Advocare 24 Day Challenge - The End is Near

I really have enjoyed this challenge, but I will be honest ... the last week has been TOUGH. Trying to muddle through going to friends houses, hanging out at the lake, work lunch meetings ... I mean, Cheetos have NEVER looked so good. Don't get me wrong though, I loved a Cheeto before. I just wasn't willing to push a kid down on the ground for one until now.

Day 23 is finished and I will say, I can tell my clothes are fitting very differently. FINALLY. I haven't weighed in over a week and I'm saving that and measurements for tomorrow morning (which will be my first day off of the challenge). I sure hope it's good news!

I have found so many new, great recipes that I will continue to make. Eating & cooking clean is really simple. It's a great way to live. I just won't be so strict about EVERYTHING once off this challenge. I love being social and eating out with friends. That's what I have missed the most. I didn't trust myself to eat out much because there just aren't very many options in this little one horse town.

Here's some things I've had the last few days:

Zucchini Noodles ... AKA Zoodles. These may be my new favorite thing. They really are delicious. I found out the best way to prepare them and it really does make a difference! If you don't have a spiralizer, go get one! I use this Native Spring version from Amazon. They also have them at places like Bed, Bath & Beyond. If you don't have a spiralizer, you can use a potato peeler and make ribbons.

Zucchini Noodles
Serves 2

2-3 zucchinis (be sure not to get really fat zucchini or they don't fit)
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt

Spiralize your noodles into a colander. Sprinkle generously with salt and toss around to coat. Let sit in the sink for about 30 minutes. This will leech the excess water out. Rinse noodles and dry out a bit. Cook in a pan with olive oil on about medium heat until done. Serve with pesto, spaghetti sauce or whatever you like!!!!

The other new recipe I tried was Baked Chicken Fajitas from Alexa Eats Clean. These couldn't be easier and I put them on gulten free, brown rice tortillas and made some homemade guacamole (recipe below) on top. One note about the chicken recipe: Drain the diced tomatoes (I used regular, not low sodium also) or it's a bit too watery.

Homemade Guacamole
(small batch)

2 avocados
1/2 (or more) fresh lemon juice
1/2 ripe tomato, diced
1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Garlic powder, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Kosher salt, to taste

Enjoy!!!! I could eat this with a spoon ... and do sometimes.

Advocare 24 Day Challenge - Day 10 is DONE

So day 10 and the cleanse are now complete!!!! It really wasn't hard, though I will say ... I'm not sure how "cleansed" I feel.  I feel good and all, but I don't know that I got the full effect. The whole thing made me wonder if I was doing it all wrong or something. I lost a total of ONE. FREAKING. POUND. So let's just say that his "max phase" better bring on the fat loss, or I am going to be one bitter beaver. Like postal rampage bitter.

The best thing about this cleanse being over is that I am letting myself have a glass of wine tonight (ok 2 glasses ... don't judge). I could not be more excited. I have missed wine soooo much. I still plan to stick to the challenge, but this will be part of my 10% that I can be "off." I mean, I haven't gone 11 days without having some form of alcohol since I was 23, so ummm... where's my parade? Fanfare? Something? Does that make me sound like an alky? Or just someone who works in the real world and needs a glass of wine and socialization to make it through life? I'll choose the latter and I'll you to stop judging me now. Thanks.

So anyway, I got a new little nifty gadget yesterday. That's what I've resorted to. Gadgets to keep this food thing interesting. Behold, the spiralizer. Zucchini never had so much fun.

I mean, if I'm going to have extra money that I'm not spending on booze, then I might as well buy SOMETHING. In all seriousness though, the zucchini noodles are super yummy with some pasta sauce. I think this thing is supposed to be REALLY easy to work, and I have a friend that swears by this EXACT one. However, I was only able to make noodles out of one side of it (there are 2 sizes). Of course I really wanted the smaller noodles (grass is always greener syndrome) that didn't work right. I'll be mentioning this to distributor. I shall report back.

Here's mah noodles ...

So pretty.

And here's mah final "pasta" dish (with the turkey meatballs & Rao's sauce we have had like 20 times ... that recipe really did make like 100 meatballs or something).

It was good and filling. Oh, and to cook the zucchini noodles I just sauteed them in a little olive oil (doesn't require much) until tender. Added a little salt and they're done!