A second blog post for the day?
I figured that on Sundays, while I post my classic Hollywood photos, I’ll do a second blog post.
For those who have followed my weight loss progression and checking to see if each experiment leads to satisfactory results, 2017 was no doubt a year of experimentation.
After a year and a half of strictly following a meal plan and losing nearly 70 pounds, I started to see what would happen if I went back to eating things that I haven’t eaten in a while, but yet still exercising.
Would there be a difference in my blood levels? My weight?
Here we are in July 2018 and I can tell you that after a year and half of experimentation, the results are that while my blood tests were good, I went up an inch for pants but while my pants are not the problem, the problem is that I gained back a gut that makes my slim dress shirts nearly impossible to wear. Actually, it’s possible for me to wear but when you have one button that looks like it’s going to pop because of your gut, then you need to get back to what works.
So, back in June, I went back to my meal plan but there is a major difference than before.
I decided not to incorporate meat products.
By no means am I a vegetarian (no meat, no dairy) or a pescatarian (only eats vegetables and fish). I read the term is Flexitarian (people who mostly eat a vegetable and fruit diet and occasionally eats meat). But I eat vegetables and fruits primarily, I eat meat twice a month (which you will typically see featured on my restaurant reviews), up to four times a month if there is a holiday included in that month.
For me, my meal plan is quite basic. Smoothie drink with fruit, greek yogurt, cheese, nuts, celery with almond butter, vegetables with a veggie burger patty. If I do get a craving past 7 p.m., I will have a sugar-free popsicle.
And so far, I have lost 12 pounds for the month of June.
Not wanting to get burned out on what I eat, I am experimenting on various dips which I am putting on my veggies to see and so far, I’m enjoying it.
I went to trader Joes and purchase three types of dips.
I’ll start with the Trader Joe’s Smoked Salmon Dip with Capers.
I actually dug in there trying to find capers, but what you will primarily see are little tiny chunks of smoked salmon.
While this would work remarkably well with crackers or even a bagel, because I don’t eat bread hardly, this dip has worked well with my veggies.
I only use two tablespoons which is 120 calories, total fat is 11 g, sodium is 160 mg and total carbs is 3 g, protein is also 3 g, 0g of sugar. But it’s so good! Made with cream cheese, smoked salmon, mayonnaise, egg yolk, salt, sugar, spice, lemon juice concentrate, spice, salt, water and capers. Plus onion powder, garlic power and liquid smoke.
I absolutely like it a lot and is one I’ll probably pick up each month.
Trader Joe’s Garlic Spread Dip is another one that I enjoyed!
Two tablespoons are 150 calories, total fat is 15 g, cholesterol is 0 mg, sodium is 110 mg, total carb is 4 g, protein is less than 1 g and there is 0 g of sugar.
The garlic spread is made with canola oil, garlic, lemon juice, citric acid and salt.
It’s very much like Toum, a Lebanese garlic sauce but instead of canola oil, olive oil or vegetable oil is used and fresh Toum features ingredients crushed together in a wooden mortar and pestle.
But I paired this up with grilled bell peppers and it was delicious.
The last is the Trader Joe’s Tzatziki Creamy Garlic Cucumber Dip and for those who love Mediterranean food, will no doubt want to check this dip out!
You may be asking yourself, what the heck is “Tzatziki”? The word is actually derived from the Turkish word cacik and back then, it was known as an herb. Back in 1876, Ahmet Vefik Pasha’s 1876 Ottoman Turkish dictionary defined cacik as an herb salad with yogurt.
So, what you have is yogurt mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil and dill, mint or parsley.
The Trader Joe’s Tzatziki Creamy Garlic Cucumber Dip using a serving size of two tablespoons is 30 calories, total fat is 2 g, cholesterol is 5 mg, sodium is 65 mg, total carbs is 2 g and protein is 1 g with sugars at 1 g.
The dip is made with cucumbers, kefir cheese, nonfat milk, lactose reduced nonfat milk, enzymes, nonfat sour cream, water, lemon juice, garlic, salt, dill, mint, white pepper and much more.
It’s actually very good and Trader Joe’s no doubt has added plenty of cucumbers in the dip. You can taste the citrus of the lemon juice along with the dill and mint, but the primary flavors are the cucumber and garlic.
I’ve used this with my veggies and they were absolutely delicious. And I felt a bit more healthier eating this compared to the other two dips (mind over matter – must be the cucumbers), but overall, I’m down with the Tzatziki! But for those who do no like cucumbers, this may not be for you.
While I enjoyed these three, there are still many more dips I have yet to try from Trader Joe’s. So, I’ll do another blog post after I purchase and try those.
