By Chris Laferriere Rapose

Sloppy Joe Pie

Ingredients

2 large eggs
1/4 cup half and half
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp or 1 packet mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp white vinegar
4 oz mayonnaise
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 stalks large celery
1 clove garlic
1/3 cup chopped onions
4 oz tomato sauce
1 lb lean ground beef
8 oz shredded cheese

Directions
  1. Brown the hamburger with the celery, onion and garlic; drain fat.
  2. Add tomato sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt and pepper. Mix well and let simmer uncovered about 10 minutes or so to blend the flavors.
  3. Put meat mixture in the bottom of a well greased glass pie plate; mix in about 1/2 the cheese. Spread remaining cheese on top.
  4. Beat the eggs in a small bowl and whisk in the mayonnaise and cream.
  5. Pour custard mixture evenly over the cheese.
  6. Bake at 350 °F (175 °C) for 30-35 minutes until nicely browned.
  7. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.
January 09, 2013
By Dawn Thompson Hooben 

Creamy Corn and Shrimp


Ingredients

5 slices of bacon, diced
4 ears of corn, kernels removed
1 med yellow onion, diced
1 cup of whole milk
3 T snipped fresh chives
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper

Directions
  1. Cook bacon in  large sautee pan over medium heat until crisp. 
  2. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. 
  3. In the same pan, remove all but 2T of the bacon fat (compensate with olive oil to reach 2T if not enough) 
  4. Add corn and onion; cook over med heat untill softened. 
  5. Stir in milk and bring to a simmer, cook for 1 min.
  6. Turn off heat and still in 2 T of chives, 1/4t salt and 1/8t of pepper and the bacon.
  7. Skewer the shrimp, brush with olive oil and season with remaining salt and pepper. 
  8. Grill shrimp for 2 min per side or until cooked through. serve shrimp over corn and sprinkle with remaining chives.
January 09, 2013
Ingredients

1 stick of butter
1 packet dry italian dressing mix
1-2 lemons
5-6 boneless chickem breasts

Directions
  1. Put  Stick of butter in bottom of crock pot and allow to melt. 
  2. Lay chicken in pot. Sprinkle Italian dressing packet over chicken, drizzle with lemon juice, pop the lid on. 
  3. Cook on high 4-5 hours, or low 6-8 hours
January 09, 2013
 By Allyn Spacek

I serve this topped with cilantro, with mashed butternut squash. The sweetness of the squash mixed with the spiciness and vinegary-ness of the pork is awesome. 

Pepperoncini Pork (Slow Cooker)


Ingredients

1 pork roast, boneless, about 2-3 pounds.
1 jar, 16 oz or so, pepperoncini.

Directions
  1. Place pork roast in crock pot.
  2. Pour pepperoncini over (liquid and all).
  3. Cook on low all day, til pork falls apart when shredded with two forks.
  4. Remove pork from pot and shred with aforementioned two forks.
January 09, 2013
At the end of this month I'll celebrate two years following of Julie's program. To kick off my celebration, I changed the way my blog looks and I changed the name and address (URL) of this blog to Friend of Julie. If you can read this post, you're at the new web address!
This was a joyful day at the farmer's market in Sarasota, FL last month.
My new year resolution for 2013 is to bring more joy into my life and to share that joy with others. May your life be full of live-changing and joyful events. Happy new year everyone!
January 06, 2013
Over the past couple of weeks I have been ravenous.  Although Julie never spoke about limiting amounts, I have simply been eating too much.  Haven't eaten anything we're not supposed to -although I have overdone it with cheese.  Over the past 2 days I've been working on cutting down, calming down.  I'm not sure what kicked this off.  Perhaps the holidays, and being around so many food events.  Although I felt pretty calm about ignoring the call of forbidden foods, it still may have stirred things up.

The other thing I'm hitting is a sense of total boredom with what I've been eating.  I try hard, as Julie advises, to shake things up, eat a variety of foods, but I used to enjoy a lot of creative cooking and a lot of them are simply out of the questions.  It is really the first time since I began this about 5 months ago that I have felt some of that old driven quality of eating, and I hate it.  I sometimes keep eating when I am painfully fully.  Today was somewhat better and I didn't overdo it with cheese. 

I'm very clear on why I'm on this program and am not really complaining or feeling deprived.  Just noticing this sort of endless searching for feeling satisfied, and since I'm NOT going to do it through screwing up my blood sugar, it seems to be being redirected into eating too much.

One really hopeful difference though, from the past, is that when I overeat I don't feel that deep sense of shame and self-loathing and hopelessness that I used to....like I was eternally caught in some whirlwind that I would never be able to step out of.  I simply don't like how I feel physically when I eat too much.  And I'm 90 percent sure that it is temporary, and will just take a bit more commitment and acceptance, once again, of the "sacrifices" necessary to have what I really and truly want, which is health and sanity.

Has anyone else dealt issues of eating the right foods but too much?  Any thoughts?
Thank you,
Eva
I have spent quite a bit of time sitting in refresher classes with Julie, and this has come up more than once. And every time I hear the answer, I relax and calm down. I'll start there! Because reading the rest of this will put your mind at ease! Every time I have heard a person state to Julie that sometimes they just eat and eat, she says to do so-and when you finally eat the food that your body is looking for, you will then be satisfied. Easy as that. As long as you are on program and you aren't deviating, then you are fine. I think this time of year we want to hibernate, and it is easy to get bored, and just eat. Happens to us all-I myself have been enjoying beef jerkey at night (Perky Jerky is my favorite). Just try to mix it up as your body is searching for something. Make sure you take supplements and vitamins and drink a lot of water as well. 

As far as getting in a rut-Are you on the FB page too? Have you seen all of the easy wonderful recipes on there, under the files at the top of the page? It has been wonderful to have them-I myself and going to cook the roast with pepperoncinis that someone posted. I am also making a no-bean chili. Go on www.fatsecret.com and look up no carb recipes, and find some that are easy, with just a few ingredients that interest you.

As far as the cheese. Stop buying it! lol. Everyone worries about the cheese. Julie says you don't poop it out like other protein, and it stays with you, so, if you have to buy it, buy small amounts. And remember it doesn't "leave" you. When I buy it, it is for a specific recipe. Or, if I am at the deli, I ask for 4 slices of whatever-Ameican, Swiss, whatever, so that when it is gone, it is gone. I no longer keep it in the house. (The beef jerky, yes! That I have a ton of in the house!)

Good luck as you continue your journey! If you are not on the FB page and want to be, you need to be friended first as it is a private group. I will friend you and add you no problem. Just let me know!

Peace, Jennifer

Thank you Jennifer. The good news is that I seem to be calming down and today I was really satisfied by what I ate. I let myself have a hot dog at Home Depot, which I had been wanting for weeks, and it was wonderful! Then for dinner all I wanted was salad with hard boiled eggs-also wonderful. And I feel full. Haven't been able to say that in a while.

When you suggest not buying cheese I: 
a) come up with all kinds of reasons why I can't do that because of all of the cooking I do for the store-and I never know what I'm going to cook and most of it needs cheese and 
b) feel like pulling out an Uzi and defending my pile of sharp cheddar. Have images of me being dragged off a mountain of cheese holding on by my fingernails. Guess I'm sort of a cheese junkie huh? Guess I really should see whether I can do without it for a while, huh? AKKKKKK!(-:
I have a question which we have touched on in the past, but need more clarification. I know we are supposed to give up our free will to Julie and trust in what she says. My question concerns weighing yourself. I've been on the program almost 1 year and have never deviated and never gone to a refresher. What is wrong with weighing ourself? I don't mean every day. Since it's been almost a year now, I would like to weigh myself on the 1 year anniversary date and then put the scale away until the next anniversary. I know Julie said something about once you know the amount you have lost, that your body and mind will somehow make sure that you gain that amount back; however, did she program something into us that guarantees that will happen or can we just weigh ourselves that one time and than continue on with the program. My husband is also on the program (although he never went to Julie) and has lost a great deal of weight as well (as far as we can estimate). We never measured ourselves in the beginning and are still wearing pretty much the same clothes (for financial reasons) we always have - although they are now quite loose. We, therefore, would just like to have an idea of where we now are. Nothing will make us go off this amazing program as we are doing great and feeling healthier day by day - however, even though I know that on this program we will actually weigh more than we think because of all the protein we eat, we just want to know that number. I only want to know that my weight loss will somehow not be derailed because of something Julie may have programmed into us that prohibits us from the scale. I understand the intent of not doing it. I just want to know what the harm is at this point it time. It's almost a year and I've keep on it 100%. My husband did not give up his free will to Julie and he really wants to know what he weighs, so I guess it would be OK for him to weigh himself, but what about me? What is the harm in knowing that number at this stage of the game?
Of course this is just my subjective response: I don't think there is anything magical that Julie implanted that would make you balloon up because you weight yourself. 

But my question is, have you really asked yourself what is behind your wanting so badly to step on the scale? Why do you need to know that number? It seems, for me, that so much of this is about learning to know my own body from the inside out, instead of from the outside in...what others think, what the scale says. And interrupting the old habitual patterns which got us into so much trouble. I don't know about you, but I know for myself that those deep, underlying patterns, which I reinforced for 60 years or so, are still there, latent, and weighing myself and then either feeling elated (but often starting to gain weight back) or feeling disappointed (and often starting to gain weight back) were part of those habits. So, I'm committed to not feeding those old patterns. And for what? To have a number? I'm curious...what will a number give you that you don't have now? 
Eva
Thanks Eva for your comments. As I stated without new clothes or measurements, it would be a way to sort of know my progress (even tho I realize as I stated previously that we should weigh more than compared to what we used to because of the protein vs. fat thing). Since a year has almost past, and if there is really nothing that was programmed into us to explode by getting on the scale I believe that the aniversary date weigh in once a year may be in order. If anyone knows something different, please advise. As I've stated, I'm comitted to this for life. The only thing I have now to go by this extreme weight loss is a massage amount of hanging skin. I would like to know that I truly have made some positive weight loss progress.
Hi Anonymous-my "two cents" about the scale-It is as dangerous as sugar. It is Russian Roulette. It confuses "my mind". "DONT DO IT". Do it ONE too many times, and I wont be able to help you anymore"... These are the things I have heard Julie say when I have been to refreshers and people have asked her if they could get on the scale. These are refreshers, and people are in the middle of maintenance. If you want to continue on your journey with Julie, then you must continue to follow what she recommends. I don't question it. I stay off the scale. It doesn't even phase me now (I am into this 18 months). And knowing a number isn't going to make you "explode", but, who knows? Maybe the cravings will come back if you do it. I know I am not going to chance it. Hearing Julie say she may not be able to help anymore are never going to be words she says to me. My doctor knows what I weigh, she has used the word "significant" when I have seen her, and that is good enough for me. I find other ways of "measuring" my weight. Today I was at a consignment store with Chris (she is on program with me) and she found me a pair of size 6 Ann Taylor black lined pants. I gulped, took a breath, and tried them on (supposedly from what others have said about Ann Taylor, she is "true to size"). Guess what? They fit! (Actually, they were a little too big! And a little too long, but, I'm gonna get em hemmed!) I don't need a number on the scale! I have Julie in my corner! And I want her to stay there!!!!!!!!! You are an adult, you can do what you feel is best for you. But, I wouldn't do it. I would find a different way to "measure" your success. Good luck with whatever decision you decide!!!!
The urge to get on the scale is like the urge to eat sugar. When you crave sugar or have the urge to get on the scale, think of it as a sign that you are just about to have a significant weight drop.

I used to think I would find out my weight once a year; surely it would be okay to know after a year? A year later I wasn't anywhere near my goal size, so I put it off longer. Now I'm coming up to two years and I'm still avoiding knowing my weight.

I have the urge to know my weight from time to time, but I know from hearing other people talk about how off program they went after getting on the scale. 

It wasn't because Julie programmed anything in our minds. Not getting on the scale was one of the promises we made to Julie when we signed up for the program. When we break that promise, we are breaking the hypnosis part of the program.

Nothing will blow up if you get on the scale, but is knowing the number worth risking gaining your weight back? Julie tells us when we get on the scale, we're telling our bodies how much weight to gain. So, I guess something will blow up and that something is our bodies.

Best of luck to you in what you decide.


Eva, I thought you took the words right out of my mouth. I am going through the exact same thing with overeating and cheese. I just can't get enough of anything lately. 5 months ago when I started also, I told myself I would have 1 piece of cheesecake at Christmas, but I also knew that I would have no problem staying on program even after I have eaten that one piece. I have not had anything else since then, yet I feel like I am always hungry or just not satisfied also. It's driving me nuts!!! I have not gone for a refresher as I know I can do it myself plus I can't afford it either, but besides that, I feel like I am in control of what I eat, just that I'm eating too much like you. I hope my body finds what it's looking for very soon so I can stop eating. Cheese.... well, when I am finished eating all that I recently purchased I will stop buying it and see if that helps. Maybe it's the cheese that's keeping me from feeling full - I don't know what it is but I hope it ends soon. Good luck to you as well and I love all the comments/suggestions and recipes!!! Lisa

Unfortunately, sugar is the WORST thing you can step out of the river for. It triggers your body to STAY at the weight you are right now. That is why you are so hungry! Work through it the best you can!!!!! Maybe in the future you can "treat yourself" to something other than food like you did with the cheesecake-A mani/pedi, new hair cut, etc etc. Try to find something else to give yourself when you reach another milestone-You are finding out that even stepping out of the river for 5 minutes has negative lasting effects....Good luck to you as you work through it!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eva, you are too funny! I see you with string cheese dangling out the side of your mouth while you lift your velveeta cheese block up over your head in a rant as we all dutifully try to get the mountain of brie cheese and cheddar wheels out from underneath you....Remember this. I put the visual in my head, and it is still there: You DO NOT POOP out the cheese!!!!!!!! It just starts floating around in your body, not letting you lose weight faster!!!!! Your blood is just a river of goo!!!! Let it go! Visualize yourself getting thinner. Use it maybe once or twice a week. You will start to feel better. Promise!!!!


  1. LOL Jennifer...I think the laughter is a great cure for the cheddar/brie/gouda/parmesan blues. Sometimes it really helps me to see the really primitive craving monsters living inside of me...to see them for what they are, bring them out from the dark corners, expose them to the light of day, the light of friends. Remember the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz? I imagine my cheese monster melting, melting into a puddle "Who would have thought that a little girl like you could kill a witch like me!".....I'm melting, I'm melting.

    The other antidote is that with my blood sugar stable, I am amazed and grateful, over and over, when I get to the end of a day like this and see that I did the laundry, made a good dinner, did a bunch of other tasks, talked with friends, and still have plenty of energy. And I'm wearing a ratty sweatshirt that used to hog my hips and now floats around in space. I figure I've probably lost about 25-30 pounds and have another 20 to go, but feel soooooo much better! When I pass myself in a mirror I don't feel nauseous and turn away. I dont obsess about my pancreas quitting on me, know that I am doing what I can to treat myself and my body with compassion and wisdom. Wow! As I write those words they feel so, so much more important and powerful than the Cheese Monster.

    Thanks for all the support.
    Eva
  2. It's ok to have a little cheese with a protien . Maybe a glass of milk though would help. Remember eat large animal proteins . They stay with you longer. Ex. Cow and Buffalo pig is 3rd. However Alligators may be bigger than pigs. I'm just starting my second week and I'm doing ok so far. No desire for sugar or breads.
January 04, 2013
This question was posted from Pat:
Hi everyone, I am new here and am scheduled to start Julie's program on January 15th. I'm excited and am hoping she can help me lose my weight. Can you eat popcorn on her diet. Or peanut butter for protein. 
Thanks. Pat
Congratulations Pat on your decision to change your life, which this program will help you do! You'll learn what foods you can and cannot eat during the weigh loss phase in your classes.

One of the things you'll learn early on is that you are going to change the way you eat. You won't want to return to the way you used to eat, because the way we used to eat is what made us overweight. If we go back to eating the way we used to, the weight is going to come back.

Most of us feel so good after a few weeks of being on program and feeling that good helps us stay away from foods we used to indulge or overeat. Julie empowers us with knowledge about foods and the tools to stay on program.

In answer to your questions...  popcorn is not part of the program, although you will be able to eat popcorn when you are at your goal size in small amounts. Peanut butter is not on program; we don't eat nuts. Protein options are in the form of meats.

Best of luck to you with this journey!
January 04, 2013
Happy new year to all of you!  Later this month, I'll share photos from my 2 year journey on this program. Wow, two years! Meanwhile, I'm back home from my holidays in Florida.
Christmas in Punta Gorda, FL
Dorothy said it best "there's no place like home" and I was never so happy to be home as I was on Saturday night. It took 3 hours to get to the Chicopee exit from Worcester on I-90; I ran smack into the snow storm on the way home from Providence airport. There were long periods of time when I couldn't see anything and finally, 15 miles from my exit, I found apace to pull over and remove ice from my window wipers. I was shaking so bad, I stayed there for about a half-hour before driving again. I stopped 3 more times to remove ice before reaching my exit. That was the scariest driving experience of my life. I'm going to become an expert at reading weather reports; this will never happen to me again!
View from the plane landing in Providence. This should have been my warning not to drive home!
I started to write a blog from the airports on my way home, but I didn't get it posted, so here's what I wrote about airports and holiday foods...

Who knew Wendy serves breakfast? I certainly didn't. That was until I was at the Charlotte airport last week, waiting for my connecting flight, with just enough time to grab a bite to eat before boarding.
Wendy's egg, sausage, and cheese; hold the muffin please!
I was never a Wendy's fan, so I picked up coffee at one of those pastry places. I ignored the sweet things behind the glass counter and focused on just the coffee, then quickly moved to the line at Wendy's. I planned to order a couple bacon burgers, but I discovered they don't serve anything but breakfast food until 10 am. Breakfast at Wendy's? I didn't even know they made breakfast. I ordered an egg, sausage, and cheese sandwich and asked them to  hold the muffin. With my coffee and "sandwich" in hand, I had a seat in the area where we would be boarding and then gobbled up my sandwich. It was so delicious, I went back for a second one!

Earlier that morning, when I stepped on the plane in Fort Myers shortly after 6 am, I looked at the seat belt extensions sitting on a shelf for anyone who needed them at the front of the plane. I was happy to just breeze by; no need for them anymore! Gave them up about a year ago and I've never looked back. That was one of many experiences I'm happy to longer have to deal with when traveling.
No seat belt extension for me!
During my holidays in Florida I thought about my friends of the key hypnosis blog and the key hypnosis Facebook support group a lot, because I did a lot of cooking and even baked a few items. I don't usually have to deal with foods that I know many of you do because you cook for your families. I chose to bake a couple of times and when I did, I followed advice I remember hearing from some of you -- I washed my hands often to avoid tasting things I shouldn't.  

Nothing sweet to the lips was a familiar mantra while I was in the kitchen and when I was at parties. A soft voice in my head told me I needed to taste the batter, but I remembered the mantra and temptation melted as fast hot water to sugar. The moment passed. That's all it is really, a moment in time. A split-second decision; gone in an instant once you make a decision which direction you're going. But a taste of the spoon and that moment in time could have lasted for weeks. No thank you!

One party I went to had only one food on program, summer sausage. Everything else was either a carb, sugar, or both. I indulged in a cup of coffee while everyone had dessert. When we returned home, I had chicken salad I'd made the day before. The next night we had a party at our house and basically all I had was pepperoni, nothing else was on program. After the guests left, I helped clean up and called it an early night. The next morning I had a really big breakfast.

I don't find myself in these kinds of situations very often, where there isn't much control over the food options. I did the right thing by having something to eat at home after the first party, but I wish I had made something I could eat at the party at our house. At the end of the day I was hungry and I found it easier to go to sleep early that night than to fix something to eat, as we'd had a really long day. Next time, I will plan ahead. The host frowns upon people bringing anything to the party; she's an incredible cook (and baker) and she seems a bit insulted at this idea and I don't know her enough to explain myself. As it was, she wasn't happy that I brought seltzer with me, but when she found only tonic water in her cabinet, she agreed to add my seltzer to her vodka. Last year at her party I skipped the tonic water and had her add water to the vodka and I got a bit tipsy. That's not a good place to be when there's a table full of foods you don't want to eat.

In any case, I really do appreciate those of you who have families and deal with non-program foods all the time. I'm happy I was able to pass the tests of vacation in the various places I could have failed. As I said a few months ago, I own this program - it's mine! I'm pleased to say I'm still on program and looking forward to another drop in size soon.

How about the rest of you? What did you do to take care of yourself during the holidays? I'd love to hear what great tricks you put into play to stay on program!
January 01, 2013