Day 12 - Down One More Pound

And the scale finally budged! I have now lost a total of 6 lbs in 11 days. I knew it was bound to happen. (Even though knowing my luck, it’s probably just water weight, but hopefully it is fat!)

I’ve been contemplating which “emergency” foods to keep on hand when I cannot prepare my freshly-made meals. Cynthia had a few different suggestions in the Cinch! book. Lara Bars are an option for the fruit and plant-based fat puzzle pieces of a meal. I bought a few of them last week, but I haven’t eaten any of them yet. I have had these bars in the past, but at the time, I didn’t like them. I prefer Luna bars. Hopefully since I bought 5 different flavors, I will find one that I like. She also suggests a few more brands: Just Tomatoes Etc. makes dried veggies and soy nuts. Doctor Kracker makes natural whole grain crackers, and Justin’s makes a variety of all-natural nut butters (the Maple Almond Butter sounds delicious!).

On Amazon.com today, I bought some of the Just Tomatoes Etc. dried veggies and Doctor Kracker Cherry Semolina Culinary Crisps. Amazon also has the Justin’s nut butters, which are packaged in perfectly size packets, but they’re not available right now. I’m going to look for them at Whole Foods this weekend.

So, all in all, my “emergency meal kit” is off to a great planned start!

Here were my meals for the day:

BREAKFAST (8:30 am)

Berry Almond French Toast:

1 cup frozen blackberries, thawed
1 slice whole grain bread
1 egg
2 TBSP slivered almonds
Dash each cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves



Really loved this breakfast! I have to add this one into my regular rotation.


LUNCH (12:00 pm)

Chicken Pesto Pita:

4 large romaine lettuce leaves, 1 medium chopped plum tomato, and ½ cup chopped cucumber
½ whole grain pita
3 oz cooked chicken
1 TBSP sun-dried tomato pesto
1 clove minced garlic




Really loved this pita too!

I had my dark chocolate around 3:00.


SNACK (4:30 pm)

Cinnamon Walnut Apple Crisp:
(I cut the whole grain and plant-based fat servings in half, so I could have the full recipe. I usually have to omit the whole grain from my snack each day)

1 medium apple, chopped
1/8 cup whole oats
8 oz skim milk
1 TBSP walnuts, chopped
Dash cinnamon

I was so looking forward to this snack, but it wasn't as good as I thought it would be. I microwaved my apples, and then stirred the oats and walnuts into the dish, but it was pretty dry. Maybe I'll pour some of the milk over the snack next time to mix it up a bit. Or, I could cook the oats with a bit of hot water first before stirring into the mix.

DINNER (7:30 pm)

Ricotta Primavera Penne:

Mushrooms (omitted), 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper, 1/4 cup chopped red onion, and 1 medium chopped plum tomato
1/2 cup whole grain penne pasta
1/4 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
1 TBSP olive oil
Minced garlic, basil, and oregano


And this meal was just OK. I put marinara sauce into the dish for my family's meal, but left mine as directed in the recipe. I think I missed the marinara sauce!

Tomorrow, my co-workers are taking me out for a belated birthday lunch to Dave's Cosmic Subs. I will be subbing both my Cinch lunch and snack for this outing. So, I probably won't write an entry for tomorrow. But then, I'll be back on the plan like clockwork. I don't want to go off the plan anymore until my 30 days are over, and then possibly not even then either!