Creamy Asparagus Chicken 2 (C3)

Modified recipe author: Simmie Sinow 

(after Sabine Bauer modified it as Creamy Asparagus Chicken on this blog)

Makes 3 servings

14-16 oz chicken breast or tenderloin, cubed
1 bunch asparagus
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 medium spring onions
2 Tbsp friendly fat (olive oil)

Suggested spices were: crushed chili, aniseed, cumin, salt

I didn't have some of that, so I used:
1/2 tsp McCormick's Southwest Seasoning
1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
1/4 tsp Cumin

Sauce:
3 Tbsp reduced fat cream cheese
3 Tbsp Parmesan (I used a Parmesan/asiago mix, which is to die for)
1 cup unsweetened almond milk

Chop asparagus into 1" pieces, chop spring onions, slice mushrooms (I also cut them in half after slicing), cut chicken into cubes.

In a frying pan, heat olive oil and spices to taste, stir fry onions, chicken, mushrooms and asparagus; reduce heat, cover and let cook for about 10 mins.

FOR THE SAUCE:
In a small bowl mix cream cheese, Parmesan, and almond milk; zap for about 30 sec in microwave and stir until smooth. Add to chicken and veggies, stir, and let simmer for about a minute.

17 Day Diet Gal's Notes:
I like spicy -- and especially if it's a slow burn that builds with each bite.  The spices that I used fit my requirements -- when I was done eating this, my mouth was a tiny bit on fire and dissipated after about 5 minutes.  If you don't like spicy very much, you can use other spices to fit your taste buds.

I tripled some of the ingredients to make this version that is good for 3 meals (chicken called for 4 oz; sauce requirements were 1/3 less; mushrooms were much less); I had quite a bit of sauce, so next time I will probably only double the sauce.  Even then, we shall see!

If you don't have onions readily available, you can use onion powder (I had to do this the second time I made it).

Enjoy!

Creamy Asparagus Chicken (C3)

Modified recipe author: Sabine Bauer

100 g chicken breast (3.5 ounces)
1 bunch asparagus
3-4 large mushrooms
1 Tbsp reduced fat cream cheese
1 Tbsp Parmesan (I used a Parmesan/asiago mix, which is to die for)
1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 medium spring onions
1 Tbsp friendly fat (olive oil)
crushed chili
aniseed
cumin
salt

Chop asparagus into 1" pieces, chop spring onions, slice mushrooms, cut chicken breast into strips. In a frying pan heat fat and spices to taste, stir fry onions, chicken, mushrooms and asparagus; reduce heat and let cook for about 10 mins.

In a small bowl mix cream cheese, Parmesan, and almond milk; zap for about 30 sec in microwave and stir until smooth. Add to chicken and veggies, stir, and let simmer for about a minute.

Bon appetit ;)

Orange Chicken with a Twist (C1)

Recipe Author: Brittany A Simpson

Cube some chicken breast and marinate in the following mixture for a few hours:

1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp soy sauce (reduced sodium)
1 Tbsp reduced sugar ketchup
1 Tbsp sugar free orange marmalade jelly
1/2 tsp Truvia or sweetener of your choice

Season with:
dried onions
salt
red pepper

Cook the pepper in 1 Tbsp of olive oil for about 5 to 10 minutes, then add the chicken to it and cook until done.

Pumpkin Spice Latte (C3)

Recipe Author: Jennifer Agnew Borruso

Strong brewed coffee or espresso (I used strong brewed coffee)
1 cup Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
2 - 4 Tbsp canned pumpkin (I used 4, original recipe calls for 2)
1/2 Tbsp Stevia

Whisk ingredients in saucepan over medium heat, constantly stirring until steaming.

Remove from heat and add:

1 Tbsp Vanilla extract
1/2 to 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (personal taste here, I added 1)

Whisk really well

Pour into a large mug and top with coffee or espresso.

NOTE: With the pumpkin this is a C2 recipe, I'm still looking for SF Torani pumpkin syrup.

Ready to Quit? Read this first!

If you're not losing, check these things first before deciding this is not for you!

1. Refresh your memory of the book's instructions. It's amazing how much we forget if our head isn't totally "in the game."

2. Are you adding "not allowed" items into your meals. If so this can slow or stop weight loss. Even just a little bit can sabotage some of us.

3.  Are you sure the food you're eating is allowed on the cycle you're currently on? Double-check your food against the food lists for a couple of days, just as a double-check.

4. Minimum 1,200 calories (no you don't HAVE to count calories but be familiar with what 1,200 actually looks like for you) AFTER exercise? You should be eating a bare minimum of 1200 calories PLUS whatever you burned off in exercise.

5. If you are hungry eat! This diet is designed like fuel for your car...you have to have a full tank of gas to make it to your destination.

6. Are you finding you are hungry? If so you aren't eating enough.

7.  Remember this is not like most diets where you have to eat less to lose.  With the 17 Day Diet, the more you eat, the better your losses will be (you're giving your body more fuel to burn off those calories and the fat).

8. Are you eating your fruits.

9. Are you getting your water in.

10. Are you eating the probiotics. Are they with NO sugar added? This is important!

11. Are you eating your Friendly Fats? This is one that a lot of us tend to forget, but it is very critical to our weight loss (2 Tbsp of flaxseed or olive oil per day).

12. Certain foods can cause constipation...is this an issue for you?

Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins (C2)

Recipe Author: Katrina Kaija

First, mix:
1/2 cup fat free cream cheese
1 egg
Equivalent to 1/2 cup of sugar in your choice of substitute (I used 3 tablespoons of Stevia)
1 Tbsp whole wheat flour

Set this mix aside.

Then mix:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 Tbsp plus 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 large eggs
Equivalent to 1 cup sugar in your choice of sugar substitute (I used a little less than 1/2 cup of Stevia).
1 1/2 tbsp flax seed meal
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup olive oil

Spoon the second mix into the muffin tins about 3/4 full.

Then, add a spoonful of the cream cheese mixture onto the top of each.

Bake at 350F for about 10-15 minutes.

Nutrition info based on a 12-muffin batch, the following is for 1 muffin:

17 Day Diet:
Natural Starch: 2/3

Calories: 132
Fat: 6g
Fiber: 3g
Protein: 6g
Carbs: 14g, of which 1g is sugar

________________________________________
This was adapted from a recipe at:
http://sugarcooking.blogspot.ca/2010/10/pumpkin-cheesecake-muffins.html

Penne Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage (C3)

Adapted from a recipe from Kroger Penne Rigate box

Serves 6

8 oz whole wheat penne pasta
1 lb ground turkey or ground beef, lean (originally called for italian sausage)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
12 oz Libby's Pure Pumpkin
1/2 cup plain unflavored yogurt (replaces cream)
Sweetener to taste (to make the yogurt not so tart)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Pinch ground cinnamon
Salt and black pepper to taste
Low fat grated cheese of your choice: romano, parmesan, mozzarella

Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions; drain and set aside.

In a medium skillet, brown the ground turkey/beef and set aside.

In a skillet over medium heat, add oil and saute shallots and garlic for 3 minutes.

Stir in chicken broth, pumpkin, adjusted yogurt, crushed red pepper, cinnamon, salt and pepper.

Reduce heat and simmer 8-10 minutes to thicken.

Stir in cooked penne, ground turkey/beef and cheese.

Note:
Since the yogurt is being heated, it does not count towards your probiotic serving (heat destroys probiotic qualities).

If you want this to be good for C2, you could put this over some slightly cooked cabbage or some riced cauliflower.

Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake Snack (C3)

Recipe Author: Susan Bojarzin

Combine the following ingredients and blend well, then enjoy!!!

Unsweetened chocolate almond milk
Strawberry whey protein powder
2 Tbsp fat free cream cheese

This tastes like chocolate-strawberry cheesecake!

Note: Almond Breeze makes the unsweetened chocolate almond milk (in case you're not sure what brand to look for).  That I'm aware of, that's the only brand of the unsweetened that's chocolate as well.

Apple Pie a la Mode Shake (C3)

Recipe Author: Susan Bojarzin

3/4 cup Greek plain ff yogurt
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder (optional)
1-2 drops vanilla
1 individual serving size unsweetened apple sauce
Heavy sprinkling of cinnamon
Small sprinkling of nutmeg.

Whip everything together.

Delicious!

My daughter even suggested heating for a yummy winter drink! I hope you all enjoy!

Simmie's Fried Chicken (C1)

Recipe Author: Simmie Sinow

Who says we can't have fried chicken on this diet? It just can't be breaded, but we can have fried chicken!!

4 Chicken breasts, skinless
4 Tbsp Lemon juice, fresh
3 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil (divided with the next item)
2 tsp Extra virgin olive oil (divided with the above item)
1 tsp Salt, divided
½ tsp Oregano, ground
1/8 tsp Pepper

Directions:

In shallow dish, make marinade by mixing together:
Lemon juice
2 tablespoons of the olive oil
½ teaspoon of the salt
Oregano
Pepper

Add chicken, place in fridge and marinade, turning after 15 minutes, for at least 30 minutes. (I marinade for about 4 hours if I have time.)

Remove chicken from marinade and drain on paper towels; reserve marinade.

In large frying pan, place remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat to medium temperature.

Add chicken and cook about 5 minutes on each side.

Reduce heat to medium-low, add reserved marinade; cover and cook (turning often) until golden brown and fork can be inserted in chicken with ease.

Cheesy Skillet Chicken (C3)

Recipe Author: Simmie Sinow

1 serving = 1/2 chicken breast

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 ½ cups Italian-herbed marinara sauce
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 ½ lbs. Skinless boneless chicken breasts (about six)
1 ½ cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 6 ounces)


Stir 3 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese into marinara sauce.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook about 10 minutes or until browned.

Pour sauce mixture over chicken and cover.

Cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.

Top with mozzarella and remaining parmesan.

Let stand 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

Per serving:

129 calories
10g fat
5.6g carbs
22g protein

Hearty Vegetable Soup (C2)

Recipe Author: Simmie Sinow

This is a crockpot recipe!
Cooking Time: 7.5 hours
Serves 8

1 ½ lbs Your favorite lean stewing beef, well trimmed of fat and cut into ½” cubes
2 Tbsps olive oil
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
3 cups potatoes, cubed
2 cups carrots, sliced
2 cups stewed tomatoes, low-sodium
½ cup celery, chopped
½ cup onions, diced
½ cup frozen corn
½ cup frozen cut green beans
½ cup frozen peas

Brown meat in oil in skillet. Add salt and pepper.

Place meat, potatoes, carrots, stewed tomatoes, celery, onions, corn and green beans in slow cooker (everything but the peas).

Add enough water to cover all ingredients.

Cover; simmer for 20 minutes.

Cook on high for 6 ½ to 7 hours.

One-half hour before the end of cooking time, stir in peas.

Per Serving:
17 Day Diet:
Natural Starches: 1 1/3 natural starch servings
Calories: 268

Notes: On the carbs, the high hitters other than the potatoes are tomatoes, carrots and corn. ALL are within limits.

Best Ever Butternut Squash Soup (C2)

Recipe Author: Martha Lachmayr-Pomes

1 (2 to 3 pound) butternut squash, peeled and seeded
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cups chicken stock (low sodium)
Nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
FF Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt (optional)

Cut squash into 1-inch chunks.

In large soup pan, heat the olive oil. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 8 minutes.

Add the squash and stock, bring to a simmer and cook until squash is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Use blender or food processor to puree.

Stir and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Serve with a little ff sour cream or yogurt drizzled on top (optional).

Note:
I added a little bit of Sweet Onion powder (available from Faerie's Finest website) -- yummm!

Mock Cheesecake Filling (C1)

Recipe Author: Susan Bojarzin

4 oz nonfat, unflavored greek yogurt (or 17DD-compliant non-greek yogurt)
2 Tbsp fat-free cream cheese
2 Tbsp sugar-free strawberry jam

Combine all ingredients and blend well.  Refrigerate for an hour or so, then enjoy!

17 Day Diet:
3/4 probiotic

Fruity Oatmeal Bake (C2)

Recipe Author: Susan Dunko

1 Apple
Olive Oil
1/2 cup water
Apple Pie spice
1/4 cup dry oatmeal

Cut up the apple, a little bit of oil, water, apple pie spices (as little or as much as you like), oatmeal and mix together in a small baking dish.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20-30 minutes.

While your oatmeal is baking, put 6 oz of yogurt in the freezer while cooking and top with yogurt when it comes out.

So sweet, and yummy, and filling!

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (approximated):

17 Day Diet:
1 fruit
1 natural starch
1/2 friendly fat (assuming 1/2 Tbsp oil)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins (C2)

Recipe Author: Simmie Sinow

This is a modification to the Oatmeal Cookie Muffins and Bars found on this blog.  I play around a lot with different flavors for muffins and I must say this is one of my favorites (lemon being my #1).  The photo above was taken just before I removed them from the oven (sorry for the blurriness).

I've stopped using the vanilla extract, as when you play with flavors, that detracts from the flavor.


2 cups oats (oatmeal, not quick oats)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups unsweetened applesauce
2 scoops chocolate peanut butter protein powder (I use Body Fortress brand available at WalMart)
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 eggs
Stevia to taste (I use the equivalent of 4 Tbsp of sugar)
Optional: 1 Tbsp Hershey's unsweetened cocoa; 2 tsp peanut butter extract (found this at the Amish store online)

Mix all ingredients thoroughly, then fill your baking tins (make sure to spray with nonstick spray really well) and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

I made the Jumbo ones tonight, but have also made the standard sized ones as well.

These come in at 3/4 natural starch serving for a standard size or 1 1/2 natural starch servings for the jumbo size (I make jumbo sized muffins) and the jumbo muffins are about 275 calories each (standard would be half of that).

Please note that these do need to be refrigerated or frozen (they heat up nicely after being frozen) due to the applesauce.  If you don't do this and leave them out, you'll be growing mold in 2 days' time.

Scrambled Egg Salad (C1)

This recipe looks really good and is a nice change from a hardboiled egg salad sandwich.

Click here to go to the website for the full recipe and directions!

The only change that needs to be made to the ingredients:

* Replace the mayonnaise with yogurt or yogurt and lemon or dill.

Chicken Stir Fry (C1)

Recipe Author: Lisa B.

Dinner! Courtesy of Walden Farms Asian dressing (use as marinade). Side of fried cauliflower.

Very easy!

Cut 6 chicken breasts into strips.

Add the dressing to coat evenly.

Saute some garlic in olive oil, add 2 bags of broccoli carrot streamers, fry them a bit, then add the chicken, stirring and frying until cooked. Add a little bit of low-sodium soy sauce.

Cauliflower is even easier.

Shredded it on the food processor grating blade.
Saute garlic in olive oil, add the cauliflower, half a bag of shredded carrots, half a bag of broccoli slaw and half a bag of slaw mix. Sometimes I add peppers or green onions.

Add a couple Tbs of low sodium soy sauce, and cook until tender.

Then make a well in the middle and pour in some egg beaters or a few beaten eggs. Cook like scrambled eggs and mix into the veggies.

Fruity Treat or Breakfast Treat (C1)

Recipe Author: Victoria Rachitzky Hoch

Grind together:

1 apple
1 carrot
2 eggs
Cinnamon
Sweetener of your choice (other than sugar)

Make this into an omelet.  When done, put a dollop of yogurt on top.

Fruit Granita (C4)

Recipe Author: Lisa B.

(As posted to 17 Day Diet Support Group)

This could work as a fun fruit portion, as well.

Liquefy in a blender:
4 cups of melon cubes
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
1/4 c of lime juice.

Pour into a large, shallow pan and then lay flat in your freezer.

Flake with a fork every 40 minutes until frozen completely.

Serve with mint leaves and berries for garnish.

It's only fruit, so 1 cupful (not packed, keep it airy) should count as 1 portion.

17 Day Diet Gal's notes:
The reason this is C4 is because of the apple and lime juices.  Because there is very little per portion of each, this could reasonably be used as a C3 dessert (the melons make it C3).

Kitchen Conversion Chart - Greek Yogurt

For those of you wondering how much and what you can use Greek yogurt in place of, this nifty chart from the wonderful folks at Chobani (my favorite Greek yogurt) might be of interest to you!!!!

Iced Coffee with Chocolate and Vanilla (C3)

Recipe Author: Becky Yokeley Love

1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1.5 cup cold coffee
1 packet stevia (equivalent of 2 tsp sugar)
ice
1/2 scoop-1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 vanilla yogurt (6 ounces CarbMasters)
1 Tbsp choc syrup (or you could use the caramel syrup)

Directions:

Use your blender for this, sit back, kick up your feet and enjoy!!!

Cheese, Vegetable and Quinoa Bites (C2)

Source and link: The Curvy Carrot

This sounds wonderful! Great for leftovers of quinoa and vegetables.

I'd revise the ingredients to use part-skim mozzarella or parmesan cheese instead of the cheddar cheese.  You could use the fat free cheddar (if you can tolerate the taste -- I can't).

Caesar Salad Dressing (C1)

1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
3 Tbsp olive oil

Mix all ingredients well, refrigerate, then use when  you're ready for it!

Italian Dressing (C1)

Recipe Author: Mary Hrebec 

1 cup oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tsp sugar replacement equivalent
1/2 tsp onion salt
1/2 ts[\p ground thyme
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried mustard
1/2 tsp paprika
2 garlic cloves-minced

Shake all ingredients in a tightly covered jar and refrigerate at least two hours.

Shake before serving

Makes 1-1/2 cups dressing.

The sugar equivalent replacement could be eliminated if you want.

Balsamic Salad Dressing (C1)

Recipe Author: Norma Griggs Roberts

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
Dash of salt and pepper
1 packet Truvia (2 tsp)

Combine everything, shake well and enjoy!

Creamy Salsa Dip (C3)

Courtesy of: Dannon Yogurt container

Note that this recipe assumes plain nonfat regular yogurt; if you're going to use Greek yogurt, the calories would be considerably more, as would the proteins.

Also note that cilantro is a C3 ingredient.  Because there is so little in it, I don't know that I'd fret a lot about using it in C1.  Also, per serving, the amount of cilantro is pretty minimal.


2 Cups Plain Nonfat Yogurt
1 Cup Salsa
3 1/2 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Cilantro
1 tsp Sea Salt

Combine in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate till your ready to use.

Calories 30, Fat 0, Protein 3g, Carbs 5g

17DD Gal Notes:

I would look for lowfat yogurt instead of nonfat. With regular yogurts, if they are NONfat, the sugars can be much higher; with lowfat, there's a good level of both fats and sugars.  Remember, we do need some fat in our diet, just not a lot.

Individual Pita Pizza (C3)

Recipe Source: WebMD

This is a great idea if you've got some time but not enough time to make a cauliflower crust pizza and you're in C3 where bread is allowed!


1 whole grain pita bread
1/8 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
1/8 cup bottled pizza sauce or marinara sauce
1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Toppings of your choice

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place pita, rounded side down, on a baking sheet.

Spread ricotta cheese over the pita (leaving a crust-like edge around the pita). Spoon the pizza sauce over the cheese and add desired toppings. Sprinkle mozzarella over the top and bake for 6-8 minutes (watch carefully so it doesn’t burn).

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:

Per serving (using whole-wheat pita and not including extra toppings):
Calories: 256
Fat: 8.8 grams
Fiber: 4 grams
Protein: 16 grams
Carbs: 29.5 grams

Ground Turkey Delight (C3)

Source: http://fatsecret.com/recipes/ground-turkey-delight/Default.aspx

I don't know about you, but I love casseroles! I make one large casserole and freeze everything but the current serving and voila! Meals for about one week for one person.

The Ground Turkey Delight sounds scrumptious, doesn't it? I'm going to make it this weekend!!!

Here is the list of revised ingredients so to make it 17 Day Diet compliant.  Make sure you go to the website above for the full instructions on how to put this together!

If you want to make this for C1 or C2, just replace the zucchini with some other vegetable; in C2, you could replace it with any number of squashes (but remember they are Natural Starches, so eating them for dinner would not be a good idea) or in C1, replace it with something like green beans or diced up eggplant; I tend to toss diced up bell peppers in just about everything baked and casserole-y that I make, so that's always a good addition as well.

8 oz greek yogurt with some dill weed in it (make it taste like sour cream)
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 lbs ground turkey
1 cup chopped onions
4 cups chopped zucchini
1 can tomato paste
15 oz tomato sauce
8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded (fat free)
4 oz cream cheese, fat free

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION per serving (figuring 8 servings)
Calories: 272
Fat: 7.8 grams
Fiber: 3.9 grams
Protein: 28.5 grams
Carbs: 18.6 grams
Sugars: 11.5 grams

Chili Spaghetti (C3)

From: http://www.deepsouthdish.com/2010/11/chili-spaghetti-homemade-stovetop-beef.html

So does this recipe sound great or what (go to the above link)???

I'd only make a few changes to the ingredients to make it 17DD compliant:

* I use mostly ground turkey (mostly because that's what I enjoy the most); if using ground beef, it does tend to have more fat in it, so be aware of that

* Instead of sugar, I'd use sugar substitute like Stevia

* Instead of spaghetti noodles, I'd cook up some spaghetti squash and use that instead -- the flavor is just so much better!

* And of course fat-free or low-fat on the cheddar cheese

With the Rotel, this recipe will be higher in sodium than you might want; you could use just regular tomatoes and add some "zing" to it!

So here's what the revised ingredients would look like; be sure and go to the link above for the instructions on making this wonderful dish:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoons of sliced jalapeno peppers, chopped
2 pounds ground turkey (or ground chuck if you want beef)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, or to taste, optional
1/2 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning (like Slap Ya Mama), optional
1 tablespoon of sugar substitute such as Stevia
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon of Kitchen Bouquet
1 teaspoon of hot sauce
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 can of Rotel tomatoes or regular diced tomatoes, drained
2 cups beef stock or broth
2 medium bay leaves
2 cans of light kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Spaghetti squash noodles
Finely shredded cheddar cheese -- fat free or low fat

Chicken Parm-urritos! (C3)

Oh my goodness, these look so good (take a look at the picture when you go to the link below)!!!!!

I'm going to see if I have everything in the house to make these this week!  I cannot wait!!!

http://www.theyummylife.com/Chicken_Parmesan_Burritos#EmbedRecipe_252

As a side note, I am adding some more recipes here from other sites; actually they will be links to the recipes on those other sites -- to see all of them, just go to the right hand side-bar of the blog and click on Recipes on other sites and you'll see all of them!  The to get there, just click HERE.


NUTRITIONAL INFO for 1 burrito:
364 calories
10g fat (ouch!)
32g carbs (tho only the tortilla would count as a 17DD Natural Starch serving)
4g fiber
35g protein

Fishermen's Pie (C3)

Recipe Author: Sabine Bauer

200 g basa filet (7 ounces)
1/2 small cauliflower
75 g spinach (2.6 oz)
4 medium mushrooms
2 tbsp grated parmesan
unsweetened almond milk
ground coriander
crushed chili
salt
pepper

Cook cauliflower in steamer until soft.

Preheat oven to 420F.

Slice mushrooms. In the food processor, mash cauliflower, spinach, 1 tbsp of parmesan, a splash of almond milk, and spices.

Line the bottom of a Pyrex bowl with mushroom slices. Place basa filet on the slices and cover with cauliflower/spinach mash.

Spray well with cooking spray and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp of parmesan.

Bake for 30 min., then reduce heat to 380F and bake for another 30 minutes.

Nutritional Information:
326 kcal
12 g carbohydrates
11 g fat
47 g protein
6 g fiber

I suppose it would work with pretty much any white fish, but I like the basa, because its own flavor doesn't overpower the vegetables and has a natural sweetness that goes very well with the cauliflower and spinach.

Chicken Marinade (C2)

Recipe Author: Becky Yokeley Love

Coats 2 chicken breasts

1/4 cup basalmic vinegerette dressing
1 tbsp agave
1-2 tsp garlic powder
1-2 tsp onion powder
1-2 tsp oregano

Combine all ingredients and mix well, then marinade/soak chicken prior to cooking.

Cauliflower and Leek Bake (C3)

Recipe Author: Sabine Bauer

1/2 head of cauliflower
1 medium leek (washed and cut into thin rings)
120 g turkey breast (cubed)
2 Tbsp grated parmesan
1 Tbsp Walden Farms syrup (this is the amount I used--it was a little overpowering, so that needs to be reduced a bit; otherwise, agave nectar could be an option)
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Splash of unsweetened almond milk
Crushed chilis
ground coriander
salt

Preheat oven to 400F.

Make mash from 1/2 head of cauliflower, a splash of almond milk, parmesan, salt.

Place leek rings and turkey cubes in Pyrex bowl, mix, drizzle with syrup, season with chili, salt, coriander, spread dollops of coconut oil over it (or drizzle with oil of your choice). Cover it all with the cauli mash and bake for 45 min.

YUM!

You can also sprinkle 1/4 cup of Kraft reduced fat TexMex cheese over the mash. Very nice, but strictly for caloric emergencies ;)

Nutritional Information:
409 kcal
28 g carbs (all from veg)
18 g fat
9 g fiber
(with the extra cheese you'll have 469 kcal and 23 g fat)

Simmie Note:
Technically, the coconut oil is not "kosher" on this diet, but some do consider it a healthy fat, so use of this is a personal choice for each of us.

Beef Sliders (C3)

Recipe Author: Sabine Bauer


1 kg extra lean ground beef
100 g chopped onion
2 Tbsp sf apricot jam
2 Tbsp low carb, low sugar ketchup
1 Tbsp horseradish mustard
4 Tbsp ground flaxseed
2/3 cup reduced fat mozzarella
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1 tsp aniseed
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1/4 Tbsp cumin
salt

Mix together and form small patties.  I use 1 heaping tablespoon of the meat mass (you should end up with about 38 to 40).

Pan fry (I used olive oil cooking spray) at medium heat for app. 10 minutes.

At 38 sliders, one will clock in at 60 kcal.

Simmie Note:
To make this C1 compliant, just switch out the ground beef for ground turkey.

Taco Salad (C3)

Recipe Author: Rochelle Kozuch

Make a quick and easy taco salad yourself!

Combine the following except for the chicken:
Grilled chicken
Romaine lettuce
Red Bell Peppers (diced)
Celery (diced)
Carrots (diced)
2 strawberries sliced
About 6 red grapes
Handful of sesame seeds
2 Tbs. of ground flax seed

For the taco chips (this would make this C2), use a multi-grain chip. Keep an eye out on the sodium and fat content when choosing your chip.

For the dressing:
Fat free/no sugar added Mayo
2 Tbsp salsa

Mix it up put chicken on top and that was it!

Mixed Berries Muffins (C2)

Recipe Author: Simmie Sinow

2 scoops Strawberry protein powder (I use Body Fortress)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cup oats (not quick oats, but the regular oats)
1 tsp baking powder
Sugar replacement equivalent to 3 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Frozen mixed berries (I use Dole's Wildly Nutritious Mixed Fruit blend of mixed berries with pomegranate)

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine all ingredients except the frozen fruit and mix well.

Don't worry about the batter looking "wet."  It IS really wet.

Randomly chop the berry blend of frozen fruit -- I just lay out one cup of fruit and chop like you would anything else.  Personally, I like most of mine diced, but you can leave some larger if you'd like.

Generously spray your muffin tin: either a standard (12 muffins) or jumbo (6 muffins).  I usually make the Jumbo.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or so.  Gently tap the top of the muffins to see if they're done.

They may be overly moist inside when you go to eat them; that is ok, as this recipe is intended to be frozen and thawed and microwaved.  When microwaving to heat, the middle will bake the rest of the way (I microwave for about 30 seconds after thawing).

Remove from oven and let them sit for about 5 minutes, then take a knife and go around the outer edges to loosen them and remove from the pan.  These can be frozen 4 per quart size freezer bags. I put them on their sides with bottoms facing each other and 2 sets of 2 fit nice and snug!

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Calories: Jumbo: 246; Standard: 123
Fat: Jumbo: 5g; Standard: 2.5g
Fiber: Jumbo: 6g; Standard: 3g
Protein: Jumbo: 16g; Standard: 8g
Carbs: Jumbo: 41g; Standard: 20.5g (only 8 Natural starches total in the entire recipe)
Sugars: Jumbo: 8g; Standard: 4g

17 Day Diet Info:
Natural Starches per muffin: Jumbo: 1.3; Standard: 2/3
Fruit per muffin: Jumbo: 1/6th; Standard: 1/12th

Strawberry Cinnamon Muffins (C2)

Recipe Author: Becky Yokeley Love

2 scoops strawberry whey powder (vanilla would be fine too)
1 cup wheat flour
1 cup oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 applesauce
2 egg whites (6 tbsp liquid egg whites)
12 packets stevia (sugar substitute equal to 1/2 cup sugar)
1/2 cup water
1 cup frozen strawberries (yes frozen don't thaw see note below)

Preheat oven to 350 and spray muffin tins with non stick spray.

Mix flour, whey powder, oats, soda, cinnamon, and salt together.

Add applesauce, sugar, egg whites, and water, mix until just blended.

I get the no sugar added whole strawberries from walmart...I took out a few and chopped them up with a knife some little chunks, big chunks etc. and measured out a cup of chopped strawberries (about 6 ounces chopped)

Add in chopped strawberries and stir gently to cover.

Bake for 25-35 min (350 oven) or until tops have lightly browned. I make jumbo muffins (6ct) and had to bake for 35 min.

Starvation Mode and Minimum Calories

Periodically, there seems to be some confusion on whether or not we need a minimum number of calories and if so, what that minimum number is.

The number (minimum) to try and hit is 1,200 NET for women and 1,500 NET for men (although for some it's slightly different).  It's not really magic, but it will help to keep you steadier in your weight loss and will definitely keep you healthier.  It's very important.

NET is calculated: Calories consumed minus what you burned off during exercise.

Read that again: it is the minimum you should be eating, not the maximum; you will probably lose at a higher rate if you add to that, taking into account your body's metabolism and your activity level.

For me, 1,350 to 1,375 is my sweet spot (which I've talked a LOT about on my Facebook community).  Others do best at a lot more, others do good at dipping below 1,200 every now and then.  KNOW YOUR BODY!

Why 1,200 calories? After all, it is not mentioned in the book.

The menu plans in the book only come up to 800-900 calories and women require 1,200 to keep from going into starvation mode (1,500 calories for men); starvation mode slows down your metabolism and your weight loss--sometimes completely halting it.

Remember also: Eat when you are hungry-- as much as you want from list of unlimited proteins and cleansing veggies lists.

Remember that the meal plans in the book are suggestions -- you'll do just as well by following the diet by making your own choices from the food lists.

We all need to add foods from the list of unlimited proteins and cleansing veggies list to reach your required food for the day.

Now on the whole issue of "why 1,200 calories as a minimum?" question:

Our bodies need a certain number of minimum calories NET just to function. For women, that minimum is 1,200 calories a day and for men, it is 1,500 calories per day.

When your calories dip under that minimum on a regular basis, your body will go into famine or starvation mode, which means that without enough calories (remember calories = fuel for our bodies) our bodies start to think that we aren't getting enough nutrition and won't be getting any for some time.

So, instead of burning the fuel you have put in, it starts to store it as fat.

The same thing happens if you don't eat often enough, oddly enough!  If, say, you're eating every 8 hours, your body knew it wasn't going to get any food/energy during that time, so it won't burn any of it. Ideally, with the snacks and meals on this diet, it's a good idea to try and eat every 3 hours or so.

This means you need to eat a minimum number of calories on a regular basis! It does not mean that if once in a while (say once or twice a month) you have one day where you get less than the minimum that you're going to stall your weight loss or damage your health.

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins (C3)

Recipe Author: Simmie Sinow

I've been playing around with getting rid of the sugar-free jello pudding mix that you find in some of the muffins here on my blog.  This recipe is the result of some of that playing around and they turned out great! See notes at the end for using this as a generic muffin recipe with different flavors.  Experiment away, I say!

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 scoops Vanilla whey protein powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 cups Oatmeal
2 tsp Poppyseed spice
3 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk
2 containers CarbMasters Lite Lemon yogurt
2 eggs
1 to 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Banana extract

Preheat oven to 350F.

I combine all the dry ingredients together first and blend them well and then add in the "wet" ingredients and make sure everything is blended well.

Spray a jumbo or standard size muffin pan with nonstick spray and put 2 ice cream scoops' worth of batter into each jumbo and 1 ice cream scoops' worth into the standard size muffin tins.

I've only made these in the jumbo, so if you're making the standard size (1/2 the size of the jumbo), make sure to check them as they bake (just pat the top of them) to make sure you're not over-baking. You want them to have a little "give" on the top.

For the Jumbo size, in my oven, this takes 15 minutes to bake.

For those of you that use MyFitnessPal for tracking calories and nutrition, these are in the database and can be found as the following, with the brand name of 17DDGal Blog:
Lemon Poppyseed Muffins C2 6 ct
If you are making standard size muffins, just choose 0.5 muffins as the serving size.

Note:
This can be used as a generic muffin recipe with other flavorings and such.  Make sure if you do this to not use the poppyseed spice in it.

Some other variations are:
* Banana: Regular CarbMaster yogurt - banana cream pie flavored, with Banana extract
* Banana Walnut: Regular CarbMaster yogurt - banana cream pie flavored, with banana extract and a small amount of black walnut extract
* And of course you can make regular lemon muffins by omitting the poppyseed muffin spice

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Per Jumbo muffin (for standard size, divide the amounts below in half):
Calories: 271
Fat: 7.8 grams
Fiber: 4.5 grams
Protein: 16 grams
Carbs: 32.4 grams
Sugars: 4 grams

17DD:
1 1/3 Natural Starch

17 Day Diet Books

As you all know, the book that Dr. Mike wrote, The 17 Day Diet, has been hugely successful and as a result, he has authored a Workbook and also a Cookbook.

My recommendation is to not purchase the Workbook as there are some errors in it regarding what foods can be eaten in which cycle.  The Cookbook has a few errors in it, but mostly is a good thing. There are 80 recipes in it, with 10-12 of them being repeats from the book.

This is a reminder to all of us to be familiar with the food lists so that you know when something says it's C1 and you know it's not.

There is also a special edition of the book which is being marketed through Direct Mail (mass mailings).  You know those -- the ones where they tell you that you can preview it for 21 days before you have to pay for it? That's it!

The special edition of the book has no content change (even my favorite guffaw that says to eat sugar-free yogurt when there is no such thing, as opposed to no sugar-added yogurt which is what I believe the intent is).

There are, however, some additions to the book.  The special edition has a journal, it has an Index (Yay for that, right?!!!) and profiles 4 people who have been successful on the diet.  Nice stories about how the diet has changed lives, in my opinion -- but then again, I'm one of the four profiled.

The link for the new edition of the book is below.  I MUST ask you NOT to repost this link on Facebook communities for the 17 Day Diet.  There were agreements made between the folks handling the Direct Mail sales of the book and the sales of the original book and it is very important for each not to tread on each other. Please don't disappoint me by reposting the link below on any FB communities.  THANK YOU so much for that.

Here's the link for the Direct Mail promo of the book:
 http://www.17daydietdirect.com/

The book comes with 3 other publications (one of which is called 17 Minute Meals or something like that!) and does cost more than the original book is selling for now.

The Great Zucchini Debate

This is a post I've been meaning to write for a long time, as it comes up periodically on a lot of online forums for this diet and that dead horse gets beat to death yet once again.  I figured it was time to weigh in on zucchini and why we can't have it (the quick answer is: Because Dr. Mike said so.....but there is more to the answer than just that).

Per Dr. Mike on 1/16/2013: The foods listed in your book under the Cultural Exceptions chapter are substitutions which can slow your weight loss down.  Unless you will walk away and not try this diet without them, they should not be used.  Use only the foods listed in the chapters for Cycles 1, 2, and 3.

The Great Zucchini Debate!

We all know we need to become familiar with the foods listed in the book for C1, as well as the additions to the C1 food list for the alternating days of C2.

We also know that C3 is the most liberal of the cycles, with the most amount of foods allowed before considering going on the Maintenance.

But there is always that question of "WHY oh WHY can't I have zucchini on C1? It's listed in the Cultural Exceptions chapter for Persian, so tell me why I can't eat it too."

It depends on whether you want to maximize your weight loss or not and whether you want to second-guess the author of this diet.  He has told us a few of the reasons he chose the foods he chose (low carb, low on the glycemic index, etc.), but he hasn't told us all of them. Nor is he likely to, in my opinion.

Some people don't care if their loss is slow.  It's your choice, after all.  And everyone's bodies respond to food differently.

It's my feeling that if he wanted us to eat these foods in C1, they would have been included in the food list for C1 and not on an "exception" list.  The Cultural Exceptions chapter is (in my opinion and impression) for those who, if they could not have some of the foods listed, would not continue on this diet. Dr. Mike agrees with this.

In C1, don't look at the foods you cannot have instead of all the food you can have and justify eating some of those non-allowed foods.

I know it doesn't seem like that to you or like you're trying to second-guess Dr. Mike, but sit back and really think about it.  Why not just follow the diet as written and wait for the cycle where those foods are introduced?

"Oh sure, Simmie," you say. Such a strong position to take. Hard-a** even.

Yes it is -- and it's because I've found the closer I stick to the foods listed for each cycle, the better I was at losing weight.  Zucchini in particular, hindered my losses in C1 (this was before I realized it's not allowed until C3).

Blueberry Orange Bread (C3)

Adapted by Simmie Sinow from recipe by American Diabetes Association

Yield: 20 servings

1 cup Fiber One cereal (See note below)
3/4 cup water
1 Tbs grated orange or lemon peel
1/4 cup orange juice (see note below)
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup sugar replacement
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs olive oil
1 egg
1 cup frozen blueberries

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom only of loaf pan, 9 by 5 by 3 inches.

Fiber One Cereal: Crush cereal. I just put it in a blender on the "pulse" setting and kept pulsing it until it looked pretty crushed.

Orange Juice: For the orange juice, to make this 17DD "legal" you will need to include the pulp. What I did was I put an entire orange in the blender and blended everything together.

Stir together cereal, water, orange peel, orange juice and vanilla in large bowl; let stand 10 minutes.

Stir in remaining ingredients except blueberries. Stir in blueberries; if you are using thawed blueberries, do this gently (which is why I use frozen!).

Put batter into the loaf pan.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaf; remove from pan.

Cool completely before slicing.

If you use MyFitnessPal for calorie tracking, this is in their database.  Look for a brand name of 17DDGal Blog, with the following name:
Blueberry Orange Bread 20 ct

NUTRITION INFORMATION:

17 Day Diet specific:
Natural starches: 1/2 Natural Starch
Fruit and Friendly Fats are minimal/miniscule (Fruit is 1/20th of 1/4 fruit; friendly fat is 1/10th of 2 servings)

Amount Per Serving
Calories 70
Fat: 1.8 grams
Fiber: 1.26 grams
Protein: 1.79 grams
Carbs (some do not count towards "natural starch" count): 12.36 grams
Sugar: 1 gram

Strawberry Lovers' Muffins (C2)

Recipe Author: Simmie Sinow

                     

This is a MUST if you enjoy strawberries!

These can be made in two sizes as muffins:

• Standard: 12-muffins to the muffin pan (1 ice cream scoop of batter)
• Jumbo: 6 muffins to the muffin pan (2 ice cream scoops of batter)

I have only made the Jumbo size, as when I eat the Standard size (even two of them), it makes me hungrier later in the day!

Combine the following dry ingredients and blend well:
2 scoops Strawberry Whey Protein Powder
3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 3/4 cups Oatmeal
1 tsp Baking powder
3 Tbsp Stevia Extract Cup for Cup

Then add the following ingredients:
2 containers (6 oz each) CarbMasters Lite Strawberry Yogurt (Make sure to cream it well, getting as close to liquid as you can)
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 cup chopped strawberries
2 Tbsp unsweetened almond milk

Mix all ingredients together well.

Use either a Standard or Jumbo muffin pan and spray really well with a nonstick spray (you will regret it if you don't spray thoroughly!).

350 oven for 25 minutes.  This makes either 6 Jumbo muffins or 12 standard sized muffins

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
17 Day Diet: 
Natural Starch: Standard: 2/3 starches;  Jumbo: 1 1/3 starches
Fruit: Standard: 1/12th fruit;  Jumbo: 1/6th fruit

MyFitnessPal information
If you use MyFitnessPal, these have been entered into the database.  You can find them with the following name, with the brand name of 17DDGal Blog:

Strawberry Lovers' Muffins 6 Ct

Strawberry Lovers' Muffins 12 Ct

Each muffin or bar:
Calories: Standard: 127; Jumbo: 255
Fat: Standard: 2.8 grams;  Jumbo: 5.5 grams
Fiber: Standard: 2.43 grams; Jumbo: 4.8 grams
Protein: Standard: 8.2 grams; Jumbo: 16.4
Carbs: Standard: 14.9 grams; Jumbo: 29.9 grams
Sugar: Standard: 1.79 grams; Jumbo: 3.5 grams

Parmesan Breading Mix (C1)

Recipe Author: Simmie Sinow

This isn't really "breading" in the true sense of the word since there are no bread crumbs!

How much this will coat depends on what you're using this for.  It can be used for chicken, which is what I primarily use it for.  The chicken breasts I get are really large (Tyson breasts from Costco: some are 11 ozs each), or you can use it to coat fish as well.

8 Tbsp parmesan cheese (I use the imported parmesan cheese from Costco)
1 Tbsp flaxseed meal
1 Tbsp Old Bay Seasoning (this is my stand-by seasoning I use in most things)
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 tsp onion powder

Just combine everything together and shake it well to mix everything together.

For chicken, I cut the breasts in half, dip in unsweetened almond milk or egg and I have the mixture in a plastic storage container.  You can also dip in Kefir (which gives a great flavor to the chicken!) or yogurt.

Put the chicken in the container, put the lid on and shake the living daylights out of the container which should coat the chicken well.

I used to put it in a plastic baggie, but doing it in a plastic container preserves more of the mixture to use.

In between coating pieces, check the sides of the container to make sure none is stuck -- if so, scrape off with a fork and continue on.

For this amount made, this coats 4 of the large Tyson chicken breasts (cut in half) easily.  If your chicken breasts are smaller, it would coat more of them obviously.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Per Tablespoon used:
Calories: 29
Fat: 2.28 grams
Fiber: 0.25 grams
Protein: 2.2 grams
Carbs: 0.25 grams
Sugar: 0 grams

For those of you on MyFitnessPal, this has been put into the database; look for a brand name of 17DDGal Blog, with the following item name:
Parmesan Breading Mix

Turkey Sausage Patties (C1)

Recipe Author: Becky Yokeley Love

1 lb lean ground turkey
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp black pepper
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp basil
½ cup sodium-free chicken broth

Combine turkey and dry spices in large bowl and mix together thoroughly. Add chicken broth, mixing well and let stand 15-20 minutes.

Form into 8 patties about ¾ inch thick

Cook patties in non stick skillet over med heat 7-8 min on each side until done thoroughly.

For a different flavor, try:
For Hot and Zesty – Add 1 tsp chili powder, ½ tsp cayenne pepper, & 3 tbsp tomato paste

For C3 Italian – Add ½ tsp marjoram, ½ tsp coriander, and ½ tsp rosemary

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
To be provided later

Lemon Muffins (C3)

Recipe Author: Simmie Sinow

Caution: Do not overbake, even by 1 or 2 minutes -- that can make all the difference in the world!

2 scoops Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 3/4 cups Oatmeal
3 Tbsp Unsweetened Almond Milk
2 containers (12 ounces total) CarbMasters Vanilla Yogurt - creamed well
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp lemon flavored sugar-free jello pudding powder
1 heaping tsp Baking powder
1 to 1 1/2 Tbsp Stevia Extract
1 1/4 Tbsp Olive oil

Combine all dry ingredients and mix together well.  Then add the yogurt which you have "creamed" really well with a spoon until it is very smooth (kind of like beating an egg, only with a spoon).  Add the rest of the "wet" ingredients (almond milk, eggs, oil) and mix well.

Spray either a 12-serving or 6-serving muffin tin with your favorite nonstick spray and put the batter into each muffin tin.  I use an ice cream scoop, as the size that goes into each one is perfect for the 12-serving tins and 2 scoops is perfect for the 6-serving tins.

Bake 18-20 minutes in a 350 oven.  Be sure that you do not over-bake these, as even 1 or 2 minutes will make the difference between good and somewhat dry.

Remove from the oven and place on your counter and let them sit for 5-10 minutes, then remove from the baking pan.

These do not need to be frozen, however they do need to be refrigerated.

I usually sit one out on the counter in either a covered plastic container or bag the night before and reheat in the microwave for about 30 seconds maximum.  I usually place a damp (almost wet) towel around them to keep the moisture in.

I couldn't keep my hands off of these before taking a picture, as you can see:

Note: If you cannot find CarbMasters yogurts near you (Kroger brand), what they are is a non-greek yogurt that is low fat and low sugar (1.5g fat, 3g sugar) and 60 calories per 6 ounce serving.  Look for something comparable to that or find a plain non-greek yogurt.

I just made a second batch with this recipe using 1 container of CarbMasters Banana Cream Pie yogurt and one of their Vanilla (I didn't have two of the Banana in the house or I would have used that) and Banana Creme Sugar-Free Jello pudding powder.  They're in the oven right now, but the batter had a really strong banana flavor, so I think this is my new Go-to recipe for muffins.

ALSO, I'm going to play around with doing mini muffins -- I think the recipe will make 36 of them (a little over 1 tsp per tin of the batter) which makes those around 44 calories each. You could have 4.5 of these for ONE natural starch.  I'll update this post once I experiment with the batter and find out exactly how much on the mini muffins it makes -- they would be good for a starchy snack that "sticks to your ribs" a bit more than the poppers.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Calories: Regular sized: 134; Jumbo: 268
Fat: Regular: 3.9g; Jumbo: 7.8g
Fiber: Regular: 2.2g; Jumbo: 4.3g
Protein: Regular: 8.4g; Jumbo: 16.7g
Carbs: 15.9g; Jumbo: 31.7g
Sugars: 1g; Jumbo: 2g

17 Day Diet specifics: 
Natural starches: Regular: 3/4 natural starch; Jumbo: 1 2/3.

Jumbo muffins are basically twice the size as the regular muffins.

For those on MyFitnessPal for tracking recipes, these can be found there as the following; look for the brand name of 17DDGal Blog:
Lemon Muffins 6 ct
Lemon Muffins 12 ct

Poppers (C3)

Recipe Author: Simmie Sinow (modified from recipe of Becky Yokeley Love's)

The photos above are two versions of the protein poppers.  The one on the left are the 96 per batch chocolate using white chocolate sugar free jello pudding powder. The ones on the right are a double size made with banana sugar free jello pudding powder.

Warning: These are intended to be a snack, not eaten in batches of 15-20!!!! Also, technically this is not C1 because of the sugar free pudding powder; this is a personal choice, so if you make these, understand that the very small amount of pudding powder you do get in each one (1 Tablespoon divided by 96?!!!!) is recommended "for future cycles."

4 scoops protein powder (vanilla, chocolate, etc.)
1 Tbsp sugar free jello pudding flavor of your choice (chocolate, lemon, banana, etc.)
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup liquid egg whites
1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 Tbsp olive oil
A little bit of Stevia

Combine ingredients and mix well. If you're baking in batches, make sure you mix the batter well in between batches, as it will thicken up if you don't.

For a batch of 96 to 108, use a little less than 1 teaspoon in each mini muffin tin; for a double sized mini muffin, use a little less than 1/2 Tablespoon (cooking time is longer).A little bit of Stevia (less than the equivalent of 1/2 Tbsp of sugar)

I'd recommend making the 1 tsp batch -- I made the 1/2 tbsp batch this morning and they came out a little dry, most likely due to the longer baking time.

Bake at 350

HOW TO TELL WHEN THEY ARE DONE:
Here's how to tell when they're done: They will naturally rise a bit; once they get a "dimpled" look on them and MAYBE start to deflate, remove them immediately.  For my oven, that's at about 3 minutes.

Here's how I made some of mine:
Lemon: Vanilla protein powder and lemon sf jello powder
Chocolate: Chocolate protein powder and white chocolate sf jello powder (the choc pudding powder has a funny taste to it to me)
Banana: Vanilla protein powder and banana creme sf jello powder
Strawberry Cheesecake: strawberry protein powder and cheesecake sf jello powder

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Because your batch size may vary from mine, I am going to give you the entire recipe nutritional info, then you can divide by the number of poppers you made.

I'm also listing the per popper info for a batch of 96.

TOTAL RECIPE INFORMATION:
Calories: 781.7
Fat: 22.8 grams
Fiber: 0.3 grams
Protein: 122.3 grams
Carbs: 15.3 grams
Sugars: 4.0 grams

PER POPPER FOR A BATCH OF 96:
Calories: 8.1
Fat: 0.2 grams
Fiber: 0
Protein: 1.3 grams
Carbs: 0.2 grams
Sugars: 0 grams

If you are on MyFitnessPal, these are listed as:
Poppers Double Size W Protein Powder, Jello Powder, Oil
Poppers Standard W Protein Powder, Jello Powder, Oil

What About: Constipation

The dreaded word every dieter hates hearing: Constipation! What can be done about it?

Constipation is very common with this diet and other diets as well.


Here's some ideas for getting past constipation:

* Green tea is KNOWN to be constipating. Back off on it or eliminate it completely (I don't drink it as it constipates me and it's not impacted my loss at all)

* Eat more fiber-rich foods. Here's a partial list:
Fiber Rich Foods List

* Make sure you're getting a *minimum* of 64 ozs of water

* You can add some flaxseed meal to your yogurts -- this has helped *keep* me regular

* Someone recommended 250mg of magnesium twice a day -- this took care of the problem for me. As with any supplements, if you are concerned with whether they are a good idea or healthy for you, check with your doctor first.

* Over the counter laxatives like Benefiber or Citrucel.

What About: Coconut Oil?

My first reaction is: I wouldn't use it.  Here's some information I've gathered on it.  Also see my comment in the Reply area of this post regarding the use of it.

A good website as a reference on educating yourself on fats:
Fats 101 Education

With all the PR and people saying coconut oil is so good for us, I decided to take a look at some of the facts.  I'm not buying into what I feel is hype about coconut oil being better for you. The bottom line for me is that it has six times the amount of bad fats than the closest one (in bad fats) to it and no good fats.  That speaks volumes to me.

Good fats are:
* Monounsaturated (best)
* Polyunsaturated (next best: Omega-3s are polyunsaturated)

Bad fats are:
* Saturated

Let's take a look at coconut oil in comparison with some of the other oils regarding good and bad fats.

BAD FATS (Saturated) per Tbsp: (less is best)
Flaxseed Oil: 1 gram
Canola oil: 1 gram
Olive oil: 2 grams
Corn oil: 2 grams
Coconut oil: 12 grams

GOOD FATS (more is best)
Monounsaturated per Tbsp:
Olive Oil: 10 grams
Corn oil: 4 grams monounsaturated
Canola Oil: 3 grams monounsaturated
Flaxseed Oil: 2 grams
Coconut oil: 0 grams

Polyunsaturated per Tbsp:
Flaxseed Oil: 8 grams
Corn oil: 8 grams
Olive Oil: 1 grams
Canola Oil: 1 grams
Coconut oil: 0 grams

Some of the benefits being proclaimed about coconut oil are hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV and cancer, dental care, and bone strength. These benefits of coconut oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, soothing, etc.

I'm not so sure about the health benefits regarding heart disease, blood pressure, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss.  The presence of the very high levels of the bad fats indicate otherwise to me and I am waiting until there is scientific proof from a reputable source regarding the lauric, capric, and caprylic acid over-riding all the bad fat content.  Also, time will tell whether this is a fad or not (I tend to think it might be).

Take a look at the pie chart on the following website. While it is not a scientific website, the blue area is the bad fat content.  That speaks volumes to me.  I'm sticking with olive oil which I know is good for me.

Health Benefits of Coconut oil from an organic website