Abeyance

Abeyance [n.] (a bay ants)

1. The suspension of activity

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Today, my normal food regimen enters a state of abeyance as I being Day 1 of my 24-Day Challenge.  For 24 days, I'll cleanse my system, add good nutrients back in, and, most importantly, prove to myself that 24 days is a drop in the bucket when it comes to tackling a goal.  The curious thing is that the routine isn't that different than how I normally eat outside of my stress-induced love of pretzels, Chex cereal, and pizza. I eat 5 clean meals throughout the day. I abide by my macros (160 carbs, 140 protein, 40 fat).  I take vitamins.  The big difference now is that I'm cutting dairy (I'm sorry, Greek yogurt) and Lean Cuisine lunches, and adding in fiber and supplements.

I'll say it: it all comes down to the preparation.  I spent Saturday planning my meals for the first week and Sunday cooking, weighing, and bagging it all so my life can be that much easier.  In this journey, I've discovered and plain ol' made up some recipes that I thought was worthy of sharing.  Here's one of my favorites:

Vanilla Protein Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 banana
• 2 scoops natural whey protein powder (I use True Athlete and 2 scoops = 1 serving)
• 1 Tablespoon crushed walnuts
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tea spoon pure vanilla extract*

Directions

• Blend ingredients.  I use my hand blender and it works marvelously.
• Pour batter in cooking spray covered pan, pre-heated on medium. I usually pour all of my batter in one pan for a mega pancake, but you can also make 9 or so dollar pancakes.
• Flip pancakes when they start to bubble and sides stop shining.  Only cook on this side for 30-60 seconds to maintain moist texture.  These pancakes poof up like a souffle when you flip!
• Flop onto a plate and enjoy!

* I have four or five versions of this baby with different additives, may it be lemon, cocoa powder, or even coconut.