I just made this for brunch (no oil) and I love it!! Got the idea from MFP poster EIEIElenaO.

Coarsley chop two tart green apples. Slice 1/2 onion into thin-ish slices. Toss 'em in a skillet on med-hi heat, put the lid on, let 'em brown up a bit --(with a lid, the moisture from the onions keeps them sizzling and you gotta stir them often; add a dab of water as needed to keep 'em from burning)-- then toss in the chopped apples. Keep the lid on when not stirring. Stir often, though. It's done when the onions are translucent and the apples soften, about 3-4 minutes. Dump the whole thing on a plate and sprinkle with walnuts. Delicious!!

Also made Dr. Fuhrman's Broccoli Mushroom Bisque from the ETL cookbook. Excellent recipe. I forgot the onions this time, but it was still very tasty. My next try will be the Broccoli Soup from the FOK cookbook.

Mihani -- Cumin lime tofu, Mmmm! I have a gym membership but … it's been at least a year since I entered the building. Shame on me. Good for you. With a friend to "lash yourself to the mast," so to speak (another point made in the Brain series), you will be back in the swing of it in no time. Skipping lunch makes sense to me. I eat only twice a day and try not to eat too late in the day. I'm sure the starchy carbs are the culprit -- they'll raise your blood glucose and then when it drops you feel tired.

liapr -- There's a website and app called Happy Cow that lists restaurants in all major (and many minor) cities that are vegan, vegetarian or at least veg-friendly. I use it all the time. I also add restaurants I find. VERY helpful app.

Sabine -- Good to hear from you! I never heard of bio-identical progesterone. I was blessed with almost no menopause symptoms and no medications, but I found sugar was a trigger for me. White sugar, white flour, white rice, all those kind of carbs were big triggers.

NewMe -- You are one busy gal. Glad school is manageable. Lots on your plate!

danygard -- In the Brain series, Engleman talks about an image of a gauge; you move the needle from "craving" to "no craving" by actively suppressing the craving, in part by reminding yourself of something negative about the craving. I liken it to Dr. Fuhrman who says that knowledge is power, that understanding the damage I do when I eat crap food and calling that up when I feel a craving will curb those cravings. And it does. I've added, from experience, the sensation of feeling crappy after eating crap food, as well as how awful I look the next morning. It is almost automatic now to think those things when I see or smell food that my squeaky voices want to have.

hanzel2 -- welcome back!! How is the 6 week plan going?

coueswhitetail -- that dressing sounds delicious. I will try it soon. It will fold right into my green apple binge I've been on for a month.

tdh1991 -- Interesting lecture. Yes, my experience is the response is always there (my squeaky voices all chirping at once!) but I realize I can muffle them. I still hear them but I feel I am in charge, not them. So far, so good. You may like Helyn's Healthy Kitchen website for some good recipes that fit your needs. I'm eager to hear how your appt at Fuhrman's office goes!

Love cuban black bean soup recipe. I have a very old favorite from the newspaper that I use often.
Still have not tried to make my own “meatloaf” yet, especially in the crockpot. I'm putting that one on my list to make.

Nature made sure I got some exercise over these past two days. We got at least 10” of snow by Tuesday afternoon, so there was plenty of shoveling to clear the driveway for our cars. Luckily we didn’t have to be anywhere till Friday, so we took two days to clear the snow. Man, shoveling snow really is a great workout.

Oh, how I’ve tried to teach myself to ONLY eat when hungry. Such a simple idea. I have to stop and ask myself, every time I find myself in the kitchen, if I am actually hungry or if I’m just “browsing.” I’m a slow learner. But getting there!