Prep for Next Week's Challenge

Again, I am giving you a bit of a heads up about next week's challenge so you can plan & shop if you need to.

I have been trying to figure out how to issue this challenge so that it wouldn't be too confusing and stay straightforward & easy to measure. I think I've finally worked out the kinks.

The challenge is-plan all your snacks around produce. Anything  you eat between or after meals will be fruit & veggies. Normal rules apply, at least 5 out of 7 days to get 10 points for the group challenge.

Keeping in mind that it's good to also get protein in for your snacks, which makes them go a little further and do a little more good, you could also add up to 100 calories of protein based food in addition to your produce.
You don't have to add anything, your snack could be an orange, plain and simple, but you can.


So you could eat celery with a couple tablespoons of hummus, tomatoes and half cup of cottage cheese, an apple with a tablespoon of nut butte, a cup of steamed broccoli with s tablespoon of melted cheddar, steamed spinach with a dash of olive oil/vinegar/salt & pepper, or a garden salad with some cheese and a bit of dressing. Just keep the non-fruit & veggie calorie count to 100 or less.

Try some of the following with your fruit &/or veggies-

• a high protein ranch dip, like the recipe Mandy shared a couple weeks back
• hummus
• light cheese (laughing cow wedges are good & come in different flavors)
• peanut butter
• almond butter
• low fat cottage cheese
• a yogurt dip, made with plain yogurt, sweetened with all fruit
• a half scoop of whey protein powder for a snack-size smoothie

I think this will help with my treat problem from this week. I can plan and enjoy a small treat for the day if I feel I need it, but I will have it at the end of my lunch or dinner meal. In between meals I'll be too busy eating fruit & veggies to worry about treats.

Also, this can help us keep up with the protein percentage we should all still be shooting for. Rather than always reaching for simple carbohydrate snacks of crackers or pretzels between meals, we'll be eating things that are more nutritionally dense and can help our metabolism by keeping our blood sugar more even-as well as boosting the amount of fiber and vitamins we're consuming each day. Great for general health & appetite control.

Let me know if you have questions. Also, share other ideas in the comments section.