No Rolls on my Rump Roast

A few days ago, we had roast beef - it was really yummy, but I've been trying to figure out the ups & downs and so forth of getting video done. It takes me a while still, so please pardon me while I work through my learning curve. ::grins::

This video actually has two recipes in it, the No Rolls on my Rump Roast as well as a Garlic Green Bean dish for the side, so be sure to watch the whole thing! The bay leaf in the roast *really* makes the whole thing - if you don't have bay leaves, go get some before you make this! You'll be so glad you did. I promise!

How're you all liking this format?

Coffee Roast Beef

Tonight, for dinner, I had an exceptional meal. No one else uses coffee this way, that I can tell, while on the VLCD. This particular recipe calls for using coffee as a marinade. Coffee lends a deep, strong base to the beef and LOTS of flavor as well as beautiful color. If you have a really good cut of meat, this would be the one recipe I'd recommend for it...

Coffee Roast Beef (150 calories)

1/2t onion powder

1/4t chili powder

1/4t liquid smoke

1/4t salt

Shake of pepper

2 garlic cloves, sliced

100g roast beef (150 calories)

1 pot of coffee (espresso is best)

In bowl, add onion powder, chili powder, liquid smoke, salt, pepper, cloves. Press meat into spice mixture so it's completely covered (like a rub). Let it sit there while you make a really good strong pot of coffee.

Put everything into a bowl, add meat and cover

meat with coffee, then cover all of it with foil. (I used a small cereal bowl that was ok to bake in.) Bake at 300* for 3-4 hours.

Chef's Notes:

• If you have a really good cut of roast beef, you don't need to pound it. If you have a cheap cut, definitely pound it thin first.
• This could be a good crock pot recipe, too!
• You can save the broth for another recipe or use it on your veggies.
• Horse radish added to this recipe would be exceptional! Make sure to read your labels though, to make sure there's no sugar added.
• If you saved your broth for a few days, you could add some hamburger, some onion or celery, and make a reallllllly good soup.
• In Phase 3, the big difference would be to brown the roast in some olive oil, add carrots, onions, and celery to it. THEN slow cook it.

Balsamic Roast Beef

Tonight, it's time for something a little heavier than normal. Chicken and fishies are nice most of the time, but they leave me feeling "empty." In the summer, I'm a fruit and veggie person - but as it cools off, I want RED MEAT. Roast, steak, hamburger... (<--Read: Dead cow, ready to consume.) It's kind of morbid, I agree, but it is what it is.

I also wanted something different from the roast recipe I came up with already. Something a little more tangy, cooked slower, so the roast would be tender. Here's what I came up with:

Balsamic Roast Beef (150 calories)

100g roast beef (150 calories)

sprig of fresh basil

2 cloves garlic, cut into slices

2t Braggs' Liquid Aminos

2T Balsamic Vinegar

pinch nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

Marinate roast in Braggs' and Balsamic for two hours in the frig. Then, in 8" square of foil, center roast and add pinch nutmeg, salt, pepper, garlic, and basil. Cover and close tightly in the foil, then pop in toaster oven (or conventional oven) at 300* for at least an hour. Serve with your choice of veggie! Seriously yummy.

I wanted to pair this up with a veggie that was low in calories so I could have a large amount of it. The fishies are, on average, 50 calories less than beef. That translates to a whole cup less of some sort of veggie. So, I chose cabbage. You get the sharesies on how I steamed it up below:

Dilled Cabbage

Allowed amount of cabbage

3t dill seed

3t salt

Add dill seed and salt to the water. Steam the cabbage up and add a little Braggs' Liquid Aminos to taste and serve up.

Roast Beef and "Potatoes"

Tonight, it was just time for some roast beef. I almost did steak, but I wanted the kids to share with us. So, roast became the obvious choice. Since we liked the first (and only) recipe for Garlic Basil Roast Beef, it was only natural that we make it again.

This time, however, we wanted to try out the "potatoes" we're allowed with it. In a tip from one of our readers, Debbie, we learned we could use radishes in place of potatoes.

So tonight, I give you pictures of a beautiful meal. The only trouble with them is that I couldn't figure out a way to mash 'em up without needing some kind of butter or mayo.

The only trouble with this meal (other than the fact that I chose a poor cut of meat and it turned out tough instead of moist and wonderful) was that the radishes DID NOT taste like potatoes. In fact, even with as lovely as it looks, I did

n't finish it. I only finished about half the radishes. They tasted like radishes baked in roast beef and seasonings. But definitely, they tasted like radishes to me. Blech!

I think my niece puts it much more eloquently than I have here, though. A photo is worth a thousand words - far more than I've written here.

On a more positive note, though, my dogs loved them! All four of them, even the most choosy amongst them, absolutely devoured them. So, I made Poodle Cookies for my supper. Hehehehe

Questions from a fellow hCGer (and my answers)

Debbie wrote to me this morning. Here's a copy of her email (posted ONLY with her permission):

I was wondering if you are following Dr Simeone as some of those vegs are not on my approved list (broccoli, caul..etc). I see so many variations and I am a bit confused, I did not go thru a dr, just ordered my drops off line. I did 1 round of 15 days and now I am on my dround of 15 days. I have more weight to lose than 20 lbs but I was a bit nervous to do it 45 days as I was afraid I would cheat...first round I lost 20 lbs. In maint I messed up and drank alcohol too soon and ate many things that I thought were OK (I was on vaca)..so I gained 6 back. I started last week and the six are now off and I am really hoping to be in the 170's tomm..I am stuck at 180...I don't count calories but I do measure my protein...and I usually only eat 1 fruit and breadstick..thanks for your help...I love you website, the roast is in the toaster oven now....I added radishes to the roast (mock potatoes I hope).

Here's my answer:

Hi Debbie,

Thanks for writing! It's encouraging to know that I get to help myself and those who read my blog. :)

I'm planning to go through the online drops next time around (Januaryish), so I can go 7 weeks and be *at* my target weight. I started at 332 and, as of this morning, am at 310 - just 8 days in! 22 pounds in a week is enough to convince me that what I'm doing is on the right track. There were two days that I didn't lose a thing, though. I'm not sure why, but I added some Iosol Iodine (http://lessofmehcg.blogspot.com/search/label/Iodine <-- includes the source and how I use it, too) to my diet and the weight is dropping off wonderfully again. Iodine supports your thyroid, which in turn supports your hypothalamus. :) For this first time around, I've allowed myself a nutritionalist's' care and guidance. I wanted to get to know the ropes before I took off on my own. Here's what she outlined for us: http://lessofmehcg.blogspot.com/2009/08/overview-of-what-we-get-to-eat.html. I've seen several places that offer recipes different from what I'm allowed and was initially confused as well. I asked Tami, my nutritionalist, who told me that she's following Dr. Simeon's diet to the letter, with the addition of the supplements I'm taking. She said that others following it have had remarkable results, as Dr. Simeon reports. I trust Tami completely, so I follow her advice and work within these very strict guidelines.

Just so you know, my Mom's been stuck at her current weight (I can't tell what that is, though - she doesn't want anyone to know) for the last four days. However, we measured her yesterday and discovered that she'd lost 8 inches! So, don't fret. You just have to be patient with yourself and your body. It'll work for you. :)

Hopefully, the old rule that when one person asks, lots of other people are thinking the same thing stands and this helps you, too!

Roast Beef, Bad Breath

Tonight, we decided to have roast beef. We know that you're only supposed to eat it three times a week, but we've been very good about sticking with fishies, crustaceans, and chickens. It's time to have some MEAT tonight. :)

I did a few things different than the last two times we've had it. First, we added a whole clove of fresh garlic to each serving of protein. YUM, all by itself. I also added a sprinkle of cinnamon to our meat just before closing up the foil and tossing it into the toaster oven. Those toaster ovens, by the way, are wonderful. You get the same great seasoned taste out of them, but you don't heat up the whole house. Tonight, that's not such a big deal, as it's a little chilly, but normally over Labor Day weekend, it's roasting hot here in Oregon.

So, with all that garlic, you need to be aware that you will, without a doubt, smell of garlic. Please, choose a day to have this when you won't offend others. The crystal, I've found, doesn't do diddly squat for the kind of body odor that comes out ALL your pores. And toothpaste only goes so far. If you're in the presence of others, you could chew on fennel seeds, anise seeds, or a bit of cinnamon bark! Or, if you're just bold and don't care what others think, like me, then enjoy it to the hilt and add a second clove!

Anyway, I digress. Here's the sharesies on tonight's meal recipe:

Garlic Basil Roast Beef (150 calories)

350* 40 minutes

100g Roast Beef (150 calories)

salt & pepper to taste

1/4 t onion powder

1/4 t cinnamon

1 whole fresh garlic clove, sliced into three large slices

1 sprig fresh basil (or 1 t dried)

In an 8" square of foil, place beef in the center. On both sides of beef, sprinkle salt, pepper, & onion powder. On one side, sprinkle cinnamon, place slices of garlic clove, and top with basil sprig. Close the foil over, making a tight pocket to seal in the juices while the meat cooks, and place in toaster oven (or regular oven - that works, too).

We served this beside fresh green beans, steamed then tossed with balsamic vinegar. Hope you enjoy!

Adventurous Grissini... Huh?

Wow.

I thought we had more imagination than this.

Of course, it doesn't help that the roast we made the other night was so tasty that we couldn't wait for more. Tonight, we're supper repeaters. We're having the roast I toaster ovened the other night. Most likely, we'll just do the same exact menu, cucumbers, orange, and all. We'll vary the menu ever so slightly by having the parmesean grissini rather than the sea salt one.

Heh heh heh.

Adventurous, don't you think?

Supper Menu

Tonight, we're having Roast. I've decided to go for the cucumber thing again (I seriously love cucumbers), while Mom is doing steamed broccoli. Normally, a roast dinner includes baked potatoes, onions, cooked carrots, and some sort of sweet jelly stuff Mom makes and cans.

Roast (150 calories)

100g roast

salt and pepper to taste

1 T Braggs' Liquid Aminos

1/2 t rosemary

1/2 t garlic (or more if you like)

sprig of fresh basil

Create a rub with rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper. In an 8" (or so) square of foil, rub the seasonings onto the roast. Pour Braggs' over the meat, lay basil on top and fold foil closed. Put in toaster oven at 350* until the meat is as you prefer.

3 cups Cucumbers ( 45 calories)

Grissini Breadstick (20 calories) <--found at Safeway in both Sea Salt and Parmeasean flavors!

1/2 orange (30 calories)

That puts me precisely at 500 calories for the day.

Everyone who's done a 500 calorie diet before kept telling me this was going to be so hard. I just don't agree. This is, especially after the very prominent memory of those loading days, wonderful!!