Confession: I'm a little obsessed with all these smoothie bowls, burrito bowls, anything in bowls! It's so fun and I've enjoyed trying new combinations. Last night's dinner did not disappoint. You can eat it plain or just add cheese, or go all out and add all the fixings you can come up with.
For the kids, we just added cheese and plain Greek yogurt (instead of sour cream). I topped my burrito bowl with lime, salsa, peppers, avocado, and plain Greek yogurt ( I skipped the cheese since I wanted avocado). We all went to bed with happy tummies.
Then today, I made a salad out of the left overs. It was delicious that way too!
In crockpot, pour chicken stock over chicken breasts. Cover with salsa and add seasonings. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Remove chicken, add rice, water, and beans. Increase heat to high, replace lid, and cook for 40-60 minutes. In the mean time, shred the chicken and place in microwave or oven to keep warm. Return chicken to crockpot and let it reheat for 20 minutes.
Add a scoop to a bowl and top how you desire. Makes 6-8 servings. Counts as 1 yellow, 1/2 red, and whatever other containers for your toppings.
If you're not excited about the dinner you're about to make, you're probably not going to enjoy it. The best part about meal prep is going through and finding dinners you can't wait to make. I love that I am not dieting, I'm enjoying food! AND I've already lost two pounds since Saturday. It's probably all water weight, but I'm heading in the right direction.
Luckily this dinner didn't just sound good, it tasted soooooooo good! It's opened up a whole bunch of ideas for other things I can stuff chicken with! Spinach and mozzarella. With some marina sauce. Or bacon and cheese stuffed chicken. Pretty much anything with cheese....I'll get working on that!
A few things I would have done differently would be remembering to take the chicken out of the freezer (or use fresh chicken) to defrost rather than having to defrost in the microwave. Instead of slicing it open, the recipe I followed said to use a mallet and pound the chicken until it's thin, stuff, and then fold in half. I was just lazy. My way wasn't bad, but It could have been thinner. I use the giant frozen chicken breasts from Costco.
I could think of several different sides with this, brown rice and asparagus, or a delicious summer salad with fruit, but this is what sounded good last night. Boiled potatoes with a little coconut oil and Trader Joe's 22 salute. Green beans with sauteed with fresh ground pepper and seasoned with lemon zest and a little lemon juice.
The kids ate so well! And of course Jake and I enjoyed it, because who doesn't like broccoli, cheese and chicken!? Plus, it was super easy to make.
If you try this, be sure to leave a comment with what you had for a side/s! I am always looking for more ideas.
Cheddar and Broccoli stuffed Chicken
1 lb chicken breast
1 cup chopped broccoli
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
olive oil
pepper and sea salt
paprika
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a pyrex pan with extra virgin olive oil.
Step 1- Chop up broccoli into small pieces. Shred cheddar cheese. Set aside.
Step 2- Slice chicken in half parallel to your counter. OR pound until thin with a mallet.
Step 3- Stuff with broccoli and cheese. Drizzle with olive oil, season with sea salt, pepper, and paprika.
Step 4- Fold over or replace flap, drizzle a little more olive oil and sprinkle a little more pepper and sea salt on top. Secure toothpicks to keep chicken in place. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Remove foil, add a little more cheese, and bake an additional 5 minutes.
Enjoy!
This made 4 servings and counts as a red, blue, and 1/2 green.
I think I've bragged too much about how awesome my kids have been about eating what I put on their plate, which is generally pretty healthy stuff. I forgot to knock on wood. Lately they've been avoiding and refusing to eat anything green or resembles a vegetable. But I'm not going to give up. I've started hiding vegetables in things you wouldn't believe. A friend sells freeze dried food, and I've started buying spinach and grinding it into powder and putting it in everything. Seriously, everything. It's gotten a little crazy.
I found this googling picky eater recipes, and it didn't disappoint. My daughter even helped me with the veggies, and she still ate it and definitely approved! It's jam packed with veggies!! I'm going to have to make this at least once a week. The challenge will be eating only 3 :)
Cheese Stuffed Meatloaf Balls
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup broccoli slaw
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 egg
1/2 cup quick oats
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I forgot to add this and it still tasted good!)
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp paprika
Black pepper and sea salt to taste
12 small cubes of mozzarella cheese
Sauce
2 tablespoons raw honey
1 cup tomato sauce
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Preheat oven to 450 F. Spray muffin tin with extra virgin olive oil. Pulse shredded carrots, broccoli slaw, celery, onions, and garlic in a food processor ( I have a manual I need a nice one!!)
until finely chopped.
In a mixing bowl, mix turkey, egg, oats, Worcestershire sauce, veggie blend, and seasonings.
I used my hands and mixed until everything was well incorporated.
I grabbed handfuls of the turkey mix and a cube of cheese and formed the turkey around the cheese until it resembled a ball, and placed in the muffin tins.
A tip I learned with baking cupcakes, if you have any empty muffin tin spaces, add water to the empty spaces to evenly disperse the heat and avoid burning.
In a small bowl, whisk the sauce ingridents together and use a spoon to lightly cover the meatloaf balls. I used about 1/2 of the sauce, and once they were out of the oven, I added a little more sauce.
Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool about 5 minutes before serving.
3 balls equal a serving, and count as 1 red, 1 blue, 1/2 green, and 1/4 yellow.
I served these with cauliflower rice and some grapes (my kids' favorite).
If you liked this recipe and could benefit from a 5 Day free clean eating group, add me on Facebook to find out when my next free group will be!
Last Thursday I started another round of Hammer and Chisel (a 60 day Beachbody lifting program) and so Wednesday I had a "cheat" but not really a cheat day. Meaning, I had all things that sounded delicious but made them healthier. I don't know about you, but the day before I start a new program I go nuts. I eat all the things I know I shouldn't because I know I won't let myself for however many days the program is. I have "cheats" here and there, but I try to be as good as I can so I can see the best results. This time was different though. I didn't want to wake up sick to my stomach. I didn't want to lose control. I wanted to wake up energized and feeling great for my first day. Especially since I love this program. So Tuesday night, I made a list of foods that I wanted to have on Wednesday, and found healthier versions I could make. I had chocolate chip pancakes (kodiak cakes of course) for breakfast. I had a really yummy salad a friend made with ALL the dressing, avocado and cheese (extra fat) for lunch, dinner was this amazing lasagna, and then I had apple nachos for dessert. It was all so good.
I didn't want to overdo it, and I didn't! I felt energized and ready to go Thursday morning. I still felt like I got to indulge, but didn't end up sick. And I didn't have extra weight to lose! ;)
Everyone enjoyed the dinner, including my kids. They've never been great at eating zucchini lasagna because they could tell it was zucchini. They'd eat a few bites and like it but then realize it wasn't actual noodles or see the green, and refuse to eat anymore. This time, I sliced the noodles EXTRA thin with a nice little Velata veggie peeling tool I got from a friend, and the kids didn't even notice. Plus, it helped me add more layers, which is ALWAYS a good thing. That meant more meat, more sauce, more cheese, and more cottage cheese-of course you could always use ricotta.
Paper thin slices :)
It was soo good, I had three servings. Since it was my "cheat" day, I didn't feel guilty AT ALL!
4 Layer Zucchini Lasagna
2-3 zucchini sliced into thin strips
1 jar sugar free tomato sauce (I use the Kirkland kind)
1 pound ground turkey
2 cups cottage or ricotta cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1-2 cups Parmesan cheese
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
1/2 onion
ground pepper to taste
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp Italian seasoning
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Saute onion in olive oil in large skillet over medium-medium high heat. Add turkey and brown. Mix in seasonings. Add remaining sauce. In a 9x13, place a few spoon fulls of sauce. Lay a single layer of zucchini strips across the bottom of the pan. Add a few more spoonfuls of sauce/turkey mix to cover "noodles". Add a layer of cottage/ricotta cheese, lightly spread with spoon into sauce. Sprinkle 1/4 mozzarella and Parmesan cheese over top. Add another single layer of zucchini. Repeat layer order until you've completed 4 layers. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
Now try not eating 3 servings ;)
This counts as a green container, red container, and a blue container. Makes 12 servings.
Have you stopped working on your New Years resolutions already? There's nothing to be ashamed of. I'd guess about 90% of people who made resolutions have given up by now.
But does that mean we've stopped wanting what we wanted in the first place? NO!
Of course not!
So are you still dreaming about a bikini body?
If so, stop waiting! Do something about it. It's okay if your goals didn't pan out and all your plans fell through. Get some help! There is nothing wrong with getting a health coach and starting a program. They WORK!
If you think you're ready to have some structure to help you succeed, let's chat.
Are you ready to join one of my challenge groups? Fill out this form to help me determine which group would be best for you!
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.
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.
It's October! This year has flown by. I can't believe my baby will be 1 this month. I took September pretty easy. I didn't set very many goals. I had a birthday, my daughter's birthday, hurt my foot, and just didn't give it my all. I missed workouts. I cheated A LOT.
But it's a new month. I'm so close to my goals, I can taste them. I just need to push through October and give it my ALL. I have 10 pounds left to lose. I need to get more organized in my business. I need to continue to build my business.
I have amazing tools to reach my goals, I just have to do the work. I am going to do my workouts 6 days a week! I'll be doing the 21 Day Fix workouts in the mornings, and when I can I'll be trying some new workouts in the evenings. I am going to stick to the meal plan and meal prepping. I am cutting out sugar for No Sugar October. I thought I had made this up, but apparently it's Breast Cancer Awareness month and sugar is the #1 food that causes cancer. If you'd like to join me, you can search No Sugar October on Facebook and ask to join! I am going to be doing research and studying to be an even better coach for my customers! I am going to read all the personal development books I can get my hands on to build my business. It's going to be a BIG month for me, because I say so and I'm going to make it happen.
What kind of goals do you have this month? Do you need help staying on track? Do you lack motivation? Message me and lets chat!
Are you're anxiously waiting for your package to arrive in the mail? I have some great suggestions to keep you busy and get you started on the right track!
The most important thing to remember is that if you take the time to prepare, you will be more likely to succeed!
You're also given a coach for a reason! Ask questions! Participate in your challenge group. Consider coaching, it's the number one thing that has kept me on track and keeps me motivated.
Here are some pages I find I frequent the most.
Is there anything you'd add to the list? Any other pages you would add? Let me know
I can't believe I've gone my whole life without Overnight oatmeal! Like, where have I been? I've always liked oatmeal, and have eaten it nearly every day since 2012 when I had my daughter because oats help your milk supply.
A few weeks ago we went camping and it was a wonderful, much needed break! I didn't have cell reception so I couldn't work, we went hiking, our kids loved being outdoors (it was their first time camping), there were beautiful views.
I was stressed out about food before we left, though. I didn't want to do the normal camping food, hot dogs, marshmallows, chips, and more junk. I planned out all the meals we would need, and packed easy foods, like tin foil dinners with hamburger meat, potatoes, and veggies, lots of fresh fruit and veggies, raw nuts, and overnight oats.
I made the overnight oats shortly before we left our house, and kept them in the cooler until the next morning when we ate them. They were SOOOO good, we ate up both jars pretty quick.
Here's how I made them:
Overnight Oats
1/4 cup oats
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
honey or maple syrup to taste
Add all ingredients to a jar, shake it, and refrigerate overnight. You can eat it cold, or microwave it for 1-2 minutes and eat it warm.
Shaken vs. unshaken
This is a base for overnight oats, below I will give a wide list of different flavors. For our camp out, I added 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice.
It was amazing sitting out in nature, reading a book, and enjoying a delicious and healthy breakfast. It's such an easy breakfast, too. I struggle with forcing myself to eat in the morning, and when you're not hungry, you don't want to put a ton of effort into making food. We will be having a lot more overnight oats in my house!
Other add-ins to try:
* 1 cup of apples and 1/2 tsp cinnamon
* 1 cup apples and raspberries
* 1 cup bananas and 1-2 tsp PB2, or all natural peanut butter
* 1 cup bananas, 1-2 tsp peanut butter and 1 tsp cocoa powder
* 1 cup bananas and blueberries
* 1 cup blueberries and 1/2-1 tbsp lemon juice and zest from lemon
* 1 cup strawberries
* 1 cup strawberries and 1 scoop chocolate Shakeology (or 1 tsp cocoa powder)
* 1/2 cup strawberries and 1/2 cup bananas
* 1 tbsp chopped almonds, 1 tsp vanilla, and any berry
* 1/2 tbsp ground flax seed
* 1 scoop of vanilla shakeology (or vanilla whey powder) and 1 cup of fruit
* 1 cup pineapple and 1/4 cup coconut
Do you have any add-in's you could add to the list? Leave me a comment!
I just wanted to share a little about Fixate, and the awesome opportunity to have it in your own home! This cookbook isn't just for those on the 21 Day Fix, it's for everyone. All of the recipes are fix approved, and I have loved all the ones I've tried so far. There are 101 recipes, and they are simple and easy to follow. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to cook healthier meals for themselves and their families, anyone who already cooks healthy, anyone looking for more ideas in the kitchen, whether you love to cook, or just love to eat!
Autumn Calabrese, the trainer from the 21 Day Fix, created the cookbook to make things in the kitchen a little easier and tastier. I think as we get into healthy eating, we start to get bland, at least I know I did for awhile. I just cared about fueling my body, and was on auto pilot. But we don't have to sacrifice flavor to eat healthy. In fact, I have found food so much more enjoyable now that I am eating this way.
If you'd like to learn more about Fixate, or purchase Fixate, contact me.
If you haven't been able to tell from future posts, you're about to learn that I'm a little spacey. I have two beautiful children that have taken quite a few brain cells from me. It would help if I was a little more organized, and I'm working on it, but it definitely doesn't come natural to me. In some ways I can be a lot more organized than others. One of the ways I have to try super hard to be organized in is meal planning. I can make a meal plan simple! Sticking to it, eh, I need some work.
The other night I planned to make some baked potatoes, fresh green beans, shredded BBQ chicken, and a green salad. That was what was on my meal plan, so that evening I began making dinner. I had put chicken in the crockpot that morning, and I put it in the Kitchen Aid to get it shredded (neat little trick!). I had started roasting the green beans. The salad was made. Potatoes were in the oven. I opened the fridge to pull out the BBQ sauce, and realized that we threw the BBQ sauce out because since doing the 21 Day Fix, we cleaned our cupboards and fridge out and tossed all non approved foods. I was pretty set on BBQ chicken, because salsa, my friends, would not have gone well with my plans for dinner. Plus I had already had all my purple containers for the day.
So to Google I went, and found an awesome recipe. I was skeptical. To the point where I didn't think any of us would like it, and we might have to just have a big salad and potatoes for dinner. But I was pleasantly surprised, and so was my family. Even the kids ate it! The key is the garlic. I originally forgot it, and the taste was okay, but as soon as I added it in, wow. It was delicious. Here's the recipe!
BBQ Sauce
1 cup water
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Add all ingredients except olive oil into sauce pan, whisk. Bring to boil and keep on heat for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in olive oil.
(This is my husbands plate, he didn't have his purples yet..lucky guy!)
It's pretty simple to make! I had made a little extra chicken to have for lunch the next day and dinner two days from that, and there was enough sauce left over for that. Next time, I'll add it in the crock pot and do it all at once. This is definitely a recipe we will continue to use!
Want more recipes like this? Leave me your email and I'll send you more recipes!
I crave cake at least once a week. Usually, it sounds better than it actually tastes. I think, mmm frosting and sprinkles sound delicious, and then I'm left dissatisfied and sad I broke my diet. So I stopped caving in to these stupid cake cravings. UNTIL I saw a wonderful post about chocolate mug cake. AND, it's 21 Day Fix approved!
Here's the recipe:
Chocolate Mug Cake
1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology (you could use vanilla and add 2 tsp cocoa powder)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 egg
2 tbsp almond milk
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
Mix all the ingredients in a mug and microwave for 70-90 seconds, keeping an eye on the mug to make sure it doesn't over flow. Turn mug upside down on a plate or in a bowl as soon as you remove it from the microwave. Add fruit, chocolate sauce (melt 1 tsp coconut oil, 1/2 tsp cocoa powder, and honey to taste), peanut butter, Arctic Zero ice cream, honey, nuts, or eat it plain. This counts as 1 1/2 Red, plus whatever you add to it.
I decided to have mine with raspberries and drizzle some chocolate sauce I made on top. I've tried it with a spoon full of peanut butter inside, and that's good too. This program is amazing. I love that you don't have to talk yourself out of things all the time, just sometimes when they're completely terrible for you! But you want chocolate cake, BOOM, here's some chocolate cake. And it's good for you!
Like this recipe! Leave me your email address and I'll send you more tried and true recipes I've tried once a week.
Today's Motivational Monday is Juli. I saw her before and after on a 21 Day Fix support group I follow, and I felt like I just needed to know more about her. This beautiful mother of two did a 360, and completely changed her life around while working a full time job. She made a healthier future for herself and for her children. Here's her amazing story:
On June 18th 2014...I woke up...weighing 283 pounds...dragging my weighted body around and suffering daily...no energy...no strength. ..no self confidence. That day...was the turn of my life...I decided it was time...it was my time to get life back and live it better for my kids. Immediately I pulled all resources...all friends who I knew would help me steer me to a healthier life. I chose to count calories immediately. Downloaded an app and start my journey. I didn't know what to do...all I did know...was that I was about to give my all and conquer a life long battle. The weight slowly dripped from my body. I joined a 21 day Challenge through Beachbody...I made friends...I made a support team...I started doing t25..as the weight came off...I decided to try Combat and see how I did with kickboxing. The Beachbody workouts were something I could do while still maintaining my busy schedule. Then one day...I weighed and I saw the number...199.9...I cried...I screamed...I realized...I was in fact getting life back. I don't remember being under 200 pounds. I was at 221 the day I started 9th grade. I can't tell you how much joy I experienced...how much farther could I go? I didn't know...I just knew I had determination and motivation on my side. I had started helping people lose weight. I became a person people could trust because I fought the battle...Lucky for me...I had made friend's month before with a coach who then showed me the way...to maintain and finish conquering my goals...I started the 21 day fix plan and started drinking shakeology. Wow...I had already adapted the healthy meals..but it was not balanced. The 21 day plan showed me how to balance my life. Before I knew it...I had lost over 110 pounds. I had gone from a size 24 to a size 8....my children see mom as being fit and healthy. My life is in control...I have confidence. Yes...I wake up daily and still see the big girl. ..I knew her for 31 years...it's hard to see myself different. But the clothes don't lie. The scales don't lie. My health doesn't lie. I was about to be diabetic...I saved myself. I saved myself from being obese for forever. I did this. Now one did it for me. I woke up. Said I was ready and did it. Daily we all fight battles...daily we all say we shoulda, coulda, woulda..but...I realized....I'm a strong woman...I did the unthinkable. ...I decided it was my time....who better to realize a destructive life and make it a beautiful one other then myself. I can breath now...I can smile now...I am not finished with this battle. It will be lifelong. However...I am determined to seek my goals. I have one thing going for me...life.
Juli, you are truly an inspiration! There are so many people who don't think they can do it. You are proof that the first step is to just make the decision to change! Thank you for sharing your story with us!
One of my biggest struggles is keeping track of how many, or how little, I've eaten. I have the 21 Day Fix Fit tracker (which is only for Iphones right now), but I don't always log in my food. I used to eat WAY too much, and now I feel like I'm shoving food down. When you change your relationship with food from using food for comfort to mostly using food for fuel, you don't want to think through it so much! You wouldn't think it was a problem, but I want to burn FAT not hold on to it. You're body needs to properly be fueled, frequently, and with the right foods.
I decided to come up with a little system to help me. Maybe it'll help you too!
I got some button magnets and craft paint from Walmart. The magnets were $5.97, and the craft paint was $2.97. This may seem expensive when you can just get a free, or fairly cheap app on your phone, but I will explain why this will help me better in a moment.
I found some clear nail polish in my bathroom, and laid down some news paper. The paint didn't go on nice and smooth as I hoped, so I put it on thick, and dabbed. It made a lumpy coating, but it looked kind of cool.
I painted all the magnets with the colors I needed and let them sit and dry for about 2 hours, just to be safe.
I added a thick layer of the clear nail polish. It evened out the lumpy look. Then I let them dry another hour. (You may not need to wait this long, I just wanted to make sure they would be dry before moving them to my fridge.)
As you eat a container, slide a colored magnet to the right. You can spread them out on your fridge or keep them fairly close together. Whatever you prefer.
Why will this work better than an app? Because first of all, I never even logged into the app every day. It's kind of hard to avoid these when they're right on my fridge. I walk past them 1,000 times a day, so I'll be reminded to eat. AND in the evenings, when I just want to keep eating, I have the accountability of those magnets right there stopping me from opening the fridge!
I'm about to make Jake's set, and I'll keep going and make a set for each of my kids as well. Sometimes we get distracted and don't even know how much our kids have eaten, or what. I can make sure they get in all their fruits and veggies, and feel better about what they've eaten at the end of the day. As they get older, they can learn to keep track of it themselves, and learn to get them in because it's so important.
Is this something that would help you? What would you do differently? Let me know!
I have always loved working out, sometimes just the idea of it, sometimes the actual act. In middle school I did track and learned to love running. After high school, I stopped running and have struggled ever since to get back into it. I have felt weak and frustrated with my lack of endurance when trying to run after losing that drive when I was in college.
In high school, I cheered, and that helped stay somewhat in shape, although after I broke out of an eating disorder (for the most part) in my sophomore year, I put on the pounds that are just starting to come off! I never realized how much weight I gained until I looked back at pictures recently.
College was just like most peoples' experiences, I gained weight from eating a ton of quick and easy processed foods. I tried to eat healthy when I could, and even got a Gold's Gym membership. I HATE working out in front of people though. It was so overwhelming and scary to walk into a huge gym and have all these people around. I got a little to anxious and stopped going after a few times. What a major waste of money.
I first got introduced to Beachbody after that gym experience. I saw a commercial about Slim in 6, and I gave it a try. I liked it, and stuck with it for about 3 weeks, which was amazing for me! I never stuck to anything. And then I quit. I tried it again a few more times, and it's been in my movie box ever since. I loved that I could get results in my own home, without major machines or needing a ton of dumbbells. The program was a great price for the money. The only problem? I didn't have a coach who cared. I think he emailed me once.
I married my husband when I was 21. He was 22, so we were both young, working full time, and living in a dinky apartment. I was used to cooking big meals for my big family of 9 if I did cook, so I would make way too much food for the two of us. He ate so quickly, that I felt like I had to shove food down fast. Because we were both working, we also went out to eat, more times than we should a week. Thus began our joint weight gains.
I noticed my weight gain first. My clothes started getting snug, but I was a dental assistant and wore scrubs all day, so no big deal. We were struggling to get pregnant, and I found out I have Celiac Disease. I changed my diet for a few weeks, and BAM! Got pregnant. My husband got a job offer in another city, so I quit my job and we moved. I watched some children during the day, but not everyday, so for the most part, I just rested and swam and ate during my pregnancy. I quickly gained 70 pounds. I was so uncomfortable. I didn't feel like myself. I hated the way I looked. I couldn't wait to have my daughter and get all that extra weight off.
In September 2012, I had a c-section. I was determined not to let it hold me back. I started walking the same week I had my daughter, and all was good. Until I got postpartum depression. I felt immobilized with negativity about myself, my skills as a mother, my weight, everything you could think of. This went on for an entire year.
I remember the day my daughter turned 1, I had lost some weight but not enough, and I remember thinking, I wanted to be back to pre-pregnancy weight or lower by now. Everyone was having fun, and I just felt sick to my stomach. I was ready to break out of my funk.
I found a program the next day, and it took some time to decide if I wanted to try it or not, but eventually in January I did. The program consisted of prepackaged foods and eating every 2-3 hours. I learned a lot from this program, specifically from the doctor who designed it. But it wasn't right for me. You were discouraged to workout, or do minimal working out. I didn't like the idea of eating packaged foods when I'd read so much about clean eating.
I kept on the program until I got pregnant with my son. I had gotten down to about where I was when I got pregnant with my daughter, so I was happy, but not happy about getting pregnant already. It was tough for me to adjust. I started walking 4 miles a day with my mom, and I felt so strong, and so great. I did that until I was about 30 weeks along, and then brought it down to 2 miles a day. Then in the end, I started walking like crazy to get that baby out! He finally came a week late.
I only gained 30 pounds with him. It was more than I wanted, but I was being healthy and that's what mattered to me. I started walking again, and even added in some running here and there. I could only run a mile, and I felt like I was dying. I missed running for miles at a time, so I quickly got discouraged.
Then I got introduced to 21 Day Fix. I LOVE these workouts. I love working out in my living room, or in my bedroom. I love that my daughter can do it right next to me. I love that it's only 30 minutes. I love Autumn and how encouraging she can be. I absolutely love how quickly I saw results, and how easy it was to stick to the workouts. I've done the workouts since the end of April, and with a few exceptions, I haven't stopped! I'm now at a weight I haven't been at since high school. I have muscles and definition I've NEVER had. Like ever. I feel strong. I feel healthy. And I'm addicted! It's so awesome, I just want to share it with everyone (I guess that's how this post that was supposed to be small and about workouts blew up and became my whole life story...sorry!) Literally anyone can do these workouts! I have seen 90 year olds do them! I even know a lady in a wheel chair doing what she can! Anyway...
What you've all been waiting for, some videos of my workouts! (Don't judge me! I didn't work out the whole week before from being sick and it was my first day back into it!)
What has helped me stick to it this time? Having a great coach! This is something I'm striving to be as well. I can't force people to do their workouts, but I can encourage them, and listen to their struggles and help with solutions. So far, everyone has loved the workouts just as much as I have!
My try it Tuesday is a tad lame this week, just getting back into the swing of things from being sick, and don't have a ton of food to pick from since I haven't made it to the store yet! Remember when I said planning was everything in my meal prep post? Yeah well, I need to practice what I preach! I'll be going to the store later today.
Anyway, nearly every morning Kallie asks for pancakes. I usually try to talk her into oatmeal, my go to breakfast. But every once in awhile, I give in. Luckily, we found this awesome mix from Costco called Kodiak cakes. They're protein pancakes so I figured they'd be gross and we'd have to soak them in syrup for her to eat them. But she loves them! She's even eating them with fruit now.
The syrup we use is from our local grocery store, it's just pure maple syrup. I use it for a lot of stuff, on top of my sweet potatoes, on oatmeal, pancakes of course, and random other stuff that needs to be sweetened. I'm getting sick of syrup though!
I read about microwaved frozen fruit the other day as syrup, and we tried it today. Delicious! Just put a cup of frozen raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, or a combination of those in a glass or microwavable bowl for 1 1/2 minutes, stirring after every 30 seconds. We loved it!
Oh here's a picture of the Kodiak cakes we get from Costco!
Another topping we tried today is skillet apples! I just cut an apple in bite sized pieces and seasoned it with cinnamon. I melted a teaspoon of coconut oil in the skillet and cooked the apple pieces on both sides until they were soft.
We put 1/4 cup of plain greek yogurt on a pancake, the apples, and then drizzled some honey on top. They were my favorite!
You could use these apples just on yogurt with honey, on oatmeal, waffles, on a whole wheat tortilla with some ricotta cheese and honey, on cottage cheese, in a salad....
It was a little more time consuming of a breakfast than a normal day, but we all have happy tummies!
Needless to say, I might be making pancakes more often! These Kodiak pancakes are 1 yellow for 1 pancake.
Next time I want to try plain Greek yogurt, pineapple, and coconut! I could probably write a whole book on pancake toppings.
What is the 21 Day Fix? Only the best program I've everbeen on. I have tried numerous food programs, and workout programs and none of them stuck. This is both, and I may be biased, but I love it! Beachbody is a great company, they also have P90X, Turbo Fire, Insanity, to name a few. I personally feel like 21 Day Fix is more realistic for an everyday program I know I'll stick with. Once I'm where I want to be, I might try a more intense workout (I've already purchased Body Beast, it's sitting on my shelf!), and there are several workouts I can try when I want to mix it up, too. I have Hip Hop Abs, and I don't love it yet, but I'm sure I will get more into it eventually.
For the 21 Day Fix, you work out for 30 minutes everyday, there's a schedule to follow and you can stream it from your computer, cell phone, or use the DVD's. Anyone can make it through a 30 minute work out! Autumn Calabrese is the trainer, and she is BOSS! I sometimes yell at her while I'm working out, but I really do love her. Point is, the workouts are doable, but still challenging.
You're given portion control containers, and those babies make all the difference! When they showed up at my house, I was like, what is this!? I could eat 12 of each of these! But they fit more food than you would think. Several times I have tried eye balling it, and end up not having enough food, so measuring is so important. You get a guideline for food for each container, and it's got a lot of great foods. You're not going to be starving on this program. My second favorite part? The treat swaps. Yes, you get treats on this program. I love treats.
My favorite part? Shakeology! I love Shakeology for so many reasons. It's aided in my weight loss. There are nutrients that help with mental clarity, which I've needed as a mother of two. It helps curb cravings and helps me feel full longer. My hair and nails are growing so fast, and my skin is clear and has a healthy glow.
There are so many people doing the Fix, I'm still surprised when I find someone else I know who's already doing the it. Subsequently, there are so many resources to help you succeed. Pinterest has recipes galore!
Another way to help you succeed is you're given coach! That's me! Coaches motivate, support, uplift, encourage, and do whatever they can to help their challengers. If you have questions, you don't have to call the company, you message, text, or call your coach. And you're added to a support group, which become like family. There is no such thing as too much support!
Here's a video about the Fix program:
If the 21 Day Fix sounds like something you could benefit from, message me!
