Heres a great E-book

And its FREE! (A downloaded PDF)
Its written by Leo Babauta
It’s about finding simplicity in this Age of Distraction.
I love this guys web site:
ZEN HABITS Smile, Breathe and Go Slowly.
So when I saw the book I grabbed it while he was offering it for FREE!
Its 27 chapters written in easy to read words that make you think and yearn for a simpler life!

Click: Focus  for your FREE copy today!

 Have a great day and thanks for joining me on my journey!
~Rainey~

Simple clean eating...

Starting my morning on the patio, now that it has cooled off considerably, with a simple dish of fruit. This morning pink grapefruit and coffee.

 

Moving onto lunch with a delicious homemade chopped Capri salad.

 

Todays Challenge:

Do this little work out 2 times today!

I think this little move might be saving my life.
Its a short little burst of cardio... but it also stimulates the lymphatic system and your glucose levels.

Its a challenge but I am going to try and do this TWO times today... Mid-Day and Evening...

Good Luck and have a safe and fun Labor day week end!

Day Threre Recipes

Day Three of the SummaTime Challenge
We are going VERY lean today with lots of water... cause we are having pork for dinner.

Breakfast: Strawberry Energy Shake OR 1/2 Grapefruit

Strawberry High Energy Protein Shake

In a large blender, blend the following ingredients: 10 ounces of water, 10 strawberries, one cup of vanilla yogurt, one scoop of any flavor protein powder and three ice cubes. You can substitute the strawberries with any other type of fruit. 

OR

1/2 grapefruit

 

 

Lunch:

Left over Chili or a large green salad with all the veggies you want with chopped chicken and your choice of 2 TAB. dressing... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner:

Dijon Pork Tenderloin, Steamed brocoli/cauliflower mix

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Pork Tenderloin roast

1/4 cup dijon mustard

1/8 cup water

1 tea dill 

Spray a shallow baking dish with cooking spray and preheat oven to 350. Mix the Dijon, water and dill. (if you don't have dill use tarragon or parsley)

Place tenderloin in baking dish... cover with mustard sauce and bake for 1/2 an hour. While its cooking wash broccoli and cauliflower and steam in micro or on the stove...

Melt 1 TAB. butter in micro with 1/2 tea of minced garlic, pour over steamed veggies.

In a large blender, blend the following ingredients: 10 ounces of water, 10 strawberries, one tablespoon of flax seed oil, half a teaspoon of vanilla extract, one scoop of any flavor protein powder and three ice cubes. The flax seed oil is added to provide you with extra energy. You can substitute the strawberries with any other type of fruit.

Read more: Best Way - Low-Calorie Weight Loss Protein Shake Recipes | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/way_5166925_lowcalorie-loss-protein-shake-recipes.html#ixzz0wvVyfZrf

Day Two Recipes

Day two of the SummaTime Challenge!

Breakfast:

Mini Egg Muffins & Vegi juice cocktail

10 eggs mixed well with a few drops hot sauce and 2 tab water

1 green onion

2 handfuls of baby spinach chopped (If desired)

2 or three chopped green onions I (If desired)

2 pieces of Canadian bacon cubed

2 string cheeses grated

sea salt and black pepper to taste

Line the muffin pan with 24 cupcake papers, 2 in each cup.

Spray with cooking spray.
Or use one of those silicone muffin pans...
 I want one of those pans!

Fill each cup with some Canadian bacon, grated string cheese, spinach (of desired) and green onion (if desired.) OR any other veggie you like... use your imagination... mushrooms, grated zucchini, feta cheese, red or green sauteed peppers.

Then pour in evenly the egg mixture.

Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 20 to 25 minutes till egg is set in the middle.

Serving size is 2, save the rest in the freezer of fridge for another breakfast. Great for my on the go friends!

Here is how I make the Veggi Juice Cocktail:

Lunch:

Turkey Roll Ups...

Spread 1 tablespoons of softened cream cheese on  2 pieces of deli turkey add spinach (Or dark green lettuce) and chopped tomato if desired. Iused spinach in one and red leaf lettuce in the other...
Roll tightly... refrigerate before slicing then slice into bite size pieces, or just eat em whole.

Serving size is 2 whole rolls but have more if you are hungry...
I serve these with a little Dijon Mustard for dipping and some crunchy radishes.
I eat these on the go too...

Dinner:

Bison or Beef Chili

1 lb of ground bison or lean ground beef

1/2 onion chopped

1 large can or 2 small cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes (if you can't find fire roasted use regular)

cumin to taste I use 1 tea.

Chili powder to taste I use 1 teaspoon

My secret ingredient: 1 tea. Unsweetened cocoa powder

1 can of pinto beans of desired.

Brown bison or beef... add onion and cook till tender... 

Add spices and cocoa powder and tomatoes to meat and onion. Add beans... 

Let simmer for at least 1/2 hour, I let it simmer longer... but after its all incorporated its ready to eat. Let it simmer, on low heat, as long as you like stirring often.
Sometimes I add fresh chopped cilantro at the very end if I have some...
You either love it or you don't.

Day One Recipes

Chile Relleno Omelet
&
6 0z Vegetable juice cocktail

One Anaheim, Slim Jim or poblano Chile Or a whole canned chili

2 eggs beaten with 2 Tab. milk

1 ounce chunk of string Cheese

1 ounce of Cheddar/Jack cheese, grated (or skip if you want less calories)

Fire Roast the Chile 

/ Skip this step of using canned whole fire roasted chili /

I let my granddaughter roast this one on a bamboo skewer, but most of the time when I do this I just put the chile right on the burner, or grill. I use tongs to keep it turning and burning. After the skin is burned and popping all over, I put the chile in a brown lunch bag and let it sit for a few minutes.

Then open the bag and gently remove the skin... 

It comes off easily at this point.

Make a slit and slip in the string cheese chunk

Pour the beaten eggs in a non stick skillet sprayed with a little Pam

and place the chile in the middle. Cook over Med. heat.

As soon as the eggs start to set start folding them over the Chile

At this point, lower heat, cover and let cook for about 2 or 3 minutes.

Then add the grated cheese and cover again till cheese is melted.

(Or skip this step for less calories)

LUNCH:

 While you are cooking breakfast...
put 1 to 4 semi frozen chicken breasts in a shallow baking dish...
add water and YOUR favorite seasoning.
Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes, or till done.

Move chicken to a plate and refrigerate till lunch.

I only did one because that is all I had left today... I"ll bake more later... They are so easy to do. I always have some on hand for a quick snack or salad topping.

 One chicken breast is a serving... if cooking for two, 1 chicken breast each.

When cool, shread chicken with two forks...

Add 2 tablespoons of LOW fat (not NON fat) Mayo or Mircle whip
 1 or 2 green onions
1 stalk chopped celery
1 TEA Dill

and shredded chicken to a bowl, stir well, chill.

 Do this the night before if you have to go to work...
Enjoy!

 DINNER:

Garlic Shrimp and a BIG salad!
Serving size is up to you... just don't pig out on shrimp.
Clean shrimp well... place on paper towels to dry.
cut up garlic, mince or chop or use already chopped in a jar.
In a shallow Skillet put 1/4 cup of water and sautee shrimp till pink and opaque. About 3 to 4 minutes.
At the very last minute... add 1 TABLESPOON of butter (yes I said butter) and the garlic and cook till garlic is tender and the butter has "finished" the shrimp.
"Finished" means the shrimp will look amazing...
You'll know!
(Do not cook the shrimp any longer than 5 minutes! Mine are lucky to get 4 minutes)

Serve with a big green salad with your choice of 2 tablespoons dressing. Homemade or store bought.

Choose from the meal plan menu for snacks today...

Enjoy! See you tomorrow!

Team SummaTime Challenge Starts Tomorrow!

Are YOU ready?

Measure today: 

Save and print: (or just use a piece of paper)

Copy and Print the menu and shopping list:

Team SummaTime Challenge Menu:

Monday
Breakfast: 6 Oz. Vegetable Juice Cocktail, string cheese/chili omelet with salsa (recipe follows)
Lunch: Baked Chicken Salad in a lettuce cup (recipe follows)
Dinner: Garlic shrimp, green salad with 2 TAB your choice dressing (careful)
Tuesday
Breakfast: 6 Oz. Vegetable Juice Cocktail, 2 Mini Egg cups (recipe follows)
Lunch: Turkey Roll ups
Dinner: Bison (or beef) Chili with or without beans
Wednesday
Breakfast: 6 Oz. Vegetable Juice Cocktail, 1/2 grapefruit OR Strawberry Yogurt energy shake
Lunch: Left over Chili or large salad with chopped chicken 2 TAB dressing
Dinner: Pork tenderloin with Dijon sauce, Steamed broccoli/cauliflower mix
Thursday
Breakfast: 6 Oz. Vegetable Juice Cocktail, Eggs Bennie (recipe follows)
Lunch: Left over Pork tenderloin salad with Honey Dijon dressing
Dinner: Chicken Roulade W/ cauliflower mash
Friday
Breakfast: 6 Oz. Vegetable Juice Cocktail, 2 mini Egg cups
Lunch: Cottage cheese salad with tomato and green onion
Dinner: Seared Scallops w/ coleslaw (recipe follows)
Saturday
Breakfast:  6 Oz. Vegetable Juice Cocktail, 1/2 grapefruit OR Strawberry Yogurt Shake
Lunch: warm diced chicken in a lettuce cup (recipe follows)
Dinner: Grilled white fish w/ tomato,cheese, basil salad
Sunday
Breakfast: 6 Oz. Vegetable Juice Cocktail, Greet the Sun Breakfast pizza (recipe follows)
Lunch: Veggie soup (recipe follows)
Dinner: Mushroom/spinach Stuffed bison burgers W/ sautéed green beans.

Snacks you can choose from:
1 Stalk Celery stuffed with 2 Tab low fat (NOT NONFAT) cream cheese
10 slices of cucumber stuffed with 2 Tab cream cheese
1 package string cheese
1 stalk celery with 1 tab peanut butter


 

Team SummaTime Challenge Shopping list:

Copy, paste and print:

Week ONE Shopping list:
Vegetable Juice cocktail (V-8 juice or tomato juice)
2 Doz eggs
1 package Canadian Bacon (I think you guys in Canada call it “back bacon”?)
2 packages of LOW-fat cream cheese
1 package of string cheese
1 carton of low fat cottage cheese
2 cartons Low fat vanilla yogurt (or more if several people are on the menu)
Butter (Yes, I said butter NO margarine) you can get low fat if you can find it.
2 packages ground Bison or LOWest fat beef
1 large bag boneless skinless chicken breasts (Costco) 
1 bag of RAW shrimp
1 bag scallops
1 pork tenderloin (Small)
1 white fish filet (any kind)
1/2 pound Deli Turkey sliced thick (blade size- 4ish)
Mrs. Dash seasoning
1 jar Dijon Mustard
1 FIRM head iceberg lettuce
1 head romaine or red leaf lettuce
Small head red cabbage
Small head green cabbage
3 sweet onions
6 or more fresh tomatoes
1 carton cherry tomatoes 
1 bunch green onions
2 Garlic heads or a jar of already chopped
Small broccoli head
Small cauliflower head
1 or 2 Anaheim (long mild) or poblano (hot) chilis
2 bags spinach OR 4 large bunches (or a big Costco bag)
1 pound or pre-sliced package Bella mushrooms
1 bunch celery
1 bunch or package fresh basil (or basil from your garden)
1 package frozen green beans
(Mayo, ketchup, horseradish. peanut butter if you don’t already have that)
Strawberries fresh or frozen
Grapefruit fresh or in the little cups cut up
1 carton (not can) or Chicken Stock
Your choice of salad dressing... NO NON fat... LOW fat Okay
1 large or 2 small cans Diced Fire Roasted tomatoes (or reg.)
1 jar of salsa or your own homemade salsa
1 can of pinto beans (if desired in your chili)

We start Monday August 16th:

I will post recipes here with photos

Team SummaTime- Join us?

Are you interested in losing 10-20 pounds this summer? If so, join our Team SummaTime group on Facebook, or simply follow along on this blog!

As some of you know, I lost 28 pounds in April/May and have maintained that loss! My Daughter lost 12 pounds! But I have more weight to lose and lots of people have been asking me how I did it and if I could help them. So I decided to create the Team SummaTime Challenge!

There are two ways to lose!

1. If you looking to lose more than 10 pounds, you will need purchase the h HCG spray (available HERE for $77.00 + s&h) and use meal/workout plan #1. To get to the "Order Now" button please follow the link and scroll all the way to the bottom. If you are using the HCG you will be losing more weight than someone using plan #2 without HCG. On average if followed correctly, you can lose up to 1 lb. per day. SAFELY! You saw me lose 28 pounds last APRIL/MAY and I feel great! Lots of energy and no hunger!

2. If you are looking to lose 10 pounds or less, you can follow along with us using meal/workout plan #2. You will not be losing as much and as fast as someone using the HCG spray, and your meal portions will be larger. But you will lose at least 10 pounds and feel amazing!

If you are unfamiliar with how the HCG diet works, please feel free to review HERE.

Here is a basic overview of what we will be doing during our 23 day challenge.

• Weekly meal plans and menu will be provided for you. 
• Exercise will only include walking 1 mile/5 days a week  (more or less if you want) and optional 5 minute workout daily (link to follow).
• A download-able chart will be available to track your progress.
• For questions and support you can join our Facebook group, or if you have a yahoo account you can comment here on the blog.
• A weekly download-able shopping list will be available.
• Occasional cooking tutorials will be available here and on the Team SummaTime facebook page.

If you are up for the Team SummaTime Challenge sign up on facebook or leave a comment below! We will be starting the challenge on August 15th so please order your HCG spray HERE as soon as possible!

If after the 23 days you wish to continue you will have enough HCG spray to do a 40 day diet.
Just re-use the menu's and shopping lists.


*Disclaimer- These are my own opinions based on my experience on the HCG diet. Your results are up to you. I take no responsibility for YOUR personal results.

Foodie Friday! South Beach Snack

Here is an easy snack perfect for the South Beach Diet and a hot afternoon!

Celery with goat cheese and a Virgin Mary!

This will fill you up and satisfy you all at the same time!
(See my cucumber goat cheese snack here.)

Enjoy!

I'm Linking up with

Miss "G's" Foodie Friday

To see more fun Foodie Friday posts click this link.

2 1/2 pounds are back...

I'm not sure is they are muscle or fat or water (cause I am not seeing my Doc weekly now) either way... Not too good especially since I have been adding carbs back into my life! Ok take a breath, don't panic its only 2 and a half pounds (Yeah... right now...) I have a plan:

This week:

• Back on South Beach Phase 1 (the strictest phase) No problem, its easy and I love the food!
• Back to T-Tapp everyday (went to every other day to give my muscles a rest, guess they rested too much!
• Aunt Flow just left too. Whew glad to see her gone... (That actually could be the whole gain problem, we'll see)
• I had been getting my outside carido swimming but I do't think its enough... I hate to say this... but either I get up at O-Dark Thirty and walk or get on the treadmill.   I mean that is why we bought it... for those summer daze when its 205 in the shade and too hot to walk out there. *Sigh*

Day 1
Breakfast:
6 oz V8
Han and cheese omelet with ham and cheese
Coffee
Morning snack: Large celery stalk with herbed goat cheese
Lunch: Large/ shredded parsley chicken & field green salad with seasme/ginger dressing
Afternoon Snack: Large celery stalk with herbed goat cheese
Dinner: Grilled steak and large homegrown sliced tomato and sweet onion salad with South Beach approved Ranch dressing.
No dessert today

Here's a little funny to start your week!

(I don't endorse or use Slimfast)

Enjoy your week I'll keep you posted!

~Rainey~

The Journey Continues...

 I'm still on my journey to getting fit and fabulous! I wasn't blogging about it for a week because I had three of my Grandkiddos at my house for a week, all under the age of 6! If you follow me on Facebook you know how busy  was! So this week I have been reintroducing carbs back into my life... With the Strict HCG diet (55 days) and the strict first 2 weeks of the South Beach Diet done I'm able to start to eat more things now... And carefully add carbs... as to now gain back those 28 pounds of fat that are now gone!

Here is my breakfast this morning:

Coffee and a slice of my homemade Zucchini Bread, pineapple chunks and a strawberry.

I have also been using this book... 

A self hypnosis (or meditation) CD before bed... 

Its amazing how differently I look at food now... 

nd how easily it is to KNOW when I am full and to stop eating!

The Author; Paul McKenna has an great outlook on life and living and I enjoy his voice as I drift off to sleep... My mind learning to apply these skills while I sleep. You can find the book by clicking on the Amazon link or at your public library...

I highly recommend checking it out!

Tonight I had homemade chicken and spinach cannelloni. Pasta really isn't on the South Beach Diet but when a neighbor brings you a few sheets of homemade pasta you say thank you very much and have it for dinner! 

I had that and a glass of white wine
on the patio and I was very happy.

South Beach Diet meals today...

These recipes are amazing... 

I am really loving the South Beach Diet. 

Mostly because I love to cook, also because it will be easy to turn eating like this into a way of life!

Yesterday we had:

Breakfast: 

Scrambled Eggs (2 egg whites and one yoke) and a slice of Canadian bacon and 4 oz of V8 juice.

 Lunch:

South Beach friendly broccoli/cheese soup and some crunchy radishes.

Dinner:

Soy/Ginger glazed grilled pork chops, steamed snow peas and cauliflower "rice".

Warning: Don't click on that pork chop photo if you are hungry!

I'm using this book right now... 
Its amazing and there some new recipes in it that I am going to try first.

Slight Detour...

On the way to the South Beach Diet... we took a little trip to Disneyland!

But that didn't mean we couldn't eat healthy and in fact made it a fun game to eat healthy at Disneyland! It was actually quite easy!

So we were able to eat healthy and get our walking in! 

Five miles a day at least!

So we are back home and I'm going to cook my way through the

The South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook

By Dr. Agaston MD

Join me for some fun and tasty recipes and photos.

My First Day on The South Beach Diet

Here is what we had today...
wow...
Its nice to have more calories and choices!
(Click on any photo to enlarge)

For breakfast:
Canadian Bacon/cheese and green onion eggs (2 eggs only one yoke)
& Mocktail Mary (V-8 and horseradish and celery, and fresh cracked pepper)
* * * * *






For lunch:
Bison patty with confetti coleslaw and homegrown tomato
* * * * *





For snack:
Cucumber/herbed goat cheese sandwiches - minus the bread.
* * * * *





For dinner:
Steamed Halibut with sauteed squash ribbons.
* * * * *



For dessert:

Chocolate Ricotta "Yuck"
(Yeah, we didn't like this at all! I think it was the texture. Someone said to get a different ricotta cheese and that makes a difference, but I think I'll pass altogether and skip dessert.)
No * 's