We are growing lots of herbs in our garden. And guess which herb is already spreading?
Yes, it is MINT. Mint really grows like weed but I don’t mind them cuz I love the smell of mint in our garden. Also Mint gives so much flavor to dressing, marinate, drinks, and dessert!

When I was looking at our weedy mints this morning, I wanted to use them to bake a cake today. I surfed through the recipe sites and landed to Giada de Laurentiis Lemon Mint Cake! It had great rating and looked pretty easy.

But of course, I have to modify the recipe cuz I am working really hard to cut Wheat based flour as much as possible. Also we are trying to cut sugar in our diet. Instead, we use more honey and agave nectar and we love it.

So, I read through the recipe and reviews (Reviews often give me good ideas of ingredients substitution), and modified the recipe to fit our diet!

Here is my version of Lemon Mint Cake GF/DF/SF!

Lemon Mint Cake Slice - GF/DF/SF

Lemon Mint Cake – Gluten Free, Dairy Free, and Sugar Free

Ingredients

Vegetable Oil for greasing
Almond Flour for dusting
Parchment Paper for line the pan

For Cake:
3 Eggs, separated, at room temperature
1/2 cup Agave nectar
1/4 cup Vegetable oil
1/4 cup chopped Mint
2 tablespoons Lemon juice (One Lemon / One Meyer Lemon)
1 tablespoon Lemon zest (One Lemon / One Meyer Lemon)
1 cup Almond Flour

For Syrup:
1/3 cup Agave nectar
1/4 cup Water
1/4 cup Lemon juice (One Lemon / One Meyer Lemon)
1 tablespoon Lemon zest (One Lemon / One Meyer Lemon)
1 tablespoon Orange Liquor

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Oil and Almond flour 9-inch round cake pan.
I recommend you to put the parchment paper on the bottom & side of round cake pan.

For the cake:
1. In a medium size bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the Egg Whites till stiff peaks.

2. In a separate large bowl, beat the Vegetable oil, Agave nectar and Egg Yolks. Add the chopped Mint, Lemon juice and Lemon zest. Add the Almond flour and mix until combined.

3. Slowly add 1/3 of the Egg White mixture into #2 mixture. With a rubber spatula, fold in another 1/3 of the Egg White mixture and repeat one more time.

4. Pour #3 mixture into the prepared cake pan and bake for 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool at least 10 minutes before moving to the platter.

For the syrup:

1. In a small saucepan, combine Agave nectar, Water, Lemon juice, and Lemon zest over medium heat about 5 minutes.

2. Remove the pan from the heat and add Orange Liquor. Let the syrup to cool, about 20 minutes.

Lemon Mint Cake - GF/DF/SF

When you serve the slice of cake, you drizzle this decadent syrup

This is light, fresh, and perfect Summer cake!

Enjoy!!!
Mrs. H

I remember growing up eating sweet or salty rice cracker, sweet or salty rice pancake, and sweet beans! Of course, I ate chocolate, cookies and cakes, but not as much as I eat now.

I think I can be innovative with western sweets recipe! West meets East or East meets West! I have been baking with Rice Flour a lot lately. And the final products came out pretty good so far. I like the texture of Rice Flour baked sweets. It is somehow very soft and fluffy inside and crunch outside! I love it!

My belief of Gluten Free baking is to avoid using Xanthan Gum. Some Gluten Free baking recipes require Xanthan Gum but I totally ignore it. I read recently that Xanthan Gum is usually made with corn and used as thickening agent. If I need thickening agent, I just add extra egg or something. I am a bit skeptical about product starts from “X”

Anyways, today I challenged myself baking SCONE. Gluten Free, Dairy Free, and Sugar Free Scone! I tweaked the amount of Agave Syrup and Milk. Just make sure your dough won’t get too soggy! This is very yummy ya’ll! Here we go!

Rice Flour Lemon Cranberry Scone – GF/DF/SF

Lemon Cranberry Scone - Gluten Free Dairy Free Sugar Free

Ingredients:

• White Rice Flour 150 g
• Brown Rice Flour 100 g
• Baking Powder 10 g
• Salt 1/4 teaspoon
• Agave Nectar 4 tablespoon
• Milk / Coconut Milk 140 – 150 ml (1/2 cup to 3/4 cup American Measuring Cup)
• Coconut Oil Solid 6 teaspoon
• Lemon Zest 1 Lemon
• Dried Cranberry 1/4 cup
• Coconut Sugar (option to sprinkle on top of scones)

Process:

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

2. Mix together the White Rice Flour, Brown Rice Flour, Salt, Lemon Zest and Baking Powder.

3. To the Flour mixture bowl, put Agave Nectar and 6 teaspoon of Coconut Oil Solid and cut them in the Flour mixture till the mixture looks like peas.

4. Slowly pour a half of Milk / Coconut Milk to the Flour & Coconut Oil mixture. Use folk to mix all ingredients together. Do not over mix. Keep pouring the rest of Milk / Coconut Milk until the Flour & Coconut Oil mixture has enough moisture to form dough.

5. Put the dough on the work surface with some White Rice Flour, do not knead but pad it down to make about 18 cm scone disk. Cut the scone disk to 8 pieces.

6. Line 8 scones (mini scone) on the baking sheet.

Before the oven

8. Bake at 425F for 25 minutes.

Enjoy~!
Mrs. H

I have a go to Gluten Free Brownie recipe by using a can Black Beans. But I wanted to use nuts flour. And I always have Almond Flour in my pantry, I decided to make Almond Flour Brownie. You can use Sugar for this recipe but I used Agave. This brownie is moist, nutty, and YUMMY! Here is the recipe!

Almond Flour Brownie - Gluten Free

Ingredients:
• 3/4 cup Almond Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 2 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 cup Sugar OR 1/4 cup Agave Syrup
• 3 large Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 teaspoon instant Espresso Coffee Powder
• 1/2 cup Butter OR 1/2 cup Coconut Oil
• 3/4 cup Chocolate Chips
• 1/4 cup chopped Walnuts

Process:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix together the Almond Flour, Salt, Cocoa Powder, and Baking Powder and set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, melt together a scant 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips with the Butter.

4. While the Chocolate is melting, beat together the Eggs, Sugar OR Agave Syrup, Vanilla and Espresso Coffee Powder.

5. Slowly pour the melted Chocolate and Butter into the Egg/Sugar or Agave mixture while whisking until fully combined. ***Mixed them slowly so that you won’t made chocolate scramble egg***

6. Pour the Chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well.

7. Pour the batter in the greased 8 x 8 pan. (I used canola oil)

Before Baking - GF Almond Flour Brownie

8. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips and 1/4 cup chopped Walnuts, and gently press it into the batter.

9. Bake for 30 minutes and check to see a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. If it’s not done yet, cover the edge of brownie with a piece of foil and bake another 10 to 15 minutes.
Like this:

GF Brownie Edge Covered by Foil

10. Let these cool completely before you cut them and serve!

Perfection! - GF Almond Flour Brownie

Try this recipe! Enjoy!!

Mrs. H

I was looking for a cake recipe with minims damage that I would do to my body. And I found this recipe called Orange Almond Cake, which does not use any leveling agents, no flour, and no oil (except on the cake pan)

So I modified this recipe to my way, and also sized down so that I won’t feel bad if I ate the whole cake by myself… (Well, if I eat the whole cake by myself, I should feel bad…)

Here is the recipe! (Oh yeah, this is metric measurement…, for 9 to 10 inch spring foam pan, just double the ingredients!)

Almond Cake with Lemon Agave Syrup

Almond Cake with Lemon Agave Syrup
Ingredients:

Cake:
Almond Flour – 100g
Egg – 3 Large (separated with yolks and whites)
Coconut Sugar – 50g (Any other sugar substitution)
Lemon Zest – 2 Lemons (Used Myer Lemons)
Vanilla Extract – 1 Teaspoon

Syrup:
Agave Nectar – 2 Tablespoon
Lemon Juice – 2 Lemons (Used Myer Lemons)
Orange Liqueur – 1 Tablespoon

Process:
1. 18cm Spring foam pan (7 inches), lined parchment paper on the bottom and side. Oil the bottom and side just in case the case may stick.
2. Put Egg Yolks to the bowl, and mixed with Coconut Sugar. Mix them well.
3. Added Almond Flour, Lemon Zest, and Vanilla Extract to the Egg Yolks and Coconut Sugar mixture and mix very well. (It will become very stiff batter) And set this mixture a side.
4. With Egg Whites, make Meringue with stiff peak.
5. Put ¼ of Meringue to Egg Yolks mixture and mix well. And add slowly another ¼ of Meringue to the mixture and start folding the mixture. Repeat 2 more times in ¼ of Meringue to incorporate to Egg Yolk mixture.
6. Pour the mixed batter to the prepared spring foam pan. Base in 350F for 25 minutes.
7. Make Syrup while the cake is baking.
8. Squeeze Lemon Juice to the small sauce pan, add Agave Nectar and Orange Liqueur. Boil them for 2 minutes and let it cool.
9. After the cake is baked, let it cool about 5 minutes and pour the syrup on top of the cake. Pour about 2 to 3 Tablespoon of Syrup.
10. Eat the cake!

You can serve the cake with Whipped Cream, Chocolate Sauce, or whatever you desire.

The reason why I used Coconut Sugar and Agave Nectar to this recipe, it is because these two sugar substitution won’t spike your insulin level

This cake is so airy, light, moist, lemony, and sweet! Because I make this cake in 18cm pan, the cake itself is pretty small and a 1/8 slice is like 3 bites for me. But it definitely calmed down my craving for the cake!!!

So I call it, SUCCESS!

Enjoy~!
Mrs. H

This recipe uses Metric measurement. Majority of digital scale should have ability to choose between Metric or English, don’t be afraid of using Metric measurement!

Whether Metric or English, I like to bake cakes and breads by weigh. There are a bit more work but once you get used to it, you would enjoy this way and you’ll notice that the final product comes out the same every time! = Success!

Here is the recipe!

Baked Coconut Donuts

Baked Coconut Donuts

Ingredients:

1. Rice Flour – 100g
2. Baking Powder – 1 Teaspoon
3. Egg – 1 Large
4. Agave Nectar – 2 Tablespoon (You can totally substitute with Sugar but I’ll increase the amount to 3 Tsp)
5. Heavy Cream – 70ml (You can totally substitute with MILK!)
6. Coconut Oil (Melted) – 20g
7. Vanilla Extract – 1 Teaspoon

Process

1. Measure Rice Flour and Baking Powder and put them in a bowl. Mix them well.
2. Wisk an Egg in a bowl and add Agave Nectar, Heavy Cream, and Vanilla Extract, and mix them really well.
3. Add melted Coconut Oil to the Egg mixture, and mix really well.
4. Pour the batter to the greased donuts pan and bake in 355F to 360F for 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Eat Donuts!!

This donuts is NOT sweet sweet donuts that you get from donuts shop. So I recommend to dust these donuts with powdered sugar or covered with chocolate sauce if you like sweet donuts.

This is perfect sweetness for me and especially in the morning with my coffee!! And frankly speaking, these donuts are pretty healthy (minus the heavy cream!) and Gluten Free!

Try this recipe and let me know what you think!
Enjoy!

Mrs. H

さて、4HBダイエット、大分簡単になってきました！が、しかし、先週のダイエット週間に、私の誕生日があり、周りの皆は、｢誕生日ぐらい、ダイエットしなくても～」と言われましたが、変な意思を貫き、「誕生日ケーキは、ご褒美の日の土曜日まで食べない！」と宣言。 これが、精神的に、結構きつかったです。 今まで、誕生日に、誕生日ケーキを食べたことない年って、なかったような気がする・・・

So the 3rd week of 4HB Diet, as I informed in my previous blog, we added more Fish Dinner to our weekly menu. According to Mr. Z and my analysis (only 2 weeks of data…), we found that Fish Dinner has helped us lose weight at least 1 – 1.5 pound. We had 3 Fish Dinners last week, I’d like to inform you how our 4HB went Here was our 3rd Week 4HB Diet Menu!

前回の4HBブログでもお伝えしたように、先週第3週目、魚のディナーを1回増やしました。 これは、2週間のダイエットのデータより分析した結果、どうも、魚ディナーを食べると、翌朝、体重が1パウンドから1.5パウンド減っている事に気づいたからです。　で、通常は、魚は週一ぐらいしか食べないのですが、先週はなんと、合計3回の魚ディナー。 体重減るかな～！！ それでは、先週のメニューです。

Sunday Breakfast (日曜日の朝食）
3 Eggs & Meat, 2 hands full Spinach, ½ Avocado, 2 Mushroom sliced, ½ cup Lentil & Salsa

Sunday Lunch　(日曜日の昼食）
4 Portabella Mushroom & 1/2lb Meet Pattie, 1 hand full Spinach & Tomato

Portabella Mushroom bum with 1/2lb Burger

Balsamic marinated Pork loin with steamed Broccoli with Ghee

Monday Lunch　（月曜日の昼食）
Leftover from Sunday Dinner

Monday Dinner　（月曜日の夕食） <-- Eat only ½, other ½ is Lunch next day
1lb grilled Salmon, grilled Zucchini, Peppers, and Eggplant with 1 cup Black Beans

Grilled Salmon & Veggies (Eggplant, Zucchini, and Pepper)

Tuesday Lunch　(火曜日の昼食）
Leftover from Monday Dinner

Tuesday Dinner　(火曜日の夕食） <-- Eat only ½, other ½ is Lunch next day
2 lb Grilled Chicken thigh (S&P), sautéed Spinach, Onion, Kale, and 1 cup Lentil

Grilled Chicken and sauteed Veggies

Wednesday Lunch　(水曜日の昼食）
Left over from Tuesday Dinner

Wednesday Dinner　(水曜日の夕食） <-- Eat only ½, other ½ is Lunch next day
4 links Sausages, sautéed sautéed Spinach, Onion, Broccoli Rabe, Sauerkraut and 1 cup Navy Beans

Grilled Chicken Sausage, sauteed Veggies, and Sauerkraut

Thursday Lunch　（木曜日の昼食）
Leftover from Wednesday Dinner

Thursday Dinner　（木曜日の夕食） <-- Eat only ½, other ½ is Lunch next day
4 Grilled Ono Fish, grilled Zucchini, Peppers, and Eggplant with 1 cup Lentil

Grilled Ono Fish and Veggies (Zucchini, Pepper and Onion)

Friday Lunch　（金曜日の昼食）
Leftover from Thursday Dinner

Friday Dinner　（金曜日の夕食）
Cabbage, Carrot, Red Pepper and Onion sauteed with Tuna & Kimchee

Sauteed Veggies (Cabbage, Carrot, Red Pepper) with Tuna & Kimchee

The results of 3rd week was ok. But our prediction of Fish was right. Whenever we had Fish for dinner, next morning we lost 1 – 1.5 lb. All the sudden, we love fish

第3週目の結果は、「まーまー」。 でもね、私たちが分析した、「魚料理が痩せる秘訣！」というのが、どうも当たっているらしく、魚を夕食に食べた翌朝は、必ず、500g～700g 体重が減ってました。 突然、魚が大好きになった、私たち夫婦！

Well, Mr. Z lost about 3 lb and I lost 2 lb last week. Also we lost some inches!

For Mr. Z:
His bicep went down about 1 inch.
His thigh went down by 3 inches.
His waist went down by about 3 inches.
And his hip went down by 1 inch.
Total, he went down by 8 inches!

He is looking better and better

それでは、詳しい結果です。 Mr. Z、体重は3パウンド（キロにして、約1.5キロ）減ってました。 私は、2パウンド減（キロにすると1キロ）。　

Mr. Zの体のサイズは:
両二の腕が1インチ減（約2センチ減）
両太ももが3インチ減（約7.5センチ減）
なんとウエストが3インチ減（約8センチ減）
ヒップが1インチ減（約2センチ減）
トータル、8インチ減 （約19センチ減）でした。　

益々、男前になっていく、Mr. Zです。

Alright, for me…
My bicep went down by 1 inch.
My thigh went down by 2 inches
My waist went down by 2.5 inches
And finally my hip went down by 1 inch.
Total, I went down by 6 inches!

This result was certainly better than last week I am satisfied with the result!

はい、私の番。 体のサイズは:
両二の腕が1インチ減（約2センチ減）
両太ももが2インチ減（約4.5センチ減）
なんとウエストが2.5インチ減（約5.5センチ減）
ヒップが1インチ減（約2.5センチ減）
トータル、6インチ減 （約14センチ減）でした。

まーまー、満足の結果です。

This week is week 4 of 4HB diet. Well see how much more we can lose weight. Stay tuned!!

さて、今週は第4週目の4HBダイエット！ さてさて、今週は、どれぐらい痩せることができるでしょうか！ 乞うご期待！

Mrs. H

第2週目の4HB ダイエットは、あまり進展なかったです。 体重の減り方も、上がったり下がったりで、結局、第1週目とは、かなり違いが出ました。結局、私もMr. Zも2 lb （1 Kgぐらいかな）しか体重減りませんでした。 体のサイズ（ウエスト等）も、ほとんど変化なし。:( 何でだろうと考えるな考える中、行き着いたところは、クリエーティブな食事。 第2週目は、ちょっとしたテストとして、豆を、豆の形で食べるのでなく、粉の形（お好み焼き等）で食べたり、お肉を野菜で包むロールキャベツなど、もうちょっと手を加えたメニューがありました。 が、しかし！！ お好み焼きとロールキャベツの後は、体重が上がってしまったのです！ (￣◇￣;)ガーン！！ ということで、今週は第3週目は、またシンプルに、プロテイン （お肉・魚のグリルのソテーかグリル）、野菜 （ソテー、蒸し、かグリル）、豆 （豆は豆で）と言うメニューで行きたいと思います。

This is what we ate last week (Meal Plan Week 2), which did not work so well for the 4HB Diet. BTW, Mr. Z added Probiotic Drink 3 times last week. This drink uses Agave Nectar instead of Sugar and also FOS (Fructooligosaccharides).
4HBダイエットの効果が薄かった、先週第2週目のメニューは、こんな感じでした。 あ、そうそう、Mr. Zは、お通じのために、Probioticのドリンクを週3日追加しました。 これは、砂糖の変わりに、Agaveが使われていて、また、オリゴ糖も入ってます。

Kefir Probiotic with FOS drink

Sunday Breakfast (日曜日の朝食）
4 Eggs & Meat, 3 hands full Spinach, ½ Avocado, ½ cup Red Beans & Salsa

4HB Diet Our Usual Breakfast

4HB Garbanzo Bean Okonomiyaki

4HB can be elegant! Chicken Kabobs & Black Beans

Monday Lunch　(月曜日の昼食）
1lb Beef, vegetable, and 1 cup Lentil Stew
- 3 Celery, 2 Carrot, 1 Onion, 1 can Tomato, 1 Zucchini, 1 box Beef Broth

Monday Dinner <-- Eat only ½, other ½ is Lunch next day　(月曜日の夕食）
1lb Ground Beef Rolled cabbage & 1 cup Lentil
- Cabbage, 1 Carrot, ½ Onion, 1 Beef Broth

4HB Stuffed Cabbage/Rolled Cabbage in Tomato Sauce

Tuesday Lunch （火曜日の昼食）
Leftover from Monday Dinner

Tuesday Dinner <-- Eat only ½, other ½ is Lunch next day （火曜日の夕食）
4 links Sausage and 2 cup Sauerkraut, sautéed Spinach, Onion, Kale and Broccoli, and 1 cup Lentil

4HB Grilled Sausage, Sauerkraut, and Sauteed Veggies

Wednesday Lunch　(水曜日の昼食）
Left over from Tuesday Dinner

Wednesday Dinner <-- Eat only ½, other ½ is Lunch next day　(水曜日の夕食）
Taco Salad with ½ lb Chorizo & 10 – 16 shrimps & ½ cup Black Beans
- Romaine Lettuce, 1 Tomato, Salsa, sautéed ½ Onion and 1 Green Pepper, ½ Avocado

4HB Taco Salad

Thursday Lunch　(木曜日の昼食）
Leftover from Wednesday Dinner

Thursday Dinner <-- Eat only ½, other ½ is Lunch next day　(木曜日の夕食）
1lb of Grilled Mahi with Grilled Vegetables & 1 cup Lentil
- 1 Red pepper, 2 Zucchini, 1 Onion

4HB Grilled Mahi and Veggies

Friday Lunch　(金曜日の昼食）
1lb Beef, vegetable, and 1 cup Lentil Stew
- 3 Celery, 2 Carrot, 1 Onion, 1 can Tomato, 1 Zucchini, 1 box Beef Broth

Friday Dinner　(金曜日の夕食）
1 lb Chicken marinated in Balsamic Vinegar & sautéed 2 Bok choy, 4 leaves Cabbage, 1 Carrot, and Onion with ½ Cup Lentil.

4HB Marinated Chicken with sauteed Veggies

So we analyzed what we ate and how it affected our weight changes last week. As I state earlier, creative meals like Okonomiyaki and Stuffed/Rolled Cabbage in Tomato sauce put us up about 1 lb. BUT!!! Grilled Salmon and Veggie meal and Grilled Sausage, Sauerkraut and sauteed Veggies meal help us lost weight by 1 lb to 1.5 lb. So I added two Grilled Fish meals and one Sausage with Sauerkraut meal to this week’s menu. Also, I think I am going to adjust the portion of our food this week.

先週、何を食べたときに、体重が増えて、減ったかを、少々分析してみました。 2週間の食事で、分析するのは早いかと思ったのですが、まー取りあえず、思ったからには行動を！ クリエーティブな食事（そうでもないけどね）お好み焼きや、ロールキャベツを食べた後に、1 lb　（500gぐらいかな）体重が増えているのがわかりました。 これは、私もMr. Zも同じ。 で、サーモンのグリルの料理の後と、グリルソーセージとサワークラウトの食事の日の後に、1－1.5 lb （500g – 1kg）体重が減っていたことが分かりました。 と言う単純な分析から、今週のメニューには、魚のグリルの料理を2日、そして、グリルソーセージとサワークラウトの料理を1日作ってみました。 後は、量。 食べる量も、少々減らしてみます！

Hope to drop a few pound this week. But we will see! Stay tuned
今週、2－3 lb（1－2kg）ぐらい、体重落とせたら良いな～っと思う今日この頃。 さて、どうなるでしょうか！ 乞うご期待！

Mr. H

4HBダイエットを始めて1週間経過。 1週間で、結構満足できる結果だったので、このダイエット続けることに！ （ご褒美の日の後に、ちょっと体重増えちゃいましたが・・・） さてさて、2週間目の4HBダイエットメニューを考える中、あることに気づき、今週のメニューのひとつに、ちょっとチャレンジ的な品を足してみました！ 4HBは、毎食、必ず豆を食べること勧めているのですが、「豆を豆の形で食べろ」とはどこにも書いていないので、ヒヨコマメの粉を使って、お好み焼きを作ってみることに！ これぞ、お好み焼きチャレンジ！

I shredded about 2 cups of Cabbage and put them in a bowl. I added 1/4 lb thin sliced Pork and 10 small Shrimps in the same bowl. Next, put 6 tablespoon full of Garbanzo Bean Flour and 2 eggs to the bowl. Mixed them together until it became Okonomiyaki batter looking. I think I put about 1 teaspoon of salt to taste.

まずは、キャベツの千切り、豚の細切れ、えびをボールに入れ、その後、ヒヨコマメの粉と卵で、お好み焼きの種上になるまで、混ぜました。 お塩もちょっと入れたかな。

4HB Style Okonomiyaki Ingredients

Time to cook the Okonomiyaki! Put about 1 tablespoon of canola oil to the skillet with medium heat. When the oil is ready, put about 2 tablespoon full of Okonomiyaki batter to the skillet and cook until both sides are done.

それでは、鉄板出すのが面倒くさかったので、フライパンでミニサイズのお好み焼き作り！ カノーラオイルを熱し、大匙2杯ぐらいの量のお好み焼きの種を、フライパンで焼いていきます。 もちろん、両面、きっちり焼きました。

Okonomiyaki in frying action

We had to think about Okonomi sauce. Okonomi sauce is usually made with TONS of SUGAR and FRUITS which are totally non-approved food for this 4HB Diet. So we decided to dip Okonomiyaki in Balsamic Vinegar, Japanese Mayo (Only 1 tablespoon for both of us) and Sriracha！

お好み焼きのソースって、砂糖やフルーツがたっぷり使われているので、4HBダイエット中はもちろん食べれません。 と言うことで、4HBの友、バルサミックビネガーと、日本のキューピーマヨネーズ、そして、シラチャと言う辛いソースで、お好み焼きを食べることに！

So the tastes? They were good. They were better than what we expected. Mr. Z and I agreed that Okonomiyaki Challenge was success and we enjoyed them a lot. This dish was followed 4HB diet meal plan strictly but because it was Okonomiyaki, we both felt we were cheating the diet. I think I will make this dish again!

最終的に、お好み焼きの味したし、普通に美味しかった～！ 4HBダイエット中なのに、なんかルールを守ってない感じ！ ってむちゃくちゃ守ってますけどね。 お腹も一杯になったし、美味しかったし、ダイエット中に、もう一回ぐらい、4HBお好み焼き作ろうかな！

4HB Okonomiyaki

Mrs. H

So here it is!

Ingredients:

7 to 8 Savoy Cabbage Outer Leaves (I used 7 because some of leaves were huge!)
1/2 Pound Ground Pork
1/2 Pound Ground Beef
1/2 Medium Onion Chopped Fine
1/2 Medium Carrot Chopped Fine
2 Cloves of Garlic Chopped Fine
1 Cup Cooked Lentile
1 Egg
1 15oz Can Tomato Sauce (I used Muir Glen)
1 to 2 Cups Chicken Stock (I used Whole Foods brand.)
***You’ll need to adjust the amount until you like the taste of it.
2 Tbsp Powdered Chicken Bouillon
1 Tbsp Dried Oregano
1 Tbsp Dried Chili Pepper
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Process:

1. Chopped fine Onion, Carrot, Garlic and put first 8 ingredients in the bowl. Sprinkle Salt & Pepper (1 tsp each) to the bowl and mixed well. The meat mixture is done!

Rolled Cabbage Inside Goods

2. Carefully peal Savoy Cabbage’s outer leaves (For this recipe, exactly 7 leaves). Clean them and put them all together (still wet) to Microwave for 1.5 minutes until the cabbage become soft.

3. One leaf at a time, lay the leaf flat on the cutting board and put the meat mixture (about hand full) and start making a little cabbage package.

Cabbage ready to be rolled

4. Repeat this process until all the cabbage leaves are rolled.

Cabbage all rolled up and ready to be cooked in the sauce

5. Put the skillet on the range, pour Chicken Stock and Tomato Sauce with high heat. Let the liquid boil for 5 minutes or so.

6. Lower the heat to Low to Medium, put Powdered Chicken Bouillon, Dried Oregano, Dried Chili Pepper and Salt & Pepper to taste.
***Your sauce should be a little tangier than you want. Because the Rolled Cabbage itself is very mild flavor***

7. Cook them until the meat mixture cooks (About 40 – 50 minutes)

Rolled Cabbage cooked in the tomato sauce

8. It is done! Let’s eat!

4HB Style Rolled Cabbage

Rolled Cabbage Inside

I made this to meet 4HB diet’s requirements. But if you are not doing this diet, you can replace Cooked Lentil to Dry Bread Crumb or something. And also if you feel that the tomato sauce being too sour/tangy then put a bit of sugar or honey to round the sharp taste.

Tonight’s dinner was great success!!

Mrs. H

Well, before the binge starts, we must weigh ourselves and measure bicep, thigh, waist and hip. I got up first! and weigh myself…. he he he… I lost total 3.4lb in 1 week without exercise! And next Mr. Z weigh himself…. OMG, he lost total 5lb in 1 week without exercise!! We are VERY pleased by this results!
さてさて、ご褒美の日が本格的に始まる前にしないといけないこと、体重の測定、そして、二の腕、太もも、ウエスト、そしてヒップの測定！ まずは、私から、体重の測定・・・・ ゥフフフ なんと3.4lb（1.5kgぐらいかな、Kgにするとたいしたことないね・・・）1週間で減りました！ そして、ザックは5lbも（2.5kgぐらいかな）も痩せちゃってます！ 体重だけで、これだけ変化するって、予想外でとても満足！

Next, we measured our bicep, thigh, waist, and hip. My bicep was almost exactly the same. My thigh went down about 1.5 inches from right thigh, also 1.5 inches from left thigh. My waist went down by 1.5inch. And at last my hip was the same….　Total, I went down by about 4.5 inches!!
次ー！ 二の腕、太もも、ウェストとヒップの測定です。 まずは、私から、二の腕は変化なし。 太ももは、両モモとも3センチずつ減ってました！ ウエストも3センチ減ってました～！ ヒップ、変化なし・・・ 体総合で11cm減ってました。 これって、ちょっとすごくない？

Next, Mr. Z, his bicep was almost the same. His thigh went down by about 2 inches from the right thigh and 1 inch from the left thigh. His waist went down by about 1.5 inches. And his hip was about the same. Total, he went down by about 3.5 inches!
さて、Mr. Zですが、二の腕変化なし。 太ももは、右太ももが4cm減、左太ももが1.5cm減、ウェストも3.5cm減！ ヒップは変化ほぼなしです。 体総合で9cm減！

Yes, we will continue this diet at least 3 more weeks. We think we can do it. It is not that hard after all because we won’t get hungry. You may have some craving for sugar, starch, and fruits but you can eat them once a week. This results encouraged us to continue this diet A LOT!
はい、続けます。 このダイエット続けちゃいます！ 少なくとも後3週間！ 確かに、食事制限はありますが、とにかくこのダイエットでお腹がすくことがない！ 時には、甘いものや、パン、ご飯、フルーツ食べたいなーって思うときもありますが、1週間に一度は食べられるし・・・ とにかく、この結果で、かなり戦闘心、燃えてます！ 頑張るぞ～！！

So as I mentioned earlier, today is our binge day! You can eat whatever you want but 4HB said it recommends us to eat high protein food in the morning and before the 2nd meal, drink a glass of grapefruit juice. So we did eat a very small but high protein breakfast. 1 egg & pork & spinach scramble plus guacamole and salsa / person.
さて、上にも書きましたように、今日はご褒美の日！ しかし、4HBはご褒美の日も、ハイプロテインの食事からはじめ、２食目の前にグレープフルーツジュースを飲むように進めているので、取りあえず、少なめに、1つの卵でスクランブルエッグを残りのポークとホウレン草で作って、ワカモレとサルサで食べてみました。

4HB Day 7 Binge Day High Protein Breakfast

Next, we decided to go to 24 Dinner to have Chicken & Waffle! So we went there to have lunch! We ordered a glass of grapefruit juice and Coffee. I ordered the 1/2 size of Chicken & Waffle just because I know their normal volume is huge. Mr. Z ordered a glass of beer “Ommegang Aphrodie” and Chef’s Waffle = Apple Cinnamon Waffle!
さて次々、ダウンタウンにある24 Dinerというお店に、ランチを食べに行くことを決めていたので、早速そちらに向かうことに！ まず最初に、グレープフルーツジュースとコーヒーを注文。 そして私は、フライドチキンとワッフルのハーフサイズを！ Mr. Zはシェフスペシャルワッフルで、普通サイズの林檎をキャラメルとシナモンでソテーされたものが乗っているワッフルを注文！ Mr. Zは”Ommegang Aphrodie“と言うシャンパンのようなビールも注文。

Omegang Aphrodie

Chicken & Waffle 1/2 Size

Chef's Waffle

The lunch was served and smelled good and tasted good! We were so happy for this binge day. Our 1/2 way down to the meal, we both realized that we were already full…. “What!! We only had 1/2!! I mean my order is 1/2 size to begin with!! What is going on?” And we both started sweating… and it was weird sweat… I think the sugar was doing something to our body. So it was really really really really really disappointed and unfortunate but we only finished 1/2 of the meal and left the place.
オーダーしたランチが運ばれてきました～！ イエーイ！！ さてさて、お味はと言いますと、美味しいに決まってるじゃーん！！ メープルシロップたっぷりのワッフルとフライドチキン！ しかし、大変なことが起こってしまいました。 半分ぐらい食べ終わった地点で、2人ともお腹一杯・・・ 「ちょっと、私のワッフルとチキンなんてハーフサイズなのに、食べきれないって～！！！！どういうこと～！！ いや～～～、悔しい～～～！！！」 Mr. Zも一緒、半分の地点で、ギブです・・・ 考えられない・・・　そしたら2人とも、脂汗をかき始めて・・・　「ええええええええええええ、砂糖だ！ 体が砂糖の分解で忙しいのかな？」と結局、とても悔しく残念なことに、半分だけ食べて、お店を出ることになりました。

Sad Moment

We are not sure what we are going to do for dinner… I am certainly not sure about my desert now… 4HB is doing something to our body and probably good thing to our body. Next week, I may not have much sugar crave like I had this week. Well, now I am planning the meal plan for next week. I will introduce that to you on my next blog! Stay tuned!!
いやー、この調子でいくと、夕飯何食べよう・・ デザート食べるの、ちょっと怖くなってきた・・・ 4HBのおかげ？で、体の具合が変化してるみたいです。 多分、良い変化でしょう。 ってか、そう思いたい・・・　さてさて、来週のメニュープランをそろそろ考えなくては。 考え次第、次のブログでお伝えしまーす！ 乞うご期待！

Mrs. H