My children have this terrible habit of waking up at 6 a.m. (give or take 15 minutes, i.e., please! give me 15 minutes!). So there I was first thing on a Sunday morning dishing up some Honey Nut Cheerios, not even thinking about it being the first day of the challenge. And as usual, I helped myself to a spoonful or two of my daughter's cereal before giving it to her. You know, to make sure the milk was still good. To make sure the Cheerios weren't rancid. I have to look out for things like that!
And then I realized that was a no-no! So I hit the reset button on the challenge and made our challenge breakfast of scrambled egg whites, whole wheat English muffins with almond butter, and fresh pineapple and grapes.
If you haven't figured it out yet, here's the thing about this food challenge:
It's all mental.
On Saturday night I was sitting around, sort of freaking out about the stuff "I Couldn't Eat." And then I thought, "Why are you freaking out? Most of the stuff you eat is on the top two tiers of Michi's Ladder anyway!" But there is something about putting a limitation on myself that gives me the willies. And that's where the challenge is! When you get through these 10 days, you'll have completed something that maybe you thought you couldn't do, and you'll feel awesome! It's not unlike finishing a 5K, 10K, or some other fitness goal you've laid out for yourself.
So, here's the tip of the week. Say you're on the challenge, and you're looking for a receptacle to get your hummus dip or salsa to your mouth. You're tired of carrot sticks, and chips are off-limits. What are you to do?
I've got two words for you, but promise not to laugh:
Sliced beets!
All you do is cut off the tops, peel the outer layer off the beets with a carrot peeler, and then thinly slice the beets like chips. I wouldn't go around eating sliced beets for kicks, but if you add some dip they really are good! Some people just like the feel of crunching something up in their mouths, and this fits that bill perfectly. Raw beets have a really mild taste, so I'd venture to say that they'd go well with pretty much any dip.
The first time I served beets Zach was totally against them, but ever since we've started using them as "chips" he's completely on board. They're gone before I know it!
So try it out this week. And be sure to let me know how the challenge is going for you!
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Workout of the Day:P90X One on One Volume 3: Chest, Back, and Balls
Day two and we all ok! We used jicama as our chip but the beets are a great idea.
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