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Recipes

Bruschetta Chicken

Ingredients:

  • 2 chicken breasts

  • 4 tbsp of balsamic vinaigrette (Use the one from the 21 day fix book if following the fix)

  • 2 tbps of fresh basil, chopped

  • 1 roma tomato, chopped

  • 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese (or 1 blue)

Directions

  1. Marinate chicken in balsalmic vinaigrette for two hours, or overnight. Longer the better!

  2. Turn grill on and heat to 500 degrees.

  3. Place chicken on the grill and cook one side for 4 minutes.

  4. Flip chicken and top with basil, tomato and mozzarella. Grill for another 3-4 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink inside.

  5. Enjoy!

This recipe was a KEEPER for us! So tender and full of flavor! 

21 Day Fix: This is two servings. Count as 1 orange, .5 green, .5 blue and 1 red!

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Recipes

21 Day Fix Chicken Enchiladas

I have never made my own enchiladas before, so I will be honest, I did not have high hopes for these. I prepared these on Sunday and stored them in the refrigerator until Tuesday. My husband and I were shocked at how good these were! So much flavor and honestly made me feel like we were cheating our diet. Mexican food used to be our Friday night cheat, so to be able to cook these at home and have them on plan, it was awesome! These were pretty easy to prep, didn’t require any crazy ingredients and best of all, they are 21 Day Fix approved! Did I mention they are also gluten free?! Yay! They make 10 and we ate two each, so this ends up being two dinners for both of us and one lunch!

Instructions

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  • 3 chicken breasts, shredded (I boiled and then shredded mine with a fork)

  • 1 can of diced tomatos, no salt added (15.5 ounces, do not drain)

  • 1/2 cup of salsa

  • 1/2 large onion, diced

  • 1/2 cup fat free plain yogurt

  • 10 yellow corn tortillas

  • 1 tsp olive oil

  • 2 cups of Monterrey jack cheese, shredded

  • 1 packet of stevia

  • 1 tsp of fine sea salt

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

  2. In a saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil and diced onion. Stir occassionally. Cook until onions are translucent.

  3. Add diced tomatoes (don’t drain them) to the onions. Cover and simmer on low until the tomatoes start falling apart. Mine took about 10-15 minutes.

  4. During this time, spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick cooking spray.

  5. Take your tortillas and place a couple of them between two damp paper towels and microwave until soft. I did 3-4 at a time and microwaved for 30-45 seconds. This will help make the tortillas soft enough to roll without ripping.

  6. In each tortilla, fill with a little bit of cheese and chicken. I did enough chicken to fill the tortilla and about a tbsp of cheese. Roll your tortillas up and place in your 9×13 pan.

  7. Return to your sauce and add the salsa, greek yogurt, stevia and sea salt. Allow it to simmer for a minute or two.

  8. Place sauce in a blender until smooth and then immediately pour over enchiladas.

  9. Cover with the remaining cheese.

  10. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown.

  11. Enjoy!

 

If you are following the 21 Day Fix:

1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow and 1 blue for TWO enchiladas.

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Recipes

Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

  • 1 lb 99% fat free ground turkey

  • 1 large red onion, chopped

  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

  • 1 tsp ground pepper

  • 1 tbsp garlic salt

Directions

  1. 1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

  2. Form into six patties. I measured my burgers using a half cup measuring cup (or one yellow container if you are following the fix).

  3. Grill patties for 4-5 minutes per side on the barbecue.

These were SO simple to make! If you are following the 21 day fix, I would measure one with a red container (so the recipe would only make 4 patties) and count as 1 red and .25 green.

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Recipes

Garlic Parmesan Fries

Ingredients

  • 3/4 tsp Garlic Salt

  • 1 tsp Italian Seasoning

  • 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

  • 1 tbsp Parsley, fresh

  • 1 packet of Stevia

  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil

  • 1 pound of baby Yukon Potatoes, sliced like fries

Directions

  1. Cut the potatoes into thin fry like wedges and place in a bowl. Use paper towels to soak up any excess moisture in the potatoes. Sprinkle with stevia and set aside for 25-30 minutes.

  2. Add olive oil, garlic salt, italian seasoning to the potatoes. Mix until the potatoes are evenly coated.

  3. Lay the potatoes on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet in a single layer.

  4. Bake at 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until crispy. I broiled mine for a minute to make them a little more crisp!

  5. Sprinkle with parmesan, parsley and extra garlic salt if needed.

  6. Enjoy!

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Recipes

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

Ingredients

  • 1 pound of boneless, skinless thin sliced Chicken Breasts

  • 1 tsp of Parsley

  • 1/2 cup of Parmesan Cheese

  • 1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

  • ½ cup Plain Non-Fat Greek Yogurt

  • Pinch of Sea Salt

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

  2. In a bowl combine – greek yogurt, parsley, parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and salt

  3. Using a kitchen brush – brush the greek yogurt mixture on each chicken breasts and place in a greased 9×13 dish.

  4. Bake for 20 minutes or until fully cooked.

  5. Enjoy!

4 ounces of chicken is equal to one serving. This recipe serves four! 

If you are following the 21 Day Fix or Insanity Max: 30, one serving is equal to 1 red and .25 blue!

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Main Dish

Asian Chicken Kabobs

Whenever I think of summertime recipes, I think of grilling. I love to fire up our grill in the summer! Since we are getting closer and closer to summertime, I have been looking for a perfect kabob recipe for the grill. This recipe blew my husband and I away. It was so good! It was sweet – but with a kick! One bite into these kabobs and we looked at each other and knew this recipe would be one of our new go to meals! These can be made gluten free, they are low carb and they are low calorie too! This recipe makes seven kabobs and each kabob is 106 calories. Hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

Ingredients

  • 1 red pepper, one inch pieces

  • 1 orange pepper, one inch pieces

  • 1 yellow pepper, one inch pieces

  • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed

  • 1/4 cup of soy sauce or tamari

  • 1 tsp of ginger, grated

  • 2 tbsp honey

  • 1 large red onion, one inch pieces

  • 2-3 tsp sriracha

  • 4 chicken breasts, chopped in one inch pieces

  • 1 tsp sesame oil

  • 7 wooden skewers (soak in warm water for 30 minutes)

Directions

  1. Thread the chicken, peppers and onion on the wooden skewers and set aside.

  2. Combine garlic, soy sauce or tamari, ginger, honey, sriracha and sesame oil in a small sauce pan.

  3. Place sauce pan over medium high heat and bring the sauce to a boil.

  4. Reduce heat to medium and let the sauce continue to bubble, stir often.

  5. Remove from heat once sauce becomes thick like syrup. I cooked mine for about 6-8 minutes.

  6. Preheat your grill to about 400 degrees.

  7. Cook kabobs for about 3 minutes per side and then remove from the grill. These cook pretty quick since the chicken pieces are small.

  8. Brush each kabob with the sauce.

  9. Enjoy!

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Health and Fitness

Learning to be Confident

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The last two weeks have been a mental struggle. We are going on our first vacation with Ben this weekend and it will also be my first time in a bikini since Ben was born. Thinking about myself in a bikini gives me mixed emotions. I feel nervous since my body looks nothing like it did before, yet, also excited about the progress I have made. I had a goal for this vacation and it was to wear a bikini. It wasn’t to be a certain size or to be a specific weight, it was simply to have the confidence to lay on the beach in a bikini. 

I tried on some of my outfits that I am packing for vacation and even though they fit, I still didn’t feel as confident as I wanted to feel in them. I should be happy that my pre-pregnancy clothes fit. But honestly, after working my butt off for the last seven months, I was hoping they would almost be too big. I am 15 pounds less than I was before I got pregnant, yet my body doesn’t looks as fit or toned to me. Yes, I know I am hard on myself. I get up every morning at 4 am to workout, I eat clean and stay away from temptation. Although my main goal for weight loss was to be healthy, I would be lying if it wasn’t to look good too!

I posted about this mental struggle last week on my Facebook page and I was surprised how many people were shocked to hear that I struggle with this. I am the same as everyone else. We all make different choices but at the end of the day, our weight loss struggles are probably very similar. Just because you lose weight, it doesn’t mean you automatically love what you see in the mirror and feel confident. I have days where I see the new me and I have days where I see the old me. I nit pick myself just like everyone else does. I am no better than you and you are no better than me – we share the same struggles.

Although I struggle, I have moments where I feel crazy for ever struggling. I have worked really freaking hard. I worked really hard to lose 50 pounds before we decided to have a baby. Sacrificed many evenings to workout and go to the gym and many mornings to workout before heading to work. I had the willpower to say no to my cravings and say yes to clean eating.  I also worked really hard to only gain 23 pounds during my pregnancy. I worked out with my husband, I did PiYo, I walked every single day on the treadmill on my lunch break. During the summer, my husband and I went walking every night after we got off work. We cooked healthy meals and I did my best not to have the mindset that I was eating for two. Once I had Ben, I immediately started working on my post-baby body by doing Body Beast, T25, Insanity Max: 30, all while nursing and eventually going back to work. I lost my baby weight within two weeks and worked on toning back up after that. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but come on…how can I NOT be proud of that?! I have had bad days, I have cheated and caved, but I have had more days on than off and everyday I strive to be better than I was the day before. 

So, as I prepare for vacation, I have decided that I am going to choose to be confident. This is my husband and I’s first trip as a family with Ben. I don’t want to spend this vacation feeling insecure about the dimples on the back of my legs. This vacation is going to be spent soaking up the sun and enjoying every single second with my family. I can’t wait to see Ben stick is toes in the sand and take a dip in the pool. When we take Ben to the beach and to the pool, you can guarantee I am going to be rocking that bikini and feeling PROUD. I have cellulite, extra skin in my inner thighs, my stomach isn’t flat and I have stretch marks on my sides – but you know what? I am healthy and fit – and not to mention, 63 pounds lighter than I was two and a half years ago. 

Being a mom doesn’t mean we have to cover up and be embarrassed of our bodies. If it weren’t for our bodies, we wouldn’t have our amazing children. My body gave life to my sweet little boy, nothing short of a MIRACLE. My body is far from perfect, but I have worked really hard for it.

This next week, I will be rocking my bikini on the beach and checking on my goal of confidently wearing a bikini as a Mom!

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Health and Fitness

Half Size Me Show

A few months back, I was interviewed by the Half Size Me Show about my weight loss journey! Really excited to share this with you all. My hope is that it inspires YOU to start a journey of your own!

Let me know what you think! 

http://www.halfsizeme.com/171/

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Main Dish

Unfried Crispy Taco Shells

Up until recently, I had never actually made a taco with a soft tortilla. Growing up, we loved the crunchy taco shells – I mean, who doesn’t!  Since I am allergic to gluten, I always put my turkey tacos on a soft corn tortilla, never flour. They always fall apart and I end up needing to eat them with a fork. Not a huge deal, but definitely frustrating!

So, I decided to try making a crispy shell – without frying!

Ingredients

  • Corn tortillas – amount is up to you!

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

  2. Place your corn tortillas between two damp paper towels and place them in the microwave for 40 seconds (or until very soft). I did 40 seconds for four tortillas, you may need to adjust the time based on how many tortillas you are cooking.

  3. Remove from microwave and place each tortilla in the oven, folded in half over one of the wires on the oven shelf.

  4. Cook tortillas for 6-8 minutes, or until desired crispiness. (NOTE: if these tortillas are too crisp, they will break when you try to fill them. I cooked mine 6 minutes, to the point they were crispy but I could bend the center enough to put my taco ingredients in them).

These were a hit in our house! I don’t know if I will ever have a soft tortilla again!

If you are following the 21 Day Fix or Insanity Max: 30, two tortillas would count as one yellow.

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Main Dish

Pineapple Chicken Skewers

This recipe was adapted and slightly modified from Cooking Light. This was a hit in our house! So simple to prepare and cooks in 10 minutes! 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup 100% Pineapple Juice

  • 4 tbsp Rice Vinegar

  • 2 tbsp Hoisin Sauce

  • 2 tsp Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce

  • 2 tsp Honey

  • 1 tsp Fish Sauce

  • 2 cloves Garlic

  • 4 Chicken Breasts (chopped in 1 inch pieces)

  • Wooden Skewers (soak in warm water for 30 mins to prevent burning)

Directions

  1. Combine pineapple juice, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, sriracha, honey, fish sauce and garlic.

  2. In a small sauce pan over medium high heat, bring sauce to a boil. Let boil for two minute and then reduce to medium heat for four minutes. (This sauce will reduce down and look more like a syrup).

  3. Preheat Broiler.

  4. Thread chopped chicken onto the wooden skewers. Ours made 6 skewers.

  5. Place skewers on a lightly greased baking sheet. I sprayed mine with Pam Coconut Oil Spray.

  6. Brush the skewers with about a third of the pineapple sauce and place under the broiler for 5 minutes.

  7. Flip skewers and brush with a third of the pineapple sauce and return to broiler for another five minutes or until brown and fully cooked.

  8. Once the skewers are done, you can brush them with the remaining sauce.

  9. Serve and enjoy!

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Dressings

Sweet Onion Citrus Vinaigrette

Ingredients

  • 1 clove Fresh Garlic, minced

  • ½ Cup Sweet Onion, diced

  • 1 whole Orange, squeezed

  • ¼ Cup Olive Oil

  • ¼ Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

  • ¼ Cup Dijon Mustard

  • 1 tbsp Honey

  • 1 tsp Sea Salt

Directions

  1. Place all ingredients in a blender.

  2. Blend until smooth.

  3. Enjoy!

I loved this dressing. For lunches this week, I have put this dressing over a bed of kale and cabbage with shredded carrots, grilled chicken and almond slices. Also very good over a bed of spinach and arugula and then topped it with cherry tomatoes, reduced fat feta cheese and a quarter of an avocado!

This dressing serves 11 and one serving size is 2 tablespoons (or 1 orange container if you are following the fix!).

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Health and Fitness

Don’t Put A Deadline on Your Body

We often put deadlines on our bodies. Wanting to lose a certain number of pounds by a certain date…and when that date nears and we aren’t to our goal, we give up.

Rather than being on a diet for a month, make it a healthy lifestyle. Lifestyles have no end date. If you lose 30 pounds, you will have to work the rest of your life to keep it off. We don’t get to lose weight and then go back to our old habits. If you want to lose weight AND keep it off, you have to work at it forever. 

Every. Single. Day.

Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint. There is no prize for whoever loses weight the quickest. You didn’t gain the weight overnight, so don’t expect to lose it overnight. I see so many of my challengers and friends beating themselves up when they “only” lose a pound.

HELLOOOO! A pound is AWESOME!!!! Be proud of yourself every single step of the way and remember, it is not a race. Rather than trying to lose weight quick, focus on creating healthy habits that will last a lifetime. 

Create a healthy lifestyle and the weight will take care of itself.

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