Day 26, 27 & 29! Dedication!!!

Hey yall!

I have been very dedicated and I am so happy!  I took a few days off from the blog because I had a pretty busy weekend and wanted to post two special recipes for you all!

DEDICATION is important to your success!  I made it through a whole month following the INSANITY calender and in total lost 10 pounds for the month of January!  I don't think I have ever been so dedicated to this type of lifestyle and really feel that I can continue to keep this up!

Today started my 5th week of INSANITY and it is Core Cardio and Resistance!!! God answered my prayers and gave me some what of a break from Sean T's madness!!!! It still makes me work up a sweat as well as feel the burn but it is not as intense as the past 4 weeks!  I need it because my body needs to recover from all that craziness and get ready for craziness on a whole other level!  Next week all the video are going to be to the MAX! Literally! I saw that one of the videos is an hour long and not my usual 38 to 42 minutes! EEEEEEEEK!  I really liked today's workout.  I could feel the burn in a good way not a crazy dripping sweaty way!!!

Check out my weekly menu from now on the tab above labeled, "Weekly Meals".


Now for the good stuff! Here are the recipes.

Pita Pizza

First make your pita.....

Ingredients:

• 3 cups Whole Wheat pastry flour
• 1 1/2 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 and half T honey (regular or organic)
• 1 1/3 cup water, warm
• 2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 packet active dry yeast and or insant packet of yeast

Directions:

1. In mixing bowl, put all your dry ingredients (salt, flour, yeast).  Stir it together.  
2. Pour in half of the water and stir until things are slightly mixed.  
3. Add honey, olive oil and remainder of the water.  
4. Stir well until begins to look dough like.  Take your hands and roll into a ball.
5. Put down a little flour and knead the dough in that area.  If you need to keep adding a little flour at a time to your work area go ahead so it does not stick to area or your hands.  Do this for about 8 to 10 minutes.
6. When you are done, roll dough into a ball and put into a bowl lightly greased with olive oil.  
7. Put some plastic wrap and a damp towel over the bowl.  It should enlarge so let it set there for about  80 minutes.
8. When ready, Roll it into 8 to 10 pieces depending on the size you probably want for your pita bread.
9. Cover them with a damp cloth and let sit for 15 minutes.  
10. Take one at a time and roll them out.  Put some flour on the top of the dough as well as under it.
11. Turn oven on 375 degrees and place on a baking pan (either side).  Cook two to three of them at a time until they turn brownish.  Bake in oven for a total of 4 minutes. 
12. Don't forget to taste one right out of the oven! So delicious when they are hot

I put mine in a freezer safe bag and put in the fridge.  They should last at least 4 to 5 days.  Mine did not last so long!!! And no I did not eat them by myself lol!

Also, I only found whole wheat pastry flour at Whole Foods.  It was only $3.

To make this delicious pita a pizza, choose your favorite ingredients (try for healthier options).

I used...organic pizza sauce (extra good), turkey pepperoni, part-skim mozzarella cheese and sauteed mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers and green peppers.

Directions: Take a cooked pita, spoon on a couple spoonfuls of sauce on the pizza, add about 2/3 cup fresh grated (or pre packaged) shredded part skim mozzarella cheese, and add your toppings.  I put 7 turkey pepperoni's on mine and that is 37 calories.  The pita based on my calorie counter is about 140 calories.  I only ate one to satisfy my pizza craving and it hit the spot!  I did want more than one though!!!

Pita Ingredients

Some of the pizza toppings

Salt time!

Pour flour in bowl

Knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes

Roll into a ball

Put in lightly greased bowl

Cover with plastic wrap then a damp towl

It has risen!

Make your small balls of dough

Roll them out.  Don't forget flour above and below the ball of dough

Put on the hot baking sheet

Here ya go! Hot yummy pita bread! Not hard at all.  Hardest thing is waiting for it to rest 80 minutes.

MINESTRONE

Yummy veggie and bean based soup!  If you want more protein or don't like beans add shredded chicken.

Get one can of stewed tomatoes, two cans of tomato sauce, kidney beans (1 or 2 cans depending on how much you like beans), and a large carton of Vegetable stock.  Try to find them with no salt added and low sugar.

Get your veggies: 3 mushrooms, 8 celery stalks, 4-5 fresh carrot sticks, 4 green onions, 2/3 cup basil, 5 cloves garlic, chopped, 1/2 cup frozen corn, 1 whole onion, 2 zucchini, half of a small eggplant (I may omit this and add extra zucchini next time), and 1/2 cup frozen peas.  You can always change it up by adding more or less of a veggies or picking some other types to go in the soup.

Chop your veggies.  

Saute the garlic, onions, basil and green onions on medium heat until onion is translucent.

Chop the egg plant this is about how much I used.

More veggies.  Take a look and gauge how much you may want to add.   Amounts of each item written above.

Pour vegetable stock, stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce in big pot.  Add the can(s) of beans and veggies.  Cook until tender.
I actually added about a cup of whole wheat pasta shells.  Let beans and veggies cook on Medium for about 10 minutes.  Add the pasta to the soup and let cook for about 10 minutes.  Set aside with lid on top if pasta is not all the way done but it should be. Serve with a little fresh grated Parmesan!  Delicious!

Eat up! Makes several bowls.  I ended up freezing my leftovers for another day.  Tip: Pour leftover soup in muffin pans (silicone works well because you can pop them out) and then store in freezer bags.  This way you can pop out two or three and put in a pot and re-boil with a little water for another meal.

Thanks for reading! As always feel free to comment, make suggestions, or ask many any questions.  Email me at wymichelleblogs@gmail.com if you would like!

Until next time, go buy someone some flowers or take a brisk walk and truly enjoy your surroundings!