Tortilla Soup

I've tried quite a few tortilla soup recipes. I really liked this one. I made some adjustments to make it 21 Day Fix approved, and it was delicious! Try it out and let me know what you think!

Tortilla Soup
4 small chicken breasts
1/2 onion, minced 
2 garlic cloves, minced 
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed well
1 can corn 
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce  
1 can green Chilis

32 ounce chicken stock

1 Tbsp chili powder

2 tsp dried cilantro

1 tsp cumin

pepper to taste

1 lime, juiced

1-2 tortillas cut into strips

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

plain Greek yogurt-1-2 tsp per person

In a large pot, boil chicken in water (fully submerged)  for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is completely cooked. Remove chicken from pot, place on cutting board and set aside. Drain water. In same pot, sauté garlic and onion in 2 tsp coconut oil. Add black beans, corn, tomato sauce, chicken stock, and seasonings, bring to boil.Boil 5-10 min. Cut chicken into cubes and juice the lime.  Add chicken, remove from heat, add lime. You can add shredded cheese, plain Greek yogurt and tortilla strips as garnish. 

Makes 8-10 servings, 1 cup is a serving and counts for 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 blue, and 1 tsp.

Love your body

I've seen it over and over again, the picture that says something like, "I wish I was as fat as the last time I thought I was fat." I remember after I had my daughter, I thought about that a lot. If you've read my previous posts, you know that I had an eating disorder while I was in high school and college. If only I had appreciated my body back then. I would have treated it better, and wouldn't have gained so much weight when I got married and during my pregnancy. I started getting super hard and down on myself again. 

While I was nursing, I had a lot of preconceived ideas of how I needed to eat while I nursed, and I couldn't lose any weight. I felt frumpy and uncomfortable in my skin until I stopped nursing. Then, I started going to the gym for at least two hours a day. I started restricting calories. I beat myself up everyday, and worked myself till I was exhausted. I didn't lose much weight. I didn't feel any better about myself. In fact, I felt a whole lot worse about myself than when I was pregnant with a huge belly. 

I finally found a program that helped me lose weight (basically by starving myself and eating prepackaged foods). I lost the rest of my pregnancy weight, but I still felt awful about myself. I continued to belittle myself. The day I found out I was pregnant was a very hard day. I still hadn't reached my goals, and I wasn't planning on getting pregnant for at least another year. I didn't want to gain a ton of weight again. I decided to make a change. 

There's something about growing a baby inside that makes me feel better about myself. I continued to workout at least 5 times a week, and I watched my body grow in a healthier way the second time around. I didn't love myself yet, but I was starting to. 

Fast forward to a few months ago, I had lost even more weight. I weighed less than I did my junior and senior year of high school. I went and got new clothes. I felt better about myself, but things still weren't feeling right. I was so proud of myself, but I still looked in the mirror and saw flaws. I realized that I will always have flaws, nothing can change that. There is no such thing as perfection. But I could love my body anyway. It really made a huge change for me. It helped me look back and love my body even when I was at my heaviest. I appreciated all that my body had been through. 

No matter what we are going through, where our bodies are at, or what our bodies have accomplished, we should love them. Our bodies are gifts from God. I think about my brother who no longer is with us, and think about how I'm sure he wishes he still had his body. 

What good does it do to beat yourself up? What good does it do to belittle yourself, point out every flaw, and hate your body? It does NO good. Absolutely none. In fact, it makes things worse. Believe me, I know. 

Love your body. Care for it. Eat like you love yourself, move like you love yourself. Make good choices for your body. It will make a positive difference. You will eat better, and workout harder if you do it out of love instead of hate. I promise.

How to get Shakeology Free

Shakeology is an excellent product. The company goes all over the world looking for the best ingredients. This product has done so much for me and for my family. My husband and I have both lost weight, we've had an awesome quick meal for those rushed times, have more energy, are able to focus on tasks better, my blood pressure has improved, it's helped with my sugar cravings, and it's tasty. We have to fight our kids off to be able to drink it. It's also something that's safe, so if I want to share with my kids, I feel comfortable with doing so. 

But let's be honest, it's a pricey product. Something I've learned time and time again, however, is that you get what you pay for. Sure, you could go to Walmart or Costco and get a protein shake for a lot less. But is its second grade ingredients going to do what you want them to do? Are you okay with not getting all the nutrients and benefits, because Shakeology is SO much more than a protein shake. I have done my research. My husband, who is even more thorough than I am, has done research. Shakeology is JAM packed with things you can't get anywhere else. Plus, it's replaced my prenatal, and now my multivitamin now that I'm no longer nursing. 

To get to the point, everyone could use this, heck NEEDS this shake in their life. I dare you to try it for 30 days. The company is so certain you will love it that they have an empty bag money back guarantee. Meaning, even if your bag is empty (within 30 days) you can get a refund if you aren't seeing the benefits. 

So how can you get this at a discount or even better, free? It's pretty simple. You can get friends to try it with you. You can recommend it to people. You have a favorite mascara you like, what do you do? You tell your friends. They go out and buy it, and do you get a credit for that? No. How many times has your love for a product made that company money? It's crazy to think about. 

If you'd like to try Shakeology for free, send me an email  

Wishlist

If you're shopping for someone who lives in workout clothes this Christmas, this list might help you out. Or if you don't know what to tell your family/spouse/friends to get you, pass this along. What do you want for Christmas?

What would you add to this list?

Loaded Potato Soup

It was a great, rainy day today! I did yoga, wore pajamas all day, and cuddled with my kids. It got dark around 3:30, what's up with that? So dinner came early. Luckily, I started it early! Here's a delicious soup your whole family can enjoy! I plan on making this for a pot luck coming up soon.

Loaded Potato Soup
4 large russet potatoes, roughly skinned and cubed
1/2 onion diced
2 cloves of garlic
32 ounces organic chicken stock
1/2 tsp thyme
8 slices of turkey bacon (or 2 per person)
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
pepper to taste


Place potatoes, onions, garlic, chicken stock, and thyme in crock pot. Set to low for 5-6 hours. At some point during those 5-6 hours, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil, spread out bacon, and cook for 17-20 minutes, depending on how crisp you like it. After 5-6 hours, crumble the bacon and add to soup. Add cheese, unsweetened almond milk, pepper, and stir.

We added a tsp of plain greek yogurt and sprinkled cheese for this picture, but it's good without too! If you have chives, that would also be yummy!

Serving size is about 3/4 cup, makes 6 servings. Counts as 1 yellow, 1/2 red, and 1 blue.

Chicken Noodle Soup

I had to make one of my favorites, a classic, 21 day fix approved. It's quick, easy, and perfect when your sick, homesick, or feeling blue.

Chicken Noodle Soup

3 large chicken breasts (or 4 if you have smaller chicken breasts)

2-3 carrots, peeled and sliced

3 celery stalks, sliced

32 oz organic chicken stock

1/2 onion, diced

1 tsp basil 

1/2 tsp dried oregano 

2 cups whole grain noodles

pepper to taste

In crock pot, add chicken, carrots, celery, onions, seasoning, and chicken stock. Set on low for 6 hours. After 6 hours, remove chicken and shred with two forks or cut into cubes. Replace chicken. Add noodles, cover. Leave for 20 minutes, or until noodles are cooked. 

Makes 8 servings, 1 red, 1 green and 1 yellow containers.