Trim Healthy Mama Fuel Cycle update - Day 5

Yesterday was my second Fuel Pull day on the Trim Healthy Mama Fuel Cycle. It went fine again. Much better than I was expecting.

Usually I'm so busy that I just shove whatever food is handy into my mouth as I run from A to B. On the Fuel Cycle, I'm trying to be more deliberate about what I eat and when. That means I'm not eating until I can prepare the proper meal or snack, and going for quite long breaks in between.

I'm actually finding that I feel less hungry doing it this way than when I snack on sugary things to fill the gaps.

As with the other days, I've shared my planned menu with notes on what I actually ate and how I found it below.

You will see that I didn't really stick to the plan at all, using more of yesterday's one instead.

Day 5 (Pull the Fuels)
Breakfast: Egg white omelette p. 217
Notes: I really enjoyed the Cookie Bowl Oatmeal on Day 4 and it's a good one because I can prepare it the night before when the kids are asleep, so it's ready to eat in the morning. I decided to make that again instead of an omelette since it works for me and means I eat breakfast at a decent hour.

Drink: Big Boy Berry Smoothie p. 242
Notes: Like Day 4, I was still in the mood for Chocolate Fat Stripping Frappe, so made one of those at the same time as my Cookie Bowl Oatmeal before bed and was able to have a glass first thing in the morning. I think chocolate Fuel Pull recipes work well for me because I still feel like I'm treating myself, even though they are low calorie.

Lunch: Pumpkin soup cooked in light chicken stock
Notes: Since I hadn't eaten lunch yesterday, I still had cauliflower in the fridge to make Loaded Fotato Soup. I cooked up a big bowl of that and ate it about 12.30pm. It was nice to eat something hot. I think heat makes food feel more satisfying. I didn't have any bacon bits or Braggs Aminos, so I felt that the soup lacked a little flavour. Perhaps I'll add onion powder next time. 

I made a light version of chicken stock for this soup, by making two batches of chicken stock in a row from the same set of bones. The second batch is my light version, which I've labelled as such in the freezer. Perfect for E or FP days.

Snack: Celery sticks with Lite Laughing Cow Cheese wedge
Notes: I took the kids to the swimming pool after lunch so didn't eat my afternoon snack until 5pm, when I was sitting down with my copy of Trim Healthy Mama to read the dinner recipe. I ate my celery sticks and Lite Laughing Cow Cheese wedge with some cherry tomatoes, since I'm enjoying having tomatoes back on the menu after my three S days.

Dinner: Chicken breast and salsa lettuce wraps

Sweet and Spicy Asian Stir Fry

Notes: If you read my Day 4 update, you'll know I didn't have the Sweet and Spicy Asian Stir Fry I had planned so was going to make that tonight instead. 

This was a tricky meal for me because I knew Paul wouldn't want to eat anything with stevia in it. He hates the taste of it and can always tell when it's there. I ended up preparing two slightly different dinners. One for me and one for Paul and the girls.

Mine was the Sweet and Spicy Asian Stir Fry p. 341 on Konjac noodles, while the rest of the family ate a Destitute Gourmet Chow Mein recipe served on white Basmati rice which I cooked in chicken stock. 

To save work, I half prepared the meals together, and just split them at the point where sugar and cornflour went into their recipe, and stevia and konjac powder went into mine. This meant the final recipe was an adaption of both, with a bit of peanut flour from the THM recipe and a bit of Chinese Five Spice from the DG recipe. I thought the combination was delicious, and so did Paul. The girls were a little suspicious of the new recipe and took a long time to eat it, but I think they did enjoy it.

Because it was Fuel Pull, I tried to keep the fat down by poaching the chicken breast strips in chicken stock instead of frying them in oil. I thought chicken stock would give them more flavour than plain water, and it did.

Dessert: Chia Tapioca Pudding p. 234
Notes: Actually I didn't have time to make dessert and just drank water again.

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Find my whole Fuel Cycle menu plan here.
Read my Day 1 Deep S update here.
Read my Day 2 Deep S update here.
Read my Days 3 & 4 Deep S and Fuel Pull updates here.