7 Ways to Add Flavor to HCG Approved Meals

One of the hardest parts of sticking to any diet is finding recipes that taste good, or adding flavor to simple dishes. Having done four rounds of HCG, I have learned a few tricks that arent on the original protocol, but pose no risk to your weight loss. Here are 7 ways to add flavor to your HCG approved meals:

Franks Hot Sauce

I love using Franks Red Hot Original Sauce on chicken. Its a simple addition that really ramps up the flavor. Plus it only contains a few simple ingredients, all of which are approved for the HCG Diet. The only caution with this is not to use more than a teaspoon per meal because it does contain salt which can cause water retention. Franks Red Hot Original Sauce can be found in the condiment aisle of the grocery store.

Mrs. Dash

Mrs. Dash has a great line of salt-free, MSG-free seasoning blends that are absolutely amazing. Mix them up with some stevia and vinegar for a dressing, or sprinkle them on our meat while it cooks, these are a healthy, simple addition to any HCG Approved meal. Mrs. Dash seasoning blends can be found in the spice aisle in the grocery store.

Lemon Juice

It sounds simple, but adding lemon juice can make all the difference to your Tilapia or asparagus. Its also great on apples, in ice slushies, water and more. Lemons are super cheap, too!

Salsa

Now this one was a life saver for me in round three. I would use Pace Picante Mild salsa. It has no added sugar and its low in calories. I would add a couple tablespoons to chopped chicken and serve it over lettuce. Technically that is mixing veggies, I know, but it never affected my weight loss and it saved me from cheating on the diet on numerous occasions. Look for it in the Salsa aisle in the grocery store.

Onion
Like lemon juice, this seems like another no-brainer, but there are certain veggies that dont seem to pose any problems when mixed with other veggies. Onion is one of those. Try chopping up a small chunk of onion and grilling it with chicken and chopped tomato. Its simple but the onions add a great, fresh flavor that seasonings cant.

Combine your Fruit and Veggie Serving
Did you know that you can make some pretty amazing fruit and veggie combos? Yup. Try mixing your apple with spinach and topping it with chicken, you can also do that with oranges. Or you can try mixing grapefruit with cucumber, strawberries and lettuce, and even apples and celery. Mix and match your fruits and veggies to create new flavor combinations.

Trulicious Powder/Liquid

Trulicous powder is an amazing product of Blue Earth nutrition. It is stevia that is combined with a unique fiber blend to help promote digestive health. It is the best powdered stevia I have ever tasted plus its packed full of health benefits you wont find in Truvia. I love mixing some powdered Trulicious, cinnamon and sprinkling it on an apple then baking it. Its like a mock apple pie! Its also great in tea and coffee. Plus, HCGDiet.com offers Trulicous stevia liquid in multiple flavors.


What are ways you have found to add flavor to Phase 2 of the HCG Diet?

Looking for some health, Phase 2 approved recipes? Check out Eat Well, Slim Down. Its a digital HCG Approved recipe book with over 100 recipes! Plus its only $10! 

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Im Thankful Im not a Quitter

November is the month of giving thanks, and while I try to give thanks regularly for the wonderful things in my life, I want to post a special blog on the topic. I am blessed to have a job, an apartment, a car, my health, an amazing family. I am blessed to be in school, to have talents, and to have so many people who support me while I chase my dreams. Not a day goes by that I dont realize how blessed I am.

But theres something else Im very thankful for this week, something I dont always recognize. Its not a person, a place or a thing. Its a personality trait of mine. Its the reason I have done all that Ive done. Its the reason I am who I am. This week, I am especially thankful that Im not a quitter.

7 days into starting the HCG Diet I was down 6.6 pounds! Wooohoo. I was so excited, but I knew that I was about to hit a road bump.... Let me explain: I am blessed to have a boyfriend who takes me for who I am and makes me feel beautiful despite what the scale says. Before starting this round of the diet, he made me promise for his birthday I would eat whatever I wanted. So Monday I knew I was going to have a cheat meal when my boyfriends parents took us out for his birthday dinner. Then I knew Wednesday was his birthday dinner with friends. Same request, "Eat what you want."

So today I weighed in, knowing I was going to be up, I saw I gained 3.6 pounds back. A little discouraging, but not surprising. I stepped off the scale, my never-quit personality wiped away the feeling of discouragement. I took a breath and thought, "So what? Today is a new day. The birthday celebrations are over, and I dont need to rush."

Ive had to remind myself of that quite frequently through my journey, "Dont rush." It is so easy to get down on yourself and be negative about your body. If there is one thing I want everyone to know its this: Your body is amazing because it functions and youre alive. Stop hating it and just try your very best to take care of it. The weight will come off if you just stay focused, take your time and most of all stay positive. You will mess up, mostly because youre human and it takes time to break habits that were formed from emotional eating, but you can ALWAYS try again. There may be things in life youve given up on, like wearing your hair in a bob (flashback to kids calling me mushroom head in 8th grade), or trying to keep your dog from barking at the mailman, but never EVER give up on your health.

So heres to me and my journey, heres to starting fresh today and getting back on track. Heres to you and your beautiful life. Go live it the best way you know how, and dont forget to be grateful for every second of it.

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