Homemade No Bake Shakeology Granola Bars

I came across a granola recipe online and thought I had to be able to make that even better! And guess what..... I did.  And I made it healthier as well. I used the base recipe and added my own concoction of ingredients and superfoods, and even my husband was devouring it!

Ingredients:

2 cups quick oats

1 cup whole cashews unsalted

1/2 cup dry quinoa

1 scoop chocolcate shakeology

1/4 cup raw honey

1/2 Tablespoon peanut butter

4 tablespoons coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup dark choloclate chips

Instructions: 

In a food processer, combine cashews and quinoa and chop. There is no perfect level of chopping just make them smaller. Set aside for later.

In a pan on low heat, combine honey, coconut oil, brown sugar, peanut butter and vanilla extract and heat until it makes a thick liquid. This process only takes a few minutes. 

Once you have achieved this step then toss in your other dry ingredients (BUT NOT THE CHOCOLATE CHIPS!!!! They will melt!!! ) Stir and mix everything together. 

In a wax paper lined pan (grease the wax paper some so it does not stick to you granoloa bars) spread the mixture and even it out with a spatula. Top with your chocolate chips and place in the fridge for a couple hours...voila! DONE! And let me tell you it tastes rather yummy! 

If you are not using a scoop of chocolate shakeology you could add a tablspoon of PB2 to have peanut butter flavored granola!!! 

Total time: about 20 minutes and I have several days worth of a quick & healthy snack that also tastes amazing!

Enjoy!

xoxo

Meghan

Italian Spaghetti Squash

So I finally got brave and tackled my first meal using spaghetti squash!

I think it was hit as evidenced by the fact that there were absolutely no left overs.

So here is what I did, now mind you I have never cooked it before so I had to look that part up. So I preheated my oven to 375, placed my squash on a pan after I pierced it a couple times on each side. I worried about it cooking all the way through. And I cooked it for about 60 minutes. 

It was really tender afterwards, and then I sliced it open and scooped out the seeds and scooped out the inside goodies!

I was a littler unsure of what to mix it with but I did have lots of veggies on hand again. 

I used fresh baby portebella mushrooms cleaned and sliced, frozen red & green bell peppers with onions, and generously seasoned with garlic, pepper, italian herbs, oregano, and a little salt. 

Voila! Healthy "pasta"! I have lots left over and I am really looking forward to experimenting some more. I am always looking for new things to try so if you have any suggestions please feel free to let me know in the comments below. 

Until next time.....

Recipe: Crockpot Chicken Tacos

What happens when you are trying to revamp your typical taco night at home? You try something new, keep your fingers crossed that it will taste good, and also hope that it reheats well because you just know that there will be leftovers.

So that was my day yesterday.... hence the crockpot chicken tacos, and they were to say the least pretty yummy and it reheats well so that is a win win for me and my family with our busy schedules!

So again, I used ingredients I already had on hand and I am sure this can be tweaked according to your likes and dislikes. 

Ingredients: 

1 can black beans

1 cup frozen corn

1 small onion 

1 lb of chicken

1 1/2 packets of taco seasoning of your choice, in our house we use McCormick (and I have not yet experimented with making my own but thats on my list of to so stuff)

1 8oz can of Rotel tomatoes

Cooking Instructions: ( And here is the best part as this is a fabulous crockpot recipe)

Dice onion, drain and rinse black beans and tomatoes ( I do this to get rid of the "canned" taste), throw everything in the crockpot, and let it go!

Now I like to really slow cook any chicken I make in the crockpot so I cook on low for 4-6 hours and this also allows me flexibility to walk away from it for a while as well. On this day I started this in the afternoon so I cooked on high for about 4 hours and shredded the chicken afterwards. 

This is how I chose to serve the taco chicken. I did portion out the chicken in a red container to continue following the 21 Day fix meal plan. I sliced avocado and placed it in a quartered piece of a flour tortilla since that's what I had available. 

I did reheat it the next day, and it tasted just as yummy as it did fresh on day one!! Since we have all seem to have chaotic schedules I am all for convenience foods and things you can eat more than one day and/or freeze for later. 

Hope you enjoy!!

Italian Night 21 Day Fix Style

So my husband grew up with a lovely Italian family and every now and then we need to have us a yummy Italian meal. 

Now this day in particular was all about time effiency and simplicity and also sticking to my meal plan while still enjoting my meal. 

So I had purchased some eggplant from a local farm while pumpkin picking and some other veggies that needed to be cooked before they went bad. Now considering I am officially down one income at the moment, wasting isn't really an option at this point in time. 

So I got creative...but I cannot lie this was AMAZING!!! Even my husband was head over heals for this delicious veggie Italian meal. And really you can use any veggies but this is what I had on hand. 

Ingredients: 

one eggplant

 one red bell pepper

one half red onion

one tomato

shredded parmesan cheese

salt

pepper

garlic

balsalmic vinegar

basil

crushed red pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

1. Clean all veggies and slice them up while preheating your oven to 400

2. Lay out your sliced egg plant on your pan, and drizzle olive oil over them

3. sprinkle a light layer of parmesan cheese over eggplant.

4. lay tomato slices on top of eggplant

5. lay all other veggies on the tray

6. Season generously with all of the above seasonings, lightly drizzle the balsalmic vinegar over since it has such a powerful flavor

7. lightly sprinkle parmesan cheese over entire pan

8. Cook in oven for approx 20 minutes or until eggplant and veggies are tender

9. Let cool slightly

10. Serve with chicken or whole wheat pasta for a full on Italin feast 21 Day Fix style

 Seriously, delicious and amazingly fresh and healthy. 

This was incredibly budget friendly and something I will be making again in the future. 

Enjoy!

I don't know about you but...Inside the mind of someone with a case of the constant worries

I don't know about you but some days it's a struggle to see the light at the end of a dark tunnel.


I don't know about you but some days it's hard to give anymore.


I don't know about you but some days I just want to cry even though no tears will come out.


I don't know about you but sometimes my brain is buzzing with so many different thoughts, ideas, hopes, doubts, and fears that it causes my body to start shaking.


I don't know about you but there are times when I need to scream at the top of my lungs but I am scare no one will listen to me.


I don't know about you but I often wonder why there is so much hate in the world.


I don't know about you but I wish I could make everyone I knew care about other people.


I don't know about you but I worry about I worry every single waking moment about my children and their happiness.


I don't know about you but I worry about watching my loved ones grow old and face the unknown.


I don't know about you but I worry all day every day about things I simply cannot control.


I don't know about you but I often wonder how much more I have to give most days.


I don't know about you but I am scared about the future my children will have.


I don't know about you but my heart hurts when I have to pay bills each month for an education that I finished almost a decade ago, that will still be there another decade from now.


You see, I don't know about you, but I worry every single day.


 Some things are out of my control.


I don't know some days how to control the overwhelming emotions I experience almost on a daily basis.


I don't know about you but some days I am so overwhelmed I cannot concentrate or focus.


I don't know about you but this is only a small part of what goes  through my mind on a daily basis.


I know that one day I want to worry less.


I don't know about you but one day I will.

Recipe: Egg Cups for a Quick & Easy Meal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Egg Cups

So one thing about me:

I LOVE EGGS!!!!

 

I love how versatile they are, I love the nutritional value they provide, and they are inexpensive.

Now bear in mind I live in a high cost of living area so if I list any prices for anything mine are most likely much higher than yours.

 

Ingredients:

I used 11 eggs (what I had left in my fridge)

Frozen bag of kale that I thawed and mixed in.

Diced up green and red pepper, red onion, and some tomatoes.

 All ingredients I had on hand!

 

Threw it in the bowl, and seasoned with some garlic salt and pepper.

Preheat your oven to 375 and cook for about 35-40 min in a muffin pan. You canine your pan with wrappers as I did here or coat the pan itself with oil. I use olive oil otherwise.

Super easy, inexpensive and now I have a quick on the go meal packed full of protein and veggies.

 

I was able to get 15 egg cups in about 10 minutes worth of work.

 

 

 Enjoy!

Update on my coaching Journey & What it Means to Me

 

 

This is exciting for me to announce! In a short time, I reached my first goal of becoming an Emerald Coach! And let me tell you why this is so important to me...

I struggle with depression and anxiety. ...

And more recently it's gotten worse to the point I'm having panic attacks. My body reacts so violently I'm hovered over a toilet barfing, shaking uncontrollably and chest pains. I am a nurse and I knew what was happening but I couldn't control it.

A few months ago, life took some unexpected turns and I quickly found myself spiraling out of control. I wasn't performing well at work, constantly angry and resentful all the time, my kids had an exhausted mom that couldn't focus, and my physical health was also paying the price. I wasn't eating well... I would binge by myself to feel better but then only felt worse after and day after day I was losing more control over my life.

I had ZERO goals
I had ZERO dreams anymore
I felt as if I had ZERO purpose
I felt as if I was living my life for everyone else around me
I am buried under massive student loan debt
I have ZERO ambition as a nurse to go back to school again so I was stuck professionally
I had ZERO fulfillment in what I was doing everyday
My kids had a very distracted mom
My husband merely had a roommate
I couldn't even look at the mirror anymore because I hated the reflection


So I made a change....

I became part of a family.

A family that forced to me to dig deep and rediscover a passion for life that I forgot even existed. I became a part of a family that helped me to realize that I hadn't completely lost control of life but merely stepped off my path. This family has helped me to realize that I am truly capable of dreaming big and achieving big. This family gave me the courage to face some of my biggest fears and overcome some big hurdles. This family gave me.... Hope. Hope that I can take back control of my life and no longer believe I have to settle.

What is this family? It's my Beachbody family.

An amazing group of women and men dedicated to not just helping people shed the extra pounds but truly discovering themselves and helping people realize just how strong they can be.
And even though it's only been a few months being a part of this family, I have changed. A lot.
I laugh more often. I smile more. I am more confident. I am happier with my family. I am proud of myself. I have goals. I am dreaming again. My husband has his wife back, and my children have a more engaged mom. I feel fulfilled and excited about the future again. I feel like I am serving a greater purpose in life now.

And it is amazing.

I truly feel it has saved my life.

I am getting healthier. On the inside and the outside. And NO pill, special diet, magic potion or voodoo has done it.

I did it. With my own hard work and the support of this amazing team.

And this my friends is why I am proud to say, I AM a Beachbody coach!!

Because I am getting control over my life again.

One day at a time.

And this is only the beginning.

This coach is dreaming big and aiming high.

xoxo
Meghan

Recipe: Southwestern Turkey Stuffed Peppers

 

Southwestern Turkey Stuffed Peppers

 

 

Southwestern Turkey Stuffed Peppers

 

So easy, so yummy, reheats easily and freezes well!

 

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground turkey

 

4-5 Bell peppers cleaned, with the top cut off

 

1 Can low sodium black beans, drained & rinsed

 

1/4 diced red onion

 

1 cup diced cherry tomatoes

 

Cayenne Pepper

 

Dried cilantro

 

Olive oil (1 tablespoon)

 

Salt (a pinch of it)

 

Garlic ( maybe a half tablespoon)

 

Cook turkey on medium until all pink is gone, add in all ingredients, and let simmer so flavor sets in well! Make sure that oven has been preheated to 375. Once all your ingredients have simmered together for about 5-10 minutes, stuff your peppers, place in the oven for about 35-40 minutes and voila! Dinner is served! You can top with a bit of cheese if want but make it a nice light cheese!

 

I am all about convenience foods so this is a staple for me at least once a month when I do my own meal prep at home because it is simple. It also reheats well! And freezes well!!!

 

Enjoy!