Stalled

For the past 10 days, I have only lost 1.5 lbs which is really frustrating since the month before, I was losing 4 lbs a week.  I wonder what stalls my weight loss.  Is it the diet sodas? I don't think so.  I have a large cup at least every other day before.  Is it the meals not being spread out equally?  Is it the exercise (I noticed that everytime I run, my scale won't budge for 3 days ... but I still chalk this up to coincidence since I don't run too long and I only lose about 150 calories so I don't think I'm entering starvation mode)?  Is it lack of water?  Is it too much salt?  What is it?  I seriously wish I knew.

The scale finally moved today.   Yesterday, I had two shakes, 2 bars, scrambled eggs and tilapia with butter, lemon, capers, spinach and tomatoes.  I ate my lean meal at lunch instead of my usual dinner.  Did this make a difference?

Pork Tenderloin with Dijon Mustard Sauce

It's summer and it's time to grill!  This dish is very fast to make.

For condiments, we are allowed 1/2 tsp of mustard seed and 1 tbsp of mustard.  I just combined these two and if you're more lenient, just use pre-made whole grain dijon mustard for better taste.   My brand recommendation is at the bottom of this page.  It's only 10 calories in 1 tsp.  Before I was OP, I used twice the amount of mustard and mustard seed.  It did taste better but the portion below is my recommendation now.  Stay OP!!!

Spray some balsamic vinegar to your veggies to marry the flavors.

Medifast Lean and Green Recipe

1/2 tsp mustard seed

1 tbsp (dijon) mustard

1 tsp olive oil

5 oz pork

salt and pepper

1. Combine mustard seed and dijon mustard.  Mix thoroughly.
2. Season pork with salt and pepper
3. Heat grill to medium and lightly oil the grates
4. Place pork on the grill.  Cover; Turn when grill marks are visible; Cook until meat is no longer pink in the middle.
5. Brush with mustard/mustard seed
6. Serve with your favorite grilled veggies.

Cilantro Thai Chicken

Servings: 1

When I found out I can have up to 1 cup of cilantro for condiment, I was excited.  I love cilantro.  I love the smell and the flavor.

If you are cooking for the entire family, please adjust the ingredients.  What I will list below is good for 1 person.  Just multiply each ingredient by however many people will eat.

This recipe uses approx 2-1/2 condiment servings and still meets the < 3 recommended by medifast.

Ingredients:

1 tsp minced garlic Condiment #1

3/4 tbsp cilantro (stems included are fine) Condiment #2 -- 1/16 allowed by medifast

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper Condiment #2 - 1/2 allowed by medifast

1 tsp tamari sauce* (or soy sauce)  Condiment #3

1/8 tbsp fish sauce Condiment #2 - 1/8 allowed by Medifast

pinch of salt (optional) **

1 tbsp water

3/4 lb chicken (drumsticks or wings)***

*  I use Tamari Sauce because it tastes just like soy sauce but wheat-free but soy sauce works even better.

** This would taste better with salt if using a low-sodium tamari/soy sauce, but I choose to skip it.  Salt is just not good when you're on a diet :-)

*** Up to 5oz of dark meat (cooked weight) is allowed.  When weighing, do not include the bones.

Instructions:

Chop cilantro and garlic very finely.  In a medium bowl or a tupperware, add the cilantro and garlic, ground pepper, tamari sauce, fish sauce and water.  If you are making for more than one person, I recommend just throwing all the ingredients, except the chicken in a food processsor or blender and grind to a fine, fairly smooth paste adding more water as necessary to grind evenly.

Add the chicken pieces, turning to coat everything well.  Cover and allow to marinate for at least an hour or even overnight

Preheat oven to 450F.  I use a toaster oven occassionally depending on how many I'm cooking.  If you are using a toaster oven, preheat oven at 425F or set to Broil.  After heated for about 3 minutes, place the chicken  in the oven turning occasionally to brown and cook pieces evenly until cooked through.

Cooking for the Entire Family:

Serve this with rice and cucumbers for members of the family not on Medifast and if available, use a sweet chili sauce that can usually be purchased pre-made at grocery stores.

Vietnamese Cauliflower with Garlic and Pepper

This cauliflower is good with soups, rice or by itself but to stick with L&G, I grilled pork instead.  I usually serve it with rice for my husband and kids.

The picture shows 3 oz. I always underestimate how big the serving we're allowed to have is ... so just add more for 5 oz of pork. I used all my condiments for the cauliflower so I had none left for the pork. But after grilling, I sprinkled some of the liquid from my cauliflower and it added good flavor to the pork.  Also, ignore the parsley ... that's just garnish to make it look pretty ... I like my food looking pretty ;-)

Medifast Lean and Green Recipe
1 tsp Olive Oil Healthy Fat Serving
1 tsp Minced Garlic Condiment #1
1 cup Cauliflower 2 Green Servings
1/4 Tbsp Fish Sauce Condiment #2 -- 1/4 allowed for fish sauce
1 packet Sweet Leaf Sweetener that is 0 carbs, 0 calories and 0 glycemic index -- get it! :-)
1 tbsp Water
1/4 tsp Black Pepper Condiment #2 - 1/2 allowed for pepper
1/2 tbsp Cilantro Condiment #2 - we're allowed up to 1 cup so this is a very small portion.

1. Grill the pork and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until a bit of garlic sizzles at once, and then add the garlic. Toss well.
3. Add the cauliflower. Cook for 1 minute, and then toss well, exposing the other sides to the hot pan.
4. Mix the fish sauce, water, sweet leaf and pepper in a bowl
5. Add to the cauliflower and cook, tossing often until the cauliflower is tender but still pleasantly crunchy, about 1 minute.
6. Stir in the cilantro, toss once more and transfer to a serving plate deep enough to hold the sauce.

I do "try" to avoid sugar when I cook for me and my family. One of the substitues I absolutely love is Sweet Leaf. It has a very good taste minus the calories.

I avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup for my children. What I found is that most fish sauces include this ingredient. Thai Kitchen Fish Sauce is one of the few I've seen that does not use HFCS. 

Both are available in available local health grocery stores my favorites of which are Mother's Market, Wholefoods and Sprouts.