In the beginning...

A few weeks ago, I decided to put my husband and me on a diet. It couldn't be a difficult to follow diet, as those haven't worked for us in the past.  It had to be sustainable and fairly easy to "swallow."  What is said diet?   Nothing more than a no more eating out diet.  Yes, that's it. Unless it's Sweet Tomatoes for a nice salad or Subway for a small sub (and that's quite rare), I make each meal.  We pre-make breakfast foods, at least for hubby.  I make enough for dinner to allow him to take leftovers for lunch (and drive his coworkers crazy with the awesome smell).  We have healthy snack choices, as well, whether it's fruit or a fresh snack bar, or a small slice of cheese. It's been truly easy. 

Now, about 2-3 months prior to that, I had placed us both on a vitamin regimen where we get nearly an 85% absorption rate of the contents.  I'll save those vitamins for another post later.  Let's suffice it to say, his joints are less achy and I have SO MUCH MORE ENERGY!!  Again...I need to write a whole separate post about the vitamins.  

So, why is this diet so amazing?  We've both lost weight just by not eating out!  He has lost nearly 25 pounds and I've lost seven.  He's been in much better moods lately, too. I enjoy doing so much new cooking, which is new.  Some of the recipes I've tried have turned out ... what's the word ... AMAZING!   Yes, that's it.  I'll give you a recipe each blog so you can enjoy them, as well.  What's actually funny is hubby's favorite seems to be simple hamburgers.  Nothing exciting, just freshly made, bacon included, burgers...no cheese and no bun.  Now, I do add a fair amount of spices and an egg. I've also been known to add almond flour to it as well.  He just thinks they are the bees knees.  So if you need a go-to, I say give hamburgers a try.  

Fry up about 2-3 strips of bacon per pound of meat.  Dry off excess grease, tear into small pieces, and place into the hamburger.  Start with a pound (or two) of lean hamburger.  I use nothing less than 93%.  I've also been known to have them grind up a steak into hamburger to help make sure there isn't anything added to the meat.  Put the meat in a bowl and add seasonings, eggs (1 egg per pound of meat), and your choice of a solid (oats, breadcrumbs, almond flour).  Mix with your hands, measure out into 1/4 pounders, and fry on a Foreman or on your outdoor grill.  Top with something healthy like stone-ground mustard or my go-to...homemade guacamole!   Mmmmmmm! 

Caveats...I would not, now, use breadcrumbs unless they were gluten-free.  Ones that I have found that are pretty tasty are Panko. I found these at my local grocery store's health food area.  My eggs are cage-free, grain-fed with no hormones.  Some of the seasonings I've put in my burgers:  salt, pepper, garlic, cayenne pepper, and a steak seasoning. I have put Italian seasonings in them before with good results, as well as Greek seasonings.  Salsa is a good alternative to eggs.  Make it yourself or get some that's healthy.  That's basically it.  For some reason, my husband just absolutely loves them.  I think it's the bacon, which is ok, because you can hide good for you things in the meat and they won't really know it.  Hint hint.  My next attempt to get some healthy stuff in the burgers...quinoa or maybe kale.  Stay tuned!!!