Game On - Day 1

So, if you missed my last post, I'm playing a four week diet/exercise competition where you play in teams and get points for basically being healthy.  You can read the rules HERE.

Here is my own quick overview + personal goals:

1.  I got a perfect score for my meals today (I'll post my dinner recipe at the bottom). 

2.  Perfect score for exercise.

3.  I know I'll get perfect sleep points because I always wake up at 5am and it's easy to be in bed before 10pm (for my 7+ hours total).

4.  Perfect water score (3 liters).

5.  Perfect score for my new habit, which I chose as flossing my teeth twice a day (I'm not good at keeping up with flossing).

6.  Alas, no score for getting rid of an old habit, which was biting my nails.  I sat down to tally my scores and put my damn nail right into my mouth.  SO close!

7.  Perfect communication score.

8.  No penalties.

I promise not to post things like this every single day for four weeks, I'm going to try and gear this more towards recipes, since there are way more meals (and WAY less to them) than I'm used to.

Since we get a "free" 100 calories to use as we wish once per day, I waited and used two small corn tortillas (50 cals each) for fish tacos.  Sound familiar?  I'm really still obsessed with these things, so I had to find a way to make it game-appropriate.

-2 corn tortillas (free 100 calories)
-PROTEIN: 1 palm-sized portion of Tilapia
-CARB: 1 fist-sized portion of rinsed black beans (portion cut in half)
-CARB: 1 fist-sized portion of brown rice (portion cut in half)
-FAT: Thumb-sized portion of natural green olives
-Mixed greens (lettuce is a freebie)

I baked the seasoned fish (light sprinkle of sea salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, parsley flakes, garlic power, onion powder, and paprika) at 350 degrees for 20 mins.  I should have added a little water or something since I chose to have olives instead of using olive oil for my fats and it was a little dry on the edges.

I then wrapped my tortillas in a damp paper towel and warmed them in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds.  I had my portions pre-sorted, so I plated everything and scarfed them down!  They look bigger in the picture than they actually were, one of those fish pieces was about the size of two fingers put together.



Celebrate the Random!

*don't blink, you'll miss a link!

June is National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month.  Who knew?  After learning this fun fact, I decided to do a little research and find out what healthy "celebrations" I've been missing out on.  I think it could be a fun way to mix up your diet and learn some fun, new recipes!

National Turkey Lovers' Month:  Simple Turkey Roll-Up Snack (my own idea, although I'm sure I'm not the first):  Take a slice of deli turkey and a fat-free string cheese, then ROLL IT UP!

National Dairy Month:  Healthy Cottage Cheese Pancakes... YUM.

National Papaya Month:  Just juice it!  How to juice a papaya.

June 12 is National Peanut Butter Cookie Day:  Muffin Top-Less Peanut Butter Protein Cookies.  I follow this gal's tumbler site, she always has great recipes for those of you with a sweet tooth!

June 13 is National Kitchen Klutzes of America Day:  Sometimes we just need to stick to the basics. :-)  Recipes for the Hopeless Cook, and again.

This was fun!  I'll post some recipes at the beginning or each month, and we can try them out together!

Housewife, I am not.

Yikes. Why do my posts keep beginning with "imperfect" and "not". Way to be a Debbie Downer, Kristen!

But seriously, I'm a stay-at-home mom, NOT a housewife. If I were the latter, I would have dinner planned and cooked in the evening. My laundry would be done and not in piles (albeit clean piles, but piles nonetheless). My kid would be dressed every day, instead of being in jammies about 2-3 days a week... ALL DAY.



Picture the sun setting. It's about 6pm, and it's family time. You're playing on the floor with your tots, and your spouse is relaxing. Then, the question. The Question. "What should we do for dinner?". We look at each other and say in unison "Pizza? Pizza.".

That was before the juice cleanse. Today, my caveman hubster is happy with a little piece of steak and garlic bread, or a burger. Or hot dogs. Or anything else containing meat. Or PIZZA.

My Achilles' heel.

If you are reading this blog, you are either considering a juice cleanse, being judgemental about other's cleanses, ON a juice cleanse, or you like reading about healthy experiences and REALLY like pictures (I admit, I like blogs better when they have photos... really!).

Changing your life is HARD. Especially when you are an addict. It can be drugs, alcohol, sex, caffine... or food. My way of thinking after completing this cleanse has changed for the better, and I HATE it sometimes. I don't crave junk food, but I don't necessarily like the taste of healthy dishes. I have spent many sleepless nights thinking about recipes I used to enjoy and tweaking them significantly so they are healthy.

I thought juicing was tough, but the aftermath is a bit tougher.

One good thing (besides GREAT health!) to come of my recipe experimentation? THIS recipe! Enjoy hot, tasty bruschetta? This recipe is the bees knees! The only thing I change is the rosemary. I don't like spices I can feel with my tongue (ever watch Shallow Hal? I'm the best friend, but instead of being picky with women, I'm THAT picky with food). I use dried rosemary, put it in a zip-loc bag and smash it into powder with a hammer. Then I cut the amount in half and voilà! Delicious hot tomato goodness!

Comments Now Welcome!

I never thought I would have very many followers on this blog, and the only reason I had the old layout is because I thought it was lovely, but the catch was that no one could leave any comments!

Anybody should now be able to comment on posts, but let me know if it STILL isn't working!

Oh, and I made THIS and THIS and THISSSSSSS for my sister-in-law this evening, and once I perfect them I'll snap some pics and post the recipes (I always tweak them to my liking). The stuffed tomatoes were DIVINE, and the chip-filled raspberries were delicious AND a great little treat without overdoing it on sweets!