Day 12

When I weighed this morning, I was down another .8 for a total of 12.9 pounds. I am starting to see a change in my stomach, the upper part, and my sides. Whoo-Hoo!!!

I saw a girl at school yesterday with some recipes, and being the nosy person that I am, I was reading them. I realized that they were recipes to be used on the HcG program. I asked her for copies and then she gave me a website to go to where there were more recipes. So, last night I was a cooking fool!!

I made:

• Orange "Julius" - This one was soooo good and felt like a treat. All you do is put an orange (peeled and separated into sections) and a handful of ice into a blender. I used my Magic Bullet :-) Whir it up and, I promise, it will turn into a light orange, foamy concoction. I added vanilla creme Stevia but I think you could also add some vanilla extract and sugar/Splenda/Equal, etc. You can drink it right then or put it into the freezer. Then it freezes into a blend between and orange ice and orange sherbet. I was so happy with it and the only calories in it come from the orange. I'm going to try it with different fruits, when I am allowed to reintroduce them to my eating plan.
• Chili - This recipe was very easy and you let it simmer forever. It is ground beef, cut up tomatoes (which I don't eat but someone gave me a case of beautiful ones), garlic, onion, chili powder, and a few other spices. I decided to put half of the tomatoes into the blender first since I'm not a huge fan of chunks. This simmered on my stove all evening and my house smelled A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!! It is sooo delicious and tastes so much fresher than what I made with a seasoning mix. Have to get used to no beans, but I'll adjust.
• Ketchup - I found a recipe to make sugar free ketchup. That was fun! I didn't get the seasonings exactly right (there were no exact measurements) but it is really close! I'm going to work on adjusting the recipe and use it for . . .
• Mini Meatloaves - I haven't made these yet, but the girl who gave me the recipes said they are delicious (and she isn't on the program, her husband is). I have the meat to make them and then I can stick some into the freezer.
• Chicken Lettuce Wraps - I bought some stuff called Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids, which is kind of like a natural alternative to soy sauce. I minced up some chicken, added some Amino Acids, and then quickly stir-fried it. Wrapped up in lettuce, it was awesome!

Now, I am going to go use the rest of the tomatoes in my kitchen to make "legal" marinara sauce. It will be my first time peeling tomatoes but I'm thinking it will turn out wonderfully!

Hope you all (you know, the two people that read this blog) have a great day!