Be Unstoppable!
I have recently been feeling like I really don't get enough protein in day-to-day. Especially with this new program I'm doing which involves a lot of weight lifting! If I really want to get shredded - I need to give my body what it needs, right?

 Well since realizing that I have made a concerted effort to get more, good protein into my diet. And one of the best sources of natural protein comes from eggs. But the problem I kept running into is that eggs are also high in fat, especially if you're someone like me who really enjoys nut butters, hummus, etc. in their diet as a way to get their healthy fats. So what's a girl to do when you need the protein, but not the fat!

Egg whites, my friends. Egg whites!

 Here are a couple very simple recipes that have very recently become staples in my diet as a source of high protein, and a little healthy fat!

EGG MUFFINS
I'd seen these on pinterest before, and it had been a while since I'd made them, particularly because of the aforementioned problem--great protein but too much fat for me to be having as a snack.

Well, this time I tried something a little different:

What you'll need:

  • Frozen veggie blend - I used a Pepper & Onion Frozen Veggie blend by Kroger
  • Raw mushrooms - however many you want!
  • Egg Whites - I used 32 ounces of Break free egg whites by Kroger
  • Eggs - 4
  • Monterrey Jack Cheese - 2.5 ounces

Making these was seriously so easy!

 First - preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

 I sauteed the veggies until they were softened - first starting with the frozen veggie blend, then adding the mushrooms until they were soft.

While those were cooking, I scrambled the 4 eggs and then mixed them together with the egg whites in a larger.

After the veggies were cooked, I mixed them into the egg mixture.

Then mix in the cheese. (If you'd prefer, you can reserve the cheese and instead top the muffins with cheese after they're cooked)

Start filling a muffin tin with the mixture--about 3/4 full should do it! Don't fill too full or they will massively bake over.

Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes! They should be a nice golden brown when they're finished cooking!

ENJOY!

**For quick grab-n-go snacks I threw two egg muffins into a ziploc bag and snagged them in the AM for convenient healthy snacks at lab!**

You'll probably notice pretty quickly that you have way more mixture then muffin tins available! If you want, you can just make multiple batches of muffins! OR if you're interested in some more variety, then keep on reading!!

EGG & VEGGIE BREAKFAST BURRITOS
I don't know about you, but I'm a FAN of breakfast burritos! But the ones you by at fast food joints or even at coffee shops are always so oily and loaded with fats. Ew. Pass.

So, I decided that since I had extra egg mixture, I'd whip up some breakfast burritos!

Now, no need to go get more ingredients! All you need to do is this...

Take your leftover egg mixture from above and pour into a pan.

Scramble the eggs.

When fully cooked, remove from heat!


Now for the assembly line!

First, lay down some aluminum foil.

Then, your tortilla.

Top with your egg mixture.

Then cheese (if you so choose).

Fold up your burrito -- side, ends, other side--and place seam side down on the aluminum foil.

Wrap up and repeat!

Refrigerate these goodies and enjoy! :-)




These goodies are rapidly becoming my new favorite AM snack! They're packed with good ingredients and hold me over until lunch and then some!

I highly suggest you try them out!

Eggs (especially egg whites) are your friend when you need more protein in your life!

 Until next time!
How have I not published this??? I'm freaking out right now!!

 I legitimately thought that I had posted this recipe a LONG time ago, but without as many awesome pictures...only to realize that I have not! This is a food emergency right now, because you all need to try this recipe!!

 Okay, hold on...let me compose myself...

So, I pretty much gave you the run down of my vacation home in my last post, Home for the Holidays, where I emphasized the things that I did while I was home to ensure that I was at least maintaining my healthy habits! At the end of that post, I started talking about the fact that something you can do for your family while your home to help yourself stay healthy, help your family get introduced to your lifestyle, and also to take some of the workload off of your family in terms of making dinner! I kind of teased you about a recipe that I made for them...and now I'm going to lay it all out for you...

Introducing...one of my absolute favorite recipes that I've ever made...

I originally got this recipe from Pinch of Yum, and have since modified it by a) adding protein, and b) increased the amount of food with more squash and lots of tortillas!!

But here's the jist....

What you'll need...
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 jalapeño, chopped, seeds and ribs removed
  • 2 bell peppers, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons of butter
  • 1 small butternut squash, cubed
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder, or more if you prefer spicier
  • ½ teaspoon cumin, or more if you prefer spicier
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 3 chicken breasts, cubed
  • 16 ounces of fresh mushrooms, chopped
  • Corn tortillas, I used 2 10 tortilla packages of the small corn tortillas
  • 2 cups shredded Mexican mix cheese
  • Cilantro
  • 16 ounces Tomatillo sauce (The original recipe called for homemade tomatillo sauce, but I'm all about simplifying so I bought it at the store)
Directions...

 Squash Filling
The squash and pepper part of the filling is so beautiful! And - your house will probably smell good by this point! AT this time, aunts and uncle arrived and my Aunt Lesa was gushing about how good this all smelled
  • Over high heat, roast the peppers and jalapeño until just brown
  • Add the onions and saute until translucent
  • Add the squash, 1 T of butter, cumin, chili powder, and salt...and saute until the squash is tender by pricking with a knife. This may take a bit of time depending on the size of cubes you cut your squash into so plan accordingly with time.
  • Once the squash is cooked set this mixture aside
At this time you may want to start pre-heating your oven to 400 degrees.

Mushroom Filling
Chicken and Mushroom part of the filling 
  • Add a tablespoon of butter to the plan.
  • At this time, add the cubed chicken breast and cook chicken through until almost fully cooked.
  • Add the mushrooms and saute until softened and slightly brown
  • Season with salt and additional chili powder if desired
Assembly and Cooking
The prep takes longer than all the actual cooking - only approximately 15 minutes until DELICIOUSNESS!
  • Wrap the tortillas (about 5 or 6 at a time) in moist paper towels and zap in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. This is to make the tortillas soft and pliable so that they don't break during the assembly process. Seriously don't skip this step! Also be careful with the tortillas because they'll likely be hot when you handle them!
  • Combine the squash, mushroom & chicken mixes.
  • Fill the tortillas with the mixture and close, placing them seam side down in the pan.
  • Repeat until you've used all the tortillas. You may have some filling leftover. If you do, just sprinkle it over the top of the tortillas. For me, I was able to make two 9x13 dishes full of tortillas and I split the leftover filling between the two platters.
  • Top the dishes with tomatillo sauce and cheese, spreading evenly between the two dishes!
  • Bake for 15-18 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly!
  • Top with cilantro and serve!
I had planned on making this recipe my very last night home for my holiday vacation. It was supposed to just be myself and my parents, but I knew it would be a LOT of food, so I invited my aunts and uncle, and my grandparents over! We even had a surprise visit from my family friend!  So, altogether, I was able to serve 9 people with very hearty appetites with this and had a little bit leftover! And let me tell you, it was a HIT! Can't you tell?
They busted into the first pan before I could even take a picture, and before I knew it BOTH pans were gone!
My grandma brought over a Chinese cabbage salad, which went surprisingly well with the enchiladas! Let me know if you want that recipe too! It's a family favorite!

Anyways, my family really really really enjoyed this recipe and I hope yours does too! :-)

Happy cooking!
Holidays and visiting people can be tough! Not only the travelling part, but once you get there, there are so many temptations and disruptions to your normal schedule! There's a lot of planning and participation in the meal preparation that is necessary for making it through visits and holidays unscathed. 
I managed to make it through the holidays this year not only without gaining weight, but with actually losing weight! In my life, that is completely unheard of. So, I'm going to tell you what I did to help ensure myself that. 

Nothing crazy. Just small changes, and conscious activities that made my recent trip home more survivable.

First things first...

Don't make excuses before your vacation starts. What do I mean by that?

PLAN AHEAD - Pre-airport workout
I didn't leave for the airport until 1:30 pm before my holiday started.  I could VERY easily have lounged around all day, lazing away my last afternoon before I flew home. But instead...I got my workout in! Not just one workout, but two! Insanity Max 30 and Dirty 30... It burned sooooo good!! haha

Next, the airport...

We all know that there are abundant temptations at the airport! You could very easily enjoy some fast food, a burger, too many drinks...etc. But, instead, you could continue your healthy trend! 

I believe that if you're consciously looking for healthy options for yourself, then you will find them. No matter where you are! Including the airport!  I got this delicious greek salad with grilled chicken and tons of vegetables at a SPORTS BAR.  Do you see what I mean? I found the options that had grilled meat, chose the salad that had the least amount of unhealthy add-ons, and had a vinaigrette dressing that I asked for on the side! I ate the whole thing and it held me over for the rest of my travel day! Talk about healthy eats! :-)
Greek salad at the aiport
When I finally arrived at my parents house for the holidays, one of the first things I did was ask my mom when she was going grocery shopping. Now, my parents eat pretty fricken healthy and they're very supportive of the new lifestyle I have adopted. I totally understand that sometimes it's not that easy for people, but you can make every effort to ensure that you have the healthiest possible things available to you. So, I helped my mom write the grocery list and then went shopping with her! We got tons of yummy things that fit right into my eating plan and diet, and...I threw in a little treat for them too...which I'll get to in a bit.
Mom and my trip to the grocery store the day after I got back from school!
Something else you can do...either by yourself or with a fellow active friend...is to get outside and do something active! Instead of meeting up for drinks or dinner ever single time you meet up with someone, get outside!

I was able to spend a lot of time this holiday with a good friend of mine from high school--Rachel! And she took me on one of the most beautiful hikes I've ever been on to Rattlesnake Ridge! I don't know if I can really put into words how amazing this was, other than to just show you some pictures!

At the first viewpoint
My awesome hiking buddy
Lookout from third viewpoint--Sooo beautiful!
Fit Friends are the best! Thanks again, Rachel!


Now Christmas inevitably means lots of goodies, snacking, treats, and BIG DINNERS. Now, I'm not about to tell you don't enjoy these things.  I certainly did. But one thing you can do to put yourself in a good position is to portion your dinner properly! Check this out - I snapped a pic of my Christmas Eve dinner because I was SUPER proud of myself! Not only was the dinner healthy (bravo mom and grandma), but I loaded my plate up with vegetables, and ate less of the carbs! I even went back for seconds on the salad! I call that a win!
Christmas Eve dinner meant lots of SALAD, wild rice, cornish game hens, and family to open presents with!
Now, I kind of teased you before with what extra little things you can do to really help yourself maintain healthy habits. Do you know what that is?? COOK! Cooking for your family is not only a great way to maintain your healthy lifestyle, but it also introduces them to the lifestyle and takes a little bit of the cooking pressure off of them! Sweet deal, right?!

We're a super Italian family - so my dad and I made our family favorite kashkatelles! Not the healthiest thing in the world, but AMAZING!
Family favorite - Kaskatelles from Great Grandma Noni's cookbook
I also had my parents help me pick out two recipes that they wanted to try! Basically, I let them choose from a number. But ultimately they ended up choosing some of my absolute favorites that I'm sure you recognize!

First time I cooked, we made Paleo Phad Thai, which you know I've featured before! My parents had actually never had spaghetti squash, so not only was this a great opportunity to make them one of my favorite recipes, but also to introduce them to a new food! 

And I don't know everyone...I don't know if they liked it...haha
Paleo Phad Thai - my parents devoured this recipe! :-) This is just the chicken with the cabbage mixture (I use cole slaw mix)
I also made another recipe, which I'll share in the next post! :-)

The holidays, and trips home on vacation, are totally survivable from the perspective of maintaining your progress! Make small switches...and be consistent in those things! Don't get lazy and continue to be conscious and as healthy as possible on your next trip or over your next holiday and I promise you'll maintain what you've worked so hard for!

Until next time,
Do you have foods that are just like your go-to? When you're busy or stressed or want something that's healthy, easy, and won't break the bank? This is mine!

Quinoa Mac N' Cheese!!

I'm sure I found the inspiration for this somewhere on pinterest, but I have literally been making this for so long now that I don't remember!  
I'm a huge fan of recipes that include all of my main food groups all wrapped up in one, and this one does that in spades! 

You've got your veggies - a mixture of yellow squash, zucchini, and red pepper.
You've got your protein - roasted chicken, chunked and shredded.  
You've got your fats/oils - shredded cheddar cheese.
And you've got your grain - Quinoa! The freaking superman of grains!

Quinoa is probably one of the best grains you can incorporate into your diets! It's so nutrient rich!! Just to provide you with a snap shot...
Here is the nutrient breakdown for 1 C of cooked quinoa...
  • 8 grams of protein
  • 5 grams of fiber
  • 58% of the RDA for Manganese (on of your essential nutrients)
  • 30% of the RDA for Magnesium (essential nutrient)
  • 28% of the RDA for Phosphorus (essential nutrient)
  • 19% of the RDA for Folate (you get the idea...E.N.)
  • 18% of the RDA for Copper
  • 15 for Iron
  • 13% for Zinc
  • 9% for Potassium
  • Over 10% for Vitamins B1, B2, and B6
  • Small amounts of Calcium, B3 (Niacin), and Vitamin E
Also, Quinoa contains molecules that have been shown to have anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-cancer, and anti-depressant effects.
Quinoa is super high in fiber, way more than other grains.
It's gluten-free.

It's high in protein, and BONUS, contains all of the essential amino acids (the building blocks of proteins) that we need to survive!

And that's just some of the awesome benefits! Check out more on Authority Nutrition!
So, now that I've blabbed about all the awesome reasons you should love quinoa, let's get to the recipe, shall we?
Grocery List:
  • Quinoa - $5 (approximately - I bought a bit in bulk bag a while ago)
  • 2 medium zucchini - $3.20
  • 1 yellow squash - $1.59
  • 1 red pepper - $1.29
  • 3 cups of roasted chicken - I just bought one of those pre-roasted chickens and shredded the chicken off of the bone $8.99
Things I already had:
  • PAM!
Total = $20.07 total for recipe...And you'll have leftover chicken and quinoa for other dishes!

Directions...
Basically, this is probably the easiest thing I've yet to post about! So, let's get started.
  • Grease a pan with PAM, and cut up your zucchini, yellow squash, and red peppers.
  • Sautee the vegetables in the pan over medium to medium-high heat until soft...about 5-8 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, cook your quinoa per package instructions. I made enough for 2 cups of cooked quinoa.
  • Combine veggies and quinoa together in a bowl, and then add your cooked, shredded, chicken.  
  • When you're ready to eat, portion about 1/4 or so of the mixture into a bowl.
  • Top with shredded cheese and mix in. If fresh, let the cheese get all melty and blended into the veggies and quinoa. If not, zap it in the microwave for a minute or so!
  • Then, ENJOY!
This recipe is seriously a fave of mine! I hope you enjoy it! 
I have referenced before how important it is to have daily routine, which I discuss more in this blog post. But I don't think I've talked about this as much in reference to food!

So today, I want to talk about the importance of establishing a routine with your food. Not only is scheduling time to meal prep super important, which I've discussed in previous blog posts (which you can find here), but it's also important to establish some consistency in patterns in not only when you eat, but what you eat.

I've started to call this my Daily Eats...
If you talk to a bunch of people who are fit, gym rats, or bodybuilders...you'll probably find that these people eat very similar things for the most part from day-to-day! In fact, most other people tend to do the same...without even meaning to! They don't even notice that they're doing it, but they're day to day is pretty repetitive...

So, this is an example of what I eat day to day! It's very simple!

I start off my morning with a cup of coffee, pre-workout!

Then, about an hour or so later, after my shower, I have my Shakeology for breakfast.

I usually get into work around 8 am. So, I'll have my first snack of the day around 9:30-10 am. That's usually fruit. I've tried having a veggie snack in the morning. I don't like. Vegetables to me just aren't a morning food!

Then, around 11:30-12, I have lunch! Lunch is always a salad for me! Usually it's Kale, but not all the time! I have grown to REALLY love my lunch time salads. Salads are my favorite way to get my vegetables in! And this lunch salad just fits into my day so well.

Then, in the afternoon, around 2-ish, I have my afternoon snack. I love veggies and hummus!! I tend to stick with celery or cucumbers. I prefer cucumbers actually! But, recently the cucumbers haven't been very fresh so I've switched back to celery!

Then - dinner! I usually have dinner around 5pm when I get home from work! This is by far my heartiest meal of the day! And varies the most in my day-to-day eating. My dinner recipes are the things that I feature in my MOTW  and budget MOTW posts! These tend to be things like quinoa mac n' cheese, crock pot chili, etc. I REALLY like my dinner to be a single dish that encompasses all of my food groups! Those are my favorite meals, because they simplify everything for me!

Occasionally, I'll have an evening snack if I'm still hungry! I really like greek yogurt for that because it seems like I'm eating ice cream!! :-) Yummy!

So, that's it for today! Just a simple post, but if I've found anything other than meal prepping to be really effective in my healthy lifestyle journey, it's the consistency I've developed in eating habits!

 Have a great week!!
MORE FOOD!!!!!!!! I know you're just really upset about hearing about more delicious recipe awesome-ness, right? **wink wink**

Have you ever stumbled across a recipe on pinterest and you just started salivating immediately?!?! Ya...that happened to me last weekend when I found this one--Chicken, Mushroom, and Spinach Enchiladas from the Girl Who Ate Everything.  If you just take one peak at these pictures, I dare you to tell me these don't look delicious! These just looked delicious and whether or not they were really cheese heavy (ya they kind of are...why do you think I didn't 21 day fix approve them?)...I still had to try these! Because you know what, sometimes you deserve a cheesy treat!

So, for today's meal of the week...Spinach, Mushroom, and Chicken Stuffed Enchiladas! I know some people have strong opinions about mushrooms. So, if you're not a mushroom person, or eating spinach makes you feel like Popeye, than feel free to substitute!  

For mushroom substitution...You'll need another meaty vegetable! Cauliflower or eggplant would probably be sufficient for that. I do not have much experience cooking with eggplant, so I personally would suggest cauliflower, since I anticipate it would hold its shape better than eggplant would and would therefore make a more appetizing consistency for your filling.

For spinach subsitution...I would suggest chard or kale! I personally looooooooove kale, so that would be by personal suggestion!

 First things first, what do you need at the grocery store?

 Grocery List:
  • Sweet Onions - $0.45
  • Mushrooms - $3.99
  • Kroger Low Sodium Chicken Broth - $1.55
  • Fresh Baby Spinach - $4.99
  • Philadelphia Cream Cheese - $0.41
  • Chicken breasts - $10.49 (used approximately half for this recipe and half for Veggie & Chicken Crockpot Chili recipe)
  • Limes - $0.39
  • 8 ounces Daisy Low Fat Sour Cream - $1.39
  • Cilantro - $0.89
  • Kroger Flour Tortillas -$1.99
  • Kroger Shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese - $0.69
Things I already had:
  • Butter
  • Garlic Powder
Total = $16.25 total for recipe

Directions...
Start by preheating that oven to 350 degrees and greasing your baking pan. I used a 9 x 13 glass Pyrex baking dish.

Then cook your chicken breast - about 1 1/2 chicken breasts if you haven't already. I kind of forgot this step (oops) so my filling was sitting around while I was cooking the chicken! After you're done, let it cool and then dice it. Once I realized I hadn't cooked my chicken yet, I personally let mine cook while I was preparing the rest of the filling.

For the filling...
  • 1 tablespoon of butter
  • Small Onion, minced
  • garlic powder
  • Mushrooms - 1lb approximatley, coarsely chopped
  • 10 ounces of coarsely chopped baby spinach
  • 1/4 C of low-sodium chicken broth
  • 4 ounces of cream cheese - low fat
  • cooked and diced chicken

Melt the butter down in a large skillet over medium to medium high heat, add minced onions, garlic powder, and mushrooms until soft. About 5 minutes or so should do it.  

Remove half of the mushroom mixture and set aside.

Add 1/4 cup of chicken broth and cook for a couple more minutes.

Add the coarsely chopped spinach and cook down until soft. Then add in 4 ounces of the cream cheese (this was half of my block of cream cheese) until melted, mixing into the mixture as it melts.  Season with salt to taste, and also mix in chopped and cooked chicken.  

For the sauce...
  • Juice of one lime
  • 3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • Garlic powder - I didn't measure but 1-1.5 tablespoons should be good
  • Low Fat (or Fat Free) Sour cream - 8 oz
  • Cilantro, chopped

Combine juice of one lime, 1 cup of chicken broth, and garlic powder (about 1 tablespoon or more if you really like garlic).  Then add the reserved mushroom mixture, 8 ounces of low fat sour cream, and chopped cilantro. Simmer until the sauce thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Assembly...
  • Filling
  • Sauce
  • 8 flour tortillas
  • 1.5 cups of Monterrey Jack cheese (This was about 6 of the 8 ounces of Monterrey Jack in the bag of shredded cheese)
Divide filling between the 8 tortillas, fill and roll with seam side down...seriously make sure the seam is down! Pour the sauce over the top of the enchiladas, and then top with the shredded cheese.

Bake for about 10-15 minutes!

Enchiladas should be bubbling and golden brown!

Then, enjoy!

 Seriously, these enchiladas are AMAZING! I totally look forward to them at the end of a long day! To offset the heaviness of these, I'll usually pair them with a large salad. And purely to offset that they are a little on the high-fat side, I have not been having them back-to-back days for dinner! I usually alternate between these and my veggie-heavy chili or a large salad with some grilled chicken or hard boiled egg for dinner! But seriously you should check them out! SO DELICIOUS!!

 Happy Eating! 
I love love LOVE crock pot recipes during the winter & fall! I mean--I love these recipes all year round, really but they're especially perfect for warming you up on colder days. And they're even better for us busy busy people because they're just SO easy.  You just toss a bunch of stuff in a pot and leave! What's better than that?

I actually really get irritated by and try to avoid any crockpot recipe that asks you to sautee something before you put it into the pot. It kind of defeats the purpose, don't you think?

Well, anyways, of all the crockpot recipes I've posted, I think the majority of them have been chili recipes! What can I say? I love chili! I promise I'll mix it up with the crock pot recipes eventually, but I have just been craving some chili lately since it's been a while since I've made it.

 So today's recipe is a very simple, very delicious Veggie & Chicken Crockpot Chili!  A very hearty, healthy meal with very basic staple ingredients that are cheap and make preparation a breeze!



Something I LOVE about chili in terms of a hearty dinner is that it's so simple and so few ingredients to prepare. You just need some protein, beans, tomatoes, and veggies! You can pretty much tweak it whatever way you want! 

This way has become my favorite--chicken broth base with lots of tomatoes, veggies, and beans and some protein. I add tons of seasonings as you'll see! Especially lots of chili pepper...

First let's start with what you'll need!

 Grocery List:
  • Kroger Low Sodium Chicken Broth - $1.55
  • Kroger Canned Black Beans - $0.49
  • Kroger Canned Kidney Beans - $0.49
  • Kroger Canned Fire Roasted Tomatoes - $0.79
  • Hunts Tomato Paste - $0.89
  • Frozen Veggie Mix (Soup Mix--contained some potatoes, carrots, beans, peppers, onions, etc.) - $1
  • Chicken Breasts - $10.00 for a 2lb package
  • Shredded Mexican Cheddar Cheese - $2.99
Total = $18.20

Other items you will need (that I already had...):

  • Garlic Powder
  • Onion Powder
  • Chili Powder
  • Cumin
  • Black Papper
  • Salt
Cut up 2 large chicken breasts (about 1lb of chicken) into 1" pieces. I didn't use all of the chicken breasts in the package I bought. I used the rest in an another recipe.

Combine your cut up chicken breasts in the crockpot with 1.5 cups of chicken broth, the two cans of beans, roasted tomatoes, tomato paste, and the bag of frozen veggies (about 2 C of mixed veggies I would say). 

Then add all your seasonings! I don't really measure these. I pretty much judge by the flavors I like, and add things in "shakes."  But I'll do my best to estimate what I added here.
  • 2 teaspoons of garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons of onion powder
  • 2-3 Tablespoons of chili powder**
  • 1/2-1 teaspoon of cumin**
  • Salt and pepper to taste
**I usually add more of both of these because I REALLY like the smoky, spicy flavors in my chili!

Then mix everything together.

Leave on low for 6-8 hours. I usually let them go closer to 8 hours because a) that works out better for timing with when I like to eat dinner, and b) all the flavors really melt together that way!

Top with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese and enjoy!

 This is a super simple MOTW, but it's hearty, healthy, and so delicious! And who doesn't like coming back from a day out running around doing errands to something as delicious smelling as this?

For my 21 day fix friends: I can't really give you specific measurements because it kind of depends upon what you put in your chili! But my chili came out to about 1 red, 1 yellow, 1.5-2 greens, and 1 blue per serving! I'm not sure how to count the chicken broth, but if you are concerned about that, you could substitute the chicken broth for water and olive oil. Then, the chicken broth would count as 1 orange!

Happy crock-potting!
 Today I want to emphasize the The Importance of Meal Prep! If you want to maintain and promote your own healthy lifestyle, you MUST prepare yourself in every way possible!

My Beachbody coach loves to say all the time....

FAIL TO PREPARE AND YOU PREPARE TO FAIL!

 Of course, this is super applicable to life, but my favorite way to apply that statement is to your nutrition! So today, I want to focus on meal prep! Last Sunday and again this weekend, I will be doing some serious meal prep, because it's just the ONLY way to really guarantee myself success in my nutrition by making all my snacks, meals, etc. accessible, easy, and a of course healthy! This is especially true when I'm doing 21 day fix! If you're going to be successful on this program - you NEED TO PLAN AHEAD!!!

 So here's an idea of what my meal prep looks like!

Saturday - Recipe selection and grocery shopping. I will usually go on pinterest or online and hunt for recipes, OR I will go to my already absurd amount of collected recipes and choose from some of my favorites, like Paleo Phad Thai and these other 21 Day Fix Approved options.
Sunday - MEAL PREP DAY! Last weekend was a great example! Instead of vegging out all day watching football, which is how I wanted to spend my Sunday, I multi-tasked! I put football on in the background and got all my meal prepping and house work done in the meantime!

 But now you might be asking - okay I understand planning ahead but what exactly do you do to prepare yourself?

 Basically - I prepare absolutely everything I can ahead of time! So, first things first, I CHOP EVERYTHING UP!!!!

 One of the ways I get my greens in during 21 day fix is by eating cucumbers (which I LOVE) and celery with hummus as snacks!  So, to make it as easy as possible for me to do this (which after all is the point of meal-prepping), I chop and bag EVERYTHING ahead of time!  I cut cucumbers up and celery up into small pieces and measure them out using the 21 day fix green container. Once I fill the green container, I dumb those pre-cut, pre-portioned cucumbers or celery into a ziploc bag and continue until I have cut up all the celery and cucumbers! What I'm left with is a tupperware full of pre-portioned, ready snacks that I can just GRAB in the morning to take with me to work.

This same strategy is used in my preparation of my fruit and greens! For example here, I had a cantaloupe that I wanted to use for my 21 day fix purples! So I chopped it up and kept it ready in a tupperware for the week! I could have pre-portioned these out just like I did for the cucumbers/celery but I ran out of ziploc bags! So, I just left these in the larger tupperware and filled a purple 21 day fix container before I left to go to work in the morning.

For my greens, I love to have a salad for lunch! I get creative with my salads! Kale with sweet potato and hard boiled egg/chicken with a lemon olive oil dressing, kale with grapes and almonds and lemon olive oil vinaigrette or balsamic vinegar or lemon! Yum! But the biggest reason I can do that is there's no need for me to rip up greens in the morning because I've already done that on Sunday! I rip up and throw all of my kale into a very larger tupperware container! I then throw a larger handful into a tupperware for lunch that day and top it with whatever ingredients I'm feeling for that days salads!

 I also prepare all my protein ahead of time! I hard boil all my eggs (as shown below) and cook all my protein! This week it was chicken! I cooked about a pound and a half of chicken breast tenders (which I love because about 2 of them are equivalent to one 21 day fix red container), which I seasoned with whatever seasoning I was feeling that day! Coffee BBQ seasoning, cajun, italian seasonings, etc. It kind of depends on what I'm going to put the chicken in that week! This week was taco salads and taco bowls, so I seasoning them with a chili powder, Mexican blend!  That way your protein is ready to just throw into your meal or eat as a snack, with NO PREP NEEDED!!!

 Also not pictured - I prepped and baked sweet potatoes as one of my starches for the week and also soaked and cooked a bunch of beans as my other starch, both of which I threw onto salads or into taco bowls during the week!

And that's it! It was a tedious task, but you know what? If you take a couple hours on a Sunday morning/afternoon while you're watching football or doing house chores, etc. you will save yourself SO MUCH TIME during the week and make eating health SO MUCH EASIER!!

 I highly recommend meal prepping and I hope that some of these tips helped you with your own meal prepping adventures!!!

Until next time, stay healthy my busy friends! ;-)



Why in the world is this take one, you might ask? Well, because I anticipate this is going to come up A LOT over the next few years. So, just humor me in the meantime.

A wise friend once told me (yes, Scott...I think you're wise) not to skimp on food in graduate school. He could not have been more right! When you have had a rough week, you don't want to come home to top ramen! You want to come home to a delicious feast! Okay - maybe not a feast! We are in graduate school - and we'll probably all end up having our own versions of poor graduate student Thanksgiving.  But, what I'm saying is buy good food. Put good food into your body. I have a $250/month food budget, because I don't limit myself to the cheap top ramen, hamburger helper stuff. I buy good stuff! I cook! I understand if you're not a good cook. I'm really not either - I get most of my recipes (and yes, I pretty much strictly use recipes) from Cooking Light, Pinterest, or Food Network.  But, I'm putting good things into my body. We're expect a lot out of our brains, so we need to feed ourselves right!

Tonight I'm having chicken parmesan meatballs with a caesar salad  and sourdough bread.

So here's my tip for you!

If you're down to cook, which I hope you are, and you're okay with leftovers (which, trust me, are a graduate student's best friend), this is what I do:
I cook on Sunday. I go online and pick out a few good recipes that I've either had or want to try. I go to the grocery store, pick up whatever I don't have from the recipes, and spend the next few hours cooking. Then, if I'm feeling really ambitious, I portion everything out when I'm done cooking, and figure out how many meals I have for the week. That way, I can map out my week's menu before I have to worry about to-do lists, deadlines, meetings or anything like that.  Sometimes, if I know I'm going to have a particularly crazy week, I cut up fruits and veggies and portion them into ziploc bags for snacks throughout the week. That way, everything is ready to grab in the morning before I take off for the day!

And voila! There you have it - cook on Sunday and make your life easier for the rest of the week so all you have to do is reheat and maybe throw together a quick salad!  As always, doing things to make your life easier is going to be key for all of us in grad school!

Hoping to help wherever I can! Next time, I think I might tackle finding an outlet for your stress, hobbies, and/or exercise! Stay tough my grad school friends! :-) Until next time!

I'm very excited to announce that my blog has moved!

You will be automatically redirected to the new address.

If that does not occur, please visit https://thefitnerd.squarespace.com/'.