DAY 1:
INFORMATION BLASTS
MENU PLANNING:
Here's a helpful tip for planning meals. I created this helpful menu to help lessen the stress of thinking of what to prepare for meals during the week. This helps with grocery shopping and needed preparation. It helps us shop with a purpose, focusing on items necessary to balance a healthy lifestyle. Hope this helps
FOOD EXAMPLES
BREAKFAST
Photo Credit: Simple Green Smoothies
Good morning, Team ATON!!
Here is an amazing raw and live food smoothie recipe from @simplegreensmoothies (one of the websites I listed at the introduction of the challenge). She used a plethora of raw foods and added flaxseed (live food) to top it off. This is a great 'breakfast or lunch idea' to incorporate raw and live foods into a meal. Here is the recipe for this gorgeous Red Green Smoothie:
RASPBERRY COCONUT SHORTCAKE green smoothie | serves two
2 cups spinach
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup coconut water (if possible, use the fresh coconut water straight from the coconut. Just take a fresh coconut, using a nail and hammer, hammer one to 3 holes and drain the fresh water and add to your smoothie)
3 cups raspberries
1 Tablespoon ground flax seed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
OPTIONAL: garnish with coconut flakes, flax seed
Here is an amazing raw and live food smoothie recipe from @simplegreensmoothies (one of the websites I listed at the introduction of the challenge). She used a plethora of raw foods and added flaxseed (live food) to top it off. This is a great 'breakfast or lunch idea' to incorporate raw and live foods into a meal. Here is the recipe for this gorgeous Red Green Smoothie:
RASPBERRY COCONUT SHORTCAKE green smoothie | serves two
2 cups spinach
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup coconut water (if possible, use the fresh coconut water straight from the coconut. Just take a fresh coconut, using a nail and hammer, hammer one to 3 holes and drain the fresh water and add to your smoothie)
3 cups raspberries
1 Tablespoon ground flax seed
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
OPTIONAL: garnish with coconut flakes, flax seed
SNACK IDEAS:
Here's a raw snack idea that I love:
*Handful of Almonds (raw)
*Water (room temp) with raw lemon juice (raw) I also add some fresh herb such as mint (raw) to my lemon water. Great for energy and keeping bad breath at bay.
*Bowl of berries (raw), add some fresh coconut shaving for extra nutritional benefits
Snacks are great for keeping energy and metabolism up as well as preventing the urge to over eat during meals.
*Handful of Almonds (raw)
*Water (room temp) with raw lemon juice (raw) I also add some fresh herb such as mint (raw) to my lemon water. Great for energy and keeping bad breath at bay.
*Bowl of berries (raw), add some fresh coconut shaving for extra nutritional benefits
Snacks are great for keeping energy and metabolism up as well as preventing the urge to over eat during meals.
LUNCH IDEA:
Ahh, the beauty of a wrap! I love wraps. You can place so many awesome ingredients inside of them. Here, I used humus, tomato, bell pepper, fire roasted tomatoes, cucumber, green onion, spinach and wrapped inside of a tasty shell. I added a raw salad blend on the side and shaved some fresh almonds on top. Just enough for a lively lunch. Raw foods give the body needed energy, enzymes, nutrients and vitamin..basically, LIFE essentials. Try not to over-think your meals, for the challenge, just be sure to incorporate some raw goodness into the mix, this can be via a smoothie, nuts, berries, fruit, salads, spring rolls, sprouts. If you would like to view the details of how I made this wrap, feel free to check it out here: HUMUS WRAP
30 MINUTE WORK OUTS
Don't forget, take your pics today and keep them in a journal of file on your computer. Take more pics throughout the challenge to track your progress.
Part of our challenge is at least 30 minutes of exercise. This could be a walk, jog, aerobics, swimming, etc.
for me, I try to focus on at least 30 minutes of cardio (usually my spin bike or kick boxing) then 10 minutes of kettle bell or core training then abs. I look at my target area and see what I want to improve, such as my obliques, tighten my thighs more and strengthen my upper body and work it out. I don't normally weigh myself as I don't believe in scales because they don't give accurate info based on muscle vs fat. The last weigh in: I am 5'6, 168 lbs, 24% bmi (body mass index)...if I were to go by a standard weight scale, I would be labeled overweight based on my height and weight. Thanks to my homeopathic doc explaining how that system can be skewed and to not put so much emphasis on it...So, I focus on toning areas that may have more fat than others and core training. Diet, more than anything, play a HUGE role. I don't believe in DIETING, but I do believe in eating healthy foods overall. It's all about balance! Lets do it!!!
Part of our challenge is at least 30 minutes of exercise. This could be a walk, jog, aerobics, swimming, etc.
for me, I try to focus on at least 30 minutes of cardio (usually my spin bike or kick boxing) then 10 minutes of kettle bell or core training then abs. I look at my target area and see what I want to improve, such as my obliques, tighten my thighs more and strengthen my upper body and work it out. I don't normally weigh myself as I don't believe in scales because they don't give accurate info based on muscle vs fat. The last weigh in: I am 5'6, 168 lbs, 24% bmi (body mass index)...if I were to go by a standard weight scale, I would be labeled overweight based on my height and weight. Thanks to my homeopathic doc explaining how that system can be skewed and to not put so much emphasis on it...So, I focus on toning areas that may have more fat than others and core training. Diet, more than anything, play a HUGE role. I don't believe in DIETING, but I do believe in eating healthy foods overall. It's all about balance! Lets do it!!!
dang… I just learned about this challenge tonight. When is the next one? I would love to participate!