Where to Find Recipes for the 17-Day Diet

As the popularity of the 17 Day Diet picks up speed, more recipes and resources are popping up online. This is a good thing since nothing can derail a diet more than eating boredom. Here are a few helpful sites I uncovered.

Dr. Mike Moreno's Recipes

The 17 Day Diet book does contain recipes that adhere to the program's guidelines, which helps to get you started. I've already outlined some of my favorite recipes from the book in my "Tips and Advice for the 17 Day Diet" and "Review of Two 17 Day Diet Recipes" articles. So far, I've been pleased with the book's recipes. But eventually, you'll want to explore new options.

New Recipes for the 17 Day Diet

Once I hit week 4 on the diet, I began to tire of the chicken vegetable soup, even though I really like it! That was when I stumbled upon a few helpful online sites that stirred up my taste buds and renewed my commitment to sticking with the 17 Day Diet plan.

Gina's Skinny Recipes

Gina's Skinny Recipe blog, recognized by Kitchn.com's as one of the top ten food blogs, is in the running for top spot in 2011, and I can certainly understand why! The day I discovered the website I spent a few hours looking through all the recipes and printing out some to try. The sidebar on the blog showcases a few mouth watering examples that would work once you get past the first cycle. I've tried two:

1. Gina's Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken fits nicely into the Activate guidelines and is very tasty! I found it a bit too spicy for my gringo tongue, so I will reduce the amount of cayenne pepper next time; also, mine came out a bit soupy, so I will reduce the amount of broth also.

2. I also made the Chicken Pot Pie Soup. It was so good that I invited my daughter and her kids over to finish it off and they loved it too. (Who needs to tell them it was healthy?) Actually, I think I should have waited for the Achieve cycle to have this soup, but since low-fat Acidophilus Milk was allowed on all cycles, I tried it. I recommend this recipe during the Activate or Achieve cycle because you'll think you are filling your tummy with delicious comfort food but only eating 1.8 grams of fat!

Nose around this blog with your 17 Day Diet book nearby as a reference. I guarantee you'll find lots of recipes that need only slight adjustments. For instance, the Baked Chicken Parmesan fits into the Activate cycle if you eliminate the breadcrumbs, and once you've reached the Achieve cycle, you could add breadcrumbs made from whole grain. I plan to create my own savory bread crumbs from toasted whole grain bread mixed with a few tablespoons of Grill Mates Chicken Rub. I'll brush the chicken lightly with Olive Oil, rather than butter and coat with my breadcrumb mixture.

The Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili will work once you get past the first 17 days as would the Crockpot 3 Bean Turkey Chili. Also, the Pumpkin Pie Dip should work once you reach that third 17-day cycle. The only ingredient in it that I'm not sure about is the cool whip free, but since that adds very little fat or carbs, I don't think it would hurt a thing. Check out the Southwest Turkey Meatballs with Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce. Yummy or what?

Food.com

If you are just starting out on the 17 Day Diet, Food.com has 74 recipes listed in a "17 Day Diet - Cycle 1 Accelerate" section! Their Broccoli Soup, Broccoli Chicken Dijon, and Broccoli Cauliflower with Garlic & Lemon earned 5 stars from readers, and the Balsamic Roasted Carrots got good reviews and sounds tempting to me! It is noted in this section, "Minor changes might be necessary, particularly substituting for or omitting butter, cream, pasta, potatoes, or rice", so be prepared to adjust according to the 17 Day Diet guidelines.

CookingLight.com

Cooking Light is dedicated to providing ideas for cooking and eating lighter every day of the year. Their "5 Super Bowl Food Makeover" provides creative ways to alter party food, making some dishes acceptable for diets like the 17 Day Diet. Not all the recipes will work, of course, but their suggestions for making "Creamy dips" from white beans or black beans should earn them consideration for your Activate cycle recipe list. Visit their "Recipe Makeovers" section to discover ways to lighten up scads of other recipes and watch their video on how to lighten up Spinach and Artichoke Dip! Perfect for a weekend once you've reached that final Arrive cycle?

17 Day Diet Tips

I just started this blog, but it will contain every trick I learn on this diet, as well as resources I run across that will aid all of us in staying on-course. I recommend you subscribe to it and get updates as I add information: 17 Day Diet Tips Blog.

Adapt Your Own Recipes for the 17 Day Diet!

Check your own recipe box! Changing just a few ingredients in a favorite recipe may make it work for this diet. I was happy to realize that once I reached the Activate cycle, a few of my favorite recipes fit right into the plan. My artichoke frittata was easily adapted. I used 2 whole eggs, and 3 egg whites instead of 4 whole eggs and eliminated the crackers during the first 17 day cycle (I didn't even miss them!) My Southwestern Tortilla Soup, a staple dinner of mine every month of the year (dieting or not), works for the Activate cycle forward. The only catch is that I can't top my tortilla soup with tortillas, but that's a minor adjustment! I think you'd enjoy my hearty soup too, especially during chilly winter months.

I'm cooking more and actually enjoying it, now that I am on the 17 Day Diet. I think finding these resources for new recipe ideas will help me make it through all four cycles, and reach my weight loss goals. If you run across new recipes that fit the 17 Day Diet plan too, please share!

Sources:

http://17daydiettips.blogspot.com/