Caitlin's Kitchen

A documentation of my journey through the Biggest Loser diet for two days. I hope you enjoy reading though my adventures of this diet! (theme credits to yukoki)

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Day 2, Dinner

Fish Tacos

Oh boy, I love tacos- specifically, soft tacos. I love the way you fold the taco to hold all the stuffing (the burrito fold is the way I recommend), the challenge of eating the taco without spilling anything and how you can put anything you want in it to meet any dietary requirement you have. The taco that I have cooked has cabbage, avocado, salsa, cheese, coriander and marinated fish.

The fish was marinated in a mixture of lemon juice, paprika, salt and pepper then left in the fridge for 30 minutes to let the flavours of the marinate soak into the flesh of the fish. Beforehand, I tasted the marinate and decided that it was too sour, so I added more paprika into the paste to add more spice and eliminate some of the sourness. Waiting for the marinade-soaking time to finish was one of the hardest parts, since I wanted to cook the fish straight away.

The hardest part of this recipe was covering the marinated fish in aluminum foil, which would be later placed in the oven to cook in its own juices. I wasn’t sure of the correct method to wrap the foil, so I asked my mother for assistance. She showed me that you cut the foil into a rectangle, connect the long sides of the rectangle together, and curling it towards the fish. You then take the wide ends of the aluminium and fold it backwards behind the fish, thus creating a perfect seal.

I enjoyed the taste of the taco, as I could taste all the ingredients. I had enough leftovers to feed my parents and my sister. They really enjoyed eating it and said that the fish was cooked perfectly, and tasted really good.

Personally, I would cook this taco again, since it is so flavoursome. 

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Day 2, Snack 2

Almonds and Pear

The whole point of this diet is to reduce hunger and to lose weight: well, the latter is correct. I haven’t felt hungry since I started this diet. However, I haven’t lost any weight. At all. Maybe not doing much exercise has been the problem…

Anyways, this afternoon’s snack was one whole pear with almonds. Personally, I don’t like pear raw, since it is too sweet. Eating almonds again… well, I already complained in an earlier post.

I cut the pear into eighths, and scoped the seeds out with my nails, since I didn’t plan on getting sick. The only positive thing about eating pear is that you don’t get messy hands while eating it, so you can type on a computer while you eat. This logic doesn’t work if you have a soft pear. (it dribbles everywhere, and causes you to get sticky hands if you don’t wash your hands.)

The pear and the almonds together, tasted… like nothing, unfortunately. Too bad there weren’t any spices in it to increase the flavour.   

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Day 2, Lunch

Mushroom Soup

This mushroom soup is super easy to prepare and make, since it only has five ingredients. It also tastes what it looks like: mushrooms! This meal is rich in flavour and also high in water content, vitamins and low in kilojoules. I replaced chicken broth with chicken stock, to make preparation time significantly shorter, and to make storage space smaller.

I made so much soup that it fed my mother, father and younger sister lunch and dinner! They thoroughly enjoyed it, and also gave me some feedback: cook more herbs into it such as basil or parsley, since they disliked the strong mushroomy flavour, whereas I did. (mushrooms are one of my favourite vegetables.)

Soup is also a perfect meal to prepare the night before, since it can be stored overnight easily. Simply keep the soup in the pot you made it in, put cling wrap over the top and put in the refrigerator at 2 degrees celsius. You can also freeze the soup in plastic containers for future consumption.

This soup is perfect for a chilly winter day, and also for feeding a family of four with large appetites. (my mother, father, and younger sister is the perfect example of this.)

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Day 2, Snack 1

Apple and Low Fat Cheese Stick

A simple snack for a simple time of the day! An apple and a cheese stick is one of the simplest and easiest snacks that I’ve ever had.

I remember in my primary school days, my friends would whip out cheese sticks at recess and eat them happily, while I was stuck with an apple and a packet of chocolate tiny teddies. I also remember begging my mother for her to pack some cheese sticks for my lunch box, but she told me that she couldn’t afford them, and I was better off eating fruits.

I’ve never had a cheese stick before (or so I say, I can’t remember the last time I had one), so tasting new food is quite exciting, in my opinion. However, the cheese sticks just tasted like cheese, which was.. quite disappointing. At least the apple was firm and juicy! (that’s how I prefer my apples- soft ones make me gag.) However, people with allergies to dairy should avoid the cheese sticks and replace them with a dairy free alternative, such as fruits and vegetables.

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Day 2, Breakfast

Berry Smoothie

I woke up at 9AM, on August 6th, feeling fresh and energised. I was excited for the meals that I was going to cook and eat today. Today’s breakfast consisted of a berry smoothie; a mix of greek yoghurt, milk, raspberries, blueberries and vanilla essence. I’ve never tasted fresh raspberries or blueberries before, so I tried one of each before putting them in the milkshake.

I liked the taste of the blueberries as I thought they were refreshing. However, I disliked the taste of the raspberries as I thought they were too sweet. Therefore, I put in more blueberries than raspberries. I also put less greek yoghurt than the recipe asked, since greek yoghurt is very strong tasting than normal, vanilla yoghurt.

Overall, I put in about ¼ cup greek yoghurt, 1 ¼ cup milk, ½ cup blueberries and ¼ cup raspberries. I really enjoyed the texture of the smoothie, and the taste, as it tasted of blueberries and faintly of greek yoghurt. As you can see, I really enjoy eating greek yoghurt!

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Day 1, Dinner

Portobello Pizzas

It was time for dinner, and I still wasn’t hungry yet! I was excited for this meal: mushroom pizzas. This pizza wasn’t made on a dough, but on top of a large upside down mushroom! I was surprised how easy this recipe was: cook the italian sausages in a pan until cooked, cover the inside of the mushroom (with the stem cut off) with tomato paste. I chose tomato paste to save money on buying a bottle on marinara sauce ( $7 to 80c, who’s gonna win? Tomato paste, of course!) and top with italian sausage, cheese, grounded basil and parmesan cheese. Simply put in the oven for 7 minutes then you’re ready to serve and eat!

These pizzas are scrumptious! They're perfect for those who are working or others who want a simple meal to cook after a long day. 100% recommend!

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Day 1, Snack 2

Almonds

Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of eating raw nuts. Chewing on them wasn’t very pleasant as I didn’t like the texture of it. I couldn’t taste the almonds, unfortunately. However, the one positive thing I like about them is that they didn’t make any mess! Therefore, the almonds were a perfect snack! However, for people with nut allergies, the almonds can be substituted with edamame.

Edamame is a type of bean that you can find in grocery stores, mainly in Coles. The main way of cooking edamame is boiling it for 5 - 6 mins. Do not eat the husks, but only the beans inside it. However, avoid edamame if you are allergic to soy.

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Day 1, Lunch

Tuna Melt

At 1:15pm, I decided to eat my lunch, which was a tuna melt. A tuna melt is a toasted English muffin, split in half, tuna mixed with diced red onion with vinaigrette. The tuna melt is topped with a slice of cheddar cheese. I served this tuna melt with a glass of ice water. It tasted like a traditional tuna bake: tuna and cheese. I enjoyed making and eating this meal, so there is a possibility that I would make it in the future.

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Day 1, Snack 1

Peanutty Spread

I decided that I would have my snack at 10:45am, since my breakfast had settled in my stomach. I wasn’t hungry yet, but it was better than being ravenous. Making the spread was simple; blending high protein tofu, crunchy peanut butter, honey and lemon juice together into a thick paste. I served them on cracked pepper crackers and had ice water as a drink. I did not like the taste and texture of the spread, as it felt funny in my mouth when I swirled it around my mouth.

I had two crackers before starting to feel a bit nauseous, so I gave my father the rest of the crackers. He didn’t think it tasted that bad, but he did agree that the texture was weird.

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Day 1, Breakfast

Oatmeal with Banana and Greek Yoghurt

I woke up on the 5th August, at 9AM, half excited and half dreading the start of this diet. Half excited because I had the opportunity to cook and eat new meals. Half dreading because I wasn’t sure how the meals would taste.

Making the oatmeal by itself was easy: measuring the milk and oats out in the appropriate measuring cups, combining them together, cooking the oats in the microwave for 1.5 minutes, stirring the mixture once the microwave is finished then cooking the oats for a further minute.

Together with the banana, and greek yoghurt, the oatmeal did not have much taste, except for the banana chunks and the greek yoghurt, which dominated the palate. I had this breakfast with orange and mango juice, which had no added sugar.

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About the Author:

Hi! I’m Caitlin, a 17 year old girl from Perth, Western Australia. I was born in Kalgoorlie in 1999 but soon moved to Perth, where I am currently living to this day. I am the voice, creator and photographer of this blog. Therefore, this blog is independently run. I currently do not have a pet, but I wish to own a tabby cat.

I am an INTP and an absolute food nut. I like my bacon crispy and my food full of flavour. I also like roasted capsicum. This blog was created in August 2017 for the documentation of a diet I followed from August 5 - August 6. The diet I followed for these two days is the American Biggest Loser diet. If you want to know more about this diet, click the about the diet page :)

If you want to chuck me a question, email me at: [email protected]

You can also send me an ask, through this tumblr! 

About the Diet:

The American Biggest Loser diet is a diet that you follow for 30 days. It reduces hunger throughout the day and eliminates bad fats such as saturated fat and trans fats. On this diet, you eat three healthy meals and two healthy snacks a day for an average of 6000 kilojoules.

The diet was designed by Cheryl Forberg, the nutritionist for the Reality TV series The Biggest Loser (America). This diet also helps loose weight. The 1 week diet plan from which I followed for two days, was an excerpt from the book The Biggest Loser 30-Day Jump Start. 

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Hello! Welcome to Caitlin's Kitchen!

The main author of this blog is Caitlin. If you want to know more about her, click the about tab on the side of the page  :) This is the same if you want to contact me about something.

The main reason of this blog is to document my journey on a healthy diet, which I have never done before, both diet wise and blog wise. The diet that I have chosen to go on and document is the American Biggest Loser diet. If you want to know more about the diet, please also click on the about page on the side.

If you want the recipes of the foods I’ve tasted, click on Recipes (Day 2 and day 4)