Lemon and Apple Pasta Salad

15-20 minutes

4 servings
240 calories per serving
Vegan, gluten-free

Ingredients
4 cups of sugar peas
1 cup gluten-free small noodles
3 red apples
15 fresh basil leaves
1 lemon
2 tbs coconut oil
Sea salt
White pepper

Directions
Boil water, cook the whole wheat (grain) pasta as directed, drain, then set aside to cool.
Steam the sugar peas 8-minutes, then set aside to cool.
Zest half of the lemon (cut out little strips of the outer layer of the peel). Press the lemon and set aside.
Slice the apples into long and thin pieces. Place in a bowl, add the 2 tbs of melted coconut oil, juice from the lemon, the zests, salt and pepper.Toss together with the basil leaves, sugar peas, and pasta. Enjoy.

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

Frozen Yogurt Cupcakes

These strawberry-banana flavored frozen yogurt cupcakes are a perfect sweet treat and less than 100 calories each!

Total Time: 4 hrs. 20 min.
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cooking Time: None
Yield: 12 servings, 1 cupcake each

Ingredients:
3½ cups nonfat plain Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp. raw honey
6 medium strawberries, pureed
½ medium ripe banana, pureed
36 dark chocolate morsels (about 2 Tbsp.)

Preparation:
1. Place 12 silicone baking cups on a baking sheet. Set aside.
2. Combine yogurt and honey in a medium bowl; mix well.
3. Place 3 Tbsp. yogurt mixture in each baking cup.
4. Top evenly with strawberries, banana, and 2 additional Tbsp. yogurt mixture.
5. Top each cupcake with 3 morsels.

6. Freeze for 4 hours, or until firm.
7. Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving.

Tip: You can make this recipe using silicone baking cups, a silicone muffin pan, or a regular muffin pan. When using the regular muffin pan, to remove cupcakes, dip the bottom of the pan in hot water for 20 seconds.

Nutritional Information (per serving):
Calories: 63
Fat: 1 g
Saturated Fat: 0 g
Cholesterol: 5 mg
Sodium: 24 mg
Carbohydrate: 9 g
Fiber: 0 g
Sugar: 8 g
Protein: 7 g

P90X/P90X2 Portions (per serving)
1 single snack

P90X3 Portions (per serving)
½ carb/grain
½ protein

Body Beast Portions (per serving)
1 protein
½ fruit

21 Day Fix Portions (per serving)
1 yellow container

Stuffed Sausage Jalapeno Poppers

Ingredients:
Recipe makes 12 servings
1 ground beef or turkey
1/2 pound ground pork sausage
1/4 onion
1 tomato
6 mushrooms
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 pound large fresh jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 (8 ounce) bottle Ranch dressing (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Place sausage in a skillet over medium heat, and cook until evenly brown. Drain grease.
In a bowl, mix the sausage, cream cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Spoon about 1 tablespoon sausage mixture into each jalapeno half. Arrange stuffed halves in baking dishes.
Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until bubbly and lightly browned. Serve with Ranch dressing.

Tip: 

You can also wrap the jalapeno after it has been filled with bacon. It changes it up a bit for something different. 

You can also use turkey bacon or turkey sausage for lower fat and calories, along with Greek cream cheese for added protein. 

I add vegetables in mine: tomatoes, garlic, onion

Sweet Potato Salad

This salad is topped with hearty sweet potatoes--a super-food that is high in beta-carotene, potassium, and manganese. Pumpkin seeds add extra crunch!

Total Time: 1 hour 15 min.
Prep Time: 15 min.
Cooking Time: 30 min.
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1½ tsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
½ tsp. raw honey (or pure maple syrup)
1 dash Himalayan salt (or sea salt)
1 tsp. chopped fresh herbs (like basil, oregano or parsley) (to taste; optional)
1 medium baked sweet potato, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
1 medium green apple, diced
½ medium red bell pepper, diced
1 stalk green onion, finely sliced
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro
4 cups fresh arugula
2 Tbsp. pumpkin seed kernels, toasted (or chopped raw walnuts)

Preparation:
1. Combine oil, vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and herbs (if desired) in a medium bowl; whisk to blend.
Set aside.
2. Combine sweet potato, apple, bell pepper, onion, and cilantro in a large bowl; mix well.
3. Drizzle dressing over sweet potato mixture; toss gently to blend.
4. Place even amounts of arugula on two serving plates; top each with sweet potato mixture and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.

Tip: Bake fork-pierced sweet potato at 450° F for 30 to 40 minutes or until just tender. Do not over bake; cool.

Nutritional Information (per serving):
Calories: 236
Fat: 11 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 194 mg
Carbohydrate: 32 g
Fiber: 6 g
Sugar: 16 g
Protein: 5 g

P90X/P90X2 Portions (per serving)
1 vegetable
½ carb/legume & tuber
½ fat
½ fruit

Body Beast Portions (per serving)
1 starch
2 vegetable
1 fruit
1 fat

Easy Stuffed Sweet Peppers

Last night I wanted something healthy and my fridge is getting pretty bare, time to go grocery shopping. I decided to just wing it and make up a recipe with what I had. It turned out so good, I wanted to share it

Ingredients:
1 can crushed pineapple
1 jar of Bruschetta (spaghetti sauce)
1 can of Rotel tomatoes
Meat balls
Sweet peppers
Cheese

Preparation:
I took the meat balls and placed them in the pot along with the tomato sauce, pineapple, and spaghetti sauce and cooked them on lo-medium for about 30 minutes (I used meatballs that were already fully cooked). While the meat balls were cooking, I cleaned and cut my sweet peppers in half. I put them on a pan ready to throw into my toaster (is you do not have a toaster the oven will work just as well). After the meatballs and everything were cooked and ready to go, I cut them up and placed them inside the sweet peppers, I added a little sauce from the pot and sprinkled cheese on top. I toasted/broiled the peppers until the cheese was melted.

I served it with a fresh green vegetable salad and vinaigrette dressed.

Greek Yogurt Chicken

Greek Yogurt Chicken

Lately, I've tried to be a much better Pinterest user.
Instead of just pinning every pretty thing I came across, I decided to start using what I've already pinned. For weeks now I have seen this recipe for "Melt in your mouth chicken", so when date night rolled around a few weeks ago I knew exactly what we needed to try!

I decided to sub the mayo for greek yogurt for a low-cal, healthier spin. This recipe was so extremely easy, convenient, and absolutely delicious. The greek yogurt locks in the moisture, and the spices just kick it up to a whole different level.

We were both huge fans... in fact I've made it two more times since then because it was so yummy! Paired with crunchy baked okra and roasted garlic brussel sprouts... oh yum!

Super low in calories and high in protein, both your waistline and your hunky meat-and-potatoes kind of man will thank you!

Ingredients:
4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
1 cup plain greek yogurt (I used Oikos)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese - grated
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper


Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2) Combine greek yogurt, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, seasoned salt, and pepper in a bowl.

3) Line baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

4) Coat each chicken breast in greek yogurt mixture and place on foiled baking sheet.

5) Bake for 45 minutes.

(credit: life of Meg)

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)

Crispy Chicken Bites Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes
Yield: 6 servings (20 to 25 nuggets)



INGREDIENTS
3 x 6-oz / 170-g boneless, skinless chicken breasts

¼ cup / 60 ml oat bran

¼ cup / 60 ml wheat germ

1 Tbsp / 15 ml coarsely ground flaxseed

¼ cup / 60 ml coarsely ground almonds

½ tsp / 2.5 ml sea salt


½ tsp / 2.5 ml white pepper


Pinch garlic powder


½ cup / 120 ml water or low-sodium chicken broth


1 large egg white, lightly beaten




HONEY MUSTARD SAUCE
1½ tsp / 7.5 ml honey

1 Tbsp / 15 ml Dijon mustard



PREPARATION:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F / 232°C. Prepare baking sheet by lining with parchment paper or coating lightly with extra virgin olive oil.
2. Cut chicken breasts into nugget-sized pieces, about 1½ inches square. Set aside.
3. Next, combine all dry ingredients in a large container with a tightly fitting lid. Shake well. This is your coating mixture.
4. Combine water and egg in a medium bowl. Dip each piece in the water-egg white mixture. Then dip each piece in the coating mixture. Make sure each piece is well coated.
5. Place on the baking sheet. When all of your chicken has been coated and your baking sheet is full, place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden.

Tosca’s Tip
Use the almond coating on larger strips of chicken breast to make chicken tenders for the adults!

(Credit: Tusca Renos)