What We Are Eating This Week

I'm hoping this will keep us on track as well as give you some ideas for healthy meals! Here is what we are having this week and how I prepared for it!  

Whole grain waffles to keep in the freezer for easy breakfasts during the week (click for recipe)

Egg Muffins
12 eggs
1 bell pepper, diced
2 cups spinach, chopped
Mix all ingredients together and make in 12 cup muffin tin at 350 until eggs are set.

Sweet Potato Bacon Turkey Burgers (click for recipe)



Beef and Been Enchilada Casserole (click for recipe)

Cilantro Lime Chicken with Zucchini Noodles (click for recipe)

Grilled Balsamic Garlic Crusted Pork Tenderloin (click for recipe)

Oven Roasted Salmon, Brown Rice, and Orange and Avocado Salad (will post recipe later)

On prep day, I first made the turkey burgers. I grated half a sweet potato and cubed up and roasted the rest for an easy side dish later in the week. I cooked the bacon in a skillet, poured out the fat, and cooked the burgers in the same pan.  Adds some flavor and creates less dirty dishes!  Then I made the enchilada casserole.  I put it into two 8x8 pans instead of one 9x13 so we would have two separate meals.  I prepared them all the way up until the baking step and put them in the freezer.  I made the egg cups and baked a large chicken breast for salads at the same time.  Once those were in the oven, I made the waffles.  I cooked all the waffles, cooled them, and put them in the freezer.  Next time I will double the waffle recipe.  Sara loves them!  Now I've got a plan for the week and several things ready to go!  Was this helpful to you?  Comment below and let me know!

Transformation Tuesday

In honor of #transformationtuesday, here are my results from the first Beachbody program I completed, PiYo.  This program made me fall in love with Beachbody and gave me results like I had never seen.  I had always been active in college, working out several times a week, going to fitness classes.  After Sara, I worked out occasionally as well, but never consistently.  Once Sam was born, I just didn't think I could devote the time to going to the gym.  When I found a workout that I could do from home that was challenging and I actually wanted to do it, I was hooked!  I couldn't believe how much stronger I got each day.  I have never been a runner, but right after I finished the 60 days of PiYo, I went out and ran a 9 minute mile!  That shocked me! 

Looking at these results is crazy because I've changed a lot since even that "after" photo.  I can't wait to see my results from the 21 Day Fix Extreme.  It's so fun challenging my body and gaining more strength and endurance all the time.  

What's your favorite Beachbody program?

Beef and Bean Enchilada Casserole

This weekend we are hosting 4 boys from our church youth group.  I was informed 2 days before their arrival that I would be responsible for feeding them dinner Saturday night.  I love cooking for people, but I didn't have much time to plan a meal and shop, so I needed to think of something using mostly things I had at home and just send Gonzalo to the store for the rest while he was out.  I had a package of corn tortillas in the fridge, so I decided enchiladas would be good but I didn't want to roll each one, so hello, enchilada casserole!  I looked at a few recipes on Pinterest for inspiration and then made up my own recipe.  It was a hit with the high school boys, my kids, and my husband.  I loved it too of course.  Here's the recipe!

Beef and Bean Enchilada Casserole

Ingredients:

2 lbs lean ground beef (ground turkey would be good too)

1 medium onion

2 bell peppers, any color

2 tablespoons taco seasoning (homemade is best)

15 oz tomato sauce

1 package of corn tortillas

2 cans black beans

8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brown ground beef, drain it, and return it to the pan.  While beef is cooking, dice onions and peppers.  Once meat is cooked, scoot it to the edges of the pan and add veggies.  Sprinkle with taco seasoning and cook meat and veggies 5-10 minutes, until veggies are slightly soft.  Remove pan from the heat and set aside.  Drain and rinse black beans.  Add tomato sauce to the bottom of a 9x13 pan, just enough to cover the bottom.  Add a layer of tortillas, tearing them where necessary to avoid too much overlap but covering all spaces.  Next add half the meat mixture, then top it with half of the beans.  Pour half of what is left of the tomato sauce evenly over the casserole, then top it with more tortillas.  Next, add the rest of the meat, followed by the beans.  Pour on the rest of the tomato sauce and use a spatula to spread it out and make sure it's all evenly distributed.  Top with cheddar cheese and bake 45 minutes.  Top it with a dollop of greek yogurt and enjoy!

Spicy Lime Sweet Potato Mash

I wanted to share an amazing sweet potato recipe with  you that's very quick and easy!  Sweet potatoes are a great side dish when you're looking for a healthy carb.  They can be be sweet or savory.  Since I'm trying to keep my sugar intake minimal, I looked for a recipe that wasn't boring but also had no sugar.  I found one I liked and then tweaked it a little.

Spicy Lime Sweet Potato Mash (inspired by Popular Paleo)

Ingredients:

2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 medium ones)
2 TBSP coconut oil
2 tsp lime juice
1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper

Instructions: 

Peel, cube and boil the sweet potatoes until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain potatoes and return to the pan. Mash with remaining ingredients and enjoy!

As you can see, I had this with roasted asparagus and grilled steak.  If you try this, let me know what you think!