Today's recipe is from Lou, one of our key friends who is a fabulous cook. The beauty of this pesto is that it does not contain pine nuts. It's also fresher and cheaper than store bought pesto.  Pesto is one of those ingredients you can add to just about everything you make. Fresh basil is available year-round and you can make this in large batches and then freeze it in smaller portions. This recipe is inspiring me to try growing basil summer.
Ingredients
  • 1.5 cups baby spinach
  • .75 cups basil
  • 6 cloves garlic
  • .5 cups grated Parmesan
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
Directions
  • Place everything in a blender or food processor and blend while adding olive oil until smooth.
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February 25, 2015
My eating routine has evolved since I started eating the key-way. I used to think the time of day determined when or if I was hungry. Every morning I would get out of bed and it was immediately time for breakfast. At the strike of noon, I was hungry. A clock, I've learned, has nothing to do with hunger.

My eating routine completely evolved on the morning after my first session when I got out of bed and I did something I hadn’t done since I was 19 years old - I skipped breakfast. I just wasn’t hungry. The fact that I had woken up that morning fully embracing the concept to eat only when I'm hungry shocked me, but it felt good and it felt right, so I went with it.

It’s four years later and I still don’t eat breakfast - most days. I say most days, because my appetite changes from time to time. With no ties to the clock, I usually eat between 11-2 and then again between 5-8. There are mornings when I am hungry and I have breakfast, days when I’m not hungry and skip lunch or dinner completely, and days when I don’t eat at all. Yes, there are times when I don't eat for a day or two. Talk about shocker! Once again, it feels good and it feels right, so I go with it.

As I was writing this piece, I realized I was hungry. I noticed the time, 10:50am, as I got up from my computer. I wasn’t looking at the clock to determine if I was hungry, those days are long gone, I needed to keep an eye on the time so I wouldn't miss an appointment.

I heated up the last of yesterday's homemade chicken soup and as I stirred the soup I thought about a conversation I had with blog contributors at our potluck this past weekend. A few of us discussed the possibility that we may be using the concept to eat when you hungry to allow ourselves to eat too much.

Is it possible that we're on a plateau because we're eating too much? 

As I write this, my immediate response is:
If you think you’re eating too much, then you probably are.
Can it really be this simple? Yes, I believe it is this simple.

Looking at my bowl of chicken soup, I wondered if one bowl of soup would be enough.

Of course it’s enough – it’s a whole bowl of chicken, vegetables, and broth! 

The day before I made chicken soup from a whole chicken. At lunch I ate some of the chicken when it was still warm. At dinner, I ate three bowls of soup. Or was it four?

But that’s okay - right? Everything I ate was on program. The chicken-vegetable ratio was spot on. Sure, everything I ate was on program, but did I really need to eat that many bowls? Was I really that hungry?

I knew the answer: probably not.

I'm at a turning point in my weight loss journey and the answer to this question is essential:
Am I ready to evolve once again on my weight loss journey?
Yes,  I'm ready to evolve my weight loss program. Reaching my goal size depends on this evolution. This feels good and it feels right, so I'm going for it. 

What about you? Is it time for an evolution in your weight loss evolution?
February 23, 2015
This recipe comes from contributor Jennifer. She brought this to the potluck yesterday and as soon as I took a bite I realized I needed to take a photo. This recipe is easy to make and ingredients can be adapted to suit your taste and what's in your kitchen.
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
  • 12 large eggs
  • 16 oz cottage cheese
  • 8 oz Swiss cheese, shredded
  • 8 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 large white mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 cup spinach, chopped
I cut up at least 2 ham steaks (bite size pieces) or you could use cooked sausage, bacon, turkey, chicken, etc. I also omit the spinach, and add corn and more mushrooms; you can add peppers, etc.
Make it your own!

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 °F.
Spray 9 x 13" pan with olive oil.
  1. Cook onion in olive oil until caramelized. Put aside.
  2. Add eggs to a large mixing bowl. Scramble eggs.
  3. Add cottage cheese, Swiss, cheddar, mushrooms, spinach and cooked onions.  Stir all ingredients together until well mixed.
  4. Pour egg mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes.
  5. Serve warm.
Note: can be refrigerated and reheated.
February 22, 2015
I was at a small key-potluck yesterday and one of the fabulous dishes served was this chicken coleslaw Inna made. It's one of Julie's recipes and I only have one word: yummy!
 
Ingredients
  • 1 bag shredded coleslaw
  • 4 cups cooked chicken (chicken tenders or chicken breasts)
  • Mayonnaise
  • Fresh sweet basil (or dried basil)
  • 1 Fresh lemon or lime
  • Salt and pepper
Directions
  1. Slice chicken into small pieces
  2. Add bag of coleslaw into a large serving bowl
  3. Add the chicken into the coleslaw
  4. Add in enough mayonnaise to cover chicken and slaw
  5. Add basil, salt and pepper (to suit your taste)
  6. Squeeze fresh lemon or lime and let it sit
  7. Chill in refrigerator for at least 10 minutes
"Chicken and coleslaw fast and easy"
- Julie Ann Kibe
Here's the recipe Jennifer followed to cook the chicken for her basil chicken coleslaw:

Ingredients
  • Butter or olive oil
  • 1 or more boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • Salt and pepper
  • Other spices or seasonings
Equipment
  • Baking dish
  • Parchment paper
Instructions
  1. Heat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the middle position. 
  2. Rub the pan and one side of the parchment paper with butter or olive oil; this prevents the chicken from sticking.
  3. Pat the chicken dry and rub with a little butter or olive oil, if desired. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and any other favorite seasonings. I sprinkled mine with dried basil.
  4. Transfer to the baking dish and place the chicken breasts in the baking dish, spaced slightly apart. You can also tuck herbs or lemon wedges around the chicken for extra flavor.
  5. Lay the parchment, butter-side down, over the chicken. Tuck the edges into the pan and press the parchment down so that it's snug around the chicken. The chicken breasts should be completely covered with the parchment.
  6. Transfer the chicken to the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is completely opaque all the way through and registers 165°F on an instant-read thermometer.
Serve the chicken immediately, or let it cool and refrigerate for up to a week.

Original recipe source for Basil Chicken Coleslaw Key Hypnosis
February 22, 2015
It's easy to believe that because we didn't succeed once or twice, we will always fail. Albert Einstein once said “I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right.” It is this kind of optimism we need embrace to be successful on our weight loss journey. Don't think about how many times you failed before. You didn't fail all those other times--you just didn't finish! Finish what you started today-don't wait for tomorrow to begin your weight loss journey.

I created this comic strip of myself using Pixton Comics
Click on image for larger view
In mid-January I joined a handful of key-friends in a 30-day squat challenge. My kitty Ginger loves it when I do squats, because I rub her belly each time I squat. I was disappointed, as I'm sure Ginger was, that my two earlier attempts at squat challenges were unsuccessful.

This time, I was determined to finish my 30-day challenge. After finishing day one, I proudly placed a black check mark on my chart and then wrote about my progress, something I did every day of my challenge. All four days.
This morning I saw my unfinished squat post and I realized I was feeling like a failure every time I saw that blog piece, as it reminded me of something I started and didn't finish. I realized my little mean girl was acting out and suddenly I had a perfect topic for today: finish what you start.

I am not a failure because I didn't finish those squats! I simply didn't finish what I started. The key is to start something you really want to finish. I asked myself: how important it for me to do those squats? Right now, it's just not that important. I hushed my little mean and I broke free from the cycle of failure!

It's important to finish what we start, because we feel great when we do and we feel lousy when we don't. When we don't finish what we started, we feel like a failure. We feel embarrassed. Why do we feel embarrassed? Because we often ANNOUNCE to everyone that we're going on a diet or exercise program. Later we feel embarrassed and shameful because we didn't finish what we started.

Does any of this sound familiar to you? How many times have you announced to friends and family you're going to start a diet or exercise program and in a short amount of time went off your program? You no longer talked about it. You silently hoped none one would ask "how's your program coming along?" You felt full of shame. You felt like a failure. You may even have completely shut down and stopped feel anything. Months or years may have passed before you dared announced you were starting another diet or exercise plan. How many times have you repeated this cycle of feeling like a failure? Isn't it time you break out of the cycle and finish what you started?

I have attended a number of personal growth workshops and I didn't announce them everyone, because those workshops were way out there. After four years on this program, I'm still at a loss of words to describe how or why this works. This program may be out there, but it works.

The day I began my weight loss journey, I felt a shift inside me that I couldn't put to words. Three years ago, I began this blog because when I'm at a loss for words, I write to process what I'm going through. I didn't talk to friends and family about this program, but every day I let about 300 people listen in and join in my conversation about my weight loss journey.

But I digress. My point today is this: finish what you start. Start again and again and don't give up on your plan. Ask yourself if you really want it and every time you feel like going off your program, remember how much you want this. Free yourself from the cycle of failure.

Have you fallen off your diet or exercise plan? You did not fail - you haven't finished what you started.

Tell you inner critic, that voice I refer to as your little mean girl, to hush and get right back on your plan this moment. You've been in the cycle of failure enough times to know tomorrow never comes.
February 19, 2015
A few of my "non-key" friends, who want to lose weight, tell me they can't give up X, Y, or Z foods that are not on this program. They insist "it's not healthy" to give up those foods (fruit or whatever foods they say they can't give up). To which I reply "Do I look unhealthy to you?"
What are you focused on today?
I've been following this program for four years now. I have more energy than I did ten years ago and probably more than I had twenty years ago. My doctor is happy with all my numbers and I'm not on any medication. Before I started on this program I was not diabetic, but it runs in my family and, according to my doctor, I would most likely be a diabetic by now if I hadn't dropped all this weight.
I have more energy today than I did when this photo was taken in 1998
After conversations with non-key friends about the foods we eat, or more specifically: the foods we don't eat, I think about the sustainability of this way of eating. This way of eating is sustainable. Why? Because we aren't supposed to be "in the river" for the rest of our lives.

Being in the river refers to the part of our journey when we eat certain foods and we stay away from others - this is our weight loss phase. While in this phase, we stay focused on reaching our goal size.

Once we reach our goal size, we begin to cycle in and out of the river, as we add specific foods back into our diet. This cycling teaches us to maintain our goal size and we only return to the river when our clothes are tight.

But you know all this because you've been through the program.*

All this leads me to one question: What are you focused on today?

If you're focused on non-key foods--it's time to let those thoughts go. Push them back. Tap them away. Do whatever it takes to stay on course.

Keep your eye on the prize folks: stay focused on reaching your goal size.

Meanwhile, stop worrying about maintenance or how long it will take to reach your goal. Your time will come - you will reach your goal. And once you're there, you'll be just as successful at maintaining your weight as you were losing your weight.

But first - you have to reach your goal size.



 *If you haven't been through the program: wait until you've finished your  first three sessions before you read this blog or any other blogs related to this program. Why? Because the less you know before you start on this journey the better. Come back after you've been through all your sessions.
February 09, 2015
I'm on a roll with asparagus this week and here is another yummy asparagus recipe. This time we use spaghetti squash for the "crust" and then add the quiche ingredients. I haven't made this recipe, but our key-friend Kathleen made this and shared her photo with us. I modified this recipe per her recommendations.
Like any quiche recipe, don't let the fact that you don't have one ingredient stop you from making this, use any vegetable or any kind of cheese (or no cheese at all) you have available.

Ingredients
  • 13 ounces, weight Asparagus
  • ½ Small Yellow Onion
  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
  • 5 Eggs
  • 1 cup Milk
  • 1/8 cup grated sharp cheddar or Swiss cheese
  • ½ teaspoons Salt
  • ¼ teaspoons Pepper
  • 1 small cooked spaghetti squash (3 cups)
  • Cooked bacon, cut into thirds
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400ºF.

Cut off the woody ends of the asparagus.

Chop the onion, mince the garlic, and cut the asparagus spears into 1-inch pieces.

Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat, and saute onion and garlic for several minutes, until the onion is soft.

Add the asparagus and continue to saute until the asparagus has turned bright green and is soft but not limp.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, cheese, salt, and pepper.

Grease a pie pan.

Press the cooked spaghetti squash to the sides and bottom of the pan, forming an even crust.

Pour the egg mixture into the pan. Add the asparagus, onion, garlic, and bacon pieces on top of the egg mixture.
Bake for 40 minutes until quiche is firm.
This recipe was modified from the original recipe source: Tasty kitchen
February 09, 2015
Tasty recipes don't get much easier than this one that only has two ingredients. Thanks Inna for the recipe and your photo!

Ingredients
  • 1 dozen uncooked asparagus
  •  1 dozen uncooked slices of bacon (regular or turkey)
Instructions
  1. Cut the ends off each asparagus.
  2. Wrap each asparagus with a slice of bacon.
  3. Cover a baking sheet with tinfoil and place all the wrapped asparagus on top.
  4. Leave in oven until the bacon is crispy and gold.
February 06, 2015
A friend from Southern California shared this recipe on Facebook and it looked so good it only took me a few days to pick up the ingredients and make this. On this third snow storm Monday shutting down most of Western Massachusetts, this is the perfect day to enjoy this soup!

The original recipe includes potatoes, which I switched out with parsnips instead. If you're not a parsnip fan, skip the parsnips or be creative and add a different veggie.

Ingredients
  • olive oil
  • 2 lbs ground beef
  • 6 parsnips, diced
  • 8 carrots, diced
  • 3 celery stalks
  • 1 large yellow onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 4 cups beef stock
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 28oz can diced tomatoes (I only had one 14oz can of diced tomatoes and this soup still tasted delicious)
  • 1 pound frozen green beans (I added a 12oz of fresh green beans)
  • 1 pound frozen corn
  • 4 bay leaves
Instructions

Heat some olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. (I didn't add oil to the pan before adding the ground beef.)

Add the ground beef and brown. Remove ground beef from the pan and set it aside. (The recipe didn't say if you should keep the liquids from the pan or not so I kept this, which was a great choice because this soup turned out so flavorful.)

Add more olive oil to the same pot (I adde the oil this time) and then add: parsnips, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and sauté until the onions are translucent.

Add the ground beef the the pan. Pour in the beef stock, water, tomatoes, green beans, corn, and bay leaves.

Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Let simmer for an hour.

Season with salt and pepper and serve!
=

Original recipe inspiration from All Food Recipes
February 06, 2015