Every week on the FB group, they give us a new menu. I have appreciated this from the start because that first week is so daunting and challenging with knowing exactly what you can cook! I don't always make every single thing on the menu as the spaghetti with zucchini or the salsa chicken or chicken and rice soup goes very far in my household with just the hubby, Journee and I. We have a lot of leftovers.
Monday since it was Labor Day and I was feeling a little blue that my parents were in California and hubby was working and no fun plans, I decided to make chicken spinach pizza. I had tried this out the first week and it was okay, but this time I decided to use basil pesto for the sauce instead of the usual marinara. I coated the pizza crust (GF, DF) with the basil pesto and then layered the vegan Daiya mozzarella shreds. Since I didn't have any grilled chicken on hand, I decided to use organic chicken breast from Applegate. I shredded it all up and layered and then threw chopped bell pepper, Roma tomatoes and baby spinach on top. Lastly, I decided another layer of shreds would be good. It looked yummy!
It cooks very quickly and in no time, it was out of the oven cooling. As a side, I baked yellow squash marinated in EVOO, garlic salt and pepper. I was absolutely delighted when I had the first bite. It was absolutely delicious! I could have ate that whole pizza which you can see from the photo isn't very big in the first place. However, I am watching calories for optimum weight loss and so I had three slices which equals half the pizza. Three slices also ended up being 488 calories which is quite a lot when you are only taking in 1200! The basil pesto itself is very high in calories and that is where most of the calories come into play. Hubby ended up coming home early and had the other half. I will definitely make this again!!!
Today since I was loving the rain and thunder, I decided to make homemade tomato basil soup. It was so easy! Saute garlic cloves and add crushed tomatoes and whole tomatoes, 2 cups of free range chicken broth, teaspoons of sea salt and organic coconut sugar and pepper. It simmers for about 10 and you add your basil and a tiny bit of coconut cream. Since I wanted something solid in my stomach, I cut one of my brown rice tortillas in half and made into a quesadilla with mozzarella and one slice of the organic chicken breast. Okay, this soup is divine. I never liked tomato soup until several years ago, I tried BJ's Brewhouse tomato soup. I've been hooked ever since. I was worried I wouldn't like this clean version because I absolutely love creamy soups. I knew the coconut cream would help, but how creamy could it be? Actually, it was just perfect. It was creamy and I didn't add any additional salt because it tasted great!!!! The quesadilla was awesome for dipping into the soup. An added benefit is that Journee loved the soup too! Score again for Mama!!! I figured the soup would serve about 4 and there are plenty of leftovers!
I have tried new shakes, also. Last week, I made the carrot cake shake. I was uncertain if I would like the combination of carrots and almond milk, but wow!!! I loved it!! Shocked me!! Most mornings, I will have a strawberry shake or the apple cinnamon shake and occasionally the carrot cake. Most afternoons I like to have a chocolate shake. I love adding cocoa and coconut almond butter for an almond joy taste. However, all this week, I have added a tiny splash of peppermint extract to my chocolate protein and almond milk and wa-la, I have a mint chocolate shake!!!
This is the last official week of the first month of detox boot camp. It ends as of Sunday. However, since the weight loss has been a tad disappointing, I am continuing on this month and probably will continue in October. I started the week at a loss of 7.4 pounds. I was actually very excited about this! I thought surely by Sunday, I would come close to 9 pounds for sure and maybe 10. However, it is Thursday and as of today, I have only lost 2 ounces for a total loss of 7.6 pounds. What a bummer!!!! I have went over calories and I haven't went over at all. I do think my body is somewhat still messed up over that cleanse. So, I have accepted that for my first month of detox I won't lose 10 pounds, but I'm also still encouraged because hey I have a weight loss for the month instead of a weight gain. Seven pounds isn't much, but still it is the most I've lost over the past year even when I was on ACE and limiting calories to 1200. So big smiles here! I'm excited about continuing this gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free lifestyle for at least two more months because I know for one thing, there will be weight loss however slow it may come off and second, there is no way I want to ever go through sugar and caffeine withdrawal!!!
At this point, I am still not craving Dr. Pepper or most comfort food. I do miss my tea, but not to the degree that I feel like I'm totally deprived. The two cravings that haven't gone away and getting stronger by the day are cheese and Alfredo sauce. I crave cheese. I dream about enchiladas with cheese layered all over. I dream of a juicy hamburger with cheese dripping as I bite into it. Some days I just want a simple sandwich with pepper jack cheese. When my stomach is nauseated, I crave cheese and crackers. The mozzarella shreds aren't bad at all, but there is nothing in the world like real cheese!!! I still dream of pasta drowning in warm Alfredo sauce. It is funny I crave these two things as I thought for sure I would crave my caffeine or sweets. When I get the feeling of something sweet, I will have my chocolate shake or a lemon chew. The only other thing I want on a consistent basis is steak. I can live with that for sure!
Next Monday will be a full month of detox and the start of a new month. These first three weeks were a roller coaster for sure, but this week actually hasn't been bad. I have had a headache every single day, but nothing compared to my full migraines and these headaches aren't at all diet-related. I know that for sure. I am hoping since this week is a tad better than the previous three, I am finally seeing the end of my body detoxing hard. I still do not energy to run a marathon and I haven't exercised as the shaking and feeling faint were a bit too much, but I started a bit of my fall deep cleaning and felt good enough to scrub baseboards. It is very possible because of my thyroid I won't ever feel energized like a normal person, but I am hoping through eating clean my thyroid will benefit. I am also planning on seeing an endocrinologist and asking for further thyroid tests.
And Sunday, I had two lovely ladies comment they could tell I had lost weight! I think the clothes might have had something to do with it, but they both agreed no, they could tell! I appreciate that because normally it takes my body losing 15-20 pounds before it is noticeable! Another added benefit is I noticed this week, my skirts are just a little bit looser! Yay for me!!
Have a great week, ya'll!
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