Slow Cooker Shredded Salsa Chicken

Some days we just need something easy, right? Today is one of those kind of days. Schedule has kind of gotten goofy, kitchen is not cleaned up just right yet, and laundry is still piling up. :) In order to help with my sanity, and to make sure we have something good for dinner tonight, I decided to do a crock pot meal. I personally love my Crock-Pot. So much, that I now own two of them! What started out as getting the 2nd one to replace my 1st one, turned out to be me using both of them for some parties at our house. Or let's face it, if I forget to wash one from the night before, I have a back up!

I like when the kids can help make their own food, and they get to choose how much of everything they want. For tonight I decided to make some Slow Cooker Shredded Salsa Chicken. I decided to go very basic.

I started with a bag of frozen chicken breast. I like to get the big packages of chicken breasts and then I separate them out into separate bags. Usually 2-3 chicken breasts per bag. I cut off the fat, wash them, pat them dry and freeze them. So for this bag it was a smaller one, so 2 decent size chicken breasts. Loosened the frozen bag, rinsed the chicken, and plopped it into the crock pot.

Up next was adding the salsa to the chicken. Literally just dump the whole jar of salsa over the chicken. That's it! I chose to use an organic salsa that I found at my local grocery store. It's up to you what type you use, I just try to go healthier when I can. 

                         

 

It doesn't look very "pretty" but really, when it's all in a crock pot, it doesn't always look as good as it smells or tastes! Up next I added a few spoonfulls of pico de gallo. You can either do this during, or wait to top it after. I'm sure I'll add some inside my tortillas once the chicken is done as well.

Lastly I added in my Southwest seasoning. I honestly only sprinkled enough to go on the chicken, but didn't overdo it. You can use any type of seasoning you'd like, or no seasoning at all! I just wanted to switch it up a bit. Never a bad thing to try new things, right? 

          

           

After 6 hours in the crock pot and the mouthwatering smell wafting through the house......

Deliciousness!! Both of my picky eater boys ate ALL of it! I'm so happy that I can have a meal that the whole family can enjoy. I hope you do too! Have a great rest of your week and I hope to be sharing a few new recipes this weekend.

Avocado & Tomato Snack

A simple healthy snack! Nothing complicated,  a good serving of healthy fat and veggies with just the right amount of seasoning. Of course everyone has different tastes, so it helps that this is nice and versatile. Don't use table salt if you can help it. Himalayan sea salt or a different type of sea salt has lower sodium. Plus,  you don't have to add much to get great flavor. Let me know what different combinations you come up with! 

1 tomato cut up (I used a tomato from the vine)
1/2 of one avocado sliced up
A few splashes of lime juice (adjust to your liking)
A pinch of sea salt
A pinch of cayenne pepper (adjust to your liking or omit)
Sprinkle some paprika and southwest seasoning

Mix it all together and you've got a great healthy snack!

3 Day Refresh Results

Happy Monday Everyone! How is everyone doing? I hear there is some CRAZY weather in the works. Hope if you're in that area that you're prepared! We live in the U.P. where the weather seems to change hourly. Not uncommon for us. Definitely something we had to get used to this past year! I'm hoping that the extreme weather doesn't come back too quickly. But the good thing about having cold weather, is we get to have lots of crock pot meals and chili to keep us warm. This week I'll be making some Turkey Chili as well as a new recipe I just found, Apple Pork Loin! I've made the chili before and it's definitely become one of our favorites. I actually got the recipe from a friend of mine and I absolutely love it, so does the rest of the family which is a huge plus! The pork loin I haven't made before so I'll have to share if it's a success or not.

Last Tuesday I started my 3 Day Refresh. I thought I would share with you how my 3 days went! I was super excited for the before and after picture. I wasn't sure how I'd do, but for only 3 days, it was really doable. I really enjoyed the dinners, especially the day 3 recipe that I made. So let me break it down. First I made my meal plan for the week. Life with 2 kids and a husband in the Army, our meals tend to change last minute. But for the most part during the day, they stay pretty accurate.

On Sunday night I wrote down on my whiteboard in our kitchen the schedule of the Refresh. That way I could check it off as I went through the day. I did have to change the times a few places, but I did keep up with the waiting an hour after certain shakes and snacks. I got a big jug of filtered water that I could put right there in front of me all the time. This worked out great!

Day 1 - Every day it states how important it is to start with at least 8 ounces of water to get your day started. I've actually decided to add this into my daily life and not just for the 3 days! We all need water in our system so this makes perfect sense. Get up, drink a glass of water, and start your day!

After my first cup of water, then it was time for my favorite part. My Shakeology! You get to add in a fruit serving so I chose to do Chocolate Banana the first morning. Yummy!

Instead of a regular snack between breakfast and lunch like I usually would do, I drank the Fiber Sweep mix with water. Not going to lie, that one was a bit rough to drink. But the 2nd day I made sure to add nice cold water and down it. It does forewarn you that it can get chunky if you just sip it, so if you decide to do it, I suggest just chug it. It's only mixed with 1 cup so it's not a lot. I thought it had a taste of orange, others think lemon. It's different for each person. But overall, not too bad.

Lunch time was a Vanilla Fresh shake (fruit added or eaten a la carte). I decided to mix cantaloupe in which was actually pretty tasty. I also had cucumber and hummus to go along with the shake. I was pretty darn full! Vanilla Fresh was filling by itself, but then the cucumber and hummus filled me up perfectly. I still had a snack to go before dinner!

Snack time I had tomato with avocado. Honestly, that's one of my favorite snacks any time, so this was a breeze. What's great about the Refresh is you also get to add all of these "Free" additions. I chose to add some lime juice, Himalayan sea salt, and some cayenne pepper. Couldn't be any easier and delicious!

 For dinner you get to have another Vanilla Fresh shake (with no fruit, but you can add any of the free additions) and then I chose to try the Coconut Steamed Veggies with the Vegetable Broth on the side. I didn't think I would be full but wow, I was wrong! The veggies came out really good, not my top favorite but adding in a few different seasonings made a big difference.

Throughout the day you can have some herbal tea with stevia, I opted for that since it cut any other cravings I may have had that first day.

Day 2- Same idea, water in the morning, Shakeology for breakfast. I tried Chocolate Shakeology with Strawberries. Definitely making that again! Talk about chocolate covered strawberries, and having it for breakfast? Yes please!

Next up was Fiber Sweep for mid-morning. Then for lunch, Vanilla Fresh mixed with Strawberries because apparently, that's what really sounded good that day. :) Along with the Vanilla Fresh I had celery with almond butter. If you haven't tried almond butter, it's good! I'm kind of curious to try and make almond butter myself at home. If anyone has done that, please let me know how it turned out for you!

For my afternoon snack I had cucumber and hummus again. Honestly, I had never tried that combo before. I'm pretty sure it's a new favorite of mine. Especially if you let the cucumbers soak in some lemon juice and seasonings, then dip them with the hummus. Mmmm good. Next up was dinner with my vanilla fresh. I added cinnamon to my vanilla fresh, but it tastes good by itself. Really, it reminded me of Vanilla Shakeology but I love cinnamon so I liked adding a little extra to it. For dinner I chose the Spinach Salad which I didn't think would be big enough, but I was proven wrong again! I wasn't even able to drink all the broth since I got full. I love a nice colorful salad. Don't you?  

           

                                     

Day 3 - I made it to my last day! Woo hoo! I'll be honest. I was looking forward to having some chicken for dinner the next night. I was definitely tempted to have some of my kid's pasta the night before. But I held out! I had experienced some gas and bloating, which made me wonder what my results would be like, but in the booklet it does indicate the foods that will be less gassy. It's part of the process so it's not uncommon to happen. I did up my water intake to make sure it helped. Which it did help, luckily!

I drank my water first thing, then my Shakeology (chocolate with banana) for breakfast, then onto my very last Fiber Sweep!

Next up was lunch, tomatoes with avocado and my Vanilla Fresh, which I decided to add blueberries to. Yet again, something I definitely plan to repeat with my Vanilla Shakeology. I've also added blueberries to the chocolate flavor and it's just as good. Plus, blueberries are a great healthy fruit!          

            

                                        

Final part of the day! Afternoon snack was celery with almond butter. Dinner I had my very last vanilla fresh with cinnamon, and I made a veggie stir fry with the vegetable broth as well. The veggie stir fry was GOOD! I'm talking, I'll be adding it as a side to our meals, kind of good. It may not look like much, and really there isn't anything hard about it. It was one pan, quick and easy, but still tasty and filling. Carrots, green beans, garlic, sea salt, red peppers, and a few seasonings here and there. Simple yet delicious. Along with the vanilla fresh and the broth, there is no going hungry here.

Everyone has different results with this program. Some have a crazy amount of weight loss (and inches lost). Some people have a harder time with the minimal diet. It is a big calorie cut (only about 900 calories, give or take, for each day). However, it is only 3 days. They do suggest you stay away from coffee while you're doing the Refresh (since it is dehydrating) but some people get caffeine headaches and need it. That's okay, people still get results as long as you're drinking enough water. No matter, what program you do, water is key. It flushes the system of toxins and keeps you healthier. You should always aim for half your weight in ounces each day. May seem like a lot, but get a handy dandy water bottle or to go cup that holds a good amount, and just keep refilling each day! It makes a world of difference. 

Okay, so for MY results. I was very hesitant to share my results, but I really am proud of the outcome. I didn't have one of those jaw dropping amount of weight loss, but I think the picture speaks for itself with how much better I felt. I didn't feel any bloating after the 3 days, I truly did feel "refreshed" and I didn't feel starved. No major cravings. Even that night after the 3 days, I ended up having a salad! Go figure. I still have a ways to go with my goal weight, but this was the push I needed in the right direction! You can definitely see a difference in my tummy between the two pictures. Definitely pleased with what my results ended up being. 

                  
           

The key is to keep eating healthy. Naturally, weight will fluctuate with how much water I drink, what types of food I eat, and for women, what time of the month it is! I honestly love the 21 Day Fix plan and that's what I base my meal plan off of. I'm constantly trying to add new meals and recipes to try. I currently have a Clean Eating group going on so if that sounds like something you'd be interested in, feel free to fill out the challenge group form at the bottom of this post. If you're interested in any upcoming 21 Day Fix groups, or a 30 Day Challenge group, we can work with that too! I hope my results helped you with a decision on whether or not to try the 3 Day Refresh. Any questions you may have, shoot them my way!

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3 Day Refresh

Happy Friday everyone!  I've had quite the busy week. I started my 2nd round of 21 Day Fix, haircuts with my crazy 2 year old running in the salon (thank goodness the salon loves him!), had a team meeting to help reach some new goals (and get help with blogging), and I signed up for a vendor event for February! That was in between the ever changing schedule of my son's school, due to wind chill school delays (some days it was below -30!!!). I never thought I'd live in a place that it would get THAT cold,  or that 18 degrees out "didn't feel that bad". Hah! Oh the surprises military life gives us. I was born and raised in Vegas,  this is definitely not what I'm used to!  But I've certainly learned to be MUCH more flexible and accepting to any situation that gets thrown our way.

One exciting thing, that happened this week,  today actually,  is I received my 3 Day Refresh package! I am so psyched to do this!  Do you know what the 3 Day Refesh  is? You're probably thinking automatically, it's a cleanse. You'll probably have a liquid diet, be starving the whole time,  and salivating at even the mention of food. Luckily, that is SO not the case with the plan!  Or so I've heard. :) The package comes with 6 Vanilla Fresh packets (2 for each day) and 3 Fiber Sweep packets (1 for each day). I already drink my Shakeology each day, so I got the package that didn't include those. If you haven't tried Shakeology before, or just don't have it,  you would order the package that comes with a packet of Shakeology for each day. The meal plan and drinks are vegan/vegetarian friendly. That's a huge thing for a lot of people,  trying to figure out if it's good for them or not. I personally am neither a vegan or vegetarian,  but that's ok! I do love my vegetables and fruit though.

That being said,  I think the 3 Day Refresh will be a bit challenging but also a nice change. I'm going to have to be creative with my meals since they are all vegetables or fruits. With the 21 Day Fix i've already been incorporating a lot more veggies and fruits, also finding new ways to use them. I have looked at some of the recipes in the 3 Day Refesh book and they sound pretty tasty. Cucumber and tomato salad I could go for right now!

Now I'm excited to try it for myself so I can give you my honest opinion and results. Since my husband has a long weekend, chances are he'll want to splurge a little (or a lot) on food. My plan is to start my Refresh on Tuesday (the 20th) and have my final results Friday morning. I've heard the results can vary from losing a few pounds,  to losing up to 8 pounds!  Also, lots of inches lost. I have some friends and family along for this journey as well (which I'm super excited about!) I hope we all have great success with it!  We have a Challenge Group setup to start on Monday the 19th. If this is something you think you'd want to try to get yourself into,  please let me know! I'd love to have you join us so that we can all encourage each other to stay on track. It's only 3 days,  but I know that it can feel like forever sometimes. Wish me luck and I look forward to sharing my experience! 

        

Who wants to try some new recipes?

Good Morning! 

As I'm sitting at the computer trying to figure out how to improve this blog thingy, that apparently is a little harder than it looks, I'm also trying to get my meal plan figured out. I'm currently using the 21 Day Fix plan to get the next couple weeks planned out, or at least for the most part figured out. Since my husband doesn't need to worry about losing weight, I still want to make sure all our meals are family friendly, but mainly dinner time! So I've entered the world of Pinterest to search out as many recipes as I can, that will also keep everyone happy and full. Yesterday I decided to try making Spaghetti Squash with sauce and meatballs in the crockpot. I'd never made that type of squash before, so I was a bit worried if we'd like it. The kids actually liked it! I was so happy! Even better, the husband said he'd eat it again. That's good enough for me! I'll be getting another squash to bake this time, and even better, find more recipes to incorporate into. 

I'll be making another post sharing some of the recipes I come up with, along with my meal plan. I'm so glad I tried out the 21 Day Fix because it really has helped me so much with portion control. The containers that come with it (pictured below) are bigger than they look. Not necessarily in size, but the amount of food you can put in them is way more than expected! Which is great because as long as it fits, you can have it all! I also labeled my containers once I figured out how much of each I'd get every day. Really helps me with it but everyone has their own system of what works for them. 

While I was browsing Facebook for...who knows for what (don't deny it, we all are on there every day checking things out :) ) I saw that Rachel Ray had posted a link for some recipes. The title is 11 Healthy Recipes for the New Year! So I decided to check it out and see what I could find. They all sound so yummy and a few of them have the spaghetti squash that I'm wanting to try in more recipes! I thought I'd share it with you guys in case one of the recipes sounds good for dinner! All you have to do is click on the link and it will take you right to the recipes.

If you think the 21 Day Fix is something you'd like to try, please let me know! I'd love to chat with you about some groups we have going on to help you meet your goals. The link is posted at the top if you'd like to see what's included. Plus, this month only, you can get the 21 Day Fix for just $10 when you purchase it with a Challenge Pack! Make sure to add me as your coach (coach ID # 504231) so I can add you to our groups and help you with your new adventure! 

Hope everyone is staying warm with this lovely cold front coming through. I know my crockpot will be getting some good use this week with soups, chilis, and even some chicken and dumplings! It's almost the weekend so I think I'll make some meals ahead of time so we can just enjoy some activities inside!

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year everyone!!! 

I hope you all have had a wonderful winter break. 

I feel like Christmas came so quickly and then just as fast, it was over and done with! That's how life is though. We are always trying to hurry up, get things ready, get things done....and then what? Relax? Not always the case. Especially not with kids. I was SO excited for Christmas, just like the kids were. I got all the presents looking pretty, everything just right for Santa's big visit, and the joy that the kids showed was TOTALLY worth every penny and time spent for it. After about 2 hours, the presents had all been opened and then everyone went their separate ways to play with new toys, or read new books.

 Just like that, Christmas was over! It was back to cleaning up everything, making food, doing dishes, and planning for the next event. :) 

Our New Year's eve was very simple. It was supposed to be a big party, but that fell apart due to unforeseen circumstances. Turned out being 2 other couples and their kids, but honestly, it turned out great! All the kids got to play, no extra stress with trying to have everything "perfect" for so many people. No running around. Just played games, had some drinks, and rang in the New Year with poppers and horns!  

I'm not a big one when it comes to resolutions. I like to make goals. Who wants to beat themselves up for not keeping the resolution that they made? So some of my goals that I've decided to put out there for myself for this coming year are:

1) Take more PICTURES! I got a new camera for Christmas, and I still need to learn how to work all the functions on it, but I want to figure it out. I want to enjoy all the little things! Better yet, I want to take pictures of those little things so that I can remember them forever. So if any of you out there have some tips for a newbie DSLR owner, by all means, share away!! :) 

2) Get ORGANIZED! I've started by getting a new planner and some highlighters. I always have a planner for bills each month, but this time I got a weekly/daily planner as well. My goal is to track my food, water, and exercise, along with day to day reminders. Something else I plan to do is get a binder to put all of my coaching goals and plans together. Along with organizing my healthy recipes for Shakeology and other family meals. Eventually I plan to get this blog turned into a more professional and helpful website so we can all see and share recipes, tips, goals, and future programs to try out. 

3) Be INVOLVED! I'm already involved with my kids of course. I'm a stay at home mom! But I want to be more involved with my customers (which are also my friends!) and I want to get more involved in the community. Take classes that I've never taken. Meet new people in the area. Volunteer for something new. Part of being involved goes for my coaching as well. I want to put together some new challenge groups and encourage other people on their fitness journeys. :) 

As the year goes on, plans and life changes. So there are always new goals to make and achieve. Some "side goals" I'd like to have happen are to lose another 15 pounds by the end of the year. Preferably by summer, but I can't beat myself up if that doesn't happen. I want to get tone and slimmer, but consistency is key. That's something I feel we all struggle with, and I hope to get involved with enough people this year that we can form a group to truly help each other make that happen.

I would love to hear about your goals for the year! If one of them is to get fit, there are some challenge groups going on currently that you still have time to get in on. There is another challenge group going on starting January 19th for the 3 Day Refresh that I'd love for you to join us to get that jump start you need. 

On that note, if you have any tips for being more organized, any groups that you know of to check out, or tips on how to take better pictures, I look forward to hearing from you! My e-mail is :  Rmewife129@gmail.com

My beachbody website is :  www.beachbodycoach.com/rmewife129 

HERE'S TO AN AMAZING 2015 YEAR!!!!