Healthy Turkey Chili

I love chili for dinner, especially when the ground is covered is snow like it is now! I've put together a quick and easy recipe for some healthy turkey chili - instead of using less lean meat like ground beef. While I like this chili better when it cooks all day long - it's still pretty fantastic as a quick work night meal to throw together and cook for about 30 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of lean ground turkey. I find the leanest meat possible for this recipe
• 2 green bell peppers, chopped. 1 will do, but if you are a bell pepper lover - two is better
• (optional) jalapenos, fresh or jarred - chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 4 stalks of celery, diced
• 2 cans of dark red kidney beans
• 1 can of pinto beans
• 1 can of black beans
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes
• Seasonings:
• Cumin
• Taco seasoning
• Chili powder
• Seasoning salt
• Chicken broth
• Smoked paprika (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Saute the onions, bell peppers, garlic, celery and jalapenos*** in a small amount of extra virgin olive oil or butter. Add salt and pepper to taste. ***Only saute the jalapenos with these ingredients if you are using fresh jalapenos. If you are using jarred or canned jalapenos, add them in towards the end of making the chili

• Once sauteed, through the vegetable mixture into a large pot
• In skillet, brown the ground turkey with a small amount of taco seasoning, seasoning salt, and smoked paprika. Drain the turkey - do not rinse.

• Add turkey to large pot, and set the pot on medium-high heat
• In the pot, add the diced tomatoes and all beans. 
• Add water. Depending on the size of your pot - I recommend adding 6 cups, but 4 will do.

• Add chicken broth powder to the water - per the directions on the broth. If you bought the liquid broth - DO NOT ADD WATER, only add the broth.
• Add in the Chili powder to taste. Add any other additional seasonings from the list above to taste.
• Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Different simmering times offer different tastes. I prefer longer, but for a quick dinner, 20 minutes is still delicious! 

Enchilada Style Chicken!

I am a big fan of enchiladas. LOVE THEM... but not so much in love with how many carbs, calories, and fat come along with their deliciousness. So for my colorful dinner last night, I made some enchilada style chicken with quinoa, and a random side of edamame. The quinoa came in a package with easy cooking instructions, and the edamame just needed to be steamed, but the chicken - here's the recipe :)

Ingredients:

• Chicken Breast. Mine were 4 ounces a piece, and I cooked five of them. 
• Enchilada sauce. I bought a big can of the green chili sauce - but it would be good with the red sauce too
• Mexican blend cheese - or cheddar will work as well
• Fresh cilantro - chopped
• Taco seasoning
• Garlic powder
• Seasoning salt
• Fresh ground pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
• In small pan - start heating up the enchilada sauce
• First season both sides of the chicken with taco seasoning, garlic powder, seasoning salt, and ground pepper. Would be good if you wanted to add some cumin too. Notice, I put a LOT of taco seasoning on the chicken - and it was great, but I think I'll add more next time.

• On medium-high heat in a skillet (lightly sprayed with Pam) brown both sides of the chicken. It's okay for the middle to remain pink as it will finish cooking in the oven. It should only take about a minute or two to brown each side.

• In an oven safe pan (lightly sprayed with Pam) place the browned chicken. Spoon enchilada sauce over the chicken, and add the cilantro and cheese. 

• Place chicken in the oven to finish to cooking - about 8 minutes. 4 minutes in, add more enchilada sauce.
• Once the chicken is fully cooked - you're ready to eat! I added more sauce once the chicken was on my plate, and added some to the quinoa as well - LOVE enchilada sauce!

Next time, I'll through in some fresh pico-de-gallo, and hopefully I'm craving a more fitting vegetable for the meal - rather than edemame ;)

Enjoy!

Herbalife Recipes

This set of recipes below are strictly for Herbalife, and received from Kenisha Jones. These recipes are meant to help you 'change up' your Herbalife meals and snacks - and give some added deliciousness to your weight loss journey.

Protein Oatmeal
1/2 cup (dry) old fashion oats
2 scoops chocolate PDM
1-2 tbsp peanut butter
Heat oats then add protein and enjoy!! Great for AM snack : ) also really yummy with vanilla PDM and cinnamon

HerbaCocktail
Cold water
1 scoops Apple Active Fiber
1-2 serving Mango Aloe

Bikini In a Bottle
1 serving of:
Tea (any flavor)
Beverage Mix (2 scoops of one flavor or 1 scoop of each flavor)
Active Fiber (apple or original)
Aloe (mango or original)
Some use 1 gallon of water for all of the above or you can use less water like 32 oz (up to you)

Exotic Oatmeal

1 cup of water
1/2 cups of old fashioned oats
1/2 cups of berries
1/2 scoop of apple active fiber
Bring water to a boil.
Add 1/2 cup of old fashioned oats, 1/2 cup frozen berries, 1/2 scoop of
Herbalife active fiber apple flavored and reduce to medium heat.
Cook for 5 minutes and stir occasionally.
let it cool off and enjoy !!
Makes one serving !! mmmm

Apple Pie Oatmeal
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of old fashioned oats 
1/2 scoop of apple active fiber
cinnamon 

Protein Snack Bites
20 medium egg whites
1 package herbalife soup mix
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
12 spinach leaves
12 halved cherry tomatoes
Dash of salt & pepper or any other favorite seasonings

Preheat oven to 350
Spray muffin pan with olive oil
Fill tin with veggies first
Mix egg whites, almond milk, & soup mix all together then evenly disperse into each hole.
Place in the oven and bake for 20-25min
Then take them out to cool & enjoy your perfect snack on the go!
12 servings
1 snack= 35cal 8g protein

Fruit Dip
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2-3 scoops Formula 1 Cookies n Cream
Add water as you stir for desired thickness and texture

BOMB.COM
16 oz water
1 scoop Herbalife apple active fiber
3/4 tsp raspberry tea
1 serving mango aloe
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Shake it up and BOMB.COM !!

Heaven
2 scoops Cookies and Cream F1 
1 cup of plain greek fage
mix it up and heaven !

Herbalife Healthy Donuts
1/2 cup old fashion oatmeal
2 egg whites
2 scoops Cookies 'n Cream F1
2 tablespoons of Chocolate PB2 peanut butter mix
Mix in blender then bake at 375 for 9 minutes
Topped with 2 tablespoons of Chocolate PB2, 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Protein Raspberry Creamsicle
1 scoop Vanilla PDM
3/4 cup coconut yogurt
1/2 cup mashed raspberries (or other fruit)
Mix and swirl into Popsicle containers and then freeze!

Don't forget your vitamins!

Suggested Grocery List for Healthy Living!

Here is a list of some items that should be considered when doing your grocery shopping. These items will cover your lean protein, good carbs, healthy fats, oils, and some miscellaneous items that you can add to your meals and protein/Herbalife shakes.

Proteins:
Chicken Breasts
Ground Chicken Breasts
Lean or Extra Lean Ground Turkey
Organic Eggs *read more about eggs here
Pasteurized Liquid Egg Whites
Grass-Fed Beef
Bison
Wild-Caught Salmon
Tuna

Carbs/Starches:
Brown Rice Cakes
Quinoa
Sweet Potatoes
Food for Life Products (Ezekiel products)
Kidney Beans
Black Beans
Steel Cut Oats
Oat Flour (Gluten Free is also available)
Rolled Oats
Granola (try to keep sugar under 5 g per 30 g serving)

Healthy Fats:
Natural Peanut Butter (ingredients should be just peanuts or peanuts and a little salt)
Almond Butter
Almonds
Walnuts
Pistachios
Cashews
Avocado

Oils:
Olive Oil
Coconut Oil

Dairy:
Nonfat Cottage Cheese
Plain Greek Yogurt

Misc: Unsweetened Almond Milk

Unsweetened Rice Milk
Chia Seeds *read more about chia seeds here
Ground Flax Seed
Apple Cider Vinegar
Liquid Aminos (in place of soy sauce)
Pure Vanilla Extract

Meal Planning

It's very important to plan for 'colorful' meals before shopping for your groceries. We call it a colorful meal because the variety of food you are putting on your plate, and the amount of veggies you will want to add. Planning your dinners for the week, you should have a portion of lean protein, whole grains, and lots of vegetables. 

I cannot stress the importance of meal planning for the week - as this will help to make sure you stay focused on your goals. This will keep you on track with healthy weight loss - supplying your body with the nutrition it needs.

Protein Filled Full Meal Options/ Recommendations

4oz of lean protein; chicken, turkey, fish, lean beef

1 serving of a whole grain: ½ cup is a serving

Veggies; making sure if they are steam cooked that they have a crunch left to them

Lean protein options:

• Chicken breast
• Turkey breast
• Lean ground turkey
• Fish; salmon, halibut, tuna, shrimp
• Lean beef; fillet, lean ground beef, lean steak

Whole grain options:

·         Brown rice

·         Whole grain bread/sprouted (1 slice)

·         Whole grain tortilla (1 tortilla)

·         Quinoa

Veggies:

• Leafy greens
• Broccoli
• Cucumber
• Spinach
• Cauliflower
• Sweet potato (small)

**Recommendations**

Veggies and fruit should be fresh or frozen and stay away from canned

If you go to a restaurant make the menu work for you and ask how many ounces there is in the entrée

Also remember to start your day with breakfast and drink water all day long

The Beginning

Beginning any workout or nutrition plan can be very difficult. Lynee and I created this blog to help each other stay motivated and to share progress and recipe's, so here are some of my photos that will soon be my "before" to my "after" photos. My goal is to lose 30 lbs. Within the next 6 months and be able to fit into all the jeans in my closet that are 2-3 sizes smaller than the ones I wear now. A few things I have decided to do to help me reach this goal is:

• Eliminate all soda.
• Complete a work out video at least 4x per week.
• Eat healthy (mostly following a nutrition plan from p90x).
• Free days per special occasion only and make a target or limit for those days.
• Drink a gallon of water a day.
• Step down from vitamin D whole milk to 2 % ... and so on.

After working out I always feel really good, your muscles are all pumped up and your feeling great because you just finished something really hard! This is when I like to take photos to help remind myself that I am doing a good job and to keep up the hard work and I will get where I want to be! These are a few of the pictures I have and hopefully the results will get better over the next couple months!

It's all about the protein!

Protein is a very important part of our diet, it helps us recover faster and helps us to stay healthy. I drink at least 2 protein shakes a day for a snack, after a workout, or for breakfast. You can also drink them with meals and snacks if you are trying to bulk up muscle or just bulk up in general. Here are some recipes for protein shakes I have enjoyed during my transition to a healthy life. These recipes are targeted to those of us trying to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Protein shake

 My all time favorite! - Provided by: Esther Mei Week

Ingredients:

• 3/4 Cup milk or Almond milk (Milk of your choice)
• 1/2 Banana
• 3 spoons full of Honey Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 cup ice
• Peanut butter chocolate protein powder (If you do not have this flavor, you can use regular chocolate protein powder and add 1 Tbs. peanut butter)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a blender or magic bullet and mix until ice is fully blended, enjoy!

A Good Recovery Drink 

Ingredients:

• Vanilla whey protein powder or Chocolate whey protein powder 
• Rice Milk (Almond milk or regular milk)
• 1Tbs. Peanut Butter
• 1 Banana -optional
• Ice

Directions: 

Combine all ingredients in a blender, enjoy!

Beginner's Green Smoothie 

Provided by: Esther Mei Weeks

• 2 cups of spinach
• 3 spoon fulls of Honey Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• Frozen half Banana
• Frozen 1/3 cup blueberries or raspberries
• 1/2 small apple
• 1/2 cup ice

Directions: 

Combine ingredients, blend, and serve.

Strawberry Banana Protein Shake 

Provided by: Cassandra Rasmussen 

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup strawberries 
• 3-4 ice cubes
• Vanilla whey protein powder 
• 1/2 banana
• 8 oz. milk 
• 3 spoons full of Honey Greek Yogurt 

Directions: 

Combine ingredients, blend well and serve. 

Helpful Tips

Hello everyone!

I wanted to remind you that eating healthy should not be a chore, more of a lifestyle change. You are going to mess up, and you are going to have a hard time. One thing to remember is to never give up. Here are a few things I have learned during my journey to rebuild a healthy life.

• Remember that you will make mistakes and that you will have another chance to do it again, your life is not over from eating a candy bar or a piece of pizza. Just remember to try your best at each meal.  
• Plan out your meals and it will help you to not give in to all the temptations around you. 
• If you are out at a family dinner or party just give yourself a limit and try to stick to it, especially during the holidays. 
• Eliminate the worst options, for example, going to eat at a fast food restaurant on a road trip or if you are in a hurry, instead of getting a full hamburger ask for a lettuce wrap substitute for the bun, or get a salad instead of a burger. Always try for the healthiest option and try to avoid eating really greasy fatty foods. 

Five guys Burger made into a lettuce wrap!

• Make a workout routine and print it off so that you can see it and be reminded of it everyday. This also helps you stay on track and record your progress.
• Lastly, Remember to have fun! 

more to come shortly... enjoy!

-Cassie

Greek Omelets!

     While our journey of weight loss, nutrition, and fitness will be packed with progress photos, successes, fears, and recipes - I thought I'd share this mornings breakfast recipe for our very first post. Greek Omelets :)

Ingredients you will need per omelet:

• Eggs, 2-3 depending on preference
• 1/4 onion (I love red onions, but yellow/white as well)
• 1/2 of a tomato. I use vine tomatoes, and never Roma
• Handful of fresh spinach - baby spinach is preferred
• Feta cheese

Directions:

• Start by dicing the tomato and onion.
• Saute the tomato and onion, using at least a small amount of butter or Pam to coat the pan

• Once the tomatoes and onion are nearly done (onions should be see through), add the spinach

• The spinach will only need a few moments, as it will start to wilt/shrink - and will be done. Make sure to flip the mixture so it evenly cooks.

• Beat the eggs, and pour them evenly over the tomatoes, onion, and spinach.

• Continue to cook the omelet to preference, flipping if necessary.
• Once the omelet is cooked to preference, add desired amount of feta cheese to half of the omelet, and fold over.

• Top with salt and pepper, and viola!

One thing to note, the omelet may come out with a burnt appearance. If you didn't burn it- the browning is just the color given from sauteing the tomatoes and onions.

Hope you enjoy it :)

Lynee