Hi all, just started the diet yesterday and so far so good! Anyone else starting the Cohens diet do give me a shout out so we can maybe support each other through this!

I've been trying to look for some QUICK meals I can make as I have a very active toddler and not alot of time to cook. This afternoon I had the WORST tuna salad (just canned tuna, salad and balsamic). It was depressing. Any suggestions?

Hi wandabees and welcome to the forum. When I started Cohen's I was given recipes by my consultant but these days I thought you were given a recipe book. I used to eat mainly stir-fries (using olive oil spray of course) and balsamic was part of the flavouring, added at the end. Did you add some low-fat mayo to yr salad? I used to have some canned asparagus with mine, celery, tomato & a little lettuce & eat it on crackers. I was never a good cook or even interested but got better as I went with Cohen's. Experiment. You'll get used to plainer food as well. There are so many additives- flavour enhancers etc in packaged processed food that we have almost forgotten what actual food tastes like. Buy produce as good quality as you can afford, pref organic because you're not actually eating much so what you do eat should be really good. Cheers, cate.
PS I "bumped" the recipe thread to bring it closer to the top but you may want to save the link to your favourites. It is-
http://weight-loss.fitness.com/cohen...n-recipes.html

I agree, you soon get used to the foods you have to choose from and start experimenting... i find when its time to eat i just eat it.. If my latest brainwave is a disaster i am too hungry to care and remind myself that certain things should not be mixed.ha ha ha.. I too have a toddler and find salad foods are quick and easy... I have just changed to the 3-2-1/2-3-1 order and had a lovely breaky of diced steak cooked with tomato, mushroom and onion, i then made a suace with some dried chives and mayo... yum yum... pepper to taste, it was most enjoyable.... i however do not enjoy my yogurt that much and now have it for dinner... but any way good luck... will look out for your future posts...

May the water be with you...

TTFN
Chelle

Thanks so much for the tips ladies! And thanks for bumping up the recipe thread Yes we are given a small recipe list with our programme but not too many salad ones!

Today was day 3 for me and the first day I actually felt HUNGRY pretty much all day. I guess this will pass. I also have been experimenting with 'marinating' my chicken breast with curry powder and black pepper (lunch), and garlic powder and black pepper (dinner). I must say it was pretty tasty!

I made a booboo though... I forgot that I'm not supposed to eat more than 2 crackers at one time and ate my whole cracker allowance in one sitting!! Sigh... I hope this doesnt set me back too much.

Hey hey. I've been doing this only for four weeks, but I've definitely got a few staples:

Breakfast -
Option 1: grated zucchini mixed with raw egg, then cooked like mini-fritters in the frypan.
Option 2: grilled mushrooms and sliced zucchini cooked with some fresh parsley, pepper and a splash of balsamic, then crack an egg over the top. YUM!

Lunch and Dinner -
Option 1: Mexican beef. Kind of like taco meat... I cook some lean minced steak with paprika, cumin, coriander and chillie. I then pop in tomato, capsicum and onion. Throw in a little salt and a splash of water, then wait for it to reduce. YUM! If you're in a rush, I assume you can just throw it all in together.
Option 2: Balsamic Chicken. Poach chicken breast in a mix of half water and half balsamic. Serve with green salad. Man - It's sooo good!!!

Also, I'm a little over the balsamic vinegar on everything, so I find that a really nice dressing on salads is lemon juice (though you have to take that off your fruit. But if you have kiwi, mango or honeydew, it's such a small amount and definitely worth it) mixed with cracked pepper and ground cumin.

Also, get into the fresh herbs. Throwing in come fresh parsley, basil or coriander leaves into your green salad makes it so much more interesting.

Hope that helped a little! You are doing so well already! I zipped up a work shirt today that I haven't been able to wear in over a year!!!! It's my first major breakthrough. So exciting! It won't be long at all til you are there!

thanks for those recipes! your mushroom/zucchini/egg breakfast one sounds DELICIOUS... and so does that Mexican beef! Will definitely give that a try soon

So I've been getting a little sick of my breakfasts, so today I tried something new. So simple and SOOOOOOOO YUMMY!!!

Just steam some asparagus, top it with cracked pepper. Then pop a soft poached egg ontop. A little salt and pepper on the egg... wow it's good! The yolk makes a sauce and it feels so decadent. mmm.

Congrats on the weight loss!!!

Hi Wandabees, my favourite recipe this week is mango chicken.
Cut up your poultry allowance into small squares and toss with balsamic vinegar and a chopped garlic clove (from allowance) leave to sit while you cut up yor veges -I used spinach, mushroom and zucchini. Spray a non stick pan with cooking oil then stirfry the chicken till brown. Add the cut up veges and a dash (maybe a dessertspoonfull of water) Put the lid on the pan and leave while you cut up your mango allowance then add it to the pan and stir until you have a rich brown sauce and the mango is just breaking down. It is delicious and well worth the fruit sacrifice elsewhere. I had a good plate full so itfilled me up. Yummy.
Hope you enjoy it -it takes about 10mins frm beginning to end so really quick.
Del x

Just so you know, garlic is considered a herb, so it is NOT a part of the veggie allotment.

Thanks AZ, I'm confused as my consultant said if it's fresh it needs to be counted as part of my veg allowance like other fresh herbs? I'm not a fan of dried garlic but love the fresh stuff!!

Sorry Az.. that is how it used to be...... but now if its fresh you weigh, if its powder or granules you count it towards you herb allowance...

TTFN
Chelle

Oh weird... that must be one of the things that they haven't change yet on the US program! I had just asked the consultant to double check too.

Cool... do whatever the AUS program says! Didn't mean to misslead you!

Tried making a soup today with fresh mushroom / chicken / vegetables...real yummy I must say. Whoever needs a tip on it, just email me

Okie...I tried out this steamed fish ... gosh I think it tasted just as good without the usual corn starch / soy sauce etc.

Okie below are the steps if you're truly interested to give it a try

1) Rub sea salt over your portion of fish thoroughly (you want to remove that fishy smell!) Let the fish stand for about 10 mins, longer if you've the time to spare.
2) Wash the salt off the fish.
3) Prepare the following according to your allowance:

• Half of a fresh mushroom
• ginger slices - no need to weigh if not eating
• fresh chilly cuts - again no need to weigh if not eating

4) Place the fish on a small plate and pour some water over the fish water should cover half the fish and top the fish with all listed in 3) above.
5) Steam the fish in a steamer for approximately 8 mins - you don't want to do it any longer, the meat gets a bit tough after that precious 8 mins mark.
6) Gosh EAT it OF COURSE!

Hope you guys enjoy this Asian menu...may not suit some western palatte though. Good luck guys with your weight loss!

It would suit my palate very nicely thanks FlaMie. I'll try it sometime soon when I get fresh fish. It's a bit lacking where I live. It sounds delicious. We eat lots of Asian-style food- mostly stir-fries & always use fresh ginger root, garlic & chillies. Stop- I'm hungry right now thinking about it. Cheers, Cate