Cranking along on the Fast Metabolism Diet-or maybe cranking. I seem to have plateaued for a couple weeks. It doesn’t help that my stress levels at work are through the roof. And my work hours are such that I haven’t exercised the past couple of weeks, either. I was kind of frustrated Friday with the diet, so I decided to cheat and eat some handmade corn tortillas with my staff at a great new taco joint called Tall Boy Taco (if you are in Chicago and hankering for some fresh, light tacos, check them out.)
Ironically, I finally got the scale to budge yesterday and lost a pound?! Yes, it budged after my enjoyment of delicious corn-laden tacos and a few corn chips with guacamole!
SO maybe my metabolism was getting used to the phases? And my cheating on Friday kicked it into gear? I have no idea. But I am back on track and back to exercising this week.
I did not want to stay on this diet this long-it’s sort of driving my ever patient hubster nuts. But I did want to lose anther 10 lbs. It’s been 2 1/2 months of this diet and I am noticing this last batch of pound shedding is a lot slower than the first batch.
Ah well.
Here’s a recipe that can help, and it’s an easy one. This is based on Haylie’s turkey zucchini meatballs, but as always, I adapt her recipes for my family. I had to add garlic, and I softened the bread crumbs with some almond milk, and I gave the zucchini a good saute before adding to the ground turkey.
I found a nice jar of sugar-free tomato sauce and a batch of gluten free quinoa based linguine and we had a feast for a Sunday. Even my “sick-of-this-crazy-confusing-diet-cranky-hubby” was happy!
Fast Metabolism Diet Phase 3 Zucchini Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 medium zucchini, shredded
2 slices sprouted grain bread, well toasted and dried out then chopped/crumbled
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning blend
1/2 small onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup almond or coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Toss the shredded zucchini with a healthy sprinkle of salt (about a teaspoon). Place the zucchini in a colander over another bowl. Place a bowl filled with water on top of the zucchini to press it down gently and squeeze excess water out. Let it sit this way for 30 minutes to an hour. Once ready, use your hands to squeeze the rest of the water out of the zucchini, pressing it against the sides of colander.
In a small saute pan, heat up the olive oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook on medium heat until softened, then add the shredded zucchini. Cook until zucchini is beginning to soften. Let cool down for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350˚.
In a bowl, add the crumbled bread and mix with the almond milk to soften. Add the turkey and the egg and mix very well. Finally add the zucchini mixture and combine well.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Shape the turkey mixture into 2-3″ balls and place on the parchment. Bake for about 20 minutes (or until golden brown), flipping the meatballs once during cooking time.
Serve with a tomato sauce that has had no sugar or corn syrup added nestled in some low-carb, gluten free pasta.
Flora is an award-winning creative director in Chicago turned food and lifestyle blogger extraordinaire. She is also author to the popular BEE NATIVE! gardening book series and various children's books that celebrate the wonder and hard work of bees and butterflies. Her blog and social spaces inspire thousands to create, learn, cook, grow, and craft, making their world lovelier one pixel/petal/seed/bite/stitch/brushstroke at a time. Follow her on all the social spaces, YouTube, and Amazon, and get creative!
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