Ate Eight Challenge

So I mentioned in my 'November' post that I'm doing a challenge with my mother in law where you have to eat these 8 super foods every day. At first I was a little intimidated and not totally sure I'd be able to squeeze all 8 in every day! But it's been 4 days now and I'm finding it's really not that tough, you just need a little creativity! I figured I'd post what I've had the the past 4 days and maybe it would encourage others who might want to take on this challenge but were nervous about it.

I will also say that I'm SURE I will really need to start mixing it up soon as I'm confident that I'll begin to get bored with the same 'ol stuff. But for now certain things are my go-to items and I have them every day. Also, I HAVE eaten some snacky kinda things that I SHOULDN'T have this week - I am SO not a perfect, healthy eater but I'm working on it. So please forgive those things when you see them. =)

Just to review, here are the items on the list {and their substitutions in brackets, you will notice I use MANY of the subs}

1. Spinach {kale, bok choy, romaine}
2. Yogurt {kefir, soy yogurt}
3. Tomatoes {tomato juice, watermelon, pink grapefruit, papaya, guava}
4. Carrots {sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, yellow pepper, mango}
5. Blueberries {purple grapes, prunes, raisins, strawberries}
6. Black Beans {peas, lentils, pinto, kidney, fava, lima}
7. Walnuts {almonds, peanuts, pistachios, macadamia, hazelnuts}
8. Oats {quinoa, flax seed, wild rice}



Tuesday
Breakfast -
1. Oats cooked in the microwave with
2. Raisins,
3. Walnuts
and Blueberry Agave syrup

Snack -
4. Pumpkin smoothie made with ice, milk, sugar, spices, pumpkin &
5. yogurt

Lunch -
Margarita Grilled Chicken {at Chili's w/ family} with
6. Black beans

{5 mini swedish fish while waiting for dinner - it's HARD with all this Halloween candy in the house!}

Supper -
Baked Fresh fish {that hubby caught!}
Fries and a
7. Spinach salad with
8. Tomatoes

In the evening - a cup of tea

Wednesday
Breakfast -
1. Oats w/ Agave
2. Raisins &
3. Walnuts

Lunch -
4. Spinach salad w/
5. Garbanzo beans, apples, feta cheese
6. V8 juice

Snack -
7. Pumpkin smoothie w/ milk, ice, sugar &
8. Yogurt

{2 mini candy bars - one Almond Joy, one 3 Muskateers - I'm really trying hard to avoid the candy, most years I would be gobbling a TON of it up but this year I'm trying so hard to stay away from it, so a piece here or there I'm not gonna beat myself up over}

Supper -
{Chili's again! Crazy, I know, but it was Awana night and I went with friends!}
Grilled Chicken Tacos w/
Black beans {so double beans for the day!}

No snack in the evening

Thursday
Breakfast -
1. Oats {are you seeing a pattern here?!} w/ cinnamon sugar
2. raisins &
3. walnuts

Snack -
4. Pumpkin Smoothie {same ingredients as the other days} w/
5. Yogurt

2 Ritz crackers and a slice of Amer. cheese cause I was starving before I got home for lunch!

Lunch -
Sandwich made with 9 grain bread, ham, meunster cheese and
6. 1 cup spinach piled on the sandwich

Snack -
1 cup smart food popcorn
coffee

Supper-
7./8. Taco soup {beans and tomatoes}
Organic shredded cheddar cheese
bagel chips {needed something crunchy, should have just skipped these but oh well!}

Dessert-
Baked Pear dessert w/
Yogurt and {2nd serv. for the day}
Almonds {2nd serv of nuts for the day}

Friday
Breakfast-
1. Oats w/ Agave
2. Raisins
3. Walnuts

At our MOMS program-
2 mini lemon poppyseed muffins
cup of apple cider

Lunch-
4./5. Taco soup {tomatoes and beans}
Organic cheddar cheese

Snack-
Single serve pack of Lorna Doone cookies
coffee
2 pretzels {just had the terrible munchies this afternoon!!}
THEN, cause I still wasn't satisfied an hour later ...
Decided to make myself a
6. Pumpkin smoothie {cause at least if I'm gonna keep eating, it should be good for me!}
7. with yogurt in it
8. and I threw in a cup of spinach too cause I didn't feel like having salad today but that way I still got my spinach in. TRUST me, you could NOT even taste the spinach in the pumpkin smoothie.

And that's it ... we haven't had dinner yet today.
Sorry for those who find this incredibly BORING ... but I always like to hear what other people are eating to get ideas of how to be healthier. So I figured I'd share. Again, I am NOT a perfect eater by any means ... totally a work in progress here! The two big things I need to work on are choosing GOOD, healthy snacks when I'm hungry instead of useless stuff like cookies and pretzels ... AND kicking my sugar habit {I just can't seem to have my coffee, oatmeal or smoothies without sweetener in them - any advice on this??}

And if you actually read this whole post and are even remotely interested I will continue to post some of my daily meals ... if not, feel free to stop me by saying 'no one cares Kathy!' in the comments. =)

Have a great weekend!!!!!