HCG Chicago Loves Summer Fruit Fizzy Drinks

by CathyK

Can you say YUM to a nice refreshing fruit fizzy drink to keep you cool on a hot sweltering day?

Depending on which phase of the HCG diet you’re on determines which fruits you can use, but there’s something for everyone when it comes to summertime fruits. Fresh made fruit fizzy drinks aren’t just yummy, they provide bonuses like balancing blood sugar, detoxing the kidneys and liver, and boosting metabolism. What more could you ask for?!

The base of any good fizzy drink is sparkling or mineral water combined with a handful of fresh fruit, cucumber slices, fresh mint and a splash of citrus – that’s IT!

During Phase 2 you’re limited to using strawberries, apples, lemons, limes and cucumbers, but it’s not a problem getting creative with these.

During Phase 3 you have all the wonderful berry options, mangoes, peaches, oranges, and just about everything except bananas and dates.

Minty Citrus Delight: Combine 1 cup sparkling or mineral water, some fresh mint sprigs, cucumber and lime slices, and a dash of fresh lime juice. Personally, I like to combine citrus flavors for this one – lime with grapefruit, orange or lemon is fabulous!

Berry Cooler: Combine 1 cup sparkling or mineral water, a handful of berries (or mix up raspberries, blueberries and strawberries), add a slice of citrus (lemon or orange), and a splash of unsweetened cranberry juice.

Last but not least, pour your delicious concoction into a martini glass and go soak up the sun……..

The possibilities are endless so get the fixings and get mixing!

Some favorites

A Great Way to Get Your Fruits and Vegies!

by CathyK

Fruits and vegies are major health players when transitioning to a new eating plan. Whether you eat them raw, steamed, or blended in soups and salads, you benefit from their nutrients.

Two other great ways to get mega nutritional power are from juicing and blending them. Either of these can take just a bit getting use to – from both a flavor and habit standpoint. Both juicing and blending are a bit more time consuming, but the payoff is huge!

Many people start with blending before juicing, and typically with more fruits than green or other vegetables. As long as you don’t make a habit of using a lot of high glycemic fruits on a daily basis, this is fine. Typically people start with bananas for both their flavor and texture, but apples and pears are fast becoming favorites as replacements for them.

Breakfast is usually the first meal people experiment with to make this a daily habit. Get creative – add a bit of almond nut butter or powdered protein mix (depending on which phase of the HCG program you’re in) to your fruits. Then start adding a big handful of spinach or kale to the blend – it’s a great way to get those greens and not taste them!

For those who are more drawn to juicing, the key here is to use as many vegetables as possible and accent the more  bitter flavor with a fruit or two such as a handful of berries or an apple, or both.

No matter which method you choose, knowing that doing so will get you into healthier eating habits. You don’t need to invest in expensive equipment right off the start either. Many have started with lesser expensive juicers and blenders and do just fine. Some critics will argue that the lesser expensive equipment doesn’t extract enough nutrients, or the pulp is wasteful – but does this really matter for the short term? The goal is to get more fruits and vegies into your diet, and blending and juicing are the best way to do so. And one last thing – use organic produce as much as possible.

Hidden Sugar

by Sherry

According to a recent tribune article, the average person consumes 100 pounds of sugar a year. Wow! Some studies have that number up as high as 150, that’s a person.  I have a sweet tooth, but have become much more aware of the hidden sugars. When I speak to people about phase 1, I ask they give up the sugars. Remember phase 1 is not about losing weight, although many do. It is about preparing yourself for phase 2 and cutting some things out of our life that spike our blood sugars and tend to put added weight on. One of the things we stay away from is sugar. This is sometimes a huge task, because it is hidden in everything. It is disguised as sucrose, dextrose, fructose, and corn syrups. You have to ask yourself, “Why do they put corn syrup in my ice cream?” I suggest that if we stay away from the bar codes and boxes we can avoid being a part of the 100 plus number of sugar consumption. Let’s face it, apples aren’t making us fat.So, just a gentle reminder of things to avoid. For example, salad dressings. With so many wonderful flavored vinegars that are available to us, there is no need to buy a bottle of things you cannot pronounce. The rule of 3; if it has more than 3 ingredients, there is probably something in it, we don’t need. Today, I am a proud label reader. I invite you to join me on the education of sugar.

Paula

by Sherry

Paula Deen recently announced that she had been diagnosed with diabetes, receiving a very negative back lash from the public. The queen of country cooking being diagnosed with diabetes does not come as a surprise. The fact that she knew this several years ago and continued to push deep fried cheesecake does. Before she became uber famous, I recall seeing her for the first time on the Oprah show. She was making a Southern dish and just kept adding more and more butter. This was at a time when Oprah had lost some weight, and was a little stricter about her diet. She looked a little horrified at all the butter going in the bowl, and asked if all of it was necessary. Paula answered “Oh honey, I’m not your doctor, I’m your cook!”  This comment received a big laugh from Oprah and the audience. It was at that moment it became cool to eat deep fried everything. Paul Deen’s career took off. We appreciated her honesty about her fat infused cooking. She made no apologies for things tasting good. We bought her cook books and began feeling noble about ourselves embracing mountains or butter, sugar, and flour. We were free to make cakes, cookies, and biscuits. We fried chicken and immersed our green beans in bacon grease for that extra flavor. I myself made a yummy delicious coconut cake from Paula’s recipes. Her son Bobby’s favorite when he came to visit. This was a work of art, and so it should be, because it packed a whopping 680 calories per serving. I remember thinking, “That seems like a lot.” Once my food induced comma wore off, I had to face the truth. This was not a healthy way to live. If I wanted to enjoy the freedom of just moving on my own, without any added help of golf cart, I needed to stop making these heart clogging recipes. The love affair was over. I put away the heavy cream and went back to almond milk. I began embracing my fresh whole foods again.

Paula Deen has diabetes. That saddens me a bit. She seems like a great lady up there on the big screen. But even she has to admit that this way of life has come back to bit her in the butt. She was on a recent TV program and looked good. She had begun to exercise and dropped some weight. She did not elaborate on her health, only that she was feeling great. The empire she had built is on a foundation of fat. She can’t really be negative about anything securing her and her family’s future. Next up you will see Paula endorsing a diabetes medication and her son cooking healthier recipes, perfectly orchestrated to take over. They have had a few years to do any damage control while continuing to promote their artery clogging recipes. Regardless of how much the empire suffers or whether she changes her cooking habits remains to be seen. The diabetes says it all for her. I like Paula, and wish her good health in an uphill battle.