The Maker's Diet Awards

Here are our top favorites from this past 40 days of doing the Maker's Diet. And the award goes to.....

 

The Cal Ripkin Award: Omelettes!

Like, Cal Ripkin, Jr., omelettes got the most consistent and consecutive play time during this diet. They were always good, very versatile, and never let us down.

The J-Lo award:  Trader Joe's Limeade

Trader Joe's Limeade is good for just about anything. A little bit of a cheater, but you still find yourself coming back to it to help you out. It was good in everything from water to salsa to marinades. A true triple threat.

The Selena Gomez Award: Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash gets the rookie of the year award. A bit of a newcomer, but certainly a great addition to our meals this time. A little scary to try, but a very pleasant surprise. Doesn't taste the way you'd expect from the way it looks.

The David Hasselhoff Award: Corn tortillas

Corn tortillas were a real lifesaver. Wrap 'em around anything and you've got tacos! Also made eating out much easier--you can get them anywhere you go.

The Sandra Bullock Meal Award: Maui Short Ribs and Broccoli

I've been told Sandra Bullock is low-maintenance. So are Maui Short Ribs and Broccoli from Trader Joe's. Quick, easy and low clean-up.

The Tim Tebow Award: Trader Joe's

Of course Trader Joe's gets the MVP award. With products that are clean, natural and pure; and no matter how much you want to go somewhere else, you just keep coming back to Trader Joe's because it's so great. The only haters don't even know Trader Joe's.

Days 38,39 and 40: Ummmm....so.....

We ran into a bit of a problem on Day 38.

Uriah and I both woke up with a pretty nasty cold. Scrambled eggs for breakfast; but Andy brought this home for us for lunch:

Not too awful, right? And definitely needed it.

Dinner was Trader Joe's Maui Short Ribs and broccoli. Still doing pretty good. And felt like we were both getting a good bit better by the time we went to bed Thursday night.

Then came Friday. Not only did I have Floyd, the three-year-old I watch a few times a week, but we had promised him we would take him to Downtown Disney. Oh, and I forgot to mention that his older brother Clark (9 years old) showed up at the door with him, too. He didn't have school, so he decided he wanted to come along with us. AND Uriah and I definitely were still sick. Awesome.

Breakfast was a good smoothie, but lunch was a caesar salad at Disney and dinner was a piece of pizza. It was a LONG day.

So we have definitely NOT finished strong. Still sick today. Uriah actually, surprisingly slept pretty well last night; but he did cough all night long.  Andy was determined to help Uriah feel better, so he brought him this home for breakfast:

Ha. All to himself. He is in heaven.

So I think at this point, we're gonna call it good. We made it 38 days. Ugh. So close.

So.....now what?

Our goal is to keep eating within the parameters of the Maker's Diet, for the most part. Most of the cooking at home will be within the diet (with a few special exceptions), and when we eat out, we want to try to make smart choices about where and what we're eating.

I'd like to to try doing a week-long version of Phase I during the first week of every month, starting in December.

And I'm going to keep blogging. Just not every day. The past 40 days have been mostly about survival. Without the pressure to HAVE TO eat within the diet for EVERY meal, I can focus on finding new, delicious recipes that meet the standards of each phase. I'll be posting the best versions of each. My goal is to post at least once a week.  My guess is that this will actually be more helpful and interesting than the meals over the past 40 days; however I'm hoping those of you who have been reading this have enjoyed seeing what it's like to make this diet work while actually living a real life in the real world.

 Final numbers? Andy lost almost 25 pounds. I lost a little more than 15. But more importantly, we both feel great. Our skin is healthier, we're sleeping better and we have much more energy.

Now back to watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with my sick kid and his smoothie.