Detox Week!

After two weeks of big family dinners, several restaurant meals, and piles of Easter candy it is time for what my chiropractor, and resident nutritionist (it's an odd relationship), calls 'detox week'. Detoxing is ridding the body of all of the junk you've put into it. I'm sure there is a complicated process for doing it correctly, but for me it just means little or no carbs and lots of water. I always find that if I don't eat any breads or sweets I don't want any breads or sweets. But once I start eating them again then that is all I want. So for this entire week I am saying no to sugar and yes to 68 ounces of water a day!!

I have also decided to break up my work out routine. I've been doing the same thing (TurboKick) for 6 months now and I think my body is used to it. I have toned up a lot but I haven't really lost much weight...I haven't put on any weight either though. So I'm going to run 2 miles every day that I don't do my Turbo workout. I also want to add in some free weights, especially for my arms. That means that 3 days a week I will do Turbo and 3 days a week I will run. I will lift weights every day. Sunday is a day of rest, after all. We'll see how that goes.

I bought a digital scale today to chart my progress. I'm tired of squinting at my old dial scale to see if it looks 1/2 a pound lighter than it did last week. I'm over halfway to my weight loss goal but I've still got 20 pounds I would like to loose and I'm tired of waiting for it to just fall off. It is time to take action!

In the spirit of weight loss and healthy eating, and to make my blog more interesting, I am going to include a Weight Watchers recipe. This is one of our favorites. It is really sweet and delicious and healthy. Sometimes we add pulled chicken or beef, but most of the time we just use it as a vegetarian meal. Enjoy!

Cuban Black Beans and Rice (Makes 4 servings, 7 points per serving)

1/2 cup uncooked rice (white or brown)
1 T. olive oil
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
2 T. vinegar
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. ground coriander
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. hot sauce
2 (15.5 oz.) cans black beans, drained
1/4 t. freshly ground pepper

Cook rice according to package directions. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet. Cook peppers, onion, garlic until softened, about 5 mins. Stir in tomatoes, vinegar, cumin, coriander, oregano, and pepper sauce; cook 2 mins. Add the beans, reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer until thickened, about 10 mins. Season with pepper and serve over rice.