I saw a recipe for Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein from www.petitecanteen.com which is where the base of this recipe comes from if you'd like to check out the original version. I decided I wanted to have some protein in it and I thought it needed a little more kick so I adjusted the ingredients a bit. Ingredients: 1 Spaghetti Squash 1 pound of precooked chicken ( i chopped up some left over chicken thighs but I think next time I will make some extra sauce and marinate and shred the chicken) 2.5 cups of Green Giant Asian Vegetable Blend ( or 1 cup shredded carrot and 1.5 cups of shredded napa cabbage) 1 8 oz can of water chestnuts 3 stalks of chopped scallions 3 cloves of garlic minced 1.5 Tablespoons of sesame oil ( or olive oil if you don't have any) 3 Tablespoons of reduced sodium soy sauce 2 Tablespoons of Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar ( or Rice Vinegar) 1 teaspoon brown sugar 1/2 tsp of ground ginger 1/4 tsp of black pepper 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes ( less if you prefer) Preheat over to 425 F. Cut the Spaghetti Squash in half length wise and scoop out the seeds. Place cut side down in a baking pan with half a cup of water and bake for 45 minutes. When you remove it from the oven, flip the halves over and wait for them to cool down a bit before scooping the cooked squash from the outer shell. Set it aside. In a bowl mix together the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, ginger, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Set aside. Heat oil in a large wok or skillet ( I used a cast iron pan) Cook veggies, water chestnuts, and garlic for 2 minutes then add scallions, cooked squash, chicken and the sauce mixture. Cook another few minutes until all ingredients are combined. Garnish with more scallions and serve immediately! If you enjoy this recipe and would like more you can join our free Clean Eating group on facebook to enjoy our recipes or add your own! https://www.facebook.com/groups/311992802257711/
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I have been getting a lot of questions about Shakeology recently since I am known to be a frugal person and at first glance it seems pricey. I have had people asking why its so much more than other protein drinks? Is it worth the money? Am I seeing health benefits? I will be honest, I had all those same concerns myself! It took me 8 months to even try it. I am not a fan of meal replacement shakes. I like hot food, so it didn't appeal to me that way. I started drinking it because as I learned more about nutrition I realized how very little nutritional value we actually get from our food these days. It's scary! And as I became more aware, I started looking for answers on how to fill my body with the nutrients it needs. Shakeology ended up being the answer for me. If you haven't looked over the ingredients in Shakeology, you should! Compare them to whatever shake you are already drinking and weight the difference. It becomes evident very quickly why it's more expensive! With that said, it costs me less than $4 per serving everyday. Before I was doing the 21 Day Fix, I spent $2 a day on redbull without batting any eyelash and let's be honest, how often do we go out to eat which costs a lot more than $4 a day. Yes, I had to cut out some expenses to fit it in the budget but it came down to priorities. My perspective shifted from consuming what I felt like eating to consuming what I needed to fuel my body. As a bonus, I got to quit taking a multi vitamin, and between 2 and 4 pm, when I start craving something sweet, I get a nutritious meal instead of refined sugary sweets. It also helps curb my cravings and keeps me on the straight and narrow with my nutrition plan. The 21 Day Fix is not a quick fix, it's for people looking to make a lifestyle change and in this day and age of fast food and instant gratification that's pretty revolutionary! We are in need radical change. Are you ready? This is probably my favorite dish that has come out of my kitchen thus far! I could eat it everyday! I adapted the recipe a little but it's the My Natural Family recipe link here. The original recipe was very spicy. I like spicy food but even I wanted to take it down a notch so I did and it was perfect! :)
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I am always looking for new ways to jazz up simple meals! I have said it before and I will say it again, I would rather be doing anything but cooking! So to support my healthy lifestyle, I have had to find easy flavorful meals to keep us on the straight and narrow. Here is one of our current go to chicken recipes. It delicious on its own but we usually throw it in salads or make tacos or flautas or sometimes even make a mexican pizza with a corn tortilla, refried beans, and some cheese! I warn you know: this IS a spicy recipe in case the ingredients don't clue you in!
Ingredients: 6 skinless chicken thighs ( or three chicken breasts but I prefer for the darker meat for this dish) 2 cans of adobo chipotle peppers 1 jalapeno ( deseeded) 1/4 cup canned pineapple with juice. ( crushed or chunks) 2 cloves of garlic 2 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt 1/4 chicken broth After chicken is fully cook you will need: 1/4 cup of honey In a crock pot, combine all of the ingredients for the chicken and cook on high for 4 hours. One the chicken is thoroughly cooked, remove it from the broth and shred it with forks. It should fall apart easily. Preheat the oven to broil on the LOW setting while you shred the chicken. Once the chicken is shredded, line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spread the chicken even across the sheet. Then take the honey and drizzle it over the chicken evenly. Place in the oven and cook for about 5 minutes or until the honey thickens and the chicken begins to turn golden brown. And done! Take your delicious chicken and get creative! It is super delicious in a salad if you have trouble eating your veggies or use it to jazz up you favorite Mexican dish! :) His and Hers. These were our breakfast choices today. My amazing in laws took the kids last night and this morning we had the opportunity to run and get whatever we wanted to eat. When it comes to breakfast, I want eggs everyday. I love savory breakfast, I love healthy food. I am not a fan of sugar for breakfast. When it comes to fitness and nutrition, I am an addict. I want the best results. I hate being slowed down. My hubby on the other hand is a hedonist when it comes to fitness and nutrition. He hates working out and only does it because he needs to and when it comes to food he wants to enjoy everything this world has to offer especially when it comes to baked goods! So you can imagine that it gets quite interesting around here! It's good for us both! I need to brought down to earth and enjoy life and my hubby needs to make healthy decisions consistently. He has taught me that you do need to treat yourself. So today, I want to leave you with two tips! 1. If you are a hedonist like my husband, plan out your treats! For him, it's donuts on Saturday morning. He gets through the week of my healthy meals knowing that he gets his favorite treat on the weekend. Healthy eating is a long term lifestyle for us and in order for that to be livable for him, he needs to know that he can indulge on a regular basis. Your healthy lifestyle has to be something you can live with so make it your own. Maybe it slows down your results but if it keeps you going and seeing progress, it's better than setting a standard that is too high for you to realistically keep! 2. Don't eat things you don't enjoy JUST because other people are eating them. I was about 24 years old when I realized I don't like ice cream. I was sitting there eating it and realized I don't enjoy it so why waste the treat? Skip the things you don't love and hold out for the things that lift your spirits. We are so conditioned to just do what others are doing that sometimes we don't even realize we don't want it. Make a list! What are your "things"? What do you love? If its not on there, skip it! My hubby loves his baked goods so once I started down this path of health and nutrition, I knew I was going to need to factor in some treats. Now these are not 21 Day Fixed approved but they are a MUCH healthier version of the original treat and very tasty! Phillip and children approved!
You will need: 1 mashed banana ( preferably very ripe) 5 Tbsp of unsweetened Almond Milk ( Any milk is fine but Almond is my favorite) 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 2 tsp apple cider vinegar 3 Tbsp coconut oil melted 1 cup whole wheat flour or spelt flour 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1/3 cup coconut sugar Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin tins with nonstick spray. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together first 5 ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine all of the remaining ingredients and stir well. Pour wet into dry and mix until batter is just evenly mixed. If batter seems to dry dd a little milk at a time until consistency seems right to you! Pour into the muffin tins and bake 16 minutes for mini muffins and 18 minutes for full sized muffins or until they have domed. Allow 10 minutes before removing from tins. I found a recipe online that was ok but lacked some flavor so tonight I tried it again and tweaked it a little bit and it was delicious! The sauce was really amazing!
Ingredients 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 3/8 teaspoon Himalyan salt, divided 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 3/4 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth, divided 1/4 cup unfiltered apple cider 1/4 white wine 2 tablespoons whole-grain Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons butter, divided 1 tsp dried parsley 12 asparagus spears Preparation 1. Preheat oven to 450°. 2. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper; add to pan. Cook 3 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken; place pan in oven. Bake at 450° for 9 minutes or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Heat pan over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 cup broth and cider; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 4 minutes or until thickened. Whisk in wine, mustard, 1 tablespoon butter, and parsley. 3. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add Asparagus spears; sauté 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Add remaining salt and 1/4 cup broth to pan; cover and cook 4 -6minutes or until crisp-tender. Serve spears with chicken and sauce. Ok, I HATE cooking! I'm terrible at it. And when you are pursuing health and fitness it's pretty much a MUST so I am learning slowly! Slow progress is still progress right? I have been researching and learning how to make sauces and white wine sauces seemed pretty simple so I decided to start there. I also had some Swai filets in the freezer so that's what I used and it came out great!
You will need: 4 Swai Filets or your fish of choice 2 Tablespoons of butter 1/3 cup dry white wine 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice 2 cloves of minced garlic 1 tsp Pink Himalayan salt 1 tsp of black pepper 1 tsp paprika Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a shallow pan with cooking spray. Place fish fillets into the prepared pan. Heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Mix white wine, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and black pepper into the melted butter; simmer sauce for 3 minutes. Generously spoon sauce over fish fillets. Sprinkle fillets with paprika. Bake in the preheated oven until fish flakes easily with a fork, about 12 minutes. Super Easy! We all have those moments where we try to wear something that fit perfectly last month and we can't zip it up. It feels horrible! I know I instantly start getting irritated and berating myself, as if by making myself feel worse I can get control over this thing. It's not the way to go! We can't have perfection be the standard. Health and good eating practices have to be the standard, which is easier said than done, right? I know I gave into the calorie counting method where I could eat anything I wanted as long as I stayed under 1200 calories and kudos to me if I ate way less. So, not only was I not eating enough to feed my body, I was also stuffing it full of chemical laden, sugary non-foods that my body actually had to try and heal from their consumption. It makes me sick thinking about it. :( It also makes me sad that so many people have this faulty thin-is-the-goal, doesn't-matter-how-we get-there attitude. We spend so much money trying to cure diseases that we could prevent simply by making changes to our nutrition.
Don't be overwhelmed. When I got started I made small changes at first because it seemed overwhelming! I looked around and basically realized I was doing EVERYTHING wrong! I made changes I felt like I could easy change first like switching from Country Crock ( I know! the worst but I loved it!) to organic butter, and then moved onto harder ones like removing all beverages including juices out of my house so I would drink water. It's ok to move forward slowly but you have to keep moving! Here are some tips to get started: 1.Start Today! Not tomorrow, not Monday, not next week. It doesn't matter if you ate donuts for breakfast, start by choosing a healthy lunch, putting it off will never make it happen! 2.Drink Water! You would be amazed if you totaled the calories that you drank everyday, so replace those beverages with water which your body needs anyway. Make it easy on yourself, have it ready, put fruit in it, but make it what you drink primarily. I had to be really strict on this for awhile until it became a habit. I preplanned to order it restaurants and I removed everything else form my home. It was rough at first but in the end I created a great habit which my body desperately needed! 3. Meal Plan. I hate it. I seriously hate it, but you have to do it. When I get busy and that slips, my nutrition slips. If you need help with this please message me! I will give you tools ( for free!) that will help you do this effectively. 4. Eat your vegetables. You aren't a child. Just do it! 5.Track your meals! I use the 21 Day Fix and their container system now but before that I used My Fitness Pal. Whatever you choose to use, record it! It's very motivating not to sneak food when you know you have to record it! 6. Exercise. It doesn't have to be overwhelming. I workout 30 minutes a day using very simple videos. Nothing crazy! Commit to at least 30 minutes 3 days a week. If you need help choosing a program that is right for you, message me! I will help you! I also run challenge groups to hold people accountable if you need that, we would love for you to join us! 7. Don't let a bad day turn into a bad week or a bad week turn into a bad month. Remember, it's progress not perfection! We are ALL going to have a bad day, have a weak moment, or even choose to get off course for a special dinner or outing, don't let it cause you to throw in the towel or to listen to that inner voice that tells you failed. You only fail if you stop trying. So WHEN this happens, and it will happen, see tip number 1! ;) 8. Track your progress weekly. Weigh yourself but also take pictures. There are times I feel like I am making NO progress and then I take my current pictures and compare them to when I started and I am blown away by how much my body has changed. We see ourselves everyday and sometimes its hard to see the changes 9. Know your "Why". Losing weight or getting fit isn't enough of a why. My why is long term. I want to be healthy in my retirement years to have adventures, be there for my kids and grand kids, I want to live with dignity, and with my families health issues, I am going to need to take responsibility for that. It's not just going to happen. Maybe yours is more simple, like fitting into a certain dress by a certain date, but give your self goals. Make a dream board, or post inspirational quotes that will help you in moments of weakness. Arm yourself with tools to help you in the hard moments. Have vision for what you want and make a plan on how you will get there! 10. Never Give up! This is not a diet, this is a lifestyle change. It's going to take work, you will stumble, get back up! Even just the smallest of life changes will lead to great change if you keep it up! In The Compound Effect, Darren Hardy makes an analogy of three friends, one who changes nothing in his life, one who makes a few small positive changes( like switching from mayo to mustard and walking half a mile everyday), and one who makes small negative changes( having a daily alcoholic beverage and watching more TV). In 6 months there was not any noticeable difference but in 31 months the first friend had made no change, the second friends had lost 33.5 pounds and the last friend had gained 33.5 pounds. Don't underestimate the power of what you are doing here! You can do this! If need help or would like to surround yourself with people pursuing their health and fitness, you can follow me on Facebook to connect or to receive more tips and ideas--> click here |
Author"And Aubrey was her name. A not so very ordinary girl or name."(Or so says David Gates ;) I'm a wife to Phillip, a mother to Scarlett and Juliet. We live in the beautiful city of Thornton, Co. I'm a recovering red bull addict. I love to read. I hate to cook. I seek to be inspired and also to inspire others. I am a Beachbody Coach on a quest to be truly healthy mind, soul, and body and challenge others to do the same. Archives
February 2018
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