After the first two days of the diet eating high-fat foods like eggs and avocado, it’s time to start eating 500 calories a day.
Maybe this is the first time you’ve heard of the HCG diet and you want to try something new to lose those extra pounds? Maybe you want to know the difference between HCG vs keto dieting and which diet is better for you?
Here are 7 HCG diet recipes and HCG diet tips that you will want to try for your meals!
HCG vs. Keto
You might wonder what is the difference between HCG and Keto, as on the surface they seem very similar.
They both use fat as a source of energy and stay away from using a lot of carbs. This is so the carbs can break down into ketones in the liver, forcing the body to undergo ketosis. Doing this results in weight loss, better blood sugar control, lowered blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and increased mental performance.
The Keto diet does not use any injections or drops to increase your metabolism. When you do this, you don’t need to count calories and can have more flexibility with the amount of food you eat. The main difference is that Keto requires eating high-fat foods like meat, dairy, and oil.
The HCG diet uses injections or drops of HCG to regulate your hormones. It is high-fat for the first few days, but transitions into a low calorie, low-fat diet. You have to eat two meals a day composed of one serving of protein, one vegetable, one fruit, and one bread. A nutritionist or another medical professional also supervises your diet journey so you are getting the nutrients you need.
1. Lemon Chicken Soup
Preheat a saucepan on the medium setting. Combine a 100g shredded and cooked chicken breast, lemon juice, thyme, sea salt, ground white pepper, chopped spinach, and 2 to 3 cups of homemade chicken broth into the saucepan. Let the mixture go into a boil before letting it simmer for 20 minutes.
After that, you can serve the soup while hot and enjoy.
This recipe counts as one protein serving and one vegetable serving.
2. Baked Apple and Fennel
Combine one tart apple, a bulb of fennel, fresh lemon juice, chopped tarragon, ground black pepper, and salt into a bowl. Put all of this inside a tin foil bag and bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.
This counts as one vegetable serving and one fruit serving.
3. Strawberry White Balsamic Vinegar
For this vinaigrette recipe, use 2-3 large strawberries, 1/2 tablespoon of minced garlic, white balsamic or wine vinegar, and powdered Stevia. Puree these ingredients in a blender and put it on top of your salads, fruits, and even meat.
This counts as half of a fruit serving.
4. Tarragon Tilapia
Use tarragon, lemon juice, mustard, sea salt & pepper to baste onto a 100g tilapia fillet. Bake it on the 375 degrees setting in the oven for about 15 minutes.
5. Beef and Onion Kebobs
Using a 100g lean steak, season the meat with onion powder and garlic powder. Cube the meat and place that and wedged onions on skewers to grill on a barbecue. Season it with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Toasted Grapefruit
This counts as one fruit serving. Slice a grapefruit in half and sprinkle it with Stevia and cinnamon. Put it on a foil-lined sheet and place it in the broiler for about 2-3 minutes.
7. Italian Steak With Cherry Tomatoes
This recipe counts as one protein serving and vegetable serving.
Use a 100g lean steak, lemon juice, fresh basil, dried oregano and thyme, garlic powder, cherry tomatoes, and salt and pepper.
Sprinkle oregano, thyme, garlic powder, and salt & pepper over the steak, use lemon juice, and put it on a hot grill pan. Put the basil on top of the steak. Set the steak aside for 5 minutes after cooking, place the cherry tomatoes in the pan, and let it cook for a few minutes.
Put the cherry tomatoes on top of the steak and top it with parsley.
Some HCG Diet Tips
Here are some tips you can use when trying to make your HCG diet recipes.
- Use more spices and herbs. It’ll make your food taste better and help break the monotony of eating the same meals. Some great herbs to use are cilantro, parsley, mint, and basil (especially when fresh!).
- Using lemon, lime, and a variety of vinegar refreshes the dish and has been shown to brighten and enliven other flavors.
- Instead of regular sugar, use sweeteners like Stevia and Splenda.
Use these tips for your HCG diet journey to help you stay on track while also not depriving your taste buds.
Let Us Know How These HCG Diet Recipes Work For You!
The HCG diet takes commitment to eat low calorie and low-fat foods for as long as you need while medically supervised. On some diets, eating the same kind of food every day can get boring, but sticking to the plan while trying to find variety in meals will help you out better in the long run. If reading this article makes you want to try the diet, go for it and let us know how it worked out for you!
The HCG diet is just one of the diets we cover on our site. Want more ideas for recipes to make during your diet? Check out our site and get some healthy food inspo!
