Just A Reminder

I wanted to share this important picture with you all. Remember, what you eat DOES matter. 

Simple Grilled Chicken

Spring is here and my grill has been getting a lot of attention. On Easter weekend, I decided to make a new marinade for the chicken before grilling it. 

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breast 

Drizzle of olive oil

1 lemon - juiced 

Zest of 1 lemon 

Fresh parsley 

Tablespoon of minced garlic 

Teaspoon of sweet basil 

Sea salt and pepper 

Marinate your chicken for about 30 minutes before grilling. Cut your chicken breast into 3 long strips making a total of 6 strips. Grill as is or use skewers for an easier method. 

Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes

Is anyone else a stress baker, or is it just me? Tonight I decided to make a new recipe. Homemade vanilla cupcakes with homemade vanilla buttercream frosting.

Ingredients: 

Vanilla cupcakes:

1/2 cup butter at room temperature 

2/3 cup sugar 

3 large eggs 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1 1/2 cups flour 

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/4 tsp salt 

1/4 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with paper liners (I got 16 cupcakes from the recipe). In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the egg mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk. Mix until smooth.  Scoop into paper liners, filling 2/3 full. Bake 18-20 minutes (mine took 16) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ingredients:

Vanilla Buttercream:

1 cup butter, softened

4-5 cups powdered sugar

2-4 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter until smooth. Gradually add 2 cups of powdered sugar, and beat well to combine. Add 2 tablespoons of milk and vanilla. Add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Add additional milk if too thick.

For fun, I drizzled caramel on top and put chocolate chips on also. It made them just a little extra special. Overall this recipe was a big hit! I was unable to try one, but my coworkers gave them 5 stars. 

Homemade peanut butter

Before I started the 21 Day Fix, I wondered what we would do about peanut butter. My husband is obsessed with it. Jars of peanut butter have so much added sugars and salts. Luckily I found something so simple that will completely blow your mind. A friend and coach of mine was so generous to share this tip with me! All you need is a food processor.

INGREDIENTS: 

Jar of unsalted roasted peanuts 

Sea salt 

Directions: 

Place peanuts in food processor. Pulse until it's in powder form. Run the food processor constantly until the peanut butter becomes smooth. Add a little sea salt for taste. 

That's it! Crazy, right? Trust me, it works and you won't be disappointed. 

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Energy Energy Energy

Good afternoon everyone.

I found this recipe for energy balls. I have been eyeballing (see what I did there) this recipe for awhile now and FINALLY decided to make them. My husband thanked me for this. I can have 2 of these for breakfast and feel satisfied. I also enjoy eating a couple of them 30 minutes before going to the gym. Also, for my 31DFixers, it's difficult to count these. If you're only eating 1-2 a day, I wouldn't bother. You'd have to count 1/20th of a red and yellow, it would just get messy. I hope you enjoy these as much as we do! 

RECIPE: 

1 scoop chocolate shakeology

1 c. steel cut oats

1/2 c. organic peanut butter

1/3 c. pure honey 

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 

1 c. shredded coconut 

Directions: 

Mix all ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Let it chill in the refrigerator for about 20-30 minutes. Remove the bowl and make the energy balls! 

(I don't use pb2 or store bought organic peanut butter. I actually make my own  peanut butter in the food processor. Do whatever works best for you!) 

It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change!

Good evening friends!

Tonight I wanted to touch base on a couple of things. 1. I've had a lot of people talk about the new "diet" I'm on and 2. I made a new recipe! 

First off, the diet question. The 21 day fix isn't something that we plan on stopping. This is a commitment that we've made to a different lifestyle. It's clean/healthy eating, portion control, and a regular exercise regimen. It's what we SHOULD be doing anyway. It isn't some crazy pill or strict food plan. It's actually very simple. If you have ANY questions, please feel free to email me! My email is located in the about me section. 

2. I made a delicious dinner tonight. I cooked a beef roast in the crockpot ALL night on low. I seasoned it lightly because who are we kidding, the natural flavor is amazing! (sea salt and pepper of course) I then put it in a bowl and cooked some potatoes in the juices all day. Talk about delicious! The potatoes count for yellows and the meat counts for reds. Easy as pie! I also had a side of cottage cheese (red) with a little lemon pepper seasoning. If you've never tried that, I highly recommend it. There really wasn't a special recipe for this, but it's a comfort food that's simple. We also bought a bbq sauce that's organic and sugar free. I bought it in the organic section at Hyvee. I've found a recipe for homemade bbq sauce, but I wasn't able to make it today. I will be making it for a future blog post! 

Have a great night!