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.