Tortilla Wraps

So a quick and easy lunch or snack that can be advocare or allergy friendly are wraps!  For my lunch the other day, I made a flour wrap that had mayo, honey ham, cheeese, and a pickle in it.  For Eli, he had a corn tortilla with salami (this had beef in it...oops!  I goofed, but he had no problems)  a pickle and ketchup.  Ella had salami with mayo and cheese in a flour tortilla.  You can put whatever you want in a tortilla, roll it up and go with it.  Quick, easy, yummy.  :)

Flour Tortilla

Corn Tortilla

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

Eli's Allergy Friendly

Non allergy friendly- has milk and wheat, and Advocare recommends no dairy products for cleanse

So this recipe can be made two ways- Advocare and Allergy Friendly, or not! :)  Actually the non allergy friendly isn't too Advocare Friendly, I just wouldn't eat it during a cleanse.  Another recipe from Pinterest and I've made this before but this time we added sausage because it was missing something :) 
So...
2 TBS butter (or olive oil for allergy friendly)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrots
1-2 celery stalks chopped
   Saute veggies until tender, then add...
2 TBS minced garlic
   Cook another 1-2 minutes then add...
4 cups chicken broth
2 large baking potatoes chopped.
   Boil until potatos tender.  *AT this point I removed some for Eli to eat- just added a little brocolli and smoked turkey sausage pieced and his was done*  Then...
1 TBS flour
1/2 cup water
   Mix together then add to pot, simmer until thickened.  Add
2/3 cup of milk
2 cups broccolli
  Cook until tender, then add
2 cups cheddar cheese.
*At this time I added chopped up smoked turkey sausages which is where I changed it*
When it's melted through it's done and delicious!
Yummy!

Frito and Corn Salad

So thanks to pinterest, we tried a super yummy side last night!  It’s wasn’t Advocare or Allergy Friendly, but it went super good with our steaks! J  Oh, also quick and easy!

2 cans of drained corn

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 cup mayo

1 cup green pepper (I used a mix of green, red and yellow), chopped

½ cup red onion, chopped

1 bag of coarsely crushed Fritos chili cheese corn chips

You combine everything but the chips, and put in the fridge to cool, then just before serving crunch up the chips J

Yummmmy!

(This was actually two nights ago...having some computer issues.)

Getting Organized

So, In my opinion the key to success in anything is motivation and organization.  So, since I'm getting ready to get my butt back on the diet that has been successful in helping me loose over 30 lbs and keep it off I'm getting ready to do another 10 day cleanse from Advocare.
The last two weeks I have done the Advocare Can You 24 DVDs to get back into exercise so now it's time to get back on track eating.  I have spent a few hours on pinterest getting ideas and making grocery lists to help me be successful.  I plan on putting up pictures and explanations and how to make some of these allergy friendly or what is allergy friendly for those reading this blog for that.  Another great thing about grocery lists, meals lists and planning is the ability to find as many coupons as possible for what I'll be buying to make it more affordable.
  The tough part about eating healthy is keeping up flavors and variety for myself and the rest of the family.  That's why I went to pinterest.  Some examples of things to try include: Chicken and Shrimp Kabobbs, Clean and Lean Lettuce Wraps, Crock-pot seasame honey chicken, Honey-soy broiled salmon just to name a few.  This is to supplement what we typically have which is just baked chicken with some spices on it and fresh or steamed veggies.  Just gives a little variety and keeps us from burning out.
So the countdown is on again, on Monday I'll be going to the store and will start the cleanse at the latest a week from Monday, maybe sooner :)
I'll keep you posted.

Progress

So, this week I've finally gotten back on board with exercise after too long a break! I've also started the Catalyst from Advocare once a day right now, 30 minutes before breakfast.  My muscles are sore, but that means I'm working something!   I got the workout calender from the Advocare Can You 24 website and I'm following it for the next three months!  You also get to tailor beginner, intermediate, and advanced over the same DVDs.   After the holiday I'm going to start a cleanse and up the Catalyst to twice a day to get the belly off! 
Between now and the holiday, I'm going to do more research on pinterest and other online places to get recipes to give some variety to the diet!

Catalyst

So, I have learned a few lessons this month.  First, don't do a challenge to get yourself vacation ready.  It got me there, but then I slacked off because I was on vacation and undid whatever work I did do.  Second, don't take more than one day off from working out, because next thing you know it's been over two weeks.  Third, possibly the reason I didn't have as huge results as before isn't because I've lost weight already, but may be because when I started this journey over a year ago I was taking Catalyst and I stopped. 
Catalyst is an advocare product that I'm told was developed to help the US Olympic Wrestling Team preserve muscle while trying to lose weight to get to a lower weight class.  The idea is it protects the muscle from being used for energy while working out, hence the greater fat loss.  So my newest plot to keep myself healthier, skinner and with more energy is to add Catalyst everyday to my routine, do the advocare Can you 24 DVDs per the Advocare Calender for the next few months (only do the treadmill when the thought of doing a DVD makes me feel like skipping all together), and do another Herbal Cleanse in a few weeks to help "reset" my diet. Advocare recommends the Herbal Cleanse every 3 months, which I wouldn't necessarily do except it really helps me get back on track to what I'm eating which tends to be every 3-4 months I notice I'm doing  bad!  :) 
Also added some Grape Spark to my drinks- think Grape Kool-aid with a kick!  So my three go-to Spark flavors are Fruit Punch, Grape and Mango Strawberry.
Time to get back on track!

Vacation

So, I am back from vacation and any progress I had made is gone!  Oops.  Didn't exercise at all except for walking around Disney and taking care of a sick little boy, and ate a ton of food, especially when we stayed at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge!  Great food is worth it though, one of the reasons for living.  So now I need to regroup and make a new plan to keep myself on the healthy track again!  :)  Talk to you when I have a plan!