Last week I was really wanting some soup so I re -worked my Chicken Vegetable Soup recipe to make it fit into Cycle 1 of the 17 Day Diet. V-8 juice isn’t listed as an item you can have on the food plan but Marinara sauce was included so I made a judgement call and decided to use the V-8. It was delicious, in fact I had hoped to freeze some of this soup but that was not to be. The soup was so good it disappeared in a hurry! There is something so satisfying about soup, it fills me up for hours! If you want to read about why I chose a new food plan skip down to Nutmeg Notes.
It was just what I had been wanting a steaming hot bowl of tasty vegetable soup with chunks of chicken. You can view the recipe for my 17 Day Diet Vegetable Chicken Soup here. It’s also perfect for those of you on Weight Watchers.
I was making an old family favorite, Chicken Fried Rice so David would have something to pack for lunches. I had seen a recipe posted by Barbo on Carol’s Cozy Cafe for a “mock” Chinese Fried Rice that is low carb and uses cauliflower instead of rice. I adapted her use of cauliflower and combined it with my recipe to create a delicious Chinese inspired dish. Does it taste like rice? Of course not – but is it tasty? Absolutely and it satisfied my desire for Chinese flavors. If you don’t like cauliflower you most likely won’t like this dish because there is an underlying flavor of cauliflower. It reheated nicely the next day too. Check out my recipe for Mock Chicken Fried Rice.
My Valentine surprised me with this lovely arrangement first thing in the morning. He had purchased them the day before and hid them in the garage. Sneaky! Love that polka – dot ribbon. You did good hubby Tom! (We went shopping Sunday and got each other new hiking gear and accessories so no other gifts were expected.)
I made an easy but very tasty dinner last night for Valentine’s Day! I used the Roasted Shrimp Cocktail recipe for our entree, oven roasted salad tomatoes, green beans and carrots all cooked in the same oven. Love that, and since I lined the baking sheets with foil – clean up was easy too. During the last 10 minutes of oven roasting time the ‘broccolette” was cooked on the stove top. I will post that recipe soon. Easy, peasy dinner! Of course for dessert I enjoyed a dish of my Chocolate Mousse Yogurt. Yummers!
Nutmeg Notes
I had intended to write about Cycle 2 on The 17 Day Diet as part of today’s post but I have had so many interruptions while trying to write this post and with the recipes it was already becoming one of those epic posts! 
Hopefully I can include that information in Friday’s post.
Why did I make a food plan change?
Some readers have asked why I switched from Weight Watchers to the 17 Day Diet – great question! As I get older and certainly in the past year as I have arrived at Menopause my body, metabolism and hormones have changed. What use to work for weight loss was no longer working for me. My 12 pound weight gain can’t all be blamed on that, there was also some indulgent holiday eating and some emotional eating that added a few pounds. Normally, getting back to healthy, moderate eating would let those pounds drop off in a matter of weeks. Not anymore! I tried counting points and eating my normal healthy diet wtih no weight loss, no body change, no change in how my clothes fit.
I started to gather new information about weight loss for women my age and people with a sluggish metabolism. What I found was that after menopause women are more likely to store carbohydrates as fat instead of burning them. Also as you age you loose muscle mass and if you don’t do something to counter that you have more fat and less lean tissue which slows down the rate at which you burn calories. If you continue to eat as you always have you will in fact gain weight! Light bulb moment here! I knew I needed to change my already healthy food plan and up my exercise plan.
I had read on Sharon’s blog about her success with The 17 Day Diet. We are about the same age and have some of the same struggles with food and losing weight. I had also seen the book and it’s author Dr Mike Moreno on the Dr Phil show. I did some Internet research, watched some interviews of Dr Moreno and some of his success stories and then ordered The 17 Day Diet book.
All of the foods on this plan were chosen because they are the best choices for a healthy diet while promoting losing weight and boosting your metabolism, all without craving carbs. It is structured in a way to help boost your metabolism for weight loss. At this time in my life I need all the help I can get. Simple things like eat your carbohydrates before 2:00 pm so your body has a chance to burn them off. Drinking green tea to help your metabolism and enjoy the extra antioxidants that green tea has. Eating probiotics to help aid the digestion process. Alternating higher and lower carb days to keep my metabolism guessing. The food choices and structure of this food plan were based on scientific studies, that is why they were chosen. I need all these little boosts to lose the weight and keep it off. This plan contains more structure and food guidelines than WW but yet it is easier because I don’t have to count points. At least for now it’s a good fit.
I still think Weight Watchers is an awesome program and food plan. For me right now I need more than counting points. I need my food choices to be the best ones for losing weight, not creating carb cravings, boosting my metabolism and for maintaining my happy weight once I arrive there again. All calories and food points are not created equal.
One of my favorite sayings about healthy food choices comes from Dr Oz, “Think of what you put in your mouth as a prescription for your health and ask yourself if what you are about to eat is something your Dr would prescribe for you.”
See You Friday!
Tami
I am super carb sensitive, too many and that’s all I can think about – more carbs! The last time I craved carbs was day 3 of cycle 1 on this food plan. It’s amazing!
Add Your Thoughts
Are you sensitive to carbohydrates?
18 comments
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Karen@WaistingTime says:
February 15, 2012 at 2:53 pm (UTC -7)
OMG yes! The grain kind most of all. Beans and veggies, no. Fruit, somewhat. I plan to check out the plan someday. I think the part about changing things up to keep our bodies guessing makes a lot of sense.
Jody - Fit at 54 says:
February 15, 2012 at 2:54 pm (UTC -7)
Great recipes!!!!! Love the flowers & gifts too – how wonderful!
I am not on the 17 day diet BUT I so understand the age factor & all the other stuff you wrote about – you know that Tami!
I eat pretty similar to that diet without every having read about it & it came from listening & knowing my bod over time, making small changes as my bod changes & learning from that too. Yup, we have to work harder with age! :-O
Tami says:
February 16, 2012 at 7:29 am (UTC -7)
Jody I think it’s awesome that you figured out your food plan and how to work it to maintain your weight. I admire you for that.
Tish says:
February 15, 2012 at 3:12 pm (UTC -7)
Love the recipes. I’ve made almost the exact same soup except I didn’t think of V8 juice and didn’t add herbs de provence. Thanks for the ideas. I wanted to tell you that your chocolate mousse was a huge hit a our house last night. It was deelish and the perfect end to a special meal.
Good explanation about 17DD. I’m 60 and yes, it’s harder to lose the older you are. I still feel like I’m a weight watcher, though. I’ve learned lots of ideas and recipes and strategies along the way that have helped my weight loss and I use anything I can!
Tami says:
February 16, 2012 at 7:31 am (UTC -7)
Tish someone told me that some people on the WW plan are using the 17DD guidlelines as well as counting points. So glad you enjoyed the chocolate mousse yogurt. It really is a specail treat!
Sharon says:
February 15, 2012 at 3:45 pm (UTC -7)
Oh yeah – Refined carbs and I can’t be friends. I’ve always been that way to a certain degree, but since menopause and thyroid issues, it’s noticeably worse.
Bought ingredients today to make the Chicken Vegetable Soup in the 17DD book, but think I’ll do your version instead.
Tami says:
February 16, 2012 at 7:31 am (UTC -7)
Hope you like the soup as much as we did Sharon. Enjoy!
Andrea@WellnessNotes says:
February 15, 2012 at 4:18 pm (UTC -7)
I made your chocolate mousse last night and loved it! Thanks for sharing it!
I bought the 17 Day Diet book, and I think a lot in the book makes a lot of sense. I’m not sure I’ll ever follow the diet exactly (I never have followed a “diet,” even when I lost a lot of weight) as “diets” just don’t go well with my personality… But I definitely plan on incorporating a lot of the strategies into the way I eat, etc. (which isn’t really all that different from what I’ve been doing for the past few months; one of the things that I have not been doing is alternating high and low carb days, and it’s something I’ll pay more attention to).
Tami says:
February 16, 2012 at 7:33 am (UTC -7)
So glad you enjoyed the mousse Andrea!
It made a lot of us happy! I do think the carb cycling is a great idea and I think it will be quite helpful for me in maintaning my weight once I get back to my happy weight. I’m glad you found the book to be of value to you as well. 
Lori says:
February 15, 2012 at 5:13 pm (UTC -7)
I am sensitive to wheat. I can eat other carbs and be okay. I find I have to eat less carbs than I used to when I was younger. It’s okay with changing up how you eat to what your changing body needs!
Tami says:
February 16, 2012 at 7:33 am (UTC -7)
Having to watch the carbs seems to be a common thread among those of us who have to watch our weight!
Sharon says:
February 15, 2012 at 6:24 pm (UTC -7)
If I eat very many carbs it starts a vicious cyle of craving them. I’m almost 60 and it feels like my metabolism has completely shut down! I’m counting calories and stay around 1200 per day. I’ve got a lot of weight to lose and it is a very slow process. I may check out the 17 Day Diet. Anything that can jumpstart my metabolism is a winner in my book. Although since I’m cooking for my mom who’s on dialysis it’ll be difficult to watch the potassium and phorsphorus levels.
Good luck to you (and me)
Tami says:
February 16, 2012 at 7:35 am (UTC -7)
Sharon the food and eating guidlines in the 17DD are worth giving a try! Wishing you well!
The Candid RD (Gina) says:
February 16, 2012 at 3:41 am (UTC -7)
Nick bought me flowers on the 13th too, but didn’t hide them, he gave them to me. Talk about surprising a girl! 1 day early…..better early than never
Your flowers are beautiful!
I hate to agree with the low carb thing (because it sounds so “fad like”), but even at age 29 I’m noticing that I am sensitive to carbs!).. I get the majorit of my carbs/grains at breakfast and lunch, and then spend the rest of the day burning them off (I think….) then my dinner is veggies and protein. For now, it works well.
Tami says:
February 16, 2012 at 7:36 am (UTC -7)
I find that I am doing so much better with eating lower carb and not having carbs at dinner! It is a simple adjustment but is working wonders.
So glad Nick got you flowers!
Roz@weightingfor50 says:
February 16, 2012 at 9:43 am (UTC -7)
HI Tami. Your flowers are so pretty!!!!! I’m looking forward to reading how the new plan works. And I’ll be checking out the book! Best wishes for your week ahead!! (and thanks so much for the recipes!! As always, they look fantastic!!)
Jenn@slim-shoppin says:
February 17, 2012 at 10:59 am (UTC -7)
Thanks for the info about the diet. I’ve been losing weight slowly but surely but was thinking about lowering my carbs to see if it makes a difference.
I LOVE pasta and have it like 3-4 x a week! Yikes. I’m taking pasta off my menu and see what happens.
Your flowers are awesome!
Jenn @ Cooking Aweigh the Pounds says:
February 28, 2013 at 4:07 pm (UTC -7)
I wanted to let you know that I just had a bowl of this soup for the first time and it was so good! It’s pouring down rain outside and my fingers and toes were frozen, but not anymore! It absolutely chased the rainy day blues away for me. Thanks for sharing this recipe!