Sweet Potato Chips

Baked Sweet Potato Chips

Ingredients:

• 3 medium sweet potatoes
• coconut oil or olive oil cooking spray
• onion powder
• garlic powder
• pepper
• Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipolte

Sweet Potato Peeled and Sliced

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray
• Peel and slice sweet potatoes (1/8 inch to 1/4 inch depending on how think you'd like them)
• Place on baking sheet in one layer (do not stack)
• Spray with cooking spray and season to taste
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until they are at the desired crispness 

Perfect side dish and can be portioned for meals throughout the week. :)

Yum!

Simple Meal Prep Chicken

Chicken is a staple in our house and meal prepping it for the week is a huge time saver.

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 4 tsp Italian Seasoning/Oregano 
• 4 tsp Salt-free Garlic and Herb Seasoning --- I love Mrs. Dash!
• Pepper to taste

Directions:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking dish with foil. Coat the bottom with coconut oil spray or olive oil cooking spray. 
• Place chicken breasts in the pan and cover with plastic wrap. Use a meat mallet to make the chicken breasts about the same thickness. This will help to evenly cook all pieces. 
• Season both sides of the chicken breast with Italian seasoning or oregano, salt-free garlic and herb seasoning, and pepper to taste. 
• Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil cover and continue to bake for 10 minutes.

Portion out in tupperware for lunches or dinners for the week. Add your favorite veggie and brown rice or my tasty Sweet Potato Chips for a super simple meal your whole family will enjoy! :)

Seasoned and ready to throw in the oven!

Viola! 

Spicy Turkey Chili, Crockpot Style!

Are you looking to put a little spice in your weekly meals?? This is the perfect quick dinner option when you get home after a long day. Cook on Sunday and portion it out to save for meals during the week! :)

Crockpot Spicy Turkey Chili (1 cup per serving, makes approximately 8 servings) and it's 21 Day Fix Approved! --> 1 Red, 1/2 Yellow, 1/2 Green


Homemade Chili Seasoning:

• 4 tsp ground cumin
• 3 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground cayenne 
• 1 tsp paprika 
• 2 tsp oregano

Homemade Chili Seasoning

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
• 1 small onion (chopped)
• 1 green bell pepper (chopped)
• all natural petite diced tomatoes (2 - 15oz, undrained)
• black beans (15oz, undrained)
• 1 tsp  sea salt
• Homemade Chili Seasoning

Directions:

Cook ground turkey stove top in a skillet and add to crockpot. Mix in onion, pepper, tomatoes, black beans, and chili seasoning. Cook on low for 3 hours. Serve and enjoy!

Committed!

I am committed to my healthy lifestyle.

Sometimes I just need to say it out loud, or in this case write it for whoever actually reads this...I wonder if anyone does read this?? lol

I realize it is only the middle of the week but it has been a doozy. Yesterday's eating was way easier than it has been all week. My cravings are usually not too bad but I've had visions of cupcakes and burritos dancing in my head since Monday. I just keep repeating, "My goals are bigger than my temptations!" and it seems to help.

My yummy side salad I had with my dinner!

My workouts are not getting any easier but yesterday I had a huge victory. I have said it before but my upper body strength leaves much to be desired. When I first started this program 4 weeks ago, I could barely do 2 push ups on my toes before I sank into my knees and finished the rest there. I am okay with modifying the moves but I was really hoping that I would gain some upper body strength while pushing myself in this type of workout. Yesterday I was able to do 15 full push ups on my toes for 30 seconds!! I still couldn't make it completely through the last 30 seconds doing half range of motion but I KNOW I will get there!

YAY for push ups!!

Strive for progress my friends, not perfection.

A Bit of a Slacker

I really need to stop slacking and write these suckers at night but last night I was just beat.

St. Patrick's Day has always been a fun festive holiday where we got all dolled up in our green and went out partying until the wee hours drinking green cocktails. Things certainly have changed... seeing as how my St. Patty's Day this year consisted a long day at work, and me becoming one with the couch by 9PM.

Happy St. Patty's Day from me and the kiddos <3

Although my break room at work was riddled with yummy food yesterday including a Moe's buffet, I think I did pretty darn good. Not to say that I didn't try to get my husband to bring me a few of my favorite things. I can really tell when I haven't had my Shakeo and that 3:30 feeling arrives. It says, "Bring me all the food!" This was mine and my hubby's text exchange during that meltdown phase of my afternoon where I wanted the things I know I shouldn't have. Luckily my husband is supportive and said NO. I tell you though, that burrito and taco spread looked mighty delicious.

On a scale of 1-10, my workout was at about a 8. My body was hating me a little less after what I put it through last week but I was still dragging a bit and didn't put my full effort. I'm sore though so I guess I was doing something right.

Back in the Game!

I am pretty sure my body has now decided to reject my poor food choices. The way I feel afterwards really makes me wonder why I do it in the first place. I may learn eventually ;)

Today's workout was in one word, BRUTAL. My body was dragging and at one point Joe and I looked at the screen and then one another like "really?!?". Some days like today I would really like to stay on the ground after the set of burpees are over but I suppose that wouldn't get me any closer to my goals now would it. I always have to keep reminding myself that you don't quit when you are tired, you quit when you're done.

One thing I like about my job is that my office is about 7 minutes from home. Although one day my office will be 7 feet from my bed and involve endless pairs of yoga pants, but for now 7 minutes is great! It allows me to come home and make my lunch if I want to or unwind for 30 minutes. During lunch today I made myself 2 eggs and a slice of Ezekiel toast. I'm still not sure how but I managed to choke on my toast and scratch the inside of my throat by inhaling it too quickly. Who does that??!
Although, I did not capture any of my fix approved food during the day, I did stay on track. Our dinner, Turkey Meatloaf, was something I threw together during meal prep yesterday and it was amazing-ness. I love having my dinners ready ahead of time. Meal prep is where it's at!

It's hard to make meatloaf look appetizing in a photo
but I assure you it was delicious! 

I guess it's time to get my butt to bed. If there is one down side to doing something you love, it is that you never want to stop, even to catch some zzz's.

Turkey Meatloaf with a Kick

I made a version of the 21 Day Fix Extreme Turkey Meatloaf recipe yesterday when I was meal prepping for the week. I had given turkey meatloaf a shot a few years ago and it was a major fail, so I was skeptical at best that this would come out remotely edible. To my surprise it was delicious!

Mixed!

Ingredients (makes 8 servings):

2 lbs raw 93% lean ground turkey

1 cup all natural medium salsa

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa cooled

1 tbsp garlic powder

2 large eggs beaten

1 tsp sea salt

2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper to taste for a little kick for my spicy food lovers like me :)

Finished product (half of the loaf)

Directions:

- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F

- Mix turkey, salsa, quinoa, garlic powder, eggs, sea salt, black pepper and cayenne in a large bowl

- Shape mixture into a loaf in a 13 x 9 inch baking pan or other loaf pan

- Bake for 75 minutes, or until meat is cooked thoroughly 

- Let stand for 15 minutes before serving or portion and freeze in single plastic bags for future meals

There is no real way to make meatloaf "pretty" but I included the photos anyways. ;)

ENJOY!