Lentil soup diet.

*This isn't intended as medical advice and I can not be liable for any outcomes from said diet. You should always consult with a doctor prior to weight loss. Eat at your own risk.*

Who likes those warnings? But there's always that group of idiots who take things too far.

No, this isn't a fad diet or a quick fix. It's a nice substitution diet for when you need to lose a few pounds or you want to detox and help your GI track. Either way it's shown that eating plenty of fiber and foods that are good for you will actually help you lose weight, have proper bowel movements, improve your health and over all well being.

I eat this sometimes when my IBD is flaring because of the veggies and the fiber, it tends to settle things down a little. I pureed mine more then you will but it also depends on the texture you are looking for. Sometimes I like mine a little more coarse but my last batch I made was smooth.

Why it's good for you:

High in fiber, nutrients, low in calories and good for you. Do you think I am going to list out why it's good for you? Do you know how long of a list that would be?! Omgosh, I really don't have that kind of time!

How about you look at these links for yourself, k?

Lentils
Carrot
Onion
Celery
Red pepper
Garlic
Spinach

Don't forget those spices!

Oregano
Basil
Cumin
Thyme
Ground black pepper

Seriously people, it's good for you! How does this compare to fad diets? You are getting benefits that affect you from head to toe in just one bowl! Now imagine how you are going to feel if you have two bowls a day?! You are going to feel great!

How it works:

You are going to wake up and a sensible breakfast.

Example:
Whole oats and a boiled egg with either fresh fruit or a glass of juice but not both. And a dairy, either cheese, milk or yogurt.

Snacks:
1 protein item : Egg, cheese, nuts, lean white meat, fish, chicken, turkey and peanut butter, etc.

-or-

1 portion of fresh fruits

-or-

1 serving of any raw or fresh veggie.

Lunch and dinner:

Depending on your weight:

160lbs or less 1 cup to 1.5 cups of lentil soup and a protein and half a serving of fruit.

160lbs or more 1.5 cups to 2 cups of lentil soup and a protein and half a serving of fruit.

So here's how it goes:

Breakfast
Snack
Lunch
Snack
Dinner
Protein snack

Off limits food:
Pop, soda, processed food, fried foods, high salt foods, processed sugars and flours. Limit coffee, try teas instead.

Stick to raw and fresh foods.

If you must eat bread, eat whole grain dark breads. Eat whole wheat or grain cereals.

Drink PLENTY of water! You need to flush your system and cleanse your colon and you can't do that without water.

No more then THREE portions of dairy a day. You are trying to be kind to your GI tract. Not to mention that dairy is loaded with calories and fat.

*If you get that gnawing sensation that you are hungry and you can't wait to your next meal, eat a 1/2 portion from the snack list to tide you over*

Your stomach and your brain are going to try to convince you that this isn't enough, well it is. Eventually and hopefully all the fiber will fill you up and you shouldn't have hunger issues. It's purely a mind over body issue. We eat to large of portions so this is going to seem like so little when really it's enough.

If you have a sweet tooth, you will notice a withdraw stage or an increased craving for sugar. That's ok, just nip in the bud with a handful of grapes or an apple. Eventually, it will go away.

I don't do this longer then a week. You'll get bored out of your mind with the lentil soup and never want to see it again if you did it longer then this. What it is intended to do is get you on the right track.

So I am going to eat this for a week and the week afterwards rotate it in my meals. Then later on do another week.

You can't just eat this and lose weight, I am sure you could but that's not the point. You have to get off your butt and be active, you will lose even more weight then you if you just sat on your butt. For real people, I did say this isn't a quick fix.

I've lost any where from three to eight pounds in one week on this diet, so it is indeed possible!

Recipe:
2 tbls of EVVO
2 cups red lentils
3 carrots chopped
3 celery chopped
1 onion or 1/4 of a large onion
3-5 cloves of garlic chopped
1 bunch of spinach
1 red pepper chopped
1/4 tsp of ground black pepper
1 tsp of dried oregano
1 tsp of dried basil
1/2 tsp of dried thyme
1/2 tsp of cumin
dash of red pepper flakes
2 boxes of low sodium veg broth

*you can always add more veggies to this, just add them in with the rest of the veggies.*

Directions:

1) In a hot soup pan add in oil and carrots, onions, celery, pepper and garlic. Saute until onions are transparent.

2) Add in lentils, Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Cumin, Red pepper flakes, ground pepper and veggie broth. Taste and season until it taste good to you. Some like theirs on the bland side and some like it on the spicy side, it's up to you. If it needs more seasoning, add some, wait five minutes and taste again. Keep doing so until it taste good to you.

3) Bring to a boil for ten minutes, stir often.

4) Simmer on medium-low for an hour.

5) Cool and add into blender and puree until you get a consistency you desire. Refrigerate.

Enjoy and be healthy!

A close encounter with a Creamcicle Cupcake.

Ok, so most of you remember what it's like to eat those yummy orange ice cream bars with the creamy white filling. Well I tired to combine this into a cup cake. Yes, a cupcake. Although it doesn't taste EXACTLY like one, it's still pretty darn good and it has some of the exact flavorings. It's a new media for the standard cup cake. I took three recipes and combined it into one because all three either needed help or improvement. And Viola! We have the Creamcicle Cupcake!




Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

1 box of Duncan Hines Orange Supreme cake mix
1 small box of instant pudding
1 cup milk
4 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup orange juice

1 small box of orange jello
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup cold water

For the frosting*:
2 cups or one pint of whipping cream
1 table spoon of vanilla
1/2 to 3/4 cup of powdered sugar

*You can freeze or refrigerate your bowl in advance to help speed up the process. I didn't.

Directions:
1- In your bowl add the cake mix, eggs, oil, milk, pudding and oj. Mix well. Add about 1 to 1/2 tablespoons of batter into each cupcake liner and bake at 325 degrees until done about 16-20 minutes.

2- While cupcakes are baking, in a clean cold bowl add in the whipping cream and 1/2 cup powdered sugar and slowly mix with your mixture. Then increase the speed and keep whisking until the cream is thick and fluffy. You may add in more sugar depending on how sweet you want it. I felt it needed more sugar. Store in fridge until needed.

3- When cupcakes are cool, poke holes into the top of each cupcake. Then in a small bowl place the orange jello, hot and cold water and mix until dissolved. Then spoon a small amount into the holes, being careful not to overflow the cupcake.

4- Top with a dollop of the whip cream and there you go, the closest form of a creamcicle cup cake you'll ever get.

Final note- These are made with homemade whipped cream. There is a BIG difference in taste. Do not take the easy route out and buy the frozen or canned junk. Once you have homemade, you never go back!

Also the topping will melt, so don't top these until you need them but they will last about an hour or so. What I do is make the cupcakes, place them in a ziplock bag and then top them as needed with the topping that I keep in the fridge.

I hope you enjoy these!

Death by cupcake.

If I am going to return from the dead, might as well do it with a cupcake, not just any ol' cup cake will revive me. Better make it a triple hitter. Chocolate cupcake with a chocolate ganache filling, topped with a chocolate frosting and dusted with coco powdered, then sprinkled with chocolate shavings.







This is partially home made. I wasn't feeling up to making the cake batter from scratch. I'll repent later.

Who says chocolate doesn't make everything better?

Ingredients:

1 box cake mix, chocolate fudge (make sure you have eggs and oil as the box call for.)
1 bottle of coke.
8 oz of good baking chocolate
1 cup cream
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temp.
4 sticks unsalted butter, room temp.
9 cup confectioners' sugar
2 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk
2 1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup of shaved chocolate (optional)



Directions

For the cupcakes:

1.) Pick a box of chocolate cake mix, which ever flavor or brand you like. Add in the eggs and oil as recommended BUT use the coke in EXCHANGE for the WATER.

2.) Put about 2 tablespoons of batter in each cup cake paper. Cook until done and let cool.

3.) While cupcakes are cooling, in a microwave bowl break up the chocolate and place in microwave. Cooking ONE minute at a time and stirring until evenly melted.

For the Ganache:

1.) In a microwave bowl cook the cream until very hot about two to three minutes.

2.) Pour the cream over the melted chocolate and stir until well incorporated. Add in the butter one table spoon at a time and mix until well incorporated.

3.) Cover ganache mixture and place in fridge to cool, stirring every five minutes.

4.) Once no longer runny and slightly thickened, take the ganache and place into a piping bag with a thin writing tip. Then poke and fill each cup cake until some start to come out.
-Or-
Cut a small circle out and put some of the ganache into the hole. Then remove some of the cut cake top and replace.

For the frosting:

1.) Cream the butter, add in vanilla and rotate the con sugar and cocoa powder. Adding in milk until you get the texture you desire.

2.) Then frost your cupcakes and top with cocoa powder and chocolate shavings.

Enjoy!

Ham and provolone with savory spiced pears reduced in clarified honey butter.

I hope you'll forgive me for my absence. Mommyhood was calling and I had to heed the call. This weekend was meant to be a catch up on my blogging and cooking, etc. Well Ally put a big kaboosh on these plans. She is having some really bad stomach pain as of late and so bad that I had to take her into the ER. I have next weekend to myself so I am def planning on catching up!

I do have a lovely Key Lime Pie baking in the oven as I type. That will be up tomorrow, the time depends on if I am able to make the whipped cream in time before classes.

This sandwich was a pure experiment, I had no idea how it'd turn out and I was surprised at how good it was and how the flavor melded so well. I knew that citrus pairs well with ham but I felt that in a sandwich it would over power the ham. Apples seemed to be an easy pair and I didn't want easy. Ha! So I picked out a lovely D'Janour pear. When it was nearly ripped and softened, I thought about how I was going to meld the ham and pears together. I got to thinking about what spices were typically used with ham and baked pears, they had a common thread. Spices. Cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon! I felt that these were key to this sandwich but I knew it'd be missing something, a slight sweetness to pair with the salty-ness of the ham. Brown sugar and white sugars, too sweet. Honey! Perfect. I melted some pre-made clarified butter (look in the Indian section of your store) and it lead to this spectacular arrangement of flavors!

Ingredients:

Sliced ham lunch meat. Don't skimp, get the good stuff.

Provolone cheese. Only get the good stuff.

1 tsp honey

1 tsp water

1 tsp of clarified butter

1/8 ground cloves

1/8 ground nutmeg

1/8 ground cinnamon

1/2 of a palm sized nearly ripe pear, peeled and sliced.

Vienna bread

Butter

Directions:

1- In a small frying pan, melt butter and add in honey, water and spices, let this cook for about five minutes. Making sure not to burn your spices. Let mixture reduce and thicken. Shouldn't take very long.

2- Add in pears and cook until still slightly firm, you do not want to cook for too long or you will have mushed pears instead of sliced pears. Remove from heat and allow to thicken some.

3- Slice your bread about an inch thick(thicker = less soggy bread) with a serrated knife and butter your slices on one side. Place into another pan. As the bread is browning and toasting, take your ham and place it in the pan to warm up. This allows some of the fluids in the ham to cook off and helps speed up the cheese melting process.

4- Take the ham and place it on top of your bread. Followed by a couple slices of pears (make sure most of the liquids are drained off) and then top with a slice provolone, top with remaining slice of buttered bread and flip.

5- Allow to stand for a minute or two and then cut and serve!

6- Enjoy!