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Dukan's Prescribed Exercise Regime

Busy busy busy me..  can hardly find the time to post anything.  So sorry for that ;)

As I am busy, I obviously have less time to think about food, therefore less eating and more loosing! 

In 9 days total of 6.4kg down! So far, so good! Happy with results. I already feel that on some of my clothes, as they become loose, but not just yet, to go few sizes down - its still lots of hard work has to be put in.

I am starting my gym tomorrow. I have been very lousy with my exercise regime lately, but all this just about to change.

 I have adopted  few major changes already and here is a few that I will adopt: 

+ walking up or down the stairs instead of using lift or escalators - DONE

+ taking a walk where possible, rather just driving the car. I walk every morning to get my daily newspaper from local shop, instead of driving the car like before - DONE

+ signed up for specialised pilates class to improve my core stability + DONE

+ at least once a week I will go to the gym for a good 1.5hour cardio + WILL START TOMORROW

- once my babysitting is arranged, I will hit the swimming pool too - .......

Dukan PRESCRIBED exercise regime is as follows:

• Attack phase - 20 minutes a day
• Cruise phase - 30 minutes a day
• If in stagnation, which last longer that 7 days - increase this to 60 minutes a day for 4 days.
• Consolidation phase - 25 minutes a day
• Permanent stabilization phase - you must absolutely stick to 20 minutes a day.

How about you? What is your daily exercise regime?

xo R.

Chicken and vegetable roast

Chicken, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and carrot roast

8 Skinless chicken thighs

approx 15 Brussels sprouts

Cauliflower

2 - 3 large carrots 

1 leek

Garlic (fresh crushed or powdered)

Low sodium salt

Grounded black pepper

Herb mix

Your favourite seasoning

How to:

• preheat the oven to 200 degrees C
• season the chicken, rub crushed garlic in it and put in a roasting dish. Pop in the oven for approx 15 min, turning them over once half time.
• while chicken is roasting, peel off the carrots and cut in to slices, cut the Brussels sprouts in to halves, slice cauliflower and leek
• add some seasoning to the veggie mix (I used small pinch of salt and mixed herbs) 
• when the chicken looks half way cooked (or after approx 20 min of cooking) add veggies to the roasting dish and cover everything with a foil
• cook for further 20 min  ( or till the veggies are soft and chicken is done) 

Enjoy! 

The chicken turned out very very soft and tasty.  I cooked large portion to be a  family dinner. It was a success! 

xo R.

Tuna salad

Hi all!

Its day 8 and I am another 0,5kg down. Feeling good and positive!
I was too busy this morning, did not get a chance to eat my breakfast, but I had  an early lunch, which I want to share with you.

Veggie and Tuna salad

Garden salad leaves
Cucumber
Tomatoes
Red pepper
Hard boiled egg
Tuna - canned, in brain
Balsamic salad dressing

Salads are brilliant quick meal. I went for traditional tuna salad today. Yum...;)
I had nearly two portions of it. Could not stop eating, it tasted soooooo good. For the second round I added some hard boiled egg and red pepper. All of this goodness with my very own salad dressing which I made yesterday (check 'Condiments' on the right of the page).

Enjoy!

xo R.

Dukan friendly Balsamic Salad Dressing

Did not feel bad at all pouring away full bottle of ceaser salad dressing.
Yes, I agree... it has costed me couple of pounds, but was it really worth it? Have you ever looked at nutrition contents table on any of them? I saw a whooping 50g of fat in mine... O_o .... that was enough for me to make the right decision and to prepare my own salad dressing for the various yummy salads that I usually enjoy on PV days.

So here it is - my version of Dukan's vinaigrette or Ramune's salad dressing

5 tbsp olive oil
13 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp Dijon mustard
Low sodium salt
Grounded black pepper
Clove of garlic

How to:

Mix all ingredients together, except garlic, as in the picture below. Put whole garlic clove in a dish or bottle that you will be storing the dressing and pour the contents over. Keep it in the fridge. Shake well before use.

Tips:

• it will taste nice if you add some fresh herbs  like chopped basil or dill
• the garlic left inside the bottle will release his taste slowly. If you don't like garlic,  just don't use it.

Idea!

Why not add a spoon of wholegrain mustard for more funky texture and taste.

Enjoy! 

xo R.

Tofu Cake

This is my favourite... even my kids loves it. I bake it often so have something at hand to satisfy my cravings.

Tofu Cake

200g tofu
1 egg
1.5 tbs sweetener
6 tbs milk powder
2.5 tbs oat bran
2 tbs wheat bran
1 tbs fat free cacao
1/5 tsp baking powder
few drops of vanilla flavouring

How to:

Mix all ingredients together and pour in a silicone cake tray. Bake for 30min in a 180°C temperature.

Tips:

• can use cup cake or muffin trays
• if you bake cup cakes, then it will take less time
• use different food flavourings; you also might not not want to add cacao
• taste good both warm or cold
• I prefer to bake in a cake tin, simply because the cake turns out more moist than the cupcakes

Enjoy!

xo R.

Simple and yummy broccoli and cauliflower soup

Still feel sick, but towards the evening had to put my all energy together and prepare myself a soup. It really helped me - I was  all sweating when eating it, it has soothed my throat and release the mucus both form the chest and nose. It is No 1 remedy to fight the flu!

Simple and yummy veggie soup

Small cauliflower
Small broccoli
One large carrot
Small leak
A cube of chicken stock
100g of milk
Few bay leaves

How to:

Cut cauliflower, broccoli, carrot and leak in a small cubes/chunks and put in a pan. Pour some cold water and add some bay leaves. Boil everything for around 10 minutes, add the chicken stock cube directly to the liquid in a pan, stir it well. When the veggies are soft and cooked, pour milk in and simmer for another 2 min.
Take away the pan form the hob and leave it to cool for few minutes. Remove the bay leaves,  pour in a food processor and blend it until smooth.
You can dish it straight away. I enjoyed it with some nice turkey fillet ham.

Tips: 

• if you are in hurry, you can use frozen veggies - they already cut to the right size and this will save you time
• milk is not necessary
• if you like chunky veggies in your soup - don't blend it

Idea:

Try add some chicken in it , it will be more protein rich soup and will still taste great!

xo R.

Simple breakfast - Egg and slices roast beef

Simple breakfast -  Egg and slices roast beef

Fry the egg, add you favourite spices and top up with some slices roast beef.
Enjoy it with Dijon mustard or horseradish

Bon appetite!

xo R.

Dukan Diet and flu

It has been tough couple of days. Bad bad flu was the reason for me not posting. Today I am on day 6 and today is my first day of Cruise phase and first PV day.Oh dear.. you would not believe how badly illness can mess up with your diet, your motivation... The key is to stay strong, because you know its all temporary and if you have been doing everything right, the results sooner or later will show.For some reason I started even adding the weight that I lost in first few days back. Although I have not been eating much, but I drank lots of fluids - lots of teas and water to keep me well hydrated, while in bed with a fever. Another thing that was not easy is related to teas you can drink. When I am ill I am used to drinking lots of herbal teas with lemon and honey, and this was not the case this time. No lemon, no honey - just organic herbal tea. It still did the job I think... I believe the excessive amount of fluid caused my unexpected weight gain. Today I am 3kg down, which is even 1kg more what Dukan calculated for me and I am feeling all positive.

Here are some suggestions:

Foods to eat while on Dukan with a flu

Drink plenty of Green Tea 

Green tea is very useful beverage to fight bacteria causing sickness and viruses. Green tea contains caffeine so studies have found that consuming 200 to 300 mg of this substance is beneficial for health while more than that may also harm. Green tea is the rich source of polyphenols that advances your stamina to fight against any kind of disease especially Flu. During winter season, green tea is very good to relax your body. Relaxing will also help you to fight flu.

Eat Chicken Soup

Chicken soup is the fluid that you can enjoy and even fights flu. Chicken soup decreases the inflammation, which causes cold and flu. It is found that other soups and fluids are also as helpful as chicken soup to beat flu. The mixture of all the vegetables and chicken in the soup blows away the symptoms of flu. When you suffer from flu, the most irritating symptom is the blockage in chest, nose and throat. Soups are the most advantageous fluids to defeat these symptoms; whereas chicken soup is especially useful to slender the mucus secretions. If you add more vegetables in the soup then the consumption of such soup boosts your energy level. Salt is also the vital ingredient in soup as sodium can stabilize the quantity of fluid in the body as well as supports hydration in your body.

Use Ginger! It is an excellent tool to kill bacteria

Ginger is the natural remedy for many diseases. This is mostly used to reduce usual pain and fever. It has the soothing property that helps you to rest when you are sick. Ginger has sesquiterpenes, which is the chemical that can eradicate rhinoviruses - most common cold viruses. Ginger will help you a lot to overcome the flu fever. Drinking tea with few tablespoons of shredded ginger root will also help you to fight flu. Chewing raw or salted ginger helps a lot to improve your digestive system, which also reduces all the problems related to your health. Fresh ginger root can fight cough and fever, which are the main reasons for flu and cold.

Garlic and Onions are better choice in flu

Garlic flavours all the foods due to which it is mostly used in every processed food in many cultures and regions. It enhances the immune system and has many remedial benefits. Garlic contains high amount of phytonutrients that has antiviral and antibiotic properties to cure the flu symptoms. Garlic is most probably added in the spicy foods like Indian foods but if you don’t want to consume spicy food then you can use the fresh garlic in the salad. Whereas, garlic is advantageous when cooked so use its small quantity in soups, casseroles and such other foods. The allicin compound present in Garlic has anti-oxidant properties that can prevent cold and reduce the life of flu. Proper quantity of garlic supplements as a medicine, cooked garlic, dry garlic powder, garlic oil or ripened garlic extract are different methods to use garlic, which is effective and safe to prevent Flu.As well, Onions and Leeks are widely used all over the world. They are common ingredients used in almost all processed foods as well as variety of salads. The flavonoids present in onion works in combination of Vitamin C to kill harmful bacteria.

Foods to avoid during flu

• Stop consuming extremely sweet items like sugar

• Ignore the junk foods that are deprived of calories like soda, candy, etc.

• Dehydration occurs due to beverages like alcohol, coffee and usual tea

• Congestion in nose, throat and chest is caused due to milk and products of milk like cheese, butter and other dairy products

• Spicy and fried foods are not digested well during flu

• Too much of salt should be ignored so as to ignore dehydration

I hope you have found find this information useful ;)
Today I am really looking forward to some veggies. Will have some cauliflower and broccoli - it is good source of vitamin C. Dreaming about chicken veggie soup... I hope I will feel better today, so will be able to post some recipes later. 
My tip to you - eat the right food and stay positive. Its all temporary! 

xo R.

p.s. sorry for messy writing. I still have not figured it out why all my text from word comes highlighted in white... still new to blogging.. still learning ;)

Attack Phase - Oven Grilled Barbecue Chicken

Dukan Diet Day 2 I have started with a smile - staggering 1.9kg melted away just in one day!!!!!!!!!! ;)

Had grilled some chicken for New Years Eve celebration and still had some left for next day.

Its a shot of my breakfast - Fried Egg and Grilled Skinless Chicken Thigh

I love this part of chicken the most. It is very moist, tender and cost so much cheaper than chicken breasts.
You can get it at the butchers or any food supermarket at a very reasonable price. Just don't forget to skin it and remove all excess fat before cooking.

Oven Grilled Barbecue Chicken

1 kg Skinless chicken thighs
Chicken/Berbecue or any other your favourite seasoning
1 tbs barbecue sauce (aim for sugar free or low sugar sauces)

How to:

• Remove the skin and any excess fat form the chicken tights an put in a bowl
• Add seasoning of your choice (I will be posting an article  about my favourite seasoning soon) and rub the chicken with it well.
• Add a table spoon of a barbecue sauce and rub it in
• If you not in a hurry you can leave it to marinate for at least 30 minutes or even longer. If you d
• Set your oven grill on a lowest or medium heat (it varies by appliances) and pop the chicken in. Turn it over couple of times while cooking to prevent it from burning. 

Tips:

• If you in a hurry, you don't have to leave it to marinate - it taste good if its cooked right away.
• Chicken is cooked, when the meat looks tender, but not too firm. If you use meat thermometer - aim for 170°F. If you still unsure, cut one of the thighs open to check inside. Remember - 'pink colour meat' method here is not the best as this part the chicken part contains a vein that can remain red or pinkish through all cooking process.
• You can cook a large quantity and leave it for later. It taste good when its cold too.
• It goes well with Dijon mustard, horse radish, natural yoghurt etc.

Idea!

Try using different spices, different seasoning, different condiments to make a recipe of your own. 

Enjoy!

xo R.

Attack Phase - Battered Chicken Fillet

First day went very well and easy with food. I didn't even feel that much hungry. I guess my stomach was still filled up with all the Christmas festive 'goodies' ;)

Cooked battered chicken fillet at lunch time and made mine the Dukan way. The recipe is very simple and chicken turns out very juicy and tender.

Chicken Fillet Steak or Battered Chicken Fillet

1 chicken fillet
1 egg
2 tbs oat bran
Seasoning for chicken
Few drops of oil for frying

How to:

• In a small bowl, beat the egg with a fork and keep it aside.
• Wrap chicken fillet in a cling film -  very loose and individually. Tenderize the meat with a meat hammer or any other heavy kitchen tool ( I use wooden rolling pin for this). 
• Remove cling film and season fillets with your favourite seasoning mix ( or some salt, pepper and garlic)
• Spread the oat bran on a plate.
• Take chicken fillet, dip in the bowl with an egg first and lay it down on the plate with out brans. One side first, then the other. Ensure it has nice coating on both sides.
• Preheat the pan, use few drops of oil and rub it over with a paper towel. Fry the chicken.

Tips: 

• tenderize chicken fillets evenly and thinly. It will cook well and fast.
• fry it on a low heat, otherwise oat bran will burn and will not stick well to the chicken. 
• if you usually buy oat bran in a health shop ( like Holland and Barrett in UK), they have it in different textures. 'Extra fine' is the best for dishes as such.

Idea! 

Try making Battered Chicken Bites or Chicken Nuggets using the same ingredients, but cutting chicken fillets in to smaller chunks, dipping it in the egg and rolling in oat bran, before frying. 

Enjoy! 

xo R.

Start up point

Good morning!

Its a special morning to me... not only the last day of 2012, but my first day of Dukan! Yipeee! :)

My scales were still stuck at the same place where it was yesterday and this is what Dukan calculated for me

I also installed the ticker on the right side corner which I will be updating regularly to see my progress.

Well just had a cup of morning coffee and heading to chew some roast chicken from yesterday. Bon appetite! ;)

Will be posting my daily menu's soon!

Have a wonderful day

xo R.

How to monitor your weight loss?

It is very important that you check your weight regularly.  It is crucial to weigh yourself before the diet, to know your starting point. This will also allow you to calculate your accurate 'True Weight' (you can do that on Dukan website by clicking the link here.)

 I would also suggest,  that you write down your clothes size and take few basic measurements of your body, e.g. waist, bust, hips, arms etc. Choose to measure the parts of your body that you dislike the most. Believe me - you will love to do that again at a later stage, to see you progress. And if you stick to the diet, you will not be disappointed! ;)

When I started the diet first time, I was weighing myself every morning for a very long time, till I finally understood my body well and knew what can be expected. Later, the intervals increased. 

My suggestion would be to choose the time of the day for weighing and stick to it. You do not have to check your weight every day, it can be any interval convenient for you, but you have to ensure that the time of the day is similar. Body weight can fluctuates during the day from 2 to 4lb, therefore it is advisable to weight yourself the same time of a day, all the time - for accuracy. 

I usually  hop on the scale in the morning - after using the bathroom, but before first cup of coffee. It works for me, you can try it too! ;)

I use Wii Fitness as 'my scale'. Simply because I do not have any other good scales and also love the idea seeing my progress graphs right away. That's how it looked then.. :)

If you use simple scales, as most of the people, you can write your weight down in your diary, in a computer (Excel is good for this) or if you have a smart phone, you can do that on your phone. There are hundreds of apps to choose from to monitor your weight. Most of them have notes, graphs etc. 

My tip - weigh yourself regularly and keep a record of it.

I also recommend to read a brilliant  article - Do You Make These 10 Common Mistakes Before Weighing Yourself?

If your scales does not show the number you wish to see just yet, don't worry - it is not long to go! We can do this together, the Dukan way! ;)

xo R.

A shocking start of the day...

This is what my Wii scale showed today...
Am sooooo looking  forward to start this diet...! Going food shopping today to ensure I don't lack any Dukan safe survival products.

My tip to you - always have Dukan friendly foods in your kitchen. Temptation is always there and if you do not have the healthy means of satisfying it, most likely you will fail...

Good luck

xo R.

Ombre Jellies

Very simple, very low in callories and most important Dukan friendly dessert.

I made it for Christmas - everyone loved it.

You can buy in any supermarket - Sugar Free Jelly! I used Hartleys Sugar Free Jelly sachets.  I had few different flavours and decided to experiment.

This was my first attempt to make ombre type jelly pots, and definitely not the last one! Not only it looks great, but taste great too.

You have to dissolve the jelly sachets in a hot water according to the instructions on the packet. Pour in the glasses/dish and pop in the fridge. Refrigerate until set. When one colour/flavour is set, then prepare another, different colour sachet and pour in the same glasses/dish. Refrigerate until set.

You can try as many colours as you wish. Here is some mine ;)

I also used some fruits in it, but remember this is not allowed in first two phases of this diet.

For the white layer, I used  500ml Onken Fat Free Vanilla yoghurt and one sachet (approx 12g) of gelatine. Dissolve one gelatine sachet in a 120ml of warm water and pour in to the yoghurt. Add a spoon of sweetener (Splenda) and mix everything together. Pour in a serving dish, refrigerate until set.

Finally, enjoy!

I hope you like this little dessert ;)

Thanks for stopping by

xo R.

starting!

Hello world!

Welcome to my Dukan Diet blog. You will be able to find my favourite recipes, can read my thoughts or just be my friend in this journey.

There is a saying - the way you greet New Year, the way you'll be all year round.
'Hello my slim and fabulous 2013!'  My diet start date is 31/12/12,  New Years eve..!

Season greetings and hope to see you back again!

xo R.