Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

To help you celebrate (the healthy way) I cam across a HEALTHY version of Chicken Enchiladas that are 21 Day Fix approved!

Chicken Enchiladas | What you’ll need:

1 Red container shredded chicken (braise or roast your own chicken breast and shred it yourself)

1 tsp 21 Day Fix southwest seasoning

2 – 6″ corn tortillas

1 Green container baby spinach (optional)

1 Green container homemade enchilada sauce 

1 Blue container shredded cheese

1 Orange container sliced black olives (optional)

What you’ll do:

1. Add shredded chicken, seasoning, and spinach to small frying pan with 1/4 cup of water and simmer together until spinach is wilted and seasoning coats chicken.

2. Soften tortillas in microwave for 15 seconds.

3. Roll each tortilla with half of chicken mixture.  Place in oven safe baking dish.

4. Pour Enchilada sauce over top of tortillas in dish

5. Sprinkle with cheese and olives

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees, or until cheese is melted and enchiladas are heated through.

7. Enjoy!

Counts for 2 enchiladas (made with optional ingredients) – 1 Red, 1 Orange, 1 Yellow, 2 Green, 1 Blue.  (I also count 1/2 tsp for the coconut oil used in the sauce).

This recipe is easy enough to make a single serving, or a whole batch with no extra work.  The hardest part is making the enchilada sauce, and even that isn't very hard.   

You could make a large batch of these and portion them out for lunches, or serve them to your family for dinner.  No one will know they are eating healthy!  Just be cautious about sticking to your portions.

Read more at http://www.alwaystime4fitness.com/21-day-fix-recipes-chicken-enchiladas/#Re5HCiqgkkjTtipH.99

21 Day Fix - Enchilada Sauce

21 Day Fix Recipes – Enchilada Sauce

This recipe is to go with the Chicken Enchilada recipe I posted.

Be forewarned, this sauce is truly a labor of love.  It’s a weekend recipe that freezes exceptionally well, so make a big batch to have on hand during a busy week when you need to throw together some enchiladas.

Enchilada Sauce | What you’ll need:

8 dried Guajillo chiles and 8 dried Ancho chiles (or any combo of dried chiles you may prefer) seeded and deveined.

5-6 ripe roma tomatoes

2 cups water (or beef stock, following your 21 Day Fix)

1 – sweet or yellow onion

3-4 cloves of garlic

1 tbsp cumin

2 tsp Mexican oregano

2 tsp refined coconut oil

21 Day Fix Recipes – Enchilada Sauce | What you’ll do:

1. Spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray (or use a paper towel and some extra virgin olive oil to grease the cookie sheet).  Place quartered onion, and tomatoes under the broiler for 7-10 minutes.  Keep an eye on them and stir ingredients as needed.  Get some good char on the veggies, but not to burn them.  Allow to cool.

2. ****Rinse chile’s under warm water.  Remove stems, seeds, and ribs (for a more mild sauce).  Place into a heat proof bowl.

****SAFETY NOTE:  Do not touch your eyes, nose, or any other sensitive part of your body after touching chiles.   If you happen to have latex or nitrile gloves in the house please use those while preparing this part of the recipe.

3.  Bring water/stock to a boil.  Pour over chiles and let steep for 45 minutes to an hour, or until cool.  Strain through fine mesh strainer, saving chile liquid.  

4.  ***Add strained chiles, tomatoes, onion, garlic and 1/2 of the chile liquid to blender or food processor.   Gently blend until combined.  Add remaining liquid and blend thoroughly.

***SAFETY NOTE: Be mindful of how full you fill your appliance with hot food items/liquids.  When blended these items will expand and can burn you if you’re not careful.  Never fill your blending receptacle more than 1/2 way full for safest results.

5.  Melt coconut oil over medium heat in a skillet large enough to hold your entire mixture, or do this in batches.  When oil is warm, but not hot, add spices and stir until fragrant (3-4 mins).  Be careful not to burn them.  Add strained chile mixture.  You can expect some sputtering, but this step is crucial for best flavor!  Simmer sauce for 5-10 minutes to allow flavors to combine.  If sauce is too thick you can thin it out with water.

And, Voila!  This recipe is ready to be used with your 21 Day Fix enchiladas.  Please use your Green container to portion out your sauce while assembling your little beauties.

When tallying your meals for the day I would recommend accounting for the coconut oil in the recipe, though the amount is miniscule when the sauce is portioned out.  I count it as 1/2 a tsp per green container, just to be safe.

Read more at http://www.alwaystime4fitness.com/21-day-fix-recipes-enchilada-sauce/#uu1vd3FyceDZ2kPj.99

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I'm Engaged!

 

Oh boy! That's right, I'm engaged. I've actually been engaged for an entire month now and I know it's been a very long time since I have wrote a blog. But it's Friday and I'm feeling inspired. I am so extremely happy there is no way words could express it. My fiance proposed to me on Christmas Eve. I haven't been a big fan of the holiday season for a long time. Something bad usually happens and I've been let down so many times by something that time of year that I seriously just gave up on having any Christmas spirit. Well this year was quite different and it completely changed my perspective on the season. First of all, I wasn't completely broke this year and I could buy everyone I wanted to gifts. I got a new wonderful job that I absolutely love. AND.... I was proposed to on Christmas Eve by the most AMAZING, loving, and respectful person I know. I'm on cloud nine!
I have the most gorgeous ring I have ever seen. It's actually mine and I get to wear it! I look at it so many times a day not only because it's gorgeous but because of who and what it reminds me of. So without further adieu here are some pictures!

Benefits of Exercise after Cancer

This is a feature article that was written by Liz Davies. Thank you Liz for your contribution!

Cancer patients experience a wide range of symptoms due to their treatments. Successfully beating cancer isn't the end of the fight. In fact, a patient may still feel a wide range of symptoms after they have officially beat cancer. Many of these symptoms come from the treatment itself.

These symptoms are often outside of the control of the patient. However, fatigue, depression, hopelessness and some physical pain can actually be relieved by exercise and proper nutrition. Before starting an exercise routine, patients should discuss the types of exercise they are capable of performing to avoid injury.

Fatigue can wear down a person with cancer and make it hard for them to get through their day. It can last for months even after your treatments. These treatments are important to save lives but the fatigue can often make them feel unbearable. Exercise will help increase metabolism and boost energy levels. An increased metabolism automatically creates more energy as it causes the body to break down and utilize all the calories in the body more effectively.

As a result, fatigue will often begin to disappear. Depression and hopelessness are the next symptoms that are lessened by exercise. These symptoms are relieved due to endorphins that are released in your body during exercise. These endorphins are designed to help relieve physical pain and also help boost your mood. So, endorphins offer a dual benefit: relieving physical as well as mental pain. This benefit has been tested multiple times in patients, with the result always being positive.

Other studies have also found that patients that are physically fit, active and not overweight have lower remission rates and higher success rates. Patients that simply cannot be bothered to exercise may find their cancer coming back quickly and with even worse symptoms. Exercise has been shown to eliminate remission rates of certain cancers by almost 50%. In fact, exercise and proper nutrition can even serve as a way to eliminate the chance of getting cancer in the first place.

What kinds of exercise are appropriate after cancer? That all depends on the severity of the disease and the health of the patient. Patients should always talk to their doctor before beginning a routine. Aerobics, strength, balance and stretching exercises should all be integrated but some cancers like lung cancer and mesothelioma causes patients to focus on more cardio based exercises. Proper nutrition should focus on highly balanced, high protein diets designed to rebuild your body after surviving your cancer treatments.

Liz Davies is a recent college graduate and aspiring writer especially interested in health and wellness. She wants to make a difference in people’s lives because she sees how cancer has devastated so many people in this world. Liz also likes running, playing lacrosse, reading and playing with her dog, April. If you have any questions, contact Liz at healthylizd@gmail.com.

I Gave Up, Then Came to My Senses!

If you're new to the exercise game, getting back into it, or are a seasoned pro we ALL go through the same day where we absolutely DO NOT want to work out. My day was today.

I go through the same thing about every Tuesday. Why it's Tuesday? I don't know. It just always seems like the day I go through this. I start off the day great, work is busy enough and mid afternoon I hit a little bit of a lull, but then get a second wind and start to get excited and pumped to get home and workout. I head out of work a little early to pick up my youngest from daycare, stop by the grocery store for some supplies then head home. I get in the door and what I had originally planned to take place, didn't. As those of us with kids know all too well, right?!! So I start to get supper ready, get the oldest started on his reading for the night, and have the youngest playing some learning games on the computer. We sit down to eat spaghetti. I do have to mention that I used this new fettuccine Miracle Noodle, which is a noodle that has zero calories. One thing I forgot to do was pat down the pasta after rinsing it so my spaghetti was really runny and I couldn't quite stomach the clear, squid looking calorie-less noodles. Fettuccine is my least favorite pasta, so maybe that was it. I have angel hair and rice, so I will try those and see how that goes. Anyway, back to my original story. Got done eating. Helped oldest with his Spanish homework, cuddled with my youngest while my oldest painted his model airplane. My most awesome and thoughtful friend brought me a shovel, because he knew it was supposed to snow tonight and that I didn't have one. Shortly after that, got my kids up to get ready for bed and while they brushed their teeth, I got into my workout clothes, with almost every intention of working out. Got boys tucked in and kissed goodnight and after 30 minutes of "mom, i pooped, come wipe my butt", "mom, I'm scared of the dark can you turn the bathroom light on", "mom, i can't sleep with the light on", "mom, brother won't let me have the light on and I'm scared and want to sleep in your room" I finally get them settled into bed with a compromise of the bathroom light on but with the door mostly shut so it doesn't bother my oldest. By time I get downstairs to work out, I feel exhausted and depleted of my "excitement" to work out. So I start the normal conversation I have with myself and almost convince myself that suuuurrrreeee, I will totally wake up early the next morning and do two workouts to make up for my lack of one tonight. Then I sit down look at my computer and remember all the people I am accountable to. My almost 2,000 Twitter followers, my almost 400 friends on Facebook, my 60 Facebook Page fans, my accountability partner Cal with whom we are doing a Beachbody Challenge, the people I talk to every day to explain this wonderful business I am called Beachbody, my boys who look up to me as a role model and lastly, but certainly not least, myself! I am doing this for myself! No one else can push me or make me do it, but ME!! So I switch my attitude and start listening to the Chalene Johnson voice in me that tells me, "ok, you wanna flake out on your workout, fine, but you gotta do at least 5 minutes". So I do, I start with 5 minutes. But you know what, I kept going. Once you start, it's easy to keep going.

I finished my workout and although I do still feel tired, I'm extremely proud of myself and glad I did it. I didn't give up on myself. Even the best of us have bad days and want to give up but it's how you reverse that conversation with yourself to make sure that you DON'T give up that is most important.

You are the only person standing in your path to success, get out of your own way!

Skinny Phoenix

2012 New Year Goals

As the year comes to a close and the new one fast approaching, everyone is starting to think about resolutions. Did you realize that 80% of people never achieve their resolutions?! Astonishing. Mainly it's because people make resolutions without a MAP (massive action plan). So in an effort to make sure my GOALS (I use goals rather than resolutions), as well as yours, for the new year come to fruition I am going to lay out some steps to help in the success of achieving them.

Step 1 - Write down your top 10 goals for 2012. When you write them, write them as if it's the end of 2012 and they have already happened. For example, I lost 30 pounds and cut my body fat percentage to 12%.

Step 2 - Be specific with your goals. Simply saying, "I'm going to lose weight" isn't specific enough and you won't have anything to "measure". See the above example? I set 30 pounds as my goal and also had a goal of getting to 12% body fat.

Step 3 - Set a specific deadline for each goal. Be realistic when setting your goal. Don't say I will lose 30 pounds by Feb. 15, when you are starting January 1st. Also, don't be too lax on a deadline either. Saying you will lose 30 pounds by the end of the year is too broad and you are more likely to keep putting it off.

Step 4 - Stay Accountable. Tell several close friends your goals, or better yet, get an accountability partner. This way you'll both hold each other accountable for your goals and you're more likely to stick to them.

Step 5 - Break it down. Break down your goals into smaller short term tasks that will help achieve your goal. If one of your major goals is losing weight then working out, healthy eating, daily food tracking etc. should be on your list of daily to-do's.

Step 6 - Celebrate. Don't forget to celebrate achievements. Especially in the process of reaching your goal. It will keep you motivated. My best example of this is that I get to buy a new outfit after losing 10 pounds. Don't reward yourself with things that are going to sabotage your ultimate goal. Like gorging on an ice cream bender to DQ. Use things that will keep you motivated to sticking to your plan.

Finally when you have set your goals, only tackle those that you know you can handle. Trying to take on 6 goals at once is going to lead to stress, derailment and failure. Focus is KEY! I cannot stress enough. It's once we lose our focus that we start to fail.

So get cracking! Write down those goals, tell your friends, and find the tools to make sure you will succeed this year. You can do it, I know you can!!

If you need an accountability partner, look me up on Facebook. I run Challenges regularly and I am here to help you!

Cheers, love and prosperity to all in the New Year!

Skinny Phoenix