detox time.

Hello?  Anyone there?  Well, I didn't intend on completely disappearing for a week, but we had a heck of a lot of fun on vacation.  I had some spare minutes that I could have used to toss up a blog post, but instead I read Insurgent (the sequel to Divergent, check them out!) and laid on the couch with Chris watching Game of Thrones.  Important stuff I tell you!

While we were having a good time, I completely threw in the towel on being sugar free, dairy free and eating clean.  And I am paying for it, big time.  A couple weeks ago I had the littlest bit of cheese, and there was chocolate in those brownies I made.  Shortly after it seemed like Elsie was spitting up a lot more.  I assumed it was the dairy.  So I did what any great mom would do... decided I was going to binge on dairy for a bit before going cold turkey again.  Surprisingly, the extra spittiness only last for a little bit, and now Elsie doesn't seem affected by the change in my diet.  So who knows what causes her to spit up.

Anyway, between the dairy, sweets and being in the land of all things fried, as well as a weekend enjoying wedding festivities, my body is hurting.  I had more alcohol in the last week than I've had in the last year.  It only took a day of poor eating for me to feel lethargic and just plain gross (which you think would have encouraged me to eat better, but fried pickles...).  Christopher noticed it as well.  We were amazed at how quickly we noticed the change in our diets.

So now?  It's back to business.  There is no way I'm stepping on the scale anytime soon.  I can tell you it won't be good.  I'm retaining water like it's my job AND I ate way too much.  Not going to beat myself up about it though, just going to jump back into a healthier lifestyle!  Which leads me to some of our favorite ways to have healthy options on hand.

Really eating healthy isn't all that hard, it just tends to take a little extra prep work.  My favorite way to be prepared for a healthy lunch, is by having dinner leftovers in the fridge that double as salad toppings.  Which in all honesty, you can turn almost anything into a salad topper, but I have a few favorites.  First up?  Taco filling.

Such an easy peasy yummy and healthy meal.  First I cook a pound of ground turkey, throw in some taco seasoning, dump in a can each of corn, black beans and diced tomatoes and warm it all up.  Then you can serve it in tortillas with your favorite taco toppings, or over a bed of lettuce.  I usually choose the salad route for a nice filling meal.  Make sure you toss in some avocado too :o).

Another great protein for topping a salad is grilled chicken.  A while back Chris made a rub that we like to put on chicken before sticking it on the grill.  So lately we have been cooking a couple extra chicken breasts, slicing them up and putting them in the fridge.  Warm up the chicken (or leave it cold if that is the way you like it), put it along with some other veggies over lettuce and you have yourself a quick salad.

I'm also a huge fan of shrimp and warm veggies on my salad.  For dinner we'll put together some sort of stir fry, or sauteed shrimp and vegetable meal.  The next day, warm up some leftovers, put it over lettuce, and you've got yourself a great salad.  Usually thanks to the seasoning and little bit of oil we've cooked in, I don't even need a dressing.

Right now those are my three favorite leftovers to have in the fridge.  What are your favorite meals that provide healthy leftovers?

 

Link up your health and fitness related posts below!