Some of my favorite Flat Belly Diet Meals so far

Avocado Herbed Breakfast Tacos

Meatball Melt (substituted pesto (which is cheap at Trader Joe's) for Olive Oil and a whole wheat wrap for the pita, it's what I had:) Did you know you can get whole wheat wraps pretty cheap at Target? The meatballs are vegetarian (from Trader Joe's), or fake as my hubby says, but he keeps eating them.

Dijon Egg Sandwich (LOVED this one)

Soba Noodle Salad with snow peas - you can find soba noodles in the international isle of the grocery store or get them even cheaper at an Asian food mart. I've also seen people substitute whole wheat spaghetti if you can't find soba noodles.

Hearty Sausage with Brussels Sprouts - I will say this picture does not do it justice, it was actually a favorite that we've had twice so far (I got sausage on sale).

Turkey Avocado Cobb Salad - yes, even my kids ate it. I let two of them have ranch so they polished it off and my no frills one just ate it plain, he gobbled the turkey and turkey bacon ate the avocados and then had at least a little bit of the greens.

Actually my kids have eaten most of these meals without griping, except for my middle child who complains if I give him anything that isn't pizza. We've also eliminated most of the junk food (there's still a little bit) from the house so they're learning to snack healthy and don't seem to mind. It's much easier when it's not there, for me too:)

Get the recipes and portion sizes in this book, sorry, don't want to share copyrighted material.

Flat Belly Diet 4 Day anti-bloat meals and drink

So, my hubby and I, along with my parents have been trying the Flat Belly Diet. Basically it incorporates proper portions of healthy foods (whole grains, lots of fruits and veggies) with a MUFA (monunsaturated fatty acid).

You have four meals a day and a snack that is the same amount of calories as a meal. The meals are filling and to incorporate the MUFAs they have something like oils, olives, nuts, seeds, avocados and dark chocolate in every meal and snack! Can't loose with that, I mean you can loose weight but it's a winner on flavor:)

It starts off with a four day anti-bloat jump start, which I'll admit I didn't love, but mainly because a lot of the flavors I crave (salt and spice) can cause bloating so they were off the list, but only for four days, wait till you see my pics from the other meals. The meals were really filling, though I will admit to cheating a bit on an extra snack at night, which I know is the worst time:)

Still, for the four days I dropped a few pounds and 2 inches. Keep in mind this is mainly excess water weight. I have kept the pounds off (been three weeks on the diet) and am getting a bit smaller inch wise, though the scale stays the same so I'll chalk that up to weight training. Hubby keeps loosing and looks great, he is also working out.

This is "Sassy Water" not sure what exactly it does, although it had me drinking my water which is good. You had to drink 2 liters a day for the first four days. It had cucumber, lemon, ginger and mint. Any guesses on the benefits of these? It was actually quite good and refreshing.

One of the anti-bloat dinners - tilapia, red potatoes in olive oil (your MUFA) and green beans, the nice part of this diet is that it encourages healthy eating and it's something I can feed my kids as well.

This one I loved! Chicken (I seasoned with Trader Joe's no salt seasoning), mushrooms sauteed in extra virgin olive oil, and brown rice.

Another thing, this isn't so bad on the budget. Been to Produce Junction for the fruits and veggies and I looked through the meals and bought things I knew we would eat and I could save on. I did not however, buy all of the name brands that the book endorses because they were just not in my budget.

Dinner Size - Texas Chili Cheese Fries

This was a meal that everyone gobbled up! With ground turkey, beans and some veggies on the side, it's not too unhealthy as long as you monitor how much you eat, which was hard on this one:)

Fries seasoned and coated with Olive Oil ready to go in the oven.

Chili brewing away. You could really use any chili recipe for this or keep it easy and go canned.

Finished plate. Really should have had more veggies on that plate, but I'm learning in that department. You'll see some more veggies in future posts, look out for some Flat Belly Diet meals. Actually, top your chili fries with avocados and have proper portions and this one could be a Flat Belly Diet Meal!

Get the recipe for this on the Rachel Ray site. The only thing I adapted was I added some black beans into the chili.

Spaghetti Carbonara or Spaghetti with bacon, eggs and cheese

This Carbonara or Spaghetti with bacon, eggs and cheese was so easy on a quick fix night I wasn't going to post it but then I thought, who can't use a quick and easy go to. Plus it was a big hit with everyone.

I adapted it from Rachels Ray's 30 minute meals cookbook.

Simple ingredients:
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- couple 1/4 teaspoons crushed garlic (from the
jar:)
- bacon (you could substitute turkey or veggie)
- Protein Plus Spaghetti
- two beaten eggs (add dash of milk)
- shredded parm (to your liking)
- 1 cup reserved pasta cooking water

I put the bacon on a broiler pan and baked at 400 degrees until crisp and then broke it up. Meanwhile I boiled the pasta and sauteed garlic in the Olive Oil. I added the pasta to the garlic and olive oil. Then I added the egg and pasta water, and stirred very quickly. Finally I added the bacon and cheese and you're done. So simple, not to mention quite affordable.

Anybody tried the "Flat Belly Diet"?

Just wondering if anyone's tried the "Flat Belly Diet and seen and kept the results:) My parents told me about it and I checked it out. Any diet that includes things like olives, avocados, nuts, healthy oils and dark chocolate seems right up my ally! The holidays were not good to me weight wise, and even though it's snowing today, too soon it will be swim club time! Ahhhh!

I've also been working out, somewhat regularly at least. I'm trying.

Anyway, has anyone tried or heard anything good about it? The meals look really good but I think it's the portions I'll struggle with. The books in the mail so I'll let you know how it goes.

Great Very New Blog

My friend Robin has just started a new blog for all you South Jerseyans that want to be locavores called South Jersey Locavore.

Here's her description:
"Locavore: Someone whose diet consists of food grown or produced within an area most commonly bound by a 100-mile radius of their home. Locavores usually shun large supermarket chains, opting for farmer's markets and local gardens instead. It is also a current trend for many high-end restaurants as well. (from yumsugar.com)"

I'm looking forward to see what you find, Robin!

Great South Jersey restaurant find!

For all of you in South Jersey, or at least in traveling distance, my hubby and I ate at this great, authentic Mexican restaurant (thankfully their menu was in Spanish and English), Tejas Grill in Stratford, NJ.

It was actually recommended by my husbands friends from Mexico and El Salvador. It's just a little store front place (It's in the Good Will Shopping Center, we stopped in after some shopping, Yes, I proudly shop at Goodwill:). If it's cold, dress warm or find a seat next to a space heater, but the food helps to warm you up as well.

I had Chiles Rellenos, which were amazing! The sauce was unbelievable. My hubby had a torta and a tamale, both excellent as well. Prices were very affordable, especially compared to others in the area which have recently become more Americanized.

Anyway - just wanted to let you all know about it if you're in the area.

BTW - I have quite a few meals to post. I've been a bit backed up with school work but will hopefully get some up this week.