A Spring Challenge: Day 5

We are on Day 5 tomorrow which means week ONE is about to hit the books. One down, two to go. These are the typical first week results that I hear: increased energy, decrease in cravings, decrease in hunger between meals, decrease in bloating/"my tummy is flat", "mental clarity", no headaches, and decrease in constipation.

Day 5 Agenda:

1. Play! Go play a sport you love, go on a hike with your family, play frisbee, go slack lining, go sledding/tubing in the snow, paddle a canoe or play basketball in a gym. Grab your family/friends and enjoy yourselves together doing what you love!
2. Sleep at least 8 hours/night. From here on out, plan ahead so you get enough sleep and take the time to relax 2 hours before bed {I know the mom's are thinking, "YEAH RIGHT!"} To make things more calming, turn off the TV, computer, put away phones and other gadgets. Dim the lights, read books with your kids, etc. Create a more calming environment to help everyone wind down.

Meal/Snack Ideas:

Breakfast- scramble eggs with mushrooms, peppers, spinach and onions; cook up some sausage with eggs and a dash of cayenne pepper.

Lunch- make a broccoli soup or other vegetable favorite.

Dinner-

Spicy Mexican Sausage Stew

• 4 large sausage links, sliced into 1/4-1/2 inch chunks
• 1 red or green bell pepper, chopped into medium chunks
• 1 white onion, thickly sliced and chopped in half
• 1 tomato, diced into medium chunks
• 1/2 can of diced tomatoes
• 1/2 can El Pato tomato sauce
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1T olive oil

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan and add sausage. Stir sausage until brown on all sides. Set sausage aside. In the same pan, add all ingredients except for the cans of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Cook until tender. Then add sausage back to the pan, cans of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Add salt and pepper as desired. Turn heat down to a simmer or 1-2 stove setting. Cover and let cook for about 2 hours. Let cool and serve topped with chopped cilantro or other garnish.

Document:

-how you increased your daily movement

-what your "PLAY" activity was

-hours of sleep and relaxation techniques tried
-energy level {POOR, AVERAGE, GREAT}
-satisfaction level with meals
-hunger level between meals
-struggles
-benefits