Baked Ziti

So anyone who knows my kids, knows they aren't the best eaters in the world. But this dish, was AMAZING! Doesn't taste healthy, tastes like a cheat meal! Evan had 3 helpings, Drew had 3 helpings and Lila had 2! Paired it with some spinach for my littles, and sweet peppers for me. Now I love me some garlic bread with pasta, but this time I roasted portobello mushrooms, put a little garlic powder and pink Himalayan salt and dash of EVOO. SOO good. Didn't even miss the garlic bread.

Ingredients

• 1/2 box Whole Wheat Pasta
• 1 red container Part-Skim Ricotta Cheese
• 1 jar natural/clean Tomato Sauce
• 1/2 lb Lean Ground Turkey
• 1/2 c Italian Cheese, shredded
• 1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 tsp Honey
• 1 tbsp each: Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Italian Seasoning, Oregano, Basil, Parsley, and Black Pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the noodles until al-dente. While pasta is cooking, brown the ground turkey. Drain turkey of excess fat renderings after cooking. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, pasta sauce, honey, seasonings, cooked ground turkey, and the cooked and drained noodles. Stir until well combined.

Pour mixture into a 13×9 pan. Sprinkle Italian cheese and parsley on top.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and bubbly.

1 red, 1 yellow, 1 purple, 1 blue for my 21 day fixers

Shrimp Scampi on the Skinny

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 pound jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1/4 cup white wine (omit if you are on the 21 day fix, you won't really miss it!)
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 medium zucchini, cut into noodles
Chopped parsley, for garnish

Place a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and heat it for 1 minute. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and cook them for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Be careful not to burn the garlic, I do that like half the time I saute garlic. Yeah, you would think I would learn. Nope. 

Add the shrimp to the pan and cook them, stirring as needed, until they are cooked throughout and pink on all sides, about 3 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and then using a slotted spoon, transfer them to a bowl, leaving any liquid in the pan.

Increase the heat to medium. Add the white wine and lemon juice to the pan. Using a wooden spoon, scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, cooking the wine and lemon juice for 2 minutes. Add the zucchini noodles and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Return the shrimp to the pan and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper, garish with parsley and serve immediately.

To cut zucchini into noodles, use a mandoline or a spiralizer. I am obsessed with my zoodle maker! OBSESSED! 

My Why's and Why Nots... What's yours?

What's your "why" and "why not"?

My "why" when I decided to get healthy were extremely vain. I wanted to look good in a bikini and tone up my mid section before my trip to St. John's with my husband. And my "Why not" were numerous. I was too tired. I didn't have enough time. I had three kids to take care of. I wasn't technically overweight, so why bother? My "why nots" always outweighed my "whys." But despite that, one day I decided to do the 21 day fix. I'm still really not sure why I decided to do it. I had literally watch the P90X infomercial about 56 times before I decided on a whim to do the 21 day fix, which I really knew nothing about. Again, partly I'm sure it was to look good in a bikini and partly because I had trouble saying "no", and my friend asked me to join her in doing it.

When I took my before pictures I treated it as a total joke. I had big plans to make my after picture look drastically different, but mostly with a spray tan, hair and make up. I thought it would be funny. But about 10 days later a light bulb went off in my head. I started to feel better and more energetic, and I all of the sudden changed my "why".  Looking great in a bikini would be great but that's only a temporary incentive...what is going to make me keep going and stay healthy for longer than one month before my trip? My why became ME. It became my husband and my kids. As cheesy as that sounds... I decided I was worth it! And my "why nots" became pale in comparison.

I am no salesman, that's Paul. He's been a salesman since he was six years old, selling airheads out of his backpack for a 50 cent profit. I'm simply, a product of the product. And to me my biggest victory of all was realizing that I am totally worth it. There are lots of systems out there that will help you lose weight, some healthy and some definitely not so healthy. But I think the biggest thing, is to really understand what's your "why" and "why not"?

To me, beach body is a no-brainer because it's all natural and the focus is on whole clean foods. But also your beachbody coaches will help you get healthy from the inside out, and help change your mindset to make this change, truly last forever. So yes, here are my before and after pictures again. I lost 7 lbs, but gained so much more! My WHY'S!!! No fake tan, without any hair-do and make up that I had planned to do, but you can see the confidence inside that is so much more important than a six pack. (Which I'm currently still striving for... Because why... Because I can! )


So......What is your why and why not!?

HERE ARE MY WHY's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shakeology

What is shakeology? I could rattle off all of the amazing super food ingredients, or how it compares to other shakes on the market... but do you really care about that? Some of you may, and if so, I have all the facts I can share with you. But I know most of you wanna know, what will it do for me? And why should you invest $4 a day into a shake!?

Here is why I like it:

• it's convenient. I am usually running around most of the day, And I can literally grab this and go in 30 seconds or less. I usually replace breakfast or lunch with a shakeology.
• it saves me money, otherwise, I am sure I would be spending more than $4 on a meal. 
• it tastes SOOO good.
• it makes me feel more energetic. I don't have that 3pm, I need a nap or I may collapse feeling. 
• it helps me curb my cravings, helped me kick my diet coke and nightly glass of wine habit. which in turn has actually saved me money! I no longer spend $200 at Total Wine every month or $12 a week at Publix on Diet Coke. And I don't have to lug all that in and out of my car with a baby on my hip! Winning! 

Some people say it helps with their mood, helps with their blood pressure or cholesterol. It helps their libido (sweet!). 

I was hesitant too. $4 a day for a shake! I am a stay at home Mom, I can't be spending that on myself. And then I experienced the way it made me feel, and I really thought about it. And I found a way to make it work. Then later, I found it actually saved me money. I also don't take a handful of vitamins and supplements any more, because it's all in there. 

Pepper Nachos

I am all about making one meal for my whole family these days. Back in the day, I would make grilled cheese for one child, quesadillas for another. And adult food for Paul and I. While not all my kids would eat this meal, they all ate a variation of this, which is a huge time saver for me! My boys ate all of the toppings just wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. My baby girl, well, she throws all of her food on the floor for the dogs, regardless of what it is. She doesn't discriminate. So it really doesn't matter what I give her! Gotta love 16 month olds!

So this is something that I actually would make for company. Meaning, if I wasn't even set on eating something clean...I would still totally make and eat this, it's that good!

Ingredients:
mini sweet peppers (Costco has a huge bag for cheap!) sliced in half, seeds and white part scooped out.
1 lb Ground turkey (or you can do chicken, lean ground beef, or shredded rotisserie chicken)
2 garlic cloves
Green onions
Spices (I am not a measure-er, I threw in a few palmfuls of chili powder,a pinch of himilayan salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Basically season it to please you and your family!)
Black beans
Black olives
Shredded Monterey Jack and Colby Cheese (I like to shred it myself, tastes so much better and so worth the extra couple of minutes of prep).
Pico de gallo (I just throw a carton of cherry tomatoes, a bunch of cilantro, one jalepeno, juice of one lime, half of a yellow onion, 2 garlic cloves, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a food processor. My secret, not so secret ingredient, is a few spoonfuls of tomato paste, because tomatoes just aren't that great and flavorful around here, and this takes the flavor up a notch). You can also buy salsa, just make sure there isn't too much salt or sugar!
Greek yogurt
Cilantro and more green onions to top it off.

I just sautee some green onions (the white part, chopped) and garlic in a skillet with a dash of olive oil. After a few minutes I add the meat in. Once it's done cooking, I add in 2 yellow containers of black beans (or for those non 21 day fixers, about half of a small can. Then I add my spice mixture above. After it's simmered a few more minutes I take it off heat and add in my olives (this is personal preferance, but I just do 2 orange containers). I lay out my peppers on a baking sheet, scoop on the meat mixture, top it with 4 blue containers of the cheese (or about 6 oz) and I pop it in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes. After it comes out, I plate it and add half of a red of greek yogurt and half of a purple of salsa. And I top it with some cilantro and the green parts of the green onions.

Serves 4. I always make extra meat mixture, and then the next night have tacos or mexican pizza. So dinner for 2 nights... done!

21 day fix breakdown: 1 1/2 red, 1/2 yellow, 1 green, 1/2 purple, 1 blue, 1/2 orange.  

Proof is in the pudding. Or pictures in this case!

My transformation pictures at the beginning of my journey, my first round of the 21 day fix. I hope the first of many transformation pictures!

Sample Menu and container breakdown

So here is a visual breakdown and example of how you can split up your containers. I am so not a planner when it comes to meal prep. But you really have to be. You can't eat all your yellows by lunch time and then plan 21 day fix approved Baked Ziti for dinner. You will go hungry! And that's no beuno!



 

 

 

 

 

And here is a sample menu for the week. I really do NOT like eating the same thing day in and day out. Breakfast, I can totally do. But I need a little variety for my lunches and dinners, snacks too. This one I like because it has some variety. Pinterest has lots of great ideas too, if you are lacking inspiration like me!