The low down

Good evening my lovelies...
My day has not gone well. Right now I'd just like to lay my head down on the table and close my eyes for a bit... I'm a little flabbergasted with life. I have been pretty emotional about some changes at work, my husband has an inflamed colon and we are waiting on more bloodwork to see if there could be anything else going on in there, my son has a stomach virus erupting out of his bottom and thought it would be a great day NOT to nap and he is...right this minute... demanding chocolate cookies, ice cream and M&Ms... after refusing to eat any real food.
So what do I do... put on a movie and walk away... mom of the year right?
Anyways... I've had LOADS of people ask me about this 24 Day Challenge I've been on so I thought I'd share on here (sorry if you already know... just skip this part). The Advocare 24 Day Challenge is a two part system... a 10 Day Herbal Cleanse and a 14 Day Max Phase. The people who thought this up are my heroes, really and truly. The general ideas is to follow the timeline - yes, it's all written out for you so no worries - and avoid things like dairy, alcohol, soda, sugar and white things. Sounds hard for those of you food junkies out there... but trust me... I was a food junkie and it was NOT hard. During the Herbal Cleanse you have a few more steps to follow - you have to drink this crazy weird fiber drink (my least favorite thing about this challenge) and take herbal cleanse tablets / probiotics. Honestly, this cleanse was very gentle - I never had an "emergency". I dropped weight pretty significantly during this phase... I lost 14 pounds... in 10 days. Most of it was water weight and "bloat" and losing that alone makes you feel like a new person. Now as I began the Max phase I got a little doubtful a few times - first off, my scale broke... then I borrowed a scale and saw that the scale wasn't moving like I had previously determined it should. But I kept eating right and staying on top of my vitamins and you know what... I finally got over that little stall and continued on to lose 8 more pounds to round it out at 22 pounds total. My favorite parts of the Challenge were the Meal Replacement Shakes and the Sparks. The MRS are optional - you only get 14 servings with your package - but I LOVED them. I thought it had a great taste and I loved that I wasn't forced to eat something in the morning. Obviously in order to get your metabolism moving you should eat a healthy breakfast soon after waking... I, for some reason, have always struggled with this - enter MRS - takes a full 5 minutes to prep and drink and I'm done for the morning :) Love it! On to my MOST favorite thing - SPARK - the new love of my life. I'm going to be 100% honest with you - the first drink, I was not a fan - it was SO strong and I was not use to the taste. Wait about 30-45 mins and you'll be a fan for life! I felt this amazing sense of awesomeness... sounds crazy I know but WOW! My husband drinks Monster energy drinks and after one Spark drink he was hooked too... he explained it as a "cleaner energy" feeling than he experienced with his other energy drinks. Sadly, again... the Challenge only comes with 14 servings and if you are like me you want 2x day for 24 days... so you'll need to order more if you want to feel FABULOUS ;) My favorite was the Fruit Punch - it tastes like fruit punch, shocking I know. A part of this Challenge that I took for granted was the Max 3 pack of vitamins/supplements. It really and truly does amazing things for your metabolism and body - so don't forget about those little pills!!!!!!!! More questions? Just ask.

Recipe Night:
So you should definitely be down for this CAULIFLOWER PIZZA CRUST
1/2 head of cauliflower, grated (about 2 1/4 cups)
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup part-skim mozzerella
2 TBSP parmesan cheese, grated
salt & pepper to taste
olive oil non-stick spray
pizza sauce
topping cheese
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put the grated cauliflower in a large bowl (BEWARE: it smells TERRIBLE) and heat for 8 minutes in the microwave. Remove and allow to cool for a bit - then stir in egg, cheeses and salt/pepper. Prepare pan with parchment paper. Pour mixture onto pan and pat out into 10" circle, spray lightly with non-stick spray and cook for 10-15 mins until golden brown. Remove - allow to cool a bit and then top with sauce and cheese and any other toppings you would like. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. ENJOY guilt free :)

My favorite chicken marinade:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 TBSP Dijon Mustard
Mix well and marinate chicken at least 4 hours. You know I like easy peasy. Then I typically broil my chicken for a more flavorful and tender experience ;)

Good night folks...