Taco Bake

Our family is crazy about Taco Tuesday...honestly we could have some form of tacos every night of the week and be happy! So, I decided to try out something new! I found this recipe from Fitmomangelad.com and decided to give it a try! I made a few adjustments to fit our family! It's a pretty flexible recipe, which I love!

• 2 cup cooked brown rice
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can diced green chilies
• 16-20 oz ground turkey (or if you prefer lean ground beef)
• green or red bell pepper,chopped
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 1-2 tsp fresh lime juice
• 2 T Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Oregano
• ½ tsp Thyme
• 2 tsp cumin (optional)
• 1/3 cup Cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce (low sodium)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9X13 baking dish with EVOO, set aside.
2. Sauté the onion, garlic and peppers medium-high heat for 1 minute.
3. Add ground turkey and green chilies and allow meat to brown. Cook until meat has no pink.
4. Add seasonings and lime juice, stir to combine. 
5. Remove from heat - add rice, tomato sauce, 1/4 cup of cheese to the skillet and stir.
6. Pour mixture into 9x13 dish. Add remaining cheese.
7. Cover with foil & bake for 20 minutes.
8. Remove foil & bake an additional 10 minutes or until cheese is melted/bubbling. Remove from oven & let cool for 5-10 minutes.

21 day fix containers
1 Red, 1 Green, 1 Yellow, 1 Blue, 1/4 Purple

One serving size equals 1/4 of the dish. Happy Eating! :)
Extras

Substitution alternatives - Ground turkey/ Ground Beef and Brown Rice/Quinoa

*1 cup uncooked brown rice is about equal to 2 cups of cooked rice --
1 yellow container is roughly 1/2 cup. If following the 21 Day Fix, measure out 4 yellows of cooked rice to add to the meat mixture to make sure it's an accurate container count.

FREE 5 Day "Spring Clean Your Eating" Challenge

It's SPRING and it's time to "Spring Clean Your Eating"!!

When was the last time you gave your body a rest from the processed foods, sugars and junk food? Well, now is the time to start! Join me for 5 days of cleaning up your eating!!

If you would like some detailed information on "What is Clean Eating" click HERE! This will give you some background on what it is!

You are INVITED to join me for a FREE 

5 Day Spring Clean Your Eating Challenge!! 

I've been eating clean for about 3 years now.  Before I started eating clean, I thought I was pretty healthy...until I started to dig into clean eating a bit more and realized that some of the foods I thought were "healthy" really were not!  Now, I have more energy, I find that I can eat MORE food because of the choices I make when eating clean. It has changed the way I feel about food and the way my body feels. I notice when I have a cheat meal, or something my body is not used to, my body lets me know!! 

Have you ever noticed that the foods you eat have a direct impact on how you feel?

If you have ever wondered what clean eating is all about then this group is perfect for you!

Starting on April 4th we will be doing some SPRING CLEANING on your eating!!  Are you ready???

If you're interested, please follow the link here to the Facebook Event page and RSVP "GOING" and then comment in the event page that "I'M IN" so I  know you're interested!

RSVP HERE!!

**Please note, this is for non-coaches only and those not currently working with a coach!

Mom Tip: How to Help your Kids Swallow Pills (or Vitamins)

MOM TIP!!

How many of you have struggled with helping your kids learn how to swallow pills or vitamins?  I remember how difficult it was growing up and having to make that switch from "chewable" to "grown-up pills".  Let's face it, it's a necessary skill every kid has to learn (and every parent has to figure out how to teach!).

Just yesterday we were sitting down for a weekend family breakfast.  Our vitamins were out on the table and we had just run out of the kid "chewable" vitamins.  My daughter was getting over being sick, and my hubby and I thought this was the perfect time for our kids to "learn how to swallow pills", (mind you, they are 8, 11, 12...the time is right!).

So, my husband said, "ok kids, we're out of the kids vitamins so it's time you learn".  Moans and groans and complaints started flying out of the kids' mouths.  I could see some giant tears getting ready to form in my youngest's eyes with the thought that he'd have to "swallow" something!

Now, our vitamins aren't "sugar coated" and are fully natural and organic so they don't taste good if they stay in your mouth for longer than it takes to chug some water down!  We warned them of this, so told them it must be quick!

"Ok, here's what you'r going to do...put the vitamin in the back of your mouth on your tongue, then take a huge drink of water and keep drinking." my husband said.

Well, my little guy just froze.  My oldest decided he was going to be the pro and "show up" his siblings, and with one gulp...he was done (and letting us all know about it too!).  My daughter, well, not to be outdone by her brother decided to try.  We reminded her to drink quickly!

In went the vitamin, the water started to go down the hatch...and suddenly, she stopped.  Then came the faces of complete disgust, moved onto the gagging and "fake" throwing up motion (not dramatic in the slightest, lol).  Then all of a sudden, it gets spit out on her empty plate.

Well...that was an epic fail!

So...Plan 2!!

As moms, we always have to be thinking... So, I went to the kitchen, grabbed 9 mini M&M's for them to "practice" on.

My oldest got to eat all 3 because he already succeeded!

My little guy immediately ate one before I could even explain what was going to happen.

My daughter waited and probably wondered how this was going to help her!

"Ok guys, here's what you do...Jeremy, you get to enjoy yours since you already swallowed your vitamin.  Anthony and Katelyn, here's the deal.  You're going to practice with a mini M&M, put it in the back of your mouth and swallow it down.  IF you can swallow that down the first time, then you get to EAT the remaining M&Ms that you have and you don't have to practice anymore!"

Their eyes lit up with excitement at this point!

Anthony: "Well I'll take on that challenge."  M&M in the mouth, water down the hatch...and his finger in his mouth searching for the M&M that he surprisingly couldn't find!!  "I DID IT!!  IT'S GONE!!"  So, we cut up a vitamin into thirds and gave it to Anthony and Katelyn.  Anthony did the same thing as the M&M, and magically it disappeared!!  BOOM...down the hatch!!

"GREAT JOB Anthony!!  You can NOW enjoy your 3rd M&M!!"

"Katelyn, it's your turn!!"

Well, not to be outdone by her younger brother, she knew she needed to do the same, but was very hesitant because of her previous attempt!  Finally, she did it...one M&M down the hatch, followed by the vitamin and BOOM...she gets to enjoy 2 M&Ms!!

So there you have it!  An easy way to help your kiddos learn how to swallow pills and graduate from chewables to grown up pills!!

Spicy Slow Cooker Chicken

I recently bought 2 whole chickens from Costco.  I cleaned the yucky insides out and popped them in the freezer (learned to clean out the insides before freezing them...heed this advice if you choose to freeze whole chickens!!).  So I thawed one over night last night and needed something that was quick, easy and delicious!  CROCK POT!!  It's my "quick and easy" solution to everything!

I went searching for a great recipe and ran across one from Kate O Lynch (original recipe here) and thought it looked amazing!  I had to do some modifications to the original because I was making this last minute and thought I had all the spices...but improvised instead!

Spicy Whole Chicken (Slow Cooker Style!)

2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper (My substitution was red pepper flakes about 1/3 tsp b/c I didn't have cayenne pepper!!)
1 tsp Onion Powder (my substitution was onion flakes...again b/c I didn't have the powder!)
1 tsp Thyme
1 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 Whole Roasting Chicken
1 Onion, sliced and broken in pieces

So...like you learned above, this was a "last minute" throw together.  I did not allow the chicken to soak in with the spices overnight, however you could do that to make the flavor deeper!

I cut up the onions and broke them apart to line in the crockpot.  Mixed together all the spices above and patted the chicken, bottom first an then top, covered it completely (and I used it all).  Placed the chicken on top of the onions and set my crock pot on low for 4 hours.  I'm sure you could leave it a bit longer if you'd like but you don't want to dry it out.

After it's cooked, remove from crock pot and let it sit for a few minutes to cool some and allow the juices to soak into the chicken.  Cut up the chicken as you like and it's ready to serve!

You can easily serve this with brown rice or quinoa or potatoes along with some veggies.  OR you could serve this in tortillas and turn it into more of a Mexican meal.  Either way is absolutely delicious!!

Hope you enjoy!!