Mushroom Pizza

This was a delicious little concoction I came up with for lunch today.  For the zucchini and eggplant, I found a frozen mixed bag at Trader Joe's, but you could also use leftovers if you have any.  Get creative and enjoy!

1 large Portabello mushroom, stem removed
2 Tbsp Marinara sauce
1-2 Tbsp shredded mozzarella cheese (or whatever you prefer)
4 slices pepperoni
1 slices grilled zucchini, cut into bite size pieces
1 slice grilled eggplant, cut into bite size pieces 

If I had a small convection oven, that's what I would have used to cook this quickly.  Alas, I do not, so I used my stove top grill and put a Pyrex cooking dish over it to keep the heat in.  Cook until the cheese is melted and the mushroom is warmed through.

Blogging this one was an afterthought so the picture isn't the best, but here it is anyway.

Sweater Re-purposed!

Well, it hasn't been completely re-purposed yet, but it's well on the way! I bought this little bolero when I was in California a couple of years ago at a thrift store.  I think I wore it once and it's been in my closet ever since.  I finally came to the conclusion that it wasn't very practical because it was short sleeves and wool/acrylic blend.  It was also kinda dated.  So instead of tossing it to the Goodwill pile, I started unraveling.  This proved to be way more tedious than I thought it would be, but the end result is satisfying.  And I know I couldn't have bought this quality yarn anywhere for what I paid for the sweater (probably less than $1 as it was in a bunch of clothes I think I paid $10).  It's a bulky weight yarn and I yielded about 324 g.  Not bad, I'd say!  Now to come up with a project to put this lovely yarn to use...

Sushi!

I went with a friend to a great Thai restaurant that I have frequented in the past, yet have never gotten the sushi before. It was wonderful! I think what made it so good was how accommodating they were. We were very picky! My friend said we were acting like super models the way we were ordering our food. No rice, sub cucumbers. "Is there sugar in this?" You get the picture. It was presented beautifully and tasted fresh and delicious! Instead of rice, they used a very mild tasting radish (I think it may be the same Korean radish used in Kim chee).



On a side note, the diet is going great! I feel amazing, and I'm only drinking ONE cup of regular coffee a day! I have been drinking quite a bit of green tea, but that is supposedly good for me. I'm sleeping well and have way more energy during the day. At night I do start feeling tired, but I hear that's normal - exhausted is not normal!

Curried Chicken Salad

This is the first recipe I'm trying on my new diet. It was delicious, and I didn't feel like I was eating diet food. It's a beautiful color from the curry powder, and the fresh fruit added a sweet tropical note. To drink I had a Cheribundi mocktail - tart cherry juice with lemon flavored LaCroix sparkling water.









Ingredients
2 cups poached chicken, cut into chunks or shredded
1 1/2 cups sliced celery
1 cup chopped apples
1/2 cup fresh pineapple, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 tbsp lemon juice
Curry mayo (recipe below - you will have leftovers, don't put it all in the salad!)

Combine all ingredients, refrigerate and enjoy! This makes around 4 servings.

Curry Mayonnaise

1 large egg
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground white pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup safflower oil

Place everything except for the oil in a blender or food processor. Process 5 seconds in a blender, or 15 seconds in food processor. With the motor running, add the oil in a slow, steady stream. When all the oil has been added, stop the motor and test for consistency. If the sauce is too thick, thin with a small amount of hot water or lemon juice. If too thin, process a little longer.

New Diet

After several diets and no success, I finally came across a diet that I am desperately hoping will work. It's not just that I want to lose weight, but I want to be HEALTHY! I had a chiropractor friend diagnose me as, well, I'm not sure I got an official diagnosis. What he did tell me is that my adrenals are shot and he was surprised that I could even function. Functioning has not been my strong suit for the past several months. I'd say I'm more or less running on fumes. I tried HCG and it worked for a few days, but then, even after strictly adhering to the 500 calorie a day menu and taking my HCG drops, I stopped losing weight!!! A plateau was predicted, but mine held on longer than it was supposed to despite trying the plateau breaker - TWICE! Yes, this was very frustrating.

After I finished a more than usual stressful run with a friend the other day, she suggested that I look up a diet that would help re-build my adrenals... Hmm.. Why on earth had I not thought of that?!?! I'm usually the research queen, especially when it comes to health. When I did my research, I found that "brain fog" is a symptom of adrenal fatigue. Interesting.

I'm just starting the diet. I took a quiz to help me figure out what my body type is (even though I pretty much already knew I was adrenal). I got kind of emotional because it was the first place I found an accurate description of how I've been feeling and that there is a solution (other than eat better and exercise more - something I'd been trying to do and failing). I'm not promoting this particular plan, it was the first of only a few that looked like professionals were behind it, so I bought the eBook and am hoping that this one actually works. Here's a link to the quiz I took and there's a link to buy the book after the quiz.

Dr. Berg's Body Type Quiz
I'll post a recipe I tried today that was delicious and completely friendly to my tired adrenals.