I Want A Cheeseburger

With one more day of the cleanse left after today, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel....and a cheeseburger....and a beer....and maybe a side of fries.  Just kidding.  But for real, my monthly visitor showed up on Monday (yeah buddy!) and the need for a cheeseburger set in.  No, I will not have one until after the cleanse but when I do, it may look a little something like this:

YouTube "David Hasselhoff eating a cheeseburger" and then leave a comment saying thank you. :)

Hurts so good!

I am not gonna lie, Bud and I have been thinking about exactly what we are going to eat for dinner on Thursday since Sunday.  We are definitely going for something delish and definitely not cleanse-friendly.  Now don't get all "way to undo that last 10 days" on me, because after that, I am back on the wagon (or is it off the wagon - I never get that saying right) of eating healthy.  I don't plan on eating 100% clean because that takes a lot of work and A LOT of planning, but I am really going to try and eat clean for most of my meals and make better choices with the other meals.  To me, that is doable.  And something I can stick to. 

Throughout this cleanse I have learned that I really like having fruits and veggies as snacks.  AND, they actually fill me up!  Who knew!!??  Also, I have learned that there are so many healthier versions of the foods and recipes that I love, that are also REALLY good.  It just takes a little research.  For example, Saturday we went to my sister-in-law's house for the Final Four games.  We knew there was going to be a lot of food there and drinks, so we came prepared.  We made turkey sweet and sour meatballs and bruschetta.  Both recipes are cleanse-friendly and they were SOOOOOOOO good!  In fact, they were so good that people not on the cleanse were eating them too!  Here they are in case you want to try too:

Bruschetta

makes about 8-10 servings

Gently blend together in a medium mixing bowl:

6 good sized Roma tomatoes, diced

3/4 cup of sun dried tomatoes (packed in oil-preferably olive oil) finely chopped

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

4 t. minced garlic

1/2 cup of finely chopped fresh basil

2 T. balsamic vinegar

1/4 t. ground pepper

1/2 cup of grated Parmesan cheese (cheese is not allowed on the cleanse but we still added a little)

Preheat your oven to 400* and spread the mixture in an 8" x 8" baking dish and bake for about 10-15 minutes - once the edges are bubbling and it smells amazing. 

We then bought some 100% whole wheat mini bread (that's the best way I can describe it), brushed a little olive oil on top, and then put them under the broiler to toast them up a bit.  I tried looking for a whole grain baguette to cut up but didn't have any luck.  This was so good - we will definitely be making it again.

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Sweet and Sour Meatballs

• 1 lb. lean ground turkey
• 1 cup cooked brown rice
• 1 8oz can crushed pineapple in juice, drained
• 1/2 cup green onions
• 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 tsp. ginger 

Sauce:

• 3/4 cup reduced-sodium, low fat chicken broth
• 1/3 cup chili sauce
• 3 tbsp. rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine meatball ingredients in medium bowl and mix thoroughly.  Line a baking sheet with foil.  Place cooking racks in foil lined baking sheet.  Shape meatballs and place on the racks.  Bake for about 25 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.  Transfer the meatballs to a serving dish and cover to keep warm.

Combine the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and stir until cornstarch is dissolved.  Place sauce over medium heat and stir intermittently until mixture comes to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, and stir for another minute or until mixture thickens slightly.  Pour sauce over meatballs, and gently toss to coat meatballs and serve warm with toothpicks.

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Saturday night we did cheat a little on the cleanse. Since we have been basically 100% on this entire cleanse, we caved and had a couple vodka waters with lemons.  It was the healthiest cocktail we could come up with and it actually was pretty good!  I am going to start drinking them more often instead of mixing with diet soda or juice.  Basically you can hydrate while you dehydrate. :)

Also on Saturday, I got my 9 mile run in!  It was TOUGH!  I am usually good for about 6 miles, no problems, but after that 6 things can be hit or miss.  When I ran my 8 miles last week it didn't seem bad at all.  This week running 9 was definitely a lot harder.  With running, I have good and bad days.  Some days I feel like I could run right through a marathon of the RH of Where Ever, no big deal, but others I have to take breaks, walk, drink water, etc.  That was how my run on Saturday was.  I am not mad about it, because I still finished, but I was definitely worn out by the end.  Here is how I finished:

Yeah it's sideways - apparently my computer skills are not as good as I thought

Not the best time but I am not even mad about it.  9 miles is my longest run to date so I will take it!  Next up, 10 miles this Saturday.  I pray that the weather is nice enough for me to run outside so I don't have to spend another 90+ minutes on the deathmill. 

Welp, that's all I have for now.  Here's to getting through another day (after today) of the cleanse and a cheeseburger waiting for me at the finish line. :)

Do yourself a favor and NEVER, ever, ever, EVER google image "best cheeseburger" when you are on a cleanse. 
Mouth. Watering. Out. Of. Control. Someone. Get. Me. A. Bucket.

Enjoying the sunshine on Sunday

See ya later suckas!