Ready, Set, Challenge!

Hello healthy food bloggers!  I know it's been forever since I put any recipes up here.... but get ready for an overload of healthy planning.  I am about to embark on my second Advocare 24 Day Challenge and aside from keeping track of my progress along the way on my blog this time (which I plan to do) I also decided to share my meal plan.

For anyone that has ever done a 24 day challenge before, Advocare gives a great cookbook full of ideas.  One of the selling points for me about Advocare was that it isn't a set meal plan... You get to choose whatever you want eat within the limits.  Well... for anyone that knows me, I am a Kindergarten teacher and I take pride in my organization and planning skills... sometimes it's to a fault.  On top of that, I find that it's easier to stick to a diet program when you have a plan.  So between being organized but also the hours that I have to put in, being a teacher, I went ahead and planned all of my meals for the 24 day challenge... that way I won't have to worry about wondering what I will eat when I get home and then end up cheating.

This is the Google Doc of my Meal Plan
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0eAYnf1W4h8bFVURFNFYnUxOWs/edit?usp=sharing

Howeever, I didn't just stop there.  You may notice that some of the days have a star next to them.  The star represents a meal that I looked at and could go ahead and prep/freeze so that it's all ready to go from the freezer to the oven to the table!  I'm all about prepping as much as possible so that I don't have to worry about it later.  Ultimately, there were 8 meals I could pre-make and freeze! That's 1/3 of your meals right there!  So next, I created a document with a grocery list with all the ingredients needed for the 8 pre-made meals first and then a Weekly guide with groceries I'd need each week afterward.  This also allowed me to check out the grocery ads for a couple weeks before my challenge arrived so that I could get some ingredients on really good sales (for example... Chicken Breasts went Buy 2 Get 3 Free a couples weeks ago... so we went ahead and stocked up!)

This is the grocery list doc...
 https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0eAYnf1W4h8M21Gdi1KaXhiVDg/edit?usp=sharing

Now... it's time to shop.  Soon to come... the meal prep recipes and pictures!

Balsmic Chicken with Roasted Basil and Tomatoes

Greetings from the beach!  Eating healthy can certainly be a challenge when you're on vacation... especially if you're on a 24 Day Challenge, you never know for sure how things are being cooked or what is on it... and it seems like the only things you can eat are the blandest, most boring things on the menu.  My solution?  We got a lovely hotel with a kitchen and we have literally made every meal thusfar!  And honestly, we've made way more yummy things than I could've gotten out at a restaurant.  Plus... we still get to eat ocean front!

So far we've had a few repeats... we've done the turkey chili (which is a great one pot, quick meal for a vacation), we've also done the buffalo chicken quesadillas.  The meal we had last night was incredible and easy but I cannot take credit for it.  My best friend who came along on the trip played chef last night and the outcome was amazing!

Balsamic Chicken and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
Advocare 24 Day Challenge Safe (Cleanse or Max Phase)

3 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 container Cherry (or Grape) Tomatoes
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup chopped Basil (We used fresh)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add chicken, once boil returns let it go for 10 minutes or until the chicken is white through.  While the chicken is cooking, chop the basil and cut the tomatoes into halves.  Next, cut the chicken into strips and place on baking sheet, scatter the tomatoes around the baking sheet.  Top with balsamic vinegar and basil.  Put in a 425 degree oven for about 5 minutes... or until the tomatoes are tender.  We also had Alexia's Frozen Sweet Potato Tater Tots and it all went great together! 

Enjoy!  And Happy, Healthy Eating

Taco Turkey over Spanish Rice

Hola Bloggers!  It's been a few days since I posted last.  I have indeed been cooking yummy, healthy food but I keep forgetting to take pictures and I don't wanna post yummy recipes if you can't see what it looked like!  So, today marks only 1 more week of my Advocare 24 day challenge!  Can't believe how fast it's gone by.  But the recipe I made tonight was mostly from the Advocare cookbook; it was their recipe for Frijoles Cubanos... and I just tweaked it a little bit to fit what I already had in my kitchen.

Taco Turkey over Spanish Rice
Advocare 24 Day Challenge Friendly (Cleanse or Recovery Stage)

Start rice first (as brown rice takes a while)
2 cups brown rice
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup salsa
1 1/2 tsp. Cumin
Place all ingredients in rice cooker and push start!  Or place ingredients in a non stick pot, cover and cook.
Now for the turkey!
1 package 99% fat free ground turkey
1 Onion, diced
2-3 Tbs.  Low Sodium Taco Seasoning (Recipe on blog)
2 cans Low sodium Black Beans, drained
1 (14.5oz) can low sodium tomato sauce (I used diced tomatoes and just emulsified them for a few seconds)
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar

Brown meat and onion in a large pot, I sprayed first with No calorie/No fat cooking spray.  Once meat is just about white through, add seasoning.  Once meat is done cooking add black beans, tomato sauce and red wine vinegar.  Cover, and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes or until rice is done.
Serve over the rice.
If you are in recovery stage I would recommend just the slightest bit of low-fat cheese... but honestly it doesn't really need it.  My parents also put cilantro, sour cream and cheese on theirs so it is another great, versatile meal.

Buffalo Chicken Quesadillas

Hello again!

So for the last few days I have been eating leftovers because we have sooo many!  And I decided to get a little creative.  A friend of mine posted a chicken quesadilla recipe on pinterest the other day and it looked so yummy... and it got me thinking;  I had tons of buffalo chicken salad left over and now that I am in the recovery stage I am allowed to have whole wheat wraps.... AHHHH!  It was so good I literally couldn't even stop eating for a second to take a picture.

So no picture to go with this one...
 Advocare 24 Day Challenge Friendly (Recovery Stage ONLY)

1 Whole Wheat Tortilla
Buffalo Chicken (Recipe on blog)
Handful of baby spinach
Sprinkle Low-fat Cheddar Cheese (Optional... but highly recommended)

I took one tortilla and on half of it put spinach, then a couple spoonfuls of buffalo chicken, topped it with some chopped red onions and then a small sprinkle of cheddar cheese.  Spray a little No fat/No calorie cooking spray in a medium pan.  Fold tortilla over and place in pan over Medium high heat.  Push down with a spatula (this is what gives it a nice golden brown color and hardens the torilla so that everything stays inside)  I gave it about 5 minutes on each side (or until it is golden brown enough to your liking).  I served this for dinner with Spanish brown rice (also in the Advocare cookbook).


Enjoy and happy, healthy eating!

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Happy Friday-Eve!  We tried another new recipe here tonight gotta give props to a wonderful lady I work with for sharing this one... I completely prepared this meal last night and only had to pull it out of the fridge to eat tonight (gotta love those meals right?!?)  They come in handy when you stay late at school for wedding showers ;)  I wanted to wait to post the recipe until we were able to try it though... and let me say it was delish!  And incredibly easy! 

Buffalo Chicken Salad
Advocare 24 Day Challenge Friendly (RECOVERY STAGE ONLY! )

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Plain Greek Yogurt
6oz No calorie, Low fat buffalo sauce
(I used Frank's, I believe the Advocare cookbook says to only use 1/4 cup of Frank's... I used a little more just to coat all of the chicken... but trust me it does make a lot!  It fed 3 and enough leftovers for dinner tomorrow too... so I figure since it's worth two meals maybe it's ok to cheat just this once ;))

Boil chicken until cooked through, shred and add greek yogurt and buffalo sauce to taste or until completely covered.  Add anything else you'd normally add to chicken salad.  Because everyone in my family likes different things in their chicken salad I cut up red onion, celery and grapes and kept them to the side like a chicken salad bar.  My family ate it on whole wheat wraps and I ate it on large Romaine Lettuce wraps

And Oh my Gosh!  The crisp Romaine Lettuce was so perfect with the buffalo chicken... and it wasn't too spicy thanks to the greek yogurt.  If you like more spicy add hot sauce or Frank's Hot in addition to the buffalo sauce.

Enjoy and happy, healthy eating!

Skinny Turkey Chili

Hello blogging world!  My name is Amanda and I am a 20 something teacher who is trying to get in shape and live a healthier life.  I am currently participating in the Advocare 24 Day Challenge and I have created this new mind set that healthy eating really can be great!  Growing up I was the kid that never wanted to eat my spinach and if my Mom tried to feed me brown rice or whole wheat pasta I was not havin' it.  I had never realized that these healthy foods can taste really great if you make them the right way.  So I am starting this blog to post the recipes that I find or create that are very healthy for you and still delicious!  Many of the recipes that I will post are 24 day challenge safe if any of you are participating.

Skinny Turkey Chili
Advocare 24 Day Challenge Friendly (Cleanse and Recovery Stages)
This is a recipe my cousin sent me last night that we tried in my house and LOVED!!!!  I have never been a huge fan of ground turkey but let me tell you... I liked this recipe better than the beef recipe we usually make (and I'm quite red-meat fan so that was shocking).  Plus it only took about 30 minutes to make which is great for me!

Ingredients:
99% fat free ground turkey
1 medium onion chopped
Homemade Taco Seasoning (recipe to follow) or Low-Sodium Taco Seasoning
1 bell pepper (optional)
1 can rotel (I buy the store brand because it's usually on sale)
1 can (no salt added) sweet corn
1 can fat free refried beans
1 can black beans
1 can low sodium chicken broth

Homemade Taco Seasoning (Taken from Advocare 24 Day Challenge Cookbook)
1 TBSP chili powder
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
¼ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp paprika
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
Mix all ingredients together and store in an air tight container at room temp. 3-4 TBSP of this
seasoning easily replaces the store bought variety that often contains a lot more sodium.

Directions:
On medium-high heat, in a large pot (spray non-fat, no calorie cooking spray), cook turkey, onions and peppers until meat is browned and veggies are tender.  Add taco seasoning and stir until meat is covered.

Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil.  Lower temperature to simmer, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove cover and continue to simmer for 5-10 more minutes.
Enjoy!

Now, if you're on the challenge just eat this alone... which I thought it was perfectly tasty all by itself.  My family added tortilla chips, cheese and sour cream to it as well.  So, this is a great meal you can have that is still healthy but has variety in case you're the only one on a challenge in the house :P

Enjoy and happy, healthy eating!