Apparently Day 3/4 is about the time when all that healthy eating and fiber drinks catch up with you. Well, more specifically Alice. I on the other hand have just been full of hot air! To ensure that I'm not talking behind her back (cause really, I wouldn't want to be caught dead back there right now), see exhibit A below (her post on our 24 DC Facebook group):
Per the comments that followed, this is apparently EVERYONE's favorite time in the cleanse. The fiber drinks take a break on day 3 and then come back in on days 8 through 10. When the fiber drinks stop, you start with the ProBiotic Restore™ ULTRA: supplements, which continue through to the end of the cleanse phase (day 10). I won't go into great detail here, but if you click on the link above, you can read more about how the probiotics work to help keep you, uh, regular. Ok, enough toilet talk.
In perhaps the worst segue in blog history, now it's time for the recipeeeeeees!!!!
Day 3's Menu:
I snapped this shot of my breakfast this morning, because it just looked, and tasted, so damn good! Seriously though, look at that pic! Thank you filters! I really thought that plain oatmeal would be so boring, but when I added the fruit it's really satisfying. Also, since eggs are a great source of protein, easily transportable in their hard boiled form, and usually consumed at breakfast, they have and will continue to be a part of my breakfast repertoire. You'll notice that on top of the eggs, I've squeezed a little mustard, aka Keeney gravy, on top as well as sprinkled them with celery salt. Basically, it's a deviled egg, without the devil (aka mayo)! ANGEL EGGS!
The salmon salad was just as delicious as Day 2's dinner. If you missed that one, just check out the picture here. Also, you'll see that my PM snack was veggies w/ Cilantro Dressing. For the veggies, I cut up two persian (mini) cucumbers, and three baby (mini) bell peppers. I'm not sure if it's because their mini or what but I really prefer them to their full sized cousins. Maybe I just follow the grocery store fads, but either way those mini veggies stole my heart. The dressing is a variation of one I found on Pinterest. You can play around with it to suite your tastes, and I did so to make it a little less fattening.
Creamy Cilantro-Lime Dressing
1 avocado
1 lime
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
Puree all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. The serving size for this is anywhere from 2-4 Tbsp depending on what you're having. For a big salad I use 3. For the veggie snack I only use 1. My Fitness Pal says that 2 Tbsp of this is approx 70 calories.
Dinner tonight was really simple but delicious. On Sunday, I decided to bake some chicken breasts because I knew that I'd need them through out the week for dinner/salads. I'm kind of the queen of condiments and/or spices so I hadn't really worried too much before hand of what I was going to season them with. Luckily, when my cousin moved out, he left behind something called Tuscan Seasoning. To this day I'm really not entirely sure how it's different than say Italian Seasoning, but I'm just too lazy right now to go compare the labels.
I've never been a fan of steamed broccoli, but Alice says I've been roasting it waaaay too often, so I honored her request to steam it. One thing I've tried to be conscious of during this is to involve Alice in the menu planning. Normally, I just find recipes that I think I know she'll like, and make them with my fingers crossed. Most of the time I'm right, but there have certainly been times when I "nailed it". However, I knew that she was really only doing this challenge to appease me, so I wanted to make sure that she had buy in with the meals we'd be eating. And so far, it's worked! Effective Communication strikes again people!!! So even though it's pretty simple, and I never aim to insult your intelligence, here is the recipe.
Preheat your oven to 425. Place the chicken on a stone baking sheet (this results in not having to use oil to prevent sticking), or a metal baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle on the Tuscan Seasoning according to your taste. I am a heavy seasoner, but you know yourself and your tastes best. This is mainly herbs so it's kind of hard to go over board. Bake for about 25 mins or until a thermometer reads 165 degrees. Refrain from cutting the chicken to check if its done, because this will release all the moisture that helps keep it yummy for many days to come. Since you can't really choose how much the breast will weigh, I just cooked them all and then served us 5oz portions.
Puree all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. The serving size for this is anywhere from 2-4 Tbsp depending on what you're having. For a big salad I use 3. For the veggie snack I only use 1. My Fitness Pal says that 2 Tbsp of this is approx 70 calories.
Dinner tonight was really simple but delicious. On Sunday, I decided to bake some chicken breasts because I knew that I'd need them through out the week for dinner/salads. I'm kind of the queen of condiments and/or spices so I hadn't really worried too much before hand of what I was going to season them with. Luckily, when my cousin moved out, he left behind something called Tuscan Seasoning. To this day I'm really not entirely sure how it's different than say Italian Seasoning, but I'm just too lazy right now to go compare the labels.
I've never been a fan of steamed broccoli, but Alice says I've been roasting it waaaay too often, so I honored her request to steam it. One thing I've tried to be conscious of during this is to involve Alice in the menu planning. Normally, I just find recipes that I think I know she'll like, and make them with my fingers crossed. Most of the time I'm right, but there have certainly been times when I "nailed it". However, I knew that she was really only doing this challenge to appease me, so I wanted to make sure that she had buy in with the meals we'd be eating. And so far, it's worked! Effective Communication strikes again people!!! So even though it's pretty simple, and I never aim to insult your intelligence, here is the recipe.
Tuscan Chicken & Steamed Broccoli
5 Chicken Breasts
Tuscan Seasoning
Soy sauce
3 crowns of Broccoli (What's the difference between a head and a crown? Basically, the grocery store just removes the bulk of the stem from the head, and made them fancy. In any case, either will work)
Preheat your oven to 425. Place the chicken on a stone baking sheet (this results in not having to use oil to prevent sticking), or a metal baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle on the Tuscan Seasoning according to your taste. I am a heavy seasoner, but you know yourself and your tastes best. This is mainly herbs so it's kind of hard to go over board. Bake for about 25 mins or until a thermometer reads 165 degrees. Refrain from cutting the chicken to check if its done, because this will release all the moisture that helps keep it yummy for many days to come. Since you can't really choose how much the breast will weigh, I just cooked them all and then served us 5oz portions.
For the broccoli, boil about an inch or two of water in a large pot and place your steamer basket in. I have a pampered chef one, us Navy wives had to support each other's business ventures, but you can get one on Amazon pretty cheap. Once the water is boiling, place the broccoli, cut into long strips, in the basket and cover with a lid. Steam them for about 5 minutes, but make sure to remove them before they lose their bright green color. I served about 140g of broccoli as our side since we didn't have any carbs to help fill us up.
Finally, I shook a little soy sauce over the broccoli, and on the chicken since I didn't season it with any salt, and called it dinner. The reason I had you make so much of the broccoli and chicken is because I have a wonderful salad for Day 4 that needed both these things.
Since I spoke of Alice's BIG accomplishment earlier, I thought I should mention mine as well. Don't worry I'm not going back to the dumps, I'm talking fitness now. I've only briefly referenced it thus far, but since today was such a good day, fitness wise, I'll share my plan with you now.
I became a member of my local Crossfit gym in July of 2014. When I started, my only goal was to get to the point where I loved going and hated leaving, since when I started, the reverse was true. After 5 months of really dragging my feet, I finally found my place there, and I now religiously use all of my 3 passes each week. Why Crossfit you ask? Well, again it could be the same as the mini veggies that I'm just O.B.sessed with fads, but honestly there are a few more reasons than that. When I was a freshman in high school I joined the track team to get in shape. I was never good at running, and that was identified very quickly by the coaches, but I was strong, so they put me on the disc and the shot put. I didn't win any medals or set any records, but I held my own for that one year I was on the team. Weightlifting was always my favorite part of practice because I secretly enjoyed impressing people with my leg strength (hey, if they're going to be all big and in your face, I might as well put them to good use). I also have a really inspiring friend of mine that started doing it and blogging about it, and because I once watched a Crossfit competition at with my brother-in-law and thought to myself, "you know, this would be the perfect way to obtain the skills one would need to survive in Zombie Apocalypse!" So, I decided to give it a shot. And it turns out, I drank the koolaid. I am by NO means suggesting that Crossfit is the right thing for everyone, but I do really enjoy it finally.
So, for the challenge, and hopefully beyond, my fitness plan is as follows:
Monday- Crossfit
Tuesday- Rest
Wednesday- Crossfit (& possibly Yoga)
Thursday- Couch to 5k Plan (C25k)
Friday- Crossfit
Saturday- C25k
Sunday- C25k
So far so good this week, but I have to tell you that it took me 8 MONTHS to actually build the habit of getting out there and doing something active. I hated it, I loathed it, I slept in most days and blamed my long commute for not wanting to get up and exercise. But, just like practice makes perfect, I stuck with Crossfit because I do actually enjoy the workouts, and eventually I didn't mind getting up to go anymore. A body in motion does truly stay in motion. So, here's my chance to brag a little. Today, I went to Crossfit and burned 735 calories, AND I participated in our Yoga class held on Wednesdays at work and burned another 469 calories! Although subconsciously we all know that working out is good for you, something that really helps drive that message home is getting a good heart rate monitor and SEEING what you've done. I use the Map My Fitness app on my phone to connect wirelessly to my heart rate monitor and by measuring my HR, I can see approx how many calories I've burned. This has really helped me stay engaged and interested in exercising. The weight I'm trying to lose didn't come on overnight, and I know that it's going to take equally as long to come off, so it can be discouraging when change happens so slowly. But to be able to SEE the results of your actions here on your screen is sometimes the little victory you need to keep going.
So now that I've simultaneously grossed you out and made you hungry and then hopefully inspired you a little, I must go off to bed and get ready for Day 4. Hope to see you then!
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