24 Day Challenge: Day 14 & 15

Although Sunday is always a day of weekly planning and preparation in our home, since starting the 24DC, meal prep has become an even larger portion of the day. For some, this sounds hellish, but for me, it's a really relaxing way to be productive. There's something about getting to spend the day in the kitchen cooking that calms me. It reminds me of summer time at my grandparent's house and my grandmother constantly working on the next meal. Meal prep not only allows me to wax nostalgic, it also gives me more quality time during the week to spend with my wife, which in our household is more precious than gold since we get so little.

On that note, here is the plan for the week:

On day 14, I made 2 delicious recipes that I found on Pinterest and only slightly altered. Linked are the originals, but here are my alterations:

Lemony Chicken & Spring Veggie Soup
Makes ~ 10, 2 Cup servings
~213 Calories, 6g Fat, 14g Carbs, 3g Fiber, & 26g Protein

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Large Sweet Onion (Vidalia/Texas), chopped
• 4 Large Carrots, chopped
• 5 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Cup Frozen Peas
• 4 Small Zucchini, chopped
• 2 tsp Lemon Zest
• 1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Basil, chiffonade
• 1 tsp Marjoram, dried
• 1 tsp Rosemary, dried
• 1 tsp Thyme, dried
• 1 tsp Oregano, dried
• 8 Cups Chicken Broth
• 4 Cups Vegetable Broth
• 3 Large Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

Cooking Directions

1. Put a medium pot over medium-high heat and place the broths and chicken breasts in it. Bring the broth to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the chicken is cooked through. About 15-20 mins. Once the chicken is finished, shred each breast with two forks.
2. While the chicken is cooking, place a large stockpot over medium heat and warm it up for about 2 minutes. Add the olive oil to the heated pan and then add the onion, carrots, & garlic. 
3. Sauté until tender or about 5 mins. Add salt & pepper to taste, and the herbs and stir to combine. 
4. Add the chicken and vegetable broths to the sautéed veggies, and simmer for about 10 mins, or until the carrots are soft. 
5. Turn off the heat and add the shredded chicken, peas, zucchini, lemon zest, & lemon juice and allow the peas to heat through for about 4 mins. 
6. To serve, add 1/2 cup of cooked quinoa to the bottom of a bowl and serve the soup overtop. Sprinkle the basil over top of the soup and enjoy. 

Kielbasa & Cabbage Skillet

Makes ~ 5 Servings

~319 Calories, 16g Fat, 22g Carbs, 4g Fiber, & 26g Protein

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Small Head Green Cabbage, chopped
• 1 Large Sweet Onion (Vidalia/Texas), chopped
• 3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
• 2 tsp Rice Wine Vinegar
• 2 tsp Course Ground Dijon Mustard
• 26 oz (2 pkgs) Hillshire Farm Turkey Kielbasa
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Cooking Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large cast iron (or nonstick) pan over medium-high and add kielbasa. Cook, without stirring for 1 minute. Then stir occasionally for about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon.
2. In the same pan with some of the rendered kielbasa fat, add the cabbage, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, and salt & black pepper to taste. Stir to combine and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Mix in the vinegar and mustard; add the sausage back to the pan and cook for another 2 minutes to heat through.
4. Serve immediately.

On day 15, I started the morning with a GREAT Crossfit session. I've never really done a great job at keeping track of my progress, mainly because before January I wasn't that consistent in even attending, but recently I've been trying to be more aware of my PRs (personal records) so that I can make sure that I'm actually making progress. I really am not that in to competition with others, but there's nothing wrong with being in competition with myself. 

So any who, after a great session, and because the challenge has me feeling AMAZING, I decided that I just couldn't stand to sit at a desk all day long any more. However, since I can't just quit my job, I needed a solution. Thankfully, we had some standing desk set ups at work that most people had abandoned. Setting it up really helped keep me engaged more and instantly helped my posture that had been creating some discomfort in my neck and shoulders. 

Another sign of progress that I noticed on day 15 was the way my favorite outfit was fitting. Everything about it made me look as though I was a little kid swimming in my older sibling's hand me downs. Kind of hard to notice in this picture, but trust me, it used to cling MUCH more! This is one of my outfits that I usually have to wait until the end of the day to be comfortable in, but this morning might be the last time this outfit has the pleasure of draping itself around me! It feels absolutely incredible to be seeing such change in just two weeks. Seeing this progress was exactly what I needed to keep me from feeling bummed that I was missing out on so many April temptations: Easter candy, National Beer Month, & Grilled Cheese Month!

Something else I've been thinking of is how to resist gorging on these kind of holidays in the future that are so centered around unhealthy food/drink. Any time I find myself in front of a table of goodies, I tend to not be able to control myself for some kind of irrational fear that I may never get to have these things again. I'm not entirely sure why this is, but it happens nonetheless. I once read in a magazine that some super model reported that the only way she could enjoy having dessert, without it affecting her waist line, was to only indulge in ONE bite. At first I thought this was crazy, but a coworker of mine and I were discussing it and she felt like this could make sense if you thought about it this way: any FIRST bite of something is definitely the best bite of the item because it's the first time you're tasting it. Now that doesn't necessarily mean that if you ate a whole piece of say chocolate cake then only the first bite would taste good, but all the subsequent bites couldn't possibly taste AS GOOD as the first time you tasted it. Kind of like when you hear a drug addict use the term "Chasing the Dragon". Food can be as addictive for some as narcotics. Certainly the results of those addictions are very different, but it's still not a good addition to have. So, I've decided that from here on out I will apply restraint by indulging only in the "Dragon bite". I have to learn how to eat to live not live to eat.