Women on Water ~ may not be what you think...lol

Well, my weekend starts today for the second week in a row!

Last Friday, I took the day off to have a girls day with Brooklyn. We had a blast swimming and camping that evening. 

And, now today, the hubs & I are going "pre-fishing." I could just say we are going fishing but we're actually going to scout out fishing spots for tomorrow when I fish a women's only tournament with my sister-in-law. Therefore, we are not just fishing....we are "prefishing"....lol.

If you checked out the link above, you now see this tournament is a BIG DEAL. 150 teams and $10,000 up for grabs. When this first started in 2002, there were 20 teams! And, this year it's officially full at 150! And, I actually personally know and love the past few year's winners! It's too fun & exciting!

So, this is the 3rd year in a row we will be fishing! We can have a guy drive the boat and he can do a limited amount of things "for us" as we fish tomorrow, and this lucky guy is my brother-in-law. Just so you know, I may need him to do those limited things for me....my sister-in-law does not....lol.

I can't remember for sure if it was last year or the year before, but we won $700 on a random 17th place and all because I lost fish at the very end of the day and when I had it almost to the boat. It was pretty disappointing at the time but probably kept us in 17th...lol.

But, it's not about the money! It's just a ton of fun! It's fun to see so many women out fishing. It's totally awesome to see 70+ boats take off at the start. And, fun to spend the day with two of my fav peeps!

AND, my sister-in-law looks out for me by taking care of all the food! Raw almonds, jerky, raw veggies, healthy sammiches. Yep, she pretty much rocks!

I will have a blog post up on Sunday about how we do! Wish us luck!....not so much to win but to not get struck by lightning...lol. There's a back story to that I will share on Sunday!

Spaghetti Squash Boat

Let me start out by saying....

I

LOVE

PASTA.

Like really love pasta.

When I was little my very fav meal was my Gma's macaroni made with butter & cream topped with salt & pepper. It was total comfort food and it was total bliss. It was the only thing I remember wanting to eat when I was sick. And, honestly it's still one of my go-to things when I'm feeling icky and when nothing else sounds good....for some reason that always does.

But, as so many of us know, pasta....at least pasta as I knew it growing up...has become one of those things that can wreak havoc with weight loss. I honestly will NEVER give up my "real comfort food" pasta but I've come to really enjoy some substitutes! I like quinoa pasta. I like many of the whole grain pastas I've tried. AND, I really REALLY like spaghetti squash. I've used it in so many different recipes in the place of pasta and most of the time now I don't even feel like I'm depriving myself.

This week I decided to try it on the grill and then filled with spaghetti "sauce." But, since the typical spaghetti sauce my husband loves isn't on my nutrition plan, I had to get creative. Enter in ground turkey!

Here's what I did:

Split a spaghetti squash in half ~ coat with EVOO and garlic ~ spread tinfoil out on the grill and grill it for an hour between 350 to 400 (I have a hard time controlling temp on the grill! When I bake them or put them in the toaster oven, I typically will bake at 375 for an hour) ~  do flip them over about halfway thru. I like to cook for an hour or so because I like it very soft.

While that was grilling, I browned up a big tube of lean ground turkey (I typically use Jennie-O 93% lean), garlic, big chunks of onion (wish I would've had even more veggies like peppers, etc.), crushed red pepper flakes and then added in fire roasted diced tomatoes (this is a great option vs. jarred or canned spaghetti sauce that may have sugar added...it's hard to find no sugar added sauces where I live) and fresh mushrooms at the very end.

I then took the squash off the grill, filled the halves with the mixture of turkey and topped with 2% colby jack....I wanted to do mozzarella but didn't have any. It was great that night and I think even better as leftovers the next day!

I will work on simplifying instructions AND will list nutritional values more often as I start adding more recipe ideas!  

Try and ENJOY!

The Love Dare and more.....

A while back, I posted about a 40-day top secret challenge I was personally doing and I'm excited to say I'm ready to blog about it!

Many years ago, I saw a movie called Fireproof. It didn't get that many stars and was kinda cheesy but Kirk Cameron was in it and he was a boy crush of mine back in the day, so I rented it one night and actually got my husband to watch it, too. I think he thought it was ok 'cuz it was about fire fighters. I, on the other hand, LOVED the idea behind the movie....The Love Dare. Fast forward to a few months ago when I saw a post from someone on Facebook who was going to try it and thought, hey, we may not be on the brink of divorce but what couple couldn't benefit from something like this?

So, the thing is you're supposed to read the book and do the homework every day without your spouse really knowing what you're doing. However, honestly even if they find out it doesn't really matter because the truth behind the matter is that you're still willing and trying to do the Love Dare to help your relationship. And, a lot of the daily homework is to pray for your spouse and your marriage and ultimately...you.

In all honesty, some days I pretty much sucked at the Love Dare. 

Yep, there were some of the dares that I didn't even attempt or made excuses why it just wouldn't work for me/us. I had some half-hearted attempts at the dares that included only things to work on for myself. And, I definitely had days where I was so frustrated and sad that the last thing I could think about was doing something nice for him. 

And, then, there were the dares that I learned a LOT from. Actually, even if I didn't follow through with all of them, I learned a LOT from them. There were whole-hearted attempts at prayer and self discovery. There were the days where I really didn't feel I had it in me but I did it anyway. And, there were definitely days when I knew our relationship was better and stronger because of it.

What I discovered more than anything...and this probably goes without saying....something like this doesn't end after 40 days. 

So, I'm starting over. I'm recommitting to doing the dares that I CHOSE to not do. I'm recommitting to those first few days of not saying anything negative to him. I'm recommitting to the challenge of learning more about myself in my relationship. And, I obviously don't care now if he finds out since this is pretty public...lol.

AND, what I'm also excited about is that I want people to join me in this. I'm paying it forward by doing a 60-day Love Dare challenge starting next Monday, August 18th...for the ladies out there...OR the men!! Joining me in this doesn't mean you and your spouse are having problems! As I mentioned above, this is a challenge to strengthen your relationship and learn more about yourself and your spouse along the way. I do HIGHLY recommend buying or downloading the book to follow along better with the premise but the daily dares won't be completely by the book. Please be aware this challenge will be very spiritual and will contain Christian devotions.

I've been doing Biggest Loser challenges for years and most recently more focused health & fitness challenges as a Team Beachbody Coach but what I am realizing about myself is that I want to help share things with people in more areas of their lives as well. And, this is just the first of many new challenges to come! I will be doing a Love Dare for Parents, 90 Days to a Happier Life, and a Financial Freedom one soon to come! If you're interested in joining any of these challenges, please email me at fitstrongpink@gmail.com or msg me on Facebook.

Fish Tacos

I very VERY rarely complain when my husband goes fishing....for many reasons...lol....but of course mostly because I love walleye. He's a good fisherman and also makes some of the best deep-fried fish I've ever had. And, up until the last few years, that's pretty much the only way we ever ate it. But, insert clean eating and trying to get creative AND....fish tacos entered my world...not so much his...lol. Although, every once in a while he will actually eat his own version of them...minus the cabbage, onion, cilantro, garlic....well, pretty much minus everything but the fish.

Anyhoo, not only are they super easy, they are super delish.

It also doesn't hurt that we have the WONDERFUL Bountiful Baskets delivery in our home town thanks to awesome coordinators and community volunteers.

I have been out of town for the past several Saturday morning deliveries but finally was here to hit our week on.  And, the basket did not disappoint....plus I typically always do at least one add-on.

So, I decided it was the PERFECT basket for fish tacos....I had BB tortillas, I had the best head of cabbage I think I've ever seen, I had a red pepper, and I had some huge avocados. The red onion and cilantro I already had.

I first make cabbage slaw so it has time time to set up. I don't really measure...just cut up cabbage into thin slices and add in 1 red pepper and 1 small red onion. The sauce is also not measured and I just add to taste & consistency but careful with the oil. I start with EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), then add Franks Hot Sauce (this is a similar obsession to cilantro these days), fresh lime juice (also from Bountiful Basket!), some garlic, cilantro and creole seasoning.  Then, I just pop that back into the fridge while I work on the fish.

I use the grill basket below, which is one of the best inventions ever. I use it all the time...usually for veggies like asparagus, mushrooms, etc. I spray it with the high temp Pam grilling spray and then I lightly coat the fish with coconut oil and then season with Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning. Yes, I like spicy fish & slaw! I grill it at about 350 to 375 but not sure how long....lol. I typically just let it go until it's a little crispy on one side but not falling apart yet. I honestly don't really care if it falls apart once I flip it...sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't.

After the fish is done, I throw it on a warm Bountiful Basket tortilla, top it with the cabbage slaw, avocado and MORE cilantro. So light, fresh & filling! One of my favs!

Oh, and I honestly am not sure I ever had an avocado prior to about 2 years ago...maybe in certain things but I think I for most of my life thought guacamole was icky and never gave it a good try. Now, it's one of my fav things to eat...and it's a healthy fat...so I have to highly recommend trying it if you haven't! So good on so many things. Heck, I even eat it plain, with an egg in the pitted hole and popped in the toaster oven for 15 minutes or so. Top that with Tastefully Simple Onion Onion and sriracha and you have a protein packed meal that's also super easy and super delish! Oh, and if you wanna just scoop it out to make quac or eat it on something else, check out the pic at the bottom. My boss showed me the perfect way to scoop out the good stuff with a spoon!

Family Time

We had a great long weekend! We took part of the day off on Friday to take Brooklyn and my nephew to the State Fair. We may or may not have all stepped in poo in the livestock arenas. We may or may not have had too much fair food. We may or may not have left before they claimed the goldfish they won. And, I may or may not have been too scared to go on the ferris wheel but my daughter wasn't...lol.

 

Then, on Saturday we took three little munchkins to sushi...they had lo' mein! Wish I had pics 'cuz I was covered in food by the end ;)

And, Sunday it was up to a little lake and campground back home. The kids had a blast! It was kinda chilly but it didn't seem to bother them enuf to not get a little wet.

Summer has went by WAY too fast!

3-Day Refresh Final Results

So, today was a really good day! I always like a good challenge, especially when I'm done...lol. 

I honestly really liked the Refresh. I felt pretty rough the first day. By the end of the day that day, my head hurt so bad that it was actually making me nauseous. I'm not gonna lie that I almost got to the point where I was telling myself it wasn't worth it, but then I realized that if I felt the way I did, my body definitely needed a detox! And, each day I felt better and better so I knew it wasn't anything in the Refresh itself that made me feel that way.

I want to post these pics about as bad as I want a root canal, but I think they really show the potential of this quick reset. (I didn't wear the same thing for three days btw...just for the pics...maybe that went without saying...lol.) I've talked before about how bad I can bloat and my before pic pretty much looks like I have a food baby. But, the good news for me is that I lost 2-1/2" in my abs in these three days and 8" overall, plus 4.6 lbs. So, yeah, I'm excited about my results...no doubt...but I'm way more excited about how I feel! And, even if most of it is water weight, I feel light, I feel way more energetic, and I feel like I'm back on track with my nutrition thanks to it! 

So, now I just have to say that I LOVE the image at the top. I've been losing ground lately in my health & fitness journey. And, there are several things I've been focusing on to turn my setback into a comeback....and the Refresh was just one of them....but that's just it....I will have setbacks. But, they won't result in me giving up on my goals. Not anymore.

3-Day Refresh ~ Day 3

Day 3 of the Refresh is almost in the books!

I've loved this quote in my collage since the first time I saw it. I was off track. No lie. But the thing I like best about the "new me" is that my setbacks lasted a helluva lot longer before. There is always time to turn things around....always.

So.....I will say that I'm anxious to be done but that I will definitely be pulling this little gem of program out of the hat every few months or before big events....like already thinking this will come in handy just before Cancun! 

But, yes, right now I'm anxious for almond milk in my Shakeo, and things like greek yogurt and eggs and a spaghetti squash boat with ground turkey and tomatoes and mushrooms and onions and just a dusting of 2% cheese....ok, yes, I'm dreaming of food a little tonight as I type. I may not have had food on the brain had my husband not had pizza in front of me tonight. And, I probably could've picked a better night to be perusing Pinterest for recipe ideas.  Either way, I think I can safely say that I made it thru and it went really well! 

Check back tomorrow evening for final results!