24 Day Challenge...Day 16

I can't believe that we I have already reached day 16 of my challenge!  We have had a cool front come through yesterday afternoon so it has only gotten to the upper 70s today, which is awesome considering the 100+ temperatures we have been dealing with!  Me and Miss Thang took advantage of the awesome weather by spending most of the day outside and taking a couple of long walks.  

One of the things that I did about 6 months ago when I got real serious about dropping this baby weight (when your child turns 1 it is past time for the weight to go!) was to get a good pedometer.  I invested the money on a FitBit Pedometer and have loved it.  It is way more accurate than the walmart $5 specials I use to use, plus it tracks sleep patterns and syncs with myfitnesspal.  I am a very competitive person so seeing how many steps or miles I go in a day helps me to set goals for myself.   My goal has always been to hit 8,000 or more steps each day, and I have done fairly good at hitting that goal.  However, since I am really trying to get more exercise into my days I have upped my goal to 10,000 steps per day.  Today I took 2 fairly long walks and as I type this, my pedometer is showing 13,100 steps...that translates to just over 5 1/2 miles today!  I hope to keep this up over the next several days, while we have this nice cool weather.

I tried another new recipe tonight and it turned out pretty good.  I made some Cauliflower Cheese Sticks (see below for recipe), steamed veggies, and whole grain spaghetti and meat sauce.  The cheese sticks were pretty good (the hubby even got seconds), although the texture was a little different.  I have really tried to tweak some of my regular rotation meals in order to not feel like I have to eat only granola and carrot sticks.  So far it hasn't been too bad, although I definitely have to plan ahead a little more to make sure I have all the ingredients.  I have found that whole grain pasta is pretty good and I can't tell a difference between olive oil and vegetable oil or regular salt and reduced sodium salt.  It is amazing how easily you can cut a few calories by just substituting a couple of ingredients.

Cauliflower Cheese Sticks

1/2 of a head of cauliflower, grated

1 egg white

1/2 tsp Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb

1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning

3/4 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350.  Put grated cauliflower in microwave for about 4 1/2 minutes to help soften it for easier mixing.  Mix cauliflower, seasonings, egg white, and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese.  Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Spread mixture onto cookie sheet and bake for about 30 minutes.  Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of the mixture and bake another 10-15 minutes *

*If you like crispy bread like I do you can turn the oven to broil for a few minutes to make the top crispy*