I finished the 3 Day Refresh!

Today is the day after my 3 Day Refresh!  It's a new program that I picked up because for the last month or so I haven't felt myself and was sick and tired.  Turns out (long story short), I was having thyroid issues.  I'm feeling MUCH better now but after eating whatever I could because it hurt to swallow and a lot of medicine and antibiotics, I wanted to cleanse my system out.  And just to let you know, I've worked hard the past few years to get to my ideal weight so I wasn't trying to lose weight.  I wanted to feel better and give my nutrition the kick start that it needed.  So the 3 Day Refresh was perfect for me because it was only 3 days.  :)

Here is what I did!

For 3 days I had a superfood-packed Shakeology shake for breakfast along with a fruit option. I chose to not give up my coffee totally but I did drink it black.   Of course I didn't drink as much because lets face it, black coffee is no fun.  Then, later on in the morning, a Fiber Sweep digestive health drink.  It was sweet and went down just fine.  Just make sure you drink it up fast!  

For lunch, I had a high-protein Vanilla Fresh shake along with fresh fruit, vegetables, and healthy fat options. For this, I just whipped up a simple salad of cucumber, cherry tomatoes, a little purple onion and a little avocado dressed with balsamic vinegar.  (I thought this was fine but later found out it had sugar in in so next time I might just use red wine vinegar.)  

For my snack I ate two stalks of celery and 2 TB of hummus which I found to be plenty.  My advise is to chew your food SLOWLY and really enjoy it.  I think it makes it last longer and helps with digestion.  

For dinner, I had another Vanilla Fresh shake along with the choice from a list of delicious, easy-to prepare dinner recipes. You can also have tea twice a day.   

Now lets talk about WATER!  It is super important to drink TONS more water.  The shakes can't do their thing without it.  Drink at least half of your body weight in ounces and you'll be fine.  Yes, I was peeing ALL of the time but I wanted to clean out, right?  So for three days I could handle it.  I even went shopping with hubby on day 3 and used the bathroom in REI 3 times.  But who cares?  I guarantee you that no one else did!  

So what did I learn from this and what were my results?!

1.  This program so doable!  My first day was the hardest and I know it was all mental.  I went through all the emotions and excuses to quit!  I don't really need this, no one will know if I finish, It's too difficult (which is wasn't!), etc.  But I stuck with it because I announced to the world and to my healthy lifestyle FB page that I was doing this.  I wasn't going to let anyone see me fail!  I wanted to do this for me and for you to show that you can do it too!

2.  I was only tired on the first day.  And I was never light headed or anything.  Yes, there were times that I got hungry and it wasn't time to eat yet.  BUT, it forced me to slow down and evaluate if I really was hungry.  Sometimes I was just thirsty and sometimes it was stress.  I had nieces coming for the weekend and a boy that broke his hand on the last day!  I could have quit but I kept going because honestly, what would have beer or a piece of my daughter's cake going to do for me?  

3.  On this day after, my energy is through the roof.  Can't put a price on that!  

4.    I lost about 2 1/2 pounds and I don't know how many inches because I didn't measure.  Like I said before, I wasn't trying to lose weight.  I really wanted to concentrate on the experience and how I FELT and not the numbers this time.  I was doing this with a friend at the same time and she said she could fit into her super skinny jeans for a girls weekend and was very happy about that. Yay for non scale victories!

So will I do this again?  

You bet.

My question to you:  

Would you do this type of cleanse?  Tell me in the comments below why you would consider it.  Can't wait to hear from you. 

Kristen

A casserole replacement

This a repost that I wanted to share again:  
When our family started eating healthier, most of my casseroles were cut from the menu.  But every once in a while you just need something creamy right?  I made this recipe last night to satisfy that craving. No cream of mushroom soup or loads of sour cream.  This recipe only uses half a block of cream cheese and it makes a BIG pot.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!  Just say NO to casseroles.  

~Mexican Crockpot Creamy Chicken~

Ingredients: 

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup salsa
1 bag frozen corn (I used half the bag)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can Rotel tomatoes and chilies
Chili powder, salt and pepper to taste
1/2 block light cream cheese

Put chicken in crock pot, cover with all ingredients except cream cheese. Cook 3-4 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low. Shred chicken and mix back in with light cream cheese until melted. Cook 15-20 minutes longer until heated. 
Serve as soft tacos with lettuce tomatoes, cilantro, avocado, etc.

Meal Plan Monday and some healthy eating travel tips

This was an easy meal plan last week since we were leaving on Friday for my husband's grandmother's funeral.  It was a lovely time with family after we braved the ice storm of 2013 to get there!  I just have to add a picture so you can see what I mean:

Sunday-  Spaghetti squash again!  Google how to cook one until I can post a recipe about it.  I could eat this everyday of the week.  Be sure to use the Italian seasoned ground turkey in your sauce for great flavor.

Monday- Meatloaf.  I know what you're thinking.  Yuck?  But this recipe from my MIL is seriously good.  My kids LOVE it and we need to eat some beef every once in a while around here.  We use 90/10 ground beef and I try to not put too much cheese in the loaf (yeah, right).  

Tuesday-Healthy chicken nuggets.  My kids eat these up too!  There are never any leftovers.

Wednesday- All-American chili chowder.  I have to have a crock pot meal at least once a week.  It keeps me sane.  

Thursday- Brinner (Breakfast+Dinner).  We've been having this a lot lately.  It's so easy and everyone eats it.  I'll share my scone recipe soon.  They aren't by any means healthy, but we top them off with a strawberry jam and greek yogurt mixture.  We scramble some egg whites with a few whole eggs mixed in and serve everything with whatever fruit we have around.

Before we left on Friday, I went to the store and was sure to buy some healthy snacks for the road.  We had apples, easy peel oranges, nuts, sugar snap peas and some crackers.   On our travels, we utilize Yelp to help us find healthier restaurants for eating out.  We've found some really cute deli's along the way in small towns.  We like to give them our business as well and leave feedback for other travelers.  Another option is finding a grocery store.  Get creative and build your own salads with pre-washed lettuce bags and little tomatoes or grab some whole wheat tortillas and fill them up with veggies and hummus for a wrap.  You might have to pack a bag before hand with plates, cups and utensils but it will be worth it!  We've also packed a cooler and eaten at rest stops.  The kids can run around while we finish up.  It can be an adventure but in the end, we've eaten healthier, felt better, saved money, and have some great stories to remember.

Here we are enjoying our chicken salad at a rest stop in the Texas hill country this past summer. 

And here's my honey teaching the kids about black widow spiders at that same rest stop.  eek!  One of our many adventures together as a family.  

                           

Another Meal Plan Monday

I skipped a week of meal plans but that's alright because my meals weren't blog worthy anyway.  We took a last minute trip to be with family so our plans got re-arranged and we at out a lot.  This past week I was wrapping up the in-line skating unit with the 3rd and 4th graders at our elementary school.  I also had a long overdue lunch with a friend and the Thanksgiving lunch with my daughter.  A busier week than normal, where I'm not at home during the day, leads to easier meals.

Monday:  Stir fry-  I love this recipe from Erin.  It's simple and full of flavor.  I start with her recipe and then add water chestnuts, baby corns and frozen veggies to make it more of a stir fry.  Don't forget the cashews because that is what makes the dish.  Also, to keep the recipe on the lighter side, start with a small amount of sauce and add more if you need to.

Tuesday: Google how to cook a spaghetti squash.  For the sauce, brown Italian Seasoned ground turkey and add your favorite pasta sauce.  One of my favorite simple recipes for Fall//Winter because the squash goes down in price.

Wednesday:  Easy pot roast in crock pot. Cut up some carrots and potatoes and put them in the crock pot, trim fat off of roast and place it on top of vegetables, sprinkle roast with one package of Lipton onion soup mix and water.  Cook on low 8 to 10 hours.  (I used the recipe on the back of the onion soup box)

Thursday:  Skinnytaste Crock pot taco chili

Friday:  lightened up kale and potato soup

Saturday:  tortilla soup-recipe coming soon!

Brinner:  the usual scones, eggs, fruit and breakfast sausage

As I share these recipes with you, I'm realizing that they aren't as "clean" as they could be.  I'll be working on finding new easier recipes that are using less processed and canned items.  It's been really good for me to write these meals down and see a pattern.  I'm thinking that it will be helpful to me, especially in the next few months, to write down what I eat for breakfast, lunch and snacks as well.  Now I'm off to prepare for Thanksgiving.  Have you lightened up some Thanksgiving recipes?  I'd love to hear about them.

lightened up kale and potato soup

No pictures here today.  I need to get over the fact that I am not a food blogger so my pictures will never do a recipe justice!  Just take the pictures, Kristen.
Anyway, the other night while meal planning, I got the crazy craving for kale and potato soup.  I'd seen other recipes out there and decided it would be great for our new cooler weather.  But most of the recipes out there call for heavy cream and bacon.  I needed something a lot lighter than that.  I actually found a recipe using milk instead and when I went to cook everything, realized that I had not saved it on the Ipad!  This lead me to create my own recipe and it actually turned out pretty good.  I have to note that I think my homemade chicken broth was the reason it tasted so good.

Ingredients:
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 package of JennieO Italian seasoned ground turkey
4 cups of homemade chicken broth
10 fingerling potatoes or about 4 red potatoes, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup of 2% milk
4 cups of kale, with stems removed and torn in pieces

First, saute the onion and garlic until browned and tender.  Add the turkey and brown until done.  Add chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil.  Add potatoes and simmer until they are tender.  Add milk and heat through.  Add kale and cook for a minute or two or until it is wilted.  Season with salt and pepper as desired.

The next time I make this, I'll experiment on adding some corn starch to thicken up the soup a bit.
Enjoy!

Quick and easy Miso Soup

It's getting cold around here and you know what that means.  Soup!  We enjoy this quick and easy soup for lunch.  Everything you need for this soup is in the picture except for the chow mein noodles that we add for a little crunch.

2 stalks of celery, chopped
2 or 3 green onions, chopped
2 carrots chopped,
1 1/2 cups of purple cabbage (optional), chopped
tofu
Miso Easy, mild and/ or chili flavored

-In a pot, heat 3 cups of water and the veggies until all vegetables are cooked.
-Add 2 Tbsp. regular miso and 2 Tbsp of chili miso to the pot and stir.  (You can play with this combo to make it spicier or more mild)
-Add tofu and let sit for a minute to allow it to heat up.

*Serve with a few chow mein noodles

{This recipe serves two}


Note:  We usually have celery and carrots on hand but not purple cabbage.  When I buy the cabbage, I chop the whole thing up and then freeze flat it in one big bag.  Then I just grab what I need out of that bag and put the rest back in the freezer.  If you look closely, the cabbage in the picture is still frozen.