This slow cooker recipe was a huge hit with my latest C1 Challenge. This recipe also comes straight from my Simply17 weekly meal plans, too!
This dish can be served in lettuce wraps, homemade cauliflower tortillas, or as a topping over lettuce greens. This is a perfect main entree for the family as non-dieters can use regular tortillas to make tacos or burritos while you have a healthier version. Yes, that’s right! One dinner for the entire family!
Slow Cooker Mexican Cilantro Chicken
Ingredients
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
4 chicken breasts
1 Jar Low-Sugar Salsa (16 oz)
1/3 Cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 Limes, juiced
Directions
In a small bowl, add the seasonings and mix well.
Place chicken breasts in the bottom of a slow cooker. Sprinkle Mexican seasoning over chicken, then cover with salsa, cilantro and lime juice
Cook on high for 4 hours, or 6-7 hours on low.
When chicken is cooked. Remove from slow cooker and shred with two forks. Add juice from slow cooker to chicken until you reach your desired finish.
Serve chicken as taco wraps, or over bed of lettuce. Be creative with toppings including shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped tomatoes and olives.
Yields 6-8 Servings
Approved for all cycles
Photo courtesy of Wendy Y.
Photo courtesy of Judy H. – Judy made one dinner for the entire family. She chose the healthier route, lettuce wraps, while her husband opted for a regular soft shell for his dinner!
Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site
Skillet Garden Eggs (Breakfast Recipe Modified for the 17 Day Diet)
I found this wonderfully pleasing photo and equally interesting recipe called Skillet Garden Eggs with Fontina. I’ve modified the original recipe to conform to the 17 Day Diet. Here it is:
Skillet Garden Eggs with Mozzarella or Parmesan
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 ounces of Ground Turkey (for Cycle 1 or 2) OR 2 slices Canadian Bacon or Reduced Fat Turkey Bacon (for Cycle 3 only)
1 small red onion, chopped
2 cups chopped spinach or kale (for Cycles 1 or 2) OR 2 cups chopped Swiss chard (for Cycle 3 only)
5-6 sliced mushrooms (for Cycles 1 or 2) OR 1/2 small zucchini, finely chopped (for Cycle 3 only)
1/2 cup halved cherry or grape tomatoes
Salt and ground black pepper
4 eggs
1/2 cup grated low-fat mozzarella or parmesan cheese
Directions:
In a large nonstick skillet over medium, heat the olive oil. Add the meat and onion and saute until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the greens (spinach, kale or swiss chard) and mushrooms or zucchini and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown.
Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Stir well, then arrange the vegetables in an even layer. Using a spoon, create 4 wells in the vegetables, each about 2 inches across. Crack an egg into each well. Cover the skillet and cook until just shy of desired doneness, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Sprinkle the cheese over the vegetables and eggs, then cover and cook for another minute. Use a spatula to transfer half of the vegetables and 2 eggs onto each plate.
Yields 2 Servings
Photo courtesy of Kaitlynn P. of the 17DD Blog Community
Just a touch of honey adds a slight sweetness that rounds out the flavor in this quick stir-fry. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels before adding them to the wok so they brown nicely. Serve with hot cooked brown rice.
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 1/2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1/4 cup (1-inch) diagonally cut green onions
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 cups broccoli florets
1/4 cup lower-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Combine shrimp and cornstarch in a medium bowl, tossing to coat. Heat a large wok or skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add shrimp; stir-fry 4 minutes. Remove shrimp from pan; place in a medium bowl. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add green onions, ginger, and garlic to pan; stir-fry 45 seconds. Add onion mixture to shrimp.
Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add broccoli; stir-fry 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in shrimp mixture, soy sauce, and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until shrimp are done and broccoli is crisp-tender.
Original article and pictures take www.myrecipes.com site
I love the versatility of this salad,and the ease in making it a delicious side dish,or meal.My children are grown but they still ask for this dish at family gatherings.It's great for picnics because it is not mayonaise based.I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as us.
Ingredients
2 large cucumbers sliced thinly,peel optional 1 medium tomatoes,chopped 1/2 medium red onion,chopped 1 bell pepper,chopped 1/4 cup Kraft Fat Free Italian dressing ____________________________________ Optional Items Make this salad into a quick dinner or side dish by using some of the following items.
Fresh Lettuces or Salad Greens Whole Grain Pasta Fresh Mozzerella Hard Salami Genoa Salami Leftover rotisserie Chicken
Directions
In a large bowl add the sliced cucumber,chopped tomato,chopped onion,chopped bell pepper.Add salad dressing to the bowl.It may not look like enough dressing,but the veggies will add more moisture.Stir the salad,and refrigerate for 1 hour stirring after 30 minutes.Serve and enjoy.
_______________________________________
Options:
1) serve on a bed of fresh lettuce or salad greens
2) serve as a side dish by stirring in 2 cups of
cooked whole grain pasta
3) Add 1/2 cup of fresh mozzerella,chopped and
1/2 cup of diced hard,or Genoa salamibefore
marinating
4) Add 1 cup of chopped,leftover rotisserie
chicken and serve over salad greens
* Note: The nutritional value information is listed
without the optional items.
Number of Servings: 4
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user SHERRY822.
Original article and pictures take www.sparkpeople.com site
Take advantage of the changing abundance of produce from season to season. While most produce is available year-round, it will be most flavorful when it’s in season and grown locally.
Original article and pictures take www.berkeleywellness.com site
Here’s a recipe community member, Sandy J., shared with the blog. This recipe is especially yummy when you feel like having some “bread” or “toast” with your meal, or when you’re tired of making cloud bread and want a different type of “bread” for your next sandwich or low-carb burger, perhaps!
This is the perfect low-carb sandwich “bread”. Enjoy!
Sandy’s Tuna Toast
Ingredients
1 5oz can Albacore tuna in water, well drained
2 Tablespoons cream cheese
1 egg
Seasonings of your choice
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Make sure your tuna is well-drained for optimal results. If needed, place drained tuna inside of a clean kitchen towel or paper towels and remove any excess liquid.
In a bowl, combine drained tuna, cream cheese and egg. Mix until well combined.
On a baking sheet, add a piece of parchment paper. Add your tuna mixture to paper, and with a spatula, flatten the tuna mixture and form it into a rectangular shape so it can be cut in half after baking. Keep your thickness to less than a 1/4 inch.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Flip toast over onto pan, discarding the paper and continue baking for another 15 minutes, or until toast is just browned on the edges.
Allow toast to cool before serving.
Tuna toast can be served as “bread” along side your meal, or cut in half to make a sandwich with your favorite sandwich fillings. Use your favorite low-sugar marinara sauce, cheese and toppings to make a tuna pizza, too! The sky is the limit in this recipe!
Yields 1 Tuna Toast
Approved all cycles
Allow tuna toast to cool before serving.
Here’s an appetizer Sandy made with her tuna toast – take a square of tuna toast, add a dab of plain yogurt and top with a sliced cucumber!
Photos courtesy of Sandra J.
Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site
The Cycle 1 Challenge is a chance for you to jumpstart your weight loss. It lasts 17 days and is based on the 17 Day Diet.
Sign up today and receive:
About a week before we begin (roughly December 27th), get access to:
During the prep time, you’ll have your meals planned out for you for the first seven days, and you’ll receive corresponding recipes to make it super easy!
By the way, you don't have to be on Cycle 1 to have fun with us in the Challenge!
Sign up below to get started:
Today: After you sign up, you'll instantly receive a free "smoothie e-kit" for your Transitional Day Fast (optional fasting day before the Challenge begins).
Prior to the start date: About a week before the start date, you’ll receive your seven days of menus and recipes so you can get your food purchased so you’re ready to go!
Day Before Start Date: You’ll participate in an optional Transitional Day Fast with specially formulated smoothies to get your metabolism going.
Start Date: You’ll start your first day of Cycle 1. You’ll begin receiving weekly emails to keep you motivated and moving so you can lose weight.
What about menus for days 8-17?
To keep this challenge free to you, you may use the same menus for the following days 8-17 or create your own!
Using the same menus will help keep your food costs as low as possible as you’ll not be required to purchase different food items for new meals.
RSVP today for the next Challenge - We begin Wednesday, January 3, 2018!
Enter your name and email below to get started with your FREE account:
Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site
Rosemary is considered a symbol of love, and we adore these warm, subtly sexy songs with this meal. • Alex Clare, "Too Close"
• Feist, "Leisure Suite"
• Al Green, "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)"
2lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces
3tablespoons plus 1 tsp olive oil, divided
2tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
1tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint, plus one spring for garnish (optional)
2cups cooked brown rice (optional)
Soak bamboo skewers in water about 30 minutes. In a bowl, combine chicken, 2 tbsp olive oil, rosemary and salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Heat an indoor grill pan to medium-high, and coat with 1 tbsp olive oil. (You can also use an outdoor grill.) Thread chicken pieces onto skewers. Cook skewers on grill pan or grill, turning occasionally, until cooked through, about 15 minutes. In a bowl, stir together yogurt, juice, mint and remaining 1 tsp olive oil. Top chicken skewers with yogurt-mint sauce. Garnish with fresh mint, if desired, and serve with brown rice, if desired.
Original article and pictures take www.self.com site
We are still adjusting to our new lives as parents. We are loving every minute, life is just “different.” I used to be very organized and tried to stick to a schedule, but now I just “go with the flow.” Our little pea has an agenda of his own and I am just trying to keep up. He is a good baby, which I am very thankful for, so I am able to get a few things done during the day. Josh is also a wonderful father and is a huge help around the house and with the baby. We make a great team:)
I do miss baking and cooking every day. We’ve made a few recipes, but we are slowly making our way back into the kitchen. Before we had the baby, we made this Roasted Tomato Basil Soup. We put it in the freezer so we could enjoy a tasty meal without doing any work. I am so glad we planned ahead because this soup really hit the spot last night.
Roasted Tomato Basil Soup is one of my all time favorites. I love the added flavor the roasted tomatoes and fresh basil add to this soup. Don’t be intimidated by the “roasting” part of the recipe. Roasting tomatoes is so easy and really brings out the best flavor. This soup is super easy to make and it freezes well-trust us, we know:)
Josh made grilled cheese sandwiches to go with the soup. You can’t go wrong with tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner-comfort food at it’s finest! It was nice to enjoy a home cooked meal, without any fuss. I highly recommend this Roasted Tomato Basil Soup, it is a great meal for a chilly Fall day. Try to save some for the freezer if you can, it comes in handy when you are not in the mood to cook or have a little baby that needs your undivided attention:)
If you like this Roasted Tomato Basil Soup, you might also like:
Original article and pictures take www.twopeasandtheirpod.com site
Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms, Balsamic, and Parmesan (Video)
Roasting brings out amazing flavor in green beans and mushrooms, and Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms, Balsamic, and Parmesan are delicious! These beans are low-carb, Keto, low-glycemic, gluten-free, meatless, and South Beach Diet friendly; use the Diet-Type Index to find more recipes like this one.
Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms, Balsamic, and Parmesan.
I never imagined when I made Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms, Balsamic, and Parmesan back in 2009 that they would end up being such an enormous hit on the blog. But this recipe has been pinned millions of times, and I don’t know how many people have actually made the beans, but the recipe has been viewed over 1.8 million times.
That’s why, when I decided that I really wanted to take new photos for this recipe, I decided to leave the original photo below up close to the top of the post, to make sure people would know they’d come to the right recipe!
I love this recipe and I like to use the lovely thin French beans from Costco. They’re expensive compared to most vegetables, so these Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms, Balsamic, and Parmesan are something to make for a special dinner at my house. And green beans must be something people like for a Low-Carb and Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Side Dish, because that’s when this recipe really gets popular.
I do think roasting vegetables is the greatest trick to add to your cooking repertoire, because nothing concentrates and sweetens the flavor of vegetables more than roasting. If mushrooms are not a go in your family, instead of roasted green beans with mushroms I recommend you make Garlic Roasted Green Beans with Shallots and Almonds; those beans are amazing as well!
Cut mushrooms into slices that are about 1/2 inch thick. It’s fairly important that mushrooms are the same thickness so they’ll all cook the same. Trim both ends of the beans and cut them in half. I put the beans and mushrooms into a Ziploc bag, then whisked together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, poured it into the bag, and squeezed the veggies around until they were all coated with the oil-balsamic mixture.
Spray a baking sheet lightly with non-stick spray and spread out the beans and mushrooms. Bake in a preheated 450f/230C oven for 20-30 minutes, starting to check then after 20 minutes. When the veggies are done to your liking, put on a platter, season with salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste, sprinkle with finely grated Parmesan, and devour! Hope you enjoy the Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms, Balsamic, and Parmesan!
If you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you. Or if you’re a member of Yummly, you can use the Yum button on my site to save the recipe and see the nutritional information there.
Original article and pictures take k8643br9gv-flywheel.netdna-ssl.com site
Roasted carrots are the perfect side dish to any meal. Roasting the carrots brings out the natural sweetness of these tasty vegetables. Here’s a simple yet delicious recipe to prepare for your holiday or every-day meal.
Roasted Carrots
Ingredients
6 medium size carrots
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill or parsley (optional)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Slice the carrots diagonally in 1 1/2-inch-thick slices. If carrots are extra thick, cut in half-length-wise.
Toss the carrots in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Transfer to a sheet pan in a single layer and roast for 20 minutes, until browned and tender.
Toss the carrots with minced dill or parsley (optional), season to taste, and serve.
Yields 4 Servings
Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site
Check out my recipe ideas for Cycle 1 of the 17 Day Diet.
Each quarter I host the blog’s C1 Challenge, and I always see awesome results from participants when we have our daily Facebook chats inside of our private Facebook group. However, many participants do get a bit bored with our favorite lean protein, chicken. I can’t imagine why! ;)
This is a common issue we face — we get bored with our menu choices, and often this is one of the main reasons for falling off the weight loss wagon.
Here is a curation of my favorite blog recipes that are Cycle 1 friendly, designed to give you full flavor with huge impact, and are easy to make so you’re not spending a lot of time in the kitchen!
This was a huge hit in the January 2015 Challenge. Many participants were hesitant about trying this recipe, but 100% of those who did fell madly in love with it. Try it for yourself!
This was a recipe a past C1 Challenge Participant posted on one of the Facebook chats. With a little bit of creativity, we can turn our chicken into a wonderfully delicious meal (so much so you’ll want seconds!).
This is a gluten-free recipe I found online that I modified for the 17 Day Diet. The 17 Day Diet is so flexible that you can transform almost any recipe into a healthy alternative. If you’re tired of chicken, this tuna salad will be a much welcomed addition!
This is a personal favorite of mine! This is based on a family recipe that I’ve modified over the years. The fruit (tomatoes) salsa makes this dish so fresh and it literally sings in your mouth! Creativity is key! With a few spices and some yummy seasonings, you can transform your chicken into a whole new experience!
Looking to adda little Asian flare to your menu this week? This is the perfect healthy alternative to those not-so-healthy dishes (think anything sweet and deep fried). There’s nothing like the cool, crisp of fresh lettuce with hot chicken! I love it and think you will, too!
Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site
Cycle 1 of the 17 Day Diet is all about releasing toxins from your body by eliminating carbs and sugar and jumpstarting your diet by rapid weight loss. Here are a few quick tips and reminders for a successful Cycle 1 weight loss:
Stay on Cycle 1 for only 17 days–not a day longer
Don’t forget to have your wake-up drink of hot water and lemon– every day!
If you’re hungry, eat more vegetables and protein– no reason to ever be hungry on Cycle 1
Drink plenty of water
Exercise at least 17 minutes a day– no vigorous exercise while detoxing!
Remember, if you have more weight to lose continue onto Cycle 2. Cycle 1 is not meant to be a lifestyle, so once your 17 days are up, move onto the next cycle.
Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site