Hello!
It's been a bit since posting. 21 day fix has kept me busy as has school and work. I'm currently enjoying buffalo chicken dip with carrots for lunch.
Yup, you got that right.. I can eat buffalo chicken dip! It's modified... using Greek Yogurt, shredded chicken, hot sauce and mozzarella cheese. I did 4 oz of chicken and 2 oz of Greek yogurt, as few splashes of hot sauce and 1/4 cup of the cheese. It's pretty much the best thing ever. :)
It counts towards 1 red, 1 blue, and 1 green (for the carrots). It's crazy how much you can still enjoy while on this meal plan just with modifications.
But back to the reason I wanted to post. If you are prepping for this plan, I realize I don't want to cook chicken or whatever meat every day.
I have decided to put a big crock pot of chicken with just enough chicken broth to keep the chicken moist. Basically, cover the bottom of the pot and not much more. I put it on low before bed and turn it off in the morning. It works out perfectly! I have enough chicken for the week, it's shredded so it's easy to put in containers (and use for buffalo chicken dip or wraps). You can always season your individual portions differently so it's a different taste every day.
You don't even have to do this for the 21 day fix or just if you need a quick meal on the go. :)
If you have any other thoughts to make prepping easier, I'm always open to suggestions! Right now I feel like I'm in the kitchen half my days, and it's getting a bit wearing.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Greek Yogurt Cream Sauce
Marisa asked me to add this to my blog even though I don't have any pictures. Last night, I needed to get about 3 reds, 3 greens, a yellow, a blue, orange and a few tsps. So I had to come up with some very creative dinner.
Here's what I did. I researched some recipes about Greek yogurt cream sauces, then made my own (basically because I didn't have the ingredients, but I might try others later, they look delicious.) Look up Tomato Creamy Sauce with Greek Yogurt. YUM.
I put 6 oz of Greek yogurt in a bowl and added 3 shakes of basil, parsley, oregano, and garlic with 5 squirts of lime juice. I sauteed mushrooms, sweet peppers, and mushrooms up in EVOO while my orzo pasta was cooking. The diet says to do whole wheat, however I don't have any in my house at the minute, so I just used regular orzo pasta.
I drained the pasta and put it on top of my Greek yogurt mix, then added the veggies and put 1/4 cups of Parmesan cheese and 6 oz of shredded chicken on top of that. I had SO much food. I definitely couldn't finish it all, but I tried. I got to about 5 bites left, and had to stop. I still had to workout and burping Greek yogurt isn't that fun.
I still didn't get in my container goal, which I actually am lowering today. I hopped on the scale this morning and am already down 2 lbs! I am definitely feeling a difference, now if my legs would start working again after Monday's total body cardio fix. I have a lower fix today, it's going to be a struggle but I need to push through!
This nutrition plan is definitely helping with my creative recipes! Being aware of how much and of what you have to eat is a challenge, but definitely worth it! I believe this will become a new lifestyle after the 21 days. :)
Here's what I did. I researched some recipes about Greek yogurt cream sauces, then made my own (basically because I didn't have the ingredients, but I might try others later, they look delicious.) Look up Tomato Creamy Sauce with Greek Yogurt. YUM.
I put 6 oz of Greek yogurt in a bowl and added 3 shakes of basil, parsley, oregano, and garlic with 5 squirts of lime juice. I sauteed mushrooms, sweet peppers, and mushrooms up in EVOO while my orzo pasta was cooking. The diet says to do whole wheat, however I don't have any in my house at the minute, so I just used regular orzo pasta.
I drained the pasta and put it on top of my Greek yogurt mix, then added the veggies and put 1/4 cups of Parmesan cheese and 6 oz of shredded chicken on top of that. I had SO much food. I definitely couldn't finish it all, but I tried. I got to about 5 bites left, and had to stop. I still had to workout and burping Greek yogurt isn't that fun.
I still didn't get in my container goal, which I actually am lowering today. I hopped on the scale this morning and am already down 2 lbs! I am definitely feeling a difference, now if my legs would start working again after Monday's total body cardio fix. I have a lower fix today, it's going to be a struggle but I need to push through!
This nutrition plan is definitely helping with my creative recipes! Being aware of how much and of what you have to eat is a challenge, but definitely worth it! I believe this will become a new lifestyle after the 21 days. :)
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Turkey Stir Fry - 21 day fix style
Hi! As I said before I'm on this 21 day fix program from Beach Body. It's portion control and daily exercise for amazing results!
Yesterday was my first day. I'm starting at 222 lbs. I didn't take my measurements, because I don't have a measuring tape, but I'm sure my pants will tell me the results soon! I'm currently at a size 18. I'm hoping to be about 10 lbs down and a size 16 or lower by the end of these 3 weeks!
The way the fix works is you get different colored containers and have a certain number of them a day. See below of the chart of what the measurements are. Orange is seeds and dressings, Blue is healthy fats & cheeses, Yellow is carbs, Red is proteins, Green is veggies, Purple is fruit and Teaspoon is oils & butters.
Yesterday was my first day. I'm starting at 222 lbs. I didn't take my measurements, because I don't have a measuring tape, but I'm sure my pants will tell me the results soon! I'm currently at a size 18. I'm hoping to be about 10 lbs down and a size 16 or lower by the end of these 3 weeks!
The way the fix works is you get different colored containers and have a certain number of them a day. See below of the chart of what the measurements are. Orange is seeds and dressings, Blue is healthy fats & cheeses, Yellow is carbs, Red is proteins, Green is veggies, Purple is fruit and Teaspoon is oils & butters.
| Containers | Measurements | |
| Orange | 2 tbsp | 1 oz |
| Blue | 5 tbsp | 2.5 oz |
| Yellow | .50 cups | 4 oz |
| Red | .75 cups | 6 oz |
| Green | 1.25 cups | 10 oz |
| Purple | 1.25 cups | 10 oz |
| Tsp | ||
You get to eat A LOT of food. There is a chart to figure out how much you get based on your weight and calorie level. I get 1 orange, 1 blue, 4 yellow, 6 red, 6 green, 4 purple, and 6 tsp a day! That's a ton of food.
For dinner last night, I used 1 red, 3 green, 1 blue, and 1 tsp. I made a Turkey Stir Fry-esque thing.
As you can see there is a TON of food on my plate!
I started with 6 oz of ground turkey and fried it up in 1 teaspoon of olive oil. I, then removed the cooked turkey, and put in the almost 4 cups of veggies of broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms into the frying pan and cooked them up for about 10 minutes.
After everything was cooked, I put them on my plate and put 1/4 cup of sharp cheddar cheese over it all.
The only thing I'd do different would be to add spices to the turkey, it was a little bland! But other than that, a HUGE plate of food and delicious!
To learn more about the beach body diet: Go to Beachbody.com
Monday, March 31, 2014
Oatmeal Breaded Baked Chicken!
Hello! I haven't posted in a while, well basically because I haven't really cooked. Brad's been doing most of the cooking on Fridays for Lent since I'm not really sure how to cook fish! We have very delicious steamed fish and veggies on the grill. Brad continues to impress me with his culinary skills. I definitely lucked out and got a guy who can and will cook, but also enjoys when I cook. I love it!
Saturday, we went to my parents for dinner and to watch Saving Mr. Banks. What an emotional movie! I was not expecting it to be that heavy, but it makes me want to read the books and explore more about P.L. Travers life!
Well as I said at the beginning, my mom is a big reason I cook the way I do. Of course, I'm not just a guest (neither is Brad), in the Mueller house, so she had both of us helping with dinner. I ended up taking over only because Brad didn't know where anything was located then again, neither do I..Mom moves stuff every 3 months or so!
I told her about the 21 day fix which I officially started today, but it was good to have a few days of practice to see if I could actually handle it. (Get ready, I have some SUPER tasty recipes to talk about as I go through this 21 day journey!).
I sent her the list of stuff I can eat, so she made oatmeal breaded chicken and fish.
You start with a dish full of EVOO, and a dish of bread crumbs, oatmeal, cilantro, garlic, basil and parsley. Next you take your raw chicken (I also did the fish, with fresh ingredients), and dip it in the olive oil to coat it, then into the bread crumb seasoning. I used the extra seasoning to coat the chicken after it was on the tray. Put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. and Volia! A super healthy but delicious meal! :)
Saturday, we went to my parents for dinner and to watch Saving Mr. Banks. What an emotional movie! I was not expecting it to be that heavy, but it makes me want to read the books and explore more about P.L. Travers life!
Well as I said at the beginning, my mom is a big reason I cook the way I do. Of course, I'm not just a guest (neither is Brad), in the Mueller house, so she had both of us helping with dinner. I ended up taking over only because Brad didn't know where anything was located then again, neither do I..Mom moves stuff every 3 months or so!
I told her about the 21 day fix which I officially started today, but it was good to have a few days of practice to see if I could actually handle it. (Get ready, I have some SUPER tasty recipes to talk about as I go through this 21 day journey!).
I sent her the list of stuff I can eat, so she made oatmeal breaded chicken and fish.
You start with a dish full of EVOO, and a dish of bread crumbs, oatmeal, cilantro, garlic, basil and parsley. Next you take your raw chicken (I also did the fish, with fresh ingredients), and dip it in the olive oil to coat it, then into the bread crumb seasoning. I used the extra seasoning to coat the chicken after it was on the tray. Put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. and Volia! A super healthy but delicious meal! :)
Until next time, I'm going to go enjoy some cucumbers, carrots and hummus! mmm mm.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Fish Tacos and other Lenten Recipes!
One thing you will learn about me, is that I am not a fish person. I just never have been, but guess what! I'm slowly easing myself into liking it.
What the heck is Lent?
If you aren't aware, Lent is a time of fasting prior to Easter. During the forty days, you sacrifice things (Facebook, TV, Coffee, Sweets, etc.) to better yourself and make you closer to God. Maybe you don't have much to give up, or just want to do random acts of kindness throughout the 40 days. That works too! Either way, it's a time of fasting and becoming closer to the Lord. Also, as Catholics, we give up meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays during the Lenten Period. Fish Fries are super popular during this time too.
Usually these are the only days in the entire year I'm super craving a burger (of course). Well Brad and I decided, even though we LOVE Fish Fries, we want to save money and eat healthier this Lenten season. We have been making our own Lenten recipes. We made fish tacos two Fridays ago for Lent. And this past Friday, Brad made us crab quesadillas.
The fish tacos: As a person who doesn't eat fish, I don't really know how to make fish. But I did make the dressing and marinaded the fish!
Let's start with the ingredients:
Ranch Dressing
Cilantro
Chili Powder
Cumin
Light Sour Cream
Lime Juice
Alaskan Pollock
Old Bay (not pictured)
Other Toppings:
Cole Slaw Lettuce Mix
So again, I tend to look up recipes then do my own version.. of everything.
First the marinade, is just the same marinade I use for my fajitas.
Cumin, Chili Powder, and Lime Juice and I added Old Bay this time.
I graciously poured half of the lime juice into the bottom of the dish, then added my seasonings and fish. I made sure the fish was covered in everything.
I let that sit for a little bit while I worked on the dressing. Most of the favors were the same and pretty basic. I think I'm going to be using this dressing for many other recipes, it is soo good.
It was Cilantro, Cumin, Chili Power, Light Sour Cream, Light Ranch and Lime juice. It's called Chipolte Cilantro Lime dressing. Pretty much amazing. I did a tablespoon of the cilantro & cumin, 1/2 tablespoon of chili powder, the whole little container of sour cream, and a cup of ranch. I just finished off the lime juice of whatever I had left. I used it the next day on a chicken wrap. mm mm
Okay, now for the Fish. I know I promised a guest entry by a professional writer, but Brad never wrote anything so here's what I'm going to tell you.
He pan fried the fish, using Pan Oil Spray and Old Bay Seasoning. He added the Old Bay to make sure it wouldn't stick and fry to the pan. By the last one it was considered blacken from the use of the pan, so he used his Blacken Old Bay seasoning to add flavor.
Here is the finished product. We used Cole Slaw Lettuce mix to add some more flavor to it on Tortilla Soft Shells.
I paired it with cheesy cauliflower. It was very filling and delicious!
Well that's all for now. I am starting the 21 day fix on Wednesday, so be ready for some serious clean eating and portion controlled recipes!
What the heck is Lent?
If you aren't aware, Lent is a time of fasting prior to Easter. During the forty days, you sacrifice things (Facebook, TV, Coffee, Sweets, etc.) to better yourself and make you closer to God. Maybe you don't have much to give up, or just want to do random acts of kindness throughout the 40 days. That works too! Either way, it's a time of fasting and becoming closer to the Lord. Also, as Catholics, we give up meat on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays during the Lenten Period. Fish Fries are super popular during this time too.
Usually these are the only days in the entire year I'm super craving a burger (of course). Well Brad and I decided, even though we LOVE Fish Fries, we want to save money and eat healthier this Lenten season. We have been making our own Lenten recipes. We made fish tacos two Fridays ago for Lent. And this past Friday, Brad made us crab quesadillas.
The fish tacos: As a person who doesn't eat fish, I don't really know how to make fish. But I did make the dressing and marinaded the fish!
Let's start with the ingredients:
Ranch Dressing
Cilantro
Chili Powder
Cumin
Light Sour Cream
Lime Juice
Alaskan Pollock
Old Bay (not pictured)
Other Toppings:
Cole Slaw Lettuce Mix
So again, I tend to look up recipes then do my own version.. of everything.
First the marinade, is just the same marinade I use for my fajitas.
Cumin, Chili Powder, and Lime Juice and I added Old Bay this time.
I graciously poured half of the lime juice into the bottom of the dish, then added my seasonings and fish. I made sure the fish was covered in everything.
I let that sit for a little bit while I worked on the dressing. Most of the favors were the same and pretty basic. I think I'm going to be using this dressing for many other recipes, it is soo good.
It was Cilantro, Cumin, Chili Power, Light Sour Cream, Light Ranch and Lime juice. It's called Chipolte Cilantro Lime dressing. Pretty much amazing. I did a tablespoon of the cilantro & cumin, 1/2 tablespoon of chili powder, the whole little container of sour cream, and a cup of ranch. I just finished off the lime juice of whatever I had left. I used it the next day on a chicken wrap. mm mm
Okay, now for the Fish. I know I promised a guest entry by a professional writer, but Brad never wrote anything so here's what I'm going to tell you.
He pan fried the fish, using Pan Oil Spray and Old Bay Seasoning. He added the Old Bay to make sure it wouldn't stick and fry to the pan. By the last one it was considered blacken from the use of the pan, so he used his Blacken Old Bay seasoning to add flavor.
Here is the finished product. We used Cole Slaw Lettuce mix to add some more flavor to it on Tortilla Soft Shells.
I paired it with cheesy cauliflower. It was very filling and delicious!
Well that's all for now. I am starting the 21 day fix on Wednesday, so be ready for some serious clean eating and portion controlled recipes!
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Checking In!
Sorry for not posting this week. It seems like the week has slipped away! I do have a Fish Taco recipe to post, but I need help with my guest cook (aka Brad) to talk about the fish. Brad has done so much in my culinary skills, no one has ever challenged me more or push me to do more. I love it!
I made turkey and turkey pot pie the first time this year, and I'm exploring fish. I don't really eat fish, so I never make it. It's Brad's specialty so I let him cook it up for our fish tacos after I marinaded and made some dressing for them. As someone who doesn't eat fish, it was so delicious! Needless to say, cooking for and with Brad has expanded my options, which I think is awesome.
As I said before, I am trying to get healthy and lose weight. My co-worker is on the 21 day fix it from Beach Body. It's an interesting new lifestyle. It will teach you portion control through colored containers along with a 30 minute daily workout, different workout for each day! I'm excited to start it and should be getting it in the next week. I know it will change the way I look at food, which is great.
It really has changed my world. So far, just by realizing my calorie intake was WAY too low according to her 21 day fix it book, I have lost 4lbs in 2 weeks.
21 Day Fix It calorie formula: [Your weight] X 11 + 450 [workout calories.. I only add about 200] - 750 [calorie deficit].
Yup, I lost weight by eating more. I was starving myself without even realizing it! Currently I'm eating about 2,000 daily. I work out about 3 times a week. If you are using My Fitness Pal, make sure you customize the calorie intake! I didn't and that's when I realized it was too low. They just assume everyone is skinny and have a desk job. That's not true!
If you want to follow me on MyFitnessPal (everyone can use a little motivation) my username is smueller11
I decided to start a 30 day Guns, Buns & Abs challenge this week. I'm on day 4 and I think my abs may kill me. It hurts so bad but so good! I actually started last night doing a circuit. So I did 15 squats, 3 pushups, 9 leg lifts. And did that 4 times. Well the 4th time was just the squats, and 8 leg lifts. But I think splitting it up helps me not feel like I'm ready to die.
Let me know if you try it or need motivation! :)
Friday, March 14, 2014
Fajitas are my favorite!
As I mentioned, I am a big Mexican fan! Well Fajitas are my top notch favorite. I could probably eat them every day.
Way back when, I came across a really good low carb fajita recipe. I have used it for years and made it into a simple version etc.
Well this was one of those days, the marinade I squeeze a ton of lime juice, some cumin (which I didn't have so I used taco seasoning), and pepper into a bag with the cut up raw chicken and shake it up.
I have lime juice on hand at all times, and I'm pretty sure someone made fun of me for it seeing it in my fridge ... two lime juice containers. It's just such a good go to juice to create a marinade or even use instead of oil in the frying pan!
The trick to this recipe is making the peppers and onions, AWESOME. You gotta chop all your peppers and onions, and then keep a close eye on the frying pan with the olive oil and veggies in them. When the onions get translucent is when you should take them off and put them too the side. Just perfect! :)
And that's basically it. Make it a Fajita bar with soft or hard taco shells, create a salad as I did, and add whatever toppings you like!
It's so delicious, and everyone is sure to love it.
Way back when, I came across a really good low carb fajita recipe. I have used it for years and made it into a simple version etc.
Well this was one of those days, the marinade I squeeze a ton of lime juice, some cumin (which I didn't have so I used taco seasoning), and pepper into a bag with the cut up raw chicken and shake it up.
I have lime juice on hand at all times, and I'm pretty sure someone made fun of me for it seeing it in my fridge ... two lime juice containers. It's just such a good go to juice to create a marinade or even use instead of oil in the frying pan!
 |
| Finished Fajita Salad |
The trick to this recipe is making the peppers and onions, AWESOME. You gotta chop all your peppers and onions, and then keep a close eye on the frying pan with the olive oil and veggies in them. When the onions get translucent is when you should take them off and put them too the side. Just perfect! :)
After you are doing whipping up your veggies, time for the meat! It should be marinaded decently, you can always put it in longer, but like I said this is a quick meal! Here's what's nice, you don't need any oil, just dump the ziplock of meat out onto the pan with the meat. All that marinade makes it good for frying!
And that's basically it. Make it a Fajita bar with soft or hard taco shells, create a salad as I did, and add whatever toppings you like!
It's so delicious, and everyone is sure to love it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)