Day 3 - settling in

Day 3 is in the books and I'm starting to settle into the routine. However, it was the first I had to do my morning routine of the fiber drink and all that jazz that was also a school morning! All in all, it went fine and I had time for everything without feeling rushed. I do miss my Pumpkin Spice coffee. Not necessarily to wake me up - the Spark is doing the trick there...but I just LOVE coffee. I love the smell, the flavor and today, it is COLD, so I miss the warmth.

Breakfast was my normal bowl of berries. A mix of strawberries, raspeberries, blueberries and blackberries. I failed to mention on prep day that I went ahead and washed ALL my berries in a vinegar wash, so that was one less step I had to take when I was ready to eat them. A vinegar wash greatly helps berries not get moldy so fast. I fill up my kitchen sink about 1/2 full of cold water and add a cup or 2 of vinegar. I let them soak for a few minutes, rinse and put back in their containers and into the fridge. I promise they won't taste like vinegar!
http://www.foodlushblog.com/2011/07/the-key-to-preventing-moldy-berries-vinegar.html

Spark about 8:00 a.m.

Midmorning snack about 10:00 - 1 hard boiled egg and 1 apple

Lunch  about 12:00 - some smoked chicken breast torn up mixed with some chopped up cherry tomatoes and 1/2 avacado. It was yummy, but if I do that again, I'll add 1 whole avacado and eat it as a wrap and maybe some kind of spice...not sure what it was missing. It was fine as it was,though. I also had about 1/2 of a cucumber cut up. I felt I was missing something, so I ate 1 piece of whole grain bread.

I had more celery slices and natural peanut butter about 3:00. And another Spark. I needed a Spark! Also - FYI - I got the kind of natural peanut butter that says "no stir required".  I swear it taste just like regular low fat peanut butter. The almond butter I got had to be stirred and stirred to get it to a consistency that even resembed "butter" - so if you have a "no stir" option for natural peanut butter- go for it. I cannot remember the brand. I got it in the "organic" section at Kroger.

Now...I spent from 3:45-5:45 running kids to and fro and myself to a meeting. I got home about 6:00 and whipped up a quick fish dinner (see below for recipe) with sauted zucinni, squash & onions w/  dill, steamed asparagus, brown rice and my OmegaPlus supplements and was out the door again by 6:45 for dance pictures for my youngest daughter. I finally sat down about 7:45, after getting her ready for bed, lunches packes and kitchen cleaned. WHEW. There would be  no 24-minute workout for me today. I just did NOT have it in me.

Snack was some of a honeydew melon I cut up...which wasn't ripe. Oh well.

Catalyst and Herbal Cleanse supplements at bedtime.

Whew!!

And just a FYI: I am taking ONLY the Advocare supplements that were recommended for ME or that came in the 24-Day Challenge kit. NOTHING else. Just Advocare products. I may forget to say in my posts what time I took them or their exact names, but I am taking everything I am supposed to, when I'm supposed to. :-)

OH - and today is actually the morning of Day 4 for me (so, 3 full days done) - I've lost 2 lbs. Hubby has lost 5 1/2.


This Tilapia recipe is an old Weight Watchers recipe. I tweaked it a tad. I used Grouper, for one, as that is what I had on hand and ended up adding a little bit of olive oil, as well. Be aware - there really isn't much "sauce" at the end, but the almonds are yummy. It was ok. Not like I remembered, however, that may be because I haven't made it in FOREVER and we've been eating pretty rich foods around here before I started the 24-Day Challenge. My taste buds are in shock.

Tilapia Almondine

2 tilapia filets (3-4 oz. each)
1 tbsp flour (I eyeball it)
1/4 tsp salt and pepper (I eyeball it)
2 Tbsp REAL butter
2 Tbsp slivered almonds (I use a tad more)
1-2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (I use 2)

Rinse and pat tilapia fillets and sprinkle with salt and pepper and a slight dusting of flower.

In a saute pan, heat only 1 tbsp butter and saute tilapia for about 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked.

Remove fish and add the other tbsp butter, almonds and lemon juice.

Cook a few more minutes until almonds are golden and pour sauce over filets