Day 18: The Cinch! Diet

• Black coffee, Fruity Waffle Sundae (Shape Blog )
• Smoked Gouda & Grilled Onion Salad (P. 117)
• Dark Chocolate
• Spicy Avocado Tostadas
• More Chocolate
• Dark Chocolate over apples & piece of cheese
• 45 min walking on the treadmill
• Lower body workout

Wow, it was a chocolate kind of day.  I overindulged again and then created a yummy fruit dessert for my fourth meal.  I’m hoping the extra workout cancels out the extra chocolate.

It had been a week since I made the fruity waffle.  I especially enjoyed it topped with bananas, blueberries & toasted walnuts.  Before this diet I never ate breakfast.  I would have 2 cups of coffee with cream.  Never again, I love starting out my day this way!

I think I could eat this everyday.  Smoked gouda is one of my favorite cheeses and I love how it tastes with the sweet onion.  I enjoy it with toasted pita rather than crackers.

I had the Avocado Tostadas again.  I always make them a different way depending on what I have in my fridge and pantry. 

Cooked apples with chocolate-I loved this dessert!  So decadent.  I chopped up an apple and microwaved it for 3 minutes.  Then topped it with 1/4 cup ghirardelli chocolate chips and microwaved another 10 seconds.  I mixed it up and it was so yummy.  I had a 1 oz piece of cheese while the apple was being microwaved.  I cut out the whole grain in this meal.  I know it doesn’t look that pretty but trust me it’s delish!

I enjoyed working out with weights.  It had been about a month since I had.  Here’s the lovely view I had working out in my bedroom.

One week left on the core diet.  I’m so excited.

Day 16: The Cinch! Diet

• Cappuccino with skim milk, Mango Mint Avocado Smoothie (P. 106)
• Spicy Avocado Tostadas (P. 119)
• Piece of Chocolate
• Vegetable Soup (made with puzzle pieces)
• Dark Chocolate Oatmeal (P. 101)
• 60 minutes walking on the treadmill

I’ve had frozen mango in my freezer for over a week in anticipation of the Mango Mint avocado smoothie.  Until yesterday I just couldn’t bring myself to ruin my favorite fruit with avocado.  Finally, it was the day and I would bravely make this concoction.  I put everything in the blender and thought, “Man, this is not gonna be good”.  I took a spoonful of it after it was blended and couldn’t even try it.  I thought just getting it down with a straw was going to be the easiest way.

It was REALLY good.  You can’t taste the avocado and it just makes it creamy.  All that worry was for nothing.  After 2 weeks of her recipes I just need to trust Cynthia Sass!  She’s brilliant.

I had the Spicy Avocado Tostadas again.  I was really hungry after walking on the treadmill for an hour and this was really filling and has great flavor.

It was very cold & windy last night in the middle of the blizzard and I decided to try to put a vegetable soup together with the puzzle pieces.  I used what I had and it came out delicious!

This was SO good.  These are giant mugs and it was so much I couldn’t finish it.  The soup on the right is for my husband and I shredded chicken breast in his.  Here’s the recipe:

• 1/4 cup of chopped onions, chopped carrots, chopped red peppers, frozen broccoli; 1 cup canned fire roasted tomatoes; 1 cup vegetable broth; 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small minced garlic clove, oregano, rosemary, parsley, black pepper, bay leaf

Saute onion, carrots, red peppers for about 6 min in olive oil.  Add the garlic & saute for about one minute.  Add the tomatoes, broth & water and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer.  Add the corn, broccoli & seasonings.  Simmer on the stove then serve with cheese.

Next time I will not use broccoli because it got mushy.  Also, I will use a monterey jack cheese or something creamier than parmesan.

I was craving chocolate so I made the oatmeal again.  I used a little less oats to cut down on the whole grain.  While they were cooking I had a slice of smoked gouda cheese & 1 cup of fresh blueberries.

Such a wonderful day with so much fresh food!

Day 7: The Cinch! Diet

• Cappuccino with skim milk, Zesty Cranberry Walnut Parfait (P. 97)
• Pineapple Avocado Tacos (P. 110)
• Dark Chocolate Truffle
• Wild Rice & Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Citrus Slaw (P. 122)
• Spicy Avocado Tostadas (P. 119)
• Took the day off from exercising!

So, it occurred to me that a cappuccino with skim milk won’t be that bad.  We have this awesome Nesppresso machine that froths the milk with a touch of the button.  So, a touch of sugar and cinnamon and what a delicious coffee.  Yum.

I remade the Zesty Cranberry Walnut Parfait with quick rolled oats (I mistakenly used uncooked steel cut oats before).  It was OK.  The waffle and french toast are my favorite breakfast so far.

I made a new recipe, the Pineapple Avocado Tacos.  It was really easy to make.  The first bite was odd because the pineapple was so sweet.  As I continued to eat it I really enjoyed the sweet pineapple and salty feta.  I also had iced tea with the citrus and mint ice cubes.  YUM!

For dinner, I threw together what I had.  I went through the book to try to find something to  use some leftovers.  I came across the Lettuce Wraps.  I had leftover cooked brown rice and WG penne in the fridge.  So I substituted the chicken and rice with kidney beans and penne pasta for my vegetarian version.  Next time, I will use chickpeas & wild rice.  My husband got the original recipe.  I really enjoyed this.  It was so different from anything I’ve made before.  You have citrus slaw with a slight onion taste and the mustard flavor of the beans and pasta.  I love using romaine lettuce for lettuce wraps.  I had never done that before.  Just iceberg with PF Changs veggie wraps.  I’ll probably try to tweak a vegetarian version of this.

I ate the Spicy Avocado Tacos for a late dinner.  This is becoming my favorite dish.  I’ve had it a lot this week!

I decided to be lazy this Sunday and skip exercise.  Back to it on Monday!