YOGURT POPSICLES

Healthy treat to have and very refreshing!

INGREDIENTS:
-plain nonfat organic yogurt
-strawberries, diced up
-blueberries
-muesli or grape nuts cereal

DIRECTIONS:
1. Fill popsicle holder with some yogurt
2. Layer in fruit and muesli
3. Add more yogurt
4. Add more fruit and muesli
5. Finish with yogurt
6. Freeze for about 2 hours till set!  ENJOY!!

CELERY "PENNE"

- basic recipe, add chicken or other protein sources you like to get a higher amount of protein

TOTALLY satisfied my craving for pasta!

INGREDIENTS (3 servings):

- 600 g celery, trimmed and cut into 5cm pieces (+- 15 stems)

- 1 onion (+- 250 g)

- 2 garlic gloves (minced)

- 800 g can chopped tomatoes in juice

-50 g fresh coriander (chopped) or if you don’t like coriander you can use flat-leaf parsley or basil 

- fresh black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the celery and cook until just tender when pierced with a knife. Remove from the heat and drain.

- Heat up a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the garlic gloves and onion. After 2 minutes add the chopped tomatoes in juice and half the coriander and fresh black pepper. Stir together, then stir in the celery. Cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes have cooked down, about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Stir in the remaining parsley just before serving.

Nutritional facts (1 serving):

Energy: 117 cal

Protein: 6.4 g

Carbohydrates: 20 g (sugar 12 g)

Fat: 1.3 g (saturated 0.1 g)

Fiber: 10 g

Reset is over!!

I am done with the Beachbody Ultimate Reset and it was an incredible experience!!  I definitely encountered some challenges along the way.  I found myself hungry at times and very tempted to cheat.  I absolutely LOVE frozen yogurt and popcorn and it was so so hard to resist for 21 days.  I honestly have to say I still have yet to drink coffee!  I am so shocked by this but I feel I have more energy and do not need to rely upon it.  This was one of my goals of the reset...MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!  Another thing I struggled with was listening to the radio and watching TV without hearing and seeing commercials about food.  Jeeeeezzeeeeee. I did not realize how much we talk about food until on this cleanse and was totally in tune to it.  Even billboards I drove past....everything was about eating!  No wonder why Americans are fighting the trend of obesity!

Mentally I feel strong and clear thoughts are running through my head.  I was holding onto some things in the past and feel that I am at peace.  I was still getting through a death in my family as well and found that I am smiling now in thoughts of my grandfather.  That is how he would want it to be.  Emotionally I feel more in control.  Situations came up where I could have reacted abruptly as I would in the past but instead took a moment to gather my thoughts, analyze, and react in an appropriate manner.

Physically I feel in shape and fantastic.  Minimized crazy irrational cravings too.  I feel that I am not over eating like I used to and I am totally in tune to when I eat.  I focus on chewing slowly, drinking plenty of water, not being distracted by the TV, and noticing the amounts I eat.  My stomach has definitely gotten smaller so I do not have to eat as much. I can already tell my clothes are feeling a bit looser :)

Final measurements are that I LOST 6 inches and LOST 9 pounds!! :)  VERY happy!!

Day 17 on the reset!

Good morning!  It is Day 17 and I have to say yesterday and today I have woke up feeling AMAZING!! I went to the movies last night and besides the fact that I was pumped to see Iron Man 3 in 3D, I was happy that my jeans were loose!  Definitely feeling the effects of the Ultimate Reset and LOVING IT!!

The food this week has been good...mostly just fruits and veggies which is hard for me at times.  I have been doing shakes for my breakfast instead of fruit and then having fruit as my snack.  I just love Shakeology as my first meal of the day! So I have been drinking water like it is my job.  The only bad part is that I am literally up every 2 hours in the middle of the night having to go to the bathroom.  SO ANNOYING!!

So with a few days to go, I am very excited to stay on track and finish strong!  Mind, Body are feeling good and I hope to keep it that way!!

Getting ready for week 3

Heading into week 3, the week called "restore". It is supposed to "Restore your metabolism to maximum efficiency, while fortifying your body with the nutrients, enzymes, and probiotics it needs to maintain healthy performance in the future."

This past week was very difficult.  I am missing grains and know I will not have them the following week when it is vegan food. I usually have oatmeal at least a few days a week and quinoa...but NO MORE!  Surprisingly I do not miss coffee so that is a rewarding feeling that I do not need to be reliant upon it. I will definitely keep this up after the cleanse.  And thankfully heading into week 3 no more detox supplement (the yellow stuff!)

Now that the hours of prep work is over, the fridge is packed, I am ready for the week.  And yes, I am completely exhausted with all of the time it took to get ready for the week.

Stay tuned!...

QUINOA-LENTIL PILAF

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ tsp extra virgin olive oil

½ medium carrot, diced

½ medium stalk celery, dices

¼ medium onion, diced

¼ medium red bell pepper, diced

¼ ground smoked paprika

1 dash ground cuimin

¾ cooked quinoa

¼ cup cooked lentils

1 ½ tsp grated lemon peel

1 ½ tsp fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat.

2. Add carrot, celery, onion, pepper, paprika, cumin. Cook, stirring frequently for 5 minutes or until tender

3. Add quinoa, lentils, lemon peel, lemon juice, and parsley to cooked vegetables.

4. Heat over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until heated through.

5. Fluff with fork and serve.

1/2 way through week 2 Reset

I am officially on Day 11...halfway through week 2, and halfway through the 21 day reset.  This week has been going well.  For breakfast every morning I have fruit (minus this morning where I substituted a chocolate vegan shakeology) and for lunch I always have a microgreen salad with toasted pumpkin seeds, homemade dressing, and some avocado.  Lunches are supposed to be a little different everyday based on the given meal plan, but it is easier for me to follow the "reset in a crunch" page to substitute the microgreen salad!



Dinners have been different every night thus far.
Monday: I had pinto beans and rice with steamed green beans and zucchini
Tuesday: Sweet potato and roasted red pepper bisque with steamed asparagus and almonds

Quinoa-Lentil Pilaf

Wednesday: Quinoa-Lentil Pilaf with steamed brocolli

Thursday: It will be sweet potato with veggies and quinoa.










The detox supplement isn't as bad tasting as I thought.  It tastes lemony but still has that grainy texture.  Again, I am lucky that I was an expert shot taker so it goes straight down haha.  The green supplement is still the worse of the two because it just tastes horrible!!

Not having coffee is still ok.  Although I was HIGHLY tempted when I was exhausted and just needed an extra push to coach soccer last night. I thankfully said no!

Looking forward to the rest of the week :)

SHAKEOLOGY FROZEN FUDGY OAT BARS

Total Time: 1 hr, 10 min

Prep Time:10 min

Yield: 4 bars

INGREDIENTS

1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology

1 Scoop Beachbody Whey Protein Powder (or any type)

½ cup natural peanut butter

½ banana

½ rolled oats

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix all ingredients together

2. Freeze for at least 90 minutes in an 8x8 inch pan

3. Remove from freezer and cut into 4 squares

Calories: 249

Cholesterol: 13mg

Fiber:4g

Fat: 10g

Protein: 16g

Carbohydrate: 25g

SWEET POTATO & ROASTED RED PEPPER BISQUE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 sweet potato (or yam)
• 1/4 red pepper
• 1 cup vegetable broth or water
• 1 tsp finely grated peeled ginger root
• 1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp. miso paste, diluted in 1 tsp. hot water
• Tamari or Bragg liquid Aminos, Himalayan salt and herbal seasoning to taste.

DIRECTIONS

Peel and cube sweet potato.  Cook in boiling water until tender.  Drain and set aside.  Meanwhile, roast a whole red bell pepper on gas stove top or grills, turning frequently until evenly charred on the outside OR in your oven at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, turning every 10 minutes or until skin is charred.

Put pepper in bowl and cover with towel for 10 minutes to steam.  Clean off skin and seeds by running under cool water.  Remove seeds, cut into quarters, and chop one quarter into 1/2 inch cubes.

Place sweet potato, pepper, broth or water, ginger, oil, and miso in blender.  If you want chunky soup, set aside some chunks of pepper.  Blend thoroughly, adding more liquid to achieve desired soup consistency.  Transfer to pot and gently heat on low until hot.  Add tamari or aminos, salt, and seasoning if desired.
Serves 1