24 Day Challenge: Day 18 & 19

On Day 18, it hit me that in one week we'd be off the challenge and I'd finally get to have some wine, chocolate, cheese, & bread! Oh, my dear long lost friends, how I yearn to be in your presence again. Ok, to be honest, I don't really miss them all that much. That doesn't mean I'm not going to have each and every one of those delicious treats I've been avoiding for the last 18 days, but it does give me hope that maintaining my goals post challenge won't be as difficult as I'd imagined. I've committed to maintaining our healthy eating habits 80% on/ 20% off post challenge. That means that for 20% of the time, I get to eat all of those delicious things. And on day 25, I'm having each and every one of them!

For now, the only treat I've been having, besides all of the yummy recipes I've been making, is the daily AdvoCare Meal Replacement Shake. As depressing as that sounds, AdvoCare has really done a great job at making those things pretty satisfying. In high school, I tried SlimFast and not only were they not very filling, but they also weren't that tasty. The MRS from AdvoCare is a great addition to the plan, especially for someone with a sweet tooth. As mentioned before, I am more of a savory person, so I chose the vegetarian dark chocolate version, while Alice decided to go with the Milk Chocolate & Mocha flavor. She thought this would help her when she started missing her Starbucks espresso drinks, and I think they have done just that. The MC&M ones are a little too sweet for me, but the Dark Chocolate one has just the right amount of sweetness and dark intensity. Alice also ordered the Meal Replacement Bars so that she could switch her breakfast up every couple days. These only come in one flavor, Chocolate Peanut Butter, but they are surprisingly good. I actually don't really like meal/snack bars. Not really sure why, but I just prefer a drink to a bar. However, I did try one and although I would prefer to have the shakes, they are pretty good.  They are smooth and a little denser than nougat, and are only slightly sweeter than a candy bar. I'm probably going to go back to eggs and oatmeal post 24DC, but Alice has decided that this is the perfect breakfast for her busy school schedule.

























For dinner on day 18, I came up with a delicious use of the shrimp taco leftovers (mainly out of necessity, because I ran out of tortillas). As I ended up with more filling than filling holders, I decided to create something inspired by my favorite Chipotle dish...the bowl! I looked around the fridge and sure enough I had some leftover quinoa from my soup recipe, so I went to work.

Chili & Lime Roasted Cauliflower & Shrimp Quinoa Bowls

Makes ~ 4 servings

Ingredients

• 16 oz Chili Shrimp, cooked
• 1 Avocado, cubed
• 1 head Cauliflower, trimmed into florets
• 1 tbsp Chili Powder
• 3 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1/2 tsp Red Chilli Flakes
• 3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/2 Bunch Cilantro, chopped
• 2 Cups Quinoa, cooked
• 2 Limes, quartered

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Place the cauliflower, olive oil, garlic, chili powder, cumin, chili flakes, & salt (to taste) in a gallon ziplock bag. Toss the bag around to coat. Dump the contents onto a rimmed baking sheet and roast the cauliflower for about 30 mins, or until brown around the edges. When finished, squeeze lime over the top and sprinkle with cilantro.
2. Build your bowl by scooping 1/2 cup of Quinoa onto your plate, top w/ about 1 cup of roasted cauliflower, 4 oz of chili shrimp, 1/4 of an avocado, and extra cilantro & lime to taste.
3. Yum Yum Leftovers!

I also had a great talk with my two challenge coaches on day 18 to discuss what products I wanted to continue with post 24DC. These talks with your coach are so important on day 18 so that you can determine what your post 24DC goals are and so that you can place your order in time to make sure you're ready to go on day 25. I've been having these chats with them on and off through out the challenge to ask any questions and also report back my progress. It helps talk to someone who's been through the challenge before to get tips and encouragement. My coaches have been amazing, and I only hope that when I get to coach someone through for the first time, that I can be as helpful to them as Karen & Mike have been to me. More about what I'll continue with on day 25's post...

Finally the end of the week had come and I had some exciting plans! A friend of mine that I hadn't seen since high school was in town for work and we were not going to let this opportunity for a reunion get passed us. I LOVE when people take advantage of a good time. I knew seeing this guy would be such a great flashback and indeed it was, buy I also knew that the best way for us to get together would be to go out to dinner. And while on the challenge, that could prove to be difficult. However, I'd done it before at the House of Blues so I figured I could do it again. I found a restaurant on Yelp in Newport Beach  called Sol Grill that had lots of fresh seafood options that I knew would keep me on track. And I was right! 

We had some delicious seared ahi tuna and steamed mussels for appetizers and then I had a tender swordfish fillet with pineapple salsa, rice and sautéed veggies. So so yummy, and virtually guilt free! Even with wine, creamy pasta, and fresh bread with dipping oil within arm's reach, I resisted and still enjoyed Sarah & Jonathan's High School Reunion. After dinner, we went for a walk down the beach so my inland east coast friend could enjoy a little Pacific salt water air. While walking down the beach, we ran into a gelato shop that the group just couldn't resist. Usually, I'm not the one who requests desserts, however, if someone else indulges I do too. As I'm looking at all the flavors and imagining all the sugar held within each bite, I look up and saw that they also served fresh pressed juice!!! What a wonderful surprise that allowed me the satisfation of social "desserting", while not breaking my pledges for the challenge. Thank you Il Gelato, Newport Beach for offering that delightful "Red Cure". It was just what the Dr. ordered!

The rest of the weekend was pretty low key, but I was looking forward to planning the rest of the menu for our LAST week on the challenge!!! Stay tuned cause these will definitely be some of your favorites!