Reset Day 3 & 4

 Thursday was a busy day away from home.  However, the scales indicated another pound lost when I stepped on them yesterday morning.  Good choices were made!

I used Day 2 menu as a guide for the day.  Breakfast was the Broccoli Hash.  Slight problem in that the egg stuck to the pan and some of the "hash" got a little done.  Other than that, it was a very filling breakfast along with a cup of mixed berries.

Then it was off to bowling . . . Had a large glass of ice water with lemon to drink while bowling.  Afterwards, I went to my parent's house and reheated some leftover Balsamic Chicken & Veggie Skillet for my lunch.  Oh, I also had to dry out . . . had to wade through flood waters to get from my car into their house.  Not fun!

Then it was off to our Grange meeting that had a Pizza dinner with potluck of salads and desserts.  I made a variation of the Chopped Chicken BLT Salad.  I did not touch the pizza or the desserts (that was a big deal for me as I love Pizza!).

    Ingredients

2 1/2 C chopped prepared Makin' Magic Chicken

 1 Tbsp Aged Balsamic Vinegar of Modena

1 Tsp Citrus Herb Seasoning

18 oz Baby Spring Salad mix 

5 slices turkey bacon, chopped & cooked

4 mini-sweet peppers

2 celery stalks

1/2 cup Citrus Herb Vinaigrette 

    Directions

1. In large bowl, combine chicken, Aged Balsamic Vinegar of Modena and Citrus Herb Seasoning.  Toss to coat.  (I actually mixed it in the zip lock bag that was holding the chicken).
2. Divide lettuce, bacon, veggies, chicken, and dressing among 4 dinner salad bowls and 1 storage container.

My evening snack was a granny smith apple with peanut butter and about an ounce of almonds.

Yesterday, I followed Day 5 menu.  So breakfast was the same as Day 1.  Lunch was leftover Chopped Chicken BLT Salad.  Dinner was the Turkey Veggie Meatloaf.  I did some modifications so listed below are what I used to make it.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs 99% lean ground turkey

1 cup chopped fresh baby spinach leaves

1/2 cup chopped fresh button mushrooms

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1 Tbsp Onion Onion Seasoning

1 Tbsp Spinach & Herb Seasoning

2 tsp Garlic Garlic Seasoning

1 tsp yellow mustard

1/4 cup egg substitute

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. 
   In large bowl, combine all ingredients, mixing by hand until just combined.  Transfer to a greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.
3. Bake 50-55 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F on an instant-read food thermometer.

Makes 4 servings.

Served it with steamed green beans.

My evening snack was the Prosciutto Wrapped Melon.  Instead of the prosciutto, I used deli sliced ham.

I'll post today's final menu tomorrow along with my results.

Healthy Eating!

Reset Day 2 plus some Prep

 Yes, some prep for tomorrow's breakfast.  I was finally able to find the broccoli slaw at a local produce market.  

Results from yesterday - had a hard time getting to sleep last night as I had a slight headache and my stomach was making noises like it was hungry.  However, this morning was much better.  Stepped on the scales and I'm down 2 pounds!  Love it.  The headache was probably the result of sugar withdrawals.

Breakfast this morning was the same as yesterday.  Like I indicated, I had to do some switching of menus.  We ate lunch out today.  So, I had a small chef salad with vinegar & oil dressing.  About the only thing on the salad I probably shouldn't have is the cheese.

My afternoon snack was Turkey Avocado Bites.  I used some of our leftover smoked turkey breast.  Since I don't care for avocados or grape tomatoes, I used a sweet mini-pepper.

This afternoon, I prepped tomorrow's breakfast, Breakfast Broccoli Hash.  I did not make any substitutions.  I did use the Spinach & Herb Seasoning rather than our favorite Rustic Herb Seasoning.  In the morning, I'll do steps 3 & 4.  Will let you know what that will look like.

  

Tonight's dinner is one of my favorites - Citrus Herb Roasted Salmon.  No substitutions.  However, if you don't like fish, you can substitute chicken.  The menu indicates to serve it with Sauteed Green Beans.  However, we are having steamed broccoli.

    

My evening snack will be an apple with peanut butter (menu says to use unsweetened almond butter - the peanut butter we use is pure peanuts, no added sugar or any other ingredient - doesn't even have salt).

Hope this encourages you towards a reset to healthy eating.  

Reset Prep and Day 1

Oh boy . . . plans didn't go so well.  The weather got in the way Sunday afternoon that we decided not to do the grocery shopping until yesterday.   And shopping wasn't easy . . . most of the shelves in the grocery store were empty.  We didn't get half the items.  So, went across the street to the other grocery store - was able to pick up a few more items.  Because we did the shopping so late in the afternoon, I didn't get the prep work done in advance.

This morning, I made the Simply Salsa Egg Cups

for today's breakfast as well as for Day 3 and 5.  However, I may switch Day 2 for Day 3 or 5 as we were not able to purchase the items needed for the Day 2 breakfast (more about that later).  Listed below are the items I used.  For the chopped items, please do it in advance before cooking.

Ingredients

8 oz 99% lean ground turkey 

1 red bell pepper, chopped 

1 Tbsp Onion Onion Seasoning 

3 tsp Simply Salsa Mix

4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves, chopped (I actually tore mine into small pieces)

6 large eggs plus 3/4 c egg substitute

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In large skillet over medium-high heat (I actually used medium heat), combine turkey, peppers, Onion Onion Seasoning, and Simply Salsa mix.  Cook and crumble until no longer pink, about 6-8 minutes.  Drain off excess liquid (I didn't have any).  Stir in spinach.  Remove from heat; let spinach wilt.
3. 
   Divide mixture among wells of greased muffin pan (12 count); set aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and milk; salt and pepper as desired (I didn't use any).  Divide among wells of muffin pan.
   
   
   
5. Bake 17-20 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean (it took mine about 23 minutes).  Let stand 5 minutes; carefully remove from pan.
   

3 "muffins" equals a serving.  Serve it with 1 cup of mixed berries.  I had blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries.  Once the remaining muffins have cooled completely, I stored a serving in sandwich size ziploc bags.  Two can go in the frig and the last one can go in the freezer for a later time.  To reheat, microwave on High 1-2 minutes or until heated through. 

Lunch for today is supposed to be Pistachio Chicken Salad.  However, that calls for the Magic Chicken, which wasn't made in advance.  I have prepped that this morning while my breakfast was baking.  It will be used for dinner.

    Ingredients

3 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup water

4 Tbsp Makin'Magic Chicken Seasoning

    Directions

1. In a 4-quart or larger slow cooker combine all ingredients, sprinkling each layer of chicken with seasoning.
2. Cook on low 5-7 hours
3. 
   Chop or shred chicken; toss with liquid in slow cooker.  Divide into 1-quart freezer bags according to below seal well, label and refrigerate or freeze.
• 1/2 cup for Day 1 lunch Pistachio Chicken Salad
• 
  2 1/2 cups for Day 1 dinner Balsamic Chicken & Veggie Skillet
• 2 1/2 cups for Day 2 dinner Chopped Chicken BLT Salad
• Portion any remaining chicken as desired for later use. (the recipe makes 12 - 1/2 cup servings).
• If there is broth left over, freeze it for later use in making soups.

 

So, I'll have a regular green salad (2 cups of mixed salad greens) with 2 cups raw veggies (carrots, brocoli, celery, mushrooms, and peppers) and 5 ozs of low sodium tuna in water.  Dressing will be our Citrus Herb Vinaigrette.

Dinner is the Balsamic Chicken & Veggie Skillet (because the Magic Chicken will be available).  This is so good!  I did do some substitutions, so I will list what I used.  The link is to the original recipe.

 Ingredients

     2 Tbsp Avocado Oil

    1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed, cut in half

    1 medium zucchini, cubed

    1 cup sliced mushrooms

    1 Tbsp Citrus Herb Seasoning

    2 1/2 cups prepared and shopped Makin Magic Chicken

    2 Tbsp Aged Balsamic Vinegar of Modena

    Directions

1. In large skillet, heat Avocado Oil over medium high heat.  Add next 4 ingredients.  Sauté 4-5 minutes
2. Add chicken.  Continue sautéing until heated through, about 1-2 minutes.
   
3. Remove from heat.  Toss with Aged Balsamic Vinegar of Modena.

Makes 5 servings.  Reserve 1 serving for Day 2 lunch.  I froze the remaining servings for later use as we are just a family of 2.

There are two snacks scheduled during the day.  Snack 1 is Prosciutto Wrapped Melon.  I'll probably have this tonight.  Snack 2 is 2 cups of assorted veggies (like broccoli, cauliflower, etc) with 1 serving of Creamy Balsamic Herb Dressing.

Time to figure out what menu I will be following for Day 2.  It will probably be Day 3 since I need to cook up the salmon that was purchased yesterday.

Reset Planning

 

 First thing you need to do is order your meal kit from my website.   It comes with the Reset Guide (menu, grocery list, and recipes) and the Tastefully Simple products you need. (this applies to the 5-Day & 14-Day Reset kits).

Read  your Program Guide.  It gives you ideas as to what to expect, substitutions, tips for success, and balanced lifestyle choices. 

Next, review the recipes.  Determine if you need to make any substitutions.  I always substitute 99% Lean Ground Turkey for any ground beef, chicken, etc.  Since my husband does not like peppers, I try to find a substitution there like zucchini or mushrooms or carrots or even broccoli (depending on what texture or color I'm wanting).  One of the recipes uses salmon -  you can substitute chicken.

Copy the grocery list or create your own based on the changes you want or need to make.  Did you check your cupboards or freezer to make sure you don't already have the items?  Are you going to do meal prep in advance or each day?  I do a combination.  Is your whole family joining you?  Then you will need to adjust the recipes to modify the servings.  If it's just you, then the dinners will become several meals for you as they are made for a family of 4.

I've put together my grocery list and we will be shopping after the game, weather permitting.  The first day will be on Monday.

As part of our reset (this is not in the program guide), I will weigh myself first thing Monday morning.  I will also take my body measurements.  Then on the Saturday morning following the reset, I will weigh myself and re-take the measurements to see how successful I was.

Happy Healthy Eating!

Happy New Year!

 I hope to be more consistent this year on blog postings.  So, here are the plans for January:

1.   Our theme is Start Clean.  So, I plan on following our Reset programs
• First up will be the 5-Day Reset.  I will be sharing some of the steps, meals & recipes.  This will be starting Jan 3rd.
• I will then do the 14-Day Reset along with Tastefully Simple's HQ on Facebook starting Jan 17th
2.     I hope to have at least one party each month.  My goal is to have $500 in sales.  
• Sharing the Facebook Live Event on Jan 4th
• Accomplish one or more sales incentives this month
• $250 - for a special kitchen towel (this must be done by Jan 10th)
• $600 for a magnetic meal planner
• $1200 - the meal planner plus a nesting locking lid bowl set
• $2400 - the meal planner, the nesting bowl set, and a Tritan Luray water bottle
• Sell at least six (6) Dill Pickle Dip Mixes for a "I'm a Pretty Big Dill" button.  
• Sharing our Flash Friday specials on Facebook
• Dec 31st was our Creme Brule Bar Mix
• Jan 7th will be our Syrup Trio
• Jan 14th - Cheesy Pizza Warm Dip Mix
• Jan 21st - Cranberry Orange Bread Mix
• Jan 28th - Sesame Ginger Sauce

Will you help me out?  I'm looking for a very successful year one month at a time.  Join me in my commitment to healthy eating or join my team.

Check out my website for more information -   https://www.tastefullysimple.com/web/mbelles1