Ladies!!! I usually get the "Shrimp Trio" platter at Joes Crab Shack! That is my favorite! How do I make that an OP meal?!?!? LOL If I am going to take a Fat/Carb blocker...I planned to make it worth it!;)...a salad?? Really??

Here is the recipe for Zucchini chips:

2 large zucchini
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp each: Mrs. Dash Original, cracked pepper
2 cloves garlic, freshly minced.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray cookie sheet with Pam. Thinly slice Zucchini. Mix ingredients and toss zucchini in the mixture. (I use a large ziplock bag to do this) Arrange in single layer and bake for 25 minutes! YUMMY!!

ps...you can use any seasonings, really. Whatever suites your taste! Enjoy!!

Thank you for the dinner tips...really. I am sure we will have tons of fun, and food won't make or break that!

Tami:flow2:

Originally Posted by JenB72:
Believe it or not, I actually have done Joe's Crab Shack pretty much OP. I got a Chicken Caeser Salad (grilled chicken) and had them hold the Caeser dressing (TONS of calories). I used a bit of honey mustard instead (one thing I haven't given up) and still managed to lose.

This place is one of my favorites too. Since I can have crab legs every once in awhile I go here and get steamed broccoli, crab legs (no butter), if going for lunch I ask for oranges from the bar. I normally forget my starch but I'm sure they will bring you crackers or some bread. They are awesome for helping out with my limits. (at least mine is)

Originally Posted by Tamikl:
Ladies!!! I usually get the "Shrimp Trio" platter at Joes Crab Shack! That is my favorite! How do I make that an OP meal?!?!? LOL If I am going to take a Fat/Carb blocker...I planned to make it worth it!;)...a salad?? Really??

Here is the recipe for Zucchini chips:

2 large zucchini
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp each: Mrs. Dash Original, cracked pepper
2 cloves garlic, freshly minced.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray cookie sheet with Pam. Thinly slice Zucchini. Mix ingredients and toss zucchini in the mixture. (I use a large ziplock bag to do this) Arrange in single layer and bake for 25 minutes! YUMMY!!


ps...you can use any seasonings, really. Whatever suites your taste! Enjoy!!

Thank you for the dinner tips...really. I am sure we will have tons of fun, and food won't make or break that!

Tami:flow2:

thanks for the recipe :-)
Peggy

Originally Posted by Tamikl:
If I am going to take a Fat/Carb blocker...I planned to make it worth it!;)...a salad?? Really??

I was told to take the F&C Blockers anytime I eat out (even with a salad). The F&C Blockers only work to a certain point though (can't remember the amount of Fat & Carbs it blocks, but there is a specific number). It doesn't block all F&C. I guess it's up to you which is more "worth it." Having a completely off plan meal or staying reasonably on plan and not having a stall in your weight loss. Only you can make that decision.

knox mix
 

i got the knox unflavored mix becuz i saw on some of these threads... what do i do with it? :-) i added some to my HNS powder to make my drink but what is it good to mix with and why? haha, saw in grocery store and forgot why i wanted it!! maybe to make on plan desserts? ...thks!

Originally Posted by bigdog:
i got the knox unflavored mix becuz i saw on some of these threads... what do i do with it? :-) i added some to my HNS powder to make my drink but what is it good to mix with and why? haha, saw in grocery store and forgot why i wanted it!! maybe to make on plan desserts? ...thks!

I am not sure, but was it for the cheesecake recipe out of cook book?

Patzi

Originally Posted by bigdog:
i got the knox unflavored mix becuz i saw on some of these threads... what do i do with it? :-) i added some to my HNS powder to make my drink but what is it good to mix with and why? haha, saw in grocery store and forgot why i wanted it!! maybe to make on plan desserts? ...thks!

Some ladies use the Knox with an HNS to make more varieties of gelatin. And as Patzi said, it is also used in the cheesecake recipe. If you open up the recipes thread and use the search feature (just type in Knox), it will give you the posts that have Knox in it. :)

Naughty Nachos
 

just had dinner out w/ the in-laws and ordered seafood nachos thinking i'd just have a couple chips (40 cal), eat the cheese, shrimp and crab, lettuce, tomatoes. ended up taking 1/2 home but ate prob. 10 chips, feel stuffed!!!! came home and am drinking tons of water and had a HNS.... i swear if i got on the scale right now, i'd gained 5 lbs!! they had a wonderful salad entree w/ shrimp i should have got but i've been eating 2 salads daily and just couldn't order it!! BAD Naughty nachos!!! :devil:

Originally Posted by JenB72:
I was told to take the F&C Blockers anytime I eat out (even with a salad). The F&C Blockers only work to a certain point though (can't remember the amount of Fat & Carbs it blocks, but there is a specific number). It doesn't block all F&C. I guess it's up to you which is more "worth it." Having a completely off plan meal or staying reasonably on plan and not having a stall in your weight loss. Only you can make that decision.

95% of the time I am OP...even when I eat out. However, because I feel like my personal weightloss journey is a "marathon" for me...not a "foot race," I justify a fun out to dinner once in a while...and especially when I am on vacatioin :) I guess I am really not in a huge hurry to lose all of my weight...slow and steady works for me :)

Tami

I'm back from my girls' weekend and Cheesecake Factory dinner, and...I'm happy with the way things worked out. I did eat off plan for the dinner, but I ate a very reasonable portion, and I didn't stuff myself or binge. The day after we ate lunch at a mongolian grill type place, and that was pretty much OP, except it had a ton of salt. Tonight was the real challenge. My husband and baby are still away visiting family, so I kept thinking about takeout for dinner...I literally thought about it for at least three hours of my four hour drive home.

It was sooo tempting-- I'm already "off plan" lol, a very rare night to myself, etc. I also didn't have anything OP for dinner in the house. I ended up drinking an HNS to take the edge off the hunger, which put me more in control, and then I ate a bar since I didn't want to cook and didn't have anything prepped, and the problem has passed.

I'm so proud of myself. Just last month, I would have used this as an excuse to eat off plan today and even possibly tomorrow when I go shopping. Since I weathered it tonight, I feel super in control about tomorrow, and it's a great feeling. This is the kind of thing I'll have to do when I get to maintenance. There will be times when I eat stuff that's super bad for me, but I just need to learn how to get right back into healthy eating and not let the bad meal turn into ten or even more.

The best news? Even though I had planned not to, I weighed myself, and I think I have about a half pound of gain. With all of the sodium and less water since I was driving and didn't want to stop every 20 minutes, I really think that half pound will go away quickly. I don't WI until Tuesday, so I have a whole day to drink up and get back to where I was or even lose this weekend-- I'm in total shock, and I'm so excited to see where I end up by the end of the month.

Happy Labor Day everyone. I hope you are all doing well on this holiday weekend.

Patzi, I did have a couple questions about stabilization. Today is my Day 1 on Week 3 adding back dairy. My first question is, can I have the dairy at any time of the day or does it have to be with breakfast? Secondly, can I have half a cup of milk with breakfast and half with lunch, or should it all be consumed at the same time? And lastly, if I can split up the dairy, can I mix the different on program dairy (like a half cup of milk with a half cup of yogurt)? Thanks!

Losing Weight Is Very "Labor-Intensive" Happy Labor Day Everyone!
 

Raven I see that you are going back on Pre-Conditioning. Has anyone else done this? I am so tired of getting to 142 then hitting a wall.

This time I got a fever, tummy virus and then injured my back. My weight instantly shot up by 4 lbs. :mad: I was eating very little because anything I ate was coming right back out! I skipped WI on Saturday, because I felt so horrible, so will WI tomorrow (Tuesday). I'm sure they will have another suppliment to recommend!

Does anyone have any advice to push me past this point?! Should I try the Plateau -buster again or go back to pre-conditioning????

THANKS!!

~Connie~

Originally Posted by Junie04:
Happy Labor Day everyone. I hope you are all doing well on this holiday weekend.

Patzi, I did have a couple questions about stabilization. Today is my Day 1 on Week 3 adding back dairy. My first question is, can I have the dairy at any time of the day or does it have to be with breakfast? Secondly, can I have half a cup of milk with breakfast and half with lunch, or should it all be consumed at the same time? And lastly, if I can split up the dairy, can I mix the different on program dairy (like a half cup of milk with a half cup of yogurt)? Thanks!

June.. My dairy consisted of soy dairy as I am lactose intolerant to milks and yogurt. Can eat some things, but try not do. But I followed the dairy stabilization using soy.

I was told to take one dairy every day of the week. No special time. However, I was told during this week, starch was to be at lunch 3 x that week, and fruit at breakfast 3 x this week.

For first week, if it was me, I would stay on the program they say, take one dairy every day, as there must be a reason for this. Personally I would not split the times of the dairy, but take it once a day. I would try splitting the dairy1/2milk and1/2 dairy and see how you do on the scale. if you gain, stop it and go back to the same dairy once during the day... Don't be apprehensive of experimenting. The scale always tells me if I have made the incorrect decision.

If you wait to Week 5, you add another dairy, so you would be having two dairy a day, and then you can split up to two differnt times a day.

Let me know if you have any questions, maybe I was not clear on what I wrote. Oh,I forgot.. I was told to have two HNS per day this week as a snack.

Patzi

Connie in Colorado..

When I was sick due to tooth problems,my weight went up, but I just went back to my regular menu,staying OP, and the next weigh in I had a loss.. I don't know of anyone that was ever told to go back to preconditioning once they were on the diet, but maybe centers are different.. Personally,I feel , being sick is something that happened, you did nothing wrong. If you feel you are stuck , I would definately speak to the consultant and have them work with you to get out of that plateau. This has always worked for me.And like I have said over and over, don't let anyone push supplements on your. Last week they were pusing a new COQ10, and I said no thanks. They went on to tell me the ins and out of it, and I told them I already take it which was true and I was not interested.. Wish they would not do this to their clients.

Good luck..

Patzi

Hi all and Happy September. It's been a while since I've posted. School has started and I've been super busy. I spoke with my center and worked it out to only weigh in on Sat. mornings and check in once. My kids have soccer practice 4 times per week and I can't make it to the center in time for twice a week WI. One would be in the evening and one in the morning. So... I stayed OP the best I could this last week. The first couple of days I did so much talking to my students I didn't get my water in. :( Saturday came around and I stopped in to the center. Saturdays are super busy. I had no idea. They told me it would be an hour wait!!! Needless to say, that didn't fit in to my schedule since I had my son and he had a hair appointment 40 minutes later. By the time I could go back to weigh in they were closed. I was very frustrated. I emailed them and let them know how my week went and that I did try to weigh in. Hopefully they won't give me too much grief for missing a WI. If so, oh well. I tried. I think they should schedule more people to work that day.
Went to a BBQ last night. I took my Fat/Carb blockers and did have a few chips and some dip. The salty snacks seem to be my weakness. Back OP today.
I want to say congrats to the losers this week. If we didn't lose, it will come. I agree that slow and steady is the way to go! Good luck to everyone.

Hi ....
I had maintenance weigh in this morning and lost 1/2 pound, which brought me to 5 pounds under goal... I received two free weeks for losing during holiday.. I was glad of that..

Congrats to all those that stayed on program and lost..

Patzi

I have a lot of catching up to do.. but wanted to pop in and say Hello to everyone and I hope everyone had a safe & happy holiday weekend.

I spent the majority of the weekend packing all my mom's things from her ex-boyfriends house. I HATE packing dishes & china! So this weekend we will be renting the U-Haul to move it all out and into a storage unit, for now.

I was invited to a BBQ Saturday night. The menu was - hot dogs, hamburgers, brats, baked beans and grilled potatoes that had butter, bacon & onions in with it. I made a huge salad and took that over with a turkey patty for me. I also took some melba toast. My friend had put the burgers on the grill and then put my turkey patty on and everyone was like "where's my turkey patty? I want a turkey patty!" Who knew?!? I apologized and told them if I would have known, I would have brought more. Anyway - it was great hanging out with friends and doing my thing.

Yesterday was a relaxing day and I pretty much lounged around in my jammies! Felt good to do nothing.

WI this morning and wasn't sure how things were going to go but was sure I had lost a pound or two... I was down 3.5lbs since Friday. :D Wish my center was giving away free weeks but they are only doing a drawing for $50 in Metabucks. I'm sure there will only be 1 winner. Kinda stinks but oh well.

Anyway - I have to get back to work. Congrats to all the losers!!

Candi...
Great weight loss and be proud of yourself keeping OP during the barbecue..
I had a barbecue , also, and what a challenge.. I brought my own turkey burgers and I atelots of salad , and some raw veggie with salsa vs. the dip. It was rough, as there was all kinds of different salads like potato, etc. nachos, cold fried chicken, but I was full with what I brought, and my weigh in made me happy that I did not
eat all the fattening food. I did have a glass of wine, but I allow myself that when I hit maintenace, and I can have it without gaining, so that is a plus. When I hit maintenance, started making my turkey burgers , which I call Greek Burgers with feta cheese , some veggies and herbs.. My turkey burgers when like lightning. Like your barbecue, people asking if there were more. I am very glad for you and your weight loss.

Patzi

Ladies I did terrible! I ate off program every day from Fri - Mon and I'm up 1.6 pounds on my home scale (thier scale is always more). I WI tomorrow and want to be down so I get more free weeks...I know most of the weight is from salt. How can I get this off in time?!? I really feel like a loser (and not the good kind). Any magic trick to get back down in 24 hours? :-( I am back op today, but that's not going to help me tomorrow. I'm sucking down the water as fast as my body will take it in and trying my best not to eat anything.

Originally Posted by coarkkayaker:
Ladies I did terrible! I ate off program every day from Fri - Mon and I'm up 1.6 pounds on my home scale (thier scale is always more). I WI tomorrow and want to be down so I get more free weeks...I know most of the weight is from salt. How can I get this off in time?!? I really feel like a loser (and not the good kind). Any magic trick to get back down in 24 hours? :-( I am back op today, but that's not going to help me tomorrow. I'm sucking down the water as fast as my body will take it in and trying my best not to eat anything.

I'm not really sure about this - but a little extra exercise today might help but nothing that would hurt your muscles and cause you to retain water. I take a B6 everyday but if I feel bloated or want to get rid of water weight, I take 2. And if you take trace minerals, taking an extra one sometimes help.

Good Luck! And don't beat yourself up too bad about it. Think positive and stay on track today. :hug:

Congratulations to all the losers out there. I am not able to join in your group this week!

Patzi, thanks for the advice. I will stick to my dairy only once a day. Your Greek turkey burgers sound great. Can you share the recipe? Thanks!

Hey, everyone! Just checking in to say I got my 3 weeks. Didn't think it was going to happen (I even said on the way back to the scales that it would take a miracle). Somehow, I got my miracle and lost a pound since last Thursday.

Ever just have one of those days? Lets just say it started when I left my breakfast and lunch at home (praying I left it in the fridge and not on the counter) and it all went downhill from there. :cry:

Hi ladies! Well, I am in San Diego right now with my hubby :) I love this place!

All is going well so far...yesterday was mostly a travel day, so I did have some airplane nuts/pretzels...Subway dinner...nutra bars for breakfast planned for the week. It is all good. Not feeling any guilt at the moment :) I am drinking water...keeping my pretty 24 oz cup with me at all times! Even at the airports, I could go up to any restaurant and they would fill it up with ice and water for me...worked great :)

I already know of 3 restaurants planned for dinner this week, but I am happy with the breakfast/lunch plans I have pre-arranged each day so that I can enjoy those. Reservations at "Bennihanas" tonight...what could be better than watching them cook right in front of you?! Now I will know exactly what I am putting in my mouth :)...LOL

Keep plucking along "one day at a time" ladies! Just jump right back up when we fall, right?!

Tami:love:

Junie...
I never measure, but write down what I do most of the time Each time I
make the turkery burgers, I may add something else. I make these and freeze them, and take them out as I need them.They are best on the barbecue.


Turkey Burgers.
Lean ground turkey( have also made with lean ground chicken)
Spinach( 1 box frozen),defrost, drain and squeeze real well.When putting in recipe, separate the strands of spinach .

I saute lightly diced onions, celery and pepper & about 2 cloves of garlic.

I alternate grill seasonings, McCormick's has a nice one, when I use
McCormick's grill seasoning, I also use approx. 2 tsp. of dried oregano,
No Salt,Pepper both to taste. Grill seasoning is strong to me, I use 1/2tablespoon.

FF feta crumbles. I like the tomato and basil. If I can't find FF, I use
low fat. I use about 1/4- 1/2 of the box, but ok to use less ,

Mix all together and drizzle with small amt. of extra virgin olive oil. and mix again lightly.

Make your burgers . I make big fat ones.. Just love the cheese going thru them.

Patzi

Way to go on your loss Jen.

Tami - keep it up, you'll feel so much better about yourself!

coarkkayaker-- I've also read that adding lemon to your water acts as a mild diuretic, so you might try that, too. I love lemon in my water anyway.

I was so happy at WI today-- I was down 1/2 lb., even after my meal at the Cheesecake Factory. I did eat whatever I wanted, but I didn't stuff myself, and then I got right back OP. That was tough, but I'm so happy I didn't let it turn into a bigger cheat than I had planned.

Today I also went to my doctor for something else, but while there, I asked about the low blood pressure I have been having. I always run low-- usually 105-110/55-65, but lately (shortly after starting MRC) it's been in the 90s/50s, and at the doctor's today, it was 88/48. I've had times where I just felt sapped with no energy, but it hasn't been a huge all-the-time issue.

I honestly didn't think it was MRC because I didn't have this issue the last time I did it, but after telling him what I'm eating, he thinks it's a combination of (one, that I naturally have low BP) too low of salt and too much water. He did a heart check and everything, and I had just had a full lab a few weeks ago, so he just said it was a triple whammy for me-- any salt that's there to help keep some water in me is getting flushed out from all the water.

Anyhow, I'm going to give his suggestions a try, and it honestly feels so freeing. Aside from hoping to feel better, I'm just so happy to not have to worry so much about sodium or about drinking so much water. He said to stick to about 8 glasses a day and unless it was crazy hot and I was sweating it all out, any more is not helpful to WL (I know MRC would disagree). He also confirmed what I alreaady believed about sodium-- that it has no effect on fat burn, but it can make you hold water, so that's why MRC doesn't want you to have it-- it makes your BP look a lot better, and you don't fluctuate due to water from WI to WI. Because they have you WI twice a week, holding water can really mess with your head.

Anyway, I told my consultant today about my water and sodium changes, and she was great about it. I'm really hoping this is the culprit. I just wanted to mention this in case anyone else might be having a similar issue.

Oh-- also, in case anyone is interested, he didn't have any problem with the diet itself except to say that it would be almost impossible to sustain for the long term, and the calorie intake is drastically low (which is one of the reasons we get such fast WL, imo). When I explained about stabilization/maintenance and adding foods back, though, he thought it sounded like a healthy enough option if that was how I wanted to do it.

Hello everyone! You are giving me inspiration to stay the course and commit. So in the spirit of the string, I am going to set my first goal --- I want to lose 16 pounds in September! My theory for this month is Go Big or Go Home!

Good luck to everyone!

tkdtara84 thanks for the info from your doctor. I have always been afraid to tell my doctor because I thought he would be negative about it. I knew it was low calorie intake because my trainer had made a comment about how low it was. Also good to know about the water.

I went to WI today. I hand her my food sheet, she takes a look and says, "looks like you had a rough weekend." I was confused at first, but then remembered we went to a local bbq restaurant Friday night and I had a chicken breast (OP), but they had NO salad of any kind! Their sides were all potato salad, FRIED okra, baked beans, french fries (you get the picture!). Sooo, I took 3-4 small bites of the potato salad and counted that as my veggies. I also ate HALF of my piece of toast for my starch. All things considered...I didn't think I did THAT bad! So, after I explained that one, she was still looking at my sheet, so I asked, "What else is on there?" She said, "Oh, I was talking about the ribs." I had those at home Sat. night bc my husband loves to eat them when football is on so he made them! I didn't realize that was soooo bad! I have actually had them one or two other times since on MRC and the consultants (different one) didn't say a word! I know they aren't listed on the sheet, but still, I measured 4 oz and all I had with them was salad and 1/2 100 calorie eng muffin. He's been so good about eating my OP meals with me that I felt like I could give him this one perk once in awhile!

I was sure glad I had passed up the pizza and birthday cake at my nephew's one year birthday party! She'd of had a hay day with that one!

Oh well, she didn't have much more to say when I WI and was down a pound!

Originally Posted by stone3973:
tkdtara84 thanks for the info from your doctor. I have always been afraid to tell my doctor because I thought he would be negative about it. I knew it was low calorie intake because my trainer had made a comment about how low it was. Also good to know about the water.

Yes, I was nervous about explaining the details, too, but I felt like I had to since I thought it might be affecting my BP somehow. When I was on MRC before, I kept track on sparkpeople.com, and the caloric intake including HNS was only 950-1050, which is much lower than most plans recommend. He looked a little shocked when I said that, but I explained why I wasn't hungry (mainly protein and veggies, I think!), so like I said-- he thinks it's healthy for the short term. Last time toward the end (in about the sixth month), I did start to lose a significant ammount of hair. Luckily, I have thick hair, so it wasn't really noticable. I wouldn't want to stay on this very long, but I do love the fast results.

He also said my nutrition was good (based on enzymes or something in my bloodwork), so that's encouraging!


[QUOTE=Goneforgood1128;4022993]"Oh, I was talking about the ribs." I had those at home Sat. night bc my husband loves to eat them when football is on so he made them! I didn't realize that was soooo bad! I have actually had them one or two other times since on MRC and the consultants (different one) didn't say a word! QUOTE]

I ate ribs several times when I ate with my parents last time. They are a bit more fatty, but I tried to eat around that. I also ate them without bbq sauce or at least with very very little. It didn't bother me, either. I think stuff like that is okay once in a while, as long as it doesn't seem to bother your WL, and it doesn't sound like it does.

[B]simplytrying--You've got a great attitude. I'm sure September will be a successful month for you.

tdktara--My BP read 83/53 at the Center last week. I'm sure that was an error but I didn't have it rechecked. Sometimes I just bite my tongue. My doctor okayed the MRC diet for me a few months ago after I told him about it. He asked if I was hungry (which varies from day to day).

connie--The yellow menu helped me as did pre-conditioning. On the other hand, eating off plan one day and going back OP did the same another time.

brandy--I've never had to wait that long at my center. It's not good that they can't fit everyone in.

patzi--congrats on maintaining your five pound buffer and receiving two free weeks. That must be a great feeling.

Candice--3.5lbs! Wow ! That 90lb. board is looming!

[B]coarkkayaker[B]--How did WI go?

JenB--Hope today is better for you. Nice that you "won" three more weeks.

Tami--Glad that you're having a great time. I love to visit San Diego although it's been a while since I've been there. Sounds like you've got the diet under control.

I weighed in yesterday and lost the 1.5 I "gained" Friday after eating two meals and drinking two bottles of water. It's TOM for me and I usually gain this week so I expect a big drop next week.

The weather here is rainy and overcast and chilly. Friday was hot and sunny and since I haven't seen the sun in a few days I'm not really motivated to do anything.

At least I started on the blue menu today. I felt like I wasn't getting enough protein on the yellow.

Hope everyone has an OP afternnoon and evening! Time to go find the most recent hiding place my Balinese has moved her kittens to (poor syntax, sorry).

Jen...
I am glad you got your miracle. Way to go.. I have had many of those days. Last week, when I was flying out for business, I forgot my breakfast, and wondered did I leave it out. H ad to call my husband at work and have him go home and check.. Hopefully day went better for you. My breakfast was out on counter. Was taking it with me to eat on way to airport.. Such is life, eh?

Patzi

I tried a new "recipe" yesterday. I'll post here, too, since not everyone checks the recipe thread regularly. It's stir-fry. My center has okayed the packaged taco seasoning (they prefer you make your own, but say the packaged isn't going to kill you). Anyway, my friend told me they make stir fry seasoning in packets, too, and it has the same nutrition info as taco seasoning. So, I got some and used low sodium soy sauce and left out the sugar they tell you to add. It was really quite good! I'm one of those that has a hard time eating all the veggies, so I put in mushrooms and broccoli along with the meat, and I didn't have a bit of trouble eating all I was supposed to. I didn't mind it without rice, but if rice is your thing, you might miss that. Just wanted to share. It probably still has a bit more sodium than my normal meals, but I'm not retaining any water today, and I ate it for lunch and dinner yesterday. It's good for me to switch it up since I tend to eat hte same things over and over.

tkdtara84:
Thanks for sharing that! My husband made stir-fry one night and it was soooo good and a nice change that we had it again the next week! I didn't miss the rice either and got plenty full. He uses Chinese five spice and other spices and seasons it from scratch, but it sounds like I could use the stir-fry seasoning mix and accomplish the same thing (he's a much better cook than I, so I like "easy"!)... Will definitely be trying that!

Goneforgood-- is the chinese five spice something you can find at the grocery store? I've never really made chinese before since my husband isn't very fond of it, and I can take it or leave it. I honestly think it might taste better using just spices instead of the mix. I like taco meat from scratch better than from a packet. Either way, the stir fry is definitely a nice change!

I really hope things get better soon. Tonight, I didn't get any dinner. Oh well. Being OP had to take backseat. The munchkin had a fever of 102 (teething). She was miserable and just wanted to hug on me all night which I didn't mind in the least. Two baths and a sippy cup later, she's in bed asleep. Will have to go in during the night to give her more Tylenol and hope the fever breaks overnight. Luckily, DH is off tomorrow so she can stay home. :(

Originally Posted by JenB72:
I really hope things get better soon. Tonight, I didn't get any dinner. Oh well. Being OP had to take backseat. The munchkin had a fever of 102 (teething). She was miserable and just wanted to hug on me all night which I didn't mind in the least. Two baths and a sippy cup later, she's in bed asleep. Will have to go in during the night to give her more Tylenol and hope the fever breaks overnight. Luckily, DH is off tomorrow so she can stay home. :(

Poor girl :( and poor mommy!

Jen...
Hoping your sweet child is better soon. Don't worry about OP taking a back seat, you are very dedicated and you go right back when you can.

Re: Chinese Five Spice.. I bought mine in a gourmet kitchen shop.. I have never seen it in supermarkets here.

Patzi

Patzi, Thank you for the recipe. It looks really good and I will have to try it one day.

I had a gain this week of 2.2 pounds but I can't blame the stabilization menu for that. I went off program this past weekend. Hopefully some of that (plus more) will come off next week!

I am enjoying my dairy every day! Next week I add starchy veggies twice a week at lunch, a fruit three times a week at breakfast, and a starch at lunch every day.

Lost a half pound at my lunch WI (while PMSing). And, talked with hubby and the munchkin's temp is down from 102.6 yesterday to 99.1 at noon. Things are looking up. :)