football and tofu?

Day 3 was tough... I am not going to lie. I almost quit like 7 times :) But i didn't.... but that doesn't mean that I am not going to quit tomorrow! It's hard. Not only because I am eating a strict diet, but it makes me think about food all the time... which makes me think I am hungry all the time. Which I am not.

Day 3 happen to fall on a Saturday, which is football day at our house. We always watch the Nebraska game and usually eat something not very healthy and drink! But today, I watched football and ate tofu... it didn't feel American.

I did however try a new recipe for apple chips... and Dave loved it! I never really know what he thinks of my cooking/baking because he always compares me to his mom... but this time he told me he liked what I made. The sucky part, is that I didn't like them :( oh poo.

Menu:
Breakfast - apple with peanut butter
Snack - spicy pumpkin soup
Lunch - tofu, acorn squash and a tomato with balsamic vinegar
Snack - mixed nuts
Dinner - "taco" salad with mushroom & black beans, lettuce and salsa
Snack - a few grapes, applesauce and a cup of tea

The good thing about this is that today I had at least 5 servings of veggies and 2 of grapes... pretty impressive. The hard part is that I miss crunchy, fake crunchy not veggie crunchy. I want goldfish & cheerios! :)

Tomorrow my family is coming to town... I am so excited to see them, but I think the "cleanse" will be difficult. I am going to try my damnedest, but I just might not make it.

Protein - Day 2

Day 2 was pretty o.k. I once again sat on my butt all day at a training. I realized just how hard it is for me to sit all day... not fun. And my gym was closed for Veteran's Day (which is cool - all service members deserve a day off) but it kind of stunk for me! The good thing about it was that I decided to take the time that I usually spend at the gym browsing Barnes and Nobel. I seriously could spend DAY'S there walking around, looking, drinking Starbucks (though I didn't have any this time). I also realized that I LOVE self help and health books :) loser... I know! I decided to buy "The 5 Love Languages." Someone in the training that I was at mentioned the book and how it changed all of her relationships... I'm excited to start reading.

Menu:
Breakfast: 2 slices Whole Wheat toast with Peanut Butter
Snack: apple and mixed nuts
Lunch: Broccoli, acorn squash & tofu
Snack: grapes and Multi Grain Cheerios
Dinner: Flax seed tortilla chips and slasa, Spicy Pumpkin Soup (pumpkin, corn, spices) - DELICIOUS

Not having a glass of wine on day 2 was a lot easier than not having a glass of wine on day 1. It is mostly just habit, and a little relaxing :) Tamra came over to watch Forks Over Knives.... finally I got to see it. It was really interesting... not as life changing as I thought it would be, but it really got me thinking. I feel really good about my decision to become a Pescitarian, however this documentary focused on a "whole food, plant based diet."

The studies done on the DAMAGE that animal protein does to our body, including diary, was CRAZY! Not only that it is not beneficial, but that it actually does damage. I am going to watch it again, and look more into a plant-based diet. I know this is not an over-night change that I can make, so I am going to do lots of research and make small changes. I will continue to avoid dairy, but I am not going to be too strict about it yet.

I do think that everyone should watch it though.... there is a lot of good information!

Can you drink wine while doing a cleanse?

Day 1 was pretty successful. The goal for today was: whole grains, fruit, veggies, legumes, and nuts & seeds. I was actually pretty impressed with myself, I was however a little lenient with what I considered a whole grain.... oops!

The only other downfall of today was that I sat on my ass literally the ENTIRE day. I LOVE learning & going to trainings... but I HATE sitting all day long. I thought all day about the articles that I have read about the damage sitting does to your body. One more day & I will be back to my standing ways :)

Today's menu:
Breakfast - oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon (did no have my usual honey)
Snack - banana and mixed nuts (almonds, cashews, and some nut I don't know the name of)
Lunch - La Mie (amazing place) veggie sandwich on whole wheat (red pepper, sweet potato, sprouts, mushrooms, hummus and pesto)
Snack - pumpkin seeds
Dinner - "tacos" (lettuce for a shell and our "taco meat" is sauteed mushrooms & black beans... yummy) with salsa and a few flax seed tortilla chips
Snack - Multi-grain Cheerios

Workout:
warm up
9 minutes running at 6mph (oddly hard)
21 minutes on elliptical (too easy)
15 minutes running at 5.5mph
cool down

My one question... and the one thing that I really missed today (don't judge) was my glass of wine! Can I have a glass of wine while doing a "cleanse"?

Getting ready for Day 1

Today I went grocery shopping. I decided to use my day off at the gym to go shopping with out my "little helper"... it makes it a lot more relaxing. I really do enjoy grocery shopping, but this was a little different, as I was preparing for my cleanse. I usually  buy a lot of fruits & veggies, but today I got a TON.

Here's what I got (I'm sure I won't remember everything, but I'll try)...

apples, bananas, grapes, tomatoes, acorn squash, mushrooms, peppers, sweet potatoes, avacado, broccoli slaw, lettuce, carrots, hummus, black beans and a few packs of frozen stirfry veggie mixes.

Tomorrow is day 1... I am so ready for it! Here we go!  

Count Down to MEXICO

As of today we have 25 days until Mexico. I have decided that my blog will now include my "getting healthy journey!" As many of you know I always try to find ways to be a healthier person, and as most women, I like to see a certian number on the scale. Lately, I have noticed that the number I am seeing on the scale, coupled with how I am feeling is NOT how I want to be feeling.

I have decided I need a little more accountability, and what better form of accountability than posting your efforts on a blog?!?!? So each day I will post how my day went, what new things I tried and my lovely menu for the day :)

Tomorrow I am starting a "mini cleanse" that will last 8 days...

Day 1 & 2: whole wheat, frutis, veggies, legumes, nuts & seeds

Day 3 & 4: fruits, veggies, legumes, nuts & seeds

Day 5 & 6: fruits, veggies, nuts & seeds

Day 7: fruits & veggies

Day 8 - veggies

Wish me luck... 

Celebrating 1 Year!

Today, September, 18, 2011... was Dave and my 1st wedding anniversary! Throughout the day today, I thought a lot about how much my life has changed in the last 3 years... it's almost unimaginable.

2008 - I graduated college, got my first real job at the AIDS Project of Central Iowa, met Dave AND found out I was pregnant

2009 - I moved in with Dave, became a home owner, got engaged, had Charlie AND got promoted from Case Manager at the Project to Care Services Supervisor

2010 - I got married.... which kind of sounds like a boring year, but it wasn't, believe me! Lots of planning :)

And now 2011... I got promoted, yet again to Wellness Services Manger at the Project & we are still just chugging along!

It's amazing how much life can change and how AMAZING life is! I feel so lucky to have Dave in my life... and even MORE lucky that I get to spend the rest of my life with him!

Tonight, to celebrate (we only 1/2 celebrated because Dave had drill.... he and I are going out next weekend just the two of us) I made fish tacos and we sat down to a family dinner. Charlie helped to set the table too! 



The fish taco's were amazing... when Dave got home he asked, "are you working from a recipe?" My response was "No" because I was kind of winging it and he said, "Oh, this should be interesting." But it was AMAZING! Below is a picture of the condiments  for our tacos... the two on the right are made by yours truly... the salsa is out of a jar (sorry not that ambitous)! 

The middle compartment is a spicy chipotle slaw... I made it with cole slaw mix, adobo sauce, cilantro and a little bit of lime juice... SPICY but delicious! Then on on the far right is a "fiesta salad" it is black beans, shoe peg corn, tomatoes, avacado, cilantro and a little lime juice to prevent browning! I then blackened the fish and used corn tortillas..... DELICIOUS! We will for sure be eating fish taco's more often.

We ended our anniversary with a trip to Dairy Queen... Charlie and Mommy love ice cream! All and all it was a nice day... laid back and a wonderful way to celebrate one year of marriage!

Elmo party

Elmo was the first character that Charlie loved. So we decided to have an Elmo party for his second birthday. It was perfect! We had it on Camp Dodge, at a great pavilion in the park. The security guard at the front gate passed out a map with Elmo leading guests to the park. Also, signs helped guests make it to the park. We grilled, sang, played games and visited with family and friends. It was great! And Charlie got so many great toys... he is one lucky boy!

One of the projects I decided to do was Elmo Cozies for guests to use, then take home as a party favor, seeing as  most of Charlie's guests were adults. Two days before the party I decided to do these... so I spent the day calling EVERY store in Des Moines that I thought may have them. I found 20... I needed 32. Hope picked up the last 12 in Iowa city on her way to visit. Below is a picture of them drying...

Thanks to Cece and Dave, they weren't too bad to put together... the cozies are foam & so are all of the other parts, so I bought foam glue, which worked out pretty well. We only had a couple of eyes fall off at the party. We just cut out eyeballs, pupils and noses :) The sticker on the back read:

I'm tickled you could

spend my 2nd birthday

with me!

Love, Charlie

How CUTE! Below is the basket they were held in... great idea from Cece! The sign read... "Elmo loves to keep your drink cold!"

They were a hit and I will defiantly do something fun like this again for Charlie's birthdays!