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!

Taking the first step: Where I was and where I am now

The day you make the decision to change the way you view food and your health can either be very a blurry memory or crystal clear.

Mine was crystal clear.

I was on the beach with my little family on my 29th birthday. Lily was almost 7 months old and it was her first trip to the beach. I was too self conscious to wear even shorts so here I was on the beach in the hottest part of the summer wearing maternity jeans and a baggy shirt. We had to walk a few blocks away and I remember feeling so out of breath, so tired. I couldn't even run around with my 3 year old for long. I had to sit there on the beach and encourage him to play in the sand instead.

My Husband took a picture of me on the beach with the kids and when I looked that the picture that night I realized how poorly I had been taking care of my body. Yes I was a new mom and there are body changes that come with that (all which are beautiful).

The poor eating choices, zero exercise, tired all the time and the realization I had lost my drive/passion to do the things I love outside of being a mommy hit me looking at that picture.

My health in my 20's consisted of a lot of yo-yo dieting, searching for one quick fix to the next and my metabolism was tanked from it.

I made a promise to myself then that my 30's were going to be my healthiest years yet. I was going to do it the right way. Clean eating, exercise, and resetting my mindset from this being a chore to a blessing was the way I was going to do it.

10 days ago I turned 31. I thanked God that I was celebrating another year, and was still on track with the goal I set out to reach 2 years prior.

21 Day Fix's exercise and simple portion control eating plan, my daily shakeology and a challenge group started this ripple effect for me. It's why I became a coach. I want to help others create that ripple effect in their lives too.

If you are ready, or if this very long but very true message touched you in any way. Will you fill this out below? I want to help.

Fill out my online form.

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Have a blessed day,

Dream Big: Coach Summit 2016 Nashville Recap

2 weeks ago I was off on an adventure I had been dreaming and planning for over a year.

 If you had asked me even 18 months go there's no way I would have even thought that I'd be off to Nashville by myself spending the weekend with ladies of a team I helped create surrounded by 20,000 + other people who shared the same passion I had. Say what?!

God had plans (as usual) for my life that I did not see or expect.

I am so thankful for that.

Instead of writing a novel on the entire recap of Summit, I'm going to share some of my favorite moments instead.

(Stepping off the plane and getting to give this beautiful woman on the righht here a hug was amazing! Long story short, we've actually been online friends for over 8 years and have NEVER met in person. Ashley you are so dear to me! Business partner, dear friend, accountability partner... I could go on and on. I thank God daily that he put us in each other's  lives!)

Live workout with Autumn Calabrese! We got to workout live with Autumn and do the "Chisel Agility". Oh my goodness, wow! It was crazy fun, intense and we sweated, A LOT. Definitely a highlight of the trip!

Getting to be with my coach Michelle! She's been an incredible mentor and friend to me over this past year and we hadn't seen each other since 2009 in person. It was a very LONG over due hug for sure! 

The sight seeing! I didn't get to do much of it because we were on the go so much in and out of workshops, general sessions, events, etc. But what little I did get to see of Nashville outside was pretty cool! This San Diego girl couldn't get over how GREEN everything looked ! LOL

The CORE: Oh my goodness so many pretty things I wanted to buy haha. All the latest apparel, gear and more was inside that Core. Ashley and I had so much fun exploring we had to go not once but twice while we were there. I was also able to pick up my Country Heat kit before it had even started shipping. Whoot!

The Shakeology Bar; Need I say more? Ashley and I had so much fun getting our daily dose of delicious dense nutrition to fuel our jam packed days! My favorite recipe I had was Friday's special "Honey Nut Latte" that you can find HERE.

General Sessions and Workshops: I filled my brain, heart and notebook up with so many amazing take aways from these sessions! What did I hear over and over again? Servant heart, servant heart servant heart. Help others without expecting anything in return. Be a light, be an encourager. 

I can tell you that leaving those sessions each day I felt very encouraged and inspired to keep going in the direction that we are going with the Dream Big Tribe.

80's Night/Billy Idol Concert: Because who doesn't like dressing up in fun clothes, wearing glow necklaces and rocking out? LOL

Our work at the house sessions and our Coach Sneak Peek Q&A we hosted on 2 LIVE formats. Ashley and I streamed a live Q&A inside our Dream Big Tribe group on FB AND on Zoom Thursday night. We had been planning for this for months and we gotta say it was pretty amazing! Over 150 of our DBT ladies tuned in. 

Morning workout at the house with the ladies! We got our Country Heat on! I think we burned half our calories laughing and the other have learning the moves. Needless to say, it was fun.

Sharing the same flight home with creator of Shakeology & Ultimate Reset, Darin Olien. I got to personally thank him for how the Ultimate Reset helped me rid several of my PCOS symptoms without having to go on medication. This former breakfast skipper is in the best health of her life with the help of Shakeology and the tools I've learned from the reset. 

Summit is over. 5 days, 4 nights, non stop team building, dreaming, learning and growing. I remember sitting at the airport trying to digest it all. Now more than ever I am excited to pour into the Dream Big Tribe, encourage others and help them with their health and wellness goals. 

I never want anyone to think I have it all figured out when it comes to being healthy. I will never pretend to know more than I do. I will always be honest, real, and share the highs, lows and the hallways. In my 20's I gained and lost over 70 lbs twice. It wasn't until I was coming up on 30 did I realize I needed to make a change. I needed to stop chasing the magic pill and jumping from one thing to the next. 

I needed to commit to a long term healthy lifestyle change. My husband, our two awesome kids inspire me daily. They are my why, the reason I am doing this. I used to think by taking time for me was being selfish, that as a mom I wasn't allowed to have that anymore. 

I've now found that by taking those 30 minutes a day to workout, to make healthier choices with my food... I am able to pour more into my family.... because I have more energy! I'm happier, healthier and more passionate about the future than I ever have been.

I thank God everyday for this opportunity, I know it's gift and I plan to give it back every chance I get.

So, to sum it up. Summit was amazing. I missed my family like crazy, and I'm so happy to be home. Next year I'll be in New Orleans with even more ladies from our growing team. It's gonna be awesome, because we'll be together.

Is it on your heart to make a change? Are you ready to take a step forward and make the goals you've only thought about in the back of your mind, that you've been too afraid to speak up about a reality?

I want to help. I want to do this with you.

Will you reach out to me? I'm here and excited to begin this journey with you.

Fill out my online form.

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Have a blessed day,

Hi Mama, I see you.

Hi Mama, how are you?

I see you. 💜

Are you feeling so tired that even your re heated cup of coffee isn't doing the trick? ☕️

Do you feel like your going in a million different directions and can't seem to finish one thing from start to finish?

I have been there and I want to help. 
💜

I'm looking to privately mentor 3 women who are who are wanting to commit to getting their health and mindset on track. 

What do you get during this mentorship?

⭐️Organizational/Life Hack Tips to make your day less stressful
⭐️30 minute a day exercise program
⭐️Private Meal Prep/Planning Training
⭐️1 on 1 Coaching, encouragement and accountability
⭐Daily Support Group
⭐️Super Food dense nutrition Shake 1x a day
⭐️Nutrition Guide and recipes that are delicious and kid friendly.

Are you one of those 3? Contact me today to get one of these 3 spots 

I'm only taking 3 for this group because I want to give the most attention/encouragement possible during this mentorship.

RSVP today here:

Fill out my online form.

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I look forward to doing this side by side with you!

Honey Nut Latte Shakeology Recipe

Good Morning Friends!

I am home from Nashville after spending 4 days at the 2016 Coach Summit and have SO much I want to share with you. 

But first I have to share this amazing recipe I had at the Shakeology Bar while I was there.

It is oh.so.very.good.

I was on a major Cafe Latte kick for awhile... then went back to my favorite Vegan Chocolate... Now... oh man I think I'm back to Cafe Latte. 

This seriously tastes like it could be a $$$$ drink at a fancy coffee place. It's THAT good.

(How's that for a serving of Shakology? LOL)

So who wants to try it?

Honey Nut Latte Recipe:

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 scoop Cafe Latte Shakeology

2 tsp. all-natural peanut OR cashew butter

1 tsp. raw honey

1 cup ice

Blend it up, and you are good to go! I can't wait to hear what you think of this recipe!

Ashley and I loved trying all kinds of fun new recipes at the Shakology bar in between workshops! It fueled our brain and helped with jet lag ;)

Stay tuned for more fun recipes we learned coming soon!

Want more info on how you can get started with your healthiest meal of the day?

You can do so by clicking HERE

Have a blessed day!

The "Stop, Drop, and Snap your Eats" Project

 Have you ever started a new week, a new month saying “I am going to eat super healthy, get my workout in everyday AND sick with it!”

I know I have.

Have you then days later said “well what the heck happened?”

I know I have.

Then you decide to just throw all those healthy ideas out the window and tell yourself “next month I’ll do this for real.”

I know I have.

Do you want to know how to stop this cycle? How to not only get back on track with your eating, but to create consistent healthy habits that will stick long term?

I’ve got the first step right here for you.

The “Stop, Drop, and Snap your Eats” Project:

Step #1: Either in the challenge group you are currently in, the Dream Big Project or even on your personal FB, IG or snapchat. That for 1 day, 24 hours, before you eat anything, you’re going to post a picture of it first.

Step #2: Take the picture above and post it wherever you are going to be sharing your eats for the day and use the hashtag #DreamBigTribe and say that you are taking the challenge.

Step #3: Whatever platform you choose, all day take a picture before you take a bite of your breakfast, snacks, lunch, maybe more snacks and dinner. Then before you eat, you post it.

You’re probably wondering what will this do? It’s going to give you a giant boost of accountability. You’ll look at that pic, look at your plate and think, “Should I really be eating this?”

At the end of the day, not only do you have a diary of what you ate that given day. But you have a new found sense of awareness of what you are truly fueling your body with.

Does this work? YES! Not only have I done this “Stop, Drop, and Snap your Eats” challenge myself many times, but I have many challengers who have done the same and it’s helped them get back on track with their eating!

Nutrition is 80% and Exercise is the other 20% when it comes to reaching health and fitness goals.  A big eye opener I had when completing the 21 Day Ultimate Reset, was how mindlessly I was eating... one of my kids left over chicken nuggets... a hand full of gold fish or a half-eaten string cheese. (Hey real life here).

So today I am encouraging you to complete this challenge. Will you Stop, Drop and Snap your Eats today?

 Comment below if you are taking the challenge. Once you’ve completed your mini challenge and ready for step #2 of creating a consistent healthy lifestyle change you can message me here: 

Have a blessed day!