Strawberry Smoothie (Vitamix!)

Tired of your strawberries just laying there looking at you? Had enough apples to make Johnny Appleseed sick? Then try this for a great way to get your fruit in Phase 2!

Strawberry Delite

1 large handful of  fresh strawberries, cut off tops
2 packets truvia or purevia, or 1 dropperful (about 10-12 drops) liquid stevia
2 tbsp lemon juice
handful of ice cubes
1 tbsp milk (optional)

Toss in your strawberries and all other ingredients. Turn on Variable 1, turning up quickly to Variable 10 until well blended, about 20 seconds. If you wish to use milk, it makes it creamy, and sort of ‘milkshakey’.

Uses 1 fruit and your milk and lemon for the day (if you use them)

Creamy Asparagus Soup (Vitamix!)

News on the Vitamix: I made another batch of the creamy asparagus soup, and *man* is it yummy! With the Vitamix it was so easy, and *quick*! Love this new tool for my kitchen. I use it at least once a day, sometimes more.

Here is the recipe:

Creamy Asparagus Soup

2 bunches of fresh asparagus
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup water
2 tbsp whole milk
2 tsp chopped garlic
salt & pepper to taste
Mrs. Dash garlic and spice to taste (optional)

Remove white ends from asparagus, cut into halves, and steam until tender. Place asparagus into Vitamix with water, milk, broth and spices. Set speed to Variable 1, and turn on, quickly increasing speed to 10, for about 15 seconds, then flip to High, and blend until creamy and smooth, usually about 30 seconds or so.

This recipe will make 4 – 1.5 cup servings, and is very filling. It counts as 1 veggie and 1/2 your milk for the day. For a variation, cook up your chicken or other meat, chop and add to your soup.

Uh oh – what happens when you pack for Phase 2 travel….and forget your hCG?

So, just a quick note. After 2 days of giving the Vitamix a workout and creating yummy soups, cooking up gobs of chicken and burgers, etc. for my daughter’s trip, she gets there, calls me, and informs me that her hCG (handily packaged in preloaded doses) is here, in the fridge. Not Good.

So, she’s doing 72 hours of VLCD with no hCG, then Tuesday morning will go to Phase 3 style eating until she gets home Wednesday night, and on Thursday morning will resume her doses and her VLCD. *That* my friends, is what is called an unplanned interruption.

Further Vitamix adventures – prepping for Phase 2 travel

So, my daughter is leaving to go hang out at Virginia Beach with her friends from Saturday to next Wednesday. But the problem is, she’s on Phase 2 and has to pack in her food if she wants to stay on. She could take a break, but she really wants to finish up, so I am supporting her commitment and helping her to figure out her foods for the trip.

She needs 10 meals (5 day trip). So she’s packed 6 apples and 4 oranges, 7 half-wasa crackers (you’ll see why in a sec), and we’re cooking her proteins and veggies ahead.

We dug through ‘The hCG Diet Gourmet Cookbook’, and came up with the following for her other food:

- 3 portions of Cinnamon Chicken

- 4 cajun hamburgers (burgers with cajun spices)

- 3 portions of Cajun Chicken

- 4 portions of Cream of Asparagus Soup (3 c asparagus, 2 c water, 2 c chicken broth. 2 tbsp organic whole milk,  a little low sodium soy or Braggs liquid aminos), cajun spice (she likes cajun), salt, pepper ) We whizzed this all up in the Vitamix. Put it on variable 1, then cranked it up to 10, then turned it on high for about a minute. It made this great creamy (and very green) soup, very tasty!

- 4 portions of Cream of Celery Soup (same as above, except with celery instead of asparagus). Again we’re going to use the Vitamix to make a smooth and creamy soup.

- 2 portions fresh bibb and romaine lettuce from our garden

- plenty of water

- sodastream diet vanilla coke and diet energy drink

So she’s going to head for VA Beach with her cooler full of pre-cooked and packed up Phase 2 goodies.

And *boy* am I having fun playing with the Vitamix. I am counting the days until Phase 3 to play with more varied ingredients, and have big plans to use it to make salsa with my garden veggies for canning.