Sally Rhett, hCG Patient

Though there are many recipes for the Maintenance of the Phase 3 stage of the hCG diet, many patients have said that they want more ideas for the Very Low Calorie Diet phase, or Phase 2.

On the website, there are recipes for both Phase 2 and Phase 3 that are great to lean on. However, the diet is self- limiting, not only by what food is allowed, but the by the fact that you cannot combine the vegetables. Shift your way of thinking about food and food preparation during this phase. Use the below list of food items and prepare food using traditional recipes; but more by the variety and combinations of the allowed meats and vegetables.

Edmund (Dr. Rhett) and I have done the hCG Diet successfully on numerous occasions. Though you basically eat the same thing for lunch and dinner, here are some of the ways I varied our routine. Obviously you can mixed these up as long as you adhere to the protocol of only 3.5 oz of meat and 6.5 oz of ONE vegetable per meal.

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LUNCH

• Bed of lettuce topped with fresh shrimp or crabmeat
• Celery sticks and tuna fish, packed in water
• Sliced sweet peppers with cold chicken breast
• Sliced cucumbers OR tomatoes, marinated in apple cider vinegar and topped with sliced beef
• Arugula topped with white fish

All of the above can be accompanied by a vinaigrette made with either balsamic or apple cider vinegar mixed with Dijon mustard
I also used Liquid Aminos ( a substitute for soy sauce ) and mustard

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DINNER

I used a rim soup plate, which has a shallow bowl, perfect for 6.5 oz of a vegetable topped with 3.5 oz of meat. It makes a pretty presentation!

My favorite vegetables were:

• Spinach, asparagus, or broccoli
• Onions, fresh mushrooms, sweet peppers

I boil the vegetables, season with salt and pepper, and only FRESH herbs. Fresh herbs add flavor to your meal choices. I would then bake the onions, mushrooms or peppers so they would get more crisp at 350 for 5-7 min
Hint: I occasionally sautéed the veggies in ghee, technically not allowed, but it did not seem to have a negative effect.

My favorite meats were:

• Tenderloin, or lean ground beef, served over mushrooms or onions
• White fish over asparagus or spinach
• Chicken over seasoned plum tomatoes

I found it helpful to eat the apple (or orange) mid-morning, or mid-afternoon, rather than after dinner, and often only had one fruit serving/day.

Look out on the website, facebook page and Pintrest page for new, flavorful recipes every month for Phase 2!