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My morning (or anytime) pick-me-up: The Java Chiller

So I've been Fuel Cycling on Trim Healthy Mama for the past week,and it's been great! Comparing my weights for the 1st vs. 8th day, I'm down 3.8 pounds! That is huge for me, since I'm generally a turtle whose weight moves super-slow. I attribute part of my success to this luscious drink that I concocted to make it through the week. I call it The Java Chiller.

If you yourself are a Trim Healthy Mama, you probably know that the Fuel Cycle is a bit more restrictive than just freestyling. If you are not a Trim Healthy Mama, then, well, you should be! Ha, really, if you are not, the Fuel Cycle is just a weight-busting week to try to kick a few stubborn pounds. Normally, yummy things like cheese and yogurt and nuts are encouraged on THM, but on the Fuel Cycle, they are not really allowed, at least not in the quantities that I normally use them (and now you know why I need the Fuel Cycle!).

Anyway, this past week I was looking for a good way to drink my coffee. Normally, I load it up with heavy cream or half and half and just enjoy it. But this makes it an S (= Satisfying, low-carb but high fat), and really, I try on the Fuel Cycle not to have as much cream as normal. So, for my S days, I made Bulletproof coffee - oh Yum! I used Extra Virgin Coconut Oil instead of MCT Oil , and it was divine - delicious, creamy, and very satisfying.

But coffee on S days wasn't really the problem - I have S breakfasts almost every day simply so that I can have creamy coffee. This issue is that the Fuel Cycle has 2 FP (= Fuel Pull, low-carb and low-fat) days plus 2 E (= Energizing, low-fat but higher carb) days, so that's 4 non-S breakfasts to get through. This gal is NOT giving up coffee on those days, so I needed a solution.

One possible solution is fat free half and half. I'm not a purist, and I don't mind it, but I just didn't have any on hand, and I was being a cheapskate and spending my money on higher quality stuff instead. So what's a gal to do for FP and E coffee? Enter the Java Chiller! This worked perfectly for me, not only because it provided me with a great coffee fix each morning, but also because it was a cool and refreshing drink to sip on at any time of day as our temperatures inched closer and closer to 100 degrees.

The Java Chiller is a modification on the Fat Stripping Frappa (FSF) found on page 240 in the Trim Healthy Mama book. Both the FSF and the Java Chiller are considered Fuel Pull, since they have no significant source of fat or carbs, so they can be eaten anytime, anywhere (well, anywhere you have access to a blender), with anything. Without further ado, here ya go, the Java Chiller:

First fill your blender about 1/3 - 1/2 full of ice.
No need for a high-end blender here. My old Osterizer works great!

Then pour in your coffee - I use 14 ounces of strong dark coffee
Have I told you yet about my Keurig Vue® ? I LOVE it!!

Now add in the following:
1/2 to 1 cup of almond milk
1 scoop of protein powder
1/2 tsp of Glucomannan (optional)
a bit of salt
1 TBSP of Truvia (or a few shakes of stevia extract)
a dash of vanilla

Blend to desired consistency.
This makes 2 very large servings.

I like mine to still be a little slushy when I pour it into my cup, like this.

Be careful when you drink it. It's so yummy that others might try to steal it away from you. See Tigger's hand creeping in there to grab it? Don't worry, I snatched it out of his reach and kept it all to myself :-)

I'm linking up to Trim Healthy Tuesday over at Gwen's Nest and Stacy Makes Cents - head on over to check out all the other THM-friendly treats they have to offer!

[Please note that product links may be my affiliate links, giving me a small benefit if you click and buy. If you are uncomfortable with this, please feel free to go directly to Amazon or the site of your choice for your purchase.]

Sweaty Summer Cycling - Fuel Cycling, that is!

This week I'm starting the second week of my Trim Healthy Mama Fuel Cycle. Right at this point I'm down about 1.6 pounds from the day I started my Fuel Cycle, and that's a pretty good loss for me, so I want to see if doing the second week will push me along even further.

Update on Day 8: As of today, my scale tells me that I am down 3.8 pounds on one week of the Fuel Cycle! WooHoo! Last week, I planned my menu carefully, selecting my meals with an eye toward health, calories, and whether they were S, E, or FP. Unfortunately, I didn't really consider the weather, which, here in North Texas, was in the 90's. So as I moved into my FP and E days and we hit the first official day of Summer, I found myself improvising, desperate to keep my kitchen as cool as possible and serve cool and refreshing meals rather than warm soups and things like that.

This week, the weather looks like it's going to be about the same around here. This is really gonna test the effectiveness of my homemade deodorant!

In planning this week's Fuel Cycle menu, I deliberately chose meals that either (a) require no cooking or (b) can be fixed quickly and easily on the stovetop or in the toaster oven without heating up my kitchen. My Deep S breakfasts and dinners fit category (b), but those are yummy and Satisfying enough that they are worth the bit of time at the stove. Many of my FP and E meals, however, require no cooking at all. Pair those with a nice refreshing glass of Good Girl MoonShine, and you've got a cool and refreshing meal that can be served - and enjoyed - on even the hottest days of Summer!

Tuesday (Deep S)
B: Soft boiled eggs, bulletproof coffee
L: Large salad with grilled chicken, oil and balsamic dressing
D: Pan-fried salmon with faux fried rice
S: GGMS, skinny chocolate, basic whey smoothie, cucumbers

Wednesday (Deep S)
B: Fuel cycle frittata, bulletproof coffee
L: Steak fajita salad, oil and vinegar dressing
D: Salmon fillets with green fries
S: GGMS, skinny chocolate, tummy tucking ice cream

Thursday (Deep S)
B: Spinach omelette, bulletproof coffee
L: Salad with tuna, oil and balsamic dressing
D: Fish tacos (fried salmon in wonder wraps), fresh cabbage
S: GGMS, skinny chocolate, peppers, cake in a mug

Friday (Fuel Pull)
B: Overnight oats w/ raspberries, java chiller
L: Low carb tortilla w/ laughing cow and lean turkey, pepper strips, savory yogurt dip
D: Tuna salad with light mayo on wasa crackers
S: GGMS, yogurt with berries, tummy tucking ice cream

Saturday (Fuel Pull)
B: Cottage berry whip, java chiller
L: BLT on a wonder wrap, cucumber chips
D: Fuel Pull Pizza, lots of veggies
S: GGMS, yogurt with berries, tummy tucking ice cream, wasa with laughing cow

Sunday (E)
B: Black bean breakfast burrito, java chiller
L: Chicken salad wraps with apple chunks, zucchini chips
D: Mexican cottage cheese salad with mango salsa,
S: GGMS, yogurt w/ berries, apple w/ 1 tsp pb

Monday (E)
B: Sourdough french toast, java chiller
L: Pico de gallo gazpacho, Deutsche Kuche bread with light yogurt spread
D: Southwestern black bean salad, greek yogurt
S: GGMS, yogurt w/ berries, ricotta creme

I'm linking up to Trim Healthy Tuesday over at Gwen's Nest and Stacy Makes Cents - head on over to check out all the THM-friendly treats you can incorporate in your own Fuel Cycle!

I'm also linking up to Menu Plan Monday over at Organizing Junkie. Head on over and see all the great menu plans to inspire you!

[Please note that product links may be my affiliate links, giving me a small benefit if you click and buy. If you are uncomfortable with this, please feel free to go directly to the site mentioned for your purchase.]

Un Sueño Despertado (A dream awakened)

I'm participating in Spanish Friday over at Latinaish today. English translation is at the bottom.

Hay que decir que mis sueños de mudarme a un lugar internacional han sido un poco dificil recientemente. Mi trabajo va bien, mi hijo está feliz con su escuela, mi esposo está pensando en ponerse un negocio aqui en la ciudad donde vivimos ahora. Pero para mí, los sueños no se desaparecen, solo duermen un ratito. Esta semana mis sueños despertaron de nuevo cuando ví este rotulo en frente de un edificio cerca de mi casa:

Una iglesia internacional, con escuela, tan cerca?! Antes de seguir, hay que entender que aqui en Texas, hay un montón de gente de todas partes del mundo. Pero decir "bilingue" o "internacional" casi siempre se refiere al inglés y el español. Entonces, pensé, será posible que se van a abrir una escuela, de pocas cuadras de mi casa, donde Pooh pudiera aprender el español?!

Al momento de llegar a casa, hice una busqueda por la red para averiguar de esa escuela. Sí, es una escuela bilingue, donde los niños hablan el inglés y el español todos los dias. Ya he escrito al director para preguntar de las posibilidades. No tengo nada mas de detalles todavia, pero, un sueño despertado, eso, sí lo tengo!

And now the English translation
I should tell you that my dreams of becoming an expat have been put on the back burner recently. My job is going well, Pooh is happy with his school, and P-Daddy is thinking of starting a business in the city we currently live in. But my dreams of becoming an expat never really disappear, they just sleep a while. This week, my dreams were re-awakened when I saw this sign in front of an empty building close to our house.

An international church, with a school, so close to us?! Now, before I continue, you have to understand that here in Texas, there are tons of people from all over the world. But when the word "bilingual" or "international" is used, it almost always refers to English and Spanish, not any of the other 100's of languages represented in the metroplex. So, I thought, is it really possible that they are about to open a school just a few blocks from my house where Pooh can learn Spanish?!

The minute I got home I googled the church and school to get more information. Yep, it's a bilingual school, where the students use both English and Spanish every day. I've already emailed the administration to request more information. I have no more details at this point, but a dream awakened, that I have!

Fuel Cycle Frittata

I love frittata and quiche, and over my years of weight watching and dieting, I've come to rely on them as a staple. My favorites are full of cheese and cream, plus they contain lots of veggies and sometimes some meat. Recently, I just wanted to get rid of some stuff in my freezer, and I hit upon one that is a definite winner. Since I just threw it together, my measurements are not going to be terribly exact here, but you get the idea.

Sage Sausage Frittata

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/2 to 1 cup of cream (or half and half)
1 pound of sage sausage, cooked and crumbled
1 large onion, diced and browned
1 bunch of spinach or kale, chopped and wilted
2 cups of cheddar cheese, shredded
Italian seasoning, salt and pepper

Directions:
First preheat your oven to 350 (F) and crack the eggs into a bowl.

Add salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings, and whisk the eggs together. Then add the cream.

Now add 1.5 cups of the shredded cheddar, the sausage, and the wilted spinach, and mix well. Pour the entire mixture into a casserole dish.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese on top is nicely browned. Makes 6 huge servings, or 9 smaller ones, or about 18 half-servings like these:

This was such a big hit that it was completely gone before the day was out. And P-Daddy has been hinting ever since that he wanted some more. But I'm headed into a Fuel Cycle with Trim Healthy Mama, and all that cheesy goodness is a definite no-no. So, I decided to make it much more Fuel Cycle friendly. Of course with the eggs and sausage, this is an S, and a pretty Deep one. Here's how it went:

Sage Sausage Frittata for the Fuel Cycle

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/2 to 1 cup of cream (or half and half) almond milk
1 pound of sage sausage, cooked and crumbled
1 large small or medium onion, diced and browned
1 bunch of spinach or kale, chopped and wilted
2 cups 2 ounces of cheddar cheese Kerry Gold aged cheddar, shredded
Italian seasoning, salt and pepper

As you can see, it's pretty much the same, but let's take a look at each of the substitutions that make this dish much more Fuel Cycle friendly than the original:

Almond milk in place of cream
Dairy products are fairly restricted on the Fuel Cycle. A bit of raw cream is okay in your coffee, but yogurt, cottage cheese, cream, and half and half are a no-no. Almond milk is neutral, so it's fine, and it actually worked well in this recipe. Definitely use unsweetened, and while plain might be better, it was still great with vanilla flavored, which is all I had on hand.

Small or medium onion instead of large
On the Fuel Cycle, onions are discouraged, and we are told to "eat very few" - I understand this, but I really felt like this dish needed at least a few for the flavor. Spread out over an entire recipe, the onion in each serving is minimal, and should be fine for Fuel Cycle guidelines. But feel free to leave them out if you think that's a better choice.

2 ounces of Kerry Gold white cheddar in place of 2 cups of whatever cheddar I had on hand
Since we just want to use cheese in very minimal quantities on the Fuel Cycle, you do want a strong cheese, and this one has a nice sharp taste. The 2 ounces spread across the entire recipe is just a tiny amount of cheese in a serving (something like one small cube per piece). Of course if you have raw cheese, that would be a better choice! I love the Kerry Gold white cheddar, and although it's not raw, I feel like it's a better option than your average cheese is, so it's my Fuel Cycle choice when I can't get raw.

Overall, this turned out really well! P-Daddy liked it as much as the original (he's not as much of a cheese fan as I am), and I thought it was pretty good as well. I don't think it's as pretty without the browned cheese on top, but it's that taste that counts, right?!

I'm linking up to Trim Healthy Tuesdays over at Gwen's Nest and Stacy Makes Cents - head on over to either one for lots more THM-friendly treats!

Swimsuit Season??!! Fuel Cycle Menu coming up!

Eek! Summer's here, and this Mama is very NOT ready for swimsuit season! To help get a little more prepared, I'm planning to do my third Trim Healthy Mama Fuel Cycle this week. The first time I tried one, I lost about 5 pounds. The second one, I only lost one pound during the Fuel Cycle week, but then I lost another 3 the following week. Since I generally only lose about .2 pounds a week (if that much), these were FANTASTIC losses for me!

You'd think, with losses like those, that I might do the Fuel Cycle more often, but for me, that's not a wise choice. It's a pretty restricted week, and it takes lots of planning and prep work to make it successful. And I am looking for a sustainable plan, not a get-trim-quick plan. So I only do a Fuel Cycle week every few months. And if you are new to Trim Healthy Mama, the Fuel Cycle is NOT recommended for beginners - it will give you a false impression that THM is restrictive, when, in reality, it's one of the least restrictive plans out there. Plus, so many people have luck just freestyling the plan that it may not even be necessary! I'll also note that many of the recipes in my menu plan can be found in the Trim Healthy Mama book available as a huge printed tome on Amazon or in print and ebook formats through trimhealthymama.com.

Wanting to make room for Fuel Cycle friendly meals, I cleaned out my freezer. But I found so many things I could use to make this week successful that not only will I be helping my weight-loss along, I'll also be using up a lot of my freezer stock while I'm at it! Kai si ming, salmon fillets, chana dahl, brown rice, spicy lentils, enchilada soup, lots of berries, and an endless supply of frozen veggies - here's just a sampling that were buried so deep I didn't realize I had them!

Now that I think about it, maybe the Fuel Cycle isn't really as restrictive as I was thinking! (Can you tell I'm a Trim Healthy Mama by the multiple bags of cauliflower in there?!) Without further ado, here's my plan:

Tuesday (Deep S)
B: Fuel Cycle Frittata, bulletproof coffee
L: Steak fajita salad
D: Kai Si Ming, broccoli cooked in butter
S: GGMS, skinny chocolate, cucumbers, nighty-night custard with coconut oil

Wednesday (Deep S)
B: Eggs fried with coconut oil, bacon, bulletproof coffee
L: Salad with tuna, oil and balsamic dressing
D: Salmon fillet fried in coconut oil, broccoli in butter
S: GGMS, skinny chocolate, basic whey smoothie, mini peppers

Thursday (Deep S)
B: Fuel Cycle Frittata, bulletproof coffee
L: Salad with grilled chicken, oil and balsamic dressing
D: Fish tacos (fried salmon in wonder wraps), cabbage
S: GGMS, skinny chocolate, vanilla pudding, cukes and/or mini peppers

Friday (Fuel Pull)
B: Overnight oats, fat-strippin frap made with coffee
L: 1/2 an Aldi flatbread w/ lean turkey and laughing cow cheese, pepper strips
D: Vegetable soup, wasa with laughing cow
S: GGMS, yogurt with berries, muffin in a bowl, light string cheese

Saturday (Fuel Pull)
B: Egg white scramble, fat-strippin frap made with coffee
L: Fotato soup, peppers with yogurt dip
D: Asian stir-fry with konjac noodles, grilled chicken, and lots of veggies
S: GGMS, yogurt with berries, tummy tucking ice cream, wasa with laughing cow

Sunday (E)
B: Steel-cut oats with almond milk and berries, coffee w/ FF half and half
L: Fish tacos (grilled fish in sprouted grain tortilla) with mango salsa
D: Enchilada soup, brussel sprouts
S: GGMS, yogurt w/ berries, Deutsche Kuche toast

Monday (E)
B: Deutsche Kuche bread with savory tomato shmear
L: Grilled chicken, brown rice, veggies
D: Lentil soup with greens added, cottage berry whip
S: GGMS, yogurt w/ berries, smoothie

I'm linking up to Trim Healthy Tuesdays over at Gwen's Nest and Stacy makes Cents - make sure to check out all the trim healthy treats to be had! I'm also linking up to Menu Plan Monday over at Organizing Junkie. Head on over and see all the great menu plans to inspire you!

[Please note that product links may be my affiliate links, giving me a small benefit if you click and buy. If you are uncomfortable with this, please feel free to go directly to the site mentioned for your purchase.]

Trim Healthy Treats: The Skinny on Chocolate

I admit it. I'm a bit lot of a chocoholic. Milk chocolate feeds my addiction, but over the course of the last several years of nutrition research and weight watching, I have come to savor deep dark chocolate. And I make no secret of my love for it, so much so that this was my Valentine's Day gift from P-Daddy:

Now, lest you think this is all about feeding my chocolate addiction, I want to add that more and more research is showing that chocolate - especially dark chocolate - offers amazing health benefits, from boosting hearth health, to protecting us from UV damage from the sun, to improved vision. For more on these benefits (and more) see this great article. It's amazing to me that you get all that from indulging in yumminess like this!

Lucky for me, Trim Healthy Mama encourages consumption of yummy chocolate. As a matter of fact, skinny chocolate was probably the first recipe that I made out of the book. Who would have known that a simple mix of coconut oil, cocoa, and stevia could make such an awesome treat?! I feel like the superfoodiness of coconut oil kicks this chocolate treat up to a whole new level. The coconut oil is so great that you don't even have to use really good cocoa powder. As a matter of fact, these are my two most common options:

With all the coconut oil, this is a clear S (= Satisfying) treat. I generally start with a 2:1 ratio of melted extra-virgin coconut oil to cocoa powder, and then I add stevia extract a shake or two at a time until it tastes good to me. Then I pour it into some container or mold, or most commonly, into candy cups, and pop it in the fridge for an hour. or a day. or all week. And it's always a little bit different. Sometimes it's pretty Plain Jane, like this one. (I know, this is really ugly. It was an early batch, and I'm not sure what happened. The good thing is that it still tasted fantastic!)

Sometimes I change it up. I made this batch in a mini muffin tin, with (from left to right) chopped walnuts, a mix of walnuts and coconut, unsweetened shredded coconut, and nothing - that is, just plain jane unadulterated chocolate.

Only it wasn't really plain jane; the top half, with the green cups, got regular deep dark chocolate with just cocoa powder, and the bottom half, with the red cups, got peanut butter cup chocolate, with half peanut flour and half cocoa. I promise, none of it got a drop of the chocolate syrup that somehow made its way into the previous pic!

My convenient color-coding wasn't really necessary - as you can see from the finished product, the different mixes were evident in the color.

Really, this is such a nice treat! It calms me down, fills me up, and satisfies me in a way that even an endless supply of sugar-filled milk chocolate cannot. It's so magical that when I was deep in the throes of a hectic Spring semester and was pining for sandy beaches and relaxation, I used my skinny chocolate to transport me there.

I'm linking up to Trim Healthy Tuesday over at Gwen's Nest and Stacy Makes Cents - come on over and check out all the yummy treats to be found today!


[please note that links to products are my affiliate links and I may get a tiny kick-back if you purchase from them]