A recipe I featured on My 17dd Blog’s C1 Challenge was Carrot soup. The recipe was initially met with some hesitation due to the ingredients, but after participants tried the concoction, they were blown away! Where cumin is listed, feel free to substitute with your own favorite spice such as cinnamon, ginger or something entirely different!
This recipe is approved for all cycles. However, you may want to eat the soup for your lunch as it contains a good amount of fruit. Enjoy!
Carrot & Apple Soup
Ingredients
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
4 cups low-sodium, non-fat vegetable broth
1 teaspoon cumin (or your favorite spice)
Salt and pepper
Chopped chives or parsley, as garnish (optional)
Directions
Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add onion and garlic and sauté until softened, about 4 minutes. Add apple and carrots and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add the vegetable broth and cumin; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the apples and carrots are soft, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove from the heat and puree with an immersion blender or, in batches, in a blender. Season soup with salt and pepper. Garnish with chives or parsley and serve.
Yields 3- 4 Servings
Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site
Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Mushrooms, a gluten free and easy stuffed mushroom recipe with chicken, blue cheese, ranch, celery, carrots, and red onion.
(For your shopping convenience, this post contains affiliate links.)
Another Buffalo Chicken recipe for all my “Buffalo” lovers! All the flavors of buffalo chicken wings but stuffed in a mushroom! These Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Mushrooms are perfect for a dinner party, tailgating, or just because you’re in the mood! I actually ate a bunch of them for lunch the other day. :) You could easily make these into a vegetarian appetizer or swap out the chicken for shrimp. Let the party begin!!!
These Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Mushrooms are easy to make and you can even make them ahead of time. Start with some mushrooms either button or baby bella (crimini) mushrooms. Remove the stems and using a small spoon or fork, scoop out a bit of the inside to make room for the filling. You can discard the stems and inside or keep for another use. I like to chop it all up and put on salads or cook and add to pastas, sauces, soups, or all sorts of things!
Once your mushrooms are ready to go. Chop up all your veggies and chicken. You could substitute additional vegetables or chopped precooked shrimp if you’d rather. Make sure everything is FINELY chopped.
Mix your filling together in a bowl. Start with a little Frank’s Hot Sauce then add more in to your personal liking. The filling is almost like a buffalo chicken dip. Or think buffalo hot wings stuffed in a mushroom! Yum!
Stuff your mushrooms with a small spoon then top with blue cheese. Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until mushrooms are soft and cooked through and cheese is soft and melted on top.
Serve warm. They reheat fairly well and I’ve also been known to eat a few cold on occasion, but your guest might not go for that. :) Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Here are a few more of my “Buffalo” recipes I thought you might enjoy:
Hope you enjoy!
A few more stuffed mushroom recipes you might enjoy:
Back in grad school when I started compulsively watching The Food Network, Racheal Ray’s 30 Minute Meals was one of my favorite cooking shows. I was a cooking novice, so her familiar ingredients, straightforward cooking techniques, and quick preparation of meals appealed to me. I had just moved in with John at that point, and most of Rachael’s dishes were comprised of foods we both liked. I was also drawn to her spunky personality and down-to-earth vibe.
That was then.
Now, I rarely watch Rachael’s new cooking show and I stay as far away from her talk show as I can. I suppose you could say I’ve joined the ranks of folks who can’t stand Racheal Ray. In order to keep this post from becoming a rant, I will refrain from listing her traits that I now find incessantly obnoxious. What I will do is admit that I still enjoy browsing through, and gaining inspiration from, Rachael’s recipes. This Buffalo Chicken Salad was inspired by not one, but two of her recipes.
Ever since I became a buffalo sauce fan convert, I’ve been keeping an eye out for recipes featuring the spicy condiment. While sifting through Food Network’s online compilation of recipes, I stumbled upon a salad concocted by none other than RR. The salad (linked below) was comprised of buffalo sauce-drenched chicken, crisp romaine lettuce, crunchy carrots, ranch salad dressing, and blue cheese.
I knew instantaneously that this was the kind of salad that John and I would both enjoy as a light dinner. I researched recipes for homemade ranch dressing, and found a recipe by RR (also linked below) that could easily be adapted to fit my nutrition standards. The combination of low fat buttermilk and 2% plain Greek yogurt was the perfect base mixture for fresh herbs and crumbled blue cheese; the finished product was a rich, flavorful, slightly tangy, and healthy ranch-blue cheese dressing hybrid.
If you’re looking for a man-approved entree salad, look no further. When served with a few whole wheat rolls to round out the meal, this Buffalo Chicken Salad is sure to fill you up while keeping you light.
1/2 cup homemade buttermilk ranch dressing (recipe follows)*
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese, plus more for garnish if desired
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp hot sauce (add more if desired)
1/4 cup canned tomato sauce
Directions:
Combine chopped lettuce and shredded carrots in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
Combine 1/2 cup homemade buttermilk ranch dressing and blue cheese crumbles in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside.
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
Season chicken with salt and pepper, add to heated pan, and cook until done, about 4 minutes per side. Remove chicken from pan and set aside to cool. Once cool enough to handle, cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Reduce stove heat to low.
Melt butter in the skillet and stir in Worcestershire, hot sauce, and tomato sauce. Stir to combine and remove from heat. Add the cooked chicken to the buffalo sauce, and stir to coat evenly.
Toss the lettuce and carrots with the dressing, and top with the buffalo chicken pieces and additional crumbled blue cheese, if using.
Buffalo Chicken Salad with Greek Yogurt (modified for the 17 Day Diet)
As I was browsing Pinterest for inspiring culinary creations, I stumbled upon this delicious-looking Buffalo Chicken Salad recipe that a health blogger had adapted from an original recipe to make it healthier. Well, I’ve modified the adapted version just a tab bit to make it 17 Day Diet approved.
Here it is…
Buffalo Chicken Salad with Greek Yogurt
5 oz non-fat plain Greek yogurt
1/3 cup Franks Red Hot Wings Buffalo sauce
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, shredded
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, minced
1/2 cup (2 oz) low-fat mozzarella cheese
Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, buffalo sauce, garlic powder, and black pepper. Stir in chicken, celery, cilantro, and low-fat mozzarella cheese. Refrigerate until serving or up to 5 days in the fridge.
Yield: 4 cups chicken salad
Cycles 1 and 2- Top chicken salad over a bed of lettuce
Cycle 3- Top chicken salad over 1/2 whole grain bagel, a whole wheat tortilla pocket or whole wheat tortilla
Photo courtesy of Judy H. Judy is a member of my private FB group and she’s always using Sunburst tomatoes for garnish in her photos! Thanks, Judy! Looks delish!
Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site
Remember not to handle the chicken too much, or it may turn out dry and tough. Get it all mixed together as quickly and gently as possible.
Some members reported that their meatballs were a bit spicy, so if you’re not a super fan of spicy food, either cut back on the hot sauce, use half hot sauce and half of your favorite low-sugar barbecue sauce, or simply make a bit more of the Greek Yogurt Blue Cheese Dressing! Enjoy!
Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground chicken
½ onion, minced or grated
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
1 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
Directions:
Mix all ingredients together except hot sauce. Roll chicken into 1 oz balls for a total of 16 or so.
Heat olive oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add chicken balls to pan and brown slightly on all sides.
Transfer chicken to slow cooker and add hot sauce. Cook on low for 2 hours or until chicken is cooked through.
Please note: If you don’t have a slow cooker, brown the meatballs as per the directions, and then add the meatballs and hot sauce to a dish and bake in an oven heated at 350 degrees F and bake anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes, depending on how much you browned them in the pan.
Yields 4 Servings
Roasted Cabbage Wedges
Ingredients:
1 tbsp plus 2 more tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium head green cabbage, cut into 1-inch-thick rounds
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Brush a rimmed baking sheet with 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil. Place 1 medium head green cabbage, cut into 1-inch-thick rounds, in a single layer on sheet and brush with 2 tbsp oil.
Season cabbage with coarse salt and ground pepper.
Roast until cabbage is tender and edges are golden, 40 to 45 minutes.
Drizzle a bit of blue cheese dressing (optional)
Yields 4-5 Servings
Greek Yogurt Blue Cheese Dressing
Ingredients:
½ c plain Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Salt and Pepper, to taste
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 cup crumbled low-fat blue cheese
Directions:
Combine all ingredients together except blue cheese and mix well. Gently fold in blue cheese.
All recipes are approved for all cycles
Photo Courtesy of Michelle S., a member of my 17DD Blog Facebook Community
Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site
During my latest 5-Day Dinner Party for the re-opening of my weekly meal planning service for the 17 Day Diet called Simply17, one of our entrees was this delicious Balsamic Chicken stuffed with a yummy tomato and cheesy mixture. The sweetness of balsamic made this dish a hit!
You can prepare the recipe as-is by stuffing your chicken breasts, or top your chicken breasts with the tomato and cheese mixture instead. Either way, this dish is tasty!
Bruschetta Stuffed Balsamic Chicken
Ingredients:
2 tomatoes, diced
1/3 cup packed fresh basil ribbons
1 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese, divided
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup low sodium, chicken broth
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large bowl add tomatoes and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese and basil. Stir to combine. Set aside.
Depending on size of chicken breasts, place up to two breasts at a time in one large zip lock bag (or one breast in between two layers of plastic wrap) and pound until you achieve a 1/4-inch thickness. Be careful not to tear or rip through the chicken as you’ll be stuffing them!
Season chicken on all sides with salt and pepper, to taste.
Take your tomato mixture and spoon a generous portion over the top of each chicken breast. Reserve leftover tomato mixture for sprinkling over the top.
Gently roll up the chicken breasts, wrapping them tightly, and secure both ends with toothpicks to prevent chicken from unrolling while cooking.
In a large frying pan or oven-proof pan, heat olive oil on medium high heat.
Add rolled chicken breasts to pan and cook for about 6 to 7 minutes, or until all sides are lightly browned.
While chicken is browning, combine the balsamic vinegar, broth, garlic and seasoning to a bowl. Whisk until mixture is fully combined. Set aside.
Remove chicken from stove. Spoon remaining tomato mixture over chicken and gently pour balsamic vinegar mixture over chicken.
In your oven-proof pan or baking dish, place chicken in oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Flip chicken once and return to oven to continue baking for another 15 minutes.
Remove chicken from oven and top with remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and return to oven to continue baking for an additional 5 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Remove from heat and let stand for a few minutes before serving. From pan, scoop remaining tomato and balsamic mixture and serve over chicken.
Note: If you want to make this dish a bit easier and save some time, rather than stuff the chicken, cook chicken breasts with mixture on top. It’s perfect either way!
Yields 4 Servings
Approved for all cycles
Here are a few photos from party guests:
Photo above courtesy of Sandra J. – I love how Sandra’s chicken was stuffed perfectly! What a beauty!
Photo above courtesy of Molly C. – I loved Molly’s creation, along with her use of our Simply17 cards where she displayed the name of the dish. So creative!!
Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site
Broiled Tilapia with Parmesan (modified for the 17 Day Diet)
I saw the most gorgeous tilapia recipe while browsing Pinterest. I thought I’d modify the recipe ever so slightly so it’s 17 Day Diet friendly with less fat (used Greek Yogurt instead of butter and mayo)! Enjoy!
Broiled Tilapia with Parmesan (modified)
Ingredients:
4 Tilapia Fillets (defrosted if frozen)
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
1/8 Cup Plain Non-Fat or Low-Fat Greek Yogurt
1 1/2 Tablespoons Plain Non-Fat or Low-Fat Greek Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 Teaspoon Fresh Dill
Pepper to taste
Directions:
Turn broiler onto high and adjust oven rack to the top.
In a small bowl, combine all ingredients except the tilapia. Set aside.
Place tilapia fillets on a foil lined pan.
Broil for 3 minutes.
Remove from the oven, flip over and divide the parmesan mixture over the uncooked sides of the tilapia.
Return to the oven and broil an additional 3-4 minutes making sure not to over cook the fish.
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
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
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
Blend spinach and yogurt first. Add blueberries and blend again. Depending on thickness of smoothie, you made add a bit of water to thin it out, if desired or use Kefir instead of yogurt. Depending on the ripeness of your fruit, you may add Stevia to sweeten the smoothie.
Note: You may use Kefir instead of plain yogurt if you prefer
Consider adding whey protein if you use as a meal replacement.
Yields 1 Serving
Approved for all cycles
Photo Courtesy of Kelly J.
Kelly used kefir in her green smoothie pictured above. Thanks for sharing, Kelly!
Original article and pictures take 17ddblog.com site
Before we dig into brussels sprouts, I need to give a gigantic shout out to Erin and Melissa for the redesign of Mountain Mama Cooks. I’ve been wanting to update my look and implement some new features for awhile now but held off until the timing was right. I knew right after meeting these two, that they were the gals to do the job. Together, they run Wooden Spoons Kitchen, a boutique web design and hosting company and if I do say so myself, they knocked it out of the park! Thank you doesn’t seem like enough. The entire process was inspiring, fluid and you gals gave me exactly what I wanted. Thank you for your patience, hard work and being all around super savvy, design maven, rock stars!
You know a recipe is good when you make it six times in two weeks. Never in my life did I think I’d be making brussels sprouts multiple times a week. And never in my life did I think I could possibly love brussels sprouts more than these roasted ones with crispy bacon and balsamic. But here I am to tell you that a) I’ve easily eaten 2+ lbs of brussels sprouts in the past 10 days and b) these ones are better than my beloved roasted version with bacon. The best part? They only take 8 minutes.
I hosted a small brunch on Easter and since I was only a few days into my 21 day sugar detox, the menu was a ham cooked in the slow cooker, a veggie frittata, a spinach and avocado salad and these awesome pan seared brussels sprouts that my friend, Melissa made. It was all I could do to not eat all of them. Said no one ever about brussels sprouts…
Crispy and garlic loaded on one side, steamed to perfection, these are nuggets of veggie gold. Can you tell I haven’t had sugar in almost a month? I’m gushing about brussels sprouts. Man, someone get me a cookie stat. Or some ice cream. How about a piece of dark chocolate? You know at this point, I’d settle for an orange.
All joking aside, these brussels sprouts are out of this world. The key is using a stainless steal pan and heating it up so it’s piping hot when you lay the brussels in. The recipe below is more of a guide line. The recipe is forgiving and it’s easily adaptable to suit your taste. Play around until you get it right. The squeeze of lemon at the end makes takes ’em over the top. Don’t leave it out. Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!
More of a guideline than a recipe, these brussels sprouts are just as easy to make for one as they are for a group. Play around until you get 'em just how you like them!
In a stainless pan, heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil over medium-high heat.
When pan is nice and hot (1-2 minutes), place brussels sprouts cut side down. If the brussels sizzle, that's a good sign!
Place tight fitting lid on pan and turn heat to medium low.
Set time for 8 minutes and don't lift pan lid or disturb the pan.
When timer goes off, remove pan from heat and sprinkle brussels with a drizzle of fresh lemon juice.
Original article and pictures take www.mountainmamacooks.com site
