Exercise Update

 So in a lot of ways, keeping this blog has been really good for me. I know my journey has been long- a lot longer than I wanted it to be. That being said, kudos to me for getting close to my goal weight in 2010, and then maintaining it for six years. I never quite got all the way down, but close enough for a game of horseshoes.

And you never really finish a weight loss journey, because at the end of the day, we all still have to eat, and that means making conscious choices forever. While I never want to end up back where I started this year or even where I am now, I give myself grace and remember that the most important step is not the first one or the last one, but the NEXT one.

While writing here is good for me simply to articulate what's going on in my head, not to mention how it helps me to know that people are reading (which helps keep me accountable), it also helps me to look back at my journey and see what has tripped me up before so that I can learn from my mistakes. 

I note that I have tried several times over the years to get started and maintain an exercise program, and I've never quite been able to. There is always something that comes up to trip my eagerly laid plans and somehow I don't pick it back up again. I don't want that to happen again this time.

Exercise is not only important for weight loss, but it's really good for blood sugar levels. It's been proven to lower blood sugar levels and have a continuing effect. And since I would really rather deal with my diabetes before it progresses to requiring insulin, that means I've got to exercise whether I like it or not. Honestly, I don't. I know lots of people do, but it's not something that has ever made me happy or felt like I had more energy. I will just try to look at it as regular maintenance like I'm a complex machine, which after all isn't that far from the truth, is it?

So I'm not making a New Year's resolution about exercise; I'm making a plan. When I read back in my blog, I can see that I attempted the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Slimdown several times, but never got past week one. I have been managing to walk every day since I got my new fitness tracker in November (with the exception of 3 days over Christmas), and I'm starting to do workouts with a friend (which will hopefully also keep me accountable there). Once I get my stamina up a little bit, I want to finally finish that program. Because I can do it if it matters to me, and it does.

Here is how I plan to do it (always have measurable ways to achieve your plan!):

1) Work out with a friend. It's so much harder to make excuses if you have to make them to someone else! 

2) Figure out where I went wrong in the past. I can see in the past that my fatigue issues made me give up way too easily, where I can make changes now instead. If I'm tired, choose a less strenuous workout- not no workout at all. Also, I got discouraged easily because I tend to gain weight when I start working out, and that made me give up. The scale isn't the only indicator of how your body changes! While I didn't take measurements, I recognize that getting stronger and fitter is at least as important as changes on the scale. And if I keep going forward, I will eventually see that drop on the scale.

3) Plan in advance for the days where exercise makes you hungry. While it's not a great idea to eat all of the calories you burn (and with Ozempic you likely wouldn't be able to anyway!) there will be days where you're hungrier than usual. I have lots of great recipes in my blog that are high protein and high satiety. I definitely recommend my Egg Drop Soup, for example!

4) Follow the Readiness cues on my workout app to make sure that my body can handle the type of workout I'm looking at. There's no sense in pushing so hard that I hurt myself; which will lead to fewer workouts anyway!

One day at a time... I wonder how long to make this feel like a habit?

Week Seven- Holidays

 Well, it's the holidays here, and I decided I didn't want to be focused on the scale this week, rather I wanted to enjoy the time with my family and friends and indulge a little. I have still taken my Ozempic, and I'm eating less than usual, although more than I'd like.

I also took three days off exercising, since I was pretty busy with cooking, cleaning and getting ready for guests. 

That being said, I don't feel guilty, nor am I worried. Ozempic makes it easy to get right back on track the next day- and I won't ignore my satiety cues anymore (OK, until New Year's Eve!), and back to working out. There is nothing wrong with enjoying life!

So no weigh in today since I didn't get on the scale. Today was my eighth injection, and so the pen would expire after use. It is supposed to have eight doses of 0.25mg, but there's always a little bit extra left over in the pen, so I found when I kept clicking it that I had a dose of 0.39mg this week and I took it all. My intention is to continue to stay low as long as I'm still feeling appetite suppression and losing weight. I don't need to lose faster- it is more likely to stay off when done at a slow pace anyway.

Hope you're all enjoying the holidays!

Start Date: November 7, 2022  0.25mg

OZ Week 1 loss: 3.4lbs

OZ Week 2 loss: 2.2 lbs
OZ Week 3 gain: 2.0lbs

OZ Week 4 loss: 4.4lbs

OZ Week 5 loss: 1.4lbs

OZ Week 6 loss: 2.4lbs

OZ Week 7: skipped weigh in  0.39mg (used "bonus bit" in the pen)

Total loss on Ozempic so far: 11.8lbs

Midweek Update!

 So normally I try to weigh only on Mondays, but I was really curious as to how the buffet would affect me. I tried to eat a sensible portion, and while it was a bit larger than I think I probably should have, it was also a lot smaller than what I normally would have, so I'll count that as a win.

Also, it was just a really nice social occasion, and I could go and enjoy the company and hang out and I could eat as much or as little as I wanted, and it would be OK. And at the end of the day, that's really what matters, right?

Well, I snuck on the scale today and I was gratified to see that I hit a new milestone! I won't put a weight count because I'll save it for Monday, but I was really excited to see Lose It flash me this message!

That's not all on Ozempic but I've worked hard for every one of those pounds, and I'm looking forward to seeing more disappear. Today I thought about it, and I really visualized that this is going to work. I'm going to lose weight and get healthier. I might still hate exercising, but I hate diabetes and the thought of dying more.

I was surprised to see a loss instead of a gain; I figured the high sodium content of what I was eating would probably bloat me a little bit. But sometimes eating a higher calorie meal can give your metabolism a bit of a kick, and I guess that's what happened here. I do have Christmas on the weekend and I'm going to stick to sensible portions but also eat some of the foods I love (hello, stuffing!) and hopefully won't undo my progress too much. Either way though, the holidays are for celebrating, and a week or two won't set me back too far. I think the long term lesson I want to remember is indulging is okay, as long as we're reasonable about it.

That's one of the reasons I'm not a fan of very restrictive diets like keto. I know they work very well for some people, but they definitely don't work for me. I like to follow a plan of everything in moderation, and that works for me and doesn't leave me feeling deprived.

Here's another yummy recipe that I tried from Hellofresh- low calorie, low glycemic index, but high on taste and nutrition!

Turkey & Black Bean Chili:

500g ground turkey
4 tbsp Mexican spice blend

2 limes, juiced and zested (reserve juice and zest separately)

6 tbsp sour cream (or you can swap in Greek yogurt if you like, you won't taste much difference!)

740mL black beans

227g mirepoix (chopped onions, carrots, and celery)

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 red bell peppers, diced

2 green onions, thinly sliced

740mL crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. When it's hot, add turkey, garlic, and mirepoix. I didn't need any oil, but you might want to add just a little bit of water to last until the veggies start releasing some. Add the Mexican seasoning blend. Cook until no pink remains in the turkey, breaking it into smaller pieces, about 4-5 minutes.

Add peppers, (drained and rinsed) black beans, lime juice, crushed tomatoes, and 1 cup of water. Season with pepper as desired (I added red chili pepper for a little kick) and stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until chili thickens slightly, approximately 10-12 minutes. As with all chilis, longer is better.

Add the sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt) to a small bowl and mix with lime zest, add black pepper to taste. 

Serve chili with lime crema and sprinkle cheese and green onions on top. 

This serves 5 generous portions and you might end up with leftovers! Each serving is 404 calories, 12g of fat, 37g of carbohydrates, and 32g of protein. It's definitely a great choice for a cold winter night.

Week Six Weigh In!

So far, so good... it's been a pretty quiet week. I'm still trying to up my exercise but after doing my Jillian Michaels DVD, my legs were burning for a couple of days afterwards from the squats! I think I'm going to have to ease into that a little bit more! That being said, I know that building muscle will help to burn even more calories, so I do want to add more HIIT to my exercise regime, which right now is almost entirely walking.

Once the weather starts to stay icy though, walking won't be a great choice so I'll have to start planning other options. I know that exercise is one of the best ways to curb diabetes, and it has to become a long term habit. Whatever damage my body has already suffered isn't going to heal; it just won't get any worse. I don't want to go blind or lose a limb or die 15 years earlier than expected just because I want to eat yummy food.

Especially since I can eat yummy food now as long as I watch portion sizes! I'm still shocked at how a small serving can still be so satisfying, and not affect my weight loss. I'm hoping to get through the holidays without slowing my weight loss too much, as long as I stick to sensible portions.

Tomorrow is my first trip to a buffet restaurant since starting Ozempic, and I'm not super looking forward to it because I know it will be a waste of money. But it's a special family occasion that I can't miss, so I'm not going to worry about it. I'll go, have a taste of the things that look good, and stop eating when I'm full- no need to try and get my money's worth. I'm there to celebrate- not to stuff myself until I'm uncomfortable. We'll see how it goes!

Start Date: November 7, 2022  0.25mg

OZ Week 1 loss: 3.4lbs

OZ Week 2 loss: 2.2 lbs
OZ Week 3 gain: 2.0lbs

OZ Week 4 loss: 4.4lbs

OZ Week 5 loss: 1.4lbs

OZ Week 6 loss: 2.4lbs

Total loss on Ozempic so far: 11.8lbs

What Did I Eat Today?

 I've noticed a few posts asking what people are eating, so I thought I'd post what's on the menu for today! It can always help to see what others are doing to inspire us with our food choices.

Breakfast:

O'Dough's Pumpernickel Bagel Thin
1 tbsp cream cheese
fresh dill
75g of hot smoked salmon

I smoke my own salmon after brining it with a mixture of coarse brown sugar and sea salt. I wasn't sure how to calculate how much brine remains in the salmon but I found an estimated calorie count for hot smoked in my Lose It app, and I'm going with that.

Having a high protein breakfast really helps keep me alert and satiated, plus it's delicious. I tried the O'Dough's bagel thins not because they're gluten free (which they are) but because I couldn't find a low calorie pumpernickel bagel, and smoked salmon just calls out for it! They're actually not bad, as a dedicated gluten eater, although I do toast them nice and crispy.

Breakfast Summary: 308 calories, 15g fat, 25g carbohydrates, and 23g of protein.

Lunch:

2 Schneider's Turkey Pepperettes

1 cheddar string cheese

1 Oikos 2% blueberry Greek yogurt

cucumber slices

I was still pretty full from breakfast, so I decided to have a light lunch. I like to cut the pepperettes and string cheese into little rounds so that I can munch on them slowly. It also feels like I'm eating a bigger lunch, which was a trick I used pre-Ozempic. It's not as necessary now, but I still like the tapas feeling. The blueberry yogurt was dessert, but since it's Greek, it's still loaded with protein.

Lunch Summary: 258 calories, 11.5g fat, 16g carbohydrates, and 23g protein.

I try to get in my physical activity in the afternoon as well. I aim for a minimum of 20 minutes of activity a day, every day. So far, I've been pretty on target and I'm hoping to up to 30 minutes so that I can cover the occasional missed day if necessary. They recommend 150 minutes a week of physical activity so I'm close but not always quite there, but I'm trying.

Lately it's been walking, mostly. I'm still experiencing a lot of daytime fatigue (not related to the Ozempic but my other chronic health issues) and it's made it more difficult to work out hard like I used to with my Jillian Michaels DVDs. Today I can't go walking because of the terrible freezing rain, so I'm going to try doing a VR workout on the Oculus Quest. I've never done that before so I'm curious!

<workout> Well that didn't quite go as planned. The Oculus was dead and needed more than an hour to charge, and I knew if I didn't do my workout when I was all dressed and ready to do it, I wouldn't. So I did level one of the 30 Day Shred instead, just took it a little easy because I haven't exercised that hard in a while. According to my fitness tracker, I burned 229 calories and worked out for 27 minutes.

It feels like I'm eating all day sometimes, but I do try and squeeze in an afternoon snack post workout. Today it was a Nutrisystem Trail Mix Bar. They're really good for a protein bar in my opinion!

Afternoon Snack Summary: 200 calories, 8g fat, 24g carbohydrates, and 12g protein.

Dinner:

285g raw shrimp, peeled

1 tbsp teriyaki sauce

225g broccoli florets

170g raw shredded cabbage

28g cashews, chopped

1 tbsp sesame oil

60g yellow onion, diced

2 tbsp soy sauce

This is another Hellofresh meal box- each week they do offer both calorie and carb reduced meals, and this one is both! If you'd like to give them a try, you can get a free box through my referral link! 

Before starting, wash and dry all produce. Cut broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Using a strainer, drain and rinse shrimp, then pat dry with paper towels. Add shrimp, 1 tsp oil and half the teriyaki sauce to a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper, then toss to coat. Set aside.

Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat. When hot, add cashews to the dry pan. Toast, stirring often, until golden-brown, 4-5 min. Transfer cashews to a plate.

Heat the same pan over medium-high. When hot, add 1 tsp sesame oil, broccoli and onions. Cook, stirring often, until broccoli is tender-crisp, 5-6 min. Add coleslaw cabbage mix and soy sauce. Cook, stirring often, until coleslaw cabbage mix is tender, 3-4 min. Transfer veggies to another large bowl. Cover with foil to keep warm.

Heat the same pan over medium. When hot, add 1 tsp oil then shrimp. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp just turn pink, 2-3 minutes. 

Divide veggies between plates. Top with shrimp. Drizzle remaining teriyaki sauce over top, then sprinkle with cashews. Serves two.

Super colourful and healthy, not to mention delicious. You could add more veggies if you liked as well.

Dinner Summary: 439 calories, 11g fat, 46g carbohydrates, and 34g protein.

I'm also a bit of a late night snacker, since we eat dinner early. I'll often have another mini meal or a substantial snack around 8-9pm.

Dessert/Evening Snack:

Tonight I thought I'd make myself something a bit decadent and delicious, so I prepped it in the afternoon so it would have time to chill in the fridge. If you haven't tried my NY Style Cheesecake recipe, you're missing out! 

1 large graham cracker, crushed into crumbs
2 oz fat free cream cheese
2 tbsp light ricotta cheese
1 tbsp vanilla Greek yogurt
2 1/2 tbsp Splenda
1 1/2 tbsp Egg Beaters
1/2 tsp lemon juice or vanilla extract

2-3 tbsp of fruit or sugarfree pie filling
1-2 tbsp fat free whipped cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix together cheeses, yogurt, Splenda, juice/extract and Egg Beaters and stir until well blended. Spray your baking dish with cooking spray (I used a mini silicone loaf pan). Add in the graham cracker crumbs and shake around to coat bottom of dish. Pour cheesecake filling into dish and put the dish into a larger oven safe dish and add water about half way up the side of the mini pan in the larger dish to create a water bath. Bake the cheesecake for 40 minutes, then turn off toaster oven or oven and let it sit in the oven for 10 minutes. I put mine in the fridge to let it set while I had dinner, and then topped with the cherry filling and whipped cream.

It's so delicious, you won't believe it's healthy! This recipe serves one, so you may want to double or triple it so that you can have more in the fridge for another day!

You can also do variants- use different flavours of Greek yogurt! I like using key lime and some lime zest, or lemon meringue and lemon zest. I'd love to hear how you experiment with it!

Dessert Summary: 176 calories, 2.7g of fat, 18g carbohydrates, and 14.5g of protein.

Daily Total: 1381 calories, 48g of fat, 129g of carbohydrates, and 106.5g of protein.

A balanced diet works best for my body; restricting food groups is not healthy for me although I know it works for other people. I try to stay daily between 1200-1600 calories because I know this is the zone where I'll lose weight and not feel unsatisfied.

What do you eat in a day? Feel free to share in the comments!

Dealing with Underlying Issues Part 2

 So today I'm not feeling very proud of myself. While I knew that I used food as a coping mechanism when I was tired and stressed, I didn't realize it was quite as bad as it is. I thought that I managed to fight a lot of those urges given how often I'm tired because of my chronic health issues, but it appears maybe not, and I'll have to do some thinking about that.

On the weekend I had some family related stress crop up and it drained every last bit of my energy. All I wanted to do was order some junk food on Uber Eats and watch some junky TV so that I could unplug my brain and relax.

So I decided to order some apps, even though I know my appetite has been reduced, and that it really wasn't a healthy choice either for my body or as a coping mechanism; I just didn't have the energy to fight the mental cravings. My food arrived and I started eating while I watched my first movie. And you know, it tasted pretty good but I had that familiar feeling of starting to get full. I was eating slowly, but there just wasn't a lot of space, despite really wanting to eat all the things I had ordered. It took me more than 3 hours to eat two apps, and there was no way that I could even consider a bite of the third. I felt bloated and uncomfortable, and I wasn't enjoying myself at that point.

The following day, I found that I was still full and didn't have much desire to eat. I still felt bloated and not all that great. But I learned some lessons. Apparently, I can't go on a food binge while on Ozempic- my body simply won't allow it. And I definitely don't enjoy the way I felt while trying. If I had ordered one app, I think that would have been just right, even if it was crappy food. Trying to overeat, though? I need to deal with this because it's not good that my stress coping mechanism is so unhealthy for me, both physically and mentally. I don't want to be that person anymore. What kind of person tries to overeat??

So that wasn't a great effect on my weigh in and I hope it's also just sodium weight because the total wasn't too far over my daily calories and certainly under my weekly calories. At least it's a loss though. But, tonight is a new injection and this coming week is a new week. I am tired, and already feeling stressed. Who isn't? It's the holidays. But I'm going to have to work through it.

Start Date: November 7, 2022  0.25mg

OZ Week 1 loss: 3.4lbs

OZ Week 2 loss: 2.2 lbs
OZ Week 3 gain: 2.0lbs

OZ Week 4 loss: 4.4lbs

OZ Week 5 loss: 1.4lbs

Total loss on Ozempic so far: 9.4lbs

Doctor Check-In

 I had a virtual appointment with my doctor today to check in on how I'm doing with Ozempic, and the answer is great! I weighed myself this morning even though it hasn't been a full week because I knew she'd want to know, and I'm down another 1.4lbs since Monday morning so I'm on track for maintaining about 2lbs/week again which is great! I'm not in a hurry since this is nice and sustainable and has been relatively easy so far.

She's ordered some tests, so hopefully I'll see some progress on my A1C and cholesterol levels as well, and hopefully with my blood pressure. I would like to hear more good news! Turning 40 may have made me really think about my health, but I'd like to take care of myself the best I can now.

Other than that, I'll keep plugging away. I noticed today I was craving meat, so I guess my body wants a little more protein. I had a salmon salad for lunch, and a gochujang pork salad for dessert (I'll share the recipes later!) and didn't even feel deprived. I think the way this medication is helping rewire my brain is nothing short of a miracle.

I'm exhausted and had a stressful day at work, so when I came home, I had a two bite brownie with frosting. Ate it in four little bites and it was delicious! Normally my next step would have been to order takeout but I felt like I was okay at that point and just ate my salmon salad and it was fine. I'm really proud of myself, and grateful again to have the space to work on my issues with food so that I'll be able to maintain this loss in the future. I'm even maybe dreaming of a lower goal weight... but we'll cross that bridge far into the future! For now, slow and steady is what I'm looking for.

Week Four Weigh In!

 It's been a good week. I was anxious all week about my weigh in, even though normally I just shrug them off because fluctuation is normal. But the gain last week and knowing I at least somewhat deserved it made me wonder what was going to happen this week.

I was right that some of that gain was just sodium bloat, and so it melted away this week bringing me right back on track!

Down 4.4lbs, for a total Ozempic loss of 8lbs in four weeks! That's right on for healthy weight loss of 2lbs per week. If I can keep up that rate overall, I'll be thrilled. Next month I get my A1C checked again, and I'm hoping to see some improvement there as well.

OZ Week 1 loss: 3.4lbs

OZ Week 2 loss: 2.2 lbs
OZ Week 3 gain: 2.0lbs

OZ Week 4 loss: 4.4lbs

Since I'm still losing and feeling appetite suppressant, as well as noticing more side effects, I think I'm going to stay at 0.25mg for another week or two and see how it goes. I'd rather not go up in dose unless I really need to since I'm worried about acclimatization.

For now though? I still feel like Ozempic has been a bit of a miracle drug for me. I'm hoping that I can use this tool effectively to achieve my health goals and keep the weight off this time around.

Dealing with Underlying Issues

 So one of the things I've seen written about on the Ozempic Facebook groups is that using the medication means we aren't dealing with our underlying issues. How can we deal with the whys of gaining weight if we aren't hungry?

Well, I got a lovely object lesson in this yesterday, so I wanted to share my thoughts. We all have our own unhealthy patterns that have contributed to us weighing more than we'd like, and ultimately if we don't work on those, we're going to end up right back where we started.

Yesterday I had a very stressful situation arise, and I started to follow my normal pattern. I was too upset to eat dinner on time, and then found myself feeling like I needed to eat but I no longer had the energy to make something. So, I followed my usual pattern of ordering takeout. 

That being said, I still made better choices than I might have in the past- I ordered a sub and it was relatively healthy, clocking in at 680 calories and loaded with veggies (except lettuce which apparently has become a luxury item!). I did eat the whole thing though, even though I felt like I had enough after eating half, and I'm not proud of that.

The key moment though was that I wanted dessert after eating my sub. Normally this would be the start of a binge for me. So I said to myself, okay- what do I want? There is a lot of junk food in my house right now with Christmas coming. Several kinds of cookies, glazed nuts, various types of chocolate and candy. I thought about all of them and pictured myself eating them.

Do you know what I realized? My body didn't actually want them. None of them really sounded appealing after all- the pull was all mental. Ozempic helped me separate those two and realize that if I didn't actually want it, it wasn't going to be satisfying. I was just going to repeat the pattern of eating something I didn't really want and then probably wouldn't feel good afterwards, either physically, mentally, or both. I think that would have been a much more difficult realization without the help of Ozempic, and it would have taken willpower to get past the craving when it was really not necessary. Willpower works when we choose to fight ourselves on things we actually want; we shouldn't have to use it on the ones that we really don't. Especially when willpower fatigue is a thing.

Side effects or no side effects, I'm starting to feel like Ozempic is a wonderful tool that is giving me the space and distance to work on myself and solve my issues with weight. And that's what I'm hoping to take forward when I'm off the medication one day in the future.

Checking In...

 So this is week 4, and I've been noticing side effects a bit more this week. The occasional headache, along with some relatively mild nausea. Fortunately 7up Zero seems to help with the nausea, so that's a plus.

Surprisingly, it's the weekend and even with a Monday night shot, I haven't really gotten my appetite back in a raging way like I did right before my shot on previous weeks. So that's a positive thing, and I would guess both these issues are related to having a baseline level of Ozempic in my body.

I'm leaning to staying at the lower dose based on those two factors, rather than stepping up to 0.5mg on Monday. If 0.25mg is working then I'm thinking it might be best to stay there for a little while. I'm curious to see what the results on the scale will be this week. I've still been experiencing bloat, so I'm hoping that I'll have a big whoosh to take off the 2lbs from last week and then some. I've been good and staying off the scale except for my once weekly weigh in on Monday mornings, so it's helping me to avoid obsessing over those normal daily fluctuations.

It's helping to have some handy snacks around that are quick and grabbable, so that I don't have to worry as much about planning my meals. Or if I'm not particularly hungry but know I need to eat, having something close to hand that I don't need to go to any trouble for is really helpful. I still have some Nutrisystem snacks in my freezer and those have been really helpful because they are tasty as well as high protein for satiety.

I made a really delicious salad last night that was bursting with flavour and nutritious- I would definitely recommend that you give it a try!

Gochujang-Sesame Turkey Salad:

250g ground turkey

2 tbsp gochjang sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 tbsp garlic puree

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

2 cups baby spinach

1 cup sweet bell pepper, cut into strips

4 radishes, sliced thinly into rounds

1/4 cup carrot, julienned

1 green onion, thinly sliced

In a large salad serving bowl, mix together the greek yogurt, vinegar, 1 tbsp gochujang, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, and 1/2 tsp garlic puree. Whisk ingredients together, and add salt and pepper to taste. Set dressing aside for flavours to blend.

Heat a large pan over medium heat and add the remaining sesame oil. When oil is hot, add the turkey. Cook, breaking up any large chunks, until there is no longer any pink, approximately 4-5 min. Season with pepper if desired. 

To the pan with turkey, add the remaining gochujang, soy sauce, and garlic puree, and stir to coat the meat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the turkey starts to brown, 3-5 min. 

Add the spinach, bell peppers, carrots, and radishes to the bowl with the dressing, and toss to coat. Divide the salad onto two plates and top with the turkey; garnish with green onions.

This recipe is so flavourful I guarantee you won't miss your favourite Asian takeout! Serves two, each serving contains 321 calories, 7g of fat, 23g of carbohydrates, and a whopping 43g of protein! Definitely a great choice. Try it and let me know how you like it!