Week 4 Standings

Hi Ladies,

Sorry this is late again.  We had a few stragglers plus this week is a little bit out of control.  And so am I.  I can't believe we're half way through week 5.  I hope you are all still feeling the benefits of the changes you have made.  I know I am.  Everyone has been working really hard.  I also just want to say that the last two weeks drawings have had a double winner.  Both of the girls felt bad winning twice and gave up their prize so that someone else could have a chance to win.  So KUDOS to you two sweet girls!!

Here are the standings.

Chelsa Johnson          329 c
Nikki Holbrook         322 cc
Jessica Bastian           321 cc
Cami Lane                 311 cc
Chairl Miller               305 c
Katie Wight                305 cc
Shea Nixon                303 cc
Ashley Graves            298 cc
KayeLynn Bastian       291 cc
Amy Bybee                285 cc
Kristi Marshall            284
Rebecca Peterson       283
Ashley Ericksen          281 cc
Christy Shields            267 cc
Britney Ericksen          262 cc
Amanda Peck             260 cc
Dela Ashby                 260 cc
Darhyl Kerr                260 cc
Jen Chandler               259 cc
Emily Koons               258 cc
Jen Hanson                 257 cc
Gaylene Burbidge       248 cc
Michelle Gillette          242 cc
Amy Anderson           234 cc
Cheryle Mounteer      229 cc
Merilee Mckay           222 cc
Bri Anderson             215 cc
Bri Bastian                 162  missing last weeks points
Lauren Goff                156  missing last weeks points

Great job ladies.  Keep up the good work!

Week 4 Winners

The winners for week 4...

Darhyl Kerr

and

Katie Wight

Congratulations you two!  Great job everyone for working so hard.  2 weeks left!!

-Amy

Week 3 Standings

I have heard tons of good so far.  I've talked to a few of you who have lost up to 10lbs.  That is awesome.  Keep up the good work. I will try to post some new tips tomorrow.  I've slacked on that.  Sorry.


Chelsa Johnson        247   c
Nikki Holbrook       242   cc
Jessica Bastian         239   cc
Cami Lane               235   cc
Shea Nixon             232   c
Katie Wight             232   cc
Chairl Miller            226   cc
Amy Bybee             225
Ashley Graves         223   cc
KayeLynn Bastian   222   cc
Ashley Ericksen      211   c
Kristi Marshall        207   cc
Rebecca Peterson   207   c
Cristy Shields          204   cc
Jen Hanson             198   cc
Dela Ashby             197   cc
Emily Koons           197
Britney Ericksen      192   cc
Amanda Peck         192   cc
Jen Chandler           191   cc
Gaylene Burbidge    190   cc
Darhyl                     188   cc
Michelle Gilette        186   cc
Amy Anderson        175   cc
Cheryle Mounteer    175   cc
Bri Bastian               162   cc
Bri Anderson           157   cc
Lauren Goff             156   cc
Merilee Mckay        127   cc

Week 3 Winners!!

Here are the winners for week 3...

Nikki Holbrook

Ashley Graves

Congratulations!!  Great job everyone!  Chelsa will be posting the standings...

Amy

Week 2 Standings & Winners

Sorry about the late post.  We had a couple point stragglers today.  The numbers are combined week one and two and the cc's show whether or not the person cheated once, twice or not at all for week 2.  I have also added the week 2 winners onto the bottom of this post.


Chelsa Johnson          165
Nikki Holbrook          165  cc
Jessica Bastian            161  cc
Kristi Marshall            160
Shea Nixon                 159  cc
Katie Wight                158  c
Cami Lane                  157  cc
Rebecca Peterson       150
KayeLynn Bastian       149  cc
Ashley Graves             148  cc
Chairl Miller                148  cc
Amy Bybee                 145 c
Amanda Peck              142 cc
Ashley Ericksen          139  c
Cristy Shields              135  cc
Dela Ashby                 131  cc
Jen Hanson                  131 cc
Emily Koons                129  cc
Lauren Goff                 129  cc
Merilee Mckay            127  cc
Michelle Gillette           127  cc
Jen Chandler                124  cc
Amy Anderson            123  cc
Britney Ericksen           122  cc
Gaylene Burbidge         120  c
Cheryle Mounteer        120  cc
Darhyl Kerr                  119  cc
Bri Bastian                    106  cc
Bri Anderson                101  cc

And the week 2 gift certificate winners are

Amanda Peck

and

KayeLynn Bastian

Lime Chicken Soft Tacos

1 1/2 lbs chicken breast; sliced
1/8 cup vinegar or red wine vinegar
1/2 cup lime juice
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 green onions; chopped
2 cloves garlic; minced
1 tsp oregano
tortillas
toppings

Saute chicken till cooked through. Add vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, onios, garlic and oregano. Simmer about 10 mintues. I also added about 1/3 of a diced jalepeno for more 'heat' while it was simmering. Then I shredded the chicken a little more. Serve in tortillas with tomatoes/salsa, lettuce, monterey cheese etc.

I ate this without the tortilla and made it into a taco salad. I didn't even need dressing because the flavor of the chicken was so good. A couple of my kids said they like the 'regular' tacos better but these were good too. :)

~Dela

Pumpkin chili

I made This pumpkin chili tonight. It was simple and delicious, you can let it cook in the crockpot which is always a fabulous thing. I didn't get it pulled together that fast today since I worked all day and Simmered it on the stove for about 45 min instead. I think the crockpot would've given it more time to bring the flavors out but I thought it was still great, my kids liked it too.  I added a scoop of cottage cheese to cool it off, boost the protein, and I like the creaminess it adds like sour cream would.  We added some butternut squash on the side and everyone else got yummy cornbread, that I had to pass on. :)

Oh and I used ground turkey and one serving has 250 calories and 24 grams of protein (without the cottage cheese)

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium sweet yellow pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups chicken broth
2 cans (15-ounce each) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 1/2 cups cubed cooked turkey or 1 pound round steak, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 can (15-ounce) solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (14-1/2 ounce) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
In a large 12-inch skillet, heat the oil until hot and rippling over medium or medium-high heat. Add the round steak (if using already cooked turkey, proceed to adding the vegetables) and brown the pieces lightly. Transfer the meat to a 5-quart slow cooker, leaving oil in the skillet. Add the onion and yellow pepper to the skillet and saute until barely tender, 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook one minute longer. Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker. Stir in the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours.

I also made these little quinoa patties last night that I thought were great.  I used coconut oil instead of olive oil, and I got 13 patties, coming in at around 110 calories per patty.  

-Nikki

Winners!! week one

So we decided to do 2 $10 gift certificate winners per week.  I think this will help everyone to stay motivated.  You can win more then once also.  We don't want someone thinking they are out of the running for everything and then not getting the benefits of the challenge.  So if you win we will contact you and let you choose from the gift certificates we got.  Also we did choose to go with certificates.  Mainly because we felt like you needed to be rewarded.  We don't want you handing over your $10 bucks to one of your kids or have it magically disappear into your grocery budget.  (Does this only happen to me and Amy) 

Week One Winners are...

Cami Lane 

and

Jen Hanson


Keep up the good work everyone!!

If you missed the standings they are in the post below this one.  

WEEK ONE

So after week one I need to clear a few things up.

First - the sleep thing.  We will not be making any changes to the points.  The majority of the comments on this voted no.  Many of you believed that this should be a personal goal.  I think that is a great idea.  If that is something easy for you then make it your personal goal and get a for sure point.  Even though a few of you said you still got the points for babies and bathroom breaks it is still too subjective.  Wanting to sleep 7 hours and actually sleeping 7 hours are two different things.  So for ease of our spreadsheets there will be NO changes to the point system.  Hopefully we are all doing our best on this one anyway if we are also getting up early to exercise.  I know I am wiped out by the end of the day.

Second - I am going to post the rules somewhere on the blog.  Many of you have had questions about them.  They are on the initial post but that is now at the bottom of the blog.  I will try to get them where you can see them.  Biggest question was the cheat days.  You get one entire cheat day for sugar or soda, not both.  You have to choose between the two.  You can eat all day if you want.  You still get your point.  Same goes for the cheat meal (singular).  Cheat days are optional.  You don't have to take them. 

Third - I apologize if I freaked any of you out about the water.  I just threw out a round about number without using any math.  Obviously.  So you are fine to stick to your 64oz.  Also related to this, sorry for confusing the two Cristy/Kristi's.

Fourth - A couple of you asked about Sundays.  I use Sunday as my rest day and gave myself 0 points for exercise.  This is your choice.  Another asked about fasting.  If you need to do so you will get full points for healthy meals and water.  You will not be punished for fasting.

Fifth - I mentioned that we may have to use the cheat days to break a "possible" tie in the end.  There have been a couple comments and emails asking for a coin toss.  I know there are a couple people who have already made the decision not to cheat.  AT ALL.  For the entire time.  If that's not will power I don't know what is.  So, there will be no coin toss.  If it comes to a tie in the end and one person cheated and the other didn't, the non cheater will win.  They earned it.  Most of you I have chatted about this with have felt the same way.

I hope I haven't missed anyone's questions.  That's all I can remember right now. 

I really wanted to somehow bring my spreadsheet into the post but its not working.  So here are the week one standings.  I am missing a couple who haven't sent in points.  I'll add them when I get them.  I will try to fix it for next week.  The format is driving me crazy but I know a few of you have been patiently waiting for the scores. Sorry about the a's, they are check marks on my actual spreadsheet.  They show who cheated and if they took sugar or both sugar and meal.  You get the picture. 

		Week 1	Cheat
1	Shea Nixon	84	a
2	Chelsa Johnson	82	aa
3	Nikki Holbrook	81	aa
4	Kristi Marshall	81
5	Jessica Bastian	79	aa
6	KayeLynn Bastian	76	aa
7	Katie Wight	75
8	Cami Lane	75	a
9	Rebecca Peterson	74
10	Chairl Miller	74	a
11	Ashley Graves	73	aa
12	Ashley Ericksen	72	a
13	Amanda Peck	72	aa
14	Amy Bybee	70	a
15	Jen Hanson	68	a
16	Cristy Shields	68	aa
17	Emily Koons	67	aa
18	Cheryle Mounteer	66	aa
19	Dela Ashby	65	aa
20	Jen Chandler	62	aa
21	Amy Anderson	61	aa
22	Merilee Mckay	61	aa
23	Michelle Gillette	60	a
24	Bri Anderson	57	a
25	Gaylene Burbidge	56	aa
26	Bri Bastian	54	aa
27	Britney Ericksen	51	aa
28	Lauren Goff
29	Darhyl Kerr
30	Tannie Flammer

Jillian Michaels recipe for healthy fall breakfast

I LOVE Jillian Michaels. I receive weekly emails with exercise tips and recipes. This is one of her recipes. I substituted all purpose flour with wheat pastry flour.  You could also use whole wheat flour with 1 1/2 TBSP vital wheat gluten. My kids loved these too!
 - Cristy

Harvest Pumpkin Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 egg
• 1 cup pumpkin, packed solidly
• 1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

Preparation
In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg; set aside.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter until light; beat in honey, egg and pumpkin. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing until just blended; stir in walnuts.
Spoon into 12 greased or paper-lined 2-1/2 inch muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove muffins from pan to wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 12 servings
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 30 mins
Total Time: 45 mins
Nutrition Facts
Number of Servings: 12
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 226
Total Fat: 10 g
Cholesterol: 10 mg
Sodium: 251 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 32 g
Dietary Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 5 g

Recipe ideas

My sister just sent me a new website to check out.  omWww.skinnytaste.com.   It is beautiful and has lots of ideas plus it has the nutritional info.   Also if you want a website or app for charting things. Check out spark people.com. It's great.
Merilee

Soup

I made this yummy squash soup this week. Davi actually thought is was potato cheese soup at first (without the potaoes in it) It was delicious. I thought i would share it. I know it has a lot of butter in it, but maybe someone could think of a substitute and share your thoughts.

For squash soup
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 medium onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 lb yellow summer squash, halved and thinly sliced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 yellow-fleshed potato (1/2 lb), peeled, halved,
4 cups chicken stock or reduced-sodium chicken broth

for pistou
3/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
1 large scallion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon salt
print a shopping list for this recipeview wine pairings

preparation

Make soup:
Melt butter in a 6- to 8-quart wide heavy pot over moderate heat, then cook onion with salt, stirring, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add squash, carrots, potato, and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, then simmer, partially covered, until vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool soup, uncovered, 10 minutes.
Working in batches, purée; soup in a blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids) and transfer to a bowl. Return puré to cleaned pot and thin with water if desired; simmer 3 minutes. Season with salt.
Make pistou while vegetables simmer:
Pulse mint, parsley, and scallion in a food processor until finely chopped. With motor running, add oil in a stream, then add water and salt, blending until incorporated.
Swirl 1 tablespoon pistou into each bowl of soup.


Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Summer-Squash-Soup-with-Parsley-Mint-Pistou-235736#ixzz28SQvudjj

Gaylene

Names

Because we are all logging in to post on the same account make sure you add your name under your post so that we know who you are.

If you comment on a post and use your own email your name will show up.  If you want to comment and can't log in with your email you can log in with this blogs information.  Just remember to add your name at the bottom of your comment.  This way everyone can see what people are thinking.

Love all the comments that this is helping people.  IT'S GREAT!!

Chelsa

Yeah for Chey and Amy

Way to go for putting this together for everyone!  I am seeing good changes already, as I know everyone should be.  This is a sugar thing for me, but is helping some unwanted inches disappear.
Ok, sending my comment in on the 8 hours of sleep, I like Gaylene's idea that she commented on that if you want put it into your personal goal, go for it.  I have sleeping issues that have come because of things that are somewhat out of my control.  So my vote is no on the point for sleep.  Also, it might be wise not to change the rules in the middle of the challenge.
All your recipes look awesom.  Good Luck everyone.

KayeLynn

Zucchini, Black Bean & Rice

Tonight I made this for dinner:

Super delish and very filling.  My kids didn't eat it (shocker) but my hubby loved it.  Enjoy!

This recipe is from HERE 

 I did switch out a few things:

*I used olive oil instead of canola oil...I just like the taste better
*I used roasted red peppers instead of a green bell pepper
*I used shredded mozzarella instead of the cheddar
*I used brown rice (the already made, just warm up kind from Trader Joes), if you use this option, you don't need the water.  I cooked the rice in the microwave and added it to the skillet

NUTRITION INFORMATION*

Serving Size	4 servings (1-1/4 cups each)
Calories	276

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon Pure Wesson® Canola Oil
• 1-1/2 cups quartered lengthwise, sliced zucchini
• 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
• 1 can (15 oz each)  Whole Black Beans, drained, rinsed
• 1 can (14.5 oz each) Hunt's® Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Garlic, undrained
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 cup instant white rice
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini and bell pepper; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beans, undrained tomatoes and water. Increase heat and bring to a boil.
2. Add rice; stir well. Cover; remove from heat and let stand 7 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with cheese.

~Britney

Questions, Concerns & Comments

First of all I want to say thanks to all of those who decided to take the challenge.  When Amy and I started talking about this we never thought we would get 30 people to do this with us.  Second, I'm guessing we all have different reasons/goals in mind for participating.  With that said I wanted to address some things.

Q:  Can I get half a point for 15 minutes of exercise?
A:  Nope, full points only, gotta get that full half hour in.


Q:  What is a full glass?
A:  I'm thinking we should be getting at least 70oz of water.

Q:  If I cheat can I have more then one treat?
A:  Heck yes.  You already lost your point.  Eat away.


Q:  What if we have a tie with points in the end?
A:  Please keep track of your free cheat day, I know its a free point but it may have to break a tie if someone only cheats once or twice.


Q:  Would you like to add an extra point for 7 hours of sleep?
A:  PLEASE COMMENT ON THIS, I'm not going to add an extra point without consulting you guys.

There have also been quite a few concerns about what is/isn't healthy.  I was pretty concerned for a couple days about all of the questions.  My husband was also giving me a hard time about how to track stuff.  We are all busy people.  I wanted to do this as a way to help myself get motivated.  Not all of us have the time to be checking in with someone or logging our food somewhere everyday.  I don't want to make this overly hard.  You know what works for you and we are getting posts from a few of you with healthy recipes that are great.  In the end I hope that the changes you make in your diet work for YOU.  I hope they help YOU reach your goals.  Feel better about yourself.  Make your family healthier.  Whatever it is YOU were looking for when YOU signed up for this.  So...keep posting to help others make healthy choices.  See my picture, this is about YOU.  I am not going to hover over you like a crazy person (I only do that to myself), we are all adults who can make our own choices.  I hope you are all ok with that. 


Gift Certificates

Like I said, more people signed up then we thought.  We originally were thinking we'd get about 10 people and we would maybe do one or two $5 gift certificates.  We have 30 people that have paid.  If you do the math that is $620!!  We asked for comments on what to do, here are a few.

*Visa Gift Cards came up.  Great idea.  If you would rather have cash please chime in.  But, I will not go buy gift cards.  I will simply hand you some cash.  I'm a busy mom too. 

Would you rather have two winners a week @ $10 each or one winner?  (Leaving the rest of the money for the pot in the end.)  This is your money so I would really like your input.  Even if we do 2 winners a week there will still be $500 for the end winners.  What do you think?

Also, once you win a gift certificate should you be able to win again?
Remember, to be eligible you have to get at least 8 points each day for the week.

I hope I have addressed everything I have been asked about.  Please comment on here for all to jump on and see.  The majority will decide on some of these questions.  If you don't comment your voice can't be heard and then you might not like the answers.  

Pumpkin Protein Shake

I love pumpkin flavored things, especially this time of year.  This shake satisfies my pumpkin craving without having to bake something sweet.

1 c almond milk
1/4-1/3 c pumpkin
1/4 c greek yogurt
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/2 t pumpkin pie spice (nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and all spice)
1 T stevia (or honey or agave)
4-5 ice cubes

I believe this had about 275 calories when I added it up.  and 29 g of protein.

-Nikki

Love the ideas for 'real' food so i don't have to make separate food for me and my family. Here is one that works for us. Fast, easy and yummy. For dessert we had fresh raspberries - but my kids wanted to know where the icecream was! ~ Dela

Teriyaki Chicken and Rice

2-3 tsp oil

1 lb chicken breasts; cut into strips
1 cup water
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
½ tsp garlic powder
1 1/4 cups minute brown rice
2 cups frozen broccoli (i like green beans better)
½ cup cashews

 Heat oil in skillet. Add chicken and cook 5-7 minutes until cooked through. Add water, teriyaki sauce and garlic powder. Bring to a boil. Stir in rice, broccoli and cashews. Cover. Cook on low 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes.

 

Thought I'd share our dinner tonight, it was from my favorite cooking blog that I've been following for years www.melskitchencafe.com.  I love her because she doesn't used processed stuff, it's not always crazy healthy but it is real food, no condensed soup and stuff like that.  I have a hard time eating a chicken breast or fish every night by itself, this mixes it up a little and still stays pretty healthy, not fish and beets healthy but still pretty decent. :) Here is what we had tonight...


Oven Baked Chimichangas

*Note: this recipe makes use of already cooked rice and chicken so plan ahead!

*Makes 6 chimis

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped fine
1 (16-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups cooked brown or white rice
2-3 cups diced, cooked chicken
1-2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (use the lesser amount for less heat, greater amount for a bigger kick)
1 cup shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese (or a combination of both)
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and Pepper
6 large burrito-size flour tortillas

DIRECTIONS:
Place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven and heat the oven to 450 degrees. While the oven is heating, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat until the oil is shimmering. Cook the onion until it is just softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the beans, rice, chicken and chipotle and cook until the mixture is heated through, about 3 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the cheese and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste (I used about 1/4 teaspoon each).

Stack the tortillas on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave the tortillas until they are warm and pliable, about 1 minute. Top each warm tortilla with some of the chicken mixture, leaving about a 2-inch border at the bottom of the tortilla. Fold in the sides and roll up the tortilla tightly. Brush the wrapped tortillas with the remaining oil and arrange them seam side down on the hot baking sheet that has been preheating in the oven. Bake until the chimis are golden brown and crisp, about 8 to 10 minutes. Serve.

Recipe Source: adapted from Cook’s Country Dec/Jan 2010

*To make it healthier/less calories sub olive oil or coconut oil  for the canola oil.  Use the flour tortillas that you can cook yourself from costco or just eat the filling without a tortilla.  Also you should use brown rice or even better substitute quinoa for the rice or mix half and half, that will give you even more protein.  Finish it off with a side salad with olive oil/balsamic dressing or some baby carrots.

You can also make the filling ahead of time then assemble them when you're ready to eat.

Oh and if you decide to make this I have chipotle chilis in adobe sauce that need to be used so come get some from me!

-Nikki

Healthy

I just wanted to post my idea of healthy.  Yesterday I used the five meal plan that I posted below.  I obviously do not eat like this all the time or I wouldn't have put this little challenge together.  I eat like this when I am on my "crazy".  I've said it before, I'm either really crazy when it comes to exercise and eating or I'm really lazy.  I was really lazy over the summer.  So here goes.

Breakfast:

Doterra Trim Shake    1 scoop    125 calories of protein

Strawberries    1 cup    50 calories of fruit

Egg Whites    4 whites    68 calories of protein

Honey Whole Wheat Bread    1 slice    120 calories of carbs

Honey    1 tsp    15 calories of filler :)

Lunch:

Chunk Light Tuna    7 oz    175 calories of protein

Romaine Lettuce    3 cups    23 calories of veggie

Black Beans    2/3 cup    160 calories of carbs

Homemade Salsa    2 tbsp    instead of dressing

Dinner:

Fresh Grilled Salmon    6 oz    366 calories  (I needed more calories)

Beets    1.5 cups    112 calories of veggies

Snacks:

Almonds    10    100 calories of protien

Grapes    1/2 cup    52 calories of fruit

                  String Cheese    2    160 calories of protein          

Total Calories 1526   

 I loved the beginning of Nikki's post.  It was perfect.  Whole foods and fresh foods are great.  Dressings, butters and sauces are fillers with tons of fat.  They are not included in the "healthy".  I use salsa in place of them when I can.  If you really need them try to go low fat.  Hopefully we have all found a calorie amount to stick to so that we know what we are eating.  I've got another post I need to put together by tomorrow with some other questions and concerns.  I will also fix the meal plan pictures by tonight.  Hope everyone is doing good and feeling great.

Chelsa

Okay, I got it figured out, here is the email I sent now on the blog. :)

My take on a healthy meal is something that consists of whole foods. I think we can all figure out breakfast and lunch pretty easy but dinners might be tough. I would say stuff with all the extras like sour cream, cream cheese, a lot of cheese, processed foods, butter, oil,is obviously not healthy. An all pasta dish is not healthy. I would say you need mainly protein and vegetables with each meal. Getting at least 5 or 6 fruits and veggies a day. 

I though I'd share my lunch today, I would love if people would share ideas of meals, it's always interesting and helpful to see what others eat so you don't get stuck in a rut.

Egg avocado salad sandwich

2 boiled eggs

1/4-1/2 of an avocado

1 T Greek yogurt 

Dash of salt and pepper

1/2 t curry seasoning (optional)

Mix all together (I like to mix the eggs first then add diced avacodos to keep them more chunky) serve open face on a piece of whole wheat toast or tortilla. 

Add a fruit or veggie for a side and you're complete.

-Nikki