I'm BAAAAAAAAACCCCKKKK!!!!

After taking a little break (okay, a long break). I'M BACK FRIENDS!

If you remember back (or you can refer back) to my very first post here, I had started my journey due to my number of miscarriages. Well after losing over 100lbs and feeling my best in so long, I got pregnant!

In May 2017, my rainbow, Harley Ann was born. It was a rough birth and she had a lot to deal with in her first few months of her little life (that's a whole other post),  but she is now an amazingly smart, independent, stubborn, beautiful, sassy almost 2 year old. I wouldn't change her for the world. My "why" turned into a reality.

Getting back at things post baby was so challenging. First time mom, working full time, trying to manage it all was hard; let alone working out, eating right and coaching others. So I took a break. A much needed break. I need to fill my cup so I could fill all yours.

During that time, I packed up my family, my almost six month old and all our stuff and moved us from Cleveland, OH to Gainesville, FL, where I started my new job. Life started to settle down until we got the surprise of a lifetime! I was pregnant again! A little scary but exciting! 

In December 2018, my little pot of gold, Remy Jacob was born. He was perfect (just like his sister) and has brought a lot of joy.  He is now 3 month.  I knew that once I recovered (thanks C-Section!), I wanted to jump back in. Recovery was no joke, BUT I just signed back up and am coaching again!!! (Cue party horns, applause, etc etc).  I'm so excited for so many reasons but mostly because I'm ready to be the happier and healthier version of myself again! AND I missed my friends... those who have supported me since day 1, are my biggest cheerleaders and make my life SO much better!

So I will be posting new recipes, thoughts, ideas, etc again! WOOHOO! I know, I know... you're so pumped! ;)

Thanks for stopping in and reading friends!

Spaghetti Squash Pizza Crusts

My daughter's favorite food is pizza.  Now, I know there are several healthy changes that can be made to pizza to make it so I stay on track, eat clean and make my 21 Day Fix containers work.  Well I wanted to share one I tried that is my FAVORITE! It's the bomb friends. You'll thank me later. And you can make these in advance and freeze them.

Spaghetti Squash Pizza Crust:

1-1 1/2 cups cooked spaghetti squash
1 egg
1 tbsp parm cheese (I actually omitted this)
1/4 cup mozzerella cheese (I actually put less in the crust so so I could put some on top too)
Seasonings of your choice (I used garlic powder, oregano, and salt and pepper)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Basically you mix all the ingredients together and put it on parchment paper on a cookie sheet or pizza pan:

Personally, I found that if I baked it for 25 minutes and then flipped the pizza crust and baked for another 15 minutes it was perfectly brown and crispy (which is how I like my crust--obviously dabble around in timing for what you prefer).

Then I added my toppings!!! I totally slacked on the topping shopping this week at the grocery store but next time I'll definitely add veggies and such! It was delicious. You can make a bunch of little ones and freeze them or make a big one for the whole family! This recipe made a big pie!

Chocolate Chip Brownie Cupcakes

So when I first saw this recipe I was skeptic because I hate pumpkin, but you really don't taste the pumpkin at all! They taste like peanut  butter and chocolate! Yum!

What you'll need:
-2 large eggs (beaten)
-2 cups all natural peanut butter (or almond butter)
-1/2 cup pure maple syrup
-1 1/2 cups pure pumpkin puree
-6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (or chocolate shakeology)
-2 tsp baking soda
-2 tsp pure vanilla extract
-chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spray muffin tray or line with cupcake holders.
Combine all ingredients until smooth adding the chocolate chips last.
Fill each muffin tin to about 3/4 full.
Bake in over for 25-35 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean).

They are super moist and delicious!

Clean Oatmeal Bake

So tonight I was sitting in my bedroom CRAVING ice cream like WOAH! But I had been meaning to try this AND my bananas were on their last leg of life so I had to do it! I'm so glad I did! It's YUM!

What you'll need:

3 Large bananas (the riper the better)

1 cup milk (I used almond milk)

1 egg

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups of gluten free quick or rolled oats (I used GF rolled oats)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp (ish) of cinnamon (I kind of just sprinkled some in)

(You can also add anything you want- honey, choc chips, blueberries, nuts, etc.-- I added a little honey and chocolate chips (I also snuck in flax seed and chia seeds to see if my hubby would notice and he didn't hehe))

• Preheat your oven to 350.
• Grease your 8x8 baking pan 
• Mash the bananas and add the egg, milk, and vanilla (and honey if you're adding some)
• Add your dry ingredients and mix mix mix!
• Let the oats sit in the wet ingredients for about 10-15 minutes
• Then put the mixture into the baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the top is brown and it looks cooked!

Cut and serve! It tastes DELISH hot but I also LOVE these chilled the next day so I pop them in the fridge. They usually last in there about 3 or 4 days.  They freeze awesome too!

Enjoy!

Cheesy Broccoli Chicken Quinoa Bake

This seemed to be a crowd pleaser so I thought I'd share this deliciousness!!!

Let's start with the ingredients:

4 cups of chicken stock or broth (I use the reduced sodium kind)

1/2 cup milk (I used almond milk)

1 head of broccoli chopped (or 3 cups of frozen broccoli) (I used a little more because I LOVE broccoli)

2 cups of cooked chicken breasts cubed

2 cups of uncooked quinoa

3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• In a 13x9 pan, put the quinoa, broccoli, cheese, and chicken (mix it up a little so its incorporated and evenly distributed in pan
• Mix broth and milk together and pour evenly over casserole
• Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes

It makes a nice 8 servings.

For my fixers, one serving is (and this is just based off ingredients I haven't officially measured. Also depending on how to you portion the servings):

1 Yellow

1 Green (mine is closer to 1 because I use so much haha)

1 Red

1 Blue

Chicken Pizza Bake!

Sooooo this is definitely a new favorite in our house. It's a great alternative to pizza or if you are bored with your chicken! No pesky carby crust and a tasty quick meal that heats up great as left overs!

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Start off by cooking up some chicken.  Feel free to season it as you would a crust (or salt and pepper or maybe some oregano or Italian seasonings).  While the chicken is cooking, heat up on the stove some pizza sauce of your choosing, tomato sauce or even some pasta sauce.  

Grease a pan and put them in! Pour all the sauce on top and add mozzarella cheese and pepperoni (or whatever toppings you want).  Bake uncovered for 20-30 minutes and it's done. Super easy and yummy!!

Recap 

STEP 1: YOU PUT THE CHICKEN IN THE PAN!

STEP 2: YOU PUT THAT SAUCE ON THAT CHICKEN!

STEP 3: YOU DRESS UP THAT CHICKEN!

STEP 4: YOU BAKE THAT CHICKEN! 

Blender Week: Day 2: Blender Muffins

Blender Muffins

Ingredients:

2 ripe bananas

2 cups of oats (I used old fashion)

2 tsp honey

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Dash of cinnamon

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

-Mixings of your choice (I used chocolate chips and blueberries)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees! Place everything but the oats (or you could add oats if you'd like to blend them a bit too) into a blender.  Blend until smooth.  

Then I added oats and my mixings!  Place in greased cupcake tin (even if you use liners I'd suggest greasing them). Place in the oven for 15 minutes.