Clean Eating Blueberry Muffins

• I absolutely LOVE these blueberry muffins.  They're so easy to whip up and freeze really well, so you can just pull out one at a time.  It's the perfect breakfast if you're in a hurry. Hope you enjoy!
• 
  
• Ingredients:
• 1 cups white whole wheat flour (or can use regular whole wheat flour)
• 2 cups old fashioned oats (you can use quick oats if that's all you have)
• 1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Stevia (Baking Blend works best, but you can use the regular stuff too) OR 2/3 cup evaporated cane sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups nonfat Greek yogurt (I like Chobani 100 Vanilla)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup fresh or frozen (but thawed) blueberries
• 
  Instructions:
  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• 2. Coat muffin tins with cooking spray or baking liners.
  3. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
• 4. Combine wet ingredients in a medium bowl.
• 5. Fold wet mixture into dry mixture.
• 6. Gently fold in blueberries.
• 7. Fill muffin tins.
• 8. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden and it springs back if you gently touch it.

This makes approximately 12 muffins. And depending on the exact ingredients you choose to use, they're about 100 calories for each muffin!

7 Days of Clean Eating

Clean eating doesn't mean eating boring, bland food!  If you want to clean up your eating, yet still have a ton of flavor, try out my 7 day meal plan!!!  I've found that the healthiest and fittest people do tend to eat the same things, so I suggest doing that for breakfast, lunch, and your snacks, but dinner is where I like to mix it up A LOT.  So, here's the plan.  You'll eat one of the breakfast choices, one of the lunch choices, and two snacks per day along with my dinner menu.  It's completely up to you how you'd like to mix it up as far as which meals you eat on which days.  I did not count any calories for you though, so if you're looking to keep track of your calories, I suggest using a free app like MyFitnessPal.  I also didn't give you exact serving sizes for some of the items, so you when in doubt, go with the normal serving size (For example: 1/2 cup cooked pasta, 1/2 of a potato (preferably a sweet potato, but I still eat white potatoes), 1/2 cup cooked brown rice, 1 ounce of cheese, 1 ounce of nuts, 1 cup of non-starchy vegetables, 1 cup of fruit).

Breakfast (choose one from the following):
-2 Egg Muffins and 1 Slice of Ezekiel (or sprouted grain) bread with 1 teaspoon butter or coconut oil
-1 cup of cooked plain oatmeal (quick rolled oats) with 1 packet of Stevia and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 2 eggs, any style (use cooking spray with a non-stick pan)
-Overnight oatmeal from any of these recipes, 2 eggs any style (use cooking spray with a non-stick pan) – I didn’t include the extra ingredients for these in the shopping list
-Applesauce oatmeal pancakes with 1 tablespoon real maple syrup, 2 eggs any style (use cooking spray with a non-stick pan)

Mid-Morning Snack:
-Shakeology - there are tons of great Shakeology recipes out there!!!
-1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (Low fat), 1/2 cup frozen berries, thawed, and 1 packet Stevia to sweeten, if needed (or 1 teaspoon REAL maple syrup)
Optional mid-morning snack (shopping list does NOT reflect this):
-2 Hardboiled eggs, 1 piece of fruit (1 cup of berries, 1 apple, 1 orange, 1/2 banana, 1 cup of any type of melon or pineapple)

Lunch (choose one from the following):
Days 1-3
-Grilled Chicken Wrap (1 whole wheat tortilla, 4-6 ounces of grilled white meat chicken, 1 tablespoon hummus, 1 tablespoon feta cheese, lettuce & tomato) and 1 apple with 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter (only ingredients should be peanuts, with a little bit of salt is ok)
Days 4-7
-21 Day Fix Chicken Soup or this chicken soup recipe and 1 apple with 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter (only ingredients should be peanuts, with a little bit of salt is ok)
Additional, yet completely optional choice for lunch (grocery list does NOT reflect this recipe)
-Black bean and corn salad on a whole wheat tortilla or low carb whole wheat wrap and 1 apple with 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter  (only ingredients should be peanuts, with a little bit of salt is ok)


Afternoon Snack:
Choose one from this list:      and           Pair it with one from this list:
-1 cup veggies (carrots, celery,               -12 whole unsalted raw almonds, cashews,
                                                                      walnuts
bell pepper, cucumber)                           -1 piece string cheese (1 ounce serving)
-1 cup fruit or 1 piece fruit                     -2 tablespoons unsalted peanuts
(berries, melon, pineapple,                     -1 tablespoon natural (peanuts only) peanut butter
grapes, banana, apple)                            -2 tablespoons hummus

Dinner
Day 1: Chicken Bake - I suggest using 1 pound asparagus, 2 bell peppers, and 2 large potatoes only for this recipe (I used regular russet potatoes, not red potatoes like it calls for...it's up to you)
Day 2: Chicken Zpaghetti and Meatballs with 1 cup of steamed broccoli (fresh or frozen), you can also serve this with 1/2 cup cooked whole wheat pasta, any cut.  You can also substitute 1 teaspoon dried basil and 1 teaspoon dried oregano for the fresh spices.  I also recommend using a 28 ounce can of tomatoes, not 14 ounces as the original recipe states (this is reflected in the shopping list)
Day 3: Pork Carnitas - I know this has a lot of spices on it, but it is COMPLETELY worth the investment.  You have to try this one out!
Day 4: Baked Tilapia with 1/2 cup cooked brown rice and steamed green beans (fresh or frozen)
Day 5: Buffalo Chicken Burgers with whole wheat buns and 1 cup of steamed broccoli (fresh or frozen).  When picking whole wheat buns, go for the ones with the fewest ingredients, no high fructose corn syrup or azodicarbonamide - i.e. the same material used in yoga mats and the soles of gym shoes.
Day 6: Whole Chicken in crockpot, carrots, potatoes, & onions.  The recipe calls for onions only, but in order to round out the meal, peel and quarter about 2 large potatoes and 4 large carrots (1-2 inch slices) and throw in the crockpot the last hour of the cooking. 
Day 7: Turkey Chili - can also use ground white meat chicken instead of turkey

 

Shopping List

SHAKEOLOGY - I know most of you don't have this, but it's something to consider adding into your daily nutrition!  It's so worth the investment

Produce

1 - 3 pound bag of apples

1 bunch celery

1 head romaine lettuce

1 jar of garlic or 3 bulbs of fresh garlic

1 lemon or bottled lemon juice

1 melon - cantaloupe, small watermelon or 1 pineapple

1 pineapple (if not eating melon)

1 pound asparagus

1 pound green beans, fresh or frozen

1 small bag of onions, white or yellow

4 large potatoes

6 red, yellow, or orange bell peppers

1 Avocado

1-2 Limes or bottled lime juice
 

Fresh berries or grapes (enough for 3-4 days of your afternoon snack)

fresh basil (dried works too)

Fresh oregano (dried works too)

Fresh cilantro (or cilantro in the tube in produce section)

fresh rosemary (completely optional…I despise rosemary though, so I don't use it)

2 large tomatoes

2 medium zucchini

2 pounds broccoli, fresh or frozen

2 pounds whole carrots

 

Meat

1 pound tilapia filets or 4-6 ounce filets

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast

2 pounds ground chicken breast

3 pound pork tenderloin roast

3 pound whole chicken

1 pound lean ground turkey or ground turkey breast

 

Dairy

Hummus

Parmesan cheese (for Zpaghetti & Meatballs)

Real Butter (NO MARGARINE!!!)

String Cheese

2 dozen eggs

32 ounces plain low fat Greek yogurt

Blue cheese

Feta Cheese

Shredded cheddar cheese

 

Frozen

2 - 16 ounce bags of frozen berries (for morning snack or more if you're having for afternoon snack too)

Green beans or broccoli, if not buying fresh

 

Grocery
12 corn tortillas

1 box of Stevia packets

Instant or regular brown rice

Mrs. Dash's garlic and herb seasoning

Natural peanut butter

Extra virgin olive oil

2 cans black beans

2 cans kidney beans

2-28 ounce cans chopped, diced, or stewed tomatoes)

4 - 32 ounce boxes of low sodium chicken broth

1 small jar capers

Frank's Hot Sauce or Buffalo Wing Sauce (nothing with sugar in it!)

Bay Leaf

Chili powder

Cinnamon

Cloves

Cooking spray - olive oil is best

Coriander

Cumin

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Paprika

Thyme

Cayenne Pepper

Black Pepper

Red Pepper Flakes (optional)

Rolled Oats, plain…not flavored

Salt, sea salt is best and preferred

Unsalted peanuts

Unsalted raw almonds

Unsweetened Applesauce, small jar

Whole wheat pasta, any cut

Whole wheat tortillas or wraps

Whole wheat hamburger buns

 

 

21 Day Fix Chicken Soup

Here we are in the middle of the winter, and the last thing I want to do is eat a cold salad for lunch!  Brrrr!!!!! And in the Midwest, we like our soup on a cold winter's day.  This is my way of getting soup for lunch, yet still making it 21 Day Fix Friendly!  Oh...and by the way, this is SUPER easy!

21 Day Fix Chicken Soup (4 servings = 1 green, 1 red per serving)
Ingredients:
12 cups low sodium chicken broth, organic if possible
1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 cups of veggies of your choice (I like to use frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained, zucchini, mushrooms, carrots, onions, and celery)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning (or dried sage)
1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper (or to your liking)

Directions: Bring chicken broth to boil in a large stockpot, reduce heat to a simmer, add diced chicken, cook about 5 minutes in simmering broth.  Add all of your veggies and seasonings and cook an additional 10 minutes or until veggies are tender (but not mushy or falling apart). Remove bay leaf.  Divide soup into 4 containers and refrigerate until ready to eat!

(Using store bought chicken broth helps give this more of a homemade soup flavor that seems like it took you hours to make, but you know that it didn't!)

Mom's Pancakes Made Healthier

I grew up eating these pancakes every single Sunday, and there was no other pancake in the world that could top this recipe in my eyes.  But I thought I should give it a healthier twist by at least making it with whole wheat flour and organic evaporated cane sugar. So, here it is!

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 egg

Preheat griddle to 350 degrees

Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  Create a well in the center of the mixed dry ingredients and then slowly add the milk in the center of that well while whisking it all together.  Add
the applesauce and egg, whisk ingredients completely together.

Pour about 1/4 cup of batter onto buttered griddle.  Flip after bubbles form all over on the top of the pancake.  Cook another 1 minute (check to make sure it's done)

This makes approximately 8-9 pancakes.  The recipe can easily be doubled. 

My favorite topping is taking 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries and warming them on low in a small saucepan with approximately 1-2 tablespoons of real maple syrup.  Top pancakes with this and enjoy!

Picnic Food

I always say that if you want to eat healthy when you're going somewhere, bring something healthy, especially to a picnic. Today my family and I were getting together with some old friends so of course I offered to bring a green salad (my good old stand by) and a black bean and corn salsa/salad. I say salsa/salad because it really can be both. I got the idea from my amazing friend Beka, then changed it up a bit to be more Mexican flavored, and got a few more ideas from this recipe from Rachael Ray. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/black-bean-and-corn-salad-recipe.html I have to give credit where credit is due, so thank you ladies!

Here's my variation on both of their recipes.

Black bean and corn salad
1 1/2 cups black beans made from dry beans or 1 can, 14 ounces, black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 small green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 large heirloom tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Just before serving, drain off any of the excess liquid. I put a plate over my bowl and just barely left enough of an opening over the side of the bowl to drain the extra liquid into the sink. Serve by itself or with tortilla strips or chips. If you're really ambitious you can bake your own healthier tortilla strips. Enjoy!



Now onto the salad! It couldn't be any easier. 

Spinach Salad
1 large container baby spinach
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 cucumber, sliced
2 cups grape tomatoes

Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon evaporated cane organic sugar
1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper

Put all of the salad ingredients into a large bowl. Pour all of the dressing ingredients into a mason jar, seal it, and shake away. Pour the dressing over the salad when you're ready to serve. Give it a little toss to coat all of the spinach and enjoy!

Completely optional for the spinach salad would be a few slices of cooked and crumbled uncured turkey bacon and two hard boiled eggs, sliced. Yummy!

    

3 Day Refresh...Easiest Cleanse EVER!!!

Here I am on day three! I made it! I survived! And the results are amazing! Drumroll please..............

3 POUNDS IN 3 DAYS!!!!!

Yes, I'm talking about the 3 Day Refresh. And let me tell you, it was the easiest "cleanse" I've ever done. I say "cleanse" because it really isn't a cleanse. It's a refresh, just like the program is called. I feel absolutely amazing after these past three days of clean eating and healthy, good for you nutrition.


So let me break it down for you. It's three days of eating whole,  healthy foods, plus three shakes a day and one fiber boost drink. The only issue I had was not drinking my morning coffee. It's amazing how not having just one cup of coffee can affect you! That being said, it was a good wake up call to make sure I am not getting too much caffeine because it does alter your body more than you really realize. Okay so here's the menu:

Breakfast: Shakeology with fruit. I had vegan chocolate Shakeology, which is amazing! I also had watermelon every morning because that's what's currently in season, and I had just bought a huge watermelon that week. And I am not one to waste good food!
Morning tea break: Green tea with stevia
Mid-morning snack: Fiber boost drink. It's lemony goodness in a glass. Yum!
Lunch: Veggies with hummus. Can I just say how much I love hummus?!?!? Vanilla Fresh - a creamy vanilla shake that I could seriously drink for all three meals. Fruit - strawberries and blueberries.
Afternoon snack: Spinach salad - baby spinach, grape tomatoes, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and Mrs. Dash's tomato basil and garlic seasoning.
Afternoon tea: Green tea (decaf) with stevia
Dinner: Vanilla Fresh - sometimes I added pure vanilla extract and cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. Yum!

I also had three different meals for dinner each night. The first night, I had veggie stir fry. It was flavored with fresh garlic and ginger...seriously delicious!

The second night I had a cucumber salad. We have an abundance of cucumbers coming from our garden right now, so this was as fresh as you can get. I went out and picked my cucumber that day! It also had red onion, grape tomatoes, olive oil, fresh basil and fresh cilantro in it. All straight from the garden as well!

The third night I had a coconut steamed vegetable medley consisting of broccoli and carrots and coconut oil. I even added a little bit of pumpkin pie spice to play off the coconut oil. It was a good choice because then it was a slight reminder of the flavor you get with glazed carrots, but nothing unhealthy about these carrots at all!

Evening tea: I didn't have this every night, but last night I did. I drank an organic detox tea blend with dandelion root and licorice root. Surprisingly, it was pretty tasty. I'm not a huge fan of licorice root, but I actually liked this one.

The biggest part of my day really was committed to drinking PLENTY of water. And when I say plenty of water, I mean about 100 ounces of water per day. The recommendation from the program is to at least drink half of your body weight in water, but they suggest you even aim for an entire gallon. While I never reached the gallon mark, I did come pretty close each day. I've always been a good water drinker, but after completing the Refresh, I've come to realize the difference between hunger and thirst. My biggest problem is that I'm a huge snacker or grazer when it comes to food. But while doing this program, I had to make myself drink more water. At times I'd think I was hungry, but then I would drink a glass of water and feel completely satisfied until the next scheduled meal or snack. This was probably my biggest wake up call after completing the program. And I am so thankful for this realization.

So, why am I writing this all? Because I think this is probably the best program to meet a wide array of needs. If you're looking to jump start your weight loss, then this is the program for you! If you're looking to lose those last few pounds and keep them off, then this is the program for you! Or if you just want to get out of a slump or learn how to eat healthy foods and love them, then this is the program for you! Or if you're like me and just needed a wake up call to learn the difference between being hungry or just being thirsty, then this is the program for you! I promise you this.... I would not recommend the 3 Day Refresh if I didn't believe in it! The best part besides my little wake up call, is the weight stays off! There's no gaining it back because these past three days I've fueled my body, not starve it. As long as you keep eating healthfully, you'll continue to feel amazing! I love this!

Bun-less Portobello Mushroom Chicken Burger

Another great recipe created tonight! I was running a bunch of errands today, and got home and was STARVING! I'm so excited that I was able to come up with this gem of a recipe that doesn't take a lot of time. Here's what you need:

For the burgers:
1 lb ground chicken breast
4 portobello mushroom caps
Portobello mushroom stems, finely diced (I only used two of the stems)
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon Mrs. Dash's Southwest Chipotle seasoning
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
(Or add more of the above spices, to your desired taste)
Olive oil cooking spray

For the burger toppings:
1/2 red and 1/2 green bell pepper, sliced in thin strips
4 - 1/2 ounce slices Cabot reduced fat pepperjack cheese

For the avocado mayonnaise:
1/2 avocado
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
Juice of one lime
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:
Preheat your grill to medium high heat. Make sure to oil your grill well so the meat doesn't stick to it!

In a large bowl add your meat, finely diced mushroom stems, onion, garlic, and spices. Mix all ingredients together using your hands. Score the meat into four equal sections, then form each one into a patty. Spray both sides of your burgers lightly with olive oil cooking spray. I do this because ground chicken breast is such a lean meat, that it's more likely to stick to the grill.

Spray both sides of your mushroom caps with olive oil cooking spray and put burgers and mushrooms on the grill. Mine took about 6-7 minutes per side for both the mushrooms and burgers to be fully cooked. Top your burgers with cheese after flipping them over with about 2-3 minutes left on their grilling time on the second side.

While your burgers are cooking, grill the peppers or use a medium pan coated with olive oil cooking spray to cook up your bell peppers over medium heat. They should only take about 5 minutes to cook. Also, make your avocado mayonnaise.  In a small bowl, use the back of a fork to mash up your avocado. Add the mayonnaise, lime juice, and garlic powder. Mix well.

To plate it all up: place a mushroom cap on each plate, top with a burger, evenly distribute the avocado mayonnaise and grilled bell peppers on each burger. Enjoy!!!