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Chicken, Bean, and Veggie Stew
I love a soupy stew on a cold snowy day! This is a perfect snow-day stew. My girls, outside playing in the snow, little feets getting froze, little noses turning from pink to red, cheeks all sorts of rosy, and mittens getting soggy. Kids barging in through the back door demanding warmth and shuffling off their clothes and crawling under warm blankets on the couch. “Mooooommmmm! Can we have some soup and some hot chocolate?” You betcha. Ingredients: 3 large chicken breasts, thawed and diced 3 ribs celery, diced 1/2 cup baby carrots, shredded 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained 1…
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Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Adam and Eve. Romeo and Juliet. Beyoncé and Jay-Z. Peanut butter and jelly. Buffalo chicken and sweet potatoes. Ok, so that last pair seemed questionable at first but I thought about all of the things I loved. Chicken. Buffalo wing sauce. Sweet potatoes. It HAD to be good. Well, turns out I have a new favorite way to stuff my sweet potatoes! Inspired by one of the lovely ladies in my current fitness and nutrition accountability group, I had to try my spin on these. So, you can do this one of two ways: Slow-cook the chicken in a little buffalo sauce and ranch seasoning or Bolthouse Farm’s Greek…
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Sesame Orange Chicken: Clean Version
It’s Friday night. I want take out. The old me would’ve called out for Chinese delivery. I still have dreams of General Tso’s chicken. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for indulging and “treat” meals, but the sodium that’s loaded into Chinese takeout is enough to make my rings too tight for a week. So instead of giving into my cravings, I had to come up with something that I could feel good about eating, feeding to the kids, and that would leave me full and not digging in the fridge for seconds an hour after eating it. Which by the way, why is it when you eat Chinese takeout…
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Chipotle Lime Fish with Citrus Rice
I think we found a winner. Competition prep time again and you know what that means? Tilapia for days! My husband is thrilled (insert sarcastic eye roll here). He’s not a seafood lover. So, I have to be creative in order to get him to eat it! When we were in Florida the first week of January, they were sampling some chipotle rubbed salmon at the fresh market. It was delicious. But he’s not a salmon fan. So I whipped up a little chipotle like marinade and soaked the tilapia in it for a bit, and it turned out excellent! Paired with my own little citrus rice creation and some…
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Making Your Resolutions Stick in 2016
It happens. We vow to make each year better than our last. We struggle through the holidays, eating one too many cookies, saying we’ll start in January. So we join a gym. We buy a Bow Flex. We throw out the leftover cookies, candy, and buy fresh foods, new cook books, download an app or two and tell ourselves, “THIS IS THE YEAR! NO MORE EXCUSES!” And what happens? Come February we’re picking up takeout on the way home from work, contemplating cancelling that gym membership, and vowing to “restart” tomorrow… or next week… or next year. Let’s face it. Life gets in the way. Sticking to a plan is…
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Parenting… Am I Doing it Right?
When you become a parent for the first time, you begin to question everything you do in relation to your child. I created this new precious life and I don’t want to screw it up. When Emma was born, she stole our hearts. She turned our world upside down and she had us all wrapped around her little finger. The questions began in my head almost immediately. Does she need to eat? What does that sound mean? Does she recognize me? Then, how long has she been in that wet diaper? Can I feed her fruits yet? How important are baby music classes? What’s her favorite song going to…
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Peppermint Mocha Martini (Without the Guilt)
Tis the season. Holiday parties. Booze. Snacks. Booze. Snacks. It’s never ending until January. We’re taking matters into our own hands this year, we hosted our own Christmas party, and the former bartender in me had been dying to stretch my legs and make some yummy drinks. I had two in mind. This one is a good one. I can’t lie. I’m a coffee creamer junkie, and my two favorites are peppermint mocha and gingerbread. I wanted to recreate a similar flavor, in a blended or shaken martini, without the guilt. I’m pretty pleased with the way these turned out. I used a little Shakeology in this peppermint mocha…
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Gingerbread Martinis (Without the Guilt)
Give me a gingerbread cookie and I’m a happy momma. Give me a gingerbread cookie I can drink, one for adults, a little something to sip at a holiday party or while wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve, and I’m happier than my kids on Christmas morning! We had our own little Christmas party this weekend and I’m happy to say I put my previous bartending experience to good use and whipped up some delicious concoctions that are easier on the waistline and cleaned up a bit too. I’m looking forward to another one of these on Christmas Eve, snuggled up in warm blankets, Christmas slippers on, and watching It’s a…
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Roasted Balsamic Veggies
Balsamic vinegar is my jam. I eat it on a lot of things. I’m weird like that. Salad. Chicken. Rice. Quinoa. Steak. Tilapia (see, weird). So I had to do it on veggies. Ok. One word. Delish. These turned out great and made a perfect side for tonight’s roasted turkey breast. Ingredients: 2 large zucchini, quartered 2 sweet potatoes, peeled & diced 2 carrots, peeled & diced 2 green peppers, chopped 1 onion, roughly chopped 1/4 c balsamic vinegar 2 tbsp EVOO 1 tbsp chopped rosemary Sea salt & black pepper Directions: Chop all veggies. Mix vinegar, oil, and spices together. Toss together in a large bowl. Bake at…
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Competition Prep: 15 Weeks Out
I might be crazy. I might be certifiably insane. I’ve decided to tackle another competition. Bikini competition #3. March 26th. St. Louis, MO. I may be in the throes of my last semester of nursing school. That day will be my daughter’s 2nd birthday. I will be prepping for finals. Why not throw a competition in the mix too. Well. Here goes! I’m putting Body Beast up on the shelf. Temporary retirement. I’ve been using the program pretty ferociously for the past year and I’ve absolutely loved what it’s done for my body. It’s been outstanding to see my muscles grow in ways I never could’ve imagined. And if you’ve…
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