Broccoli Chicken Dijon (south Beach Diet)

Broccoli Chicken Dijon (south Beach Diet)

Prepared this for my family tonight, since we're trying to keep our carb count fairly low. I'd seen it a few days earlier and been intrigued. After fixing it, I have to say that it wasn't half bad by any stretch of the imagination. I would have liked for the flavor to have gotten deeper into the broccoli, but it made the chicken absolutely awesome! The directions were pretty straight forward, and the dish wasn't hard to fix. I scaled it up and have a lunch for tomorrow loaded with protein, low in carbs and fat, and fairly tasty. We will be chomping down on this one again.

I made this last night. I was hesitant to make this dish because of the mustard, but will admit that the mustard made the recipe. I agree with other reviewers who said that the directions to make this meal are a bit time-consuming, so I did tweak that. Here's how I made this: I cut 1 lb. of chicken breast into bite-sized pieces and seasoned with salt, black pepper, paprika and garlic powder. I then fried the chicken pieces in olive oil in a large skillet. While the chicken cooked, I heated two 10 oz. containers of frozen chopped broccoli in the microwave, then added the broccoli to the chicken. I then added 1/2 a cup of vegetable stock. I didn't have soy sauce so I added A-1 sauce for the tang. (It worked.) I didn't have Dijon so I added spicy brown mustard. I then covered the skillet and heated for 10 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally. I disagree with other reviewers who said the dish was too watery and needed cornstarch to thicken. I served this meal over white rice. My husband loved this meal but thought it needed some heat, so he sprinkled hot red pepper flakes on his portion. This recipe is a keeper!

Original article and pictures take geniuskitchen.sndimg.com site

Breakfast Smoothie Recipe for the 17 Day Diet

Breakfast Smoothie Recipe for the 17 Day Diet

New to the 17 Day Diet is the optional Transitional Day Fast where you are allowed to drink smoothies for each of your meals for an entire day. You can catch up on how the Transitional Day Fast works.

Here is the recipe for the breakfast smoothie for the 17 Day Diet.

Breakfast Smoothie Recipe

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt

1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder

1 serving powdered fiber

1/2 cup crush pineapple, canned in its own juice, drained

1/2 frozen banana

Place the ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth.

Tip from Book: Blend the ingredients for several minutes as this will add air to the smoothie and the extra air will make you feel fuller.

17DD Blog Tip: Add crushed ice to your ingredient list and blend. The ice will make the smoothie slushy and add a bit more volume to your meal.

Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site

Break Your Weight Loss Goal Into Smaller Mini Goals for Success

Break Your Weight Loss Goal Into Smaller Mini Goals for Success

Weight loss and goal setting go hand in hand. Your weight loss goals can either make or break your progress, so it’s best to form a game plan that sets you up for success right from the start.

Which goal sounds more manageable and one you might achieve with greater success? Lose 100 pounds in one year or lose 10 pounds in one month?

If you’re like me, I’m guessing you’d choose the smaller, more realistic goal of 10 pounds.

While it’s quite important to understand what your overall objective is (i.e. lose 100 pounds), it’s equally important to break up your main goal into manageable smaller goals or milestones.

Let’s say you have a beach trip coming up in a month. Rather than set a goal to lose a 20 pounds in one month, you give yourself a few mini goals or milestone to achieve.

Milestone or Mini Goal #1 for Beach Trip

In two weeks, I will zip up and comfortably fit into my pair of dress slacks that I’m currently not able to wear.

After about nine days of working towards this first mini goal, you’re able to achieve this because you set a realistic goal you knew you’d be able to achieve in a short amount of time.

Milestone or Mini Goal #2 for Beach Trip

In two weeks, I will be able to button up my favorite shirt and it will fit comfortably.

In about a week and a half you’re able to wear your shirt and see a difference in how your clothes fit because you set a reasonable mini goal.

Get the idea?

So if you’re like me and have a difficult time sticking to a “big picture goal” like losing XXX pounds in a year, don’t fret!

The Lesson Here…

An effective strategy I use to keep my long-term objective in sight is to break my overall main goal into “mini goals” or “milestones” so that I don’t lose steam and give up.

What happens when you achieve a goal and see results? You guessed it! You gain momentum, you stay motivated and you continue to push yourself to achieve even better results!

Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site