Dessert!

It may not be your typical dessert or just call it a treat if you will. But if I am good and I don’t use my carbs early in the day I will treat myself to this! I will cook half a cup of oatmeal or mixed oats in water (as directed on the package) along with a teaspoon vanilla and a dash or two of cinnamon. The vanilla adds a touch of sweetness.

I will throw about 1/3 a cup of raspberries (or really any kind of fruit you would like) in a bowl and cover with about half if the oatmeal you just made. (I make 1/2 cup and save the rest for later because making only 1/4 of a cup is difficult! Trust me, you need a teeny tiny pan to pull that off)

I know this isn’t typical for the Challenge but sometimes you need to get creative! I have also been know. To eat veggies for snacks earlier in the day and eat this with a protein or healthy fat (toasted walnuts anyone!?!? Yes!!) for dinner.

Shredded Buffalo Chicken

This meal may be debatable to some as far as “challenge friendly” goes. But I think it works and its great!

Marinate chicken in
1/2 cup franks red hot or franks buffalo sauce
1/2 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 Tbs Lime juice
1 Tbs Ranch Dressing. (You could easily skip the ranch but its just a bit and ONLY in the marinade.)
Black Pepper to your taste

The easiest way to make chicken tasty without a bunch of salt or fat is your grill! Grill all the meat!!!

After cooked shred chicken (easiest is if you use chicken tenders, a couple forks will shred that super easy). Mix shredded chicken with about 1 tsp or Franks buffalo (or Red hot… I prefer Buffalo as it is less painfully hot, yes I am a pansy). Per 3-5 oz of chicken.

Grab your trusty lettuce leaf, throw some black beans (canned are super easy and can be found in a low sodium variety). Dust some True lime or squeeze some lime juice on those tasty little morsels and toss the chicken on top!

So super easy and yummy! I even made my husband try them (he is a meat, potatoes, bread man… If the meal doesn’t have a ton of carbs involved he is out!) And I got a “it’s good” out of him! This is huge… The man answers “it’s fine” to damn near everything. I was thrilled, you couldn’t smack the smile off my face!

Turkey Tacos!

I will never buy taco seasoning again! Here is a really simple recipe that is floating around Pinterest so I don’t know who deserves credit!

1 Tbls Chili Powder
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp Onion Powder
1/4 tsp Crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Black pepper

The recipe is for a full pound so use as needed.

I add mashed cauliflower to the pan to replace part of the ground turkey (you would never know!). Then I throw it in a nice piece if lettuce with lots if salsa, a little smashed avocado, and then lots of lime juice. I love me some lime!

Voila! Easy, tasty, healthy, and challenge friendly!!! Did I mention tasty???

P.S. This I also something you can easily make ahead and eat cold! It is just as good that way, trust me!

Egg Salad Lettuce Wraps or Deviled Eggs

SO easy and challenge friendly! and NO MAYO!!! This “recipe” is totally based on your taste so I am only give rough ideas of what I have done.

Last night I made these for dinner. An easy way to sneak in a veggie too!

Half a cauliflower steamed and smashed (I used a potato masher)

8 hard boiled eggs

Mustard (I like mustard so I use a lot!)

Dill Pickles (I used 4 mini ones and cut them up nice and little)

Olive oil (you dont need it, but it helps to hold it all together and makes for a little more flavor, I only used about a teaspoon, maybe 2)

Vinegar (I throw in about a tablespoon, but I like vinegar so you may not want to do that much)

Dill, pepper, paprika & salt to taste

Make sure to taste along the way. All the cauliflower blends well so you dont even notice it, but it does make it bland so you will probably want to use way more mustard and other spices than you would expect.

I will assume you know how to mix an egg salad so I will just stay mix it up and throw it in a piece of lettuce…Done and done!

P.S. I also like to throw in a little celery for a crunch. And this recipe is easily made into deviled eggs which are a great snack option along with with a piece of fruit!

Avocado & Pineapple Salad

This is a super tasty, healthy, and easy snack… and absolutely CHALLENGE FRIENDLY!

This is all you need!

Pineapple
Avocado
Lime

For a single serving you want to cut up 1/2 cup pineapple, and 2-3 oz Avocado (usually around 1/2 an avocado)… cup up however you wish and this squeeze some lime juice over it and mix it up!

Please forgive me, I am no photographer!  I just know I like to see pictures!   I am not a huge avocado fan but as soon as I learned how yummy it is when you throw lime juice on it I became one.  Such a healthy fat and a tasty snack!

On a side note (I’m sure you will learn) I LOVE lime.  My roommate in college used to put lime on a lot of things and she got me hooked.  Particularly on Mexican food of any kind!  (much better for you than a bunch of cheese, sour cream, etc)  anyhow.  Fresh limes a the best of course but I also keep this in my cupboard

I have been known to carry it in my purse too (they even make little packets of it like sugar).  I normally don’t go for things with preservatives but this stuff is awesome.  It it real lime but with a super long shelf life that you can always have ready!  (they make lemon kind too).  It has become a staple of mine!

Mmmmm… Pineapple.

This stuff is SO tasty.  It is just straight dried pineapple.  No sugar, sulfur, nothing but pineapple!   It is from Trader Joe’s  (LOVE that place… it is excellent for finding good solid healthy food and for a decent price too!)  It is a great treat if you want something sweet but still healthy enough to eat for snacks… Just need to make sure you do not overdo it!   It is one of those foods that keeps forever and that you can keep in the car, backpack, purse, etc.  There aren’t may healthy options like that so I am always excited when I run across one!   My 22 month old loves these things as well and I feel good feeding them to him.  I think I might go grab some right now!

I Want (NEED) candy STAT!!!

If you have a sweet tooth like me you will hit the wall and want to give in.  (that Snickers bar that is tempting you with its sweet salty dance is not worth it!  Tell that Snickers to piss off!!!  Think of that Snickers as that beautiful ex boyfriend/girlfriend that was a JERK/HO… He (I will use male pronouns from here on out… too much time and effort to add both) was so tasty in the moment, but you felt guilty and dirty the next day.  That Snickers is him… it/he is NO GOOD!)  This strong urge to dive head first into your Snickers will probably happen within the first week to ten days.  (I swear it gets easier!  STAY STRONG!) Your body is pretty much going through sugar/carb withdrawals at this point but seriously, once it gets past it things really just start to feel right and GOOD.  (you are sugar detoxing!!!)  But anyhow… I am getting off topic.  If you hit that wall and you need something and a piece of fruit doesn’t do it (believe me,  I wanted to shove that piece of fruit up somebodys you know what when that suggestion was made to me… but give it a couple weeks and that piece of fruit really will start to help curb those cravings)  Anyhoo… Larabar Minis are your friend!  They are the perfect size for a sweet tasty treat and it nearly feels like you are cheating, but you are not!  The minis are nothing but dried fruit (unsweetened of course!) and nuts.  There are some spices added to some but the ingredient list is SO short  (a very refreshing thing to see!).

You could even eat a full size one as a snack but I would avoid that… keep it as a special treat!
(some are not quite as challenge friendly so make sure you read the ingredients… but most of them are safe!)

I borrowed the photo from Amazon. They do sell them but the price is a little inflated. I get mine at Target ($9.99 for a box of 12) They come in Cherry Pie, Apple Pie, and Cashew Cookie flavors. The pie ones are my fav but I will eat them all!