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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

prep work!

Food prepping on Monday's is really helping us stay focused!  When we get started, it's usually "ugh, why do we have to make this big mess and cook for hours..."  BUT when it's finished and things are packed away for the week, we are thankful that it's one less worry and we can focus on our clean eating and workouts!

This week, 
We did spaghetti squash in the microwave which turned out perfectly!  The last time I attempted this it was a huge fail, so I was very happy that it was family approved!
Those balls of foil are actually 1/2 sweet potatoes that I roasted along with Brussels and eggplant!  
SO good!

I took the ground turkey, browned it and separated it into two pans.  The pan on the left was ground turkey, a little cumin and chili powder, onion, zucchini and black beans for a more Mexican-style dish for the week.  On the right I did ground turkey, onion, chopped garlic-lots of it, zucchini and cannelini beans and pepper.  I then added to the right, a can of no sugar added diced tomatoes and made this dish more Italian-style!
 All of the prepared goods were packed along with grilled chicken that my husband marinated in Italian dressing...so good.  We also prepared our weekly salads and smoothies were portioned with spinach and the fruits separately.  

With these prepared turkey dishes, I add them to our morning eggs, a FlatOut wrap, salads, a slice of Ezekiel bread...I could go on and on.  Basically it's a way to have a prepared protein to add to endless sides.  Makes living a healthy lifestyle very simple.  My husband packages his meals and is ready for breakfast and lunch each day at work, which really helps him stay on track since he leaves for work at 4am!

Yesterday's lunch!  An egg, 1/2 sweet potato pre-cooked and topped with ready to eat lentils from TJ, a little low fat cheese and a spoonful of plain Greek yogurt!  Sounds like it wouldn't taste like a fabulous combo but it SO is!  And this picture makes it look covered in greek yogurt but I think it's the angle...I promise it was one tsp!  My husband was skeptical of this one, but once he tried it he agreed it was delicious and very filling!


And these two boys love being like Mommy and Daddy.  
First it was their DeDe having to buy them boxing gloves to match ours.  Then they wanted to run with us the other day, had their iTouch's and everything...and then last night it was ab work during Biggest Loser.  Hilarious that they take it so seriously too.  Jake, our oldest kept telling the little man to breath out and keep his back down on the ground...like a little coach!  Too cute!  I figure if they choose to take part, I'm more than willing to allow it since they are watching our example.  
Gosh, as a mother and healthy living advocate, all we can hope is that these habits stick!

Yesterday's weather wasn't perfect but we took advantage of our son's day off and Daddy being home, so we played a family game of soccer then football.  It was so fun to play two on two and laugh and giggle together! 

Oh and I totally cheated to beat my husband and oldest son...hello?  They had the unfair advantage, right?  RIGHT!

Down, set...and my youngest would take off too soon EVERY time!  

I went back to smoothies with spinach and kale.  The collars from our garden unfortunately did NOT agree with my tummy!  Bummer because it was a tasty way to get in a variety of greens!

Honestly, my frustrations are kicking in.  Our weekend workouts rocked and I really pushed hard...really hard!  
I know, I know we've only been going at this clean eating since Jan 2nd, but I am upset that I sort of stopped losing weight...haven't lost another pound since Wednesday of last week BUT I cannot get hung up on that darn scale!  It's like once I allow it to take over, I start living each day by what number appears and that is SO wrong.  SO wrong.  And I know better.  Plus I feel better, stronger and leaner even in these past few days.  I know my workouts have improved...
I can't let my head get into this game unless it's positive.  I do this to myself each time, setting myself up to fail before I've failed.  And when we do that, the old habits find their way back into our lives BUT not this time.  I am fully aware of my capabilities and beyond so I wish push through this  day of feeling not-so-great and stop living the life based on my scale...yuck!  

I am so blessed to have the support of my husband who supports and lives this way of life right alongside me each day!  We have one another to support, push and reach goals together!  I know some of us out there may not have that 100% support at home, but you must understand that the strength comes from within yourself.  You need no other person to tell you that you're worth it or that you can do it...YOU WILL DO IT!

*If you watched Biggest Loser last night, you would have seen how quickly those children have started to make HUGE strides when it comes to their health and fitness level.  Amazing right?  I started crying when I watched Bingo crush his sit up goal!  Crazy!  You can see how quickly the body responds and reacts to healthy change.  Impressive, wasn't it?  Or what about when the girls were running, side by side helping and supporting one another to the finish.  They were both in it together and neither of them were giving up!  Ah, it was a cool moment and one of the reasons that I love BL so much!  So inspiring.  Helps to show people that anything is possible and you WILL see change, feel different and gain a whole new life!  
My gosh, I hope you all understand where I'm coming from and I don't sound like a goofball!

My goal for the week:  to focus on what I have changed, what I have overcome and how much stronger I am because of the work and dedication I've put in! what's yours?  
And a progress pic!  I'm two months in and on the way to reaching my goal.  How about you?

And I love the past Biggest Loser contestants that stay connected with all of their fans.  Courtney is definitely one of those as well as Hannah and Olivia, those are three of my fav's!  
It's time to help one of them appear on a Subway commercial with Jared- on his 15th anniversary of keeping his weight off!  
I voted and I hope you will too :)  
Go to nbc.com/subway to place your vote and learn more!

3 comments:

Elle said...

Love that your kids are trying to emulate you. Just goes to show ya how much influence you really have. Great! And you are such good role models.

Not a Hannah or Olivia fan but I did like Courtnyy a lot.

I have found miking spaghetti squash can be a challenge cause you want to cook it without 'mushing' it... I had some tonight actually.

Hollie said...

I love all the food prepping. I have been slacking at getting anything prepared ahead of time.
Love that pic of your boys!
I bought a spaghetti squash to try this week.
You look great! Such an inspiration!

Unknown said...

Great job on the meal prep! I think you would like Swiss Chard - I think it's actually a lot milder than either kale or collard greens. Sometimes I just chop it super fine and add it to pasta sauce. I loved the Biggest Loser the other night as well - except for the fact that they couldn't hit their 51 lb goal! Seeing Sunny run her 10 min mile was awesome. Hope you guys are doing well!