Level 1 - Day 14

It's Going To Be A Challenging Week!

I'm not holding out much hope for the scale to move this Friday.  We both cheated a bit, (my hubby more than me) this past weekend at Universal.  Plus, our breakfast out yesterday.  I'm sure I had more omelet than I was supposed to.

And, tomorrow, we're going to have some overnight guests, with 3 kids.  And, you know how finicky they can be.  It was tricky coming up with a meal on our plan and one that kids will enjoy, too.

Plus, I like to spoil our company with a few treats.  And, you gotta have cookies for the kids.  So, it's going to be, yet, another challenge for us.  Like most of you, if the food isn't in the house, I do really well.     

Breakfast - Fruit; then I exercised really hard.  Afterwards, I had a bowl of healthy Quinoa with non-fat milk and a little Agave Nectar.

AM Snack - Lots of errands this morning and I forgot to take along a snack.  So, I missed out.

Lunch - Leftover Mozzarella Marinara (from Day 11) and a big salad.  I can't say it enough, this dish was awesome.  I could have eaten double, but I didn't.

PM Snack - Small glass of grape juice.

Dinner - Fast & Easy Chicken Soup (Slim & Sexy pg. 176) topped with Basil and Parsley Pesto (pg. 221 in Sexy Forever).  I've been wanting to make this pesto from day one.  But, the basil wasn't in season and you need a lot.  Well, to my surprise, we found bunches and bunches of beautiful, fresh basil at the Farmer's Market yesterday.

The recipe calls for toasted pine nuts, so be sure to count this as an extra carb.  This meal makes it a 4-carb day for me, which is fine since we're in Level 1.  Probably not the best timing with all the extra stuff we've eaten the past few days, but I just had to try it.  And, it was as delicious as Suzanne said it would be.  It makes a cup, so I froze half for later.  Remember NOT to add the Parmesan cheese if you're going to freeze it.

You place a little dollop of the pesto on the chicken soup, and you don't even miss the noodles.  It takes the soup up a couple notches and it's just beautiful, too.  I also made this soup even faster to prepare by using the leftover rotisserie chicken from yesterday and canned chicken broth.  However, I did let it simmer on the stove for a couple hours to let the flavors meld.

The soup also called for an onion and 2 leaks, which I also got at the Farmer's Market.  Plus, you'll need organic celery (3 stalks) and flat-leaf parsley (1/4 cup).  You just chop everything and put it in the pot.  So easy!  And yummy, too.