Cerise's Journal

[Cerise]

Hello all
I just started the Let's Do Lunch program today (03/10/09) and am very excited!! I just finished the book and feel that I have a pretty good understanding of what I should be doing. Today for breakfast I had a banana and a small red apple. For lunch I had 70% fat free chili mixed with chili beans and corn. For dinner I had a pear, orange, and a few strawberries. Did have some grapes later in the evening.  I made sure and filled my freezer with grape's Any help would be awesome!! Glad to be a part of the Let's Do Lunch!!

Thanks for the posts and words of encouragement!! I'll be sure and reread my book again!! Thanks!! Cerise

Day @ 03/11
Breakfast: Banana & Orange...lots of water
Lunch: Chili mix
Dinner: Fruit

03/12
No breakfast not hungry
Lunch: Moo goo gai pan
Dinner: Fruit
snack:popcorn

03/13
No breakfast slept in
Lunch: Chicken Salad on open faced rye with lettuce, pickles, and tomatoes
Dinner Fruit
snack: hummus with sourdough pretzel

03/14
Breakfast: Fruit
no lunch not hungry
Dinner: Fruit
snack:hummus with sourdough pretzel

[patsyfay]

Welcome, Cerise!  Nice to have you aboard. Roger encourages all "newbies" to read chapters 2-6 at least three times.  You are going to LOVE LDL!  And you're going to feel so good.  Nice to have you with us.

Pat

[Saved4Life]

WELCOME CERISE,

As a "newbie" make sure to get started, eat lots of LDL approved food, no matter how much, no matter how often to eliminate cravings!  I also concur with Pat's comment to be sure read those chapters more than once - it's alot to grasp all at once.

Come here often, we're a nice bunch of people who lovingly welcome you and we're here any time you have questions.  Welcome aboard the train to skinnytown!

Doreen

[Gwennaford]

Hi Cerise!  It is good to have you here.  I do have a couple of helpful tips about the ground beef used in your chili.

In the "70% fat free chili" - does that mean it was made with 70/30 ground beef?  If so, that means the meat was still 30% fat.  (eew )  Even when you cook it thoroughly & drain it carefully, it still retains a ton of fat that you don't want.  So after you get that meat all used up, it is a great idea to read those labels very carefully and next time choose ground beef that is 7% fat or less. 

Roger strongly advocates getting a grinder & grinding your own sirloin steaks, loin roasts, top or bottom round roasts, boneless turkey and chicken (breast meat only) with all visible skin and fat removed first.  That is not always practical, so I watch for sales on these lean cuts at the fresh meat counter, choose my cuts of meat and poultry, and ask the butcher to trim & grind them while I wait.  At my store, this often costs the same or less per pound than the highest quality ground beef, but there is 100% ZERO waste.  Make them give you the trimmings, too, or they might grind them into the meat anyway.  (I tell them I'm going to mix them with the dog's food.)

You can stretch the expensive beef by mixing it with less expensive chicken AND pureed beans to add fiber and moisture.  Try the Let's Do Lunch Burger recipe to see the correct proportions of meat to beans for making this fantastic burger.  Here's a link to it-- )

Hope you enjoy and plan to stay with us for a very long time! 

[Cerise]

I bought a can of the Hormel 70% less fat than regual chili with no beans. I just ready the can and realized that it's not 70% fat free. I also bought a can of turkey chili that is 99% fat free. I added a can of the Bush beans and corn to the chili. On the regular chili there is 7 grams of fat per cup and the turkey chili has 2.5 grams per cup.
I do have a grinder so I'll have to start getting lean meat and grinding it myself. Thank you for the recipe, I'll have to give it a try.
I really feel better just being on the plan for 5 days now. I have a hard time keeping up with my journal with little ones but will try harder
Thank you for the post!
Cerise

[Sweet_Pea]

Cerise,

Welcome, already you are feeling better,  isn't that wonderful.  This is a great eating plan.  I'm so use to all the diets where you either starved or ate all the fat  like on low carb.  This one is healthy and filling.

I wish you a great Monday and keep coming back for support.

Hugs, Carrole

[patsyfay]

Please read the ingredients list on the cans of Chili you buy.  They may be very low in fat, but almost all of them have some form of sugar in them!  Remember, a little here and a little there can mess us up!!

Pat

[Gwennaford]

I added a can of the Bush beans and corn to the chili. On the regular chili there is 7 grams of fat per cup and the turkey chili has 2.5 grams per cup.
I do have a grinder so I'll have to start getting lean meat and grinding it myself. Thank you for the recipe, I'll have to give it a try.
I really feel better just being on the plan for 5 days now. I have a hard time keeping up with my journal with little ones but will try harder

Good job extending the canned chili, Cerise.  That's what you have to do sometimes to dilute the effects of any potentially non-LDL ingredients when you're on a budget and need to use up what you have.  But as you said, it's still better to cook it from scratch.  It only takes a few minutes to knock out a batch (using pre-cooked beans that you keep in the freezer) and there are dozens of chili recipes on the recipe boards.  Sometimes I even have my own ground beef pre-cooked with onions & garlic in the freezer when I've been very industrious.

Don't stress out over the journal, it's not a requirement, just a helpful tool to get you started.  Sometimes we can spot potential problems so you don't get off course.  So glad you are feeling better already!  This is a wonderful lifestyle change that is really easy!

Gwennaford