Day 2… Even Tougher

Well Day 2 was even more difficult. My headaches stuck around and I continued the hunger pains. From what I read online, the 2^nd day was to be easier but it certainly wasn't that way for me, or my husband. In fact Tony actually cheated at lunch with a "Joey combo" from Moe's and I ate 2 breadsticks from a pizza lunch run to Pizza Hut. We had softball last night which made us even hungrier after the game. So, we then made a trip to Whole Foods for the dinner bar. It was so great. I've never enjoyed a meal as I enjoyed that one.

I still drank my breakfast and lunch meal…

Breakfast Juice:
2 cups sliced cantaloupe
2 cups sliced honeydew
3 apples
½ lemon
1 cup h2O to cut the sweetness

Lunch Juice:
1 sweet potato
8 large carrots
½ container of coconut water (probably about ¾ cup)
*turned out a bit chalky so I added the coconut water to cut the chalk. Worked a bit but still needed something else. I'd try peeling the potato next time.

So our outlook has changed and the cleanse is over but we learned how to read our bodies, that's for sure! I knew I couldn't do another day of this. It was probably the HARDEST challenge I've ever given to myself. And the juicing will continue with a bit of a different layout… I will be drinking a juice every morning and then either every 2 or 4 weeks I'll complete a full day cleanse. As one day seemed to clean us both out!

If you plan to do a cleanse like this, please, please, do your research and speak to your doctor before beginning your cycle. It is hard and you really MUST make sure to take in proper caloric totals.

Day 1…Juice Cleanse

Well today is the day… an entire day of only fruit and vegetable juices and some RAW fruits & veggies too accompanied by h2O. This is the first of an eight day cleanse my husband, Tony and I are doing. We're both very excited to begin a healthier & cleaner food life! With all of the working out and general fitness we've been involved in for the past year, I'm surprised this hasn't happened until now. But the day has come and we are sticking to the PLAN… NO CHEATING!

From what I've read you should only do these cleanses for 10 days max but in some cases where you are a healthy person {meaning physically fit, no medications, no smoking, and minimal alcohol use} your body can go for 15 days. Well, maybe we'll try this next time! But for now 8 days is good for me!

So onto what happened during DAY 1… I currently have a HUGE headache and a growling belly. Per what I've read I'm currently experiencing withdraws from caffeine & meat & processed mess I've eaten for so long.

And the preparation begins... Our fridge on 7/17 before the challenge...

For breakfast I had a fruit juice which included:

Apple

Ginger

Orange

Grapefruit (which I later found out, DON'T use while detoxing)

Strawberry

For Lunch & afternoon snack I had a fruit & veggie juice which included:

Kale

Spinach

Apple

Parsley

Cilantro

Tomato

Celery

Dinner consisted of:
Broccoli 2 cups
Juice:
Berry mix
Apple

Buffalo Mahi Mahi

This is a wonderful main dish to a fabulous meal... It has very simple ingredients and is extremely easy...

Ingredients:
Large piece Mahi Mahi (no more than 1lb.)
1/2 cup Buffalo sauce (or enough to cover the top of the fish)
1/2 fresh orange
2 tsp. old bay

1. Marinate fish with mixture of buffalo sauce. Cover the piece of fish completely. I like Franks red hot sauce. Then cut an orange and squeeze 1/2 orange over the top and sprinkle with Old Bay. Spray medium glass dish with PAM. Place Mahi Mahi in a medium glass dish. Let marinate for 24 hours if possible not a must though.

2. Preheat oven 375 degrees. Once oven is pre-heated, bake fish for 20 minutes.

3. Heat medium skillet on medium with about 2 tbsp. olive oil. Place fish top-down in the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes or until top of fish is browned.

Flip once the top-side is browned and then flip to the skin side and finish the fish in about 5 more minutes.

4. I like to serve with a veggie and grits...

It's 5 o'Clock Somewhere Wahoo - 10 minute total prep/25 minute bake

Okay so here we go for #2... The guy in the meat department at our favorite grocery store gave me this suggestion and it turned out great! The total meal is 485 calories but has 49.2 grams of protein in the Wahoo.

Ingredients
Wahoo (1/2 pound - makes two dinners)
Bacardi Mixers Margarita
Old Bay Seasoning

Instant Brown Rice package
1/2 tbsp Unsalted Butter

Birdseye Steamfresh Whole Green Beans
1 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 tsp Fresh Minced Garlic

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse Wahoo and place in a medium glass pan.

 

2. Defrost the Bacardi mixer. Coat the Wahoo in the mix. (If you thought about your menu earlier than this moment, try to marinate the fish in this for 3-4 hours. You don't have to but it will give you more flavor.) Sprinkle top of the fish with Old Bay Seasoning.

     

3. Place the pan into the oven once pre-heated. Set timer for 25 minutes.

4. With about 10 minutes left of bake time for the Wahoo, start preparing your sides. Follow Steamfresh Whole Green Bean directions. Once finished, place in a small bowl, add unsalted butter and minced garlic. Mix and they are ready to serve in 5 minutes!

 

5. Place bag of Rice in the microwave. (I like to buy the 90 second Uncle Ben's. They are easy and if you don't buy the flavored stuff, it's pretty low in fat and sodium!)

6. At this point the fish should be finished. Take fish out of the oven and check to make sure there is no pink. If there is pink, adjust your oven to broiler and put the Wahoo back in for about 3-4 minutes. This will also help the top brown a bit!

And your ready to eat... So yummy and light! Great with a glass of Pinot Grigio. Enjoy...

 

(For some extra flavor, add some fresh salsa! I LOVE IT this way!)

Eggplant Bake - 25 Minute Prep/15 Minute Bake

Here we go... my first recipe sharing. This meal is tremendously easy and really YUMMY! Only 375 calories per serving!
Ingredients
1 medium Eggplant
1/2 sweet onion
Cheap Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio Wine
Barilla Sauce (whichever one you like)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 slices Colby Jack Cheese
Whole Wheat Pasta

1. Wash and cut eggplant into 1/2 inch slices. Also, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Turn on burner to Medium Heat. (I put the burner on #7) Chop onions and add to the skillet with 1/2 cup wine. Let onions cook until they soften.

3. Once the onions are softened add another 1/2 cup wine and add eggplant a top the onions. Layer the eggplant so it doesn't stack on top of each other. Medium skillet will hold about 8 slices at a time. Cook until browned and then flip.

 

4. Once flipped and cooked. Remove and place in glass pan. Pour a small amount of sauce to the bottom of the glass pan. Lay 6 eggplant pieces on top of the sauce. Repeat steps 2-3 again to cook the remaining eggplant.

Add 1/2 the shredded cheese and one slice of Colby Jack Cheese cut in half. Lay the sliced cheese, one on each side, and then sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the top of this layer. Once the other batch of eggplant is cooked, just keep layering. Add sauce to each layer. Once the layers are completed top with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with shredded cheese.



5. Place in pre-heated oven. This will take about 15 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted. Once added to the oven, boil water and prepare your whole wheat pasta.

6. Add about a tablespoon of Olive Oil to the cooked pasta. Stir and serve about 3/4 cup cooked pasta to each serving. Slice the Eggplant Bake and place on top of the pasta. And sprinkle with a dab of Parmesan cheese.

(FINAL PRODUCT!!! Yummy!)

A new and healthier beginning…

I have started this blog as an extension of the conversations which have been so frequent and special to me with the people I enjoy the most. Family, friends, and co-workers; I first want to thank you for all of the support you have given me in the past weeks through my weight loss journey. Thank you for listening to either my complaining of pain or my talks concerning what my experience had been each and every day… P90X was hard and INSANITY has shown to be even harder, in fact pretty insane, but your support has kept me extremely positive.  I’m sticking with it because of you… and because of you I know I can stick with it. A huge shout-out to my husband, Tony, you’ve been my strength through this journey and have challenged me more than I thought I could be. And I’m so proud of your changes and acceptance of new and interesting flavors.

So because of this, I want to share some tid-bits I’ve learned thus far and new tips I’ll continue to learn through my life’s journey. This is meant to be a compilation of ideas and thoughts. As you all know, I’m not in the health food guru and I’m by no means a professional but I can share what has worked for me. Real tips from a real person. I want to help each of you become healthier humans so you can be there for your spouse/significant other, kids, parents, etc. My opinion is not about removing all the BAD THINGS and depriving yourself of the yummy stuff. I eat what I want and crave but I watch the portions I eat of the BAD things. If I want cake… I eat it!

I have always failed with doing the FADE DIET thing and let’s face it IT’S NOT HEALTHY… How could it be? It’s a quick fix and you normally add the weight on plus more when doing these. Healthy eating is a LIFESTYLE change. I don’t want to hear excuses… JUST DO IT! Now I know it’s hard but don’t get hung up on the concept of it all. It doesn’t have to be hard we just make it that way but I have some easy meals I will be sharing!

And let’s also face it… YOU HAVE TO WORKOUT. A change in diet will make all the difference with your workout regimen. You work hard and you will get results… I know, I have.

Stay tuned and stay Healthy!