Day 19 & 20 of My Beachbody Ultimate Reset

Day 19, Friday

Breakfast

I decided to try the horned melon, or kiwano, a fruit from Australia. It's really interesting-looking, and tastes better than it looks. It's green and slimy-looking when you cut into it, and reminds me of citrus fruit in how it's made up of little pockets inside. You can't quarter this melon, though, like you could an orange. You scoop out the melon's flesh. It's great in the fruit salad, because it sticks to the other fruit, and not to the bottom of the bowl.

 

Kiwano (horned melon)

 

Lunch

Lunch of hearty vegetable miso soup and microgreen salad was good and filling. Today, I finally admitted to myself that I've been having some digestion problems. My stomach feels like it's cramping. I think it may be from drinking Shakeology, since my body isn't used to so much good nutrition (after all, I'm eating nothing but fruits and vegetables this week). I plan on drinking #Shakeology every day again, once I'm finished, so I will continue to get my body used to it again.

 

Dinner

Curried cauliflower was good, although I would have liked more flavor. I kept expecting it, too. The lemon-pepper kale, on the other hand, had a strong flavor provided by the lemon. I have no idea why 'pepper' is included in the title, because there is no pepper used.

 

Curried cauliflower & Lemon-pepper kale

Day 20, Saturday

Lunch

The lunch I had planned ended up needing to marinate for an hour: jicama-avocado salad, so I swapped it with tomorrows lunch, Carrot-Seaweed Medley and microgreen salad. At least it's prepped for tomorrow!

I'm still having pain in my middle. I'm going to have an Epsom salts bath to see if I can find some relief. I had mint tea last night, but that didn't help relieve any of the discomfort.

 

Carrot-Seaweed Medley & Microgreen salad

Dinner

Tonight's dinner involved quite a bit of prep work, as there are 3 dishes to prepare. Mediterranean beets bake for 45 minutes, then cool for 30, while baked tempeh bakes for about 25 minutes, and has an hour soak time. These dishes also cook at different temperatures. Coconut collard greens is the third dish. It was a good dinner, however long it took me to make!

I'm ready to be done after tomorrow, although, I'm still going to be having the same meals for the following couple of weeks. On Monday, I'll be finishing up my blogging on the #BeachbodyUltimateReset talking about my last day!

www.myultimatereset.com/iib4

 

Mediterranean roasted beets, Baked tempeh, & Coconut collard green

Day 17 & 18 of My Beachbody Ultimate Reset

Wednesday, Day 17

Breakfast
 
Having fruit every day can kind of get boring, and I had planned on having Shakeology for breakfast this morning, but didn't feel like using the blender. I will probably have it for a snack later. Shakeology is allowed during the Beachbody Ultimate Reset, and is recommended as a breakfast or snack replacement. During this third phase, Restore, it's recommended to only have half a scoop of Shakeology. This stage focuses on reducing protein intake.

Lunch

Moroccan Carrot Salad with Spring Salad Mix

I loved the Moroccan carrot salad over spring salad mix for lunch! I was spicy thanks to the cayenne pepper. Now, I'm having vegan Tropical Shakeology for a snack. It's blended with distilled water (of course), but also a dash of coconut water, distilled ice, a few frozen strawberries, and peaches. It's got the consistency of a slushee! It's delicious, and I miss having my Shakeology every day!

One of the drawbacks of eating quite a bit of homemade dressings, is sometimes the amount of garlic that is often used. Now, I love garlic, but it seems to permeate the air around me. When I dropped my husband off at work, he told me I should stay away from the garlic. I used to solve this problem by chewing gum, but gum is out of the question right now. On the other hand, at least I know I'm getting the antifungal defense from all the garlic!

Dinner

Roasted Acorn Squash with Green Beans & Lemon

The Roasted Delicata Squash and green beans with lemon combined had a bit too much oil and lemon, but was still a good taste. I used an acorn squash instead of a delicata.












Thursday, Day 18

Breakfast
 
Fruit bowl was good this morning with red and green apples, strawberries, a banana (yes, higher glycemic, but I haven't eaten them often), 1/2 plum, honeydew melon, and cantaloup, blueberries, and raspberries sprinkled with cinnamon.

Spinach Salad

Lunch

Lunch was also good: spinach salad with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, jicama, and creamy garlic dressing. I also had a baked yam with olive oil, Himalayan salt, and herbal seasoning. Delicious!









Dinner

Roasted Fennel Bulb with Lemony Asparagus and Broccoli

Dinner was surprisingly good: lemony broccoli and asparagus with roasted fennel bulb. Did you know that anise is another name for fennel? I could have saved money having known this ahead of time! Unfortunately, I don't think my fennel bulb was 1/2 lb, which was the recommended size. Nor do I think my broccoli was a medium head; more likely a large. I also almost didn't prepare enough asparagus. I weighed out the asparagus, because the guide thankfully included the weight in the ingredients list. However, they didn't include the weight of the broccoli.

Guest Blogger Coming Soon!
There will be a guest blogger, Jennifer Bottom (behindtherefrigeratordoor.blogspot.com), coming soon. She will be sharing about her journey through the Beachbody Ultimate Reset.

Day 15 & 16 of My Beachbody Ultimate Reset

Monday, Day 15

Today, is the start of phase 3, Restore.

Breakfast

4 1/2 cups of fruit for breakfast, low glycemic, of course, for the remainder (1 more week + another week after) of my Beachbody Ultimate Reset.

Lunch

Miso soup and Asian Cabbage Salad for lunch. The salad was a little strong-tasting. I know that the next time I have it, I will be halving the amount of dressing I make for it. It was good, although strong.

Miso soup & Asian Cabbage Salad

Dinner

Dinner was a baked sweet potato and garlic veggies. I think my sweet potato was a little too big. Some of the ingredients the guide gives a size estimate in pounds for, but not the sweet potato. It would be more helpful to give ounce- or pound-wise measurements, rather than small, medium, or large, too. Obviously my sweet potato was a large one, but I ate it all anyway. I wasn't sure how hungry I would be in the morning if I didn't eat all my dinner, and it was a good meal! Oil, Himalayan salt, and herbal seasoning for the potato. Garlic, lemon juice, and Braggs Liquid Aminos for the garlic veggies.

Garlic Veggies & Baked Sweet Potato

Tuesday, Day 16

Breakfast

One thing I do when preparing my fruit for breakfast is add up the cups the guide recommends, so, just as I had yesterday, I'm having 4 1/2 cups of fruit for breakfast today.

Lunch
 
I had a snack of quinoa and avocado before class this morning, then a microgreen salad with pumpkin seeds and creamy garlic dressing for lunch. It was yummy, although I'm used to pairing my salad with another dish (as has been done for the past 2 weeks of the Reset.

Dinner
 
I ended up eating some of the apple slices that my son's daycare had for snack, when I went to pick up my son. This was cause for postponing my dinner. I had my supplements, then ate about 8 p.m., and I did a horrible job making my dinner! I added things at the wrong time and burned a few things. Even though the recipe called for the burner to be on high, it was too hot. The smoke detector went off!

Dinner was Asian stir-fry which called for coconut oil (which I love cooking with now), garlic, ginger, carrot, broccoli, red bell pepper. bok choy, sesame oil, and Bragg Liquid Aminos. Now, the bok choy cracks me up, because when I finally got around to watching the DVDs that came with the program, I realized that the chef starred in the cooking class DVD, holds up the Napa cabbage and calls it bok choy. Well, it's funny to me :)

Day 9 of My Beachbody Ultimate Reset

Tuesday

Breakfast

Mashed chickpeas with garlic and lemon wasn't too bad, but only filled me up for about 2 hours, and gave me garlic breath. If I didn't have to go to class and interact with other students, and if my husband didn't have to suffer my dragon breath, this would probably be ok. Also, if I could chew gum, I'd be able to cover it up, because brushing doesn't make the smell go away.

I will be having a snack before I go to lab, because I will be walking to and from class, and I never know how long the lab will go. I can't drink water in lab either, so I can't try to bed my appetite if I get hungry. I've already got my lunch prepared, since I won't have a whole lot of time to eat after dropping my husband off at work.

Lunch

I ended up not having enough time to finish my salad lunch, so I finished it after class. I must have been scatter-brained because I took my Alkalinize supplement at the wrong time. I also forgot to take a picture before I started eating my salad.

Dinner

The sweet potato red pepper bisque was amazing, and very filling. It's nice to look at the notes and suggestions in the guide to think about future meals, so I can easily throw together a double batch at that moment, instead of needing to make a dish again the next day.

Since it's kind of a hassle to pull out the barbeque that we own, I went ahead and used the oven on broil to "grill" the red pepper. I set the pepper on a pan, and being careful not to touch the heating coils, I waited until they were singed a little on both sides.

There is quite a bit of multitasking involved in many of the recipes, but it's fun trying new cooking techniques, recipes, and foods! While I was listening to the team call of one of the coach teams that I'm a part of, and while I was eating my soup, my asparagus was roasting in the oven (since I didn't realize that it was to be cooked in the oven until my soup was done. Very yummy asparagus it turned out to be! My hands still smell like ginger.

Day 8 of My Beachbody Ultimate Reset

Monday

Breakfast

Today is the start of Phase 2, Release, so breakfasts this week mainly consist of fruit plates.The fruit plate filled me up for a little longer than the last time, so I think my stomach is adjusting to the portion sizes.

We brought Isaac's cupcakes, plus, we ended up baking a Minecraft Creeper cake, for his birthday party at school. We ended up staying up until midnight to make the cake. It was so hard to not try it, but there will always be more cakes and sweets in the future. It's worth it to focus for 21 days (which is actually a pretty short time period), and not feel the guilt or fail just because my will power wasn't strong enough! Your health, and mine, are so worth it, and it's important to not let food control our lives.

Isaac's 6th Birthday Cake & Carrot Cupcakes

Also, this week, another supplement is added to the mix, Detox. It's a lemony powder that you stir into 8-12 or so ounces of water, then wait, and stir again after 1 or 2 minutes. It actually tastes pretty good.

Lunch

For lunch, it's just a microgreen salad and avocado, which is different from the microgreen salads of last week. Last week, the microgreen salads were always paired up with other dishes. I foresee the need for a snack today! We'll see, though!

Dinner

I made it through another day! The pinto beans and rice was good with steamed zucchini, and, instead of string beans, I had asparagus. If you are afraid of beans, don't be, and read through your guide. It explains that normally beans will not cause problems, and they haven't since I've been eating them.

I'm hungry now, though, and I believe it may be because I'm still not drinking enough water. I just stated to my husband that I wanted donuts, pizza, and cake! I will make it through!!!!!!

Day 7 of My Beachbody Ultimate Reset

Sunday

Breakfast

I wasn't very hungry for breakfast, but I think it's because of the banana I had before bedtime :/ I swapped out the tempeh, avocado, and steamed spinach for another breakfast: farina with walnuts, apples, and maple syrup. YUM!

We went shopping today after church, and I wished I had brought another bottled of distilled water with me. Drinking water helps to bed my hunger moderately, as well, and since I couldn't eat until I got home, it would have been nice to have the extra water! To make matters worse, I didn't sit down to eat until 1:45, since the Beachbody Ultimate Reset recommends waiting 30 minutes before eating after taking supplements.

Lunch

Quinoa Salad & Microgreen Salad

Quite a few of the dishes are a little overwhelming, and as I realize this, I make annotations in the guide. I plan on using many of these recipes in the future! One of the overwhelming dishes is one I had today; quinoa salad. It was paired with microgreen salad, which has cucumber, tomato, shredded carrot, jicama, baby salad greens, red bell pepper, and sprouts. I grow my own sprouts at home, since I can't seem to find them at any of the stores I've looked at. They are so easy to grow, too!

Homegrown Wheatgrass Sprouts

Dinner

Baked Tempeh for dinner was a little late, but actually quite good. It was marinated for an hour in apple cider vinegar, Bragg Liquid Aminos, sesame oil, pure maple syrup, and garlic. I hadn't liked it before then, that's for sure! Tomorrow, is my son's 6th birthday, so while the tempeh was marinating, I was preparing his cupcakes for his class. I was actually less tempted to lick the spoon than I thought I would be! Unfortunately, I'm becoming used to eating late, and tonight was no exception, as I ended up eating at 7:30.

Day 6 of My Beachbody Ultimate Reset

Saturday

Breakfast

Breakfast was a little less tasty than I wanted it to be, so I stirred up the apples, flaxseed, and oatmeal, then put it back in the microwave for another minute. The apples were slightly cooked, I added cinnamon, and it was delicious! The recipes for the Beachbody Ultimate Reset are very stove- and oven-intensive, but I'll occasionally use the microwave, especially for foods (like oatmeal) that I've been cooking for a long time in the microwave. This saves a little electricity and time. Most of the recipes call for water that is heated on the stove to boiling over medium heat. This takes quite a bit of time!

About an hour after I'd eaten my breakfast, I realized I'd forgotten to eat the yogurt that I was scheduled to have with my oatmeal, so I went ahead and ate it. It's sometimes difficult to remember each facet of the meal, as there is a lot of flipping back and forth between the meal plan for the day and the recipes in the back (I have, now heading into Phase 3 today, memorized a few of the recipes, so it's definitely gotten a little easier).

Oatmeal with apples & flaxseed

Lunch

I had my lunch all planned out in advance! I made the quinoa salad, which has, of course, quinoa, olive oil, Himalayan salt, Bragg Liquid Aminos, lemon juice, tomato, cucumber, kalamata olives, parsley, and mint leaves. I made the salad about 2 1/2 hours before I had planned on having it, then my parents arrived. I knew they were coming, but not the time. They came to celebrate my son's 6th birthday, so we ended up eating out for lunch, and I ended up having a salad pre-coated in vinaigrette dressing :( and it was just a head of lettuce! It was quite an excruciating meal, as my son had pizza, and it smelled amazing, especially on the walk back home after lunch (since I carried the leftovers home). I've never thought I had a weakness for any foods, but this cleanse is revealing how much I've liked the ability to eat whatever I wanted. This is not to say that I chose to eat everything junk all the time, but that I liked to eat a donut, pizza, or a couple of little cookies every now and then.

I did try a few bites of the quinoa salad I'd made earlier, but the taste of the mint was a little overwhelming. I saved it to have for tomorrow, so we'll see if marinating overnight will help to blend the flavors a little more evenly.

Dinner

Dinner was good, and was called Roasted Root Medley, as well as Zucchini-Cashew soup.

Roasted Root Medley

I'm definitely not perfect, and it's been nice having my husband and mom available for support. Even my son has reminded me not to give up. Last night, I had a banana before bed, because I was so hungry. This journey is stressful, but it will be worth it! If you want to take back your health, strengthen your will power, and begin to take control of your eating habits, this Reset has been doing this for me!!!

www.myultimatereset.com/iib4

Day 5 of My Beachbody Ultimate Reset

Friday

Today, I had my first migraine since I started my Beachbody Ultimate Reset. They can be caused by stress (both good and bad stress). Starting a new endeavor, such as the Reset, can be stressful, so it's no surprise that I got the migraine. Also, the fact that I made it to the weekend without killing anyone, may have caused some elation, and, in turn, good stress. I took some ibuprofen and drank some more water.

In other news, this may not be new news to you, but I haven't been doing this for long: since there is so much fresh produce required for my Reset, I've taken to snipping the ends of leafy produce, as well as green onions, celery, and asparagus, and sticking them in a glass of water like a bouquet of flowers. This usually plumps them right back up!

All my food during the day, including breakfast farina with walnuts, green apples, and a whole tablespoon of maple syrup deserves an A+ for deliciousness!

For lunch, I had zucchini cashew soup, and while the water was heating up to prepare to make the soup, I was eating my veggie plate with my delicious homemade hummus. A few hours later, I had a banana-peanut butter Tropical Strawberry Shakeology shake for my snack. I was so used to drinking Shakeology everyday before my Reset, and I miss it a little now. It's nice that I can have it for a snack!

For dinner tonight, I had Southwestern Veggie Taco. It was delicious!!! This will definitely be a recipe I will be using after my Reset.

http://myultimatereset.com/iib4