My Pantry Favorites: Part 1

I did a Facebook Live today showing some of my favorite pantry items and I thought sharing here would be fun too! 

I plan to do more of these types of posts in the future so I'm only sharing a few things here today. These are definitely some of my top favorites for sure.

 Coconut Aminos: I love this stuff SO much. I used to use Braggs Liquid Aminos, but with my PCOS I have bee trying to cut all soy from my diet.  I LOVE soy sauce so finding an alternative that is tasty and healthy was huge for me. I use this for stir fries and my combination fried rice.

Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar: Oh man where can I start on this awesomeness? Helps prevent flu and other stomach illnesses, reduces acid re-flux and hear burn, good for your hair, skin and gut. I could go on and on and on. I love using Apple Cider Vinegar to "pickle" veggies. Add 1 cup of AC Vinegar, 1 cup water, 1/2 red onion sliced and 1 cucumber peeled and sliced. Store in a mason jar and chill in the fridge. A great "crunchy/tangy" snack when you are craving chips or crackers!

Organic Stoneground Mustard: I love to make "egg salad" with this or even use it to dip chicken sausage in. 

Local Organic Honey: No brand for this one, key word is LOCAL. When you digest local organic honey from your area it will help with allergies! Crazy right? I started eating a few tsps a week of local honey about 2 years ago and was able to stop taking allergy medicine. Check out your Farmer's Market and enjoy! I love using mine in my favorite Shakeology Recipe: Honey Nut Latte.

Homemade Seasoning: The two I have right here are staples in my pantry. The "21 Day Fix Taco Seasoning" from the 21 Day Fix Nutrition Guide and the "Mediterranean Blend" from the Country Heat Nutrition Guide. I use the Taco Seasoning like it's going out of style! It's my go too when making tacos and sometimes even chili.

Want more recipes like this? Or even, meal prep tips and/or to get started with a fitness routine? I would LOVE to be your coach! You can reach out to me by going to my Facebook page by clicking the picture below....

There are kinds of fun things coming to this blog and my Facebook page this fall! I hope you come back and see what's happening :)

Recipe: Sweet and Sour Meatballs and Zoodles: Instant Pot Clean Eating Edition

When making healthy lifestyle changes what is one of the first things we cut out? Soda? The junk food aisle? Eating out? 

Ah yes eating out was a big one for me. I love take out Chinese food. Sweet and Sour anything makes my taste buds jump for joy.

Not only does cutting eating out several times a week help your waist line, it also will help your wallet! 

This recipe I came up with last week in the instant pot sure hit the spot for my Chinese food craving.  Pair it with my Healthy Combination Fried Rice and you'll (hopefully) be a happy camper!

Ingredients:

Sweet and Sour Sauce:

3/4 cup organic coconut sugar OR sucanat

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 

1/4 cup organic ketchup

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tbsp braggs liquid aminos

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp water

Meatballs:

1/3 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1/4 cup 2 % milk or unsweetened almond milk

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 lbs organic grass fed beef or organic lean ground turkey (note: we prefer this recipe with beef)

2 large eggs

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp dried oregano leaves

1/2 tsp sea salt or Himalayan Salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

Zoodles: 

1 Zucchini

a little sliced onion optional

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Zoodler/veggie spiralizer

Directions:

Step #1: Make meatball mixture, cover and let chill in fridge for 30-60 minutes. Get your Instant Pot ready to go. Have the stainless steel pot clean/inside and place the rack inside as well. Add 1 cup of organic beef broth. Roll out meatballs and fill place them inside the pot. I start out by lining them up on the outside rim of the rack circle and make my way in. Cover the lid and set it to manual, high pressure for 5 minutes. Make sure the pressure valve is sealed. Once the pot has pressurized and cooked for 5 minutes put it in "natural release mode" ( set to warm for 10 minutes, then release the valve and remove the lid). 

*Note: I tend to prep my zucchini at this time as well.

Step #2: While the meatballs are cooking let's start making the sauce! Take a bowl and add all the dry ingredients BUT the cornstarch. Mix well then add water. Mix well again. Once the meatballs are done remove lid, take the rack out with meatballs on them. They make be a little stuck to the rack. If so, turn the rack upside down and dump the meatballs on to a plate. Drain any extra liquid left in the IP and then place pot back inside IP. Set IP to keep warm and add sauce mixture. Let warm up for a few minutes while stirring occasionally. Add cornstarch, stir well/frequently for about 2 mins. Once sauce begins to thicken add meatballs back into pot. Let meatballs sit for a minute, then turn them over and repeat the process another minute. By now you should have nice, flavorful sweet and sour meatballs! Turn pot off.

Step #3: Heat up a cast iron or skillet, add evoo and garlic/onion is optional. Then add zucchini and toss around for a few minutes. Take off heat.

Serve! 

Make these comfort food recipes into healthier versions at home as really helped me stick to my clean eating. Especially while I've been doing this round of Country Heat!

Want more recipes like this? Want more recipes like this, meal prep tips and/or to get started with a fitness routine? I would LOVE to be your coach! You can reach out to me by going to my Facebook page by clicking the picture below....

Have a blessed day,

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Healthy Homemade Meatballs and Sauce: Instant Pot Edition

I'm gonna get straight to the point with this recipe. It's a modification of my favorite recipe from the Fixate Cookbook and when I tried it out in the Instant Pot for the first time last week I was VERY pleased.

I'm all about keeping it simple, reducing the amount of dishes I have to wash AND eating delicious healthy comfort foods. 

Doesn't that look amazing?! Can you believe that that is 21 Day Fix approved? No need for "diet" food or "processed frozen meals" when you can make something that tastes like this and is actually good for you. Bonus that this doesn't take much time at all.

Wanna know how to make it?

Step #1: Prep Meatball mixture to chill

Ingredients:

1/3 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1/4 cup 2 % milk or unsweetened almond milk

2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 lbs organic grass fed beef or organic lean ground turkey (note: we prefer this recipe with beef)

2 large eggs

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp dried oregano leaves

1/2 tsp sea salt or Himalayan Salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl add bread crumbs and milk. Let it soak while you cut up the rest of the ingredients. Add diced onions, garlic, turkey, eggs parsley, cheese, oregano, salt, pepper into bread crumb mixture and mix well. Cover bowl and place in fridge for 1 hour.

Step #2: The Sauce

Ingredients:

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 (6oz) can organic tomato paste (no salt)

1/8 cup red wine

1 (28oz) can pureed tomatoes (organic, no salt) or you can get canned whole peeled and just blend them before

1 tbsp organic honey or agave nectar

1/2 tsp sea salt or Himalayan salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil

Directions:

Set Instant Pot to saute mode. Add oil and onions and stir frequently for about 3-5 mins. Add Garlic, tomato paste, and stir constantly (don't let paste burn) for about 2 mins. Add wine, cook stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes. Then add pureed tomatoes, honey, salt and pepper. Stir frequently for about 5 minutes. Then switch IP over to "keep warm mode" add basil, mix well and stir occasionally for 20 mins. Then turn off IP until it's time to add the meatballs in and keep the cover on.

Step #3: Time to get cooking!

Take meatball mixture out of the fridge and take lid off instant pot. Give sauce another good stir. Star rolling those meat balls. Use a spoon to scoop the mixture out, roll it and lay them in the sauce mixture inside the instant spot. I start on the outside rim of the pot and do a full circle. Then continue to add meatballs inside the outside circle tell all the space is gone. Cover the lid and set it to manual, high pressure for 5 minutes. Make sure the pressure valve is sealed. Once the pot has pressurized and cooked for 5 minutes put it in "natural release mode" ( set to warm for 10 minutes, then release the valve and remove the lid). 

That's it! Dinner is served! You can poor this meal ball mixture over whole wheat pasta, make open faced meatball sandwiches from the Fixate Cookbook and more! Such and easy recipe that tastes like something you'd get from a Italian restaurant! 

21 Day Fix/Country Heat/Portion Fix Container amounts (per serving): 

2 Greens 1 Red 1/2 Blue (add 1 yellow if you use whole wheat pasta. Make sure you use the container to measure out the portion of the pasta into the bowl and then pour your sauce and meatballs on top.) 2 meatballs = 1 Red Container

Mmmmmm. I like to top mine with a little fresh basil.

So what's the verdict? Well, if you ask myself, my Hubby, my two kids or Nacho Libre they'll tell you...

So what do you think. Will you try them?

Want to see a video of me cooking these? I went on FB Live last night as I was cooking dinner. Check it out:

Want more recipes like this? Want more recipes like this, meal prep tips and/or to get started with a fitness routine? I would LOVE to be your coach! You can reach out to me by going to my Facebook page by clicking the picture below....

Have a blessed day,

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Healthy Homemade Hamburger Helper: Instant Pot Edition

I love Instant Pot, I love Instant Pot, 

Meow Meow Meow Meow...

Did you sing the song in your head?

It's catchy isn't it?

One one of my favorite things to do is take a not so healthy comfort food recipe and convert it to a delicious comforting healthy recipe using organic clean eating ingredients. The next step is to make it something that my kids will eat too. When all of those factors come together,... I may jump for joy. Or do a cartwheel.

I work from home, am beginning a new chapter of Homeschooling my kids and am helping us grow our ranch! So I'm on the go a lot to say the least (ask my fitbit, lol). The Instant Pot and how quickly I can produce yummy, hot, comforting healthy foods has been such a blessing!

I hope you are enjoying these recipes I'm putting on the blog! If you would like MORE recipes like this you can join my new Facebook Group Clean Eats: Instant Pot Edition by clicking the link.

Last night's dinner was another win for the Instant Pot. 4 happy full bellies in our house and I wanted to share the recipe with you! 

This recipe only took 15 minutes to cook and bonus, it's Fix Portion Approved! 

Healthy Hamburger Helper: Instant Pot Edition

Ingredients:

1.25 lbs organic ground beef

2 Cups uncooked whole wheat organic macaroni pasta

1/2 cup diced onion

1 cup shredded cheese

3 TSP "Better than Bouillon" organic Beef Paste

*Note: You can find this paste at most grocery stores right next to the broths. This is SO much better than using bouillon and so much healthier too!)

3 1/2 cups of hot water

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Dry Ingredients:

3 tsp parsley flakes

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp of turmeric (optional)

1/2 tsp celery seed

1 tsp sea salt or Himalayan salt

1 tsp sucanat (or unbleached sugar)

1/2 tsp ground pepper

Directions: 

Turn Instant Pot to "saute" mode. Add EVOO and beef and start to brown beef. While beef is browning add all the dry ingredients into 1 bowl. Add hot water, better than bouillon beef paste and dry ingredients blend together and mix well. 

Continue to stir beef while it cooks and make sure it's crumbled well. Once it has cooked add liquid mixture and uncooked pasta. Put lid on Instant Pot and switch mode to "steam" for 5 minutes. Once this finishes pull the pressure valve for a "quick release" and remove lid. Add cheese and stir well. 

Turn off Instant Pot and serve meal.

Enjoy!

21 Day Fix/Country Heat/Portion Fix Container Equivalent:

1 Red 1 Yellow 1/2  Blue 1 Tsp

*Note I used a Red container to measure out my serving.

Want more recipes like this? Want more recipes like this, meal prep tips and/or to get started with a fitness routine? I would LOVE to be your coach! You can reach out to me by going to my Facebook page by clicking the picture below....

Have a blessed day!

Healthy "Combination Fried Rice": Instant Pot Edition (Recipe)

So as you can see I'm kind of on an Instant Pot blog post kick right now. Yesterday I blogged about how I did all my Meal Prep for the week and how much time I saved HERE.

Now that I've been cooking for a week with this thing I decided to get a little brave tonight. My mission: to convert my 21 Day Fix Approved Chicken "Fried" Rice to the Instant Pot. I didn't want to stop there. I decided to make it a little more decadent and still keep it healthy...

Meet "Healthy Combination Fried Rice: Instant Pot Edition":

Ingredients:

2 cups Brown Rice (uncooked)  or about 2 1/2 cups cooked Brown rice (add more if you prefer)

1/2 chicken breast (cooked)

1 lb organic ground beef

3 eggs

1/2 onion (chopped)

1 cup chopped zucchini

1 cup of a blend of chopped carrots and sweet peppers

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 TBSP Braggs Liquid Aminos

1/2 cup sliced green onions

Other seasonings to tastes

Serves: 6-8

Directions:

You can have some of this pre made on Meal Prep Day or you can cook everything in one evening. Either way it won't take too long!

Step #1: Cook the Brown Rice: Add rice to the Instant Pot. Add 2 1/2 cups of water. Close and lock the lid. Press "manual" and then set to 22 minutes pressure cooking time. Once done set pot to "keep warm mode for a Natural Release for 10 minutes.  Then press cancel and turn the pressure valve "venting" position. One steam has finished releasing remove lid, take rice out and place in a bowl and set aside. If you happened to cook your rice ahead of time on Meal Prep Day go ahead and skip this step.

Step #2: Cook the Ground Beef:  Add 2 tsp of  evoo and the onion to the instant pot and set it to "saute" mode. Then add ground beef and stir/flip frequently until beef is cooked all the way through. Remove Beef from instant pot and set aside in a bowl. *Note: this takes about 8 minutes 

Step #3: Time to cook the eggs! Keep IP on saute mode and add another tsp of evoo. Crack 3 eggs into pot and scramble. *Note: this only takes about a minute

Step #4: Add all the things!: Add in your rice, chopped veggies, ground beef, chopped chicken, braggs liquid aminos, green onion and mi everything together well. Toss frequently for about 3 minutes then switch IP to "warm mode" and toss for another 3 minutes. 

Step #5: Serve and enjoy!

Total cook time (rice and chicken already cooked ahead of time): 15 minutes

*Note: If you need to cook up a chicken breast see my recipe here. 

Total Container Servings for those of you doing 21 Day Fix or Country Heat:

1 Red

1 Yellow

1 Green

1 tsp

1 Orange

The verdict? My family LOVED this recipe! Husband gave it two thumbs up, and our 5 year old and 2 1/2 year old gobbled it up without even realizing how many veggies were in it. 

And it fit in with my week #3 meal plan for Country Heat. 

Amazing. I'm one happy Mama!

Want more recipes like this? Want more recipes like this, meal prep tips and/or to get started with a fitness routine? I would LOVE to be your coach! You can reach out to me by going to my Facebook page by clicking the picture below....

Have a blessed day!

Meal Prep: Instant Pot Edition - How much time did I save?

Last week I got something that's been on my wish list for a while now for my birthday. An Instant Pot! My crockpot bit the dust awhile ago and we are in a pretty small cabin while our house is being built. So I don't have a lot of space for multiple appliances and thought the Instant Pot would be the perfect fit. 

(My instant pot getting acquainted with my favorite cookbook)

I cooked several dished in it this past week and loved every single one of them. I will post more recipes soon! In the meal time I wanted this first blog post on the Instant Pot to be about Meal Prep! Here is everything I cooked in the IP this past weekend for meal prep.

First up... Sweet potatoes! I cut two large sweet potatoes in half with peel still on. Placed them on the rack inside the instant pot, added 1 cup of water. Closed the lid and turned the sealing vent to "sealed". Next clicked the "manual" and set the time to 10 minutes. Once the cooking was complete I set it to "warming mode" for 15 minutes for a natural release. Then I pulled then out using the handles of the rack and let them cool before cutting up a little bit more and putting in the food storage containers. I peeled mine before storing them. The peels come off really easy after they've cooled a little. Daily Serving Note: 1/2 a sweet potato = 1 yellow. No need to measure out with your container.

Next up.. Cauliflower rice! I was very excited to give this a go! I will blog this recipe soon. I can't get over how quickly this cooked. And it's SO delicious. Daily Serving Note: Fill your green container to the top with cauliflower from this rice throughout the week as you are serving up your daily lunches.

Moving right along... Next up was chicken! I took 2 frozen chicken breasts and placed them at the bottom of the instant pot. Added 1 cup of water and sprinkled on my homemade taco seasoning rub from the 21 Day Fix eating guide. Sealed the lid and pressed the "poultry" button and set the time for 20 minutes. *Note these were very large chicken breasts. Set timer for lower if needed. After cooking is complete, carefully open the pressure valve for a quick release then remove the lid after it's finished. Then I took my Pampered chef "mix and chop" and shredded the chicken apart. You can use a potato masher instead if you don't have one of those. After I finished shredded I transferred the chicken to my meal prep storage container and placed it in the fridge. Daily Serving Note: I just take my red container and fill it with chicken from this batch each day to use with my meals.

**Note curious about those containers I keep mentioning? They are BPA free color coded portion control containers that come with 21 Day Fix and Country Heat. You can learn more about them HERE.

What I prepped outside of the Instant Pot while those items cooked...

Clean Eats Ranch Dip: This is a favorite recipe of mine and SUPER easy and clean! You can find my recipe for this one HERE.

"Pickled" Carrots: This is really easy to make and a great way to sneak in a dose of Apple Cider Vinegar in your daily intake. I pour 1 cup of apple cider vinegar into a mason jar. Slice up 1/2 purple onion and about 20 baby carrots sliced in half. Then I fill the rest of the jar with water. Put the lid on and store in fridge. Throughout the week as I am craving something crunchy to munch on, instead of grabbing chips. I'll grab a few of these instead. *Note: make sure you get the apple cider vinegar with " the mother". That's the good stuff and really good for your gut! 

That's it! Guess how much time this took? Before I answer I'll tell you I typically spend 4 hours in the kitchen on Sunday afternoons prepping for the week ahead. That includes waiting for times to bake, cook, etc. while taking care of other things throughout the house getting us ready for the week ahead.

Ok so now that you know how much time it takes normally, you want to know how much time it took now with the Instant Pot right?

90 minutes. Yes 1 hour and 30 minutes. I was shocked. Not only was the prep quicker but there was 90% LESS DISHES to clean up! Can I get a high "WHOOT" and fist pump for that one?!

So the verdict is in. The instant pot saved me 2 hours and 30 minutes worth of cooking and an entire sink worth of dishes I didn't have to wash... and my little window ac powered cabin didn't get heated up any extra with all that cooking?! I am so happy, I can't even tell you.

Instant Pot is now a meal prep essential in this house.

Want more meal prep tips and/or wanting to get started with a fitness routine? I would LOVE to be your coach! You can reach out to me by going to my Facebook page by clicking the pic below...

Or send me an email at CoachJennyM@gmail.com

Have a blessed day!

5 reasons why people put off taking care of their health

Have you ever heard something said to you by so many different people that you finally look up and say "Ok God, I hear ya."? Well that's happening to me currently. What is it that I keep hearing? "It's time to get back to basics."

I need to stop complicating things... to stop making them more intricate than they need to be. Simply... go back to the basics.

I sat down tonight to write a completely different blog post but this topic came to me. What are some of the reasons why people put off taking care of their health? I'm asking me 2 years ago this same question and this is what I came up with.

1.  I don't have time to workout: I'm gonna debunk this right now. 30 minutes a day is 2% of your 24 hrs you've given each day. We spend more time scrolling on social media and or watching tv/netflix binges than that. 30 minutes is all it takes to get a good workout in and improve your health.

2. I do well for a week and then I fall off the wagon: Been there, done that. Many, many times. What gets me back in the swing of things? My daily encouragement/challenge group and accountability partners on my team. I know they will tell me to step away from the cheeseburger if needed and will always be there to say "you can do this love, don't stop now". In the same breath I also know they will tell me to enjoy that said cheeseburger if it's a treat meal that I have once in awhile instead of a daily thing.

3. I have a bad knee or (insert injury here): 80% of your results come from nutrition. When I was recovering from my accident last year I was able to maintain my weight loss by sticking with my portion controlled containers and 21 Day Fix eating plan without workout out for almost 3 months straight.

4. I don't know where to begin: I would love to be able to help you with that! Together we can help find what program is right for you and your needs, what your goals are and how to begin without getting overwhelmed or frustrated.

5. I really enjoy desert: Have you seen my shakeology pie recipe or my Sea salt caramel shake?! Yum! I promise you can still feed your sweet tooth with delicious chocolate goodness without eating junk.

I can tell you now more than ever....This isn't about fitting into ___ size jeans, this is about improving my quality of life. I lift weights and eat whole foods because I want to be strong, healthier so that I can be the wife, mama and person God has called me to be. 2 years ago by 10 am I'd be on my 4th cup of coffee and still ready to go to sleep. Now coffee is optional, I drink simply because I enjoy it in the cool of the morning. The energy I've gained is so valuable. The perspective is priceless. If it's been put on your heart to make a change and improve your health I would love to help you. You can fill out the short application below and together we can do this.

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Have a blessed day,

Country Heat Launch - Fire up the Fun!

Love dancing? Love country music? Want to have fun and lose weight and do it without ever picking up a weight? If so, Country Heat is for you!

This program is being released on  July 28th! Want to know when it's available first? Add your name to the list here and have a chance to win a free copy of the program! Our exclusive 30 Day Test Group begins on August 8th, will you be joining us? 

You've heard me talk about this for a few months and now we are coming up fast on the launch of the ground breaking fitness program

What is COUNTRY HEAT?

Now you can fire up your metabolism, burn calories, and melt away unwanted pounds while you have fun dancing to the hottest country music around. Each Country Heat workout is 30 minutes of exhilarating, low-impact movement to melt off the weight and reshape your body-toning and tightening your shoulders, arms, legs, and booty. Autumn Calabrese (creator of 21 Day Fix) makes it fun and easy to start getting fit. No complicated moves-just follow along and you'll be right in step from Day One. And since every move is set to the hottest popular country music out there, you'll be having so much fun, you won't even notice that you're toning your body and scorching the fat! Plus, it comes with an easy-to-follow portion control nutrition plan to maximize your results. What is the difference between COUNTRY HEAT AND CIZE? Country Heat's choreography is simple; all you have to do is follow along! Autumn teaches you two steps at a time, then moves on to the next two steps. And you don't need to memorize anything. Country Heat features the hottest country music, using fully licensed songs that you’ve probably heard on the radio. Not only did Autumn pick these songs for their popularity, she specifically matched her moves to the faster and slower beats to create the perfect interval training within each routine. The result? A fired-up metabolism that burns maximum calories and fat—in just 30 minutes a day! Want to be the first to know when it's available and how to get signed up for our Exclusive Launch Group that  begins August 8th? You can sign up to get on the list by click the picture below... Have a blessed day!