Sweet Potato Stew

After a long morning of working with my team and scheduling our upcoming Fitness Accountability groups, I was feeling very productive and wanted to go ahead and get dinner taken care of!

Do you ever look in your fridge and grab everything that needs to be cooked before it goes bad, put it together with a few more ingredients, and make a meal out of it?  This is one of my favorite ways to cook...just throwing things together and crossing my fingers it turns out OK.  =)

Today I had some meat that I had thawed a couple days ago to make Taco Soup, never got around to it, and now it needed to be cooked before it went bad.  I also had some sweet potatoes that were on the verge of growing roots into my pantry floor, so those needed to be cooked too.  I figured I could make this work so I grabbed some more ingredients and alas...Sweet Potato Stew was made, it was eaten, and it was a 10 out of 10 for everyone!

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs lean ground meat
• 16 oz frozen spinach or 1 can of spinach
• 3 sweet potatoes
• 3 vegetable bullion cubes
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can ranch style beans
• 1 can green beans
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1-2 cans of water depending on your preference
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Brown the meat in a pot.  Drain if needed.
• While it's cooking, peel and dice your sweet potatoes and then add them to the pot, keeping it covered to cook to potatoes.  
• Once all the potatoes are in the pot you can add in the remaining ingredients (potatoes will not be cooked through yet) and let simmer on low for 4 hours. 
• Once it was time to eat we topped our stew with mozzarella cheese and paired it with HEB Gluten Free Cornbread.  This is seriously the BEST gluten free cornbread I have ever had!  

Could dinner be any easier?  Try it and let me know what you think!!  

 

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

Stuffed Bell Peppers...I see them everywhere and they're a great idea but once they're made how the heck do you eat them?!  We just cut them up which then made me wonder why we stuff them in the first place instead of just chopping the peppers from the beginning but I guess that's because the peppers would get too soft?!  Something to think about but regardless they were delicious and my 7 & 5 year old actually gave me a hug and thanked me while they praised how yummy they were! =) I was pretty shocked and made a mental note that I will keep this recipe on the list of regulars!  I actually made this recipe up...  I've seen lots of different recipes out there that I've wanted to try but last night my daughter had gymnastics and I didn't have a clue what I was cooking for dinner.  I got home and decided I would throw some things together to make a healthy dish and this is what I decided on!  I'm pretty proud of the spinach addition because nobody would EVER know it's in there!  So healthy and so yummy!!   Try them yourself and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

• Quinoa
• 6 Bell Peppers
• 2 pounds lean ground turkey or I used venison from our freezer (perks of a hunter husband!) which is super lean.
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 TBSP coconut oil
• 1 cup chopped spinach (I chopped fresh spinach in my food processor) 
• 2 tomatoes, diced OR you can use 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 3 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning (it's salt free!)
• pepper to taste (a little salt is delicious but if you're doing the 21 Day Fix then don't add it!)
• grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

Cook Quinoa according to box.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the top of each bell pepper and rinse out seeds. If you need to trim some of the pepper on the bottom so it stands up on the pan you can! 

Place foil on a pan or casserole dish and place bell peppers inside.

Heat coconut oil in large skillet and add onion, garlic, and chopped spinach and saute for 5 minutes or until soft.

Add the ground meat and cook through.

Add the tomatoes and spices and mix well.  

Once Quinoa is finished, mix it in the skillet and blend.

Tightly stuff the mixture into the peppers and then top with shredded cheese.  

Bake for 30 minutes.  ENJOY!!!!  Please share or pin this recipe with someone you think would like it!  How do you eat your stuffed peppers?  

Day 15 of the 21 Day Fix

I woke up early this morning feeling on FIRE!  I have rocked these first 2 weeks in my opinion and I am feeling fantastic!  I have energy, feel tighter/thinner, and who POPS out of bed ready for their workouts at 5:00?  Not the old me, but apparently the new me does!  I LOVE it!!

So today started my last week and I chose to do the DOUBLE week! I started by drinking my E&E and then pushed play to Total Body Cardio Fix and killed it!  I can tell that I'm getting a lot stronger and I actually had to buy some heavier weights (I was using 5 lbs, so I bought some 8 lb.).  After that I did Pilates Fix which was a great stretch and "Active Rest" compared to the cardio!

I did change my regular Banana Nutter Shakeology up today and made this delicious Cinnamon Roll recipe!  My kids loved it too so I made them one to enjoy as well!  

Today was a holiday and 2 of my kids had playdates scheduled so I took my middle daughter to the movies to see Annie.  I used to think to enjoy myself at the movies I had to experience everything by ordering a large coke, popcorn, sneaking in my box of Hot Tamales, and enjoying them during the movie.  This time I had water and brought in a pear plus a handful of my daughters popcorn.  Sounds boring but it was still really good and I was proud of myself for sticking to the plan.  Obviously we really enjoyed our time together so I am learning I don't have to indulge to experience something or enjoy myself!  Again, thinking about what I CAN have and not what I CANT!  =)

For dinner we had grilled chicken, mushrooms, and veggies!  We used salt free Mrs. Dash to season it with and everyone in the family enjoyed it!  My husband has seen how I've changed over the last 2 weeks (inside and out) and decided today that he wants to start THE FIX too!  I am so excited and happy for him!  So we took his before pictures and started planning.  We prepped chicken, fish, veggies, fruit, eggs, seasoning, and a bag of Shakeology for him to take to work and have on hand for snacks and lunches!  After we cooked it, we measured it with the containers and bagged it all up!  He did his workout and his journey has begun!  So excited to watch it change him like it has me!  I will update on his journey on my blog too!

Dinner is served!

 

Day 15 down, 6 more to go!

Day 13 of the 21 Day Fix

Today is Saturday...I used to never work out on Saturdays!  Those were my rest days and I couldn't imagine it any other way.  Until now.  I LOVE Dirty Thirty days!  This is my favorite workout of them all!  It has the cardio, it has the weights, I get a great workout but don't feel like I'm dying...it's perfect!

Today I tried E & E before my workout,  I had never tried it before so I wanted to give it a shot! I drank it about 15 minutes before my workout and loved it!  I felt energized but not gittery and I killed my workout!  These will be my new favorite thing on those days that you just can't seem to wake up!

 That afternoon my son had a basketball game and wanted to drink a pre-game Shakeology!  =)  My kids are obsessed with the stuff and I am happy to give it to them!  He had a great game and made 3 baskets!  This is our first year playing basketball and we're all loving it!  I'm so proud of my boy!

His fans!  =)

13 down, 8 more to go!

Day 12 of the 21 Day Fix

I have started waking up early and getting my workouts done before my day gets started and I LOVE IT!  There were a few workouts I did super late at night, one at 10:30, and I just don't like doing that!  I feel amazing when I get up and get it done for the day instead of it hanging over my head and me wondering when I'm going to fit it in as things pop up in our schedule!

So today was Cardio Fix and it's a killer!  =)  The Knee Highs in Round 1 are hard and even though you don't have your breath yet, it's time to start the next move so it's tough!  I learned I shouldn't drink too much water during the breaks because their is too much bouncing going on during these 30 minutes!  I really love the skater jumps and the lunges in round 3 are a breath of fresh air!  =)  When she said there was a Bonus Round I was none too pleased but pushed through anyway!  It's tough but I felt great afterwards!

 For lunch I had a delicious taco salad: 1 G, 1 Y, 1 R.

 Later in the day when I was wanting to snack I made some tea instead!  I tried Passion Tea and sweetened it with a little Stevia and honey and it was really good and helped me get through the afternoon without stuffing my face!  =)

That night I got together with some friends and we all went out and got pedicures and then went to my friends house for a fun night in with homemade, organic facials!  It was exactly what we Mommas needed!  We giggled and laughed like we were 13 year olds at a slumber party!  It was so much fun!  We are all in my Challenge Group so we were very good and stuck with healthy snacks and portions!  Wine=Yellow

Be sure to make time for friends who make you better!  These girls definitely do that for me!  

Day 12 down, 9 more to go!!

Day 7 of the 21 Day Fix

Ahhh, the end of the first week!  Very rewarding to make it this far and know I'm a third of the way done!  =)  Today I had my Shakeology on the way to church and then had a salad when we got home.  Nothing spectacular that I thought was picture worthy!  =)  Then we had some friends come over to watch football and eat.  My hubby can make a mean pot of chili and it was perfect on this cold day!

He doesn't really measure things out but here are the ingredients:

• Ground meat (we use deer venison but you should use turkey to make it leaner than beef!)
• onion
• garlic
• cumin
• rosemary
• chili powder
• green chili's
• diced tomatoes
• ranch style beans
• salt (don't add salt if you can help it while on The Fix.)  

We then cook some rice and pour it over rice with a little cheese on top.  Delish!!

I used my containers to measure everything out and when everyone went for seconds and had dessert, I stuck to the plan...it was hard, but I did it!  =)

Then once my family went to bed I realized I hadn't done my workout yet today.  I couldn't skip it because I've been determined to make it through this whole thing and doubling up the next day wasn't going to cut it, so at 10:15 I pushed play and got my Yoga Fix on!

At first I thought it was going to be awful.  I'm not much of a yoga person, it's hard for me to slow down, and I really didn't think I could do it for a full 30 minutes.  Once it got to the balancing moves I started enjoying it and the stretching really felt amazing!  Overall, it was nice to have a "rest" day from the harder workouts and just stretch!  

Day 7 down, 14 more to go!

My Version of Goulash

What is Goulash?  

I looked it up and here is the definition: a soup or stew of meat and vegetables, seasoned with paprika and other spices.  So I guess I really can call this Goulash, right?!  Sounds legit to me!  =)

There are so many different versions of it but this is mine and it was GOOD!  I'm talking, not one complaint from my 7, 5, or 3 year old good...just silence and slurping as they ate!  Now, that's saying something!  =)

I like to cook with what I have at home and I've been known for just throwing a bunch of things in a pot and hoping it tastes good.  Sometimes it's downright awful but sometimes it's a keeper like this soup!  When a meal is easy, healthy, delicious AND all 5 members of my family love it...JACKPOT!!  

Here's my recipe and if you have a favorite Goulash Recipe I'd love to hear about it in the comments!  

ENJOY!!  XOXO

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of lean meat (I use venison/beef because our freezer is full of lean meat from my husbands deer but you should use lean beef or you could try lean ground turkey).
• 1 bunch of celery
• 1 sweet onion
• Carrots (I used baby carrots and just kept slicing until desired amount!)
• 6 red potatoes (again you can add as many or as little as you like)
• 3 cloves fresh garlic
• 1 can of corn
• water
• 4 Beef Bouillon cubes
• salt to taste
• pepper
• shredded cheddar cheese to garnish with

Directions:

• Peel your potatoes and then dice/chop your celery, onion, carrots and potatoes.
• Press your garlic if it's not already minced.
• Cook your meat, garlic and onion in a pot until it is brown
• Add all your vegetables to the pot
• Add your can of corn, undrained
• Pour in enough cups of water to rise slightly above all the ingredients
• Bring it to a boil and then add your cubes, salt, and pepper
• Steam/Boil in covered pot until all vegetables are soft then let simmer on low.  Make sure you watch it while it's boiling so it doesn't boil over!
• Dish into bowls and garnish with cheese!

I'm already hungry again! =)