Turkey Meatballs, Quinoa Cereal, Kale Soup,

So the diet is going very well. Thanks to blogging I am staying focused and I have lost 5.5 pounds since Wednesday! Most of this is water loss as it is not reasonable to assume it to be fat but it is an exceptional start for me.  For breakfast I made quinoa as a cereal. Quinoa is an ancient grain that has the highest quantity of protein of any grain..It is thought of as a supergrain and tasty and easy to make. You can read about it on the web or if you want to know about grains there is a wonderful book called Whole Grains by Lorna Sass which has lots of information about all those grains we should know more about and start incorporating into our meals. I put the quinoa in a strainer and wash with cold water a few times. Then I cook it in lots of boiling water til it is plumped up.. 15 minutes or less.  then just strain it and use or put into tupperware and refrigerate,for use later. Don't cook til mush as it is not as pleasant that way. The first time I cooked it I saw white threads in it which I thought were worms in the grain and tossed it out. These are the parts of the grain/seed that would sprout! I find it a tasty grain for cereals and salads and will include recipes for you as I go. For cereal I put about half a cup cooked and mix with hot skim milk, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, sliced almonds and currents. Btw cinnamon is good for lowering cholesterol. Use the nuts and currents thoughtfully. While they are good for you too they are not low cal. This is one of those breakfasts that gives me lots of energy!

Lunch was a mug of bean and kale soup made over the weekend with a few croutons.

Dinner was a salad of greens and cucumbers, fennel, tomato, with a great fat free dressing I learned from the Canyon Ranch people.

And meatballs

Turkey Meatballs

a 1.3 pound package of lean ground turkey. 2 eggs, ¾ cut freshly made breadcrumbs 2 tablespoons chopped italian parsley, salt and pepper

mix all together lightly

in a medium large skillet place 3 tablespoons olive oil and two crushed garlic cloves..Heat til cloves are lightly browned. Discard the cloves and over medium heat fry meatballs.. as one side browns turn carefully with a wooden spoon. You should have made about 36 small size meatballs and they should fit comfortably in the skillet. When they are browned on all sides, drain as much of the fat as it possible. Then add chicken broth to halfway up the sides of the meatballs and a cup of chopped canned Italian tomato. Cook rolling the meat balls in the broth over medium low heat until it forms a light covering with a little sauce with bits of tomoatoe in it.

Serving size is 6 meatballs per person. There are roughly 6 grams of fat per serving and about 200 calories.

Fat Free Dressing for salads Green or Quinoa

mix together 1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 cups apple cider 

1/4 cup of agave syrup

2 cinnamon sticks

1 teaspoon of sea salt

put it all in a jar in the frig and remove the cinnamon after marinating over night. It seems to keep indefinitely in my frig.

Morning snack was an apple I grabbed on my way to 30 minutes of cardio
evening snack was not health food but good for my sweet tooth..fat free no sugar instant vanilla pudding with a teaspoon of rum and some nutmeg..think fake eggnog!