Ingredients

400g tinned chickpeas in water, rinsed and drained
1 small onion, peeled
1 clove garlic, peeled
Wholemeal breadcrumbs (from 1 slice of bread)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp olive oil

To serve:
4 large wholemeal pitta breads
A few lettuce leaves
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
¼ cucumber, sliced
4 tbsp zero-fat Greek-style yoghurt
Nutritional information

Method:
1
Place the onion and garlic in a food processor and chop finely.

If you don't have a food processor, you can still make this recipe. Use a hand blender, or mash the chickpeas with a fork or potato masher.

2
Add the chickpeas, breadcrumbs, cumin, coriander, parsley and olive oil, and mix for a bit longer.

Make leftover bread into breadcrumbs and store in the freezer.

3
Shape into 16 balls and place on a greased or lined baking tray. Chill for 30 minutes.

4
Place tray into a preheated oven (200°C/180°C fan/gas mark 6) and bake for about 25 minutes, turning the falafel to prevent sticking.

5
To assemble, fill each pitta with lettuce, sliced tomatoes and cucumber, falafel and some yoghurt.

Warming the pittas in a toaster or under the grill makes them easier to split and fill. The falafel can also be served warm with couscous and vegetables.

-Found on change4life

Waiting. . . waiting. . . and more waiting. Ordered a Fitbit Charge HR off eBay last week - I tried the Charge2 and hated it. Anyway, Ebay says it won't be here until tomorrow, USPS says "it's in transit to next facility" as of this morning and that it should be here by 8:00. I just want to know how the package skipped me (rhetorical question). It went from L.A. to St. Paul and I'm in NV.

@MJsStory - it was too complicated as far as the programed workouts (run, interval training, etc.). Half the time I was missing the correct workout because of timing/equipment response issues. I find it easier just to push the button on the side of the HR and figure out the appropriate workout when I'm done.

Practicing my daily log in lol. I have no AC right now so I'm pretty miserable and it is very tempting to reach for some ice cream.

kahlan84 wrote: »

Practicing my daily log in lol. I have no AC right now so I'm pretty miserable and it is very tempting to reach for some ice cream.

Wasn't really thinking about ice cream until I read your post. Now I want some (and don't have any).

lionessNV wrote: »

@MJsStory - it was too complicated as far as the programed workouts (run, interval training, etc.). Half the time I was missing the correct workout because of timing/equipment response issues. I find it easier just to push the button on the side of the HR and figure out the appropriate workout when I'm done.

I gave up trying to use that function and just use it for alarms, steps, and text messages when I’m away from my phone. I have noticed that if I am carrying something or pushing a wheelchair my steps don’t count.

I’m a staffing coordinator for a nursing facility. May Day is spent delivering documents to be signed, processing those documents, and then delivering them to the front for filing with headquarters. When I’m not chasing down and employee for a signature then I am assisting residents getting from here to there. It’s pretty frustrating as I know I walk at least double what it records.

For example, the other day I counted how many flights of stairs I did in a day. We have 1 elevator down and the other is beyond slow so I only use it if I have to. Fitbit says I did 11 flights of stairs, I recorded 25.

I'm other people have suggested this in previous challenges, but I've decided to pick out an "award" to give myself if/when I get into the winner's circle. I think this could be helpful for some, especially when motivation & determination start to wane. Make it something specific and realistic. For example, not just "a nice dinner out" but "dinner at XYZ restaurant where I will order XYZ meal and wear XYZ outfit." Personally, I'm going to reward myself with a specific item on Poshmark that I've been eyeing for a long time. Just a thought, hope it helps you all!

My understanding is that you need to account for it in whatever way you feel works for you best.
For example, my calorie budget is not changed by exercise because I take that into account when planning, so I'm not too worried about recording my exercise (but for me getting exercise in is easy because I train a sport I love.) I need to focus on choosing healthy food because that's my weak area, so logging all the food I eat keeps me accountable. If I say I logged it all but I didn't, I'm only cheating myself.

If you work with a calorie budget that changes with your exercise calories and it is synced to a device which links, I'm sure that meets the spirit of the challenge.

@acaliforniadreamer.... I log all my exercises as my doctor looks at my app when I go in for checkups. He is looking at macros and minutes of exercise and then compares it to my lab work. As he says “I like being difficult” as he often gets false positive test results for me. Being able to see what I am doing and comparing it to the blood work gives him more accurate information on how to adjust my medications.

I take one of the kids or my husband with me on all my walks. I take off my Fitbit for these and I have them track instead. As soon as I’m done my Fitbit goes back on. This allows me to more accurately track (I think) so I long my active waking minutes and then my Fitbit does its own thing.

I know it miscounts my steps at work and misses about 50% as it will not track if you are carrying or pushing something. I usually mentally add 40% to my step count for a more accurate reading.

I need to switch to a pedometer on my shoes and then buy a watch of some kind to wear instead of my Fitbit. Still deciding on what I want so keeping with my Fitbit till it dies.

@Dory_42 Yeah that makes sense. My main concern is that it does adjust my calories based on my fitbit. I don't want to count more calories exercised than I've earned. Logging food is no problem but I feel like double counting the exercise would be cheating lol.

memere101 wrote: »

@MJsStory sounds like a very busy, productive, and fun (other than the cleaning and looking for a spider part) day! I’m exhausted...been on baby duty so the others can sleep...now I need a nap!

I found the spider

MJsStory wrote: »

@acaliforniadreamer.... I log all my exercises as my doctor looks at my app when I go in for checkups. He is looking at macros and minutes of exercise and then compares it to my lab work. As he says “I like being difficult” as he often gets false positive test results for me. Being able to see what I am doing and comparing it to the blood work gives him more accurate information on how to adjust my medications.

I take one of the kids or my husband with me on all my walks. I take off my Fitbit for these and I have them track instead. As soon as I’m done my Fitbit goes back on. This allows me to more accurately track (I think) so I long my active waking minutes and then my Fitbit does its own thing.

I know it miscounts my steps at work and misses about 50% as it will not track if you are carrying or pushing something. I usually mentally add 40% to my step count for a more accurate reading.

I need to switch to a pedometer on my shoes and then buy a watch of some kind to wear instead of my Fitbit. Still deciding on what I want so keeping with my Fitbit till it dies.

At work I put my fitbit in my bra as I don't have pickets and it is pretty accurate.

Anyone want to swop their summer for my winter? It's basically the first really cold week and I'm already hating it. And here in South Africa cold isn't even close to what some people get... I just want to run around barefoot again!

cutting calories makes for sluggish running

memere101 wrote: »

Happy Saturday! How did everyone do for week 1? @MJsStory going on another spider hunt?

Nope! That spider is dead! I still have the bite mark on my foot but it’s not itching and burning anymore. All headboards in the house have been vacuumed behind, all mattresses vacuumed and flipped, all bedding washed, old bedding was thrown out and replaced. (2queens, 1 full, and a set of bunk beds). There are no more spiders in the house.

This weekend is my mother-in-laws surprise birthday party so we have been cleaning at church and decorating. It looks like a fairy tale off of Pinterest! Today is the big event and then it has to be all cleaned up and returned to normal for church tomorrow. Tomorrow we rest as we are gonna need it!

My Dad arrives on Monday!! That means a week of long hikes, fishing for dinner, camping out in the RV on the mighty Mississippi, visiting antique stories, historical sites and museums. Chasing footballs and dogs, bbqs, and very little sleep. He lives just over 2000 miles away and is here for 1 week at the beginning of summer and 1 at the end. He’ll drive off in the RV to do the rest of the family summer annual tour he does and then will be back before heading home for the fall/winter.

Dad likes to feel needed so like my aunt did with my PapPap... I make sure something is broken for him to fix while I’m at work. This year I messed up the front landscaping in the terrace. He loves yard work so it’ll keep him busy. Gotta figure out something else to break for his 2nd week. If they don’t have something to do they will drive you crazy.