Thursday, November 3, 2011

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!

Monday, April 18, 2011

17 Day Diet Recipes Cycle 1 Peach Whip Desert Custard

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

Friday, April 15, 2011

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

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!