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Monday, August 30, 2010

Basil Shrimp

Hello Manic Monday! 
Sorry no pictures today ladies and gents.  But this is an easy one to envision.  You may use any protocol meat you wish.  Hope you enjoy! 

Basil Shrimp
1 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup chicken broth- Pacific Low Sodium
1/2 lemons, juiced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoons grain mustard- make sure sugar free
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves- sliced
sea salt and black pepper to taste

In a pan, pour in chicken broth and lemon juice.  Measure and stir in mustard and garlic, heat until simmering. Add shrimp, basil, salt and pepper and toss to coat.  Simmer over medium for 8-10 minutes until shrimp is done and pink.  Remove and plate, measure your 3 ounces and serve with asparagus or some cooked spinach with lemon. 
Note:  If you want to make more of a soup out of this, add 2 cups chicken broth, touch more lemon and shredded cabbage or spinach at the end and cook until just translucent.
PS:  Nix the broth and use as a marinade.  Toss on the grill before summer ends.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Faux Fruit Punch

This is a great drink when you are tired of chugging plain water, don't like tea and have already drank enough coffee or just need a change up.  This Faux Fruit Punch tastes so close you feel like you are cheating! 
Swallow the imaginary guilt and go make this.  Feel free to combine any teas you like with these directions.  Experiment to get favorite flavors of your own.  I have made this recipe to be good and beneficial to your body as well.  It includes fruity tea with some Yerba Mate to get you those vitamins, mineral, amino acids and antioxidants in abundance.  If you steep with other teas- follow their steeping directions- as different tea leaves can turn bitter if steeped too long.


Faux Fruit Punch
4 bags Celestial Seasoning Mango Acai Zinger tea- I usually use 3 Mango Acai and
1 Yerba Mate Orange
2 packet Stevia
1/2 lemon- juiced

Fill your tea kettle with at least 2 cups of water and start heating.  Place 4 tea bags in a heat resistance cup/ bowl large enough to hold 2 cups water.  When your water is ready and boiling, pour 2 cups over tea bags.  Steep 10 minutes.  Remove bags and stir in stevia.  Add to a 2 quart pitcher and pour an additional 2 cups cold water.  Mix in lemon juice and chill until cold.  Note:  Repeat again using same tea bags to make a full 2 quart pitcher.  Sip happily!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Fire Roasted Chili

What did you have for dinner last night?  I had some great tasting Chili! 
This recipe is very good and filling, the secret to the flavor I believe is the fire roasted tomatoes.  You can use any meat, I have use shredded chicken and shrimp would be good too.



Fire Roasted Chili
(1 Serving)
3.5 ounces Grass Fed, Organic Sirloin- cubed or ground (Can use any meat you desire)
1 C Muir Glen Fire Roasted tomatoes
1/2 C Pacific Low Sodium chicken broth
1 green onion- sliced
2 cloves garlic- minced
1/4 tsp Chili Powder
1/4 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Onion powder
1/4 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp Basil
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1/8 tsp Cayenne- to taste
Red Pepper Flakes to taste
Green Onion and Cilantro for topping

Brown your meat of choice on medium heat.  Add minced garlic and white part of green onion and reserve green part for topping.  Saute 1-2 minutes.  Stir in rest of spices, tomatoes and chicken broth.  Bring to boil then reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 1 hour.  It will cook down a bit; if you desire more liquid, you can always add a bit more broth. Top with green part of the green onion and cilantro.

Now to make a whole pound of ground sirloin at a time follow this...

Fire Roasted Chili
(5 servings)
1 pound Grass Fed, Organic Sirloin- cubed or ground
2- 14.5 oz cans Muir Glen Fire Roasted tomatoes
2 C Pacific Low Sodium chicken broth
5 green onions- sliced
4-6 cloves garlic- minced
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Cumin
2 tsp Onion powder
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Basil
1 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Cayenne- to taste
Red Pepper Flakes to taste
Green Onion and Cilantro for topping

Brown your meat of choice on medium heat. Add minced garlic and white part of green onion and reserve green part for topping. Saute 1-2 minutes. Stir in rest of spices, tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to boil then reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 1 hour. It will cook down a bit; if you desire more liquid, you can always add a bit more broth.  Top with green part of the green onions and cilantro.  This will be able to be measured out to 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 C serving depending on much it cooked down. 



I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did.  If you want to feed your family the same meal, maybe serve over rice or stir in some beans after you remove your portion.  So after reading this...what are you having for dinner tonight?


Monday, August 23, 2010

Strawberry Cream Soda

Hi All and welcome back for Manic Monday or should I say Maniac Monday...depends on which week right?!   Today I have a guest recipe contributor! This Strawberry Cream Soda recipe has been brought to you by My HHCG Diet Blog.  Thank you for offering up your mix on this delish treat.



Strawberry Cream Soda
4 oz strawberries
1 T daily milk allowance (frothed if you can)
Few drops of Vanilla Crème flavored stevia or vanilla extract (but watch for sugars in vanilla extracts)
Stevia- sweeten to taste, leave out if using Vanilla Crème flavored stevia
12 oz sparkling water such as La Croix, Pellegrino, Mendota Sparkling, etc…

Puree strawberries in blender/ food processor, pour in a 16 oz glass. Add your milk/ milk froth, vanilla flavoring and stevia. Pour your mineral water of choice over the strawberry mixture and stir with straw. Sip happily!   Note:  If you have already had your milk in your coffee (like me), add lemon instead of milk and use unflavored or fruit flavored stevia for a refreshing drink.


Have a great week!


Saturday, August 21, 2010

Cucumber Salad

Take two of these and call me in the morning....
It's Cucumber Salad!!!

This is a favorite dish of mine in "normal life too".  I quickly made a version for myself when I first started the Phase 2.  Here is the tricky part...P2 people- you cannot have the cucumbers and onion in one meal.  Eat the cucumbers in one meal and then eat the onions with another.  Add these tangy onions to the grill, serve overtop your 3.5 oz sirloin or save for my Chicken "Noodle" Soup (recipe to come).  Bonus: Use the juice from these green little circles and you have a wonderful fresh flavored salad dressing!  So really this is 3 recipes in one.


Cucumber Salad
2 cucumbers- peeled and sliced thin
1 onion- sliced
1/4 C vinegar of choice
2 T water
2 packets stevia or 1/4 tsp for liquid stevia
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp celery seed or dill
black pepper to taste

Mix all ingrediants in bowl.  Cover and store 1 hour to overnight, serve. 
Note: Today my choice of vinegar was Coconut Vinegar.

UPDATE (4/27/2001):  If you are out of onion or don't feel like picking them into two veggie serving, use can substitute 1 teaspoon onion powder or a few sliced green onions as the sliced onion in this recipe!


Phase 3/4:  You can eat these all together at once.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Taco Seasoning for All Phases

I have been using this Taco Seasoning for a few years now.  Phase 2 protocol requires lean beef.  I chose to only use grass fed- organic lean sirloin, steaks or ground.  Ground would be for tacos, steak you could make for fajita style for any protocol meat of your choice.  By making this you are sure that your seasoning is sugar, starch and filler free....also saving money!  Use good quality spices, great cumin goes a long way in a recipe.  Bonus:  This also makes it easy to incorporate your families dinner without having to prepare 2 meals. 

TACO SEASONING
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Mix these together and use this amount per pound of ground sirloin or as a
rub. Wrap in lettuce leafs or shredded lettuce/ cabbage and sprinkle with green
onion and cilantro, squirt of lemon. Very flavorful and satisfying meal.

Phase 3:  Serve with lots of veggies, sour cream, avacodo and creamy homeade ranch dressing.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Welcome fellow HCG-ers and some Greek Chicken!

Hello and welcome to Phases To Forever! 

Check out About Phases To Forever if you are unsure why you are here.

I am so happy you decided to come check it out and I hope you enjoy all the recipes and contect here.  This is a recipe website dedicated to the one's who have taken a big step to better there life and follow the HCG Diet Protocol.  I will be posting recipes that I haved tried and liked, maybe even a few I do not like!  I will also include some I see that will be on-protocol but have not tried just for the simple fact that I do not like to eat seafood....and many of you do! I also want to encourage comments with variations that you have tried and liked.  All of out taste buds are differant and I would loveto hear what you have done to change it to your liking. 

Have a recipe or recipe idea?  You may add your recipe in comments or if you would like me to post your recipe with credit going directly to you- email me and I will be happy to post on your behalf.

Let's all support each other during this time of "loss"!  Loss of  Pounds and Inches that is!
Now onto why you and I are both here.....FOOD!
This is my ultimate, favorite, saving grace recipe throughout this Phase 2 of life.  So it had to be the very first recipe I post.  Since it is the one I eat almost every day and by far the one I eat the most....for sure.


Greek Chicken
2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 cloves minced garlic
1 TB each fresh rosemary, thyme and oregano*
1 lemon- juiced
1 packet stevia

Marinate chicken for a few hours or overnight. Grill until juices run clear.  Enjoy!
*If all you have is dried herbs than reduce amount to 1 tsp. each, but fresh is awesome!
Note:  I have been grilling these up and eating them wrapped in baby romaine dipped with sea salt and black pepper.  I also like this with thin sliced Cucumber Salad....recipe to come...

Phase 3:  Add 1/4 C coconut or olive oil to the marinade.