Creamy Fruit Salad

I put this recipe together at the end of March for my kids.  Both were home and wanted a snack.  I threw in the fruits that I had readily available.  Really, you could make it with any combination that you want.  I personally wouldn't do bananas, because I don't like when they get slimy in a salad.  That's just my opinion though! I think it would be really good with pineapple and raspberries too.  You could even sprinkle some chopped walnuts or shaved coconut into it.  It is an easy recipe to personalize to best suit our tastes or what you have on hand - no need to buy anything special for it!  It turned out so well that I thought I'd do a video and a post of the recipe!  Depending on how sweet you like it, you might want to use more or less honey.  I melted it in the microwave for a few seconds so it was easy to pour and mix into the cold yogurt.  I hope you enjoy it!  Here's the video, if you want to watch it.

Here's the written recipe:

Creamy Fruit Salad
makes 6+ servings

1 cup Greek Yogurt
2 Tbsp Honey (more or less for your taste)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

Combine the above ingredients.  Stir well and set aside.

1 Apple chopped
1 tsp fresh Lemon Juice
3/4 cup Grapes slice in half
1/2 cup Blueberries
1 cup Strawberries sliced

Add apple and mix with lemon juice in a large bowl.  Add the remaining fruit and yogurt mixture.  Mix well.  You can serve right away or allow to sit overnight.  The longer it sits, the better the flavors will mesh.

Help -- My Sweet Tooth Strikes Again!

We traveled over Easter back home.  We are getting ready to put our old house on the market, so we went on a whirlwind 4 day weekend of painting, painting and more painting.  We were so busy, and takeout was the easiest option.  Plus, we were able to indulge in foods that we haven't had in over a year and a half.  Oh, how I missed a Capriotti's Bobbie!  It also happened to be Easter, and my parents made delicious baskets for the kids.

I wound up with 4 days of basically carb loading and SOOOOO many treats to come back home.  Since I started my health and fitness journey 10 months ago, I try my hardest not to buy sweet treats that I will want to eat.  I make sure if the kids choose a treat, I don't really care for it.  This way, I'm not tempted to eat it!  Well, we came home with many delicious options!

I have found myself indulging in way too many sweets for the past two weeks!  I had a killer sweet
tooth that I managed to reign in for so long.  I'm really struggling to get myself back on track!  Each day I do a little better, so I am hoping to get the cravings completely under control in the next few days.  Here are some tips I've learned along the way to help keep my pesky sweet tooth under control!

1 - Stay Hydrated!
I find I crave more sweets on the days where I don't drink enough water.  When a craving hits, I try to first drink a big glass of water.  It usually goes away on it's own!  My goal each day is to drink half my body weight in ounces of water.



2 - Eat Something Else
If extra water doesn't help, I assume that my body needs nourishment.  By afternoon, when the cravings hit, I usually have greek yogurt.  I've found the Oikos zero is quite delicious.  It is sweetened with Stevia, so I don't feel too guilty.  Other times, I will have some fruit.  Clementines, berries, apples, grapes and pineapple all tend to help.  When it is in season, I love to have watermelon too!  I only eat two servings of fruit per day.  If the cravings are bad, I will have a third serving.  I figure it's better than eating a cookie!


3 - Cut Out the Artificial Sweeteners
They seem to skew my ability to sense natural sweetness.  I guess it's because they are so overly sweet.  Since eliminating them from my diet, I find that natural foods are so much sweeter and taste better!




I am not a Registered Dietician or a nutrition expert, but these are helpful tips I've discovered along the way.  If you need help with your sweet tooth or sugar cravings, let me know!

21 Day Fix Tips for Success

When I first started the 21 Day Fix, I was on my own.  I ordered the program on a whim from Amazon.  I didn't have a coach and didn't even know coaches were available.  I was overwhelmed, but determined to make it work!  I hit Pinterest and pinned about a hundred pins in one day.  The 21 Day Fix has been the program I needed for so many years!  I love that the workouts are quick and effective.  Also, the nutritional plan has changed the way I eat and think about food.  It is now just habit to think in colors and container sizes!

My first round was a learning curve.  I made many mistakes, but lost about 8 pounds!  Now that I am a coach, I try to help my clients avoid the bumps I did in the beginning.  I put together this list of my top 4 tips to get you started on the 21 Day Fix.  If you need help, please let me know!  I am always happy to help people get started, refocused or just keep going.  Send me a message here, on my Facebook site - Fit With Brie or email - fitwithbriec@gmail.com or brie259@yahoo.com

Sweet and Sour Pork Tenderloin

I had a busy night yesterday!  I needed dinner that was fast and easy.  I didn't have time to sit at the stove and cook a meal.  I found a small pork tenderloin on sale at the grocery store, and I knew it would bake pretty quickly.  I pulled some veggies from the fridge and made a quick Sweet and Sour sauce to pour over it.  To make it a complete meal, I cooked a blend of brown and wild rice with a little chicken broth.  Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try!

Sweet and Sour Pork Tenderloin

-Pork Tenderloin sized to feed your family
-1 Green Pepper sliced
-1 Onion halved and sliced
-Carrots sliced
-Mushrooms halved
-Salt and Pepper to taste

Sauce ingredients
-1 cup of pineapple juice
-1/4 cup water
-2 Tbsp vinegar (white or rice wine)
-1/4 cup tomato paste
-1 Tbsp honey
-2 Tbsp soy sauce (low sodium)


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place pork tenderloin in a shallow baking dish.  Sprinkle with Salt and Pepper.  Add vegetables around the pork.  In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients.  Pour over the pork and vegetables.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

Apple Cider Vinegar?

I've been doing some extensive research about drinking raw Apple Cider Vinegar each day.  I've learned some very interesting things!  The claims are all over the place; they range from ending your flu quickly to helping you to lose weight.  I've decided to experiment with some recipes that I've found.  I'm going to give each recipe two to three days before switching to another.  I plan to drink it every day for a month.  Each week, I will give an update as to the recipes I tried and my thoughts on each one.  I will make sure to link you to the sites where I found the recipes, if you want to try them yourself.

Let's start today with some the the potential health benefits of drink unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar.  There was a study in Japan that actually linked drinking it daily for 12 weeks and a minor amount of weight loss.  It seems that it is surely not a quick fix, but might help with the breakdown of fats in an already healthy diet.

There are links established between Apple Cider Vinegar and it's anti-glycemic properties.  Researches at Arizona State University have found that it blocks the absorption of some starch.  It won't be a quick fix if you already have diabetes, but it might help to regulate blood sugar levels in small amounts.  It seems that it might be beneficial to drink it with a starchy meal.  Others suggest to drink it before bed to reduce your sugars overnight while fasting.

It seems that it isn't going to cure cancer, lower your cholesterol or make you lose a ton of weight fast, but it does seem that there are benefits that I want to explore!  I am starting Monday on my month of Apple Cider Vinegar.  I will do my pretty unscientific study to see what happens!

7 - 21 Day Fix On the Go Lunch Ideas

As the warm weather comes, our lives only seem to get busier!  For those of us who are following a clean eating program, for me the 21 Day Fix, it is essential to keep your body fueled.  When on the go, it is easy to just skip a meal or pick up not so healthy food!  You either wind up irritable due to not eating or sluggish due to poor food choices.

If you plan ahead and bring your food with you, you will be satisfied and stay on plan!  Here are 7 ideas that you might want to prep on the weekends to bring with you throughout the week!  I've given my best estimates of the fix containers, which will depend on the actual brands you buy and how you prepare things!

*Tortilla with peanut butter, banana and berries and greek yogurt -

1 Yellow, 1 tsp, 1 Purple and 1 Red

*2 Hard boiled eggs, sliced peppers and carrots with hummus - 

1 Red, 1 Green and 1 Blue

*Nitrate free, low sodium ham, cheese and lettuce rollups - 

1 Red, 1 Green and 1 Blue

*Mixed greens with grilled chicken, strawberries and blue cheese with balsamic vinaigrette - 

1 Green, 1 Red, 1 Purple, 1 Blue, 1 Orange

*Taco Salad - mixed greens with seasoned ground meat, salsa, shredded cheese, and tomatoes - 

1 Green, 1 Red, 1 Blue, 1 Purple

*Turkey and Veggie Pasta Salad (whole wheat pasta, cubed turkey, cheese, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, onions and vinaigrette dressing)

1 Red, 1 Yellow, 1 Blue, 1 Green, 1 Orange

*Honey mustard chicken pita (sliced chicken, mustard mixed with honey and greek yogurt, lettuce, veggies of your choice)

1 Red, 1 tsp, 1 Yellow, 1 Green

Southwest Chicken Wraps

Yesterday was a crazy evening in our house!  My husband's truck was in the shop for a few days.  It was finally ready to be picked up, and luckily, it wasn't too expense to repair!  I am also thankful to not have to take him to work in the morning anymore.  It made my busy mornings even harder!  Any way, we had to drive into town to pick up the truck from the repair shop, and I had to make a run to Walmart.  My son's 100th day project was an epic fail.  I needed glue fast!

Since we live pretty far out of town, this took awhile.  I knew we would never be able to eat dinner at a decent time if I made what was planned.  I contemplated doing drive thru or grabbing a pizza, but that wasn't going to get me to my health and fitness goals.  I decided that while searching for a better glue in Walmart, I'd grab something for dinner.  It needed to be fast and it needed to be healthy!



Finally, some inspiration hit!  I found some whole wheat tortillas and grabbed a rotisserie chicken.  I had shredded cheese at home, but I needed veggies!  I went to the frozen food aisle.  I found a blend of sliced red and green peppers and onions.  Perfect!  I can sauté them in no time, and the bonus was that I didn't have to chop anything.  I wanted something else too.  Two freezers down, I found a Southwestern quinoa blend with mango, black beans, peppers and corn.  It looked delicious and cooked in 4 minutes!  I had some salsa verde at home.  Dinner solved!

Final score -
Take out - 0  Brie - 1

And, as a bonus, the new glue worked much better for those pesky eyeballs!

Southwestern Chicken Wraps

Whole Wheat or Corn Tortillas
Shredded Chicken
Shredded Cheese (I had sharp on hand)
Peppers and onions sautéed in olive oil
Path of life Southwest Quinoa
Salsa Verde

Combine ingredients on your wrap.  Fold and enjoy!  It couldn't be easier!

21 Day Fix containers - 1.5 yellow for wrap and quinoa, 1 red for chicken, 1 green for veggies and salsa verde, 1 blue for cheese, 1 tsp for olive oil

Overnight Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Oatmeal

Watch the video here:
https://www.facebook.com/Fit-With-Brie-2044139009058407/

My family LOVES oatmeal!  My kids have a pretty serious obsession with chocolate oatmeal.  I thought it might make mornings easier if I could make breakfast ahead of time.  I started experimenting with cooking it in my slow cooker.  It turned out great!  Then, I decided that I needed a flavor combination that the kids would enjoy.  What goes together better than chocolate and peanut butter?  It was a winner!

My problem came when I wanted to boost the protein content.  When I make the refrigerator oats (recipe coming soon!), I use greek yogurt.  I know cooking with dairy in the crock pot is very tricky, so yogurt probably wouldn't be the best choice.  I decided to give Shakeology a try.  I know it isn't best for the vitamin content to cook it, but I knew it would still give it the protein boost I needed.  To temper the chocolate flavor, I tried 1 scoop of Vanilla Shakeology and 1 scoop of Chocolate Shakeology.  We all liked this combination best!  

Be careful to not cook this over 7 hours.  The oats will become very mushy!  Also, it will look too runny when you first take the lid off.  I turned my slow cooker to warm and opened the lid.  After about 5 or 6 minutes, it was the perfect consistency!  For the peanut butter swirl, I use an all natural, no salt or sugar added brand.  I usually keep it in the refrigerator to help it firm up.  I took it out the night before so it would be soft.  It was the perfect consistency to drizzle over the top!  

This makes 3-4 servings.  It made more for us, since my little ones don't eat quite a full serving.  I would count this as 1 Yellow, 1/2 Red and 1 tsp.  

Let me know what you think!  

Overnight Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Oatmeal

1 Cup Steel Cut Oats

1 tsp Honey

1 tsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 

1/4 tsp Pink Himalayan Salt

2 scoops Shakeology (chocolate or vanilla will work just fine)

4 cups Water

1 tsp per serving Peanut Butter

Add all ingredients to the slow cooker, except for the peanut butter.  Cook for 6-7 hours on low.  Don't over cook!  It will be too mushy.  Once it is done, remove lid and let it thicken for 5-10 minutes.  Serve and swirl peanut butter over the top.  You can add chocolate chips, if you like! 

Calling All Crock Pot Cooks!

Starting on 2/19, I will be hosting a free 7 day Clean Eating Slow Cooker Recipe group on Facebook.  If you are interested in joining, please click the link below and let me know you want to attend!  I will post the link to the closed group next week.  I have the menu all planned.  I will be featuring 6 of my delicious, healthy slow cooker recipes!

Here's the link!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1683315545242929/

Clean Eating Muffins

My kids LOVE muffins!  This is terrible for me and my clean eating habits.  I still adore sweets, and I try not to keep temptations in the house that I want to eat.  I also hate being that mom that always says no, because I can't have it!  We decided to come up with a compromise!  I created this Clean Eating Muffin recipe to solve this struggle.

It's funny, because my kids don't mind when I tweak recipes and make them healthier.  Most of the time, they never comment that they are different.  I guess I am very lucky in that regard.  After baking the muffins, both kids had one for dessert.  They each wanted more, so I'd say we have success!  

This batter for this recipe will be crumbly!  You did not miss any ingredients or do something wrong. They firm up once they are cooled.  For the recipe, I chose to combine coconut flour and almond flour.  The texture of the almond flour alone is a bit too course for me, but the coconut won't allow things to come together if used in isolation.  I combined the two, and we enjoyed the result.  I found the coconut flour in a local health food store.  We live outside of a pretty small town.  If I can find it, I'm sure almost anyone can!  If you can't or don't want to track it down, you can use just almond flour.  I would probably add a bit more yogurt or a tablespoon of almond or regular milk to loosen it up a bit.  I found my almond flour at Walmart, so that should be easily located.  I hope you enjoy it!

I did some scouring of the internet to figure out how to categorize this.  I do the best I can with composed recipes, because it is hard to know exactly how to count it!  I found from Autumn Calabrese that the flour is counted as 1/2 blue and 1/2 yellow.  I would also count it as a tsp and if you go to the quarter container - 1/4 purple and 1/4 red.  If you use chocolate chips, don't forget to add them in too!

Clean Eating Muffins

3/4 cup Almond Flour

3/4 cup Coconut Flour

1 Tbsp Baking Soda

1/4 tsp Pink Himalayan Salt

3 Ripe Bananans

1 Tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1 Tbsp Melted Coconut Oil

2 Eggs

1/4 cup Greek Yogurt

1 tsp Cinnamon

Mix-ins of your choice (dark chocolate chips, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, peaches, apples, nuts, etc.)

1 - Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2 - Combine flours, baking soda and salt.  Stir and set aside.

3 - Mash bananas.

4 - Add vanilla, coconut oil, eggs, yogurt and cinnamon and mix well.

5 - Add dry ingredients and mix.  

6 - Batter will be crumbly.  

7 - Spoon batter into lined cupcake pan.  Fill 3/4 full.

8 - Add you mix-ins and push them into the muffins.

9 - Bake on 350 for 12-15 minutes.  

Weekly Meal Plan and Template

I am a little late posting my weekly menu this week!  I completely forgot to do it on Sunday, and yesterday just didn't happen!  I am really trying to learn how to juggle my coaching business, being a stay at home mom, volunteering at my son's school and teaching my online course.  For some reason, I was better able to do it in the fall.  Maybe it has something to do with my 2 and a half year old not napping on a consistent schedule.  It has become a catch 22!  If she naps well during the day, she doesn't sleep through the night.  If she only takes a 30 minute cat nap, we get a well rested night.  I have selfishly been choosing to sleep through the night.  Maybe that isn't the best strategy, but meh!

I also had a few people ask for the template I use for meal planning.  It really isn't anything special.  I will upload as a PDF, a pages document and a word document.  I can't guarantee the formatting of the word document.  I will go back and upload it from a pc in the near future!

Happy Eating!
~Brie

Here is the link to the template!  Weekly Meal Planner Template

Calling all Pinterest Lovers!

I am in the process of putting together Pinterest boards for clean eating/ 21 Day Fix recipe ideas.  I have them set up for Breakfast, Lunch, Snacks, Dinner and Planning Tools.  The boards are small for now, but I'm going to work this week to add lots of ideas.  I have a general 21 Day Fix board now, but it is getting a little hard to use.  If you'd like to follow me on Pinterest, you can check out the boards there!

You can find me here:
https://www.pinterest.com/brie259/

Happy Pinning!

Sunday ... Meal Planning Day!

It's Sunday!  In our house that means it is meal planning day.  I thought I would share my meal plan for this week with you.  I have color coded everything according to the 21 Day Fix program.  I am not as strict with counting some of the small ingredients in my recipes, but I don't really count less than 1/2 of a portion.  I am in the lowest calorie bracket for the 21DF, so my number of servings will reflect that.  You will also notice that I tend to repeat lunches and snacks throughout the week.  It makes it easier for me when grocery shopping.  I can save money by having fewer things to buy each week.  As I meal plan, I also do my grocery list at the same time.  As I write a meal down, I add the ingredients I am missing to my grocery list.  I also tend to sort my grocery list by area of the supermarket.

If you are struggling with meal planning or are ready to start a clean eating program, let me know.  I'd love to help!  The 21 Day Fix is a great program since it focuses on clean eating principles and also has the portion control cups.

Next week, I will share with you my method for making my grocery list!  Happy Meal Planning!

Focused on Fitness for 2016

We are a month into the new year.  How are your goals holding up 30 day in?  I spent many New Year's resolutions saying that this year I will exercise more or I will eat better.  I even decided one year that I would begin a running regimen in January.  Well, it lasted until the first snow storm.  Using the Beachbody workouts and Shakeology have been the only program I've been able to stick with.  I think it's because we use a winning combination or exercise, nutrition, support and accountability.  Whether you are a Beachbody customer or not, here are some tips to help you stay focused on your health and fitness goals throughout the year!

1 - Post Them
If you can see your goals, you are more likely to achieve them!  If you are following a workout program, post your workouts for the month.  You could also use a calendar and cross off each day you complete a workout.  If you like sticky notes, post them on your computer, your refrigerator, your closet, etc.  Put them where you can see them and be reminded often of your goal!  Almost everyone has a smart phone.  If you set reminders in your phone, you see them more frequently!

2 - Share Them
When you know others are watching and looking to see if you stick to your plan, you are more likely to do it!  This is why having a coach is so important.  Sometimes it is that daily Facebook post that reminds you to workout or knowing that you have to post your workout of the day makes you get off the couch.  Your accountability partners will celebrate your achievements with you and help motivate you through the rough patches.

3 - Break Them Into Manageable Parts
If your overall goal for the year is to lose 40 pounds, that can be very intimidating!  If you break that down into 12 monthly goals, it means you only need to lose a little over 3 pounds per month.  That now sounds much more attainable than your 40 pound goal.  If you believe you can do it, you will be so much more likely to reach it!

4 - Reward Yourself
When you reach your small goals, allow yourself a reward.  Maybe it's a new workout outfit after the first month.  For your second month, you could get a new pair of sneakers.  Every time you lace up, you will think about why you bought them and what you accomplished.  We all love those extrinsic motivations, even if we think we don't need them!  It's okay to bribe yourself a bit, if it means that you will be healthier in the end.

5 - Revisit Your Goals Often
It is important to look at your goals to make sure they are still going to work for you.  You might decide to change your workout program or that your schedule doesn't allow for a workout at that time of day.  If you update them, you will keep your goals relevant and applicable to your real life!

If you need help getting started, setting your goals or working to reach them, let me know!  I'd love to help you on your health and fitness journey!

Crispy Chicken Tenders with Honey Dijon Dipping Sauce

Here's my latest video recipe.  This recipe came to be one night when I couldn't sleep.  I thought it would be a great thing for my kids.  They love chicken nuggets, but I don't often make them.  I try to avoid deep frying at all costs.  I thought this would be a great recipe for the families with picky eaters.  They might not want the sauce, but I think it pretty tasty, and both of my kids loved it!

If you give it a try, please comment below with your thoughts!  I love to hear feedback!

Italian Vegetable Soup

I made this recipe almost two weeks ago.  I planned to post it a few days later, but I completely forgot!  As I was going through my notebook to plan my next video, I remembered this recipe.  I just love to make chop and drop soups.  I don't like to make things too fussy or difficult.  I was originally planning to made my Tortellini Soup, but as I started putting it together I was missing some tomatoes.  I figured that I would just change it up a bit.  The outcome was delicious, so I figured I would keep the recipe.  This can easily be a crock pot meal, too!  I would do the onion, garlic and ground turkey ahead of time.  After that is browned, you can add it and the rest of the ingredients to the crock pot and cool on low for 6+ hours.  Here it is!

Italian Vegetable Soup

1 onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
1 zucchini, chopped
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 stalks of celery, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
4-5 mushroom, chopped
1 small package of frozen spinach
1 cup frozen green beans
6 oz tomato sauce
3 cups of beef stock
1 cup of water
2 tbsp prepared pesto
1 tsp oregano
1 cup of whole wheat elbow macaroni
salt and pepper to taste

In a stock pot, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil.  Add ground turkey and brown it.

Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the elbow macaroni.  Stir well and cook on a low simmer for 2-3 hours.  You can always cook it longer, if you have time.

About 20 minutes before serving, bring the soup up to a boil.  Add the macaroni and cook it according to the package directions.

Serve and enjoy!  You can add a bit of parmesan cheese, if desired.

Slow Cooker Pineapple Pork Recipe

I've been seeing recipe videos pop up all over my Facebook news feed.  I've even had a few people share videos to my timeline.  Most of the recipes look absolutely delicious, but are totally not clean eating or on plan for the 21 Day Fix.  I create tons of recipes for my challengers, so I decided to make a video myself using clean eating principles.  This is my first attempt - Slow Cooker Pineapple Pork.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ6cfuRp_Mw

This video took me more hours than I care to admit, but it was a huge learning curve!  I know that all of the following videos will be much faster.  My job now is to work on better lighting!  My kitchen is dark, so I've got to work on adding more production style lighting to my recording area (aka my kitchen table!).  Feel free to share!  If you make it, please leave me a comment!

Slow Cooker Pineapple Pork

Pork tenderloin (sized for your family)
1 red pepper sliced
1 green pepper sliced
3 carrots chopped 
1 onion halved and sliced
2 cups pineapple
salt and pepper to taste. 

The sauce is:
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds and ground ginger mix (or separate them if you can't find a blend)
2 tsp honey
1/4 cup soy sauce.

Add pork to the bottom of your slow cooker.  Season with salt and pepper. 
Mix sauce in a small bowl.  
Add veggies to the slow cooker.  
Pour sauce over top.  
Cook on low for 6-7 hours.  If you want to be able to slice your pork, cook no longer than 6 hours.  If you don't mind that it shreds, you can cook it longer.  

For my fellow Fixers - I would measure it as 1 Red, 1 Green, 1 Orange (seeds and sesame oil), 1/2 Purple (depending on your serving size of pineapple)

Tasty Tuesday - White Chicken Chili

I LOVE to cook!  It is one of my favorite parts of the day.  It is so interesting to me to put together new and different ingredients and create new meals.  Usually they are good, and sometimes they are amazing!  There are also those occasional meals that I will never repeat, but I guess those are better left to my husband's memory.

My plan is to share a new recipe with you each Tuesday.  This first recipe is by far a favorite of so many people that join my free recipe groups on Facebook!  My dad now likes it better than regular chili.  If you try it, please let me know what you think!  I hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

1 tbs Olive Oil

1 small onion diced

2 cloves garlic crushed

1 red and 1 green pepper chopped

1 stalk celery chopped

6 tomatillos chopped (Optional)

8 oz of salsa verde 

1 can cannelloni beans undrained

3 chicken breasts

1 tbs cumin

salt and pepper to taste

2+ cups of chicken stock

Directions:

-Saute onion, garlic, pepper and celery in olive oil.

-Once soft, add veggies to your slow cooker.

-Add tomatillos, salsa verde, beans and chicken.

-Add chicken stock and spices.

-Stir ingredients and cover.

-Cook on low for 6-7 hours.

-If your chili is too thick, add some additional chicken stock to thin it out.  If it is too thin, let is sit with the lid off for a bit to thicken.

Here's a photo of the delicious meal!  When I'm home, I usually choose to make this on the stove top.  If you make in in the slow cooker, it tends to be a bit thinner.  You might want to use a bit less chicken stock.  Also, the last time I made this, I used dried beans, instead of canned.  I really liked it better.  I've avoided using them, because of the overnight soaking required.  I found a quick way to prepare them.  Comment if you want to know how!

Happy New Year!

It's that time of year when there are so many people who make resolutions about what they want to change for the coming year.  Unfortunately, without a plan, resolutions are daunting.  Since most resolutions fall by the wayside before the end of the moth, I've decided to do something different this year.  I've decided to pick a theme for my year, and set my goals around that.  The word I chose for 2016 is BOLD!  


The definition of bold is - showing an ability to take risks; confident and courageous.  I'm going to apply this to all aspects of my life.  I made a list of goals from here that apply to my coaching business, my personal life and my own health and fitness.  

I'm excited to see what this year will bring!  Did you make any resolutions for 2016 or did your choose a theme?