Protein Fiber Bars

Protein Fiber Bars

A Yummy snack that is healthy and a lot of ways to very the recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups of cooked quinoa
2 tablespoons of molasses
1 cup of rolled oats
3 egg whites
2 tablespoons of chia seeds
1/4 teaspoons of salt
1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup of unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup of peanut butter

Directions- 

Pre-heat oven to 350

spray 8x8 pan with olive oil

Combine all ingredients and mix well.  This is where you can very the recipe by adding in 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips, 1/2 of walnuts, extra coconut sprinkle on top, 1/2 of almonds.  Have fun with this and try it a few different ways.





Homemade Chicken Fingers

Homemade chicken fingers

With little ones and eating clean it was my job to find something to replace our current go to item in the freezer.

I waited till chicken was buy one get one free to keep the cost down and get more for my money.

 

Ingredients:

3 lbs. of chicken

2 cups of 100% whole wheat floor

2 cups of Greek yogurt

2 to 2 ½ cups of bread crumbs (I also like to add ½ teaspoon of parsley, pepper, onion salt, and basil for a little flavor)

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350

Starting with fresh boneless skinless chicken washed and trimmed and get ready to go. Get three bowls out placing flour in one, Greek yogurt (or egg whites), and bread crumbs in. Place chicken in flour and coat until the entire piece of chicken is white, dip into the Greek yogurt, followed by covering entirely with bread crumbs.  Place on baking sheet and cook for 30-35 minutes or until chicken reaches 165 degrees.  I like to make a big batch and then freeze the chicken fingers. To reheat chicken from frozen heat oven to 350 and cook for 15 minutes and enjoy.

Clean Eating Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting

Clean Eating Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting

Black Bean Brownies with Peanut Butter Frosting

So the first time I made these I served them warm to my husband and brother-in-law.  I hesitated to tell them they were “healthy” and after they took a few bits I asked how they are. The response was “good”.  So I presided to explain that the brownies they tried were actually not your typical brownie. My next experience I served the brownies to other family member not warm and also did not puree the black beans long enough.  Not as big of a hit so key is puree, puree, puree till the mixer is white in food processor.

Ingredients:

¾ cups of whole wheat flour of gluten free flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

½ cup of coco powder

¾ cups of agave

1 table spoon vanilla extra

¾ cup of water

15 oz. can of black beans or 2 cups of frozen black beans

Frosting Ingredients:

½ cup of PB2 or all natural peanut butter

½ cup of coconut oil

½ cup of powder sugar

2 to 3 table spoons of almond milk

Directions:

Pre heat oven to 350

Brush and 8x8 pan with olive oil
In a large bowl combine the first 5 ingredients and set aside.  Rinse your black beans off and drain, you will add the beans to your food process also adding in the water.  PUREE!! Then add the flour mixture and combine.  Place mixture in baking pan and making sure mixture is level in pan. Bake for 30 minutes.

Frosting:

Yes it’s not 100% clean, mix peanut butter, coconut oil, and powder sugar together. Add almond milk slowly until you get the right consistency. Also if you wanted double the chocolate replace the peanut butter with coco powder.

Enjoy!

You could always throw in 1/2 cup of crushed walnut of mini chocolate chips.

Vanilla Shakeology Recipes

Vanilla Shakeology Recipes

I was so exited to try the newest flavor of shakeology VANILLA!!  Let me just say when I pulled into my driveway and saw the package I could not wait to try it.  My first impression when I opened the bag was the wonderful smell that filled the kitchen it reminded me of being in a coffee shop and someone just finished making a vanilla latte. Yummy and also all the great recipe ideas you receive with your order so your not left wondering what do I do know.  Well here are a few of my favorites:



White cake with peanut butter frosting
1 banana
1 scoop of vanilla shakeology
1 cup of water
6 oz of ice
2 tablespoons of PB2 or almond butter

Apple Pie
1 scoop of vanilla shakeology
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

Orange Dream
1 scoop of vanilla shakeology
1/2 cup of 100% orange juice
1/2 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of grated orange peel

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake
1 scoop of vanilla shakeology
2 gram crackers
1/2 cup of almond milk
1/2 of fresh raspberries( replace with any kind of berries)

It was in 2010 where Carl Daikeler, CEO of Beachbody announced something big. He announced that Vanilla Shakeology is exciting but not yet available. The reason behind the  decision was that vanilla is a flavor that would be associated with artificial ingredients. That’s right! Silicon Dioxide, GMOs, and bad ingredients.  Until now!

What is shakeology?



This was a very large part in helping me to loss weight.  The next question is how much does it cost?

Think about it…The Shakeology price is $4/serving. Shakeology has been designed as a meal replacement (which is exactly how I use it and how you should too). So you’re paying $4 for a meal that is 100% natural, filled with antioxidants, phyto-nutrients, pre-biotics, digestive enzymes, protein, vitamins and minerals, etc. etc. It literally has everything your body needs so that you maintain optimal health.  Every day people make the choice to grab a cup of coffee out, a quick stop at the drive-thru, 2 slices of pizza while getting gas, let the kids throw an extra toy in the cart, the list is never ending but then Monday morning comes around and you say today is the day I'm "starting my diet" come Wednesday you step on the scale and expect to have lost 5 lbs.  Its a cycle that I never understood but after adding in shakeology to my daily routine I would say its worth every penny!  Contact me today for a sample.



Quinoa Salad

Quinoa Salad
It's Sunday and time to get together with family for an afternoon get together. This is a great easy summer dish and to be able to use what ever veggies you picked up at the local farmers market, grocery store, or your own garden. These are the items I started with:

Ingredients:

1 cup of zucchini

1 cup of tomatoes

½ cup yellow peppers

½ cup green beans

½ cup of carrots

Teaspoon of pepper

3 tablespoons of olive oil

2 table spoons of Agave

Fresh parsley and basil

1 ½ cups of quinoa

Start by washing your veggies and cutting to the size you desire. Bring 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil add quinoa and bring heat down to low and cover pan with lid. Simmer for 15

minutes take off burner and cool.  Once cool toss all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate.  When ready to serve give a quick toss to all ingredients.

  



About Me

About Me

I'm a stay at home mom and a mother of a 2 year old boy named Clint and a 7 month old girl named Josie.  My husband and I have been married for 6 years now.  So how did I come across Beachbody?

First we need to go back to the summer of 2010 Steve and I found we were going to be parents! On August 14 I took the day off of work because it was my birthday and was thrilled to be getting close to ending my first trimester and being able to tell extended family and friends. But as the day went on I just knew something was not right. After going to the hospital they were unable to find the heartbeat.  How could this happen? Why us? Why now? These are questions that we will never have the answers to but we trusted in God.

For the next four months I ate like I was pregnant and wished I was.  I was aware of this so I bought a treadmill and started using it. Soon after found out I was pregnant again.  So excited, nervous, not knowing what the future would bring. September 8, 2011 we welcomed our son Clint into the world.  He was perfect and all I wanted to do was hold him all day long. I watched what I ate and lost what I gained in that pregnancy.  I settled that was good enough but never lost the weight I gained while the miscarriage. June 2012 I found out we were going to have another baby, tears of joy! Wow third summer in a row I was pregnant. February 8, 2013 our little Josie was born. She was just as beautiful as I pictured in my dreams.

A friend of mine had joined a “challenge group” back in August of 2012 and lost all of her baby weight and more, she is back to her high school weight and made mention of her success on Facebook.  I commented on her post and her coach sent me a friend request.  I followed her and would read her post about “clean eating, it’s a life style not a crash diet, working out daily, having a ton of energy to keep up with her boys, drinking shakeology, and meal planning. I thought to myself this is working for real people.

So anyone that knows me knows I’m independent, I’ll do it myself, and I’m defiantly not going to ask for help.  I bought a bag of shakeology off of e-bay and started using a beachbody program I got from a yard sale.  Guess what nothing happened the program I bought was not right for me at all I hated it. I drank a few shakes and thought the stuff was terrible (I had known idea the secrets in making it taste amazing). Great another fail attempt at losing weight.  My husband tried to help and told me I needed to burn more calories. Well that did not help I was even more hungry and not fueling my body with the right foods. Also I was going to be in a wedding less than a month away.

So I decided to ask for help together we found the right workout that I would enjoy doing. I was excited about starting the challenge group May 6, 2013.  The rest is history it was easy! NO I have to little ones that don’t sleep through the night. I peeled myself out of bed and just keep pushing play even when I was half asleep.  I started eating clean and eating small portions every 2-3 hours.  After the third week I was excited to go to the basement and getting my workout in. Why? Because I found by taking a small portion out of the early morning for myself I had more energy to be a better mom and wife. I never thought of myself as a negative person but around week four I lost 10 lbs. and found myself thinking well that’s good enough, you can’t do this, you had 2 C-sections you will never have strong abs, your built bigger, etc. But in my gut I wanted to give it my all and turned those negative thoughts into positive thoughts. For the first time I did it I finished my 90 day challenge group and felt amazing.

My coach had posted a few times about becoming one.  I wanted to pay it forward and help whoever I could.  Even if it was just 10 people were in the same boat. So again I decided and committed! Of course this ment “sharing” how would anyone related.  Anyone that knows me would say this is way out of my comfort zone. But again I found myself doing a gut check and wanting to follow my heart.

So with all of that said I understand I’ve been there, nothing fits, not having energy, not feeling confident, wanting to set a good example to your kids, not believing in yourself, but not knowing how to change and have the right tools.  Trust me I’m not out to make a quick buck and forget about you trusting in me to help you make a change. It’s an investment into to yourself and you’re worth it.

Here are my before and after picutres from doing Chalean Extreme

Ask me about more details on joining my next challenge group.  WE GOT THIS!

Whole Grain blueberry waffles

Whole Grain blueberry waffles

As a busy mom and living a clean life style this is a great recipe to replace in your freezer you can make a double batch and then freeze what does not get eaten for breakfast.  Once frozen all you would do it pop these in the toaster and heat up.

Ingredients needed:
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp of salt
1 tsp of baking powder
2 tbsp. of agave
1 tbsp. of almond milk
1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup of fresh blueberries or frozen(any berries would be good)



Directions 
Combine all ingredients but blueberries and hand mix well, than carefully mix berries in.  Grease your waffle maker with either a small amount of olive oil of coconut oil. Cook how long you would normally cook waffles for.  Keep in mind portion control these are going to be more dense and filling than a regular waffle.  Its making small changes daily that over time brings big results, and staying consistent.

Alaskan Salmon

Alaskan Salmon

This is a recipe I always made but once I started to eat clean it was not hard to make a few changes to make it clean.

Ingredients:
3 salmon filets
1 table spoon of olive oil
2 table spoons of agave
1/2 cup of oatmeal (place in food processer for 30 seconds)
1/2 cup of walnuts (any nuts on hand)
pinch of parsley, pepper, crushed red peppers, garlic salt, and oregano

Directions-

Heat oven to 400 degrees
Place olive oil in bottom of baking dish, add salmon filets, then top with remaining ingredients.
I have replaced bread crumps with oatmeal.  A great time saver is to place 3 cups of oatmeal in food processer and blend.  That way you always have them on hand.  Bake for 30 minutes. 

Salmon is a highly nutritious food. It is high in protein and contains vitamin D, B12, niacin, calcium and selenium and is also an excellent source of B6 and magnesium. All of these are excellent for the human body. There also seems to be a lot of research  showing that in eating this fish helps to decrease chances of inflammation which can lead to problems such as heart disease or diabetes. This is mainly due to the fish containing Omega-3. The Omega-3 within the fish also helps prevent blood clots and have showed signs to help slow cognitive problems such as Alzheimer's disease. People who eat sufficient levels of the fish also seem to be less depressed.

Clean Eating Snack Ideas

Clean Eating Snack Ideas

Why is it important to eat every 2 to 3 hours a day

First you always want to start the day off with eating breakfast within the first hour of waking up, the biggest reason for doing so is to get your metabolism going.



 Right off the bat I need you to know one thing: STOP starving yourself! It's so important to be eating every 2-3 hours a day.

WHY?

The key isn’t to starve. Actually, that’s exactly what you don’t want to do. What we want to do is to eat something every 2-3  hours. Most people eat 2-3 big meals per day. They go six, seven, sometimes, eight hours without food. When you don’t eat for a while your blood sugar really drops. And then when you eat after six, seven hours your blood sugar spikes. When your blood sugar spikes that causes there to be excess insulin in your blood. When there is excess insulin in your blood your body stores fat more easily. So the big question is, “Rachel, how do I change my body from a fat store to a fat burner?” It’s all about proper nutrition. The answer is simply this: 4-6 portion-controlled, balanced meals every 2-3 hours throughout the day.

By eating this way, you’ll effortlessly speed up your metabolism. Think of this way. If you have a campfire burning and you don’t add wood to the fire, eventually the campfire will burn out! But if you add a little wood every few hours, the campfire will continue to burn. And burn hot!!! It is also easier for your body to digest smaller meals than larger ones.

So, as you see, our metabolism is like the fire…never or rarely feed it and it will slow down. Feed it every few hours and it has no choice but to speed up! So the next questions what should I be eating every 2-3 hours?

Proteins and complex carbohydrates

Eating balanced throughout the day is not the only important factor to keeping your metabolism burning high and your body working well. Every meal (and snack) should include both carbohydrates and proteins. Understand that carbohydrates are 100 percent pure energy, fuel for the body. Proteins are the building blocks; but if no carbohydrates are available, the body will burn proteins. A carbohydrate should be eaten with protein to protect it from being wasted as a less efficient fuel source.  Protein is necessary for vital building functions:  boosting the metabolism, building body muscle,keeping the body fluids in balance, fighting infection, and feeling full longer.

REMEMBER, CARBOHYDRATES BURN, AND PROTEINS BUILD!!!

Try having protein and complex carbohydrate with every snack or meal

Snack ideas:

Celery and one tablespoon of almond butter

Carrots and 2 tablespoons of hummus Apple and raw almonds
Peach and unsalted cashews
Unsalted rice cake and almond butter
String cheese (low fat weight watchers) and handful of strawberries
Low fat cottage cheese with fresh peaches
Greek yogurt with raw honey and berries
Banana, tablespoon of almond butter half a whole wheat shell (this is a “bigger” snack)
Apple and almond butter
3 egg whites and Raspberries
Cherry tomatoes and raisins
 Eating healthy is a life style not a crash diet I can help you along the way.  We can do this together simple daily changes make big results over time.

Turkey Meatloaf

Turkey Meatloaf

I'm all about making one meal that is clean for the entire family.  The first time I made turkey meatloaf I did not tell my husband that I switched and put turkey in instead of beef.  He never notice and since then I continue to make it this way.

Ingredients:
1 cup of chopped onion (I like it very fine)
3 garlic cloves minced
1/4 cup of celery
1 pound of ground turkey
1 egg white
2 tsp. Worcester sauce
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1 tsp. of salt
2 tbsp. ground flax seed
1 tbsp. of parsley
3/4 cup of ketchup

To make:
Spray your meatloaf pan with either olive oil or coconut oil.  Heat oven to 350 degrees, use a none stick pan on the stove and sauté onions, garlic, and celery. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and form into meatloaf. I always like to add ketchup to the top and than bake for an hour.  Add a side of steamed broccoli, and a sweet potato.