Mom-O's Blog

2011-11-03T09:40:00.000-07:00

An Open Letter to God, Dear God, I know you know what is in our hearts. We are a good family. I am not sure why this latest challenge has come upon us. The third lay-off for Dan since 2008. How can anyone sustain these trials anymore? We have nothing left to weather this storm and I am beginning to wonder what's next? I try to remain as positive as I can but the uncertainty of the future and the additional burden it places upon me to find a way to sustain our existence is debilitating. What I am trying to understand is: WHY? Shouldn't good people receive rewards in this life? You know our hearts, you know the ways in which we have always strived to help others. You know how we treat everyone we meet and all those we come into contact with. You know how we watch over the children in our neighborhood making sure they are safe. You know how we always try to uplift others whenever and wherever we can. Please show me your plan! Please let me feel in my heart that we will thrive once again. These past few years have been filled with the most difficult challenges we have ever faced. We won't let it change who we are and how we behave. However, if we don't get a break it could eat us from within. Please hear me!

17 Day Diet Recipes Cycle 1 Peach Whip Desert Custard

2011-04-18T10:53:00.001-07:00

Single Serving Size

1 cup frozen Peaches (or equivalent single serving size of any Cycle 1 fruit)
1/2 cup Probiotic Cottage Cheese
2 tsp Lemon Juice (fresh squeezed)
1/2 tsp Vanilla
2 packets Sweetener
1/8 c Water

Pour all contents into a blender and whip till smooth & fluffy. Grab a spoon!
Counts as 1 fruit allowance and 1 Probiotic Serving

17 Day Diet Cycle 1 Recipe Eggplant Parmesan (Blows the socks off the other E.P. recipes!)

2011-04-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

EGGPLANT PARMESAN
Serving Size: Enough for two!

When I first made this recipe, I used a round perforated Pizza Pan covered in non-stick aluminum foil simply because it was large enough to allow the Eggplant slices to cook all at once; it was the only pan I had that could handle everything in a single batch. I chose to place the Eggplant slices on the bottom rack of the oven, hoping that it would allow the Parmesan to melt quickly and "stick" to the Eggplant. While cooking, I actually had a brain fart and got distracted. Smelling the browning Parmesan, I was delighted with my happy accident when I went to flip the slices halfway through their cooking cycle. They were crispy on the bottom with a nice caramelization of the Parmesan coating. Who needs fried Eggplant when you can have low fat Parmesan crusted Eggplant slices?

1 Medium Eggplant sliced into 1/4 inch slices
2 Egg Whites
1 tsp Italian Seasoning Blend
Salt
Non-Stick Cooking Spray
Non-Stick Aluminum Foil
Perforated Pizza Pan
Low/No Sugar Spaghetti Sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice Eggplant as directed and sprinkle lightly on both sides with salt. Place slices in a colander to allow excess liquid to drain for about 1/2 hour. Cover a perforated Pizza Pan with non-stick aluminum foil and spray lightly with Non-Stick spray.

Pat Eggplant slices dry with a paper towel. Beat together Italian Seasoning and egg whites. Dip Eggplant slices in egg white to coat both sides. Arrange slices on pizza pan so that they are not touching. Sprinkle lightly with Parmesan Cheese, turnover to opposite side and repeat.

Place pizza pan ON BOTTOM RACK of oven and cook for about 5-7 minutes, they will begin to sizzle. Turn over and repeat cooking for 5-7 minutes till the Parmesan browns slightly.

Layer the Parmesan crusted Eggplant slices in a baking dish with a bit of Low/No Sugar Spaghetti Sauce. Top with a few more sprinkles of Parmesan. Return to the oven for about 5-7 minutes till the sauce becomes bubbly and warm.

Counts as a partial Egg allowance and unlimited cleansing vegetables. However, with the Parmesan, you may not want to go crazy.

Quick Version Cheat:
I was starving when I first made this recipe and didn't want to reassemble everything into another dish and bake it. Instead, I schmeered a little Spaghetti Sauce over each slice and ate them right off the pizza pan without any more fanfare.

It was AWESOME! Bon Appetito!

17 Day Diet Cycle 1 Recipe German Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage

2011-04-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

German Sweet & Sour Red Cabbage

Serving Size 4

1 head Red Cabbage quartered, core removed and sliced thinly

4 Apples cored & peeled, chopped into 1/2 inch chunks

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 c Red Wine (alcohol will burn off during cooking)

1/2 c water

1/4 c Apple Cider Vinegar

6-8 packets Sweetener (or more for desired sweetness)

4 whole cloves

1 tsp cinnamon

2 bay leaves

Using a Dutch Oven, saute the onion in olive oil till slightly translucent. Add the chopped apples and continue to saute for 1-2 minutes. Add chopped red cabbage, wine, water, apple cider vinegar, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves. Cook covered simmering gently for about 1 hour or until cabbage is tender. Remove from heat. Stir in Sweetener till well blendend.

Recipe makes four ample servings. Counts as one fruit allowance.

Alternative Serving Options:

For Cycle 1, you could omit one apple and add one serving size chopped prunes for a little added sweetness.

17 Day Diet Cycle 1 Recipe: Layered Baked Ratatouille

2011-04-15T09:51:00.000-07:00

Layered Baked Ratatouille Cycle 1

Serving Size: Unlimited

1 Medium Eggplant Sliced to 1/2 inch slices

1 Red Pepper sliced into rings

1 Yellow Pepper sliced into rings

1 Green Pepper sliced into rings

3 Plum Tomatoes sliced into 1/4 inch rounds

1/2 Yellow Onion thinly sliced

1 c Tomato Juice (no sugar)

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Freshly Grated Black Pepper

1 clove Garlic Crushed & Chopped finely

1/4 tsp Dried Oregano or 1/2 tsp Chopped Fresh Oregano

1/2 tsp Chopped Fresh Thyme

1 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Basil

1 Tbsp Chopped Fresh Italian Flat Leaf Parsley

Non-Fat Parmesan Cheese

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Mix together tomato juice, salt, pepper, crushed garlic, oregano, thyme, basil and parsley into a bowl and let sit while preparing other ingredients. Slice all vegetables as directed. In a round or oblong pan, begin "layering" alternating upright slices of each of the vegetables in an overlapping "domino" fashion so that the Ratatouille circles around the pan. Give the tomato juice and herb mixture another good stir and pour over Ratatouille. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Uncover, sprinkle with parmesan and bake another 10-15 minutes till the top browns slightly.

17 Day Diet CYCLE 1 Recipe Egg Nog "Pancake" with AprIcot "Cheesecake" Topping

2011-04-15T09:28:00.000-07:00

Egg Nog "Pancake" with AprIcot "Cheesecake" Topping

Makes 1 Serving

"Pancake"

1 Whole Egg

2 Egg Whites

1/4 c Probiotic Cottage Cheese

2-3 packets Sweetener

1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/4 tsp Brandy Extract

2 Dashes Nutmeg

Pinch of Salt

Non-Stick Spray

Apricot "Cheesecake" Topping

1/4 c Probiotic Cottage Cheese

2 Tbs Sugar Free Apricot Jam (OR, a single serving size of any of your favorite fruit)

1/8 tsp Vanilla Extract

1-2 packets Sweetener

1/8 tsp Grated Lemon Peel

Preheat an Omelet size pan and spray with Non-Stick Spray. Combine all "Pancake" ingredients in a blender and blend on high till light and frothy (10-15 seconds). Blending till frothy will ensure that the "Pancake" will puff up nicely in the pan. Pour blended ingredients into a pre-heated omelet size pan. Cook on medium high heat till "Pancake" is nearly set. Bubbles will begin to form on the top and "Pancake" begins to puff up. Flip "Pancake" and continue cooking for about 1-2 more minutes till set. Remove from pan and set aside on a plate.

Place remaining "Cheesecake" Topping ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth. Pour over your warm pancake like syrup!

VARIATION:

Any single serving size of chopped fruit will work

Counts as Daily Egg Allowance, 1 Probiotic Serving and 1 Fruit Serving

17 Day Diet CYCLE 1 Recipe Carrot Cake Smoothie

2011-04-15T09:18:00.001-07:00

Carrot Cake Smoothie - Cycle 1

Makes 1 Serving

1 cup cooked carrots (or chopped raw if you prefer)

6 oz Yogurt or 1/2 c Probiotic Cottage Cheese

1 cup ice

1/2 cup water

2-3 packets of Sweetener

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Dash Nutmeg

1/2 tsp Rum or Brandy Extract

Optional:

1 Serving Size Chopped Prunes (one fruit serving)

Place all ingredients EXCEPT Chopped Prunes in a blender and blend on high till smooth.

Sprinkle Prunes on top of frozen smoothie, grab a spoon and a straw and enjoy!

Counts as 1 Probiotic and 1 Fruit Serving

17 Day Diet - CYCLE 1: ACCELERATE RECIPES

2011-04-15T09:10:00.001-07:00

Many of you may have seen the 17 Day Diet book by Dr. Mike Moreno highly promoted by The Doctors and Dr. Phil's television programs.

Out of ENORMOUS frustration with the lack of recipe creativity in the book, and many inaccurate Cycle 1 recipes shown on high profile websites, I've decided to catalog my OWN Recipes for Cycle 1: Accelerate.

I'll also try to post my own challenges and progress so that fellow diet adventurers will know they are not crazy. Misery loves company! ENJOY!

Twitter

2009-05-14T12:21:00.000-07:00

Twitter

Oprah Cake!

2009-02-25T14:44:00.001-08:00

One of my favorite stores on the planet is Trader Joe's. I especially LOVE their Opera Cake. Last night, one of my 8 year old twins saw the Opera Cake box on the counter thawing out and shouted "Wow, Oprah Cake!" He makes me laugh every day! Drop me a line and tell me what your youngin's have said to make you LOL?

Dishes Suck

2009-02-23T11:25:00.001-08:00

I really hate doing dishes. And I can remember the days when I didn't have a dishwasher. But, back then, it was only me and my husband. Now five of us in the house, it is just a mountain of mess that I hate climbing every day. Even with a dishwasher, the clean-up from dinner is no fun; five dishes, five forks, five spoons, five glasses, serving dishes, pots, pans, the stove top. My kids do clear their plates and must rinse them after eating. However, their efforts leave a lot to be desired. My husband is even worse. It is supposed to be his job to clean up since I cook. His idea of "cleaning up" is sticking plastic wrap on any leftovers and putting them in the fridge. He's a giver.

I wonder if there are any studies that determine the difference in water consumption for cleaning your dishes then washing dishes in the dishwasher versus the waste that would be created using paper plates and plastic utensils. Hmmmm?

She's a Growing Girl

2009-02-21T16:37:00.000-08:00

My saddlebags have gotten so big, I've been thinking about buying them buckles!

Does anyone know where to hire a Twitter Sherpa?

2009-02-19T11:29:00.000-08:00

God help me, it must be my age; or I've fallen into a whole bucket of stupid. I can't for the life of me figure out these new internet social networking technologies. If I sign up for Facebook or MySpace, my addled brain can at least wrap around what I've posted and I've been able to connect with a few local friends, but Twitter, are you kidding me????!!! Never mind Hashtags and Pipes. Can't I get arrested for those?

I have about 50 tabs open in my browser because I'm too dull to retrace my steps and find my way back once I've landed on some website that actually resembles the last vestiges of humanity, I tagged it or tweeted it or ... what the hell did I do?? I can't even figure out how I got to some of these places. It's a jungle out there and I need an Internet machete.

I'm trying desperately to remain relevant and at least able to communicate with my future perfect wunderkinds. I've never felt so inept in my life. I can only compare this to my first time on a mimeograph typewriting machine (does anyone even remember those?). I sucked at it. Not only was my typing illegible, I had blue mimeograph ink from pie hole to shoe sole at the end of class. The teacher used to sneer at me because she had to clean the entire machine at the end of the day. I could feel the snicker of miss lightning fingers next to me who did everything perfectly, twit.

So now I've revisited those painful memories as I try to become a mammafly version of super geek. Able to bake a casserole and post a blog with a single keystroke. I have to admit I'm in way over my head. I actually tagged (tweeted, followed???? whatever the heck!!!!!) two total strangers today just because their photos didn't look like axe murderers and they seemed to know what they were doing. Somebody send in the Sherpa!