My Week in Review: Week 12

Total pounds lost: 50.7
Total inches lost: 1.7

Pounds lost this week: 3.5

Inches lost this week: 38

Pounds lost since highest weight: 79.1

Not much to report this week. Gearing up for Summer vacation with the kids, meaning lots of fun in the sun! The husband was so inspired by my new freedom on my bike that we had to go buy one for him too! LOL! Family bike rides in 110 degree heat, here we come!

This week I posted my Nutrition Support-approved recipe for Chile Rellenos and a product review for the Medifast Southwest Eggs.

On the recipe development front, I developed a recipe for pasta-less lasagna, a copycat frappucino (OMFG yum) and egg salad. I'm still working on tweaking them and will be running them by Nutrition Support before posting.

More to come next week!


S

Product Review: Medifast Southwest Eggs

Just tried the Southwest eggs for the first time and was REALLY scared. I've read all the reviews about the eggs but figured that it would be nice to have eggs without having to subtract from my lean.

So as per the other people's reviews, I made them in a pan on the stovetop. Very quickly a scent started wafting up from the pan that reminded me a bit of warm vomit. (Yeah, eww) I freaked out and thought "OMG I ordered an entire box of these!" I added a little sprinkle of garlic and onion powder. Poured them onto the plate preparing myself for the worst...

They looked good, like how egg beaters look after scrambling them. I shakily raised the fork to my mouth and...... I LOVED THEM!

The little bits of red pepper and chile pepper were a bit firm for my tastes, so next time I will try soaking them first (as other reviewers had suggested). But overall, I really enjoyed them! I'm SUPER happy to add another product to my rotation!

Flavor: Tasted like egg beaters with a bit of a southwest flair. I loved the fact that they kinda had a salsa flavor without having to add any condiments

Texture: I cooked these on the stovetop like regular scrambled eggs, and if I hadn't known they were powdered to start, I would have just assumed they were egg beaters. Soaking them for a little while prior to cooking helped soften up the pepper bits and really improved the texture (not that it was bad as is, just added a little depth).

Portion size:  Good size, another filling option!

Would I order it again: Absolutely. I wish I'd ordered more than one box, since I've only had them a few days and I'm already three packets down! YUM! (I'm off to make them for lunch as we speak! LOL) 

Chile Rellenos

***Recipe approved by Medifast Nutrition Support May 2013.***

Sorry it took me so long to get this post written! Life is always crazy in the summer around my house. I had wanted to get a better picture for this recipe, but I haven't made the recipe again. I had SO many people asking for the recipe I figured I should just get it up there and update this post when I take a new (prettier) picture. Also, the picture below is the recipe without chicken. They will be a bit fatter with the chicken in there :)

I have been craving Chile Rellenos since I started Medifast, but figured there was NO way I'd be able to find a recipe that met the Medifast guidelines because rellenos are traditionally stuffed with cheese, then batter dipped and fried to a crispy golden brown and topped with a green tomatillo sauce. Personally, I prefer my non-fried version, and really, I didn't miss the sauce at ALL (but you could add tomato sauce etc to this and deduct it from your green).

Then, out of nowhere, the idea came to me: whipped egg whites. So I set off trying to figure out how to make a savory meringue. I was a little baffled at how I'd "batter-dip" the rellenos into the meringue, but I figured I'd deal with that later. 

I know the recipe seems odd with the egg whites, but trust me, these are AMAZING. (I ate this every day for four days until the leftovers were gone, and I'm STILL craving it).

Chile Rellenos

Ingredients:
12 whole green chiles (canned)
6 egg whites
3.5 ounces cooked, finely shredded chicken
12 oz part-skim mozzarella
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a bowl, mix together 10 ounces part-skim mozarella cheese with 3.5 ounces cooked, shredded chicken, 1/2 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 tsp onion powder. Set aside.

Whip the egg whites on high with 1/2 tsp of cream of tartar, 1/2 tsp garlic powder and 1/2 tsp onion powder until stiff peaks form. This took about five-ish minutes for my Kitchenaid stand mixer.

Spray a 9 x 13 glass baking dish with cooking spray. Spread half of the whipped egg whites on the bottom of the pan.

Carefully remove the canned chiles, split down one side and place a tablespoon or two (depending on the size of the chile) onto the opened chile. Fold the chile around the filling and press the filled chile into the mixture, lining them up like you would an enchilada. Make sure to press the chile into the eggs so the eggs envelop the sides of the chile. Repeat the process for the remaining 11 chiles, lining them up like you would if you were making enchiladas.

Spread the remaining whipped egg whites over the chiles and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Remove from oven, increase the temperature to 450 degrees, remove foil and return to the oven for another ten-ish minutes until the cheese on top is bubbly and the eggs are browned a bit. (See above picture).

This is best served fresh from the oven (let it sit a few minutes to let the cheese settle before serving). However, reheated leftovers are amazing too.

Servings: 4 (3 chile rellenos = 1 serving)

Medifast calculations (per serving): 1 lean, 1.5 green, 1.25 condiments

Recipe Copyright 2013 Shelley Watters

My Week In Review: Week 11

Total pounds lost: 46
Total inches lost: 36.3

Pounds lost this week: 2.1

Inches lost this week: 5.8

Pounds lost since highest weight: 74.4

Mommy's Shrinking!

So I've come to the conclusion that, at least for me, my weight loss alternates between pounds and inches. If I have a great poundage loss week, the inches lost is small. But, the next week I have a low poundage loss, but high inches lost. As long as something on me is shrinking, I'm happy!

My 3 year old said the sweetest thing to me the other day, completely out of the blue. I haven't really discussed my weight loss in front of them, so to have her say it just floored me. She said "Mommy, you're shrinking!" Out of the mouth of babes....

So I finally figured out how to make a photo collage. lol. Here's a before and "during" picture. The first was at my highest weight, the second was of me 75lbs down (46 down and counting thanks to Medifast). It's just crazy to see the side-by-side, and actually makes me a little sick to my stomach. I didn't realize until seeing them side-by-side just how much I've changed, because when I look in the mirror I still see the same person as the before picture.

Two Wheeled Fun

For Mother's day, my lovely family bought me my first bike in over 15 years! I was always too scared of popping the tires/bending the wheels to ever sit my fat butt on a bike. But after dropping nearly fifty pounds, I decided to give it a go, and discovered that not only do they make bikes to fit large riders, but that I fit just fine within the weight limits of regular bikes!

I've been on two bike rides (around the park) and LOVE my new bike! It's such a nice feeling knowing I'm doing something that not only counts as exercise, but is FUN while doing it! Woot!

Recipes 

With the school year coming to an end, I'm finding myself strapped for time. So, I've been making my standard recipes (the ones on the blog so far) for most of my lean & greens. I did, however, come up with two new recipes over the past two weeks, I just haven't had time to blog them! Those are for Chile Rellenos and Big Macs! The Chile Relleno recipe has been approved by Nutrition Support and will be posted soon. The next time I make the Big Mac recipe I'll remember to take a picture and will post when I do! Keep checking back because I will be posting the Chile Relleno recipe soon!

Product Reviews

I've worked up a couple product reviews that will be posted soon. They are for the Medifast Southwest Eggs, Sloppy Joe Mix, and Lemon Meringue bars. All of them = YUM! :) Again, stay tuned, because I haven't posted them yet (I've been SOOOO busy!) but plan to soon!

My Week In Review: Week 10

Total pounds lost: 44
Total inches lost: 30.5

Pounds lost this week: 5.1

Inches lost this week: 2.5

Pounds lost since highest weight: 72.4

Sorry I didn't update for week 10 - life has been crazy around here! 

My Week In Review: Week 9

Total pounds lost: 38.9
Total inches lost: 28

Pounds lost this week: 3.1 

Inches lost this week: 1.5
(I changed what I was tracking for inches lost this week - adding in an area that I knew the initial measurement for - that's why you see a HUGE inches lost # this week. For the usual tracking, I lost 1.5 inches this week and 20 inches overall :) )

Time Flies When You're.... Losing Weight???

I'm thrilled with my weight loss this week. After last week's stall, anything I lost that is more than 0 is a good week! I still need to wean myself off of weighing daily, since sometimes it will go UP or not budge for a few days. That's SO depressing when that happens! (But I know it will go down so long as I'm staying 100% on-plan

I'm absolutely floored at the fact that I've just finished up week 9 on Medifast. I can't believe how much I've lost, and how much my body, energy, mood, and everything else has changed in such a short amount of time!

I really didn't expect to be here at just nine weeks on the program. I had this unrealistic goal of being at my goal weight by the end of the year. While I can't guarantee it'll happen, it's looking more realistic now!

Change Your Perspective by Changing Your Perspective

I'm not sure if it's because of how easy I've found its been for me to stick with my Medifast plan, or the support I've received on the Medifast boards, or watching SO many other people on the boards losing hundreds of pounds and hitting their goal weight (and STAYING there), but I feel my perspective on weight loss changing.

Prior to starting Medifast, I felt like losing weight was an impossible dream. I'd done Atkins. I'd done Weight Watchers. I'd done the Mayo Clinic diet. I'd tried the prescribed pills (ewwwww by the way). Every time, I'd lose about 30 lbs, hit a plateau, then gain it all back (plus some). This is the first time that I've been on a plan and thought "This is EASY. I can DO this." I don't see that goal as a far-off unattainable number. I know that if I stick with the plan, and don't cheat, the weight will continue to melt off until I'm at that magical number that seemed more like travelling to Mars than an attainable goal.

Maybe that's why this plan is working for me. Because I know it WILL work for me, as long as I do my part. And that's adhering to the plan, 100%, no excuses, no cheating. I've done it for two and a half months. I can do it until I hit my goal. And when that happens, oh, baby, will I have a party! (Complete with a watermelon cake like this one, lol)

If you've tried everything else and have found it hasn't worked for you, I'd suggest ordering a two-week supply of Medifast and going balls-to-the-wall for two weeks. See how much weight you can lose in two weeks. See if you like/can stand the food. See how great you feel after you're a few pounds lighter. See if that donut tastes as amazing as your body being healthier feels.

That's what I did. Nine weeks later, I'm 40 lbs. thinner. I'm a million times healthier. I'm off my medications. I'm exercising every. single. day. I'm in the best shape I've been since high school. I wouldn't trade this feeling for anything in the world, especially not some greasy fat-laden cheeseburger. Nothing tastes as great as skinny feels. And I'm not skinny yet, but I'm working on it! :)

Recipes

I've gotten a little lax this week in terms of developing new recipes. I've had a lot going on with my internship and in my writing career and haven't had much time to devote to trying new things. I did make a Pesto Salad Pizza that was TO DIE FOR, but I need to correct the recipe, now that I've gotten Nutrition Support's feedback on my original crust recipe. (If you want to try it in the meantime, just reduce the cheese in the crust from 1/2 cup to 3/8 cup).

I also started a page with general "FAQ" type stuff about Medifast, more for my own reference than for anyone else's. It's that parking spot for all the stuff I've had to google, found the answer for, didn't bookmark, and had to google all over again. Stuff like where Laughing Cow Cheese fits into the plan, etc. If you have anything to add, just comment and I'll add it to the list!