Make it easy...

Monday Recap:

Breakfast:  Cracker Barrel

Yeah, this isn't exactly on the Bikini Series plan...but yesterday morning called for breakfast out & about and you know how I feel about 'ya gotta still live', right??J  So I did my best, having most of one of those what I REALLY wanted blueberry pancakes (shared the rest with Katie and packed up the leftovers for her for another day), 2 turkey sausage patties for protien and ALL THE BERRIES.  Those strawberries were soooooooooooooo good.  The sweetness from the berries & slight spiciness from the sausage helped me put the breaks on and realize I had more than enough to hold me over for a morning full of errands.

Snack:  Blueberry Oat Bar  (not pictured)

Even after having the pancake/sausage/fruit breakfast, I was still happy I had packed up this snack to have on the go.  (more on these bars tomorrow)

Lunch:  Turkey sandwich + 1/4 avocado + 1 cup carrots + an orange 

I could not BELIEVE how LARGE this lunch was. (and I skipped the top slice of toast only because I had the pancake with breakfast)  I actually even texted a picture of it to a friend just to show her how 'liberating' it was to have such a huge lunch on this Bikini Series.  Beats trying to eat a smaller lunch and tempting fate to see if I can survive the rest of the afternoon without going crazy (as I've done about 6 zillion times in the past).  Very satisfying.

Snack:  Edamame Dill Salad 

Shelled edamame (bought at Trader Joes), diced dill, red pepper, yellow onion and a drizzle of olive oil, this almost reminded me of a fresh pasta salad.  The fresh dill just MAKES it.

Dinner:  Pesto quinoa bowls + 4 oz. diced chicken

Funny that this week they added protein (suggested tilapia, but I subbed chicken) to these bowls, but it just made them even MORE delicious, I must say.

Workout:  2 rounds of arms + legs with 8 pounds

UGH...and after planning for it ALLLLLL DAY LONG, a rouge & random bout of (all too familiar) queasiness hit right before dinner and left me feeling a bit under the weather for the rest of the night and forcing me to skip my Monday yoga class AGAIN:(  UGH!!!!!!!  I, at least, felt well enough to get up and get in this little workout while being distracted by "Dancing with the Stars" to get SOMETHING in.  

And in just random Bikini Series news, I have to share that we've been doing quite a bit of our food prep on Sunday afternoons, making the week INFINITELY easier to handle.  The first couple weeks seemed like a LOT of prep, but this week I managed to bang it out in under an hour & a half and that covered all of our week's worth of breakfasts, lunches, snacks and enough dinner prep to keep most nights of cooking to under 20 minutes.  I mean...can't beat that too much.  Not to mention it's MUCH easier to stick to your healthy plans when you make it EASY for yourself.  My best advice is:  if any of it (food/fitness) seems overwhelming, tweak it and make it easy and accessible to YOUR life.  Don't make it an extra chore, make it EASY and to benefit YOU and it will seem much less overwhelming.

OK...enough advice from meJ  Have a good Tuesday!