24 Day Challenge...Day 4

When I started this challenge I really thought that I would have to eat cardboard every single day and I would just be waiting for it to be over.  However, I have been pretty surprised at the variety of foods that I have found.  I have also been surprised to find out the massive amount of sodium in many of the "convenience" foods many people consume every single day (especially me when I am in a rush during the school year).  It is small wonder that we blow up like balloons with the amount of salt in our foods.

I messed up a little bit today at lunch by cooking and eating something before really reading the label.  I had picked up a package of frozen brown rice with some vegetables.  It was one of those packages that you just throw in the microwave and it steams in the bag.  I had thought that it would be a good meal for the cleanse since both brown rice as well as veggies are allowed.  As I was eating it during lunch, I thought to myself that it really seemed to be strongly seasoned, so I looked a little closer at the label and was bummed to see it had added sugar and the sodium content was super high.  Oh well, I had already eaten most of it so rather than beat myself up I just made the decision to double check labels a little closer, even if it appears to be healthy.  Other than that little blip on the radar, I did pretty good.  

I shook it up today and tried something that I had never tried before....I made some taco soup tonight with ground venison rather than ground beef and it turned out pretty good.  Believe it or not, it was even venison from a deer that I had shot while hunting with the hubby.   I was a pioneer woman tonight ; ).  I typically make the soup from canned vegetables and beans but tonight I made it a little different to cut down on the extra sodium.  I found something pretty handy in the freezer section when I was grocery shopping the other day.  Birds eye makes packages called "Recipe Ready" that are simply pre-sliced veggies in different varieties.  I got the one called "Southwest Blend" and it has corn, black beans, peppers, and onions.  Rather than using the canned stuff I used this and it actually turned out great.  It was probably even quicker than using cans because I only had to open one package rather than 5 or six cans ; ).  I did add one can of Rotel, but would have used fresh tomatoes and green chilies if I would have thought about it when I was grocery shopping.  Along with the soup I took some of my whole grain tortillas, cut them into strips, and baked them at 350 for about 15 minutes to use as tortilla chips (see picture above).
If nothing else, because of my resolve to really do good on this challenge, I am learning a ton about the foods I cook.  I wish there was more of a push in education to teach students these things.  I learned next to nothing about nutrition when I was in school, there wasn't even a home economics class offered in my high school.  Don't get me wrong, I don't blame teachers or schools for the obesity of America (I am a teacher after all).  What I do believe is that sometimes we miss out on valuable life long lessons in the race to beat every other country in the world on our test scores.  Ok, I will get off my soapbox for the night, If you are interested I have put my recipe below.  Have a blessed Independence Day tomorrow!!! Stay safe!

Taco Soup

1 lb lean ground meat, browned (I used venison but beef or turkey would work also)
1 Package Birds Eye Recipe Ready Southwest Blend (In the freezer section)
2-3 cups of water (more if you want it soupy, less if you want it like a chili)
1 can Rotel
1/2 package low sodium taco seasoning

Bring water, Rotel, seasoning, and vegetables to a boil.  Add browned meat and return to a boil.  Enjoy!