Heather's Roasted Cauliflower Mash

This twist on mashed potatoes is made with a non-starchy veggie, no cream and butter—and yet, it's every bit as yummy as your traditional mashed potatoes.

Total Time: 50 min.

Prep Time: 5 min.
Cooking Time: 45 min.
Yield: 8 servings, ¼ cup each

Ingredients:
1 (2-lb.) cauliflower, cut into small florets, discard stem
4 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. sea salt
¼ tsp. granulated garlic (optional)
2 Tbsp. low-sodium organic vegetable broth

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
2. Wash cauliflower and pat dry.
3. Place cauliflower in large baking pan. Drizzle with oil; toss gently to coat. 4. Season with salt and garlic.
5. Bake, stirring halfway through, for 40 to 45 minutes, or until tender.
6. Place in food processor; add vegetable broth. Pulse until smooth.

Nutritional Information (per serving):
Calories: 46
Fat: 3 g
Saturated Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 319 mg
Carbohydrate: 5 g
Fiber: 2 g
Sugar: 2 g
Protein: 2 g

P90X/P90X2 Portions (per serving)
1 vegetable

Body Beast Portions (per serving)
2 vegetables

My Idea Of Clean Eating

What is Clean Eating?

Part of the problem with getting to the bottom of what clean eating is, is that everyone seems to have a different definition of what actually constitutes ‘clean’. You’ve got your bodybuilder definition, your paleo definition, your vegan definition, your celebrity doctor definition and on and on and on. Not only that, but those definitions can vary wildly from individual to individual.

What follows is my definition of clean eating, I don’t claim that it’s the ‘right’ definition; these are simply the personal guidelines I use to stay healthy.

What Clean Eating is NOT!

So, with that in mind, let’s go over some things clean eating isn’t: it’s not a diet, it’s not calorie-restriction, it’s not about meal frequency, it’s not about depriving yourself of things you love and it isn’t about perfection.

People often equate clean eating with sacrifice, but it’s actually about finding healthy alternatives to unhealthy food. 

Sure it takes more work, but the results are certainly worth it. Also remember that as you clean up your eating habits, your tastes change and you get to the point where you actually crave healthy food. Sounds crazy, but it’s true.

MY CLEAN EATING GUIDELINES

So, I really believe in keeping it short and sweet! I do not think it takes a lot of "knowledge" to eat clean. My motto is: Anything God created to eat, I can eat! With the exception of the things that man has altered. For example: things may say "wheat," but it is soft and squishy....guess what, God did not make it, it has been altered by man! You need to look at the ingredients, if it says bleached or enriched...it is not made by God :) It has to say "whole wheat" etc. The less ingredients it has the better! Also, if you cannot read the ingredients, chances are God did not create it. 
So here it is in a nut shell: if it is man made...do not eat it! 

I used the 21 Day Fix to help me learn exactly how to do this! It really helped me to focus in on portion control and eating clean. I highly recommend this for beginners. Please contact me if you would like more information about this program.(21 Day Fix)

This is the bread I buy and you can buy it at sprouts. They have several different kinds and they even have tortillas but they have to be refrigerated because they have no preservatives in them. 

What to do:

Eat more- eat six small meals each day.
Eat breakfast every day, within an hour of rising.
Eat a combination of lean protein and complex carbs at each meal
Eat sufficient (two to three servings) healthy fats every day.
Carry a cooler packed with clean foods each day.
Depend on fresh fruits and vegetables for fiber, vitamins, nutrients and enzymes.
Adhere to proper portion sizes.

Avoid these most of the time…

Like we said earlier, clean eating isn’t about perfection – any way of eating which requires perfection is going to be hard to sustain in the long run; eating is also a social affair, so it’s nice to be able to join in with friends and family. That said, to eat clean, you want to avoid the following most (90%) of the time:

Avoid processed food.

Convenient, but you pay for that convenience because processed foods are usually high in chemical additives, trans fats, salts and refined sugars.

Avoid most refined foods.

This means refined flour, sugars (high-fructose, white, brown, and the rest), trans-fats etc. If you’re interested in cutting down body fat, of special importance is to cut out refined sugars, which due to their affect on insulin levels and hormone sensitive lipase, aids in fat loss.

Avoid artificial ingredients and preservatives.

As the saying goes: if you can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it. If it’s made in a lab, don’t eat it. This includes artificial sweeteners!

Avoid alcohol.

The long and short of it is: alcohol is a toxin. It’s also an excellent social lubricant, so if you’re going to drink, make sure you keep it low to moderate.

Avoid soda, high calorie creamers, energy drinks and fruit juice.

Don’t drink your calories: soda is loaded with sugar, diet soda is loaded with artificial sweeteners and fruit juice is also often loaded with refined sugar and of course, natural sugars.

If you just stick to the above guidelines most of the time, you’ll be well on your way to a clean eating lifestyle. As said before, it’s not about perfection, but the more you can cut out the above factors, the healthier you’ll be.

Do this most of the time…

Account for individuality.
First and foremost, whatever eating habits you choose to make, you need to make it about you. In other words, you need to tailor your diet to:
1) your own food sensitivities and intolerance's (if any)
2) your personal preferences.

For example: if you are gluten and lactose intolerant, then clean eating, for you would mean, that you would have to avoid wheat and dairy products.

Eat according to your goals.

Eating to lose weight, maintain your weight, or gain weight (in the form of lean muscle, hopefully!) have different calorie requirements.

Eat plenty vegetables.

Veggies, veggies, veggies! Get as many veggies as you can.  The idea is to make sure you have a variety of veggies on your plate (as many colors of the rainbow as you can get) and to vary the veggies you eat as often as possible.

Eat fruits in moderation.
Fruits are a sweet treat and a nutritious alternative to candies and other refined sugars, but it is possible to eat too many. Fruit can make you gain weight! Also, modern day fruits are generally much larger and higher in sugar than they would have been naturally (hybridization).

Eat high-quality meats.

If you’re a vegetarian or vegan you have plant-based alternatives. For the meat eaters, aim to get lean meat and limit your red meat to 2 times a week.

Eat healthy fats.

Healthy fats don’t make you fat, they’re good for you! Yes, even some healthy (i.e. from a high-quality source) saturated fats. You can get healthy fats from, for example, fish (e.g. anchovies and sardines), nuts and seeds (e.g. walnuts, almonds, chia seeds), avocados, eggs, oils (olive oil, coconut oil).

Use high-quality supplement(s).

I highly recommend Shakeology! It has done wanders for me and I use this rather than the daily vitamins.

Drink mostly water and enough of it.
Your daily water consumption should be half of your body weight in ounces. 

For instance: If you weight 100lbs, then you should be dring 50oz. 

Now, if you weigh more than 260lbs, then your goal (in my opinion) should be a gallon (128oz) a day, instead of half your weight.

Pure, unadulterated water is the best way to stay hydrated, chuck the soda, chuck the fruit juice and stick to water most of the time, herbal teas and moderate use of coffee (remembering that caffeine has a 6 hour half-life in the body, so it’s best to drink it earlier in the morning). 

(Credit: FitbodyHQ)

21 Day Fix Grocery List

I can honestly say that I might be in love with the 21 day fix meal plan!  Well okay I will be totally honest I AM IN LOVE WITH THE ENTIRE PROCESS.  Lets face it, it's easy, its simple, its basically fool proof.  If you stick to the things on the list of approved foods and you keep it basic you can't go wrong.  Plus I really dislike counting calories so the fact that I can tally up my containers and check it off each day is much more my style.  Now 4 rounds into the fix I don't even use the containers anymore.  I can see very clearly what a proper portion size should look like on my plate.  My body really has a much better system of regulating my feelings of fullness and I truly do have energy. 

The thing that I really like is that it perfectly aligns with clean eating!  I still follow the exact same guide of having a protein an a complex carb at each meal. 

So I get asked questions all the time about what a grocery list should look like.  While I can't tell you to go out and buy EVERYTHING on this list, I am going to give you an idea of the general things that you are going to be using on a daily basis for the fix.  The quick reference guide below really helps as well.

Proteins (red)

So when you hit up the store stick to lean proteins like

Fish- Salmon & Tilapia

Fresh Chicken Breast

Turkey Breast

Eggs

Lean Ground Turkey

Pork Tenderloin

Flank Steak

Protein Powder

Veggie Burgers

In all conscience I stay away from red meat, processed lunch meats, turkey bacon and ham slices.  I know it's on the list but when it comes to clean eating and nutritional value the things I have listed above are much better options.  Turkey bacon, lunch meat, and ham all are higher in sodium and can cause you to retain water. 

Fruits (purple)

Apples

Pears

Berries like Strawberries, Blackberries, Raspberries

Oranges

Watermelon

Cantaloupe

Kiwi

I usually stayed away from bananas, mangos and grapes during the fix because they are still a good source of natural sugar but they also tend to be on the higher side.  So if I do have one of those I only do 1 per day.  As you get closer to your weight loss goal this becomes very important to shedding those last few pesky pounds.

Vegetables (green)

Green Beans

Celery

Asparagus

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Spinach

Peppers

Onions

Tomaos

Squash

cucumbers

Lettuce

I also typically do not eat carrots because they are also higher in sugar.  I stay away from corn as a vegetable and if I eat it then it goes into the starch category.

Complex Carbohydrates  (Yellow)

Brown Rice

Quinoa

Oatmeal (not instant in the packet) Rolled Instant Oats

Sweet Potatoes

Red Skin potatoes

Black Beans

Pinto Beans

Couscous

Ezekiel Bread

Whole Grain Tortillas

I know that on the complex carbohydrate list there are bagels, toast, pancakes, waffles and other breads.  But what I can say is this, from a nutritional standpoint even whole grain still turns to sugar in your stomach, it will not keep you full and offers little benefits.  Think of food as fuel.  Quinoa, sweet potatoes, Ezekiel bread are great sources of whole grains that are very natural and will give you fiber, fullness and nutrients where a waffle or piece of toast is more of a filler.  Again, you can pick and choose and yes it is allowed but its up to you to decide how you want your results to play out.

Blue

Healthy Fats and Cheese (blue)

Unsweetened Coconut

Raw Unsalted Almonds

Raw Unsalted Cashews

Hummus

Goat Cheese

Feta Cheese

Avocado

This is definitely a category that I used to go way over!  I used to eat hummus, almonds and cheese all in one day and it was totally killing my progress.  I actually eliminated cheese from my diet and saw that I was less bloated and more lean during that time.

List of other ingredients that I used frequently:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Coconut Oil

All Natural Peanut Butter, only ingredients are peanuts and a little salt.

Almond Butter

Almond Milk if you want that for your Shakeology

Chia Seeds

Sea Salt

Pepper

Chili Powder

Onion Salt

Garlic Powder

Garlic

Seltzer Water- Love the Deer Park and La Croix if you have a hard time drinking water.

Green Tea

Honey

Greek Yogurt

Cinnamon

Slivered Almonds

If you would like more support in your 21 day fix journey or you would like to start your 21 day fix journey please complete the application below to be considered for my next 21 day fix accountability, support/challenge group!

Clean Chicken Wings

INGREDIENTS
Creamy Lemon Mixture:
2 dozen chicken wings
Spelt or Kamut flour for dredging
2 tablespoons paprika
Garlic powder
Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Pinch red pepper flakes
Bay leaf
2 lemons, halved
10 roasted cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano
1/4 cup light beer
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
PREPARATION:
Rinse the chicken wings in cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
Place flour in a shallow platter and season it by adding paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix well.
Dredge the wings in the flour – that means roll the wings around in the flour to coat every bit of them.
Heat oil in a skillet and brown the chicken wings on all sides.
Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside on a platter.
Add pepper flakes, bay leaf, lemons, garlic, oregano, beer and chicken broth to the pan.
Cook for 2 minutes to evaporate the alcohol.
Return the chicken wings to the pan.
Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes, or braise in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20 minutes until the wings are piping hot.
The wings will be spicy enough on their own thanks to the seasonings but if you want a dipping sauce use a homemade ketchup which can be seasoned the way you like.

(Recipe Credit: Tusca Renos)

Focus T25

What is FOCUS T25?

• In-home workouts designed to deliver an hour’s results in just 25 minutes a day.

• The latest creation by fitness expert and former track star Shaun T—who brought 

   the world INSANITY®. 

• Fast-paced routines that are jam-packed with dynamic, hi-intensity moves designed for maximum
  efficiency and effectiveness.

Who is Focus T25 for?
• Busy people who want to work out less time but still get great results.
• Those who enjoy a high-intensity, no-nonsense program that makes every minute count.
• Men and women who want to work out just 25 minutes a day to get in the best shape of their lives.

What do people love most about FOCUS T25?
• Even those people with incredibly tight schedules can always find 25 minutes a day to work out.
• Major studies have shown that 30 minutes of exercise can be just as effective at burning fat and
  even more efficient than 60 minutes of exercise.
• There’s always a modifier on screen, so literally anyone at any fitness level can GET IT DONE
   with FOCUS T25.

What should be done after completing the FOCUS T25 Base kit ALPHA and BETA Cycles?
• The Deluxe Kit GAMMA Cycle, which includes the next 4 weeks of FOCUS T25 workouts and
   advanced tools to help your customers get advanced results. Or, from the very start, you can combine
  GAMMA WITH BETA to ramp up your 10-week results!

If you are my customer you will get the FREE bonus workout Core Speed. You will push hard, burn fat, and get shredded in record time with this exclusive DVD. It is a $19.95 value—FREE to my customers

For the month of April there is a promotional price of $180.00, that is a $95.00 savings, only for the month of April. 30-day money-back guarantee of the purchase price less s&h.

There will be a challenge Group starting May 19th, 2014. Order and get into the group before your time runs out! See you slimmer in just a few weeks :D!

Click Here to watch the video about Focus T25

If You Can Not Read It, Do Not Eat It Challenge!

New Challenge! So I thought it would be nice to get us all label conscious....do you guys read the labels that are on your food? Some of us may, for the calories, fats, carbs etc., but what about the ingredients? The ingredients are so important, I have found many times that I can not even pronounce the ingredients, guess what? That is bad news. Let us take the challenge to look at the ingredients of the things in our pantry, on the shelves at the store, and in the fridge at home. If we can not read it, then maybe we should think twice about eating it.

I know we cant change what we have many times, but the purpose of the challenge is to make you aware of the ingredients you are eating. If we are aware, we start to change our minds and that produces changes in our actions.

Although it might seem obvious, chemicals aren't food for you or any other living thing. Food scientists are paid big money to create long-lasting, artificially delicious food. Chemical concoctions become the prime ingredients in food on grocery store shelves, meaning a mad scientist is your own personal chef. It is no
big surprise that money is enough motivation for food companies to ignore the negative impacts these chemicals have on your long-term health. Thus marketing people and food scientists come together to sell you some cleverly chemically concocted corporate dish. Yum! Massive food businesses are leading you blindly into a world of plastic food that will ultimately destroy your health, leaving you poor and them laughing all the way to the bank. Chemicals aren't nutrition. They don’t satisfy your hunger, they’re addictive and they’ll leave you sick in the hospital with one of the many all too prevalent North American chronic diseases including diabetes or cancer. (Credit: Tosca Reno)

# 1 Read labels.
#2 If the label contains words that look like they’re from chemistry class, leave it on the shelf!

Take pictures and show us what you like or do not like and hash tag #‎CantreaditDONTEATITchallenge‬