Finishing STRONG! 21 Day Fix

Last week had a few "bad" eating days.  I don't really agree with the concept that you should NEVER eat certain foods.  I'm all about things in moderation.  My problem is that once I start eating something that isn't the healthiest choice (ahem ice cream), I do NOT eat in moderation.  I'm telling you, sugar is addictive and I feel the effects immediately after eating it!

We were out of town for a funeral and then we came home and I had LASIK (AMAZING!  But a separate post.)  So Monday-Thursday last week, I wasn't able to work out.  (Though I totally did some push ups Wednesday night after having LASIK that morning.  Not being able to read or watch TV or be on the computer left me a little bored.  So we went for ice cream - oops.)

Friday I came back strong and decided that I would try to finish up this challenge by doing the 3 day quick fix.  Except I had 5 days left, haha.  So I decided 2 days of the quick fix, a regular day of eating (I had lunch plans with a friend) and then 2 days to finish up doing the quick fix.

The quick fix may seem extreme to some, but I can assure you that I ate more than I think I did the entire challenge and it really just followed paleo principles more closely, which I'm a huge fan of.

You have 6 smaller meals per day.  I made some substitutions because I would rather have 2 whole eggs than 8 egg whites, and the first day I didn't have any chicken to cook in the morning, so I ate 2 more eggs for my second meal.

So Friday looked like this:

7:00 

2 eggs

oatmeal with cinnamon and coconut oil mixed in (the guide says to use steel cut oats but I had gluten free quick oats so I used that and made enough for the days ahead)

black coffee

7:40 

cardio fix workout - 30 minutes

Dirty 30 workout - 30 minutes

10:00

2 eggs

steamed yam with cinnamon

12:30

sauteed fish with salad - lettuce/tomato/celery - coconut oil and coconut vinegar dressing

This dressing is just a homemade concoction - about 40% coconut oil and 60% coconut vinegar with some salt and pepper mixed in.  You could certainly use red wine vinegar, but I really like the light flavor of the coconut vinegar!  You could also add some dried or fresh herbs to spice it up!  

3:30

chicken (went to Wegmans, haha)

sliced cucumber with coconut vinegar and oil dressing

6:00

tilapia with steamed green beans

7:30

Ground turkey with peppers, onions, tomato, zucchini, carrots and green salsa

I added in some homemade chili seasoning to make it like a turkey chili goulash - minus the pasta

I knew that my ground turkey would be 4 servings, so to make it easy to portion out, I added 3 containers or green veggies and coconut oil.  These are the 4 veggies I had on hand decided would be delicious.

Tomatoes, orange bell peppers, zucchini, chopped onion and carrot with some salsa verde (just tomatillos and jalapeno)

I started by sauteing the veggies in some coconut oil and added in some chili seasoning I had - so easy to assemble and no preservatives, fillers or salt!  Then I added in the ground turkey to cook that through.

Once it was all cooked through, I tasted it to make sure it had enough seasoning, and then let it cool.  I portioned it out into 4 containers so I wouldn't have to guess how much a serving is when the time comes to eat it!

Each container is 1 red, 1 green and 1/2 tsp

Saturday was very similar, but I really wasn't craving anything extra so it really wasn't that difficult for some reason!

7:30 

2 eggs

oatmeal with cinnamon and coconut oil mixed in 

black coffee

9:15

chicken and yams

10:00 PiYo Live class - 60 minutes

11:45

Tilapia with steamed mixed veggies - seasoned with some of the all purpose seasoning from the fix guide

I kept this super simple and used Wegmans Organic mixed veggies and steamed them right in the bag in the microwave

2:30

chicken with tomato, cucumber, celery salad with that coconut vinegar and oil dressing

Yes this is a paper plate - food prep creates so many dishes that it's OK to use paper once in a while!

5:15

Salmon salad - pan seared salmon, lettuce, celery, cucumber with dressing

7:00

Run through PiYo Lesson 27 - 30 minutes

Yoga fix - 30 minutes

8:30

Turkey goulash

On Sunday morning, I stepped on the scale and was down 2 pounds!  It's VERY important to know though that in addition to this food listed here, I drank a FULL GALLON of water every day.  Do you know how much water that is?  It's 16-8oz glasses of water!  Because I love water so much, that wasn't too difficult for me and it definitely helps to keep you hydrated and feeling refreshed.

I'm ready to rock these last two days of the 21 day fix.  I don't want to post a summary yet, but I can tell you that I'm loving the workouts so much that I know that I'll continue them after the official challenge is over.

21 day fix - Day 2

Woot!  Day one is done and was successful.  I have to admit that I really missed snacking on almonds while working, however, this morning I was down 1.5 lbs (really probably from just not eating 3 donuts in a day as I did on vacation)!

This morning when I woke up, I tried to pre-plan out my day a little better than yesterday since I did feel a little frazzled not having many things to choose from until I went shopping.  If you are not a morning person, this can certainly be done the night before as I did for a LONG time before starting to work from home.  In fact, I still pack my husband's breakfast and lunch the night before.  Even though I'm up early, I'm not up THAT early - he leaves for work by 5:30.

6:00 am Breakfast

2 eggs
sunflower seeds
raspberries & grapes
black coffee
water (not pictured) 3 cups

I don't know why, but sunflower seeds sounded really good this morning, haha.












9:00 Workout - Total Strength - 60 minutes
water - 3 cups

11:30 Lunch

The prep.

Mid prep.

6 slices of ham

lettuce, tomato, carrots

tortilla chips

mustard

All nice and pretty.

1:00 snack

Yes, I realize that this was not much after lunch, but I was still hungry and the thought of having to wait at least 4 more hours until dinner was not making me happy.


carrots
1 tsp almond butter (in the orange container for convenience - not measuring!)
black coffee

More water - like my fancy water cup?  I holds 24 oz.  I like that because then I only have to fill it up 3 times per day to make sure I get enough water - even though I often drink more than that!




Dinner


4 oz lean ground beef
cheddar cheese
mustard (not pictured)
spaghetti squash - 3/4 container
zucchini, eggplant and onion roasted with coconut oil spray

I was originally planning on sweet potato "fries" with dinner but didn't realize that I had run out!  So I improved with spaghetti squash.  The sweet potato fries would have given the plate a little more color though!








7:45 PiYo LIVE class - 45 minutes - Taught the class.  :)

9:00 Evening Snack (AKA dessert!):
1 package of chocolate shakeology
1/2 frozen banana
1 tsp almond butter
4 oz almond milk - 1/4 container
4 oz water
ICE

Notes for today:

• So again, I really planned on doing the Dirty 30 workout today which was on my calendar in addition to the Total Strength workout that I went to at Bounce.  But then I was asked to sub PiYo this evening and decided that I better not do the Dirty 30 workout before having to teach, haha.  
• Something I missed yesterday while posting - WATER!  I drink MINIMUM 8 cups (a cup is 8 oz) of water a day.  most days, it's closer to 9-10 and when I'm really doing well it's closer to 12 cups.  I space it out through the day.  I know it can be really hard to drink water if you are a big fan of pop/soda.  I've never been a huge fan of it, so it was really easy for me to transition to water when I started really getting into healthy eating practices.  Now I really only ever drink 4 things - water, coffee, almond milk and wine.  :)
• Even though I'm really looking forward to my kids coming home tomorrow, I'm a little nervous about how the fix is going to work for me since G prefers to eat MY food instead of hers - even though it's usually identical.
• Am I the only one who likes to have three things to eat at every meal?  There are obviously times when I don't, but it feels like not enough food if there are only two things on my plate and too much if there are four.

Are you doing the 21 day fix right now?  What is your favorite meal that you've had so far?  

21 day fix - Day 1

So, this am I had plans of waking up early and going to the public market to load up on veggies and fruit and then hitting up Wegmans for everything else.  But guess what?  I fell back asleep after my alarm and with the kids in VT camping with my ILs, I had no one to wake me up.  Apparently I was tired after our 4 days camping.  So my pre-planned day wasn't really going to work today since I had limited food in the fridge!

8:00 am Breakfast

So, I made do with 2 eggs, an apple and 3/4 of a yellow container of sweet potatoes that were leftover in my fridge from the day before we left.  

Why the 3/4 yellow container, you ask?  Later today I plan on using 4 oz of almond milk to make shakeology.  You can substitute 16 oz of almond milk for one yellow container and since I don't really need 16 oz, I'm using 1/4 of a yellow container for my shakeology and 3/4 this morning. #MathIsFun

Not a face anymore.

I couldn't resist - looks like a face.  :)

2 eggs

black coffee

apple

Yam - 3/4 container

Looking at the apple whole I wasn't sure if it would fit into a purple container once cut up, but it did!  I was pretty excited about that because I would have been less than thrilled if I had to eat just part of an apple this

morning. 

It fits!

12:00 pm Workout = Zumba 45 minutes

2:00 Lunch

I stopped at Wegmans after Zumba to do a quick shopping trip to make sure we had some veggies and fruits to choose from.  I had some leftovers to eat up though in the fridge that I could make work for today so I decided to do that.  I didn't take a picture of my lunch because, well, it wasn't pretty, haha.  I made a chicken salad with avocado and tahini and the avocado was all brown and icky and though it still tasted great, it was ugly leftover so I spared you the picture of that.  Instead I took a picture of what containers I used for lunch.  :)


leftover chicken salad:
chicken
tahini (ground sesame seeds) 1/2 container
avocado
lettuce and tomato cut up and combined
dressing (21 day fix approved) 1/2 container






4:00 Snack 

Coffee with 1 tbsp coconut milk - I really wanted something sweet and this took the edge off. 

5:00 Dinner

So today was kind of weird for me.  Normally I need a morning snack before a noon workout, but today I felt ok.  But after lunch, I was still hungry.  So even though I would normally eat a later dinner after having lunch at 2:00, I really was hungry at 5 and since I was heading back to Bounce for another class at 6:30, I decided to have an early dinner and then have a snack later on.

Doesn't look like much?

Now it does!

chicken (leftover baked)

spaghetti squash with lemon

leftover roasted broccoli

carrot sticks (not pictured)

I would normally add a little butter and Parmesan cheese to the spaghetti squash, but it was really good with just some fresh lemon juice!

6:30 Workout = 60 minutes Red Warrior Class at Bounce

8:15 Snack

Ok listen.  I've never ever been a "shake" person.  Like, ever.  I just have never seen the appeal to drinking your food as opposed to eating your food.  I'm giving shakeology a try while doing this challenge for a couple of reasons.  1. It will help me bump up my 4th red container without having to eat 4 meals of chicken.  2. It tastes good - it's like a natural healthy dessert!  3. It's SUPER easy.

So we'll see how it goes!

1 package of chocolate shakeology
1/2 frozen banana
1 tsp almond butter
4 oz almond milk - 1/4 container
4 oz water
ICE





Some additional notes:

• I plan on incorporating the 21 day fix workouts every day no matter if I get to Bounce that day or not, but since today was going to be the cardio workout and I went to Bounce twice, I decided to not do the fix workout in addition for today. 
• I only did 1 tsp of oil/almond butter today because the leftover yams and broccoli had olive oil on them when I roasted them.  Since I really can't be sure how much there was in my serving, I decided to play it safe and only use 1 tsp of the almond butter instead of the normal 2 that I plan on having.  :)

Are you doing the fix right now?  How are you doing?  Please feel free to share any tips or comments below!

WFD 6/8/2013

Marinaded flank steak and veggie skewers.

No picture of the steak because I thought I took a picture of it, but really my friend S did on her phone, lol.

G ate an entire veggie skewer and the steak.  Easy and delish!

WFD 6/6/2013

You may be wondering what the heck I'm talking about in my post title.  WFD?  What does that stand for?

Whales Fighting Dolphins?

Um, excuse me, can you please move over?

What Fun Dog?

why is this so funny?

Witches Flying Drunk?

for realz.

oooooor, None of the above.

The answer is NONE OF THE ABOVE.  Instead, it's a little acronym that I like to use for the ever popular.... wait for it.....

What's For Dinner?!?!?!?!  

(Did you read that and say it in your head like a game show host?  If you didn't, then please read it again and this time read it with the enthusiasm of a game show host.  Thanx.)

WFD is not to be confused with WFL (What's for lunch?) or WFB (What's for breakfast?  Though I suppose it could be "What's for Brunch" too?)

OK - now that we have an idea of what WFD means, here is what is for dinner in our house tonight.  Nothing very spectacular.  It's a dreary rainy day and I'm just trying to use up miscellaneous food items in the fridge.  

So, yeah.  Nothing fancy.  It's more food than it looks like.  Big plates will do that.   Zweigles hot dog, mustard, roasted broccoli, roasted baby carrots with cinnamon and a leftover salt potato.   Giselle ate an entire hot dog, broccoli, carrots, potato and string cheese, so I guess it was an OK meal for using up what was in the fridge.  :)

What did YOU have for dinner?

Another letter to Kid B - Love Mommy

Dear Kid B,

Hi.  Remember me?  You should.  You're growing inside me.

For the last several weeks, I've been freaking out your dad at night when you decide to move or shift in my belly.  It's a cool thing to watch with my shirt covering my belly, but lift up the shirt so you can see the actual belly, and Daddy gets super freaked out.  I find it to be quite humorous actually.  The other day, your big brother R (who is SOOOOO psyched to meet you btw) was sitting on my lap and you kicked him in the back.  He didn't mind though.  He thought it was pretty cool!

You may remember from this post, that your Auntie Tay likes to write letters.  In her letter to you, she talked about our work out sessions together.  We worked out together tonight actually.  Aunt Jen was there too!  Tonight, Auntie Tay and Aunt Jen, along with 2 other women who happened to be near us, had the pleasure of seeing you move around while I was working out!  While doing our ab workout, you decided that you  needed a little work out as well and started moving all around.  Right now, I cannot figure out how you are positioned and I was REALLY trying to figure that out, but you kept moving and shifting.  I think you and I freaked out everyone, but again, I thought it was pretty humorous.

I'll get serious now for a moment or two.  Daddy, R and I are so excited to meet you!  It seems like we just found out about you, but in about a month or so, you will be here!  R tells me he is going to be my BIG helper. He assures me that he'll help me change your "stinky" diapers and sing songs to you to help you sleep.  We've been practicing some songs every night actually.

Daddy took some pictures of us this past weekend.  R and I decided that we should pose with the stuffed turtle that R picked out for you a while back.

This is proof that R DOES love you.  :)

And this is proof that Mommy and R are goofy and your dad makes us crack up.  :)

In closing, Kid B, I promise, we'll figure out a name for you too.  I SWEAR we will not call you Kid B after you are born - at least not for very long.  :)

We love you!

Mommy

Minestrone soup - the lazy way

I've been loving soup and sandwich for lunch lately and I would rather make soup and bring it than eat canned soup. It just seems so much healthier to me.

So here is the original recipe that I've been using:

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/11/crock-pot-minestrone-soup.html

I was introduced to www.skinnytaste.com a few months ago and I LOVE it!  I love being able to make more healthful versions of usually decadent or unhealthy food. 

Yesterday when I had originally planned to make soup, I only needed a few things from the grocery store, and used a few substitutions so as to reduce the amount of items that I needed to purchase.  My modifications are as follows:

• Instead of diced tomatoes, I used canned whole tomatoes and just diced them up (b/c I had a ton of whole tomatoes and didn't get the right size can of diced tomatoes while shopping).
• I used dried herbs instead of fresh (b/c I was lazy).
• I added 3 cups of fresh baby spinach instead of 2 (b/c I like spinach).
• I added 1 cup (before cooking) of ditalini pasta (b/c that is what I had).
• I added 2 tbsp parmesan cheese (b/c I didn't have a leftover cheese rind).
• I added more like 4 cups of reduced sodium chicken broth - I didn't measure.  I just poured it in my crock pot until it looked full enough.

For a 1 cup serving here are the nutritional values of my modified/lazy version:

111 calories, 23 g carbs, 0 g fat, 8 g protein, 5 g fiber. 

Paired with a sandwich or salad and it's the perfect lunch for me!

Anything Goes Frittata / Egg Cake

An easy way to get rid of leftovers and have a yummy and nutritious meal is to make a frittata.  A while back, I was all about the quiche, but I would either have to make a pie shell or have one on hand.  I've found the frittata to be an easier/quicker alternative and it's just as delicious - if not more so.

In our house, we call it egg cake so R will eat it.  It was the first egg dish/item that I could get him to eat.

My normal "recipe" is eggs (duh), milk or cream, sauteed red bell peppers and onions, bacon, breakfast sausage, broccoli and cheese, but you can use whatever you want! 

Start by cooking your sausage and bacon and breaking into small chunks. I really like to bake the bacon.  Weird I know, but it is so much cleaner and easier and makes the bacon perfectly crispy every time.

Saute your sliced/diced peppers and onions in butter or olive oil.

In the meantime, whisk together eggs (I like to use a few whole eggs and the rest egg whites) and your cream or milk and season with salt and pepper.  Sometimes I get wild and crazy and put a dash of garlic powder in, or parsley.  (I'm daring, I know.)

When your veggies are nice and cooked through, add the meat and broccoli and cheese.  Then add the eggs.

Try not to disturb the eggs now - let the bottom start to set.  After about 10 minutes or so, place your pan in a preheated oven to finish cooking.  (375*)

(If you don't have an already oven safe frying pan, you can wrap the handle in aluminum foil to make your pan oven safe.)

The eggs will puff up and finish cooking through in about 5-10 more minutes.

Remove from oven and let it sit for maybe 5 more minutes to let it all settle.  Then flip onto a serving plate.

The bottom (now the top) will be all golden brown and caramelly looking.

Serve wedges of egg cake with toast, or croissants, fresh fruit, mimosas, etc.  I actually use this meal for dinner pretty regularly because it's a nice way to get (sneak more) veggies into R-ster and EMX.

Anything Goes Frittata / Egg Cake

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

8 eggs (whole or combination of whole eggs and egg whites)
1/4 cup milk
Assorted veggies and meats
Assorted cheeses
Salt/pepper to taste
Seasoning of your choice (pinch) ie garlic powder, parsley, etc.

Saute vegetables and meats until cooked through in a frying pan.  Add cheese.  Whisk together eggs and milk and pour into frying pan.  Cook until bottom starts to set.  Finish cooking through in a 375* oven for about 5-10 minutes.

Remove from oven and let the frittata rest in the pan for 5 minutes.  Flip onto serving plate and cut into wedges for serving.

Pan Seared Salmon with Creamy Vegetable Rice (and a Dance!)

One of the tastiest dinners that I make fairly frequently is also one of the easiest.  EMX LOVES salmon.  This meal is a combination of a couple of recipes that I have refined into my own take on things.  The nice thing about this meal is it doubles or triples very easily.  While you are making it, the dance is optional, but highly recommended.

Easy to follow directions are at the bottom of the post.

THE INGREDIENTS:

THE SALMON:

I usually buy individually frozen salmon from Wegmans, but you could certainly do this with fresh salmon.  I always check for bones just in case they were missed in packaging.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on each side of the salmon and place in a medium-high heated skillet/frying pan with a drizzle of oil.  Now, DON'T TOUCH IT!  Seriously.  Leave it until the first side is nice and lightly brown and slightly crispy.  You'll thank me for that when you dig in for your first bite.  In case you missed it... DON'T TOUCH IT!  Leave it alone.

Then when the first side is easily released from the pan, flip it and then.... wait for it.... DON'T TOUCH IT again.

It should look like this:

Trust me... you'll thank me for telling you not to touch it. 

THE RICE:

Now, you can use whatever veggies you like for this.  It started as a creamy rice with tomato recipe that I found in one of those Kraft Foods magazines, but I've omitted things in the past and added different ingredients and this rice is always delicious!

Start by sauteing one diced onion in a tbsp or so of either oil or Italian dressing.  Add salt/pepper to taste.

Add in whatever other veggies you want at this time that need to be cooked through.  I'm adding zucchini and tomato tonight.  This time I'm also adding chopped frozen spinach but I'm going to wait until the end to add it since it just needs to be heated through. 

After the veggies are starting to soften, add the rice and then the chicken broth (or vegetable broth or even water) and simmer until the rice is cooked through and most of the liquid has dissolved.  Next, add the frozen (but defrosted by now) chopped spinach.

Now comes the creamy part - add the cream cheese and Parmesan cheese and stir through.

 
Plate and serve!

THE DANCE:

The Chemical Brothers - The Salmon Dance




R loves the Salmon dance!

Pan Seared Salmon with Creamy Vegetable Rice
Printable Version

Ingredients:

Salmon (duh)
1.5 cups White or brown instant rice
1.5 cups Water or broth
2 tbsp cream cheese
2 tsp Italian dressing
Parmesan cheese to taste
salt/pepper
diced onion, tomato and any other vegetable you like

Pan Sear Salmon in a frying pan with a drizzle of oil - a few minutes on each side until each side is crispy and light brown.

In a separate pan, saute onion and selected veggies in 2 tsp Italian dressing until tender.  Add rice and liquid and simmer until rice is cooked through.  Add Cream cheese and Parm cheese and serve!



You know you're gonna love it if you give it one chance!

Sunday Family Dinner - Oberdon style

If you are from Rochester, you will appreciate this post.  If not, maybe you will still appreciate it, but maybe not as much.  Garbage plates are a serious thing around here... They may not sound very appealing, but they are DELICIOUS!  (And completely unhealthy and greasy and did I mention, delicious?)

If you don't know what a garbage plate is, you can go here or here for an accurate description with pictures.  They are perfect after a night out on the town, or if you are in my family, for Sunday family dinner.

So that brings me to my dad's famous meat sauce recipe.  In Rochester, we actually call it hot sauce, but it's really not that spicy in my opinion and it is not really hot sauce like Frank's Red Hot.  It is just deliciously seasoned meaty sauce that you can put over your Plate or cheeseburger, or Hot Dog.

Complete recipe will be posted at the end with measurements, etc.

Start by chopping up the onions and sauteing them in the butter. 

Once the onions are translucent, add the ground beef and brown it.  Once this is done, drain the fat/liquid and add the seasonings, stir well and  then add water. 

Did you ever wonder what sugar, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, dry mustard, chili powder, cinnamon, cumin and paprika look like all mixed together?  Me too - here is what it looks like:

For fun, use a spoon that makes you smile and smiles back at you.  (Thanks Dad!)

Simmer uncovered for at least an hour to reduce the liquid amounts.

Then spoon over your food of choice and dig in.  Finish the gluttonous meal by making a brownie ice cream sundae and then vow to work out tomorrow.



Dad's Meat Hot Sauce

• 2 lbs ground beef (I prefer 90/10)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 cups chopped onion
• salt/pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 2 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp dry mustard
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 qt water

Saute onion in butter until translucent.  Add beef and brown.  Drain.

Add seasonings and mix together well.  Add water and simmer to reduce, about 1 hour.