Since our fish recipe exchange went so well, how about doing a favorite veggie exchange???? I agree with 4my2ltl1s, when I'm eating salad too frequently, I feel like I'm on a diet.

So . . . . here are my favorite non salad veggies (8 oz raw, 4oz cooked)

Roasted Asparagus - Double Yum
1 bunch of asparagus, 1 tbsp. olive oil or canola oil. 1/2 tsp of minced thyme (or ground dry), 1/2 tsp lemon jice, 1/4 tsp sea salt, 1/8 tsp. fresh ground pepper. Preheat to 425, mix ingredients (except asparagus) on baking sheet - stone works great, roll the asparagus in the seasoning and roast until tender, tossing once - about 10 - 15 min. Great seasoning for talipa too.

Steamed Broccoli - fast and easy
about 5 oz of broccoli heads, Molly McButter to taste. Put in a microwave steamer, plash a dash of water, sprinkler with Molly McButter. Microwave on high 3 min., drain water - perfect! 5 oz usually cooks down to 4 oz.

Pan Roasted Zucchini & Squash - my favorite!
Cut zucchini & squash into 1' pieces, add chopped green onion, fresh chopped (or squeezed) garlic, thinly sliced green peppers, 1 tbls olive oil, 1 tsp Rosemary, fresh ground pepper & ground sea salt. Toss on baking sheet, cook in 425 oven for 15 - 20 min, stirring once.

Zucchini & Squash CHIPS - great on the grill
Slice zucchini & squash very thin - about 1/4", marinate with olive oil, rosemary, sea salt, ground pepper, and garlic. Toss on the grill until crispy - turning once. Yummy!

Cucumber Spears - A very heavy veggie (1 med sized cucumber weighs approx 8 ounces) - great for an on the run meal. Try sprinkling with sea salt or if a sweet mood - 1 pkt of splenda.

What has everyone else doing for non-salad veggies??

Hi, I just found this site. I think it is great that you guys support each other so much. I weigh 170 lbs and am working for 130 lbs by the end of Jan 08. I just started the MRC last Monday. I lost 5 lbs as of yesterday so I am excited. I just had a little girl named Abbigaill so she is my reason for loosing the weight. I want to be able to chase her and play with her all day long without being out of breath. I like the diet except for all of the salad. I don't ever think I have even eaten a salad until now. Anyway thanks for some of the recipes they sound great!

Ok, another question. The gal at my center told me not to use those little tubes of sugarfree crystal light in my water until I have had my total water for the day. She said if there is anything in the water, the body will not recognize it as just water. But I vaguely remember reading in other places that water is water. I also tried the concentrate supplements and they are really good.

So, I had my food class today. I guess I am now official. I had lost 3 pounds (even though I am silly and wore very light shorts the first day and jeans with a belt today!). I am excited She told me to keep pre-conditioning until Monday. I am trying to think of fast quick things in the morning. Any suggestions? I rarely have time in the morning to make anything as work calls start coming in as I am getting my daughter to the bus stop.

I had wi today (first time in 2 weeks). I lost 1 lb, which put me 1/2 lb below goal weight!! I've lost a total of 30.5 lbs & 36.5 inches. I've gone from a size 14 jeans to size 8 & from a large t-shirt to a medium. It took me 5 months to do it, but at least I finally did!! Went out to dinner to celebrate & even halved a dessert w/hubby. My plan now is to diet during the week & cheat a LITTLE on weekends. Don't want to gain the weight back.

ALL of your posts have been a GREAT inspiration to me & helped me get back on the wagon when I fell off. Thank you!!

Take care all, keep up the good work and God Bless.

Woohoo! I WI today and lost 3.5 #'s. That was so good since last week I only lost 1 and the week before 1.5. The fish worked and Taebo probably didn't hurt since all I'd done before was lift. Thanks for the ideas!!! I look forward to more. That puts me at 21 total down and I signed my first board. I am pumped.

Okay, my favorite recipes for veggies are the stir fry ones in the cook book. Savory cabbage comes to mind from p. 157 of the cookbook: 1 c cabbage, 1 Tbsp. parslet, 1 pkg. artificial sweetener, 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper, 1 pkg. chicken bouillon sup., 4-6 oz. water, caraway seeds( I skipped these because I didn't have any) It was very good. Black pepper made it spicy w/ lots of flavor.

Keep some hard boiled eggs in the fridge for mornings on the go. Just peel and eat! That is my only morning thought... Hope it helps!

I had WI today and I am down 2.5 pounds for a total of 9 pounds. I was so close to signing that 10 pound board. I will sign it on Monday. They did some measurements and ran the Tanita for me today. I have lost 13 inches (two of which came off the girls) and I lost 10 pounds of fat and gained 1 pound of muscle. How can you not love this program?

Txrose3 - on reaching goal!!! Just because you are a Skinny Minnie now doesn’t mean you have to leave. I for one would love to hear about maintenance and how well you are handling it.

Sb4me - Great job on losing the 3.5 pounds! Only 0.5 pounds until you are in the 100s!!!!!!!

Volgirl71 - Way to go on loosing the 3 pounds! The easiest thing I do in the morning is two egg beaters and Melba toast. I through it in the micro for 40 seconds stir and put back in for 20 more. I found this to be the easiest and most palatable. Egg Beaters now has different flavors which makes the prep even easier. When shopping for them, watch out for the sodium content.

Erica N Abby – Bravo for your 5 pound loss! aboard!

ShineOn – Those sound like great recipes, thank you for sharing. I don’t have too many that come to mind, but the one that is stuck in my mind is the mushroom and onion sauté.

Sauté mushroom and finely chopped green onion in 1 tbsp olive oil, add garlic powder to your liking. Measure out 4 oz and server over chicken. I had this the other night and I am still thinking about it.

Good night everyone and congratulations on your great WIs!

Leigh

Good evening everyone! Saw my arthritis doctor today and got a good report! He was glad to see the 25 lbs gone...was a little skeptical about MRC until we went over the plan. My blood pressure was 128/72...that made him smile!

Volgirl71 ~ here's a couple of b'fast ideas:

* cottage cheese with vanilla (or chocolate) pudding stirred in....mix it the night before and refrigerate. (cottage cheese is limited, make sure to check your food sheet to see how often you can have it...PLUS it uses your creamy for the day)

* 1 slice 40 cal bread spread with dijonnaise (sp?), add 2 slices of Boar's Head turkey....I have this when I'm running late, oh....2-3 days a week!

ShineOn ~ Thanks for your fav veggie recipes! Yummy! My favorite is grilled veggies (Logan's Roadhouse makes the best). Skewer thin slices of zucchini, yellow squash, green peppers, mushrooms and spray with olive oil; season with sea salt and Mrs. Dash. Grill until tender/crisp....WEIGH your portion and enjoy!

Txrose3 ~ Congratulations! You did it! You are the inspiration!!!

Sb4me ~ 3.5lbs!!! That’s great! Stay pumped…next week you will be in the ONE-derful range!!! I love the stir fry, too! Sometimes I stir fry my chicken, then add the veggies! Sometimes it just cabbage, onion powder and a few green peppers! DH loves it, too!

Erica N Abby ~ WAHOO on the 5lbs! Little Abby...what a great reason to want to get skinny! Getting tired of salads? Don't just have lettuce & tomato…make it exciting!

Try a spicy taco salad….using ground turkey and chili powder, add black beans (sub for bread at dinner) and kick up the heat with Tabasco sauce!

Tuna salad...add an egg, chopped celery and apple; serve on lettuce.

Has anyone tried making a casserole using the “Creamy Chicken w/Vegetables” HNS? Sorry I got soooooo chatty but after reading today's posts...I wanted to give a few shout outs and a BIG !

Night-night,
JanT

Breakfast ideas: sliced cheese and melba toast or cheese toast, with low cal bread. Cottage cheese mixed with the MRC strawberry banana flavored gelatin, then had fruit. My favorite is pineaplle. It is quick, cool, refreshing, and an easy take a long. My diet sheet does not limit the cottage cheese, but when I had this too often I do believe it effected my weight loss a little. Now I do it a couple times of a week, where as before almost daily.

Vegie ideas: Grilled vegies: on large foil sheet, spray with olive oil. Cut up bell peppers, green onions, yellow squash, zuchinni squash - I also like tomatoes and mushrooms in mine but my family does not. Give it all another spray of olive oil then sprinkle with a seasoning I get at Walmart: Cavendars All Greek Seasoning. Do not let the name scare you away. Ive only had Greek food once and hated it. This is an awesome seasoning. Shake plenty over the vegies, fold up the packets and grill for till tender. Can also be done in the oven, use higher heat. Is now a family favorite! This seasoning is also great on fish and chicken.

Frozen green beans seasoned with daily olive oil, low sodium powdered beef broth, minced dried onions, fresh ground pepper and fresh ground sea salt. Yummy!

Zuchinni strips sliced in spears, coat cookie sheet with olive oil spray.Season with garlic pepper, then splash with balsalmic vinegar. Roast in oven till done.

Some of the frozen vegies packs at Walmart have been very good. I loved one that had squash, peppers, etc and seasoned with cracked pepper. Very good. There was another one that had tomatoes and okra and other vegies mixed in. It had great flavor but have not been able to find it again.

Instead of my usual tuna salad with onions and egss. I opted today for tuna, mixed with diced celery, dice apple, and diced green and purple seedless grapes. I have not found a dressing I like so I admit I still use some miracle whip to get it moist. But the fruit really helped make it more moist and had a great flavor. Probably not news for some of you but since it was new to me I thought I would share it. If anyone has good mayo substitute ideas Id love to hear them.

I too love the roasted veggies - usually make a big panful & then divide it up into 4 oz portions to grab for the next few meals.

My current favorite probably counts as a salad - I slice up cucumbers, grape tomatoes, some green onion, sprinkle on a little dill, fresh ground pepper, salt, sugar & splenda & some vinegar. Depending on which meal it's for you can crunch up some melba toast & add to it (let it sit for a few minutes for the toast to soak up the juices from the veggies & vinegar). Really, really good!

I'm not sure I buy that one - I think the bigger problem might be that the sweetness of crystal light can trigger cravings. But it crystal light is the only way you can get water down, you could try using it but doubling the amount of water you put it in (in other words make it half strength).
Something I've found that I really like is True Lemon and True Lime - little packets of dry lemon and lime flavoring. It says one packet is good for 12 oz of water, I think, but I use a packet for 32 oz of water & it gives it just a touch of flavor without sweetness.

Something I came up with (my usual breakfast is a boiled egg & cheesetoast) is oatmeal & cottage cheese. I make up a batch of Irish oatmeal (which I like better than rolled oats) & keep it in the fridge, then I'd mix up the alloted amount of oatmeal (1/2 cup I think) and 1/2 cup of cottage cheese & zap it in the microwave in the mornings. I wasn't sure it would hold me through the mornings, but it does. You can add some splenda & cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, maple flavoring, whatever you like.

thanks Meemo - those little tubes of crystal light are sugar free and i do put them in my 32 oz mug of water, so i'm with you, i don't quite buy that theory from the center.

I just read where someone mentioned using grapes. I'm on the beige menu and they aren't on mine. When do you get grapes??