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Round 3 and a Hamburger Stew Recipe

Last weekend my husband and I loaded for our third round on the Omni Drops Program.  I was so ready to get back on track and start losing weight again.  I completed phase 3 over a month ago but had to hold off on starting another round until after our cruise on the Carnival Splendor out of NYC.  I wanted to enjoy the cruise, especially the food, and not worry about what’s approved to eat and what isn’t.  I’m happy to report that after 10 days of indulgence, I only gained 4 pounds.  I can’t even begin to tell you how much ice cream I consumed on the cruise.  

Now that we’re home we’re back on track.  Time to start losing again.  Last week was my first week and I lost 9.2 pounds while my husband lost 11 pounds.  Omni Drops are truly a fantastic program.  Many people look at the approved food list and feel that there isn’t enough variety.  I definitely disagree with that and I hope that my blog is helping some of you out with additional options.  One of my favorite recipes is so quick to make and includes one of your fruit servings for the day – Hamburger Stew.

hamburger stew 2

 

 

Hamburger Stew
Serves 1
Phase 2 friendly for the Omni Drops Program
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Ingredients
  1. 4 oz ground beef (hamburg)
  2. 3 oz tomatoes, chopped (fresh or canned - no sugar added)
  3. 1 apple, peeled and chopped
  4. 1 oz spinach
  5. 2 squirts of mustard (spicy brown is okay to use also)
  6. salt, pepper and cayenne, to taste
Instructions
  1. Brown the ground beef in a small pot. Add in the tomatoes, apple and mustard. Mix and simmer for 5 minutes. Add in the spinach and cook until wilted (about 1 min). Add salt, pepper and cayenne. Serve.
My Eating Clean Journey http://www.myeatingcleanjourney.com/

Water is so Important for your Overall Health

Did you know that water is so important for your overall  health?  You need it to help keep your energy level up, it’ll help flush toxins out of your body, improves your skins complexion, helps keep constipation at bay, helps relieve headaches, prevents your muscles from cramping and more important (to me) is that it help you lose weight.  Water is Awesome! I’m proud to say that I have weened myself off from soda and haven’t regularly drank it for the past 5 years.  Prior to the Omni Drops Program I used flavor enhancers that you can purchase at the grocery store.  Fortunately for me I am no longer drinking those and instead have replaced all of my water enhancers with Stur, a naturally flavored water enhancer made with Stevia.   Stur has 0 calories, 0 sugar and 7 essential vitamins, including A, D, E, B3, B5, B6 and B12.  It currently comes in 7 different flavors, Lemon, Cucumber Mint, Fruit Punch, Strawberry Watermelon, Orange Mango, Tea & Lemon and Pomegranate Cranberry.  Unfortunately they aren’t currently available at your local grocery store so you need to purchase them online.  You can get them from Swanson Vitamins (where I buy mine & you’ll get $5 off your first order with my referral link) or on Amazon.

stur 3  

My favorite are Lemon, Tea and the Cranberry Pomegranate.  Which are yours?

    Disclaimer:  I received a sample pack of Stur to help facilitate this review.  All opinions are my own.

Spaghetti Squash Noodle Bowl with Lime Nut Sauce

If you have never tried Spaghetti Squash, you don’t know what you’re missing.  It’s so versatile and you can treat it just like you would any other pasta.  It’s a great low-carb, gluten-free alternative but even if you aren’t following a special diet, give it a try.  You’ll be thanking me.  

If you need steps on how to bake one, stop by my blog post on that.

spaghetti squash noodle bowl collage

Spaghetti Squash Noodle Bowl with Lime Nut Sauce
Serves 4
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Ingredients
  1. 1 large spaghetti squash
  2. 2 cups of kale, chopped
  3. 2 shallots, peeled and sliced
  4. 3 T sesame seeds
  5. 2 T basil, chopped
  6. 1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets, steamed
  7. salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place the spaghetti squash on it bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes, to cool. When it's cool enough to handle, cut the squash in half and remove the seeds from the inside and discard. Take a fork and scrape the "strands" from the inside of the squash. Place in a bowl. Add the kale on top of the squash so the steam can slightly wilt the kale.
  3. Toss the squash and kale together and divide evenly into four serving bowls. Top each bowl with 1/2 of the cauliflower, sesame seeds, basil and shallots.
  4. Drizzle with the Lime Nut Sauce and serve.
Notes
  1. low-carb, paleo, phase 3 Omni Drops Program
My Eating Clean Journey http://www.myeatingcleanjourney.com/
peanut sauce ingredients

 

Lime Nut Sauce
Serves 4
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Ingredients
  1. 1 tsp ginger, dried (or 1/2" of fresh, peeled and minced)
  2. 2 tsp of garlic (or 2 cloves, peeled and minced)
  3. 2 tsp chili garlic sauce
  4. 2 T almond butter
  5. 1 lime, juiced
  6. 1 T apple cider vinegar
  7. 2 packets of Sweetleaf Stevia
  8. 1 1/2 T Bragg's Liquid Aminos
  9. 1 tsp sesame oil
  10. 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions
  1. Mix all of the ingredients in a blender and blend. Serve on top of the Spaghetti Squash Noodle Bowl or as a salad dressing.
My Eating Clean Journey http://www.myeatingcleanjourney.com/

Eggplant Parmigiana Low-Carb Style #EatClean

The last two years I have been growing Eggplants in my garden.  This past weekend we started the planning process of our garden for this year and again, we’ll be planting many varieties of eggplants.  Yesterday I planted radishes and spinach.  Growing your own vegetables and being so close and in semi-control of your own produce (I need to give Mother Nature part of the credit), is a great feeling.  I can’t wait until July through September when I can pick my vegetable for my dinner and minutes later be enjoying it on my plate.

Today’s recipe is spotlighting these magnificent, purple vegetables called the eggplant.  We’ve all heard of Eggplant Parmigiana but this recipe won’t be coated with a thick high-carb bread crumb, instead I used crushed almonds to give it that nice crunchy, yumminess (is that a word?).

 

eggplant parmigiana

 

Eggplant Parmigiana Low-Carb Style
Serves 4
Low-Carb, Phase 3 of Omni Drops Program
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Ingredients
  1. 2 large eggplants
  2. 2 eggs
  3. 4oz finely grated parmesan
  4. 4oz almonds, finely chopped or ground
  5. 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  6. 2-4 T Coconut oil
  7. salt and pepper, to taste
  8. 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
  9. 3 scallions, chopped
  10. 1 T cilantro, minced
Instructions
  1. Slice eggplants lenthwise. Sprinkle sea salt onto the slices and set aside for 30 minutes to help draw out some of the moisture from the eggplants. Using a paper towel, wipe the eggplants to remove the water and some of the sea salt.
  2. Using a whisk, mix the eggs and the salt and pepper in a deep plate. Mix the cheese, almond and garlic in another deep plate.
  3. Heat the 2T of the coconut oil in a pan. Dip the eggplants into the egg mixture and then into the dry ingredients, until well coated. Place them into the hot skillet and fry on both sides until they are a golden brown. You may need to add extra coconut oil after your first batch.
  4. While they are cooking; mix the tomatoes, scallions and cilantro in a small bowl.
  5. Top the golden brown eggplants with the tomato salsa and serve immediately.
My Eating Clean Journey http://www.myeatingcleanjourney.com/

Thoughts on Self Image and Zucchini Pizza

I’ve always heard that the negative thoughts in your head could harm you and harm your weight loss efforts.  I think there is another type of thought you can have that can also possibly cause you harm – thoughts that you aren’t as big as you really are.  Now that I’ve lost 44 pounds and I look at myself in the mirror, I still can’t believe I’ve lost 44 pounds.  I feel like I currently look like what I have always thought I looked like.  Imagine if someone who is severely obese doesn’t recognize that it’s gotten that bad.  That was me.  Even more unusual is the thought that once you’re obese, it’s hard to picture yourself anything but that.  I know I still have a ways to go to hit my goal weight and I should be celebrating the weight loss that I’ve already lost (went from a size 20 to a size 14 pant) but I still look at myself as being obese, therefore I find it semi-hard to celebrate my weight loss.  I wonder if I’ll ever not categorize myself as not obese, even when I’m at my goal.

I’d love to hear from others who have gone from being severely obese (also known as morbidly obese) to being at their goal weight.  What are the thoughts in your head?  How do you push through and stop looking at yourself as being fat?

 

zucchini crust

 

Yesterday was Friday and in the past we’d celebrate it with ordering pizza.  Now that we can’t do that, I decided to make our own pizza with the crust made from zucchinis.  It was so delicious and just as good as our cauliflower crust pizza.

You can top your pizza with whatever you’d like but in anticipation of Cinco de Mayo coming up, I went with a Mexican themed pizza.

mexican pizza with zucchini crust

Zucchini Pizza Crust
Serves 4
A great low-carb option for a pizza crust. If you're following the Omni Drops Program, it's for Phase 3.
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Ingredients
  1. 2 medium zucchini, shredded (about 2 cups)
  2. 2 eggs
  3. 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  2. Line a baking sheet or pizza stone with parchment paper.
  3. Shred your zucchini. With your hands, squeeze the zucchini to remove excess water. Add the eggs and cheese; mix well. Your hands work really well for this step.
  4. Spread the "dough" onto the pan/stone making sure you spread it evenly. If the middle is thicker than the ends, the ends could burn before the middle is cooked. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the crust is cooked. Remove from oven and top with your desired toppings.
Notes
  1. Depending on your toppings, oven times will vary for putting it back in the oven. I topped mine with Pepperjack Cheese and Taco Meat and baked it for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and top with shredded lettuce, scallions, tomatoes, jalapenos and cilantro.
My Eating Clean Journey http://www.myeatingcleanjourney.com/

Cinco de Mayo Roundup with #Foodelicious – Spaghetti Squash Taco

Are you following the Omni Drops Program or another low-carb diet and wondering what you’re going to enjoy on Cinco de Mayo (May 5th)?  This recipe is phase 3 friendly.  I love Mexican food and have really missed eating it while following this plan.  Last week a friend of mine shared this recipe with me and I knew I had to make it.  If you haven’t tried Spaghetti Squash yet, you must.  I love it and it’s a great alternative to spaghetti or just any carb in general. In this dish I layer the spaghetti squash, taco meat, tomatoes, onions, peppers and pepperjack cheese.  Enjoy and please let me know if you make this and what your opinion was.  I love comments.  ðŸ™‚

Also, don’t forget to check out the other great Mexican inspired dishes below.

Spaghetti Squash Taco

Spaghetti Squash Taco
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with this Mexican inspired low-carb dish
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Ingredients
  1. 1 Spaghetti Squash
  2. 1lb Ground Beef
  3. 1 Tomato, diced
  4. 1/2 Onion, diced
  5. 1/2 cup, Pepperjack cheese, shredded
  6. Jalapeno pepper (or other type of pepper), diced
  7. 2T Taco Seasoning
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the spaghetti squash on a cookie sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for about 15 minutes or until it's cool enough to handle. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Using a fork, shred the squash into threads that look like spaghetti.
  2. Cook the ground beef in a pan until browned. Add in the taco seasoning and 1/4 cup of water. Mix well and remove from heat.
  3. Layer the squash, taco meat, tomatoes, onions, peppers and cheese. Top with Cilantro (optional)
My Eating Clean Journey http://www.myeatingcleanjourney.com/

cinco clip art

My #Foodelicious friends and I all got together to show you some other great Mexican dishes you can enjoy on Cinco de Mayo.  Be sure to jump along to and visit all of them.  Friend them on facebook, follow them on Pinterest or sign up for their newsletters to stay in touch with them and their other delicious recipes they share.

Beef Carnitas – Mooshu Jenne
Tequila Sunrise Jello Shots – I Love My Disorganized Life
Shrimp Stuffed Poblano Peppers – Little Family Adventures
Roasted Vegetable Chili – Foody Schmoody
Spaghetti Squash Taco – My Eating Clean Journey
Potato Tostadas – Lydia’s Flexitarian Kitchen

 

 

Spicy Orange Chicken

Today’s recipe is for a Spicy Orange Sauce that I serve with diced chicken but you could substitute a white fish, shrimp or even sliced beef for the chicken.

spicy orange chicken

 

Spicy Orange Sauce 

½ orange rolled and slightly juiced with rind

½ lemon slightly juiced with rind

½ cup water

1 tablespoon minced green onion

1 clove crushed garlic

¼ teaspoon ginger powder

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Pinch of orange and lemon zest

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Stevia to taste 

In a small saucepan add slightly juiced orange with rind and ½ lemon with rind to water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer adding water as needed. Simmer until the pulp comes out of the rinds. Scrape out the pulp and discard the rinds. Continue stirring and reducing down the liquid by half until desired consistency is reached. Add onion, stevia and spices. Add chicken, white fish or beef and sauté or pour spicy orange sauce over desired cooked protein. Serve with remaining orange slices for garnish.

I chose sauteed spinach as my side.  I love spicy food so I sprinkled some dried red peppers on my spinach.

Chicken Chili

chicken chili labeled

 

Chicken Chili
Serves 8
Phase 2 Omni Drops Program
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Ingredients
  1. 1 large can diced tomatoes (undrained) - look for organic with no added sugar or
  2. preservatives and low sodium (Can also use fresh tomatoes you stew yourself)
  3. 1/2 onion finely chopped
  4. 3-4 stalks celery, finely chopped (can use leaves if desired)
  5. 1 small can tomato paste - look for organic and no added sugar or preservatives
  6. (All the veggies together should add up to less than 2 pounds because the tomatoes
  7. are cooked)
  8. 2 lb ground cooked & drained chicken (phase 2) or turkey (phases 3&4) or even beef
  9. (2 pounds is the pre-cooked weight)
  10. 1/3 cup tex-mex spice - look for no added sugar, carbs, or preservatives
  11. Chili powder to taste
  12. 1 tsp garlic powder
  13. 1 tsp chili flakes
  14. 1 tsp cayenne pepper
Instructions
  1. Cook in slow-cooker, stirring occasionally on low for 6- 8 hours.
  2. Cool and then divide into 8 equal portions (approximately 7 ounces each).
  3. or
  4. Throw all ingredients into a pot and cook on the stove for 30 minutes.
Notes
  1. This freezes really well. Make ahead of time and use as a quick dinner or bring to work for your lunch.
My Eating Clean Journey http://www.myeatingcleanjourney.com/

 

Chicken Creole Gumbo #Phase3 #OmniDrops

Oh my goodness, this was so tasty and we’re looking forward to making it again when we hit phase 3 and have the ability to add in more vegetables.  Feel free to substitute the chicken for shrimp to make Shrimp Creole Gumbo.

chicken gumbo

 

Chicken Creole Gumbo
Phase 2 for Omni Drops Program. Can also use Shrimp instead of Chicken.
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Ingredients
  1. 4oz shrimp or 4oz ground chicken
  2. Dash of onion powder
  3. Dash of garlic powder
  4. 1 tablespoon minced onion
  5. 1 clove of garlic crushed and minced
  6. Cayenne pepper to taste
  7. 2 cups vegetable broth (or substitute 1 cup water for 1 cup broth)
  8. Tomatoes chopped
  9. 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  10. 2 tablespoons green or white onion
  11. 2 cloves of garlic crushed and minced
  12. 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  13. Dash of Worcestershire sauce
  14. Cayenne pepper to taste
  15. Salt and pepper to taste
  16. Liquid smoke hickory smoke flavoring to taste
Instructions
  1. Mix the Dash of onion powder, Dash of garlic powder,1 tablespoon minced onion,1 clove of garlic crushed and minced, and the Cayenne pepper with the ground chicken. Cook the chicken in a pot; until cooked through. Add onions and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
  2. Add tomato paste, tomatoes, and broth. Mix well. Add the remaining spices and vinegar. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Serve hot and garnish with fresh parsley.
Notes
  1. Phase 3 modifications: Add additional mixed protein ingredients like crab, chicken, and sausage. Add additional vegetables such as okra, celery, and bell pepper. Enjoy with a dollop of sour cream.
My Eating Clean Journey http://www.myeatingcleanjourney.com/