I have been so busy with Easter preparations, and spring gardening projects, that April almost passed me by, yet I have not posted any pictures of the March Birthday treats at the office.

I am sure you will agree, from viewing the pictures above, that once again, Sue prepared some scrumptious treats for our birthday celebrants.

This month we “gently” indulged in a low sugar Chocolate Rum Cake, which was out of this world, and low sugar/fat Phyllo Pastry Shells partially filled with melted Dark Chocolate, topped off with a fresh raspberry, and for added touch and nutrition, sprinkled with almonds.

We also had low calorie/fat/sugar mini brownie cupcakes, but I did not get a chance to snap a picture of these treats.

We are so lucky to have at least one person, every month, to celebrate their birthday, thus special treats for  the office bunch as well.

Everyone is becoming very health conscious these days, and of course summer vacation time is  fast approaching (trips to the beach….bathing suits… weddings… ), so we all agreed to narrow down our office treats to only once a month event.

Since I am not the baker of these treats, I am only sharing pictures with you, rather than a recipe.

As I mentioned to you in my previous post about the Fat Smash Diet, there are 4 different Phases you go through during this program, and each phase has a list of suggested and excluded foods.

Some of the excluded foods in one phase are being introduced back into your diet in the next phase, so for ideal success, you need to follow these food suggestions, eat 3-4 smaller meals per day, follow the same eating schedule, and continue to  exercise.

Just think, this phase is only 9 days long….you can do it!!

It is so worth it.

Phase One –Detox

Suggested Foods:

( in daily maximum quantities)

• All fruits in any quantity.
• All vegetables in any quantity, except:
• No white potatoes
• No Avocados
• Good sources of protein:
• Chickpeas
• Beans
• Tofu
• Lentils
• Brown Rice -  2 cups of cooked rice
• Low-Fat or Skim milk, or Soy Milk – 2 cups
• Water – as much as you like
• Oatmeal – 1 cup
• All herbs and spices
• Low-fat Yogurt (no fruit on bottom) – 2, 6-oz cups per day
• Egg whites – 4
• Herbal tea – 2 cups
• Freshly squeezed fruit or vegetable juice – 1 cup
• Low-fat cheese – 1 ½ slice, or 1 Veggie Burger without bread
• Sugarless chewing gum
• Low-fat Mayo – 1 tsp
• Salt – 1 tsp
• Butter – 1 tsp
• Mustard or Ketchup – 1Tbs
• Soy Sauce – 2Tbs
• Teriyaki Sauce – 2Tbs
• Sugar substitute – 1 tsp

Snacks:

(Choose one snack for the allotted snack period in your eating schedule)

• Low-fat yogurt dip  - 1/3 cup, and  2 cups raw vegetables
• Cashews – 10 pieces
• Low-fat Granola bar – 1
• Grapes – 15 pieces, and ½ cup of low-fat milk
• Plain Low-fat Yogurt – ½ cup
• Baby carrots – 1 ½ cup
• Almonds – 10-14 pieces
• Jell-O Smoothie snacks – 1 snack
• Popcorn, air popped – 3 cups- NO butter
• Saltine crackers – 7
• Medium banana – 1 frozen
• Sunflower seeds – 2 Tbs

EXCLUDED FOODS:

• Peanut butter/jelly
• White Rice
• Meat
• Fish
• Full-fat cheese
• Bread – all types
• Raisins
• Dried or preserved fruits
• Candy
• Ice cream
• Alcohol
• Soda – regular or diet
• Coffee and all coffee drinks
• Sports drinks
• Milkshakes
• Whole eggs or yolks
• Fried foods
• Fast food