Banana Split Bites

I am a sucker for sweets and desserts!! So I wanted to come up with something that could satisfy my sweet tooth but not make me feel guilty! Here is what I came up with!! 

Ingredients: 

Banana

Strawberries

Pineapple

Semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Cut up your fruit and stack them on the toothpicks. I did a pineapple, banana & strawberry! You can add as many pieces of fruit as you would like! In a sauce pan on medium heat put in the chocolate chips and stir until melted. Then put the melted chocolate on a plate and roll your fruit (already on the toothpicks) in the chocolate. Put them on a plate and then put it in the refrigerator for 5 minutes until chocolate hardens! Enjoy!!! 

Pork Carnitas

I have an unhealthy obsession with any kind of Mexican food! If I could eat it daily I would!! When I saw this recipe I started drooling!! 

I have never been a big fan of pork before but my husband loves it! I had put the pork in the crockpot in the morning and left for the whole afternoon and when we came through the door my mouth was watering when the smell hit my nose!! I got this recipe from my coach Melanie Mitro but changed it up just a bit!

 

Ingredients:

2-3lbs pork loin 

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 cup of water 

The Rub:

2 Tbsp Chili powder

2 tsp Ground Cumin

1 tsp Garlic powder

1 tsp Onion powder

1 tsp Oregano

1 tsp Sea Salt

For Carnitas:

Corn Tortillas

1 can Black or pinto beans

Shredded romaine lettuce

Tomatoes

Cheese

Greek yogurt (in place of sour cream)

Directions:

Make your rub by mixing all of the seasonings and coat it on the pork loin. Place the seasoned pork loin in a crockpot with 1 1/2 cups water and bay leaf on low and let cook for 6-8 hours. Make sure to check on it so it doesn't dry out! Mine only took 6 hours! It should fall apart and shred with a fork when done! 

In a pan add your beans and 1/2 cup of water and cook on medium heat. When they are done you can eat them while or mash them! 

Place the corn tortillas on a baking sheet and brush a thin coat of olive oil on them and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until you reach the desired crispness. 

Now just dress your tortillas with the fixings!!!

I hope you ENJOY this as much as we did!! 

Lasagna Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

I have been thinking about using spaghetti squash for awhile now and I don't know what took me so long!?!

I love it and so did my whole family!!! 

My husband really loves pasta so this is a great alternative to use sometimes!! 

You can do so much with it and I can't wait to try more! 

Here is how I made it. It isn't completely clean (I used canned spaghetti sauce) but its still healthy!! 

Ingredients:

1 Large Spaghetti Squash 

1 can traditional spaghetti sauce

1lb lean ground beef or ground turkey

1/4 onion

1 clove garlic

1/2-3/4 cup1% low fat cottage cheese

Mozzarella cheese

EVOO

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the spaghetti squash length wise in half and clean out all of the seeds and middle of squash. After they are both cleaned out spread EVOO(about 1/4 tsp) on each half. Place the squash face down in baking dishes. Cook for 40-60 minutes depending on the squash size. Mine took about 45 minutes. 

While those are cooking brown the ground beef or turkey in a skillet and add the pressed garlic and onion until cooked. Then add the can of spaghetti sauce. In a separate bowl mix the cottage cheese and a handful of Mozzarella cheese together. 

When the spaghetti squash is done cooking (you will know its done if it easily shreds with a fork). Then place some of the cottage cheese mixture in each squash halfway full. Then add the sauce mixture in each squash until full. Add cheese to the tops of each squash. Then put them in the oven on BROIL for a couple of minutes. Make sure to check on them because it can burn easily! 

Eat it right away and right out of the squash!! 

This recipe fed my husband, myself, my almost 3 year old and my almost 1 year old!! 

I hope you enjoy as much as we did!!

T25 & Brazil Butt Lift Week 2 Menu

I spend every Sunday meal planning, going grocery shopping and prepping my meals! Here is a menu I put together for this week. I am trying different Shakeology recipes everyday this week! I am also allowing myself 3 cheat meals a week because it is my birthday on Friday!! I am now maintaining weight and this is what works for me! When I first started out I only allowed myself 1 cheat meal a week. I recommend this for anyone starting out!!

Some pointers on eating to keep your metabolism going all day long. I am not a nutritionist but this is what I have done and it works for me!

• Aim to eat every 2-3 hours
• Eat 5-6 small meals a day
• Prep your meals before hand (ex. bag up your snacks so they are easy to grab and go)
• Drink plenty of water every day (1/2 of your body weight in ounces each day)
• Always pair a complex carb with a protein (ex. plain unsalted almonds(14) and an apple)
• Watch your portion sizes (this is a big one because you CAN overeat healthy foods

I practice the 80/20 way of eating. I like to eat as healthy as I can 80% of the time but enjoy food (in moderation) 20% of the time! I feel like you should allow yourself a cheat meal once a week (while you are starting out only one) so you are not depriving yourself and you are more likely to stay on track this way! 

If you have any questions about how to make a meal plan I would love to help you! 

You can find me on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/ashley.weaver.566 or email me @ ashley_weaver10@hotmail.com. 

3 Day Shakeology Cleanse

I had been eating not so well the last couple of weeks...I had just gotten off track. So I decided I needed a jump start to get back on track! I talked with one of my girlfriends and she decided she would do a cleanse with me! The cleanse helps get rid of the toxins in your body and fat. It helps jump start your weight loss too!

We started the cleanse on Monday and ended it Wednesday night. it was a long 3 days but totally worth it!! We drank 3 shakes a day for the first day but the 2nd and 3rd we just drank 2 a day and replaced the 3rd shake with a piece of fruit! You aren't starving yourself like most cleanses you still get to eat dinner! I had never been more excited for grilled chicken, salad and veggies!! By day 3 I was excited to have finished my last shake!  

After this I felt so much better!! I definitely shrank my stomach because when I went to eat on Thursday I could hardly eat very much!! My friend Kayli lost 3.7 pounds and I lost 6.4 pounds!! Not to shabby for 3 days!!! 

 I decided I will do a one day cleanse every Monday! It is a great way to kick off the week!! Don't do the cleanse more than 3 days in a row and I would suggest doing it only once a month! 

If you would like to do a cleanse I have kits available!! Just comment below, message me through Facebook or shoot me an email!!

21 Day Fix Results

I am really late at posting our 21 Day Fix results! I am actually impressed since we didn't follow the eating portion 100%! 

Things I have learned: 

1) I have gained a booty from the AWESOME workouts! 

2) My husband is AWESOME!!!

3) I have learned what a proper portion size is.

I really have learned what a proper portion size looks like! I will be able to use this daily no matter what I am eating. I don't have to use the containers anymore. I can just see what a portion size should be just by looking at something now! I am back to my normal 80/20 clean eating but following the proper portion sizes! 

I absolutely LOVE these workouts! I have always lacked having a booty but these workouts have really shaped it up! I am proud to say that I have one now!!! I ended up losing 5 pounds during my 21

days and have leaned out a lot! I always got back into my high school jeans!!! (I am a bit of a clothes hoarder) 

They don't fit like they did then but I pulled them right up and they zipped!!!  

My husband is so awesome!! He lost 18 pounds!!! He has always been in shape but then we got married and had kids. You know how that goes! You put others before yourself and it sneaks up on you. I couldn't believe how quickly it melted off of him!!! 

We out going on a trip to Cancun with Beachbody next April and it just happens to be our 5 year wedding anniversary that year so we are trying to get in awesome shape! We want to look better than we did on our honeymoon!! Well at least we are going to try our hardest!!! 

Healthy Pizza

21 Day Fix approved!!

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flat bread/lavish bread

Lean ground beef or turkey(red container)

Cheese(blue container)

Onions and mushrooms(green container)

*I made extra you will have to measure out your containers for each pizza!

Sauce:

1 (15oz) can tomato paste

Garlic powder

Sea salt

Basil

Oregano

Pepper

(All to taste)

This makes extra sauce that you can freeze!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In a medium pan brown the beef or turkey until done. Add in the mushrooms and onions and cook for a few minutes. 

In a small bowl mix the tomato paste with all of the seasonings. Spread desired amount of sauce onto the flat bread. Add the ground beef or turkey, mushrooms, onions and cheese. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or your desired crispiness of the crust!! 

Enjoy!!

Easy Shrimp Stir Fry

This is such an easy meal to throw together!! My husband is a big stir fry fan so I had to come up with something for him to eat and I actually enjoyed it too!! 

Ingredients:

Veggie Stir Fry Mix (frozen)

Shrimp (deveined, thawed out)

EVOO

fiesta lime seasoning (I use Mrs. Dash no salt added)

Directions:

Put your shrimp in a bowl and sprinkle the seasoning on it and stir. 

Cook the stir fry veggies how the package suggests ( I used the microwave).

In a large skillet over medium heat add some EVOO to the pan. Put the shrimp in the pan and cook until shrimp are thoroughly cooked. Turn the heat down to low. Then add the veggies to the pan with the shrimp and stir. Cook for 3-5 minutes and then serve. You can serve over brown rice or whole wheat angel hair pasta! Enjoy!! 

Clean Eating: Pasta with Chicken and Broccoli

I am always searching for recipes that my son will eat! I am slowly transitioning him into eating healthier but still letting him be a kid!! I finally found an AWESOME cookbook that has kid friendly recipes!! It is The Eat-Clean Diet for Family & Kids by Tosca Reno. It is super easy to make and so yummy!! I added a little cheese to it which made it extra yummy!! 

Ingredients:

8oz of whole wheat bow tie pasta

4 cups frozen broccoli florets 

1 cup frozen peas

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

cut into little pieces

1 tsp chicken seasoning

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp chili powder

1 tsp dried basil 

2 Tbsp EVOO

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

Shredded Parmesan cheese(I used a handful)

Ground black pepper- to taste

Sea Salt- to taste

Directions: 

In a large pot cook the pasta, toss in the frozen broccoli and peas into the boiling water for the last few minutes of cooking. Drain the water. 

Place the cubed chicken into a large ziplock bag with the chicken seasoning, chili powder, basil and paprika with a little drizzle of EVOO. Toss around until chicken is evenly seasoned.

In a large skillet add the EVOO and heat on medium. Add the chicken and cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked. 

Add the chicken into the pasta mixture. Add the yogurt, salt, pepper and cheese and mix! 

Enjoy!!! 

Easy Caramelized Baked Chicken and Cleaned Up Cheesy Potatoes

I am always searching for yummy healthy recipes when I came across this one. I found the caramelized baked chicken on eezyrecipes.com. I also decided to pair it up with one of my favorite not so healthy cheesy potatoes! I LOVE cheese!! It is not natural the love that I have for it...anyways so I decided to try to tweak them to make them healthier. This dinner was husband and kid approved!!

Enjoy!!


Easy Caramelized Baked Chicken

Ingredients:

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 TBSP EVOO
1/2 cup soy sauce (low sodium)
2 TBSP ketchup
1 cup honey
1 clove garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl mix the EVOO, soy sauce, ketchup, honey, minced garlic, salt and pepper together until blended well. Put the chicken breasts into a greased baking dish and pour the mixture into it covering the chicken. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour or until chicken is cooked and caramelized.


Cheesy Potatoes

Ingredients:

Frozen potatoes (I use southern style)
1 can of cream of chicken
6-8 oz of plain low fat Greek yogurt
onion (I use about 1/4 of an onion)
1/2 cup Colby Monterrey Jack cheese
salt and pepper to taste

*add a little milk to it if it needs thinned out a bit

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Dice up the onion and saute it with a little EVOO. Put the cream of chicken, Greek yogurt, cheese, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix up. If the mixture is a little thick add a little milk to thin it out some. Then add the potatoes and sauteed onion to the mixture and mix well. Place it into a greased pan and bake for 30-40 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.

*If you want to add a little crunch you can take a handful of corn flakes and crush them up and add them to a TBSP of melted butter and stir up. Then sprinkle them on top in the last 15-20 minutes of cooking.

Chicken Nuggets and Fries

When I decided that I wanted to start cleaning up my diet I wanted to make sure it was something my family would eat. My husband always dreaded when he knew I was starting a diet! So this time I wanted to make sure to change that! I started by taking some of our favorite recipes and just cleaned them up the best I could. One of my sons favorite meals is chicken nuggets and fries so I ended up with this recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

Chicken Nuggets

Ingredients:

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups of whole wheat bread crumbs
2-3 egg whites
1/2 cup of Colby Monterrey Jack cheese
1 TBSP Paprika
1 TBSP Chili Powder
1 TBSP Garlic Powder
1 TBSP Onion Powder
1/2-1 TBSP Cayenne (this is spicy so add none or as much as you like)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the chicken breasts into nugget sized pieces. Put the egg whites into a small bowl and in another bowl put the bread crumbs, cheese, all of the spices and mix together. Dip the chicken nugget pieces into the egg whites and then into the bread crumb mixture and get a good coat on them. Then, place them on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until crispy on the outside.

Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:

2-3 Large sweet potatoes
EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
Seasoned salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash and peel the sweet potatoes. Place them into a plastic ziplock bag with some EVOO and seasoned salt. I just make sure they get a good coat but a little seasoned salt goes a long ways! Then put them onto a greased baking sheet and bake 25-30 minutes or until crispy on the outside!


Enjoy!