Summer Spinach Salad with Fresh Raspberry Dressing

Another TLS Detox friendly recipe! I found some super fresh raspberries at the market this morning and I knew immediately I wanted to make a detox friendly dressing with them. Since all you can eat on detox is fruits and veggies it is hard to eat plain old salads without any dressing on them. Raspberry dressing to the rescue! It is so simple and I'm quite amazed myself at how good it tastes.

Ingredients:
2 cups Baby Spinach
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup diced fresh strawberries
1/4 cup chopped fresh broccoli


Dressing:
6 oz fresh raspberries
1/2 Tbsp dijon mustard
1-1/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar


For the dressing, combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. If you are not detoxing feel free to add 1 Tbsp EVOO

Detox Vegetable Soup

I just got back from an awesome family vacation on Lake Winnisquam in New Hampshire - a family tradition for 13 years now! Most nights, dinner is a community event, so we have steak night, spaghetti and meatball night...you get the idea. After all the delicious home cooked food I decided I need to put my body through detox again. I might just be crazy.

For my second detox I decided I needed to make some veggie soup! Last time I didn't have something quick and easy like this to go to, so this time it was a must.

I'm already starving. It's only day 2 of 7. Detox is hard, but sooo worth it.

Lake Winnisquam: A Family Vacation!

I am so blessed to have so many people in my life that I can call family. Every summer (since I was about 9 years old) my step-father's family has rented a house on Lake Winnisquam in New Hampshire

IT IS AWESOME.

Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps

Lettuce wraps are my new obsession. You can take a usually fatty meal {beef tacos} and turn it into something light, healthy, and amazingly delicious.

Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps

I love being able make comfort foods healthy. Yes, tacos are a comfort food for me - much love to my Mexican family on my Mom's side :)

In Mexico, it is a sin to put sour cream on your taco. However, I LOVE IT. But, I no longer use sour cream...ever. I have switched to Greek yogurt and I find that it gives the same creamy, tangy flavor without raining on your healthy eating parade. Check out this article from LiveStrong.com that gives all the details on the nutritional differences between Greek yogurt and sour cream. It is a deal breaker.

TLS Weeks 7-12: The Home Stretch!

We made it!!!!!! 


Final Stats after 12 weeks: 

• Down 15 lbs
• Decreased body fat by 3.8%
• Metabolic age lowered by 10 years!
• Inches lost overall: 9

Having already lost 20 lbs prior to TLS I am extremely happy with these results! This program was exactly what I needed to get over the plateau I was in and it completely changed my metabolism. We had some amazing transformations in our group and I can say without a doubt that this program really does change lives.

12 weeks ended up seeming longer than I thought it would, but definitely not in a bad way. After 6 weeks on the TLS program you are allowed to introduce grains back into your diet. Don't get too excited though! This does not mean you can now eat whatever you want and pig out on that pasta and bread you've been craving for the past 6 weeks (you know you were). The whole purpose of the TLS system is to transition your lifestyle, so when I say you can eat grains I mean whole, natural, nutritious grains like quinoa. You can also choose to avoid grains in general until you reach your weight loss goal because by eliminating them the weight will come off faster.

Before I started TLS I already had a pretty good foundation of knowledge when it comes to healthy eating, so for me the 12 week program was not as hard as it might be for others. The detox in week one was truly the most challenging part (obviously!), but in the end it was so well worth it that I will be doing it again. The most valuable part of the program for me was learning about reading labels. I honestly do not buy anything anymore without reading the key points, such as fat, carbs, sugar, and of course ingredients.

I will admit...I cheated. But it proved how much my metabolism has changed because it didn't effect my weight or progress. Plus, I have been on this "lets lose weight" path for a lot longer than 12 weeks (with results, I might add), so I wasn't too hard on myself with guilt for a little cheat. I am a firm believer that everything in moderation is perfectly fine; it is a matter of educating yourself on how much is too much.

Now that this program is over I am going to continue to eat the TLS way - I simply refer to it as clean eating. I am also going to get back into training mode so I can reach my goal and actually run that half marathon this year!

Matt wants to do a triathlon, so that's next!