The Home Stretch - Week 4! - Jane

Let's hear it for the friends who were brave enough to come on Bring a Friend day!!!! Cheri said she is still my friend (whew!) and Ben said it's woken up a few muscles :). Thanks for coming you guys - Stacy was beginning to wonder if Jen Overly was our only friend!!!!

One of the hazards of eating five times a day (besides the boost in your metabolism and...uhh...well, other things), I've bitten my tongue twice in the last week. It's not pleasant when you are eating something that has a wee bit of salt in it! I have to chalk it up to eater fatigue. But I persevere, eat a sugar-free fruit pop, and be done with it.

I've mentioned a few of my favorite new foods in various places on the blog, but thought I'd do the round up again:

1. Whole Foods Soy Chips (ranch and sea salt are favs) - high in protein, great crunch factor!
2. Fage Total 0% Greek Yogurt (plain) - mix in berries and honey or Stevia, and you're golden. This packs 13g of protein in 80 calories, so for those of you looking to stay out of the pit on protein, take note!
3. Lo-carb Tortillas or Wraps - there are a couple of different brands (La Tortilla Factory is Sheila's favorite!) - you can make breakfast burritos, pizza (use two, put a little part skim mozzarella cheese on one, toast, put the other on top and put chopped tomato, chopped fresh basil, and a little more cheese - YUM!), a host of other yummy treats. 80 - 90 calories each depending on the brand, lots of protein and FIBER.
4. Pure Protein bars - Stacy recommends these, although the quantity that I eat them is not recommended. I have cut back. I happen to love the Blueberry Crumble and Strawberry Shortcake - Sheila was not a big fan of the blueberry, and she can eat blueberries all day long! Maybe get several different kinds and have a 'protein hour' with your friends to find out which ones you like! You can often find these on sale for $1 at Kroger.
5. Grilled Tilapia - wow, am I a believer! This stuff is great! Costco sells it in a jumbo pack, I separate into freezer ziplocs and pull a few out when I need them. I fire up the grill, put a little olive oil (a LITTLE), some seafood seasoning (I bought some from Costco that's good) , throw it on heavy foil and cook on the grill! It cooks QUICK - 4 - 5 minutes - so watch it!
6. My protein shakes - I use Arbonne's chocolate protein (1 serving), 1/2 serving of the Arbonne fiber (it's orange, tastes great!), 1/2 cup frozen berries, 1 T flaxseed, 1 scoop greens powder (I use Purity Products Triple Greens - only sold online, make sure you get a deal!). I have a shake every morning before I work out (yawn).
7. Costco's frozen asian vegetable mix - this is awesome! I found a low calorie ginger/soy marinade at Whole Foods (there are lots to choose from), so I just use 2 - 3 tablespoons of that, throw in a nonstick pan, heat it up, and eat with tilapia or grilled chicken.
8. Chicken with Dale's or Moore's sauce/marinade - Marinate just about anything in this stuff. I'll grill a bunch of chicken at once, slice and put in single serving ziploc bags to bring to work for my salads. This seasoning is awesome! I hear it's great on steak, too!

This is our final week of round 2! How will we finish? Will we do it again? Who else will join us in this regimen which is quickly becoming a 'team mole' experience (start in the dark, end in the dark) as the days grow shorter, and our workouts begin with flashlight cones????? Mitzi and I are also training for the Emerald Coast Triathlon on October 13th! Stay tuned!