What a great feeling to know that I have meals already prepared for my whole day (and days to come)! Last night, I baked 8 blackened chicken breasts. (For my homemade blackening seasoning recipe, click here). I baked them at 400 degrees for 40 minutes, and ended up with enough chicken for my chicken soup, Baked Spinach Casserole, and meals for tomorrow! I also made 4 delicious recipes: Caryl's Turkey Sausage Muffins, Chicken and Spinach Casserole, Spicy Chicken Vegetable Soup, and Eggplant Parmesan. The kitchen is a foreign place to me (except for making cocktails), but I really am getting the hang of this! Until now, my meals almost always consisted of salads, tuna salad, and the occasional stir-fry, but following or creating actual recipes can be pretty exhilarating. I like my food very spicy, so keep that in mind as you prepare the dishes. I attempted to adjust the spice to medium for the recipes. Sadly I do not have much of an understanding of what normal "spicy" should be. Let's just say I go through pounds of fresh jalapenos and jars of cayenne pepper every week!
I reviewed several posts online discussing the drinking of coffee during this diet, and the official website (www.17daydiet.com) gives the "ok" on its FAQ page. I have recently become a coffee drinker, and considering the energy increasing and appetite suppressing effects of coffee, I'm glad to see it can remain part of my daily regiment. For today, I decided to go with two cups of coffee, sweetened with Truvia, and two cups of green tea. I bought a pack of 33 ounce Smart Waters- I will keep these in my fridge to help with drinking the 64 ounces of water a day. Drinking water has never been my strong suit. Vodka? Sure. Beer? Even better. Water? Not so much. Even though I have created some nice home vitamin water infusions, which will be perfect for Cycle 2. (They are delicious! Recipes to come.)
Another detail pointed out to me in my research was the fact that I may not necessarily need to cut my fruit intake at 2PM. Because my hours are much later than that of a normal person (I typically work until 2-4 AM, go to bed between 4-6 AM) I will adjust the 2PM cut off to 6 PM. I do plan on making some smoothies to take to work with me later in the cycle, so this time adjustment will help out immensely.
Now, on to Day 2!
Breakfast:
Recipe
Author: Caryl Schiff-Greatorex
These are absolutely delicious! And so easy to save in the fridge or freezer for later.
Also, I made extra of the turkey sausage recipe, which worked perfectly for the Eggplant Parmesan (which is for dinner today).
Snack:
Yoplait Greek Yogurt (Peach).
5 Strawberries
Lunch:
Just like all the other recipes, I added a lot of spices (cayenne, jalapeno, garlic powder...) and used blackened chicken. It is so good! This will be in my fridge for the entirety of the diet, no doubt. I loaded extra veggies in this recipe, and was pleasantly surprised that just one serving filled me up for hours. It is also very tasty cold (for me, at least) which means I will be taking this to work often.
Snack:
Cottage Cheese
Dinner:
Another winner! It worked out perfectly with the turkey sausage I had made for the turkey sausage egg muffins. And the fat free cheese tasted surprisingly delicious.
Final Thoughts:
Day 2 was a breeze, thanks to the 3 great meals I had ready to go. I decided to make a few extra batches of the turkey sausage tonight, that way I can use it for meals over the next few days. I have always had a huge appetite, and today is one of the first days in recent memory that I never became hungry. I'm sure the satisfying meals and the filling breakfast played a huge part in that. I have never been a breakfast person, due to my late night schedule, but taking the time and effort is absolutely worth it! It truly is the most important meal of the day.
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