This posting is for information only. PLEASE POST YOUR RESULTS ON YOUR CHALLENGE TEAM PAGE. And post questions and comments on your team’s discussion board. Thanks!

🌎️Challenge #7 Saturday, May 18 - Friday, May 24🌎️
✈️DESTINATION - Iceland 6,000 Miles - Meal Preparation & 20 Minute Meal

The challenge begins on Saturday morning. Exercise & Meal Preparation & 20 minute meal with "the pause" done before SATURDAY DOES NOT COUNT!!!!

This is a great time to visit Iceland. You will see majestic hiking trails, mountains, waterfalls, glaciers, horses, greenhouses, hot springs, and cute little towns. And you will hear the people speak Old Norse as spoken by the Vikings 11 centuries ago.

As the land of “fire and ice” Iceland's volcanoes cause the underground water supply to heat up and generate power. Dip into one of the hundreds of geothermal heated pools just like the locals. Have a swim or just sit and relax and meet new people! Pools in the countryside have breathtaking mountain views, and nothing beats a fun "Natural hot spring mission" where you drive into the middle of nowhere to track down a hidden pool.

Whale watching is thrilling and is available from most coastal towns in Iceland. More than twenty different species of whales come to feed off the rich fisheries. But if you're interested in seeing BOTH whales and puffins, there are combo tours. Iceland has the world's largest puffin colony - 10 million!

A lot of tours/activities take place outside of Reykjavik, so you can have a scenic drive and find adventure. The best hiking trails take you to thundering waterfalls, glaciers, volcanoes, lava fields, ice caves, glacial lakes, and hot springs. Or you can suit up and explore magnificent glaciers on a snow machine.

Glaciers are one of the main attractions in Iceland, and to-date there are 269 named. Iceland is also home to Europe’s largest glacier, Vatnajökull, which is equivalent to three times the size of Luxembourg or Rhode Island! The 10,000 waterfalls are at maximum flow.

There will be a day long special Viking Festival for us. We will see battle re-enactments, and we can try axe-throwing, taste traditional Icelandic food, and shop at a Viking market. Note 4 AM sunrise, 10:40 PM sunset.

Interesting Facts About Iceland

The last place on earth to be settled by humans
1,100 years ago Vikings from Norway discovered Iceland by accident
Had the first parliament in Europe
60% of the Icelanders live in the capital city Reykjavik
Has the highest literacy rate in the world 99%!
One out of ten Icelanders publish a book in their lifetime
Icelanders work 45 hours a week, one of the longest in Europe
Grows fruits/vegetables in greenhouses heated with geothermal electricity
The Icelandic horse is the only breed in Iceland
A person’s surname is usually derived from the father’s first name, so it changes with each generation. Icelanders are the sons (son) and daughters (dóttir) of (traditionally) their fathers

Race - You must exercise to earn air miles to get your team to the destination.
1 minute of exercise = 1 air mile

🚴‍♂️DAILY MAXIMUM 120 exercise minutes/air miles.

📝Living the Good Life - Meal Preparation & 20 Minute Meal with The "Pause"

When you are hungry do you wish there was a magic meal genie? This week it will be almost as good as having the genie. Let's be more efficient and intentional with our time in the kitchen by meal prepping. Imagine a scenario where within a few minutes of walking through the door you have a delicious home-cooked dinner, and perhaps even lunch packed-up for the next day.

Meal prepping is the concept of preparing whole meals or dishes ahead of schedule, and portioning it out to be eaten at another time. This will save time and money, and help with weight control, because you decide in advance the ingredients and portions served. Overall it should provide a more nutritionally balanced diet, with less time in the kitchen, tastier meals, and reduced stress as you avoid last minute decisions about what to eat, or have rushed preparation. Make good use of your Instapot or slow cooker, cook a good sized batch that can be eaten over the next few days. Have basics like cooked rice in the fridge ready to accompany future meals.

Also, when you plan ahead you can be more creative. You will have healthy snacks on hand - fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, seeds, etc. Or for instance a Costco rotisserie chicken can be stretched into 3 to 5 meals - as an entree, ingredient for chicken salad, soup, tacos, chicken pot pie, sandwiches, etc. If you thrive on variety then freezing prepped meals will give you more choices in the future.

If spending a whole afternoon prepping meals for the week seems too daunting, then ease into it. When you cook rice, make enough for the week. When you prep fresh vegetables do enough for the week so you can eat them raw, have in a salad or steam them. Make the meatloaf big enough for several meals - a future sandwich, or to add pasta sauce or stew. Cook once but eat twice or more. Eat one portion the first night, then later in the week use the second portion in a different way if you like variety. Or you may choose to make a week of identical meals that can be varied with different sauces or sides.

What do you eat when you are tired, lazy, uninspired? Kraft dinner with tuna? Hit the drive-through on your way home or turn to frozen convenience meals? The advanced planning and work saves you from decision fatigue - the deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual. Wouldn't it be nice to reach for that nutritious planned meal in the fridge, ready to be quickly heated and enjoyed?

If you already food shop once a week and have basic cooking skills, your goal may be to choose one day a week to do most of the cooking, or try a new recipe. If you already cook some weekday meals create a schedule so that you are not deciding last minute what to make and to ensure you have the needed ingredients on hand.

When you have your breakfast prepped in advance you won't skip it or decide on fast food. When lunch is prepped, it's easy to have a grab and go brown bag. When dinner is prepped it's so enjoyable and easier to clean up. You can feel like a guest in your own home.

How can you use your small kitchen appliances to heat or finish cooking your prepped meals? Are there new ways to better use them? For instance if you have a steamer you can make poached eggs or corn on the cob. Use the air fryer or George Foreman Grill to cook a steak. What about your sheet pan? You can roast vegetables, bake fish topped with cheese or make homemade pizza.

This week enjoy home cooking.


Simple meal prepping https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2Ht2arrwBc&t=285s

Overnight Oats https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI--h_Ey6Ck

✔️To score points this week

1. Eat one home cooked meal a day = 10 points all or nothing. Daily maximum 10 points.
2. Eat your meal in 20 minutes or more. Score 5 points/meal - MAXIMUM 15 points per day.

🌟Build healthy forever habits - Meal Prepping to eat healthier, save time, save money, learn portion control, and help with weight loss.

🏆 Summary of Living the Good Life

Record all exercise minutes. Its 6,000 Exercise Minutes/Air miles. DAILY MAXIMUM 120 exercise minutes/miles.

Living the Good Life:

Scoring: 1 minute of exercise = 1 air mile

1. Eat one home cooked meal = 10 points
2. 20 Minute Meal = 5 points per meal all or nothing. If you eat in less than 20 minutes, no points for that meal. Daily MAXIMUM 15 points

You can record this on one thread. (example)

My Exercise: 30
My Home Cooked Meal: 10
My 20 Minute Meal: 15

****Remember if for any reason your health does not allow you to participate in a challenge, please do not attempt it. Always follow your doctor's orders.