Advocare Herbal Cleanse Day 1

Today starts a new cleanse and a new determination to get back on my healthy eating and exercise regimen! 
For this cleanse my starting measurements are....
    Wt- 161 lbs
    Waist- 38 inches
    Hips- 40.5 inches
   Bust- 37 inches

Yikes!  That's up 6lbs, and 2 and 1/2 inches in the waist since May!  I told you I've been slacking.  When I was maintaining I was exercising every day.  Since May it's been sporadic at best so I'm getting back into it.

Food today...well I didn't have breakfast since I worked 3rd shift last night and slept through that.  It's about 2 in the afternoon and will be eating some fruit and a boiled egg.  I haven't decided on dinner yet, but will possibly do a pinterest recipe, so stay tuned. :)

Garden Vegetable Soup

Friday I made a delicious, healthy soup for dinner in the crockpot.  Perfect if you'll be gone all day.  Also from Pinterest.  It's 0 points from weight watchers, Eli and Advocare friendly :)  And it tasted great the day of and as leftovers.

10 oz spinach
2 chopped carrots
1 chopped onion
2 celery ribs chopped
1 garlic clove minced
4 cups vegetable broth
1 (28 oz) can of diced tomatos
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Throw it all in the crock pot on low for 8-10 hours.  Remove bay leaves and serve.  Easy peasy. :)

Crock Pot Sesame Honey Chicken

So earlier this week I made crock pot sesame honey chicken- another recipe I found from pinterest.  It is Advocare friendly, but had soy so it wasn't Eli friendly but may be okay for many others with allergies.  It is gluten free :)
In the crockpot, you put...
   2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
   season with black pepper
In a bowl combine...
  1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce (or tamari)
  1/4 cup honey
  1/4 cup tomato paste
  3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
  2 cloves minced garlic
  1 Tbsp water
  1 tsp sesame oil
  1 tsp onion powder
  1 tsp sriracha hot chili sauce
Pour over chicken and cook on low for 3-4 hours.
Remove chicken and shred, sit aside.
In a small bowl combine...
   1/4 cup water
   1 heaping Tbsp cornstarch
Add to the crockpot and stir to combine, turn on high for another 15-20 minutes to slightly thicken.  Return the chicken and mix.
You can serve this over rice and garnish with sesame seed and chopped scallions.

It was good...but was missing something.  The recipe said you can add more sriracha to taste and I think we would have liked that.  It also might have been better with some onion and celery chopped in it.  It was good enough we may try  it again with some experimenting. 
There were some comments on this website about using frozen chicken and it will increase the cooking time...the only thing I worry about that is frozen chicken as it cooks gives off juices which may increase the amount of liquid in the pot.  It should be easy to make this on the stove too.

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.