Cruise Phase:
Week 6
Monday 22nd April - Sunday 28th April
And here we are again! These weeks seem to be flying by! I suppose that is a good thing since dieting is hard anyway. So this week I have been a little more strict with myself. The main reason for this is that last month I lost 15lbs altogether and this month I want to beat it. So, as the 2 month mark draws to a near I am pushing myself even harder. As a result I will not be alternating daily between PV (Protein and Veg) and PP (Pure Protein), I will do two days of PP and one day of PV and so on. I will start this mid-week so as not to overdo it as I plan to continue doing it through to the end of next week. I'm hoping this will give my body a bit more of a kick start, and I can lose more than I did last week, (which was 1 lb). I will also try to work out at least twice this week, as I haven't done that much exercise for a while. So without further ado:
Monday 22nd April - PP
Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge
Lunch: Thai Chicken Patties with Spicy Dip
I've got to admit, these look really good in the photo. And they were okay, but I just found them slightly dry. Maybe this was because I used leftover cooked chicken from yesterday. The spicy dip however, was delicious! Really added some moisture to the patties and is something that I will add to other dishes for that bit extra spice. What I would say to anyone is, just try it and see what you make of it. And if you find a different and more tastier way of making these, post a comment and teach me something for once ;)
Here's the recipe:
Ingredients (Serves 2)
For the chicken patties:
350g of cooked chicken (I would recommend you try using raw chicken (two large breasts) and cooking it first in stock beforehand)
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 green chilli, roughly chopped
1 small piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
Half a red onion, chopped (alternatively, you can also use spring onions)
4 tablespoons of fresh coriander
For the spicy dip:
250g of 0% fat Greek yoghurt
2 tablespoons of fresh chives, chopped
1/2 tablespoon of crushed chillies
1/2 tablespoon of chilli powder
A splash of lemon juice
Salt and black pepper
Note: The ingredients can, and should, be adapted to meet your own taste :) ENJOY EXPERIMENTING!!
To make the dip, simply mix all the ingredients together in a bowl then cover with cling film and keep refrigerated until time to dish up.
To make the Thai patties, simply place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until they have all mixed together. Alternatively you can use a blender. Use your hand to shape the mixture into six small cakes. Lightly grease a non-stick pan, heat it up and gently cook the chicken patties until they start turning golden brown. Because the chicken is already cooked, they only need a few minutes on each side, just to bring all the flavours together. Serve with the dip.
Dinner: Basa & Prawn Chowder with Homemade Cheddar and Chive Bread
So today I had a real craving for bread. Something which hasn't been too much of an issue so far, but today I just couldn't get it out of my mind. So I decided to have a little search online for some Dukan bread related recipes (or substitutes) and found the above. With regards to the chowder, it was absolutely delicious! Full of gorgeous flavour, and such a refreshing change to the usual chicken dish. The recipe for the chowder was an adaptation of two different recipes found online; the ingredients were whatever was in my cupboard, and the amounts added were pure guess-timations based on what it tasted like! (I MADE SURE I KEPT TASTING IT CONSTANTLY AS I ADDED INGREDIENTS). Basic ingredients I added for pure taste which I DO recommend are....Fish sauce, Soy sauce, Seasoning (Salt, Pepper, Chilli Powder, Cumin, Turmeric), Herbs (Coriander, Chives), and since it's my PP day I used only garlic and onions, but you can use vegetables on PV days, however I prefer not too since I prefer a seafood chowder to just contain fish. But the possibilities are endless! The two different recipes I sort of adapted from were from these two websites:
http://thedukanway.wordpress.com/2011/08/21/anas-fish-stew/
http://mydukandiet.com/recipes/fish-stew.html
Hope this helps. Now for the cheddar and chive bread:
Mix these ingredients IN ORDER in a bowl:
Dinner: Leftover Chowder with added Tinned Tomatoes, Mushrooms and Seafood Sticks with Leftover Cheddar and Chive Bread
Tastes even better the next day!!
Wednesday 24th April - PP
Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge
Lunch: Cottage Cheese with Chives and Mussels
No photo for this sorry, was at Uni all day. I bought a pack of cooked mussels and mixed them in the cottage cheese. Finished it off with a vanilla yoghurt.
Dinner: Ginger, Chilli, Lemon and Lime Chicken Thighs with Balsamic Onions
For this meal I took the skin off the chicken thighs before seasoning them. I then put them all in a bowl and seasoned with garlic, ginger, chilli and chopped lemons and limes which I squeezed over the meat before dropping in the bowl. I left the chicken thighs to marinade at room temperature for half an hour before putting the whole lot, lemons/limes n'all into an oven proof dish and cooking for 35 minutes at 200 degrees celcius.
This is how they came out....
Mmm lovely. I also made balsamic onions to go with it. Here's the recipe:
Ingredients:
A couple of sprays of extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped (your really supposed to use red onions but I only had yellow)
2 tablespoons of sweetener
A generous splash of balsamic vinegar
A generous squirt of balsamic glaze
Heat a pan with the oil spray. Add the onions and cook very slowly stirring occasionally for 30 minutes. Add the sweetener and allow to caramelise slightly. Add the balsamic vinegar and the balsamic glaze and cook for a further 10 minutes of until thick.
I finished off the meal with a tofu cream... And unfortunately it just wasn't as good as the last time I made them. I don't know if it has anything to do with how amazing the chocolate truffles are, but it lacked in chocolatey taste and the tofu was a bit lumpy. Hmmm I'll have to rethink this one if not scrap it. It does say you have to use soft silken tofu, but I can't seem to find it anywhere, only hard tofu. But I used hard tofu last time. Strange. Anyone who knows where I can find soft tofu, please leave a comment and let me know!
So today I received a lovely comment on Facebook from a girl I used to go to school with. She posted a print screen of a text from her mum. She commented saying: "Was showing my mum your blog last night as she's doing the Dukan again. Just received this text...think she's you're number one fan! Well done on all the hard effort x" And the photo...
This absolutely made my day. To think that my blog is inspiring fellow Dukaners to keep going, and stick to it, is just so rewarding. The reason I write this blog is to help others. It provides me with so much motivation knowing that people actually get some inspiration from the blog and it makes me go even further to make sure I try out more foods, and provide more recipe details on my blog so you can all try it for yourself with ease! Thank you so much for your support, Laura, and everyone else who is reading the blog each week, it's really keeping me going :)
Thursday 25th April - PP
Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge
Lunch: Tin of Tuna & Tofu Choc Cream
Exercise: 30 minute run
I did this with a fellow Dukaner, Marra and best friend :) we ran through Jesmond Dene, the sun was shining and we were smiling :) perfect. Go for a run with your mates. It's wicked man!
Dinner: Sweet & Spicy Bowl of Bones
Sounds awful but they were awesome. Chicken legs marinaded in chilli powder, sweetener, soy sauce, lemons, limes and garlic. A little similar to yesterday but if you haven't already guessed, I'm a bit low on shopping so for the past couple of days so it's been a bit of a freezer raid. The cooking process was the same as yesterday just with different(ish) spices.
Although I don't want to make this a regular thing, chicken on the bone is absolutely gorgeous, and a lot more succulent then chicken breast. Little treat! I finished it off with a tofu choc cream.
Friday 26th April - PV
Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge
Lunch: Tuna Salad with Carrot Crisps
Mmm the carrot crisps were lovely. Really sweet. Perfect little snack.
Exercise: Skinnypigs (1hour)
Wow, this company, is absolutely fantastic. You go to one of their many locations to find the room set out with circuit training stations. In partners you work through the stations over 30 second intervals taking turns doing the proposed exercise as many times as possible during the half minute (one runs on the spot while the other does the exercise, so both are always doing something). This class is not for the fainthearted, but my god, if you go there with an open, and prepared mind and body then you will absolutely reap the benefits. It's all about going at your own pace BUT YOU MUST NOT GIVE UP. Take it as easy as you need but keep it going. I highly recommend it. And if you 'like' the page on Facebook and message them telling them your interested in coming along for your first session you will get the session ABSOLUTELY FREE!! Here's the link the the Facebook page, go on I dare ya!
https://www.facebook.com/Skinnypigs.womens.fitness?ref=ts&fref=ts
Dinner: Bacon, Mushroom, Tomato, Tofu, Parsley and Cheese Quiche
I found this really hard to eat after exercising. I felt quite sick which I think is a result of not eating at least a little something before the exercise class, as it was such an intensive workout. I think next time I am doing this type of class I'll make sure I have something to line my stomach, like an oat bran galette.
Saturday 27th April - PP
Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge
Lunch: Garlic, Zest and Chilli Stuffed Chicken with Spices.
This was absolutely delicious. I do get a bit bored of chicken quite quickly so doing this really livened the chicken up and made it really moreish and a pleasure to eat. All I did was sear the breast in a pan then cut open the middle and put in garlic, the juice of a lemon and lime, some chilli, and some other spices like cumin. I also sprinkled the outside of the chicken with chilli powder. Then I popped it in the oven for about 15-20 mins and voila!
Now you will all know by now that I like to make my meals look appealing in photos by adding a pretty bit of garnish and placing the food in an attractive way. However, I make sure that whatever I garnish my meals with, I never waste them. So if I ever use lemons and limes to garnish, after the meal I will always make a cup of hot water and pop the lemons and limes in. It's a great way to use everything and also give your body a nice zesty flush!
Dinner: Beef Skirt (Rare) Covered in Peppercorns with Eggs and an Onion Mustard Pepper 'Crust'
This was tasty, but would have been even better with a steak fillet!
Sunday 28th April - PP
Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge
Lunch: Ham and Quark Slices with Cottage Cheese and Seafood Sticks
Dinner: Fish Chowder with Seafood Sticks
This was pretty much the same as the chowder made earlier this week however instead of regular basa I used smoked basa, which gave it that extra flavour. :) Lovely!
So this week I have lost 3lbs giving me a total loss of 21lbs altogether. A really brilliant result. However, I always feel like people never really truly respect and respond to weigh in results unless they really SEE the results. So, I'm going to be VERY brave, and show you some before and after photos for my weight loss so far...
I hope by doing this you will not only see how much weight I have lost, but I hope you will also find inspiration through my courage to show how big I was before, but also how I am not dwelling on the past, but using my past to look to the future and really give myself credit for how hard I have worked, and how much more I can achieve by carrying on and being strong. So without further ado, I give you an ongoing transformation of Miss Kate Smith, from the start of the diet to now at this point....
Now that was hard to do. But I'm glad I've shown you. Never look to the past, only the future. I just hope it inspires you enough to know that THIS DIET WORKS! As long as you put into it what you want to get out if it, then you'll have absolutely no problem. And following the diet to the absolute letter will only provide you with even better results. Keep up the good work fellow Dukaners... :)
So, until next week, here's some more motivation to keep you going.......
 |
| Day 44: Lunch |
Here's the recipe:
Ingredients (Serves 2)
For the chicken patties:
350g of cooked chicken (I would recommend you try using raw chicken (two large breasts) and cooking it first in stock beforehand)
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 green chilli, roughly chopped
1 small piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
Half a red onion, chopped (alternatively, you can also use spring onions)
4 tablespoons of fresh coriander
For the spicy dip:
250g of 0% fat Greek yoghurt
2 tablespoons of fresh chives, chopped
1/2 tablespoon of crushed chillies
1/2 tablespoon of chilli powder
A splash of lemon juice
Salt and black pepper
Note: The ingredients can, and should, be adapted to meet your own taste :) ENJOY EXPERIMENTING!!
To make the dip, simply mix all the ingredients together in a bowl then cover with cling film and keep refrigerated until time to dish up.
To make the Thai patties, simply place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until they have all mixed together. Alternatively you can use a blender. Use your hand to shape the mixture into six small cakes. Lightly grease a non-stick pan, heat it up and gently cook the chicken patties until they start turning golden brown. Because the chicken is already cooked, they only need a few minutes on each side, just to bring all the flavours together. Serve with the dip.
Dinner: Basa & Prawn Chowder with Homemade Cheddar and Chive Bread
 |
| Day 44: Dinner |
http://thedukanway.wordpress.com/2011/08/21/anas-fish-stew/
http://mydukandiet.com/recipes/fish-stew.html
Hope this helps. Now for the cheddar and chive bread:
Mix these ingredients IN ORDER in a bowl:
1½ tablespoons fat free cream cheese, softened
1½ tablespoons fat free Greek yoghurt
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped (if using dried, use about 1 teaspoon)
Salt & pepper to taste
2 whole eggs + 1 egg white
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons oat bran
1 3/4 tablespoons wheat bran
1/3 cup grated 5% hard cheese
1½ tablespoons fat free Greek yoghurt
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped (if using dried, use about 1 teaspoon)
Salt & pepper to taste
2 whole eggs + 1 egg white
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons oat bran
1 3/4 tablespoons wheat bran
1/3 cup grated 5% hard cheese
Preheat oven to 350⁰. Line a small oven safe container with parchment paper or spray the container with extra virgin olive oil spray. Pour into the baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and top is nice and brown. Slice and enjoy! It’s unbelievable warm! Leftovers should go into the refrigerator.
 |
| Day 44: Dinner |
Tuesday 23rd April - PV
Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge & Egg Yolk, Mushroom and Cheese Omelette with Tinned Tomatoes
 |
| Day 45: Breakfast |
This was really because I had an egg yolk leftover from yesterday when I made the bread. It always pays to save bits of leftover food! Really nice.
Lunch: Prawn Salad with Beetroot Crisps and Seafood Sticks
 |
| Day 45: Lunch |
I found the beetroot crisps whilst shopping in Morrisons. They were placed on the same shelf as all the dried nuts and fruits etc. I thought I'd give them a try so I got a bag of them and a bag of carrot crisps. They were really tasty and crunchy, and they looked like this:
 |
| Day 45: Lunch |
Perfect for snacking!
Dinner: Leftover Chowder with added Tinned Tomatoes, Mushrooms and Seafood Sticks with Leftover Cheddar and Chive Bread
 |
| Day 45: Dinner |
Wednesday 24th April - PP
Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge
Lunch: Cottage Cheese with Chives and Mussels
No photo for this sorry, was at Uni all day. I bought a pack of cooked mussels and mixed them in the cottage cheese. Finished it off with a vanilla yoghurt.
Dinner: Ginger, Chilli, Lemon and Lime Chicken Thighs with Balsamic Onions
For this meal I took the skin off the chicken thighs before seasoning them. I then put them all in a bowl and seasoned with garlic, ginger, chilli and chopped lemons and limes which I squeezed over the meat before dropping in the bowl. I left the chicken thighs to marinade at room temperature for half an hour before putting the whole lot, lemons/limes n'all into an oven proof dish and cooking for 35 minutes at 200 degrees celcius.
This is how they came out....
 |
| Day 46: Dinner |
Ingredients:
A couple of sprays of extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped (your really supposed to use red onions but I only had yellow)
2 tablespoons of sweetener
A generous splash of balsamic vinegar
A generous squirt of balsamic glaze
Heat a pan with the oil spray. Add the onions and cook very slowly stirring occasionally for 30 minutes. Add the sweetener and allow to caramelise slightly. Add the balsamic vinegar and the balsamic glaze and cook for a further 10 minutes of until thick.
I finished off the meal with a tofu cream... And unfortunately it just wasn't as good as the last time I made them. I don't know if it has anything to do with how amazing the chocolate truffles are, but it lacked in chocolatey taste and the tofu was a bit lumpy. Hmmm I'll have to rethink this one if not scrap it. It does say you have to use soft silken tofu, but I can't seem to find it anywhere, only hard tofu. But I used hard tofu last time. Strange. Anyone who knows where I can find soft tofu, please leave a comment and let me know!
 |
| Day 46: Dessert |
So today I received a lovely comment on Facebook from a girl I used to go to school with. She posted a print screen of a text from her mum. She commented saying: "Was showing my mum your blog last night as she's doing the Dukan again. Just received this text...think she's you're number one fan! Well done on all the hard effort x" And the photo...
 |
Thursday 25th April - PP
Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge
Lunch: Tin of Tuna & Tofu Choc Cream
Exercise: 30 minute run
I did this with a fellow Dukaner, Marra and best friend :) we ran through Jesmond Dene, the sun was shining and we were smiling :) perfect. Go for a run with your mates. It's wicked man!
Dinner: Sweet & Spicy Bowl of Bones
Sounds awful but they were awesome. Chicken legs marinaded in chilli powder, sweetener, soy sauce, lemons, limes and garlic. A little similar to yesterday but if you haven't already guessed, I'm a bit low on shopping so for the past couple of days so it's been a bit of a freezer raid. The cooking process was the same as yesterday just with different(ish) spices.
 |
| Day 47: Dinner |
 |
| Day 47: Dinner |
Friday 26th April - PV
Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge
Lunch: Tuna Salad with Carrot Crisps
 |
| Day 48: Lunch |
 |
| Day 48: Lunch |
Exercise: Skinnypigs (1hour)
Wow, this company, is absolutely fantastic. You go to one of their many locations to find the room set out with circuit training stations. In partners you work through the stations over 30 second intervals taking turns doing the proposed exercise as many times as possible during the half minute (one runs on the spot while the other does the exercise, so both are always doing something). This class is not for the fainthearted, but my god, if you go there with an open, and prepared mind and body then you will absolutely reap the benefits. It's all about going at your own pace BUT YOU MUST NOT GIVE UP. Take it as easy as you need but keep it going. I highly recommend it. And if you 'like' the page on Facebook and message them telling them your interested in coming along for your first session you will get the session ABSOLUTELY FREE!! Here's the link the the Facebook page, go on I dare ya!
https://www.facebook.com/Skinnypigs.womens.fitness?ref=ts&fref=ts
Dinner: Bacon, Mushroom, Tomato, Tofu, Parsley and Cheese Quiche
 |
| Day 48: Dinner |
Saturday 27th April - PP
Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge
Lunch: Garlic, Zest and Chilli Stuffed Chicken with Spices.
 |
| Day 49: Lunch |
Now you will all know by now that I like to make my meals look appealing in photos by adding a pretty bit of garnish and placing the food in an attractive way. However, I make sure that whatever I garnish my meals with, I never waste them. So if I ever use lemons and limes to garnish, after the meal I will always make a cup of hot water and pop the lemons and limes in. It's a great way to use everything and also give your body a nice zesty flush!
Dinner: Beef Skirt (Rare) Covered in Peppercorns with Eggs and an Onion Mustard Pepper 'Crust'
 |
| Day 49: Dinner |
Sunday 28th April - PP
Breakfast: Cinnamon Oat Bran Porridge
Lunch: Ham and Quark Slices with Cottage Cheese and Seafood Sticks
 |
| Day 50: Lunch |
 |
| Day 50: Dinner |
 |
| Day 50: Dinner |
So this week I have lost 3lbs giving me a total loss of 21lbs altogether. A really brilliant result. However, I always feel like people never really truly respect and respond to weigh in results unless they really SEE the results. So, I'm going to be VERY brave, and show you some before and after photos for my weight loss so far...
I hope by doing this you will not only see how much weight I have lost, but I hope you will also find inspiration through my courage to show how big I was before, but also how I am not dwelling on the past, but using my past to look to the future and really give myself credit for how hard I have worked, and how much more I can achieve by carrying on and being strong. So without further ado, I give you an ongoing transformation of Miss Kate Smith, from the start of the diet to now at this point....
Now that was hard to do. But I'm glad I've shown you. Never look to the past, only the future. I just hope it inspires you enough to know that THIS DIET WORKS! As long as you put into it what you want to get out if it, then you'll have absolutely no problem. And following the diet to the absolute letter will only provide you with even better results. Keep up the good work fellow Dukaners... :)
So, until next week, here's some more motivation to keep you going.......
Thanks for reading :) and remember, keep following :D
Kate x
Kate x
Excellent as per Kate - well done you look great!!! x
ReplyDeleteThanks for that ZiggyChews. Keep up the good work!!
DeleteThank you from Canada for that dose of motivation. I am on day 5 and was in need of that insight about how long it takes to see the difference. Very excited to make the truffles + ice cream soon.
ReplyDeleteHello Canada! Wow I was so unbelievably happy to have received this message from you. I'm really chuffed to see that my blog is inspiring people from all over the world.
DeleteCongratulations for making that first step on the Dukan Diet, I hope you have had a good first week! It will be tough, and it will be hard to keep going, but just remember that it will take a while to see a difference, but once you do, you will not be able to keep your eyes off yourself as the weight continues to drop off you!
Thank you so much for your message, it is people like you who keep me motivated to carry on and complete these blogs in more detail. Keep up the good work! Hope you enjoy the truffles :)
Thanks,
Kate
Wow. I stumbled on this site and it's my second day. I thought it was going to difficult until I found oat bran in a grocery store yesterday. I live in Nigeria and I hope I make it through. My starting weight is 85kg and my goal weight is 67kg. Thank you for doing this.
ReplyDelete