Happy Easter + Getting Ready for the Challenge!

Happy Easter everyone!

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful day!  I also hope you’ve enjoyed some very yummy Easter treats!  I think Easter candy is the best candy all year round.  Love it!  I’m enjoying the end of our Robin Eggs right now….

 

They are making my tummy feel blah, but they taste very good goin’ down!  LOL!

I’m letting myself enjoy whatever candy I want today because….1) It’s Easter! and 2) My little Healthy Challenge thingy starts tomorrow!!!  Woo hoo.

I’ll talk more about that in a minute.  For now I want to post a little bit about Easter.

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First off, I found a very awesome video about the Savior I want to share.  Love it.

It’s so easy to get caught up in all the fun things about Easter (love them all!), but I always try to remind myself why we really celebrate Easter.

It is to remember the life, sacrifice and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Love this video and the message. 🙂

I also thought I’d share a couple pics of the kids we took today.

All the kiddos Easter morning. The big kids got some new spring clothes and the little ones got some cute Spider-man toys.
My daughter’s going to be so happy about her bedhead in this pic in a few years. lol.

All the kids + dog together!!

Okay…..the little Health Challenge I told you about starts tomorrow!  Woo Hoo!  I am so IN NEED of it right now.  I’ve been a little bit “off” lately.

Ya know, when I’m eating well and exercising….it almost becomes easy.  I kind of go on automatic pilot and don’t even think about it…I just DO it!  However, when I fall off the wagon and start eating whatever sounds good at the time and slackin’ on the exercise a bit…..it is so hard to get back on!  Weird.

I’m ready to be disciplined again.  Woo hoo.

Just to recap….the goal I will be working on for 3 months is this:  To not have any “treats” 6 days a week.  If I choose to have “treats” once a week, it will be just one treat and I won’t go crazy.  “Treats” are defined as any obvious sugary food: cake, brownies, cookies, chocolate (dang), candy, donuts, etc.

This will be so good for me and hopefully I won’t even miss the treats!

The challenge also has weekly goals to work on.  Each week, a new goal is introduced.  You are supposed to keep doing each weekly goal the entire time and just keep adding additional goals as they come along.  Hard….but awesome!

The goal for the first week is to get 7 hours of consecutive sleep 6 days a week.  I SO NEED this one too!  Yay.

I love being disciplined.  It makes me so happy.  I’m so looking forward to gettin’ IT together again.

Soooo, to help me get prepared for my healthy endeavor, I put together a list of healthy options for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.  I also included some healthy ideas to have when I’m having a treat craving.

I printed this list off and I’m going to hang it up in my kitchen.  It will definitely help me when I’m hungry, but can’t think of anything to eat!

So, in case any of you would like my “list”, click on the link below!

Healthy Meal Ideas

I made it in Microsoft Word 2007, so you can customize it if you like!  If you have trouble opening it, send me an email and I can send it directly to you!

Anyway, I’ll keep you all posted on my progress along the way!

Have a happy and healthy night!  G’night!

Diet is KEY…

Hey all,
I’ve decided I’m going to make an effort to post smaller posts more often.

Yay!

That way, I don’t take 700 hours writing and you don’t spend 8 years reading!

Sounds good??!

Good.

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Well, I’m really loving my new eating “plan”.
If you want to know what my new “plan” is, click HERE.
It is so easy, convenient and yummy!

I really don’t even have to think about what to eat!
I just go on “automatic pilot” and eat what I’ve planned!

So, simple!

I know it works too.  I followed it perfectly Mon-Wed of last week.
I felt great!
I felt lean and could visibly see a difference in my body.

On the flip side, I didn’t do so hot Thurs-Sun.
I could totally tell!
I felt bloated and chubbier.  My pants weren’t quite as loose either.
Nothing terribly dramatic, but I could definitely tell!

Now, I am back on track this week and I can already tell!
I feel lean again and my clothes feel better.

It freaks me out that my body can react that quickly.
However, it motivates me to STAY ON THE WAGON!!!

I know that diet is the KEY!

I’ve heard people say that weight-loss is 80% diet/20% exercise.
They aren’t kiddin’.

I know it’s tough to eat healthily all the time and it’s tough to deny yourself the foods you love!
But, do it anyway!
It will payoff!

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I am feeling very motivated and I don’t want to fall off the wagon anytime soon.

For some reason, I’ll eat really well for a week or so and then I think, “I can have a little of that (illegal food) because I’ve been so good.”  “It won’t hurt!”

Well, 9 out of 10 times, it does hurt!
That “little illegal food” turns into several other bad choices and I become officially OFF the wagon!

SOOOOOOOOOO, I’m going to stay “ON” for as long as I can.

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In case you’re wondering what a typical day on my “plan” looks like, I took pictures!
Exciting, I know. 😉

Here, they are….
This is what I ate yesterday, btw.

Typical Breakfast: 4 egg whites, peppers, onions (usually spinach too) topped with salsa with a side of pan-fried low-carb toast! YUM!

Morning Snack: Protein bar and 1/2 an apple

Lunch: 4 leftover meatballs (not totally healthy, but they needed to be used!) with a side of veggies dipped in Tzatziki and hummus.

Afternoon (pre-workout) snack: Pistachio Mint Protein Shake

Dinner: Chicken Barley Soup w/ a side of homemade pita chips! (I had two bowls of soup and was stuffed!)

The Chicken Barley Soup was so easy, yummy, healthy, filling and hearty!  I loved it!
I go to the gym at 5:00 on Mondays, so I made this in the Crock Pot earlier in the day and it made dinner time a snap!
LOVE IT!

I did change the recipe a little.
The original recipe said to microwave things to shorten the time in the Crock Pot.
I didn’t do that.
I just cooked it on low for 8 hours.

The original recipe also called for mushrooms.  I didn’t have any (and don’t really love them) so I put in some red potatoes instead.
I thought the kids would like it better that way too.
If you want the original recipe, click HERE.

Here’s the recipe (with my changes)…

Chicken Barley Soup
(adapted from a recipe found on Food.Com)

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 celery ribs; chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled chopped
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups red potatoes; chopped into small cubes
• 1 cup cooked chicken breast, chopped
• 1/2 cup pearl barley, picked over and rinsed
• 8 cups chicken broth

 

Here are the ingredients I used.

I used canned chicken breast, but you could use any kind of cooked chicken.
I also made my own chicken broth using my Better Than Bouillon stuff, but you could use any chicken broth (preferably low sodium).
I also used minced garlic in the jar (packed in water, not oil).

Chop all of the veggies.

Rinse the barley in a colander.

Place everything in the Crock Pot and cook on low for 8 hours (I’m sure you could cook on high too, I’m just not sure how long.)

Yum!
I made extra so I could freeze it for lunch too!

Oh, and if you want to know how to make the pita chips, click HERE.

Well, that wasn’t really short, but…..
That’s all folks!