Quick & Easy Steak Fajitas

So of course as a busy busy work at home mama most of my meals need to be two things.  They need to be QUICK and they need to be EASY!  This one is definitely both those things... Start to finish on this bad boy is about 20 mins... That includes cutting your peppers and onions - seriously! 

What you need:

• 1 lb stewing beef, cut into smaller chunks 
• 3 bell peppers, cut into small chunks
• 1/2 medium onion, cut into small chunks
• Olive oil
• Fajita Seasoning (I get the low sodium kind) 
• Montreal steak spice
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• corn tortillas

How to prepare:

1. Grab two pans and heat 1 tsp of olive oil over medium heat in each
2. Add the peppers and onions to one and the beef to the other 
3. Season beef with montreal steak spice
4. Continue to cook beef and veggies until peppers are tender and beef is no longer pink
5. season veggies and beef with fajita season, cover and let simmer for 2-3 mins
6. Once beef and veggies are cooked serve on tortillas and enjoy! 

For 21 day fix I if you have 1 small corn tortillas and 1 yellow container or brown rice, 1 red of beef and 1 green of peppers & onions it will count as:

2 yellows, 1 green, 1 red, 1 tsp

Or if you only have 1 yellow left for the day - omit the tortillas and just serve in a bowl :)

HUGE HOLIDAY SAVINGS!!!

Beachbody is having a HUGE Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale!  Workout programs and equipment are being super discounted up to 85% off from today (November 25th) through until December 2nd!!  Here are just a few of the DEALS!  AMAZE-BALLS!  

Go here NOW to order - QUANTITIES ARE LIMITED!  These WILL SELL OUT! 

Clean Eating Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

So, I am one of those crazy people that actually LOVE the fall and winter and the cooler temperatures and SNOW!  One of the things that I LOVE about this time of year is all the awesome comfort food that I can enjoy without sweating bullets (seriously, you just can't eat a nice warm bowl of chili in the middle of the summer... even up here in Canada!) 

So, temperatures dropped last week and I was ECSTATIC to whip out the slow cooker and throw together one of my FAVE comfort dishes - Turkey Chili!!  

Now this just ends up with whatever I throw together (I usually use this opportunity to use up veggies in my fridge that may be turning, this is REALLY good with zucchini btw) - but it's generally similar to this :) 

Clean Eating Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

What you need (Makes 4 servings):

• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 can black beans (or you can use a bean medley with black beans, chick peas and kidney beans), drained and rinsed
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• Any other vegetables that you want to add (peppers and zucchini work surprisingly well in this!)
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• Any other spices that you like in chili
• shredded cheese

What you do:

1. In a skillet over medium high heat, start to cook the turkey
2. when the turkey is almost browned, add in the diced onion and cook till the turkey is completely brown and onion is translucent
3. Add turkey and onion to slow cooker
4. Then add the beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, other veggies and spices and mix it all up
5. Put on the lid and cook on low for 6 hours
6. Serve with cheese on top (1 blue container each if using 21 Day Fix)

You could also top off with plain greek yogurt or guacamole - whichever you like best!  

Each serving counts as 1.5 green (depending how many vegetables you add it might be more or less), 1 red, 1 yellow and 1 blue.  If you are calorie counting it is 258 calories including the cheese on top.

Quick & Simple 10 Minute Omelet

Ever have those days where you just have no clue what to have for lunch and you have limited time to prepare anything?  Happens to me like... more often than it should :/ But sometimes, something wonderful comes out of my disorganization! :)  

Ladies and gentlemen - I introduce to you the 

QUICK & SIMPLE 10-MINUTE OMELET

Yep... 10 mins from start to finish is all you need to whip this bad boy up!! 

What you need:

• 2 eggs, scrambled
• 1 cup kale (or spinach), chopped 
• 3/4 cup red peppers, diced
• 1/4 cup diced onions
• no salt added seasoning of your choice (I love the organic no-salt seasoning from costco)
• 2 tbsp shredded light cheese

What you do:

1. Place a pan over medium high heat and spray with non-stick spray
2. add the red peppers, onions and kale (or spinach) and cook for 3-4 mins, until kale (or spinach begins to wilt)
3. remove the veggies from the pan, spray with non stick spray again and add the 2 eggs
4. season the eggs with your no salt seasoning and let cook for a couple minutes until just a bit white underneath
5. add the veggies to the eggs and let cook for 1 minute
6. add the cheese on top of the veggies and let cook until the egg is fully cooked - about 3-4 minutes
7. Serve and enjoy! 

If you are doing the 21 day fix this would count as 2 greens, 1 red and 1 blue!

If you are calorie counting it is 304 calories!

One Pan Turkey Taco Brown Rice Skillet

Wanna know one of my BIGGEST pet peeves??  

Dirty dishes and a kitchen that is a lot of work to clean up after eating a delicious meal.

So, I always appreciate those recipes out there that have you dirtying as FEW dishes as possible!  

One pan?  DONE! 

I came across this delicious One Pot Spicy Taco Rice Skillet recipe and decided it sounded way too good to NOT try!  So I made a few more health conscious adjustments and here's what I came up with! 

One Pan Turkey Taco Brown Rice Skillet

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 bell peppers, diced
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup of salsa
• 1 cup of brown rice
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 cup of water (if using "Minute Rice" omit the water) 
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 cup light shredded tex mex cheese

Directions:

1. In a large pan, brown turkey.
2. When turkey is lightly browned, add diced onions and peppers.
3. Cook until turkey is fully cooked and the onions and peppers are soft.
4. Add can of tomatoes - no need to drain.
5. Add salsa, rice, water and stock.
6. Stir well to combine.
7. Add in spices and mix, cover.
8. Let simmer on low until rice is soft and liquid has cooked off.
9. Top with cheese, stir in until it melts.
10. Serve!

Super Simple Roasted Brussel Sprouts

This is seriously one of my most fave side dishes to serve with dinner... or lunch... or even to whip up as an afternoon snack!  Super quick and healthy and delicious!!

SUPER SIMPLE ROASTED BRUSSEL SPROUTS

What you need:

• Brussel Sprouts
• olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste
• minced garlic and garlic powder

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Trim your brussel sprouts and cut them in half - if they are particularly large then cut them into quarters.  You want all the pieces approximately the same size.
3. Place them into a large ziploc freezer bag and drizzle in olive oil (about a tsp depending on how many brussel sprouts you have... You don't want them drenched in oil just a light drizzle to lightly cover them all) 
4. Sprinkle in the bag salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. 
5. Add minced garlic if you choose.
6. Shake the bag and mix everything up nice and good.
7. Spread the brussel sprouts out on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, stir them around and then another 10 mins until they are crisp but not too burnt! 
8. ENJOY! 

Busy Mom's Turkey Fried Rice

CONFESSION!!!!  I do NOT love to cook! **GASP** shocker, I know! :)  

However, there is ONE dinner dish that I do actually quite enjoy making - maybe it's because it's super simple and fast... maybe it's because it involves bacon.  Not sure why, but I love cooking it and my whole family loves eating it!  This dish is seriously a weekly staple in my household!

Turkey Fried Rice

I call this "Busy Mom's" Turkey Fried Rice cuz it's literally so quick and easy to make!!  

Ingredients
1 lb lean ground turkey
6 slices of bacon, cut into 1/2 inch wide pieces (all natural, nitrate free is best) 
1/2 a medium onion, diced
2 cups cooked brown rice
vegetables of choice (I will use whatever I have in the fridge or a frozen stir fry mix)
frozen green peas
soya sauce

Preparation
- Heat wok on medium heat and add bacon pieces
- cook bacon for about 1-2 mins and then add diced onion
- cook bacon and onion until bacon is brown and crisp and onion is translucent; remove from pan and set aside
- remove excess bacon grease from the pan and then add the ground turkey and cook until turkey is no longer pink; add the bacon and onions back in
- add the vegetables, including peas and cook until vegetables are done
- add your cooked rice to the pan and stir until fully incorporated
- season with soya sauce and serve! 

ENJOY!! 

CONFESSION - I fell off the wagon! How am I gonna get back on??

You hear about it all the time - heck maybe you've even experienced it.

Someone lost a whole bunch of weight - and then started falling back into bad old habits and sslllllooowwwlllyyy started putting weight back on.  

You think - oh that'll NEVER happen to me, I'm different man!  I got this under control! 

At least that's how I thought.

I was interviewed once about my weight loss story and in the interview I was asked if I ever worry about gaining the weight back.

"No, my whole lifestyle has completely changed - I KNOW I will NEVER go back down that road!" I answered with confidence.

Yet, here I am.

I am currently 20 lbs higher than my lightest weight - the weight I had reached at the end of my 21 day Ultimate Reset cleanse last December.

I don't think this qualifies as "water weight" or a "little bit of bloating from a weekend of eating bad"... I've been telling myself this about my growing waist size and as the number goes up and up on the scale - "oh... that's just water weight... I'll lose it in like 2 days once I'm back on track!" 

You know what that's called?

DENIAL! 

I have spent the majority of this year in DENIAL!  Denial about the fact that - no, I do NOT have this "under control" and yes, maybe I do need to get serious about tracking everything I eat again and get back to ONLY one treat a week... My one treat a week has really been 4 treat DAYS each week... Needless to say this isn't getting me very far.

So, you're probably wondering - wow Lara... so what are you going to do?? 

Well, I have figured out a couple things about myself in this last year. 

1)  I NEED to be doing a workout program - complete with a set schedule and I need to follow the schedule that it came with.

2)  I need to get back to doing a workout that I actually love and enjoy.

See, here's the thing - I have consistently kept up working out yes.  But not following an actual program I slacked off during my workouts and there were some weeks that I did only workout 3 or 4 days... This is not acceptable for me... For me I gotta workout at least 5 days... AT LEAST!  This was one of my "rules" that I set in play when I first started on my journey back in 2011.

So... I was gonna jump back in with both feet and go right to the Insanity Asylum workouts - cuz that was gonna get me FAST results!  HARD WORKOUTS = FAST RESULTS! 

Yeah... that lasted a day.  Hard workouts only equal fast results if you actually DO them.  I know, sad :(

I finally realized - Okay... I'm trying to get back into a groove where I LOVE working out, just like I used to at one point... Maybe I should try to get back into this with something I actually enjoy.  

hmm.. weird concept right? 

So I pulled out my FAVE program - Les Mills Combat and OMG SO.MUCH.FUN!!! 

Last week was week 1 - I am going to complete this program again and I will be done it just in time to do the brand new Insanity Max:30 program that is being released at the beginning of December! 

I HAVE TO stick with this so I am ready for Max 30!

I didn't really enjoy Insanity when I did it 2 years ago... But I still did it because I was in the groove where I loved working out - sticking to combat all 60 days will get me back in that groove, I know it will... It already almost has in just a week!

Max:30 is also going to be INTENSE so I wanna be back in tip-top shape to start it! 

Two other things I am doing to get back into my groove of eating right, tracking everything I eat and seeing the number on the scale go back down -

1)  Shaun T's Dietbet!  I bet $30 I would lose 4% of my body weight in 4 weeks... I'm really gonna double that tho - just watch me! 

2)  4 weeks NO JUNK FOOD OR BOOZE challenge!  4 weeks of No chips, no candy, no donuts, no booze, no soda, no cake, no cookies!  I got an accountability group I'm going to be setting up and I will succeed - yep... NO CANDY FOR ME AT HALLOWEEN! 

Wanna join me in any of the above??  Send me an e-mail lara.curry85@gmail.com and... 

LET'S GO!!!!! 

Low Cal Pumpkin Spice Latte!

Alright, Fall is almost upon us... Which means - pumpkin flavoured EVERYTHING!  One of my all time favourite fall treats is the Pumpkin Spice Latte!  But at about 260 calories for a grande with nonfat milk and no whip... it's no bueno in my healthy eating plan!  Here's a healthier, lower cal version!!

Ingredients:
1 cup nonfat milk
1 Tbsp. pumpkin puree
¼ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup brewed black coffee or 1 shot espresso
1 dash ground nutmeg (to taste; optional)

Preparation:
1. Heat milk, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and extract in medium saucepan over medium heat; cook for 4 to 5 minutes, or until mixture is hot, but not boiling. It is ready when there are many small bubbles on the sides of the saucepan.
2. Remove from heat; mix vigorously with a whisk until frothy.
3. Pour coffee or espresso into serving mug; top with milk mixture.
4. Top with nutmeg if desired.

Makes 1 serving.

Calories - 119

21 day fix this would be 1 yellow

"Clean" Melt-in-your-mouth Chicken

This is another super simple (are you noticing a theme here with my recipes and being simple? haha) super DELICIOUS chicken recipe... It tastes like you are eating something that is just awful for you and high in fat and calories, but it's really not! 

"Clean" Melt-in-your-mouth Chicken

Ingredients

• 4 - 4 oz skinless boneless chicken breasts
• 1 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• pink himilayan salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit
2. Lay foil in a baking dish and spray with non-stick spray and place chicken in dish
3. Combine greek yogurt, cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a bowl
4. Coat each chicken breast in greek yogurt mixture
5. Bake in oven for 45 minutes or until cooked through

Noodle-less Lasagna

Who doesn't love lasagna??  I know I do!!  It is definitely one of my favourite comfort foods, however it is so high in calories that it's definitely been forever removed off my menu (except for maybe the occasional treat night).

Well, I introduce to you - NOODLE-LESS LASAGNA!  That's right... it's all the deliciousness of lasagna with NO pasta!

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 3 medium Zucchini's, thinly sliced lengthwise
• 1 lb of lean ground turkey
• 1/2 a medium yellow onion
• 2 tsp diced garlic
• pink himalayan salt, black pepper and garlic powder to taste
• pasta sauce of choice
• 24 oz of cottage cheese
• shredded mozza cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degress Farenheit
2. In a skillet on medium-high heat add ground turkey, onion, garlic and seasonings and cook until turkey is browned and cooked through
   
3. add about 1/2 cup of pasta sauce and mix into the turkey mixture
   
4. Spray a baking dish with non-stick spray and lay the first layer of zucchini "noodles" just like you would lasagna noodles
   
5. add half of the turkey mixture on top of the "zoodles"
6. add half of the cottage cheese on top of the meat mixture
   
7. repeat steps 4, 5 and 6 ending with a third layer of zucchini noodles on top
8. spread about 1/4 cup of pasta sauce (just a thin layer) on top of the zucchini
   
9. sprinkle your cheese on and cover with tin foil
10. Bake at 350 degrees Farenheit for 45 minutes, remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes until cheese is a bit browned
11. Serve and enjoy! 

Couple things I will change for next time... 

It was quite watery from the zucchini... I googled how to help that and I read that if you "salt" the zucchini"noodles" for about an hour before hand it will pull the moisture out of the zucchini!  Basically just put the zoodles into a colander, sprinkle salt on top and toss it around until they are evenly covered... leave the colander over a bowl to collect the water that gets pulled out... after about an hour place the zoodles on paper tower to wipe away any moisture left... I will update this post once I try this :) 

Otherwise though, the taste was PHENOMENAL!  It was so very delicious!!!  The water wasn't that bad of a thing, just made it a bit more difficult to cut and scoop out regular pieces :)  I actually showed me making it in this vlog too :)

How to Meal Plan!

So I know that one of things that can MAKE or BREAK your success in your weight loss and fitness journey is meal planning.  

We've all heard this familiar quote:

Honestly, this quote annoys me... Not because it's not true (it is 100% true) but because I am not the planning type.  One of my biggest hurdles in my own journey is meal planning, but when I do it the reward is amazing because I feel better, my clothes fit better, I have more energy, etc,etc,etc.  It is also nice to not have to just "wing it" during the week with what I'm gonna eat! 

So since this is an area a lot of people struggle in I decided to share with you my SUPER SIMPLE steps to creating your meal plan!  I have meal plans that I like to provide my clients, but I find that it's better to make it yourself because then you will put on it foods that you enjoy and are more likely to stick with it :)  (note: I am not a nutritionist or a certified dietician, this is simply what I do and have done to meal plan in the past :) ) 

1. Grab a notebook and a pen (or just a blank piece of paper would work too) 
2. Get a source for your foods - ie. if you are calorie counting open up My Fitness Pal or whatever you use to calorie count that has a good food database - this will prevent you from having to get up a million times and dig through the pantry and fridge to find calories in foods.
3. Figure out how many calories or servings of food you will want to "save" for dinner each day first off (hint: if you are calorie counting and following a 1200-1500 calorie base, I recommend trying to keep Breakfast, Lunch and dinner around 300-400 calories and snacks around 100-200 calories)
4. Start creating your meal plan - I usually give myself two options for each Breakfast, AM Snack, Lunch and PM snack so I can switch it up throughout the week - you do not want to try and come up with 7 different breakfasts, snacks and lunches - that would take you way too long, be way too overwhelming and cost you way too many groceries!! Remember we want you to follow through on this so keep it simple! 
5. As you are coming up with the items you are going to have for each meal/snack go into My Fitness Pal (if you're calorie counting) to add up the calories as you go.  Or if you are using another meal plan, just count for each item as you go! 
6. Then comes the fun part!  Make up 7 different dinners!  I usually try to have one fish, one red meat and one pork each week and then keep the rest chicken or ground turkey... Need recipe ideas?  Check out the recipes page here or some of my favourite sites for recipes are skinnytaste.com and thegraciouspantry.com
7. Create your grocery list!  I usually do it as I go, especially if I am trying new recipes and there are ingredients in the recipe I need to get as well!  
8. THAT'S IT!  head out the grocery store with your list in hand and grab all you need for the week!  This will prevent you from needing to run to the store mid-week... Want to see more in depth how I meal plan?  Watch my video! 

Mocha-Banana "Ice Cream"

Original Recipe posted at http://www.oxygenmag.com/mocha-banana-ice-cream/

Here's a SUPER SIMPLE recipe for these hot summer days that you may be craving some ice cream... Except this ice cream is totally CLEAN!! 

Ingredients:

• 2 frozen bananas
• 1 tsp instant coffee or espresso
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 oz dark chocolate (approx. 3 squares), finely chopped

Instructions:

1. Remove bananas from freezer and let sit on the counter for 5 minutes.
2. Peel bananas and break or cut into chunks, then place into a food processor. Pulse about 20 times until bananas are in small pieces, then blend until smooth. If necessary, stop the machine and scrape from the sides.
3. Add the coffee, cinnamon and chocolate to the food processor, and blend again to fully incorporate. Serve.

Maple Salmon

This is a super simple clean eating Salmon recipe that I just LOVE!  If you haven't been able to tell yet, I like simple and this recipe is just that!   

(Makes 4 servings)

INGREDIENTS

• 4 salmon fillets (about 4 oz each)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (low sodium preferred) 
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• pepper
• sea salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray
2. Arrange salmon fillets on baking sheet
3. In a small bowl, whisk together maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic, pepper and salt
4. Brush salmon fillets with mixture until evenly coated
5. Place in oven and bake uncovered for about 20 minutes or until salmon flakes easily with a fork... ENJOY! 

Lemon Chicken with Thyme

(from Eat Yourself Skinny)

This is one of my favourite go-to clean eating, simple chicken breast recipes!  It's super simple, not a lot of ingredients are needed and it's clean! 

(Makes 4 servings) 

INGREDIENTS

• 3 or 4 chicken breasts
• Juice of 2 lemons
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp of fresh Thyme
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp of sea salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Whisk together lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper
3. Place chicken breasts in a baking dish and pour mixture over top making sure to completely coat them
4. Bake for about 40 minutes (depending on size of chicken), until juices run clean.  Enjoy!  

Are you a habitual excuse-maker?

Do you find yourself coming up with a ton of reasons as to why you can't workout or eat right?  Let's face it - life happens!  Sometimes it is just way too difficult, maybe even impossible to squeeze that workout in or to prep that healthy food.  The thing is however, that EVERYONE has life happen while they are on their fitness journey.  It's that CHOICE that we all have of whether you are going to USE that excuse and skip that workout or if you are going to power through and get it done anyways - NO.MATTER.WHAT.

I know some of you may be sitting there reading this thinking - "well no what I'm going through is different - I don't have the choice, I just literally don't have the time to workout or prep healthy food!"  If you're thinking that then you are probably not gonna like what I am about to tell you.  You absolutely DO have the CHOICE.  There are workout programs out there that are only 25 minutes, 5 days a week... 25 minutes!!  I am going to bet that you probably spend more than 25 minutes each day contemplating stuff that you need to get done... or doing your hair and makeup for the day... Or watching your favourite TV shows.  We all have the same 24 hours in a day, it's your CHOICE what you do with that time!  Yes, you may have to sacrifice watching your favourite TV show... you may have to get up 30 mins earlier or go to bed 30 minutes later - but if your health and energy are worth it, you will find a way!  

As for time to meal prep - I have some amazing news for you.  Guess what!  Spending just a couple hours prepping food on a Sunday will actually SAVE you a ton of time preparing all throughout the week!  It's also super simple and I will make a separate blog post on meal prepping soon, but it's literally as simple as seasoning and throwing a bunch of chicken breasts in the oven and leaving them to bake... Roasting some veggies in the oven at the same time as the chicken and cooking up some brown rice... BOOM!  Easy, simple and DONE!  Guess what?  You're also gonna save yourself a ton of money by not needing to eat out and pre-packaged, processed foods are NOT always cheaper.

So... Are you gonna choose to find excuses or are you gonna choose to find a way to get it done?

Grilled Honey Cumin Chicken

Grilled Honey Cumin Chicken

Spice up your chicken with a touch of cumin.

Total Time: 25 min.
Prep Time: 5 min.
Cooking Time: 15 min.
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. raw honey
2 Tbsp. 100% orange juice
4 4-oz each raw chicken breast, boneless, skiness
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. ground cumin
Sea salt and ground black pepper (to taste; optional)

Preparation:
1. Preheat grill to medium.
2. Combine honey and orange juice in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Set aside.
3. Brush each chicken breast lightly with oil. Sprinkle both sides evenly with cumin, salt (if desired), and pepper (if desired).
4. Place chicken on grill; cook, without turning, for 5 minutes. When chicken releases easily from the grill, turn and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
5. Reduce grill heat to low. Brush chicken evenly with honey mixture. Be careful, honey will burn if exposed to flames. Grill until a meat thermometer inserted into the center of each breast reads 160° F. Remove from grill. Let chicken rest 5 minutes before serving.

Note: The FDA suggests cooking chicken to a temperature of 165° F. Chicken will continue to cook after it is removed from heat, so we recommend that it be removed from the grill at 160° F to prevent drying out.

Nutritional Information (per serving):

Calories: 184

Fat: 7 g

Saturated Fat: 1 g

Cholesterol: 67 mg

Sodium: 439 mg

Carbohydrate: 10 g

Fiber: 0 g

Sugar: 9 g

Protein: 23 g

So what is this PiYo everyone's talking about??

If you haven't heard about PiYo yet then I have one thing to ask you - Where have you been??  LOL - I kid! kind of... hehe

PiYo is a brand new program that was recently created by my FAVORITE training of all time, Chalene Johnson!  What it is is a fusion of pilates and yoga inspired moves combined together with cardio so you are constantly moving.  Basically you end up gaining the strength and flexibility that you get from pilates and yoga, but you burn much more fat and calories since you are constantly moving - genius!

I am on day 4 and it has been a struggle for me so far - I am not going to lie about it!  My biggest weakness is my core and balance - this is a ton of core work and balance (as is the case with yoga and pilates typically).  But I am enjoying it!  I am so excited to see how far I come and to see my progress as time goes on!!  Starting next week I will also be following the eating plan that came with the program so that I can fully see the results this program can give!

Want more info on PiYo and how to order it?

CLICK HERE! 

Hearty Beef Stew

Hearty Beef Stew

For a quick, healthy meal in the middle of winter, try this hearty beef stew, or our vegan-friendly version.

Total Time: 1 hr. 15 min.
Prep Time: 15 min.
Cooking Time: 1 hr.
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
1½ lb. raw lean beef stew meat, boneless
1½ medium onions, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. hot pepper sauce (like Tabasco)
½ to 1 cup low-sodium organic beef broth (or vegetable broth)
1 bay leaf
½ medium green bell pepper, chopped
½ medium red bell pepper, chopped
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium potatoes, cubed
3 cups cooked quinoa, hot

Preparation:
1. Place beef, onions, tomatoes, soy sauce, hot sauce, 1/2 cup broth, and bay leaf in large saucepot.
2. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, covered, for 40 minutes, adding additional broth as needed.
3. Add bell peppers, carrots, and potatoes; cook, covered, for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until sauce has thickened and beef is fork tender.
4. Serve with quinoa.

Vegan Variation: Substitute beef with same amount of tempeh. Use only ½ cup vegetable broth instead of beef broth. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Add vegetables and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

Nutritional Information (per serving):

Calories: 346

Fat: 7 g

Saturated Fat: 2 g

Cholesterol: 75 mg

Sodium: 626 mg

Carbohydrate: 40 g

Fiber: 6 g

Sugar: 5 g

Protein: 33 g

Grilled Chicken Dijon

Grilled Chicken Dijon

Grill it or broil it, this lean chicken recipe is a fantastic, healthy dinner you can make in 15 minutes or less.

Total Time: 15 min.
Prep Time: 5 min.
Cook Time: 10 min.
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:
2 (4-oz.) raw chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
6 fresh parsley sprigs (or thyme, marjoram, or rosemary), finely chopped 
1 dash sea salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Preparation:
1. Preheat grill or broiler.
2. Combine garlic, mustard, parsley, salt, pepper, and oil in a small bowl; mix well.
3. Brush chicken breasts evenly with garlic mixture.
4. Grill or broil chicken for 5 minutes on each side or until chicken is no longer pink in the middle.

Nutritional Information: (per serving)

Calories: 199

Fat: 10g

Saturated Fat: 2g

Cholesterol: 73g

Sodium: 397mg

Carbs: 2g

Fiber: 0g

Sugars: 0g

Protein: 24g