichoke hearts.  Soooo yummy.

Fresh rolls and seafood rolls The 17 Day Diet

Meijer is now carrying Rice Paper Wrappers which are super low in calories, fat, and carbs.  So this is my first attempt.  Not bad but I definitely need to practice!!  These are cabbage, carrots, sprouts, cilantro, mint, and green onion.  I also did two with lettuce instead of cabbage and Meijer Imatation Fat Free Lobster Meat.  They also make crab and they were on sale last week for .89oz package!!  The sauce is Hosin, rice wine vinegar, and Rooster Chili Sauce. 


For lunch today I am having a Flat Out bread wrap with crab salad that I made with low fat mayo and brown rice with lettuce. 


I was a little bad this weekend and cheated and drank but my weight stayed the same.  Two more days on Cycle 3 and back to Cycle 1 to get off the last 5lbs and hopefully even 10 more!!!  I even wore a bikini this weekend.  :)

Haven't felt this healthy in years. down 14.3lbs on The 17 Day Diet.

I have been doing The 17 Day Diet.  I am on Cycle 3 Day 8 and have lost 14.3 lbs.  My husband has lost 20lbs!!!  I am feeling so good and so healthy.  I put on some shorts yesterday that I couldn't even fit into last summer and they are too big.  I am not a dieter and never have been.  I hate that this is called a "diet" because it is really and change in eating habits.  Two of my aunts started the diet earlier this year and both of them are down to a size 4!  This sparked 10 other family members (my husband and I included) to start it.   I have tried eating less than 1200 calories a day and that didn't work.  I am beginning to believe that it is not just your calories but the types of food that you eat on this that make the difference.  We are eating so much more produce than we were and a lot less carbs.  My original goal was to get down to my prepregnancy weight, which I am almost at.  My new goal is to get 10lbs below that.  I am sure I can do because those numbers on the scale just keep going down and down!! 

Pasta on the 17 Day Diet

My lunch today is Shiratki Noodles and Laughing Cow Garlic and Herb and Sundried Tomato Basil wedges.  I cannot believe how little calories, carbs, and fat this is.  One package of noodles is only 40 calories, and two wedges at 35 calories each = 110 calorie!!!  I added some mushrooms and salt and pepper.  It is so easy to make because you just rinse the noodles, microwave for a min, drain and pat dry with paper towels, put back in bowl, add wedges and mushrooms and microwave for about 1 more min and done!!  And a side salad and you have a nice balanced meal.

I just found this too
101 recipes!

The Wonderful Laughing Cow--The 17 Day Diet

I started Cycle 3 a couple of days ago and was very excited to see Babybel Lights on the list. I found a huge package for cheap at Costoco.  Right by them were Laughing Cow Wedges the Swisscheese flavor.  I looked at the nutritional content and they are actually even better than the Babybels. 

So I made a sandwhich today with Flatout Multigrain w/Flax, spread with a wedge, lettuce, and lean ham.  It was soooo yummy.  I am excited to see that the wedges come in a variety of flavors too.  Have you tried any of them?