Clean Honey Mustard Dressing

This is soooo amazing!

Food Shaming.... Not Me!

One side effect of coaching I have come to discover is that I'm finding myself involved in more and more conversations about food.  At first it was conversations about my food and what I eat.  That's fair.  I kind of expected that.  But here lately, I've found myself smack-dab in the middle of other's explaining to ME why they are eating what and how they are eating....

I have to laugh... I mean, I am not an expert at all.  I also don't walk around judging people for what they put in their mouths.  Hear me when I say that.... I do NOT judge you for what you put into your mouth.  I enjoy my meals.  I eat yummy things.  Heck, I drink a chocolate shake every day for breakfast :)

Also hear me say, that if it makes you feel better to confess to me (yes, I get confessionals as well), then please do it.  But please know that I am not perfect.  The same foods you eat, I want to eat... and I do find them in my mouth sometimes.  

We are in this together.  I am not better than you.  You are not better than me.  And at the end of the day, don't feel bad about what you've eaten.  It happened.  You ate it.  Move on.  Don't stop your forward momentum because you had a Kit Kat (or 3) from the front office candy jar (See what I did there... I just confessed to you!)

Zesty Sriracha Shrimp and Quinoa

Ingredients:
*1 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
*1 cup quinoa
*1 1/2 cup water
*1 tsp pepper
*2 cloves garlic, finely minced
*1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
*1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
*1 tsp Sriracha

Directions:
1.  In a medium bowl combine soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, pepper and Sriracha.  Stir until well blended.  Set aside.
2.  In a large pot, cook quinoa accoeding yo package directions.
3.  While quinoa is cooking, heat the sauce in a frying pan over medium heat.  Add shrimp to pan.  When the shrimp is cooked through and the sauce has reduced so it's thickened, add quinoa and stir until combined.

Look Back, Not Forward

Look back, not forward??  I'm sure that is the opposite of every thing you've ever been told.  But it's the one thing I'd tell myself if I could go back in time to last year.

This time last year I had lost about 8 pounds and 10 inches.  I'd just finished my 6th week of T25.  I was down a pants size and feeling great.  I walked into Target to get new shorts.  I took shorts in my new size into the dressing room.  Cute mint green shorts, size 11/12.  I put them on and the material wouldn't even touch.  Much less the button to the hole.  I immediately lost it.  Ugly tears.  I was angry... Beyond frustrated.  I wanted to quit.  Why keep going when it wasn't paying off?

Truth is... It was paying off.  The proof was in the progress pics I'd been taking.  The proof was in my energy level.  So why did this send me over the edge?  Easy.... It was the reminder of how far I still had to go.  It looked daunting back then.  It seemed hopeless.

I'm forever grateful that I didn't give up on myself.  I kept going.  I am thankful to have given myself the opportunity to have my next ugly cry.  It was in American Eagle in August of last year.  I went to try on jeggings.  I took in 10s and they were too big.  Cautiously I asked for an 8... Not wanting to get too excited.  They fit.  Cue the ugly cry... I was excited.  I was in disbelief.  It was happening.

When this journey seems to much, think about where you began.  Congratulate yourself on your accomplishments.  The journey is long... It's a marathon, not a sprint.  If you're in this for the right reasons, you will be rewarded.  Hang in there.  I know what it feels like.  I know it feels impossible.  But it IS possible.  I'm proof.

first 12 weeks of my journey

70% kitchen, 30% workout

The first 30 days of Insanity Max 30 are in the books.  I've tracked my Max Out times and pushed myself to surpass those times as the weeks went on.  I have almost doubled my Cardio Challenge time (which is a program goal) and I more than doubled my Friday Fight time.  The workouts were fun, yet challenging.  I love, love, love Shaun T so I knew this was a logical purchase for me.  

This brings me to the title of this post.  I gave 100% to the workouts.  I pushed myself farther and modified way less.  My results were good but my diet is holding me back.  There is no such thing as a bad workout.... But bad nutrition is very real.  And you can't undo a bad diet with great workouts.  

We have been cleaning up our diet.  Jon, Kara and I have found a lot of new recipes that we all enjoy.  They can be found under my recipes tab.  I haven't packed a sandwich for lunch since this began 30 days ago--which is HUGE for me.  I was a peanut butter and banana every day packer for years.  Since this began, I've been a spinach salad every day packer. 

So what am I doing wrong?  The occassional 2:00 pm run to the soda machine (I know, I know).  The handfuls of almonds while I'm making dinner.  The Dairy Queen run the night of the power outage. The BoJangles on Friday night because the first week back after Spring Break meant I "deserved" it.  Ugh... I deserve that?!?  What was I thinking!?

What I deserve is for my hard work at 4:45 am each morning to not be for nothing. What I deserve is to stick to the planned meals I've already got prepped.  What I deserve is not having to go through caffeine withdrawal the next day because I had to have a soda.  I deserve to be fighting disease, not feeding it.  Most importantly Kara deserves all of this.  If I can't be strong enough for myself, the next 30 I will be strong enough for her!

Results:

3 pounds lost in 30 days

3.25 inches

Another pant size down.

Almond Crusted Chicken

Almond Crusted Chicken


 Ingredients:

1lb bag of raw unsalted almonds
Egg Whites
Paprika
Garlic
Onion
Salt
Pepper
**This makes much more breading than I need, but I just bag it and refrigerate the rest until the next time I make it again.
Directions:
 
Almond Flour: Blend all ingredients except for egg whites in a food processor to taste (honestly just toss about a tablespoon each spice in and then just a dash of salt and pepper) until it is very fine and soft, almost flour like...It's ok if there are still bits of almond that aren't ground up all the way.  I actually had larger chunks in mine and it tasted really good!  I loved the texture!

Start with 6-8 raw chicken breast; trim off all of the fat and cut them into individual portion sizes. Place each breast between plastic wrap and pound until they are thin. Then, I dredge each piece of chx thru either an all egg white bath or sometimes i'll just use water. Shake off the excess egg white (or water) and then dip both sides of the chx breast in the almond flour/breading put on onto aluminum foil lined baking sheet and cook.

I like my chicken crispy on top so I bake it the following way: 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Half way through the baking process I pull the chx out and flip so the underside isn't soggy... then with about 4-5 minutes left I put the broiler on and let them get nice and golden brown on top!

Chicken Tacos

• 1 pound chicken breast--cubed       

               *cook and season with paprika, chili powder, garlic powder and cumin. I don't measure, I just shake

• Pico de Gallo
• Greek Yogurt
• Black Beans--cooked
• Wheat Wraps
• Quinoa--cook according to the package directions

After the chicken, black beans and quinoa are cooked, assemble your taco to your liking.