Recipe: Chicken Spinach Pesto Pizza

So I LOVE PIZZA!!!!  When I finally was brave enough to step out of my comfort zone, I finally made a homemade pizza crust that is to die for, budget friendly, and easy. And being a busy mom this is truly a dream come true! Overall the process takes about an hour but a good portion of that is the pizza actually cooking! I did also get a chance to finally use my KitchenAid Mixer, and let me just say I am in love with this kitchen gadget.

So enough chit chat...let's get to the pizza!

Ingredients:

For crust
1 cup hot water
2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour (you can also use white flour if making a more traditional pizza)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tablespoon active yeast
1 tablespoon honey

Mix all ingredients in your mixer. I added my dry ingredients first and slowly poured in the hot water. The dough will quickly become sticky and formed. Once all dry ingredients have been mixed with water, let the dough sit in your bowl for about 10-15 minutes to rise some. In the mean time, preheat your oven to 425. I also greased a baking stone with an olive oil mister to get it ready as well. Your dough ball may not rise a lot but will rise some. You can always let it sit longer if you want but I typically do not have that much extra time. 

While your dough is rising, this is the perfect opportunity to gather up your ingredients for your pizza!

For this particular pizza I used:

-spinach
-pre cooked diced chicken
-prediced red onions
-basil pesto sauce (any brand will work)
-diced cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 skim mozzarella cheese
-1/4 cup fat free feta cheese
-1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
-pre sliced portabello mushrooms
-I sprinkled the toppings with Italian herbs and oregano

Take your dough ball and and use a rolling pin to smooth it out on your baking sheet. I was pretty surprised the first time I made this at how think the dough cooked the first time. So if you are wanting a thinner crust use a bigger pan to spread it out more. Honestly, whatever type of crust you personally prefer is how you should make it. Once you have your dough rolled out, place in the oven to "precook" the dough for 10 minutes. This step just helps assure your dough gets fully cooked in the center before adding toppings.

Once you dough has done its initial "pre cooking", remove dough from oven and go to town with your toppings! The fun thing about this is that it is pizza so you can really get creative with your toppings. Once you have your toppings in place, you can garnish with some dried herbs/seasonings if you want, place in oven for an additional 20 minutes.

This dough does not get super crispy so if you are looking for a thinner, crispier crust this may not be the one for you. Although I suspect if you took half the dough and rolled it out you could get an even thinner crust. But the choice is up to you!

I really hope you enjoy this! I know I have the last three times I made it! I had been searching for a way to have pizza (even healthier pizza) that is more budget friendly for my family. This definitely fits the bill for that. All in all you can make a pizza for a few dollars that tastes amazing compared to a more expensive version of the same pizza from a restaurant. Not to mention its healthier, cleaner, and a fun activity you can do with you kids!!

Please feel free to leave comments when you try it! Or ask questions about other healthy & budget friendly recipes!

Until next time...

xoxo
Meghan

Recipe: Not So Clean Adult Hot Chocolate!

So the blizzard/snowzilla of 2016 has definitely left its mark. We spent 48 hours snowed in (although it could have been much worse), and I found myself getting a little antsy. Something about being snowed in with no end in sight to the downfall of snow had me in the kitchen all weekend experimenting with new things. One of these new things was homemade hot chocolate with a little extra adult kick to it. Now anyone who knows me well, knows that mixed drinks aren't really my thing and that I LOVE my wine. But this particular occasion called for some homemade hot chocolate, grown up style! Thank goodness I had all the ingredients on hand, and thank goodness when I took a drink I was adult heaven on that snow day! So much so that I texted my friend and told her she had to try this!!! Bear in mind, yes I know this is not clean. Yes I am aware that as a health and fitness coach & a nurse that I should promote healthy recipes however being snowed in with your kids for going on the 4th day called for a special hot chocolate while the two feet of snow continued to pile up!

Ingredients:
3-4 cups of Milk (you can use any kind, all I had was whole milk on hand, again I am aware this is a not a clean drink but it was too good not to share with you all. You can use almond milk, skim or whatever tickles your fancy)
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (I had Hershey's on hand)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Vodka (we had Absolut)
Crème de Menthe
Kahlua
(All liquors should be split into 3 equal parts in one shot glass, use less Crème de Menthe if you don't want to mint flavor to be too strong)

To garnish:
Marshmallows
Chocolate syrup

For Hot Chocolate:

In a small pot, mix 3-4 cups of dairy product of your choosing and heat. Do not boil. Whisk in sugar, cocoa, and vanilla. Let this mixture simmer while occasionally stirring.

Remove from heat and take one shot glass and mix equal parts of each liquor, I would use a little less Crème de Menthe if you don't like mint chocolate as much as I do. Pull out your favorite wintery mug, pour hot chocolate in mug and stir in your liquor. Garnish with marshmallows and drizzle chocolate syrup and serve! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. It was strong but an awesome combo of flavors for that wintery weekend we had!

I promise the next recipe will be clean!

xoxo

Meghan

Recipe: Quinoa Taco Bake

It is no secret that I love me some southwest/Tex-Mex foods, so when I need to change things up a bit, this is often one of the first things I end up doing. I try to figure out another way to eat my beloved taco foods.

Quinoa, by far one of the most perfect foods that exists, is one of my easy go to healthy sides.  So when I needed to change things up this week, I had some quinoa and my other go to ingredients, and quinoa taco bake is the happy result! It's quick. It's ridiculously healthy, and super tasty! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Ingredients:

1-2 cups of cooked quinoa. I had about a cup, but used steam in a bag from Target.
1 can corn or 1 cup frozen corn
1 small can of rotel tomatoes
1 can of black beans
1 packet taco seasoning

Directions:

Empty all cans of ingredients into a strainer, and rinse briefly. Combine in a casserole pan with cooked quinoa, stir in taco seasoning. Sprinkle a light layer of cheese on top. Cook at 375 for approximately 15-20 minutes or until cheese is slightly bubbling. Remove, let cook and enjoy!

Total time for dish: about 30 minutes (but most of that is it cooking in the oven)

Total containers for 21 Day fix Meal plan: 1 yellow and 1/2 blue with cheese added

Total money spent: just about $6 per large casserole and each casserole makes double digit servings.

Have a healthy recipe you want to share? Comment below and lets share ideas together!

Interested in learning more about clean eating? Complete challenge group application on home page and let's chat about how to get started on your journey today!

xoxo
Meghan

Recipe: 21 Day Fix Approved Fruit Nachos

So I will be honest...I have a serious sweet tooth. And in my efforts to really buckle down on my nutrition, my sweet does not mix with that all too well. I really wanted something, and before I caved I remembered I had just bought slivered almonds and chopped walnuts. The health and nutritional benefits from these two types of nuts are astonishing, and I definitely wanted to make sure I started incorporating them into my daily routine more often.

Ingredients needed:

1 small granny smith apple

cinnamon

raw honey

slivered almonds and chopped walnuts

Directions:

Slice granny smith apple and measure one purple container full of apple slices. Keep the slices on the thinner side. Arrange you apple slices on the plate, drizzle raw honey over and sprinkle a generous amount of cinnamon (its FREE). Fill your blue container for that day with the slivered almonds and chopped walnuts, and then distribute them over your apples. Place entire plate in microwave for about 30 seconds and then ENJOY! An easy, delicious and nutritious afternoon snack and easy sweet tooth fix as well.

Total container count:

1 purple

1 blue

2 tsp

xoxo

Meghan

Hammer and Chisle Journey- Weeks 2-4 I am FRUSTRATED

Never give up right?!? That is what I keep telling myself.  No pounds gone, no inches gone, and a very frustrated and worn out mom is what you get! I am trying to focus on non scale victories as well. I notice my endurance is getting better, my upper body strength is improving, but seriously, no pounds gone and actually ended up gaining a few!!! NOT WHAT I HAD PLANNED ON HAPPENING!

So, I called my coach. She herself has ample experience with these programs and meal plans as well as her own prep for figure competitions. We chatted and we came up with a plan. I am altering my meal plan ever so slightly to accommodate days when I lift heavier and on days that are more cardio heavy. On heavy cardio days I will cut out a carb and reduce my calorie intake that day. The good think about these programs, is that the meal plan allows for flexibility usually within a 200-300 calorie range. Heavy cardio days will also have carbs on 1st and 3rd meals and during the day I will eat lean meats and veggies. As I am also trying to prepare for a really big Spartan race, I have to incorporate running. I am trying to figure out how to do this is we are currently experiencing subarctic temperatures (I am exaggerating a little but seriously not really fond of the idea of running outside in the cold) running outside is tricky, and it may be time to discuss investing in a treadmill.  We also decided that on days when I have really heavy lifting days (which can happen frequently with this particular program), and I'm running  I will add an additional small meal of a protein and carb (so an additional red and yellow).  The red container or additional protein source can be in the form of an extra shake 2-3 days per week. No extras just a scoop and water and chug it down. Seems tricky right? But this is where meal planning and prep makes a huge difference!

After talking to her I felt more confident that I can bust through whatever is happening. I know my nutrition is key to make this work so that is where I am putting most of my focus. I feel as though maybe I have sabotaged myself. I am busting out these amazingly difficult workouts, but not so much busting out the awesome in the kitchen. And with that being said this week is all about experimentation with my nutrition and calorie intake. I have also decided to incorporate at least 2 days per week of fasting cardio and have a day mid week that I cut calories even more, almost like intermittent fasting in hopes that I can trick my metabolism up some.

Now bear in mind, I am NOT A PROFESSIONAL. This is all guess work but I am incorporating ideas from my own coach, research that I do, and keeping my fingers crossed that I find something that works best for me. EVERY SINGLE PERSON IS DIFFERENT. So please know what may work for me or someone else may very well not work for YOU. You do have to be willing to put in the effort and work to find what works best for you. This is just currently what I am trying.

One thing I can say, is that I have never before put this much effort into something like this. Often times my efforts were limited to just cutting calories significantly, not working out consistently, and not eating the right amounts of the right foods. Of course I never really lost the weight and if I did I just gained it right back. I never really focused on changing my habits and NEVER had a coach to go to for additional support and advice. I am learning most of this for the first time and it is tricky. I have to find what will work best for my body and the heavy amount of training & preparation that is happening for this race. Bear in mind, this race is a few short months away so there is no time to hold back. This MUST BE 100% ALL IN. NO SHORTCUTS. NO QUITTING. NO WHINING WHEN IT GETS HARD. NO EXCUSES. JUST DO IT.

Here's to new beginnings and never quitting or giving up on myself.

xoxo

Meghan

Recipe: Clean Apple Pie Oatmeal

Who LOVES oatmeal? I do! And I LOVE oatmeal with really good flavor. There is just something about eating a warm, tasty breakfast that makes me so happy in the morning. However, the little premade packets oatmeal or traditional ways of eating it often times take the healthy right out of oatmeal. Oatmeal is one of those foods that everyone should eat, and I have to often times think of ways to make it differently so I don't get bored with it but I am still keeping it clean. And then this happened...Apple Pie Oatmeal. It seriously tastes like warm apple pie. It is in one short word: AMAZING! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! It is even toddler approved!

Ingredients:

Plain rolled, steel cut or quick oats

1/2 purple container of unsweetened applesauce

Cinnamon

Small chunks of diced apple

Raw honey

Directions:

Cook oatmeal according to package instructions. I use water with mine to avoid added calories or fat from milk. If you need milk I recommend using unsweetened almond milk. Dice up on slice of an apple, any will do. Granny smith would be particularly delicious on top. Once your oatmeal is prepared, measure out one yellow container of your cooked oatmeal, mix with applesauce, and use approximately 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp raw honey and mix it all together in your bowl. Top with diced apples, and drizzle a very small amount of raw honey on top and you're finished.

I promise you will love it!

Total containers used:

1 yellow

1/2 purple

1tsp

Have comments or other clean recipes to share? Comment below and let's chat!

Want to know how to get started on your own clean eating journey, CLICK ON "CHALLENGE GROUP APPLICATION" TAB AT TOP OF HOME PAGE to start you journey today!

xoxo

Meghan

Recipe: Grandmas Crockpot Beans and Potatoes- A clean version of a childhood favorite

If you grew up in the country like I did, many foods were considered comfort foods. We often had an amazing casserole for a meal, biscuits, beans, gravy covered stuff, and meals that we could cook from what we picked in the garden. One of those meals was beans and potatoes. I never realized that eating green beans could be bad for me but when I realized it was cooked with good ole bacon grease and other yummy flavorings, I decided I wanted to try it in a cleaner way so I could still have a little bit of home during the cold weather months. 

Ingredients:

Fresh green beans, cleaned, snapped (1lb of beans it cooks down and this is a weeks worth of beans)

Turkey Bacon

Fresh golden potatoes

Yellow onion diced 

Place all of the above in a crockpot, season with a little salt (remember we are keeping this clean) and pepper. Place on high heat and cook for 8 hours. 

Once its done, serve warm and enjoy. 

Portion containers: 

1 yellow

1 green 

xoxo

Meghan