The Pain is Gone!

Halfway into my second 24 day challenge, I realized something...my joints had stopped hurting! I can't remember how long ago they last hurt. What is different? What fixed it? Do I just have less depression from all this exercise? Is it from getting enough of some random vitamin? Is it caffeine in the Spark making me just feel good? I fear it has something to do with gluten...

http://www.thelifeisamazing.com/everyone-ignores-12-signs-you-should-stop-eating-gluten-immediately/

With symptoms 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10 that have all gone away during this time that I happen to have not been eating bread, do you think it means something?

Hawaiian haystack dinner for 300 calories!

Tonight's dinner:

I threw the chicken in the crockpot at lunch time with an onion and some sugar free BBQ sauce. When I got home I shredded the chicken and let it soak up all the juices. It needed some salt and garlic powder to get it to taste right. The flavor reminded me of Hawaiian sweet and sour chicken, so I served it over brown rice with pineapple and cooked carrots on top. With steamed asparagus and broccoli on the side, it made a great dinner! The chicken was a little too yummy though, so I had a hard time not taking seconds 😉.

Eating out for under 600 calories

Tonight we went out to eat at Azteca. Mexican food is infamous for being unhealthy, but surprisingly this is my go-to place when I want to eat out while watching what I eat.

Rule 1-refuse the basket of amazing freshly fried chips that they bring to your table without asking. 

Rule 2-ask for water with lemon to drink. For me, the lemon makes it feel like a step above eating at home so I feel less deprived not ordering a drink. 

Rule 3-ask for a nutrition menu! Your guess at what will be best is never what is actually the lowest calories. 

Rule 4-get the rice and beans substituted out for steamed veggies. I LOVE the steamed veggies they serve at Azteca, it's a great mix and cooked just the right amount! And say no to the tortillas, but keep the guacamole, that's healthy fat 👍

So I got the Steak Mexicano. It's grilled steak, green peppers and onions sautéed in zesty Azteca salsa! The PolloMexicano is great too (same thing with chicken). 

Quick chicken curry for 422 calories

Tonight's dinner:

I like to make curry from scratch with fresh garlic and ginger and cilantro, but that takes almost an hour, so I don't do it often! I was excited when I found some curry simmer sauce at Costco that fit into the 24daychallenge because it had no dairy or added sugar or other bad stuff (I think it's even vegan). It's super spicy for me, so I only used a half serving of it. 

It took me less than 15 minutes to put together. I cooked some mushrooms, then added the simmer sauce and canned tomatoes. I used frozen pre-cooked chicken strips because I didn't have time to thaw and cut up some raw chicken, it's a good shortcut that gives me no excuses for not having time or energy to make a good meal. I let it simmer for about 10 minutes, just until the chicken was heated through. Then I stirred in some fresh spinach and cooked it for about a minute.  I cook a batch of brown rice once a week and portion it out into single servings, so I already had that ready. This dinner was so easy that it was ok that no one else in my family wanted any, they had leftovers. 

Glazed Salmon dinner for 377 calories

Tonight's dinner: Pan-Seared Salmon with Honey Glaze on a bed of Spinach

I don't remember where this "recipe" came from, but it's super easy and I love it! First put a little salt and pepper on salmon, and put it in a nonstick pan on medium high heat. Turn after 3-5 minutes  and cover until cooked through. While you wait, mix 1tsp honey with 1/4 cup red wine vinegar. Remove Salmon from pan and place it on your bed of spinach. Now add your honey/vinegar to your pan and return to the heat. I think this is called deglazing? Or something like that. It's this magical process where the vinegar dissolves the dripping and scraps in your pan and that completes your glaze with fish oils, and then most of the vinegar evaporates, and then you drizzle it over your fish! And it is a dressing on your spinach at the same time! You just won't believe the great flavor you get from so few ingredients!

With steamed veggies and some leftover rice, I had an awesome dinner!

Salmon dinner for 337 calories

Tonight's dinner:

First: MUSHROOMS! My new favorite addition to a healthy dinner is mushrooms. You don't need to cook them in fat, they sweat as they cook in a frying pan so they don't stick. They add bulk to your meal without adding many calories, and with a little protein and fiber it's a great healthy food!

Now, this is how my family likes fish. Bake at 450 for 17 minutes with lemon pepper on top. I put foil in my baking dish and put the fish in and fold the foil closed making a pouch so the fish doesn't dry out. Easy!

I just can't handle a huge serving of one kind of vegetable, but when I make 2 or 3 (or even 4) kinds I enjoy it a lot more! So tonight I had green beans and yellow squash with my mushrooms. Next time I think I'll have less rice, because I was so full I didn't really need that much (but it was yummy!)

My Salad

This is what I eat for lunch every day. 

Every time I am with a friend at lunch time I make enough for them, and they say it's amazing!

Here is the breakdown when I started having it:

Eating this for lunch does not leave you feeling deprived!

Now that I'm used to eating healthy and eating less, my salad looks more like this:

I decided I prefer eating nuts on their own as a snack, and I stopped needing so much rice and chicken to feel satisfied. Today I plan to eat Salmon for dinner, which has a lot of fat, so I decided to have a little less dressing. When I plan chicken for dinner I have the full serving of dressing on my salad. 

How do you like to make your salad?