Hey everyone!! Happy Monday evening!!! 
My evening got here WAY faster than I would have liked… I ended up taking a two-hour nap after work today! I woke up and it was dark outside. 
Darn you, daylight savings!! Looks like maybe I should have a cup of coffee tomorrow morning… I seem to be more productive when I drink it!
Besides the whole sleeping-for-the-whole-afternoon thing, I actually had a pretty good day. In an effort to prevent any holiday weight gain, and hopefully LOSE my extra post-wedding pounds, I decided to go back to an eating method that has worked really well for me in the past: eating Raw ’til Dinner. (RTD, for short) It’s a pretty easy concept: eat only raw food until dinner time! Eating this way ensures that I eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, getting lots of nutrients and enzymes in my body, but it also keeps me mentally satisfied– knowing that I can eat a piping hot dinner each evening!
I have eaten an all-raw diet in the past, and while I was pretty content eating that way, I did find myself missing certain cooked foods… (That was back in the day where I wouldn’t let myself “cheat” on my diet! Now I wish I would have said to myself, “Hello?! You’re craving steamed broccoli!! Eat it, dummy!” ) Ha ha. Hind-sight is 20/20, right? 
My green juice this morning kicked-off my RTD plan, and then I moved onto a mini-green-monster around noon:
This little monster had 1 frozen banana, 1 1/2 cups spinach, juice of 1/2 a small lemon, and 3/4 cup almond milk. It was surprisingly tasty! I didn’t even need a straw to suck it down!!
About 30 minutes later I snacked on an organic bosc pear (I love their brown-paper-bag-like skin!)
And after that, I made some super-tasty coconut chia pudding:
Topped with a scoop of almond butter, a dash of cinnamon, and a drizzle of maple syrup. Holy yum. 
Coconut Chia Pudding
makes 2 servings
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup dried, unsweetened coconut flakes
1 cup almond milk (I like Pacific brand)
generous dash of pumpkin pie spice
dash of sea salt
5 drops liquid stevia, or to taste
Simply mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl, adjust seasonings to your liking, then refrigerate for 15-20 minutes until the pudding is set. Then devour!!
I’m excited that I still have another serving of my chia pudding leftover for tomorrow!
Since I napped away the rest of my daylight hours, there was no mid-afternoon snack, and no workout. Bummer. I’ll do better tomorrow, I promise!! I think my body was just exhausted from all the Dawsonsgiving hosting we did yesterday… I’ve done 3 full loads of dishes, and it’s still not all done yet!! Hopefully everything will feel back-to-normal tomorrow.
Dinner was pretty simple tonight, since I didn’t wake up in time to make anything too gourmet:
Steamed broccoli and zucchini, topped with organic marinara sauce.
And a side of sweet potato home fries! (served with organic ketchup, since I try to avoid HFCS like the plague!!)
These homefries were so easy to make! I simply chopped up one white sweet potato into bite-sized chunks, and tossed them in a tablespoon of olive oil with a generous dash of garlic powder, paprika, dried minced onions and sea salt. Spread them out into a single layer on a cookie sheet, and bake 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees, flipping them half-way through. Easy peasy!
For dessert, I made my favorite Clean Limeade:
Juice of 1/2 a lime, a few drops of liquid stevia (to taste), and half a glass of sparkling water. I top it off with ice, and it’s perfection! I never miss real soda when I have this around.
I’m off to read in bed! Good night!!
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