saying, 'no, no temptation!'

Jackson doesn't have a wide vocabulary as of yet (he isn't even two), but he can say NO, NO clearly and emphatically. In fact, I often overhear him telling himself 'no, no...(insert indistinguishable jibberish here). When I sneak over to see what's going on, many times I see him standing by the stove or holding a spoon aimed to drum on a wall or about to dump his milk on the floor. He sees the temptation and tells himself no, out loud. Not such a bad idea...it doesn't seem to always help him make the right decision, but at least he's trying. Perhaps I can learn from my sweet and sassy toddler.

It's only been two days since I've started 42 days to Fit, and I've already had to exercise my self-control muscle several times. Now that I'm trying to steer clear of 'desserts', I realize how often sweets are presented to me throughout the day...in the teacher's lounge at school, at the bank, on a friend's coffee table, at birthday parties, in our own pantry. They are everywhere! The flip side- they are everywhere! I don't need to feel like I'm being deprived when there will be plenty of opportunities for me to eat some m&ms tomorrow or the next day, etc.

In fact, I'm gearing myself up for two big celebrations this weekend: a toddler birthday with cupcakes and ice cream, oh my! And, of course, the Super Bowl. I'm not going to completely deprive myself at these events, but I think coming up with a strategy and food limit will be wise for me. I don't want to derail myself and undo all of the hard work I've put in this week.

I've also done some meal planning. Here is a link to the meal planning template I chose to print out: Meal Planning Template

Here are two new recipes that we plan on having again on 'meatless Mondays':
Portobello Pasta and Angel Hair Pasta with Artichokes, Zucchini, and Lemon

Both of these pasta dishes have subtle flavors, but my family enjoyed them. I like having something light and refreshing for dinner.  And the angel hair pasta was delicious in my lunch the next day. I even shared some with a friend who also had positive things to say about the recipe (we didn't have any portobello pasta left-over).  Nummy! (That's what Jackson says.)