Minestrone Soup...21 Day Fix Style

I have been trying to find new, easy recipes to keep me on the 21 Day Fix path. My husband suggested soups for lunch, now that the weather is getting cold. It's easy for me to make one big batch and pre-pack his lunches for the week, and its quick and convenient for him to heat up on lunch hour at work. 

Last week I made an Italian favorite...Minestrone! It was delicious and felt very hearty and filling. I adapted this recipe from Fit Mom Angela D. It turned out to be a wonderful version of a favorite soup.

Here's what you need:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, minced
2 ribs celery, diced
2-3 carrots, peeled and diced
1-2 zucchini, diced

*veggies are depending on size. I used organic which were much smaller. I used the larger amount to make up for that. 

1 tbsp oregano
2 tsp basil
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
6 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatos
1 (15 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans
1/2 to 1 cup whole grain elbow pasta, uncooked(you can use any smaller size pasta. I used ditalini)

*I used 1 cup pasta and I would say that was too much, my husband liked it on the thinker side though

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded (1 blue container)

Here's what you need to do:

1. In a stock pot, heat oil over medium to medium high heat. Saute garlic and onion until translucent. If oil is too hot the garlic will brown so be sure to stir occasionally and watch for over cooking. 

2. Add the carrots and celery. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. 

3. Add zucchini and all the seasonings. Cook for another 3-5 minutes, stirring often. 

4. Add broth and tomatoes, bring to a boil

5. Reduce heat to a simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes

6. Add beans and pasta. Cook for 10-15 minutes until pasta and veggies are tender.

7. Serve with 1/3 cup parmesan cheese.

Serving size - 2 cups: 1.5 Green, 1 Yellow, 1 Blue

The only thing I would mention is I did feel 2 cups was a very large serving. You can always do just a cup if you want to have soup with dinner or a lighter lunch. If you are short on your Blue container this is great with or with out the cheese. So feel free to omit and save that Blue for something else. I am also going to be testing this with cooked pasta as the pasta obviously absorbs a lot of the soup. I'll let you know how that works out! 

Up next: Chicken noodle soup 21 Day Fixed!

What is your favorite soup for winter? Share in the comments below!

Getting back in the saddle.....after a week in Costa Rica!

Hi everyone! Hope you all enjoyed my last recipe post. Those Buffalo chicken bites are delicious.

Since my last post we have been very busy. On top of the usual fall activities we had a wedding in Costa Rica. It was amazing! We are so grateful we were able to make the trip to celebrate with the bride and groom. Unfortunately, the 21 day fix fell to the wayside while we enjoyed an entire week of food, fun and friends. It was an amazing trip we will never forget!

This past week we started back on the eating plan for the 21 day fix. We did not start the work outs back up yet even though that was originally the plan. I have already started feeling better. I feel more energized and more productive. Next week is Thanksgiving and we have a lot of family coming in from out of town. I am looking forward to all the good food and fun times. It's going to be tough, but I am going to try to make smart choices.

What are you favorite holiday recipes? 

Have you "21 Day Fixed" any of them? 

Are you making any 21 day fix or clean eating recipes for your Thanksgiving dinner? 

What are your tips and tricks to staying on track around the holidays?

Comment below and share your recipes and tips...I'd love to try them!

Below are some pictures from our trip to Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Beautiful view from the hotel

Pool...this pool housed the wedding reception. Guests went in clothes and all!

Private soaking tub on our terrace!

SELFIE...while exploring the 1st day.

We had three wedding crashers!!!! They were happily begging for food and getting plenty of lovin' from several guests.

Me and my hubby after the wedding. He looks so handsome in his tux!

GORGEOUS!

Delicious meal at the Mexican restaurant.

Assortment of foods from an appetizer buffet before lunch. 

Hotel: Dreams Las Marea Costa Rica (all inclusive)

Tux: Men's wearhouse

My dress: Anthropologie

21 Day Fix Buffalo Chicken Bites

Since starting the 21 day fix I haven't been too adventurous with trying recipes. I did however find a recipe for Boneless Buffalo Wings that was amazing here!!!! It's the perfect "cheat" meal and when I say cheat I mean you feel like you are cheating. I have made delicious baked chicken wings before and I was happy to find a great recipe for buffalo bites. These would be great with out the buffalo sauce for anyone who would prefer regular chicken nuggets too! 

BONELESS BUFFALO WINGS (adapted from HealthyFeelsHappy)

Ingredients

• 2 small boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
• poultry seasoning
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg

For the Sauce

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Melt butter and set aside to cool
3. In a small bowl whisk the egg. In a second bowl mix the flour, garlic powder, cayenne and salt.
4. Season chicken pieces with poultry seasoning
5. Dip each chicken piece into the egg to coat and then dredge in the flour mixture. Place on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. I line my baking sheet with parchment paper too.
6. Spray chicken with cooking spray to brown it while it bakes. Place in oven for 10-15 minutes then flip and cook the other side for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. 
7. Stir the melted butter and Frank's red hot together in a bowl. I found you may need to heat the hot sauce a little if its been in the fridge. If its too cold the butter hardens when you mix the two. Mix in the salt and cayenne pepper.
8. Dip each piece of chicken in the sauce and place back on the backing sheet. Return to oven for 1-2 minutes. Not too long or the chicken will be over cooked. 
9. Serve and enjoy! I usually serve with carrots, celery and homemade 21 day fix ranch dressing.

21 Day Fix counts: 1 1/4 red, 1/2 yellow, 1 teaspoon

Makes approximately 4 servings (*depending on the size of the chicken breast)

21 Day Fix - New Round and New Foods

Hi everyone!

Well, we are back at it again this morning. Full on work outs and eating plans. Unfortunately, I have gained back most of my weight since I stopped doing the 21 day fix. Actually, I completely fell of the wagon. We have been having mostly junk food for the past 2 weeks. I have noticed it in my weight and how I feel. To be honest, I have felt like crap most days! Now, my coffee pot broke and I've been doing with out that but I'm going to blame the way I've been feeling on my horrible food choices. 

So here we are, back at square one. The goals are similar as before, as I suspect they will be for a while.

Taylor's Goals for the next 21 days:

• lose 5 lbs and fit into clothing more comfortably
• tone muscle and build up endurance
• feel better physically and be less tired
• be more creative with 21 day fix recipes

Andrew's Goals for the next 21 days:

• reduce body fat and increase muscle
• fit more comfortably into existing wardrobe

I have already planned out the menu for this week and just have a few more things to purchase at the grocery store and we will be all set. On top of all this Halloween is this weekend. I will be making some special treats for that. Some 21 day fix friendly and some not!

On todays menu:

• 2 hard boiled eggs
• carrot sticks and almonds
• Paleo Chili (recipe to come later)
• Vanilla Mocha Shakeology
• 21 Day Fix Chicken Parm with whole wheat pasta

Now, the chicken parm I made I would not say is my favorite. I used a recipe outlining the ingredients in 21 day fix terms and will use this to develop my own recipe. Chicken parm was the first meal I ever cooked unassisted at 10 years old. It's a favorite in my house and this recipe was perfectly fine for plan old chicken parm, but there wasn't any crispiness to it. The panko bread crumbs became soggy as soon as I added the sauce. Once I find a good 21 day fix friendly chicken parm I will let you know!

Date Night Jar Project

So, as you read in my last post, I gave my husband a "Date Night Jar" as a gift for his birthday. He didn't really have anything specific he wanted and we have a big vacation coming up to Costa Rica in less then a month. So, while keeping our budget in mind, I decided to make him something we can use all year long.

Where did I get the idea of a Date Night Jar? Well, Pinterest of course! Specifically on the Life in the Green House blog.

Here's the finished product. I decided to go with tones of aquas, blues and whites so it can sit in our family room and double as decor. Its so cute and I didn't want to just throw it in a cabinet or something :)

First off, let me say, I do not typically consider myself a creative or "artsy" person. I have done some creative projects in the past but I don't normally know where to start. Sometimes I surprise myself and I hope that the more I do the better I become at being creative with our home decor. This is why I love Pinterest. Especially when you find a blog that explains things step by step. There are fewer than one might think that actually explain things step by step. I find a lot of the 21 day fix blogs are like that with their recipes too! Not many give away their recipes. Like its a secret or something.

I LOVE sharing. If we all shared a few of our secrets, whether it be for a craft/home project or a secret cleaning technique, we would help each other out a lot! So here's what I did:

I read on the blog I found this on what I needed and headed to my local Michael's Arts & Crafts. First thing I did was just walk around. I like to look down every aisle and see whats there. I love going to that store because I get so many ideas for decorating! Once I found the paint section I went straight for the spray paint. Man, I didn't realize paint was so expensive. I chose a cheaper option with the Krylon Color Master that was $6.99 a can. I chose my 3 shades of blue and a light off white for my filler color. Each color represents a different kind of date(explained below) Next I grabbed a larger mason jar, large popsicle sticks(yeah yeah I'm sure there is an actual name for them when they weren't used for popsicles)and ribbons for the mouth of the mason jar to make it look pretty.

Once I got home I pulled my list of "dates" out. I had 8 dates for each category. I started with one color first, just incase the paint wasn't right or didn't look the way I wanted. I did this in our garage with the garage door open on piece of large cardboard. Once I decided it would work I did 2 coats of paint per side flipping between every spray. I did this a week before I assembled the jar to make sure everything was completely dry.

Next I used a fine point sharpie to write the "dates" on the popsicle sticks. There are 8 dates in each category and I have 18 white filler sticks. Here are things I chose from reading various blogs on date nights and adding a few things of my own:

Blue sticks are more expensive dates that will require planning

• Dinner at a fancy restaurant
• Restaurant Hop (appetizers at one, dinner at the next, and dessert at the last)
• Wine Tour & Lunch
• RIT Hockey (let's face it we go to these game a lot)
• Bed & Breakfast
• Couples Cooking Class
• Couples Massage
• Try a new restaurant

Light Blue sticks are cheaper dates that don't require much planning

• Dinner at our favorite local Mexican restaurant
• Picnic in the park
• Dinner & a movie (his/hers choice)
• Brunch date
• Coffee & Dessert date
• Boll-a-Roll & Tully's - Andrew and I met on a bowling league at Boll-a-Roll. Neither of us are bowlers so this feels pretty special to me :)
• Drive-in date

Turquoise sticks are stay at home dates(perfect for our long cold winters)

• 1,000 piece puzzle & pizza
• Take-out & Scrabble
• Homemade pizza & a romantic comedy
• Popcorn & movie (his/hers choice)
• Cook a new meal together
• Make a bucket list
• Take-out& board games

Last but not least I found these tags at Michael's. They had a little embellishment on the front and the brown matched the ribbon I had tied around the jar. 

It was the perfect gift. Not only did my husband love it but it gave me a little creative bug. We will both enjoy adding a little fun to any typical date night. 

What are some of your favorite ideas for date night?

Wedding Weekends and Fall Festivities

The past two weekends Andrew and I have had weddings. I'm not sure if its this way for everyone, but I feel like when I have a wedding it takes up a majority of the day. There's getting ready, picking out what I am going to wear, then of course the wedding itself. Don't get me wrong. I love weddings! We had so much fun at the 1st two weddings we had this fall season. We fell behind on some house work/yard work we should have been doing though. We had a good excuse :)

Going to a wedding can be hard when you are trying to follow a healthy diet. You can try to make healthy choices, but when the dinner is a buffet, which both of these were, its hard to stay away from the carbs. The first wedding we went to had both a pasta buffet and a baked potato buffet. The second wedding had a BBQ buffet where, other than a green salad, corn was the vegetable. Needless to say...amazing food...not so amazing for my waist line :) I could, and should, have made better choices. I didn't. 

All dressed up for Laura and Stephen's wedding in the Finger Lakes

Getting back on track this week after so many weeks off, and gaining almost all of my weight back, has been extremely hard to say the least. Not only do I feel like a failure for having gained almost all my weight back from my 1st two rounds of the 21 day fix, I have yet to do a work out. I did however make a delicious 21 day fix friendly chili that we have been having for lunches(I'll be doing a separate post with all my favorite recipes another time)

What are some of your favorite 21 day fix recipes? Please post them here so I can try them!

So....to get back on track this week I need to follow both the diet and exercise plan for the remainder of the week. This will get me motivated to continue getting healthier both inside and out. I will be taking my weigh and measurements tomorrow as its my new "Day 1"

On a lighter note, I purchased a few small fall themed docorations and I made some candle holders too! Also, my husbands birthday was on October 7th. I had been making him a special gift that I saw on this blog. It's a Date Night Jar. He loved it and I thought that this was a great way to help us be more spontaneous and try some new things. I will be posting my entire process tomorrow so stay tuned!!! I don't know where this creative bug came from but I am loving it!

Fall decor: both pictures are from Hobby Lobby, the candle holder is home made(future post on how to make)

More fall decor from Christmas Tree Shop(2012)

General family room decor from Home Goods and the Date Night Jar!

Where did September go?

It went to Surprises, Birthdays and Vacations!

I know...I know...I said I was going to blog every day in my last post. Time got swept away and I was totally off track. Let me recap my month for you.


My sister Bailey and her husband Andy came to visit the first week of September. We went out to eat almost every night that week except the one night my brother in law made the most delicious home made Mexican meal I have ever tasted. This was the start of the death of my diet. The reason for their visit was because my sister was invited to be a guest choreographer for a local dance studio. However, what I didn't know, was my entire family had something in the works...

That Friday my sister took me for a massage as a birthday gift. We always go to The Spa at the Delmonte. We both had hot stone massages, which was a first for me. I loved it! We had decided to have a movie night at my house that night, instead of going to the drive in due to lack of movies playing. So, after the spa, my sister suggested lunch and then we went back to my house to make all the snacks and appetizers for movie night. Little did I know, this was all a plan to keep me away from my parents house. 

The next day we had early morning plans to go to brunch with Bailey and Andy. Luckily, I did my hair and make up because when I got to my parents house I was in for a huge surprise. A surprise 30th birthday party to be exact. Unknown to me, my husband, mom and dad had been planning this for months. The day was amazing. My aunt, uncle and cousins even drove over night from Connecticut and we had other friends come from the Boston area to be there for the party. We started with a wine tour with about 25 of our family and friends. We visited three of my favorite wineries: Dr. Frank's, Ravines Wine Cellars, and Rooster Hill Vineyards. After the wine our we had a Dianosaur BBQ catered dinner at my parents house and the party continued all night long. Man was I hurting the next day!

We spent the remainder of the weekend visiting with my Aunt Debbie, Uncle Don, Lyndon and Chenda. By Labor day everyone was leaving and I was feeling a bit of sadness...keeping in mind that in 4 days we would all be traveling to the Outer Banks got me through :)

The week was filled with packing and planning for our Outer Banks trip. We traveled through the night Friday and arrived early Saturday morning. After meeting my aunt and uncle, Lyndon, Chenda and their son William for lunch we headed to our houses. The week was wonderful. We had perfect weather, amazing food and the best company! My family stayed in the same house we had last year, which is only two doors down from my aunts house. We celebrated 4 birthdays while we were there. Mine, which was September 10th, Aunt Debbie and Lyndon's, which were September 12th, and Uncle Don's which was September 13th. The houses alternate nights for dinner and one night we have a girls/guys night. Us girls go out to eat and the guys stay home with William and the pups. 

We made a short stop at Bailey and Andy's new house in Newport News, VA for the night on the way home. The new house is beautiful and the dogs had a fun time running around with Jack and Stew(their dogs). We went to one of their favorite dinner spots, Dog Street Pub, where we tried a few new dishes of English pub style cuisine. It was a wonderful end to our trip...and we went home for me to prepare for my next one. 

On Thursday my mom and I traveled to Connecticut for My cousin's son Jackson's 1st Birthday party. We had an awesome time helping decorate and prepare for the party, shopping, apple picking and watching the Super moon and Lunar eclipse. It was the perfect end to all of our summer travels. Now on to all our fall activities. Here's a few things we have coming up in the next few months:

• Andrew's cousins wedding in the Finger Lakes
• A friend's wedding in Rochester
• Aunt Evies surprise 80th Birthday dinner
• Andrew's Birthday!!!!
• Night time tour at Genesee Country Village Museum
• Halloween
• Trip to Costa Rica for Matt and Kaitlin's wedding
• Thanksgiving with the family

We leave for Penn Yan tomorrow for Laura and Stephen's wedding on Saturday. This fall weather should make for a gorgeous weekend in the Finger Lakes. Here's a few pictures from September. I will be adding a few from my Surprise 30th after I get them.

Brittney, Erica and I on the wine tour

Bathing beauties on the beach in Salvo, NC

Girls Night!

Gorgeous photo my aunt took

Tapas night in OBX, the start of a new tradition

The family at Dog Street Pub in Colonial Williamsburg, VA

  

21 Day Fix - Day 2-4 (Second Round)

So this week has been a fast one. It seems like as summer comes to a close the time is just flying by. We did so-so on our diet this week. I was actually down 7.5 lbs from my original start weight before being introduced to the 21 Day Fix! That was a huge deal to me. I was so excited. Then Friday came and my husband did not was left over shrimp kabobs for dinner. So we had pizza. I was on board with a lighter flatbread style that we normally get from our local store. It was a better option that the local pizza shop that is delicious but covered in cheese and grease. It was a start to a mini downward spiral. We didn't work out Friday or Saturday (not because my back and neck has really been hurting me lately). And now I have gained back almost a pound!

Any-who.....

Today we have a team event for Andrew's job at the Red Wings game. There will obviously be junk food there that will be served for the event. I plan on making healthy choices with what is available. The rest of my day consists of getting my mind set back on track, menu planning for next week, grocery shopping and doing my Yoga Fix work out!

My sister and her husband are visiting again this week so it might be hard to stick to the diet all the time. We might be going out to dinner , or possibly the drive in one night. Here are my goals for the week:

• wake up 1/2 hour earlier
• do my workout before noon
• make 1 new 21 day fix recipe
• do a blog post every day(I know I've been slacking in this area too but I think when I do it it helps me stay on track!)
• make healthier choices when not able to stick to my specific meal plan.

Here's a cute picture to start the week off with!

21 Day Fix.....Again!

So now that we have sort of gotten into a routine we are just going to continue the 21 day fix on a daily basis. I find that its the only program that encourages me to eat healthy and work out that I have actually stuck too. I am not sure if its the program or if it's that my husband is also following it and we hold each other accountable. Since today is Wednesday, I decided to stick with the exercises by the day in the plan and not "day 1" or "day 2". Today was the Lower Body Fix. 

Today I had a different lunch so I saved a few containers for that, making it an unusual day. Here's what I ate:

• Steel cut oats (2 Y)
• Salad with chicken, mushrooms, red onions and bacon bits(2 G, 1 O, 2 R)
• Strawberries
• Chocolate Shakeology
• Grilled chicken and green beans

I feel good getting back into it. I was really slacking there for a few days and it was hard getting back into it. One thing I noticed was I kept thinking of junk food. I don't know if there was an unusual amount of junk commercials on TV today or what. But I was really thinking about breaking down. I am happy I didn't. 

Our goals will be the same for this round of the 21 Day Fix. Here's a recap of those:

Taylor's Goals for the next 21 days:

• lose 5 lbs and fit into clothing more comfortably
• tone muscle and build up endurance
• feel better physically and be less tired

Andrew's Goals for the next 21 days:

• reduce body fat and increase muscle
• fit more comfortably into existing wardrobe

I lost 5.2 lbs. in our last round of the 21 day fix. I know I may not lose that amount again as I've heard sometimes in the beginning it comes off a little faster. But I figure it a goal to start with and if I still see results with inches lost then we can adjust that goal.

Here's to another 21 days!

~Taylor 

21 Day Fix Day 16-21 and Recap!

Sorry for being absent these past few days. I was traveling with my parents for a few family parties! Here's a quick recap of the past few days!

Day 16: Today we both did well until we headed off to the baseball game! Unfortunately I got home from my last appointment late and didn't have time to cook dinner before we left for the game. I thought I'd be fine but after watching people walk by with tons of junk food for about an hour we broke down. We could have gone crazy and gotten Garbage Plates (for those of you not from the area I'll have a post about those later!), but we chose a lesser of two evils. Andrew got a hotdog, I got a cheeseburger and we shared fries which were small. Let's face the facts, I ate most of the fries. Afterwords though, I had so much guilt. I was so upset with myself because for the first time I broke down, unplanned. This was a start to a downwards spiral over the weekend.

Day 17: Today we were great food wise. I spent the day packing for my trip. I also packed a lot of my food and shakeology for the entire weekend, not knowing that I wouldn't eat most of it :(. I also made sure Andrew was good on food for the weekend. Hoping that if I had everything there for him he would stick to the diet without me being there. I had to make a midnight run to Wegmans for carrots and strawberries. It felt odd running in for those things at that time of night instead of chips or totinos pizza rolls HAHA!

Day 18: Travel day. I did really good in the car. Even when my parents ate their traditional roadtrip McDonald's breakfast in front of me I didn't break. I had my shakeology and steel cut oaks for breakfast in the car, and as snacks I had 2 hardboiled eggs and a few baby carrots. We stopped at Panera Bread for lunch too. Panera isn't my favorite spot. I only like a few things on the menu and of course nothing seems healthy(even though everyone thinks it is). I guess its better than a fast food place. I had 1/2 of a cup of the french onion soup. Just the soup, no bread or croutons that they usually put on there. I knew I was breaking but I was trying hard to pick something that wouldn't be too bad, even though this was high in sodium. They had my favorite cookie too. If you know me you know I am not big into sweets, but I love the Toffee Nut cookie at Panera Bread. SO GOOD!!!!! I didn't get the cookie! For dinner, Chenda cooked and there were a few things I could have that were semi diet friendly. I also did my work out right before dinner. 

Day 19: Today was a different story for the diet. I struggled to find healthy options. We took my cousins daughter out for her birthday. Charlotte was turning three the next week but we were not going to be coming back to Connecticut for her birthday party. We took her to a place called The Pottery Factory where she painted an owl, then we went to Maggie McFly's for lunch. I got the soup and salad lunch combo. Even though this wasn't diet friendly per say, I felt I was making a healthy choice with what was available. Man, I would have loved to get a ruben and french fries. That evening I did my workout and we had Raviolis for dinner. Again not diet friendly but I didn't over stuff myself and I passed on dessert. 

Charlotte painting her owl!

MINIONS!!!!!!

My semi healthy lunch.

Day 20: Today we had a baby shower for my cousin Julian and his wife Jill. They are expecting their first child in October. The shower was great. The food was really good and Jill got so many wonderful gifts. I did over eat a little bit at the shower though :( That night for dinner pizza and subs were served. My mom and I each had a small piece of the sub and we shared a piece of pizza.  I also had 2 glasses of wine. This is the first time I drank on this trip and it was the start to the down fall. Three of my favorite things: Pizza, Subs and Wine :) I did not do a work out today.

All ready for the shower!

We were asked to bring a book instead of a card. I love this idea and I hope to steal this idea if I ever have children. We chose 3 of our favorites.

My sister ate that...Not me I swear!

Day 21: This morning I woke up feeling awful. I was so upset with myself for not working out yesterday. That was the first day in 20 days I had not worked out. I was on such a roll and I ruined it! My mom's childhood friend Kathy came over to my cousins(where we were staying) for breakfast, and this was the start of another day of breaking my diet. I won't even get into the specifics but today was William's 5th birthday party so Chenda had made a ton of food. The morning was spent setting up for the party. Another day of not working out :(

Luckily I'm not big into sweets or this chocolate fountain could have really been an issue for me haha!

Monday: I decided to take a break today. Now that our 21 day fix round 1 was over. I told myself I wasn't going to go crazy, and I didn't. But I did have McDonald's on the drive home. 

Tuesday: Today I had a jam packed day with various appointments. I didn't eat much today and what I did eat was 21 day fix friendly. However, I did not work out.

Recap of the 21 Day fix Round 1

I really got into it this time. I liked working out at home and I liked making all our meals. I had gotten away from both of those things and I forgot how good it felt to do that on a daily basis. I love cooking and I am finding my kitchen is cleaner now that I am cooking every day :) not sure why...but...BONUS! 

I thought one of the hardest things for me was going to be giving up drinking. My husband and I usually drink a few days a week. We will have wine or something before or with dinner. This was actually one of the easiest things for me. I found that even having a glass or two of wine made me want to munch on something, so by not drinking it curbed that craving. Andrew on the other had did not stick to the no drinking. He had a lot of outings that required social drinking. He did however use the yellow container substitute and I think he may have cheated a little past that :)

All in all I am excited to start the 21 Day Fix again today! I have lost a total of 5.2 lbs and 10 inches total through out my body measurements. I am using those measurements to start of my next 21 day fix today!

I am really trying to get excited for this next round. I completed my goal last round, but I still have lot more to look and a lot healthier to get :)

21 Day fix - Day 15

Wow! Its been a busy last couple of days. Quick recap time! 

We stuck to pretty much the same menu through out the weekend. I know this may sound boring but with the variety of food we eat on a daily basis we can usually go about a week with out getting sick of the same things, as long as we switch up the meat we have for dinner. Its also easy for planning as well as more cost effective and we tend to have less waste. We did enjoy our cheat night while my sister was in town. We went to an Italian restaurant called Lemoncello's . Andrew got the veal parmesan, and did not eat all the pasta, and I got the ravioli of the day which was a cheese ravioli with a red sauce(homemade of course!). I normally wouldn't get something like that but I decided to try something new. It was very good but I was full after about four raviolis. The family also shared the fried calamari and arancinis for appetizers. Those were also good. And instead of desert we had lemoncello. 

Lemoncello will always hold a special place in my heart because of our honeymoon. We spent our honeymoon in Italy(4 days in Rome and 8 days in Sorrento on the Amalfi coast). We had lemoncello every night! So, of course when we found a restaurant that served it we had to have some! We have it at home a lot but it was nice to enjoy while out to dinner. One of our winter projects is to make our own homemade lemoncello. 

I also had a bridal shower on Sunday for Andrew's cousin. This was another point where I broke the diet. The only item that was 21 Day Fix friendly was fruit salad. I had a very small amount of food and everything included carbs....uggghhh. But it was all delicious and I felt OK that I did not stuff myself or even fill myself up (and bonus I totally passed on all three deserts). I knew I could eat something healthy at home. On the way home at 4:30pm, with an hour and a half drive ahead of me, I thought about how I still needed to grocery shop and do my work out, which was Yoga, and cook most of the food for the week. I was exhausted, but I did all those things. When I went to bed, I was laying there thinking "wow, not once did you think...lets just order pizza or Chinese food." That would have been normal for us a month ago. Its so easy and yummy. But after having cooked everything for the last two weeks, its almost like it was just normal for me to have to cook no matter what. I hope to keep that as our normal and have a planned take out night when we chose and not because we are lazy. 

Today is Monday and we switched up the menu a tad. Here's what we ate today:

• 2 hard boiled eggs(split into 2 snacks throughout the day)
• steel cut oats
• an apple
• grilled chicken and cucumber slices
• strawberries
• vanilla mocha shakeology
• grilled chicken and garlic parmesan roasted broccoli (the only change I would make here next time is using less grated cheese or using more broccoli. I didn't use quite as much as the recipe called for I don't think. 
• 10 castellano olives

(This was an amazing side dish, 1 and 1/2 G, 1 Olive oil and 1/4 B)

We both cut out our 2nd yellow container today. Andrew was meeting his father tonight at the Red Wings baseball game and he wanted to have a drink there. I was so full this afternoon that I didn't want to over stuff myself and eat mine. I read online that you shouldn't eat all your containers if you aren't hungry. So for myself, I have chosen to give up that 2nd yellow if I feel like I am not hungry. This can change from day to day so I will take that a day at a time. 

Today also marked the start of our double work outs per day. Andrew may or may not complete this as he had the baseball game tonight. I have no excuse and have decided to do the Pilates Fix around 8 pm. This will give me enough time to digest dinner :) 

All in all we feel very successful as we start our third week of the 21 Day fix. However, this may be our most challenging week yet. We have to figure out how to fit the double work outs in. And I am headed out of town on Thursday until Monday. This means I have to figure out on the road my diet plans, and Andrew has to stick to it even though I am not here. Luckily we will both still be able to do the work outs, which would be a major down fall as we have really stuck to that. I still can't believe I have worked out every day for the past 15 days :) Super proud of us!

21 Day Fix - Day 10

Every day that goes by, I feel like the work outs are getting better. I am modifying less, I am using a slightly heavier weight(lets face it I was prob using too light of a weight before) and I hope I am getting stronger. We ran out of our 1st bag of shakeology today too :(. Now, because I WAS on the auto shipment, we already have another bag. However, I cancelled that because it was outrageously expensive. I never thought I'd have the self discipline to actually stick to the diet and exercise. Now that I am sticking to it, I think we have enough to last us till the end of this round. However, I had planned on doing 3 rounds of the 21 day fix before our vacation to Costa Rica in November and then continuing with a few more before we head off to Hawaii next summer. I am seriously contemplating renewing my auto deliveries of it because I do feel like it helps a lot! Me actually following the diet and exercise and not feeling like I am wasting my money is a bonus!

Don't get me wrong. I don't have a ton of weight to lose and I'm not going to go crazy. But I feel like this diet and exercise plan is something I could sustain for a while to get my body back in check. For me this isn't just about the way I look. Yes, that is a major driving factor. But I also want to actually be healthy. I want to actually be in shape so I can do active things like hiking or skiing. There will be days where I have something junky or that extra glass of wine, of course. For now I am taking it a round at a time. We are finishing day 10 of our first round of the 21 day fix and we have been successful thus far with a few cheats :)

Tonight we went out to dinner with my family. I tried to be good, and in a sense I was. This restaurant has the most amazing wood fired pizzas. I did NOT get pizza. That was so hard. I also did not have wine. Instead I ordered Mediterranean Lamb Chops and my hubs got a filet. Both were so good! Even thought this was a cheat, I still think we made the healthy choice by not getting pizza and totally passing on the fresh italian bread that was passed around the table.

Here's what we ate today:

• 2 hard boiled eggs
• an apple
• burrito bowl with lettuce, pico de gallo, chicken, cheese and plain greek yogurt
• strawberries and steel cut oats
• vanilla mocha shakeology
• Lamb Chops/Filet with mashed potatoes and mixed veggies(I did not eat all of my potatoes)

Even though we cheated, I keep reminding myself that we did make a healthier choice than we could have and that's an accomplishment for us. Tomorrow is a new day, we have no plans to eat out and I know we will do better. We will be eating only things I have made or prepared. Our planned cheat day is coming up and that a big family dinner on Friday and a fabulous Italian restaurant we have been dying to try! 

How do you eat out on the 21 Day Fix? For this newbie here that's a work in progress and I'm still figuring it out.