I made it to the 150's --- WOO HOO!

Start Weight: 168 lbs
Goal Weight: 138 lbs
Weight after two loading days:  171.7 lbs (3.7 lbs total gain)
R2P2D13: 159.0  (-12.7 lbs gross, -9.0 lbs net)



Ahhh... lucky day 13!  It is always nice when you cross into a new "decade" while you are losing weight. It's a good time to reflect, and celebrate yourself!  I am starting to look forward now instead of backward.  Yes, I have lost a total of 42 lbs since I began, but looking forward to my goal I see that I only have 21 lbs to go.  I've already lost TWICE that amount, so that goal seems more achievable than ever before.  From now on, it is a countdown to the 130's!


Today's tip:  with your doctor's help or using a BMI chart, set a goal weight for yourself and track your progress to that goal.  Failing to plan is planning to fail!  It is helpful to focus on a number and to see yourself getting closer and closer to that number.  Once you have lost most of your weight, you may want to reevaluate later, but for now pick a number in the healthy BMI range for your height and frame size and stick with it!  Then, keep your eyes on the prize, because you WILL get there on this program.  I am living proof that this thing works.


Now, on to the menu for today...
2p:  Large Apple
9p:  One whole egg plus three whites scrambled with
        spinach and onion* topped with Frank's Red Hot
        sauce
PLEASE NOTE:  My limited menu today was certainly not by design. I was running solid from 1p to 8:30p today and I didn't have time to squeeze in eating. (I cannot believe it is really me uttering those words...) During the middle of the afternoon, I was shopping with my mother-in-law and my husband's aunt (love them!) and was having a great time and I was absolutely not hungry. There were all kinds of goodies there but it was very easy for me to stay away from them. I am so excited to have reached this point!  Perhaps I can survive the holidays without doing too much damage, LOL!


Ugh!  I bet I'm going to pay the price in the morning for eating so late... When will I ever learn???


* OFF PROTOCOL WARNING!
- Mixing veggies at one meal is not on protocol


Okay, here it is...  drum roll, please...  The asparagus soup recipe!


Ingredients:
- 2 bundles (2 lbs) of fresh asparagus
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 cups nonfat cottage cheese
- Juice of one lemon
- Seasonings: Sea salt, pepper, celery salt, marjoram, oregano*


Tools I used:
Chopping knife, non-stick 2.5 quart saucepan with lid, wooden spoon or wooden spatula (to move the onions/garlic around in the pan to keep from burning), large ceramic or metal bowl, and blender (I used our super-duper Vitamix, which is wonderful, but I believe that any blender would do.  Even an immersion blender would work, I think.)


Wash asparagus and chop off the "woody" ends (I took off about an inch or so from each stalk) and toss the ends.  Chop up the asparagus into roughly one-inch sized pieces, and set aside.  Sauté chopped onion in dry, non-stick saucepan over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes. Add garlic and keep it moving so it doesn't burn and cook for about one minute more.  Remove pan from heat, dump the onion/garlic mixture into a large bowl, and set aside.  Put the asparagus pieces into the saucepan which you used to cook the onion/garlic. Add the seasonings to the saucepan, and stir to combine them with the asparagus.  Add two cups of water to the saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 8-10 minutes or until the asparagus is tender.  Remove pan from heat, and dump into the large bowl containing the onion/garlic and stir to combine.  Once mixture has cooled, pour it into your blender and add the cottage cheese and lemon juice.  Process in blender until soup has a thick, creamy consistency.  At this point, you should have roughly 6 cups of soup, which would be three servings of about 2 cups each.  Taste the soup.  If it is a little too bland, add more salt and a little more pepper to taste.  After it cools, I divide soup into thirds and put each third in a separate container and stick them in the refrigerator.  Then, when I'm ready for soup, I just dump container in a big microwaveable soup bowl, nuke it, and eat it!  Easy, and perfect for these crisp Autumn days!


*Seasonings...  I apologize, but I don't know these measurements for certain. I think that I put about 8 good shakes of salt, 6 shakes of pepper, and 4 shakes of each of the other spices.  Definitely taste it -- you may need more salt and/or pepper!  Sorry to be so imprecise!  :(


For all you chefs out there -- PLEASE take this recipe and make it better (within the confines of the protocol, of course! ;-)  If you have any suggestions or improvements, please comment below!


One serving (2 cups) counts as 1 veggie and 1 protein, and this recipe yields three servings.


Hope you enjoy the soup!  'Til tomorrow: LATER all you LOSERS!  :D