Last Day!!! Wow, that FLEW!

Today is day 24 of my 24 Day Challenge. I wasn't as perfect as I had hoped to be. Stress got the better of me this last week, but that's real life. Overall, I did well...I think...I hope! I guess we'll find out tomorrow with my final weigh in and measure.

I consider myself to be a pretty knowledgeable person when it comes to nutrition and overall health. That doesn't mean I always use that knowledge, lol! But I have it :-). The past 24 days forced me to do what I know is best for my body. To eat what is good for me. To make good choices...fruits and veggies, lean proteins, complex carbs and even healthy fats. In the real world you may need a cookie, or a beer or a greasy chicken wing. But for 24 days I tried to be REALLY good. Can it last forever? Of course not! But it proves I can do it. It forces you to analyze choices, read labels, choose minimally processed foods.

Advocare never expects anyone to live the challenge 100% on plan, 100% forever. If you can be even 80% healthy, you'll succeed. I stuck to about 95% on plan over the 24 days. (This percentage has been pulled out of my now smaller butt and has no scientific or mathematical basis, lol...just my guess).

I know I can continue at 80%. I can read labels, make clean choices. I can do this on any plan I follow or even if I have no real plan at all. I've done it before.

So how much did the supplements affect weight loss, inches lost, overall health? That's my big question. I'm anxious to tally my completed results tomorrow and compare pictures.

I'm still not sure what I'm going to do for round 2. Right now, I'm leaning towards dropping the supplements all together to see how or if I continue losing. I have some soul searching and pondering to do tonight...right after teaching till 4:15, 2 baseball games, shopping for 1st Communion paper products, homework, dinner, baths and bed---lol!

2 recipes for today!!! 1 a success. 1 an epic fail!

Eggplant Lasagna (Success-yummy!)
-1 large eggplant, sliced thinly & lengthwise
-1 lb of 93-95% lean ground beef or turkey
-8oz sliced mushrooms
-2 jars of Classico Tomato Basil Sauce (very clean) or your own sauce
-1 small container (16oz) Fat Free Ricotta
-1/2 cup egg whites
-1 T Italian seasoning
-1 cup Fat Free shredded mozzarella
-1 cup reduced fat shredded mozzarella

Brown ground beef and mushrooms in a pan and drain. Add sauce to meat mix. In a separate bowl, mix ricotta, egg whites and Italian seasoning.
In a 9 x13 pan, spread some sauce to cover the bottom, layer with eggplant, then ricotta, then sauce, then mozzarella mix. Repeat. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Eggplant should be fork tender. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to set and cool slightly before cutting and serving.

This made 12 nice sized portions at 3 points + each!

I ate 3 servings :-). I was sooooo full but it was the comfort food I needed! Not a great habit to indulge in but healthier than doing it with my original lasagna recipe!



Dried Strawberries/Healthy Fruit Snacks (FAIL!)

Not sure if you even want this recipe but I'll post it anyway. Maybe I did something wrong...

-2 lbs of ripe strawberries, quartered...would be better even smaller I think.
-that's it, lol!

Preheat oven to 200. Place strawberries on a baking sheet, seed side down. Bake for 3 hours. At each 30 minute mark, open oven to allow air in (not sure why but this was a suggestion I saw). At the halfway point (1.5 hrs), flip the strawberries.

They're supposed to firm up. Some compared them to Twizzlers. Some said fruit snacks. I thought more along the lines of mushy, baked then cooled strawberries with the occasional edge that seemed almost like candy till you bit into the mushy strawberry part...
Waste of 3 hours and $5. My kids and I LOVE fresh strawberries. We'll stick with the originals. I'm pretty confident I could find a healthy fruit snack at Wegmans, Whole Foods or Trader Joes. I'm also ok with feeding them the occasional pack that's not healthy at all that costs $0.20 a piece for the few times they eat them, lol! Oh well, I tried!

Along with the pics of the strawberries and eggplant lasagna, I've included a picture of some yummy, healthy, crunchy snacks that I found at Wegmans. They were REALLY good...wayyyy better than mine :-). I don't think I posted about them before...if I did, forgive my forgetfulness :-)

See you tomorrow with measurement updates and comparison pictures ...