So...on Wednesday I went to see my doctor on a scheduled visit. I mentioned the headache and neck ache, and she poked around a bit. My entire left neck and trapezius was in spasm, along with some spasm on the right. I figured she'd send me in for physical therapy, which is usually the case for something that aches. I kinda forgot that she is a DO, so she was able to work some magic and I walked out of there with about 50% of the pain relieved. By the end of the day I was pain free, and have been since. What'd she do? Seems my cervical first ribs were out of whack, and she put them back into place, along with some massage of the region. She showed me an exercise to do a few times a day to keep them settled into their correct locations. If only all of life's painful moments were so easy to fix!
I had my first check-in yesterday with my IP counselor. I lost 8 pounds, 4 inches gone forever from around my waist. Yay! I threw out a bunch of my size 16 clothes. Adios, baggy friends!
I picked up some new foods and am excited to work through those.
Dinners have been fun to make, and the family have been troopers. My daughter told me that she is really enjoying the meals. She's a near-vegetarian so the focus on vegies is right up her alley.
Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Vegies On one side I put my vegies (red pepper, zucchini, mushrooms) and on the other side I put their vegies, along with a potato. Drizzled them with olive oil and salt and pepper, and it was wonderful.
Chicken Stir-Fry I did include carrots and onions, but picked them out. I hope that's okay to do. I forgot to ask my counselor. (Note to self to ask next week.) Served with white rice for those who can eat it.
Turkey Thai Lettuce Wraps Used 99/1 ground turkey with garan marsala spice, onion powder, minced garlic, lime juice, tobasco, andsoy sauce. I chopped up some red pepper and celery, and mixed that in with the cooked turkey right before serving. I also chopped up peanuts, cilantro, and green onions and served those on the side (I didn't use the peanuts). This was served along with regular head lettuce (couldn't find Boston Bibb). Next time I will leave off the lime juice and just serve slices on the side. It was a little too limey. Served with brown rice for the family's starch.
Sweet and Sour Meatballs Ground beef, 2 egg whites, parsley, S&P, paprika, onion power, minced garlic, grated cauliflower, and finely chopped mushrooms and spinach. I mixed that all together, formed into balls (smallish) and cooked in a 425 oven for 15-17 minutes. Check on these, because they can burn very quickly. Larger meatballs will require more time, of course.
I then made a sauce of worchester, vinegar, water, Truvia, tomato paste and onion powder. The sauce was pretty good, but more like a spaghetti sauce than a sweet and sour sauce. Needs work. It was good, though!
I sauted up some red peppers, celery, onion (didn't eat) and threw those into the mix. I served it with rice noodles (I don't know why - but the family liked it and it served as something starchy and crunchy for them).
Mediterranean Lemon Chicken Chicken breasts coated with cinnamon and tumeric, sauted until brown. Then added chicken broth, garlic, grated ginger, onion powder, salt, a couple of packets of Truvia, and a sliced up lime and let that burble for about 20 minutes until the chicken broth was cooked down a bit and the chicken was done. Served with chopped cilantro as garnish. Cuke, red pepper, and raw onion salad served on the side, with a marinade of vinegar, water, dill weed, a packet of Truvia, and S&P. The chicken was good, but too tangy for me. Needs work.
Tonight? Carnitas!!!
I have not given specific recipes because I've gleaned them from others on various websites and IP cookbooks. Don't want to infringe on anyone's ownership.
Food Ratings
Pina Colada Smoothie: 9
Yum. Nothing to complain about. Lots of things to mix-and-match this with down the road. Vanilla? Strawberry? Orange?
Chili: 9
Smack 'yo mama goodness. Okay, it's not going to win any Chili Cook-Off competitions, but the taste really satisfies that spicy, meaty craving. The texture is a little funny (the "meat" is really, really itsy bitsy), but I can live with that.
Vanilla Drink: 9
I can see why this is pretty popular. It's exactly what it should be. I used 1/2 as a mid-afternoon snack, stuck the rest in the freezer and had it as an ice-creamy snack after dinner.
Capaccino: 8
Pretty good. I'm brainstorming other ways to have it. I think it will be a good breakfast option 2 or 3 days a week, as I typically only have a cup of something akin to a vanilla latte in the morning, anyway. This morning I added it to a cup of coffee and tossed in some cinnamon. Not bad.
Cran-Blueberry Drink: 7
It was okay. A tad bit tinny, or it may have just been my tastebuds.
Butterscotch Pudding: 7
This was pretty good. Better than the Banana pudding. Man, these puddings are thick!
Peach Mango: 5
Not a fan. I tried it at the IP introduction session and really didn't care for it. There was one in my intro kit, so I decided to play with it. See below.
1/2 Peach Mango and 1/2 Strawberry Pudding: 7
I took about 9 ounces of water and combined these. The outcome was a bit frothy and I had to skim off about 1-1/2 inches from the top to get to the drink, but it tasted good.
Chocolate Drink: 8
Thick chocolatey goodness. I can see why some people live on this stuff (my counselor has it for two meals a day!). I'm not that much of a fan, but I do like it. I'm generally not a huge fan of really thick drinks, anyway.
Lemon-Poppyseed Bar: 10
I like lemon. This was so full of lemony scrumptiousness I could hardly stand it. I split it between the afternoon and evening to extend my pleasure.
Mango Drink: 10
Now *this* I could drink twice a day! Though it's a bit thicker than I like, the flavor is wonderful. I might water it down a bit, or mix it half and half with the vanilla drink, add some ice cubes, and blend it up into a smoothie. I'm salivating at the thought!
So, yah. So far I am loving the diet! I'm down a size, into my 14 jeans. T-shirts that I loved but I felt a little constricted in? They are loose and comfy. The rewards far outweigh any restrictions.
The dogs are getting a lot of long walks in these days. We're exploring new areas, which is fun. It's always good to learn more about where one lives, right?
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