Friday, August 22, 2014

Lettuce Wraps!

Lettuce wraps are a great way to save carbs, but have a satisfying meal! Not that carbs are bad, but if you are like me, you like to limit and portion them in your day. So I am always looking for a place to save them, and enjoy them in another!

-Take 3-4 whole Romaine Lettuce Leafs, washed.
-Add some low sodium lunch meat -> turkey, ham, chicken
-1 slice of your favorite 2%/low fat cheese
-Add avocado, onion, tomato, whatever veggies you would like
-Add a little mustard for flavor if you would like! It is a great condiment without the guilt in calories. 
-Wrap it all up and enjoy!


Clean Eating Pizza Fix

I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes that has been helping me through my personal clean eating challenge. I LOVE pizza, so when I discovered I could still have the pizza taste, without cheating my diet I was robustly excited! Plus, it is easy, and inexpensive! 

INGREDIENTS
-Whole wheat wrap
-Chicken breast
-Lemon juice
-Italian seasoning
-Garlic powder
-Spinach
-Plain tomato sauce
-2% or low-fat mozzarella cheese

INSTRUCTIONS
-Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees
-Put diced chicken in fry pan and add Lemon juice, Italian seasoning, and Garlic powder. Cover, stir occasionally until cooked. (You can always use leftover chicken if you have some previously cooked to use up!)
-Place a Whole wheat wrap on a cookie sheet.
-Cover wrap in tomato sauce then scatter some cooked chicken
-Add fresh chopped Spinach
-Cover with cheese - Try to keep it light! Too much cheese will make this healthy option, not so healthy quick!

Place in oven for 8 min, or until cheese is melted. Enjoy!! 

** If you are on the 21 Day Fix program, be sure to measure out our containers where necessary! :) I would only use about 1/2 a blue container for cheese, 1/2 a purple for sauce, and 1/2 green for spinach. 



Tuesday, August 12, 2014

WELCOME!

Please be kinda as this is my FIRST BLOG EVER! ;)  I hope to post tips, recipes, workout ideas, and inspire people to make healthier choices. I will also keep you informed on how my own fitness and nutrition journey takes its ups and downs.

Here is what Josh and I have been up to...

{Nutrition wise}
As of today, I am on day 9 of the 21 Day Fix. I have to admit that it was a little intimidating at first. I have always planned our meals on Sunday and went shopping, but now that I had to worry about what foods to have when, how much, and balance out a fixed amount through our day, plus do it for Josh and not just myself, I was scared. I also wanted to come up with meals that were similar to what we already enjoyed, so we would be more likely to continue the changes after the 21 days. BUT, by day 3 I got the hang of it, and know I will continue to implement a lot of this program into our daily eating after the program. The good news too is that I have been able to give everything or alter it slightly so that Talia can enjoy it as well! No extra meal planning! ;) I don't crave a lot of the bad foods I used to, I lost pounds and inches in the first 3 days, and I am learning to enjoy a lot of healthy foods I used to shy away from.

{Benefit of Shakeology}
At the start of this program we also started using Shakeology as part of our meal plan. I held off on purchasing Shakeology for a while. I liked the idea of the benefits it gave, as well as a meal replacement option, but held off because of the financial investment. When we purchased the 21 Day Fix, our first 30 days of Shakeo came with the program, so we decided to give it a try. SO WORTH IT! I can honestly say that it gives me a boost of energy, TONS of nutrients my body needs, stamina during my workouts, and is improving my physical appearance as well. I will post another day about all it has to offer, but I am so glad we finally gave it a try!

{Workouts}
If you don't know this about me, you will now.... I LOVE Shaun T! Even before I was a coach I loved to hate the man every day! His workouts never disappoint me, and I always want to come back for more. I have never finished one of his programs and not seen a change, or come back for more rounds. My first 2 days of these workouts I was a little skeptical. They are 30 min workouts, and I worked up a sweat, but they were not as intense as others I had done. But by day 3 I knew why! I started to really notice the lower calorie intake my body was getting used to during the workouts. I would become tired easily, and not feel as strong as before. So, I started to drink my Shakeology closer to my workout time, and things improved! Each day I feel stronger, and my body is adjusting to fewer calories, but form foods with more benefits!

It is still a struggle at times, but it is only 30 minuets a day, and we are almost half way! At the end of the day I feel so accomplished knowing I worked hard and nourished your body the way it deserves to be fed!  Josh and I took before pictures and the plan is to post our before and after when we finish our 21 days. We also spent last night reading our T25 and P90x3 books, getting ready for our next challenge!