Too much of a good thing is...

...still too much!

I was so excited when I finished laying out our SuperBowl spread yesterday. Veggies & white bean hummus, blue corn chips and homemade guacamole, apple slices and a few fancy-schmancy cheeses, homemade chicken fingers that William breaded himself, homemade baked fries and a truly delectable strawberry/cashew/cocoa gallete that Julia helped me make. It was gorgeous!
The thing is, by then end of that very stressful game, I had eaten too much. Not a guilt-inducing food coma or anything, it was just the first time since I started 6FIT that I went overboard. I guess having only healthy foods around doesn't eliminate the need to really pay attention when I eat. Too much of a good thing...

The same goes for exercise. I finished up cardio week without missing a day. I took my mandatory day off to do pilates instead so I got in 7 great workouts last week. Mostly I feel great about this, but my knees are really complaining now. I refuse to chalk it up to an aging body but I do need to pay more attention to the kinds of exercise I'm getting and make sure I support my knees better when I'm jumping around a lot. Again, too much of a good thing...

So on to Vegetarian Week and Attack Your Abs!

Some musings and thoughts for the week ahead:

On beets (1 of our foods of the week):

• If you haven't had fresh beets, you haven't really had beets. The canned ones just don't compare.
• Don't throw away the greens! The are delicious chopped and sauteed in a little olive oil.
• My favorite way to cook them is cubed and baked with a bit of olive oil, but sometimes I boil them. 
• Leftovers are great cold. Just toss them on your salad.
• We will probably all have red hands by the end of the week unless we wear gloves when we prepare them.
• BEET JUICE STAINS!!! EVERYTHING!!
• Beets are really good for your digestive system but beware, they often act as a mild laxative. 
• I repeat, beet juice stains everything, including your insides, so don't by surprised (panicked?) by unusual coloring as they make their way out of your system. Enough said.

On squash (Superfood #2 this week):

• Just try them all-you can't lose!
• You can eat spaghetti squash just like spaghetti. Cut it in half the long way, scoop out the seeds and bake it, cut side down in about 1/4 inch of water until it's soft, then scrape a fork down the insides and it will come out looking like spaghetti. 
• Don't toss the seeds. Roast them with a little salt or some tamari for a great salty snack. You can also roast them with brown sugar and cinnamon for a sweeter treat.
• Squash and apples are great complimentary flavors so try cooking them together.
• Pumpkin Bread! Skip the canned stuff and roast your own, then just mash it up and it's ready to go. You can use unsweetened applesauce instead of oil and it's a fairly healthy indulgence. I roast all of our uncarved pumpkins after halloween and freeze them in small batches for baking the rest of the year.

On attacking my abs:

• Let me find them and I'll get back to you.

On 6FIT:

We just passed the half-way mark and it's time to ramp up and find all of that great energy, motivation and commitment we were loving three weeks ago! Don't slump in solitude. Let your team members know what's going on so they can help get you back on track. My fellow 6Fitters were great last week when I needed a boost and I'm so grateful. And I love that the competition is heating up. Posting the standings as we headed into the weekend was a huge motivator! 

Thank you all so much for being with me for both the highs AND the lows.

Here's to everything in moderation--I'm feeling great and looking forward to another challenging week!

Who's with me?

~Mari-Chris