Chicken Burrito Bowls

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! 

Crock Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls

1-2 lb chicken breasts

1 16 oz can chicken stock

1 cup salsa 

1 tsp chili powder 

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 cayenne pepper

(or Flavor God's Taco Tuesday Seasoning) 

pepper and sea salt to taste

1 16 oz can black beans, drained thoroughly

2 cups brown rice

3 cups water

Any toppings you may want to add 

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. 

Cheddar and Broccoli stuffed Chicken

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.

Meal Prep Saturday

You've probably heard of meal prep. It's where you meal plan your week by writing a schedule for all your meals, and then prep what foods can be made ahead of time. Since I am a stay at home mom, I don't do as much meal prep as other people do. Sometimes, not always, I enjoy making dinner. I also feel too overwhelmed if I have too much to do at one specific time. My meal prep makes things easier for me throughout the week, and ultimately saves me some time.

I've decided to start sharing my meal plan with whoever wants it, so that I can A) be more accountable. If it's out in the open, I can't be lazy. I've got to get it made. I've got to follow through. B) help anyone who's starting out and might feel a little lost with what to do on this program or eating healthier in general. and C) hopefully show that this is doable and you can still enjoy food while eating healthy.

When I don't meal prep, I usually waste a lot of time trying to figure out what in the world I'm going to make and eat. We end up eating out more than we should. I don't always eat as good as I should. I am not as excited about food, at least not healthy food. We also have wasted food when I haven't meal planned and prepped.

When I do meal prep, I'm able to save time, money, and the resources. Planning out the meals and looking on Pinterest for recipes gets me excited to cook. I look forward to the week ahead instead of dreading all the hard work I'm about to do. Things run smoother, and I am happier.

With all that said, here is my meal plan for this coming week. (I am going off the 21 Day Fix Meal Plan. I am in the lowest bracket. Any extra food that was prepped is for my husband who is on the highest plan).

I know it looks like I only have veggies once-twice a day, I usually have 2 servings at dinner. Some days may vary, and I might add some veggies in with my lunch and wrap the tuna salad in lettuce, or add a veggie for a snack. I also don't usually eat the same thing every day, but I'm getting strict, and boring helps me stay on track! 

Prepping

As I've mentioned above, I don't meal prep EVERYTHING. This week, I washed, dried, portioned out, and bagged raspberries.

These are the amazing portion control containers that come with most of the Beachbody workout and meal plan programs.

I have found that snack sized baggies are super useful! 

Washed and cut romaine and peppers and stored them in mason jars (I have found that the mason jars keep produce fresh much longer than everything else. I am in need of more jars, otherwise I would store everything else this way as well. Except the portions that are grab and go.)

I firmly believe that we enjoy food a lot more if it looks pretty :)

And finally, hard boiled eggs. I get as many eggs into a large pot as I can, fill the pan with water until the eggs are covered, and then place on the stove. Once the water is boiling, lower the heat from High until medium low heat, and cover. I let them boil for 10 minutes, remove from heat, drain, and let cool. I personally like to peel off the shells and store in a gallon sized zip lock bag.

I usually prep at least a few more things each week, but this week I decided to do things fairly simple. I also need to make my overnight oats, but all of my mason jars, aside from these three used already, do not have lids. Walmart run! 

As I make my meals, I'll add in the recipes!
Cheddar and Broccoli Stuffed Chicken
Crockpot Chicken Burrito Bowls

Cheese stuffed Meatloaf Balls

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!

4 Layer Zucchini Lasagna

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.

Best Healthy Banana Bread

I've been on the search for the best banana bread for a long time. I finally found one I loved, and then I started eating healthier so banana bread became a once every 6 months type treat. I didn't have a use for my old bananas anymore. I personally don't love bananas in the first place, so banana bread was the only time I was really eating banana bread before.

Time to do what I do best, healthifying a recipe! Yes, I just made that word up.

This project took awhile, not as long as it took to find a good recipe in the first place, but still. I'm very perticular about my banana bread. I needed it to be good enough that I didn't feel the need to add butter. I obviously wanted it to be moist, NO ONE wants dry banana bread. It needed to taste like banana bread (one version I tried, my husband came home and had a slice, and asked what kind of bread it was. oops!)

Here's a few trick I was given and learned along the way.

1) Use the nastiest bananas you can find. WAYYYY past the point of where you'd eat them. The batch I made today I used completely black bananas. This helps the bread taste sweet, and have a more potent (but not over powering) banana flavor.

2) Don't skip the applesauce!

3) Don't be lazy, prep before you start mixing. whisk the eggs, smash the bananas, mix the dry ingredients, etc.

4) Don't over mix, fold in the dry ingredients.

5) Always enjoy a warm slice :)

Try it out, send me a picture, let me know what you think!

Banana Bread
2 cups flour (I like Bob Red Mill's organic, unbleached all purpose flour)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 unsweetened apple sauce
3/4 cup raw honey
3 eggs beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed bananas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan with a little coconut oil. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In a seperate bowl, cream unmelted coconut oil, applesauce and honey. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended.

Fold banana mixture into flour mixture, careful not to over mix.

Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then remove from pan by flipping the pan upside down, and let cool on a wire rack.

Serving size is one slice. Each slice is one yellow, 1/2 a purple, and 1 teaspoon.

Taco Boats

It's been a little while since I've tried any new recipes. During the holidays, it was just so easy to make the same old foods. Then we were out of town for a week. This was a perfect new recipe, it was easy to make. It was also pretty tasty, if I might say so myself.

I'm a really big fan of lettuce wraps. I like the lightness of lettuce versus a carb loaded tortilla. Zucchini is nice and light too. They are so versatile. You can make them into noodles, hide them in brownies and all kinds of breads, even burgers, like my zucchini burgers. I think I am going to have to explore a whole lot of zucchini recipes this month!

Back to the point, these are really good. You can even add more toppings than I had here, olives, plain Greek yogurt (as a sour cream replacement), green onions, peppers......here I go rambling again. Here's the recipe!

Taco Boats
4 zucchini
1/2 cup salsa
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp sea salt
                       -or- 2 Tbsp of Flavorgod's Taco Tuesday seasoning
3 Tbsp water
1/2 cup Mexican mix shredded cheese
cilantro to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread 1/4 cup of salsa (half of salsa will be added into turkey mixture) on bottom of 9x13 pan. Wash and cut ends off zucchini. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise and with a spoon, hollow out center of zucchini, leaving about 1/4 inch shell.

 Place zucchini in pan on top of salsa. Chop up the scooped out zucchini mush, and place on a paper towel to absorb some of the liquid. In a skillet, brown turkey until no longer pink. Add in seasoning, water, 1/4 cup salsa, and 1/2 cup of zucchini pulp. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Scoop turkey mixture into hollowed out zucchini.

 Sprinkle with cheese. Cover with tin foil, being careful not to touch the top of the food. Bake for 35 minutes.

2 halves equal one serving, serves 4
1 green, 1 red, 1 blue

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.

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.

Cookie Dough Bites

Sometimes we just want to make cookies so we can have cookie dough, am I right? Here's a guilt free, protein packed snack you can feel good about eating!

Cookie Dough Bites

1 cup old fashioned oats (I use the gluten free kind, just to be safe)

1 cup protein powder (I used vanilla Shakeology, you can use chocolate too!)

1 cup peanut butter or almond butter

1/2 cup raw honey

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Mix ingredients, scoop up and roll into balls. 

Makes 24 balls, 1 ball is a serving. Counts as a yellow container (treat swap).

Strawberries and Cream

At the grocery store, my daughter likes to throw random things into the cart. I don't stress the fight, and find ways to get the stuff back out of the cart while she isn't looking. Sadly, I missed some strawberry syrup that you add to milk this last time we were at the store. She's been asking for it every morning. I used to let her have chocolate milk every day, before I changed my views on sugar. I decided I would keep it around for ice cream, we do have dessert here and there. 

This morning, I told her no she couldn't have strawberry milk, so she asked for a strawberry shake. I usually add frozen strawberries to my chocolate Shakeology, why not try vanilla. I added a few extras, and it turned out pretty good! She drank her entire serving I gave her, so we got the Kallie approval!

Strawberries and Cream Shake

1/2 cup ice

1 cup strawberries-I use frozen strawberries

1 scoop vanilla Shakeology, or vanilla protein powder

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 Tbsp sugar free cheesecake pudding mix

1 cup water

Blend all ingredients in blender until smooth. Enjoy!

One Pot Cheesy Sausage and Spinach Pasta

This was a very simple recipe, I would make some changes for the next time, like adding tomatoes. It also gave me some ideas for some future recipes. I'm loving these crock pot and one pot meals! So easy and quick, perfect for working and busy moms, or dads!

Cheesy Sausage and Spinach Pasta
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 package of Aidell's sausage, sliced
1/2 onion, minced
16 oz chicken stock
2 cups pasta
2 cups spinach
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 crushed red pepper
pepper to taste
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Heat oil in large pan on stove top over medium heat. Saute sausage and onion, stirring occasionally until sausage is browned on each side.

Add chicken stock, and bring to a boil.

Add pasta, cover.

Once pasta is cooked, about 5 minutes, add spinach and seasoning.

Stir frequently until spinach is cooked. Add mozzarella, stir. Enjoy.

Crock pot saves the day!

I love when I work hard all week, and look forward to a fun weekend with my family, and then the weekend comes and we're all sick. That's pretty much what happened to us this weekend. It was actually a pretty eventful week. My brother came home from serving a two year mission in Argentina. We got to email him once a week, and talked to him on Mother's Day, Christmas, and when our younger brother passed away, but besides that we hadn't seen him for two years. It was so nice to have him back! Plus, he got to meet my 1 year old for the first time!

My kids were very rambunctious all week, mostly from excitement with Halloween coming. We did lots of shopping, running errands, and going to the library to keep busy and get through the week. I REALLY look forward to having my husband home to help with the kids on the weekends. Saturday wasn't too bad, the kids were just starting to get runny noses, I had a sore throat. It was a crummy day out, and we had a lot of yard work we wanted to do. We got our lawn mowed, that's about it. 

When we feel crummy and it's crummy out, we like to make soup. I'm sure most people do. There's something therapeutic about having the smell of a savory soup permeate your whole house for several hours. I love it. 

This soup was purely an experiment, but I would like to think it turned out pretty well! We all had a cup for dinner Saturday night, left overs on Sunday, and there's only enough for me to have so me for lunch today. Usually we can have soup for dinner three nights in a row. Someone had seconds (I won't name any names, but he's the only full grown man in our house...)

Anyway, here's the recipe! Hope you enjoy it!

Crockpot Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Soup

4 chicken breasts 

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery stocks, chopped

1/2 onion, minced (I actually ran out of onions so I used a tablespoon of dried minced onion, but fresh certainly would have been better!)

3 cups chicken stock, or low sodium chicken broth

1 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano 

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

fresh ground pepper to taste

Place chicken, vegetables, seasoning, and chicken stock in crock pot.

 Set to low heat, and leave for 4-6 hours. Once chicken is falling apart, shred with two forks.

Stir in almond milk and pepper.

 Enjoy!

Serving Size: 1 cup

Makes: 8-10 servings

For 21 Day Fix, a serving counts as 1 red, 1/2 green