Showing posts with label Desserts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Desserts. Show all posts

Monday, September 22, 2014

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins


#pumpkineverything! But really!
Fall is my favorite season. I get a pumpkin spice latte the day its released, my house gets converted into a pumpkin patch (well, just touches of harvest decor here and there), and I stock up on pumpkin yankee candles.

So, accordingly, I needed to bake something that incorporated the spirit of fall. I found a recipe on pinterest for the worlds best pumpkin bread...and I was determined to make it better- healthier, cleaner, and yummier...plus in muffin form!

Despite modifying almost every ingredient from the original recipe, these turned out really well! My husband said they were amazing!

They are perfect for breakfast with a rich cup of coffee or great for dessert too. I like them slightly warmed so the chocolate chips are all melty inside. Delicious!



Yield: 2 dozen muffins
21-Day Fix Portion: 1 yellow substitute per muffin


Ingredients

  1. 1 cup 100% pure pumpkin (about ½ a regular can)
  2. ¾ cup honey
  3. ½ cup coconut oil (melted but not hot)
  4. 2 eggs
  5. 1 tsp vanilla
  6. ¼ cup milk (I use organic)
  7. ¼ cup water
  8. 1 ⅔ cup whole wheat flour
  9. 1 tsp each:
    • ground cinnamon
    • pumpkin pie spice
    • salt
    • baking soda
    • baking powder
  10. ½ cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips


Directions
  1. In a large bowl, combine all the wet ingredients (ingredients 1-7). I recommend using a mixer.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (ingredients 8-9)
  3. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and mix til combined
  4. Fold in the chocolate chips
  5. Scoop into lined muffin tins (about ⅔ full)
  6. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes




Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Oats & Honey Granola Bars

I always love discovering new recipes and converting them to healthy, clean options.


Last week, I found this gem in Parents magazine, changed it up a bit, and created a batch of granola bars that my husband has been raving about for a week now! So, I figured I would share them with you!


Tip: Make them on a Sunday, so they will be fresh for breakfasts or snacks during the week. They will stay fresh for 5-7 days.


Yield: 16 bars or 32 squares
21-Day Fix Portions: 1 yellow substitute


Ingredients
  • 4 cups old-fashioned oats
  • ¼ cup whole wheat flour
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼- ½ cup of dried fruit of choice (raisins, cranberries, etc- look for the no sugar added varieties) OR nut of choice (chopped) OR mini semi-sweet chocolate chips OR a combination of any of those options (personalize them for what you like!
  • ½ cup coconut oil (melted, but not hot)
  • ½ cup honey
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract




Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 325.
  2. In a large bowl combine oats, flour, salt, and choice of toppings
  3. In a separate bowl, combine coconut oil, honey, and vanilla (Tip: Measure and add the oil before the honey- the remaining oil on your measuring cup will prevent the honey from sticking, making sure you get all of it in your bowl)
  4. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix well.
  5. Press mixture into a 13x9 pan lined with wax/parchment paper
  6. Bake for 30-40 minutes (or until golden brown)
  7. Allow to cool completely before cutting into these (very important)






Saturday, July 12, 2014

Clean Chocolate Chip Brownie Muffins

Clean Chocolate Chip Brownie Muffins


So last night I wanted to make cookies, like really really wanted some cookies. But, I had just finished my T25 workout, and didn’t want to undo all that hardwork by the choices I made in the kitchen.


So I did a quick pinterest search for a healthier alternative to satisfy my sweet craving. I stumbled across a recipe for chocolate mini muffins. I adapted the recipe to fit clean eating standards and also because I don’t have mini muffin tins. So, after some adjustments, they became what I’m calling Clean Chocolate Chip Brownie Muffins. We took them to a friends house and they were a hit! Enjoy!


Yield: 1 dozen muffins
Nutrition: Estimated 75 calories/muffin. Clean. No flour. No butter. No oils. No artificial sweeteners.
21-Day Fix Portion: 1 yellow substitute per muffin


Ingredients
  • 2 small-medium bananas
  • 1 egg
  • ½ cup natural peanut butter
  • ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • ¼ tsp baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • ¼ cup dark chocolate chips, plus a few more to put on top


Directions
  1. Combine all ingredients except the chocolate chips into a blender. Tip: put the egg in first so that the liquid can help it blend more easily. The batter will be thick.
  2. Stir in chocolate chips by hand.
  3. Scoop batter into paper-lined muffin tins- fill about ⅔ full
  4. Press about 3-5 additional chocolate chips into the top of each muffin
  5. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes or until toothpick inserted in muffin comes out clean
  6. Allow to cool briefly before serving (best served warm so the chocolate chips are all melty and delicious, but don’t want you to burn your mouth here)



Wednesday, June 18, 2014

No Bake Granola

I love granola bars- but now that I’ve started reading nutrition labels and eating clean, I don’t really love what they are made out of.


So, I began testing out some different homemade granola recipes and after some good ol’ trial and error, I am pretty pleased with this concoction. Very minimal ingredients, very minimal effort, maximum taste and snacking satisfaction.


Here’s what I like most about them: I think the level of sweetness is balanced. The texture is good- not too sticky, not too hard, not too soft.  You can eat them as granola bars or crumble into pieces to top your yogurt. You can also swap out the fruit and nuts as desired, and maybe even add a few chocolate chips on top (because a girl’s gotta have chocolate, right?)


Yield: About 8 bars
Fix Portions per bar: 1 yellow, ¼ purple (if made with raisins or cranberries added), ¼ blue (if made with nuts added), 1 tsp (PB serving)


Ingredients:


  • 1⁄4 cup dates
  • 1 ½ cups old fashioned oats (I recommend toasting them for about 10 minutes on 350 to bring out the best flavor, but this is optional)
  • ¼ cup honey or agave
  • ¼ cup natural peanut butter or almond butter



Directions:

  1. MIx dates with a few tablespoons of water and soak about 5-10 minutes, then drain
  2. Meanwhile, melt honey and peanut butter together on the stovetop or in the microwave
  3. Using a food processor, grind dates into a paste
  4. Combine dates in a large bowl with all other ingredients and mix well
  5. Press into an 8x8 pan lined with wax paper. NOTE: If you want to add toppings like almonds, raisins, or chocolate chips, press them on top of the granola here
  6. Freeze for 1 hour before cutting into squares or crumbling into pieces




Sunday, March 30, 2014

21 Day Fix, Day 21: RESULTS ARE IN!



Don’t expect to change overnight. Focus on one day at a time, making one small change at a time. Overtime, every day, every small change will add up to big transformation. Don’t give up!

DAY 21 WORKOUT & FOOD

Today I ate oatmeal for breakfast, a turkey wrap for lunch, an apple for a snack, and a salad with tuna for dinner. I, of course, did my yoga fix workout too. But I’m sure y’all don’t care much about today’s details, because its time for the results!!!

PROGRAM RESULTS

Let me just say I cannot believe how much the last three weeks have changed my life. Prior to doing 21-Day Fix, I made one excuse after another to avoid changing my lifestyle habits. “Oh I want to wait until after I finish having kids to get the body I want”… “I don’t have the money to buy a program/shakeology”… “Oh YOLO, so I’m going to eat whatever the heck I want”… But there comes a day when you wake up and say enough is enough with the excuses and commit to making a change. And don’t look back. The only time you should ever look back is to see how far you’ve come…

Weight Lost: 13 pounds

Seriously, if someone would have told me I could lose 13 pounds in 3 weeks, I would have jumped on that opportunity right away! And Josh lost 12 pounds! The program is designed for you to lose 10-15 pounds in 3 weeks- I wasn’t sure it was possible heading into it, but we both are proof that it is!

Overall Inches Lost: 11 inches

That includes 4 inches in my waist! Josh lost 11 inches too. We lost inches in every area of our body!




WHAT’S NEXT

This program has shown me that it’s practical to live and eat this way in everyday life. I had this perception that diets get easily broken because life gets in the way. Maybe that’s true with diets, but this isn’t a diet, this is a health program, a lifestyle modification. Life happens. Life goes on. In the past 3 weeks, I’ve gone to parties, gone out-of-town, gone out to dinner, gotten take-out, etc., and haven’t missed a beat with the plan.

Now, I know my future eating won't be perfect- you have to treat yourself every now and then, and you can't beat yourself up for that either, but I truly believe that consistently eating clean and portion control makes a difference- not only yielding "quick fix" results, but helping you maintain a healthy life in the long run.

I hope that by blogging through my journey, someone will be inspired to conquer their personal goals- don't let your excuses or circumstances keep you from experiencing the joy life has to offer. You are stronger than you think- you can do it!

Best wishes to everyone on their journey to health and happiness!


It always seems impossible until it’s done
–Nelson Mandela


Saturday, March 29, 2014

21 Day Fix: Day 20, One More Day!



There is only one way to succeed at anything, and that is to give it everything.

DAY 20 WORKOUT: DIRTY 30

Three weeks ago when I did this workout for the first time, I couldn’t lift my body up to a side plank. Today, I not only lifted up to side plank, but did leg raises with it, and held it for 30 seconds each side… This whole process over the past 20 days has been about progress. Each day I can recognize something that encourages me to see how far I’ve come in such little time!

DAY 20 FOOD

Usual breakfast again: spinach, egg whites, ½ blue container feta, and ½ whole wheat English muffin… I just love that breakfast! I was talking to a girl today who had never tried feta cheese (I know!) so I told her about my breakfast- it’s a winner for sure!

Well, my shakeology is gone. We got a 30-day supply with the 21 Day Fix program, and Josh and I were able to share that for just about 20 days (so we got 40 servings out of a 30 serving bag). Beachbody enrolls you in monthly auto-ship for Shakeology when you buy a program, but I cancelled the auto-ship a few weeks ago because I wanted to switch my flavor to vanilla. Little did I know, I could have just called and changed my flavor instead of cancelling my auto-ship, running out, and subsequently having to place a new order (which I set-up on auto-ship for the future so I don’t run out. That’s the best way to go too because you cut your shipping costs from $14 to $2)… Anyways, I’m now anxiously waiting on my vanilla shakeology to arrive in the mail- I’m excited to try a different flavor… Hope it comes soon. It made me sad not having shakeology today.

To cheer me up from missing shakeology, I made a greek wrap like what I made the other night for dinner- I just used low sodium, low fat deli turkey instead of chicken- yummy yummy!

For dinner, we grilled out. Finally warm enough and feeling like Spring! We made grilled Cajun chicken and shrimp with grilled sweet peppers. I made homemade Cajun seasoning (because my prepackaged stuff is loaded with salt) for the chicken, and for the shrimp I made this marinade sauce I found on pinterest. I sautéed finely chopped onion, bell pepper, and garlic, then added 1 cup of tomato juice, a splash of lemon juice, and a pinch of cayenne pepper. I poured this over the raw shrimp and wrapped that in a little foil pouch and Josh cooked that on the grill. It was so good- loved the kick from the cayenne and the rich, bold flavor of the tomato.


For dessert, we had some fruit salad because I haven’t had any fruit today. It was perfect!

OTHER THOUGHTS

You could say that I see the world through color-coded containers now. I really haven’t had to use my awesome chart I made in week 1 at all this week because its just become second nature to me  I am conscious of my portions and what I’m putting into my body. I read ingredient labels at the grocery store like its my job, and have to admit that I have become one of those #cleaneating people lol.

One more day people! Look for both a Week 3 Review and a Results posting tomorrow!!!

Thursday, March 27, 2014

21 Day Fix, Day 18: Pinterest Fail and Home Run



When you cheat, you only cheat yourself.

I probably had to remind myself of that at least a dozen times today. Today was my toughest day yet… There was this little voice inside me that kept saying “you’ve done enough… you can have butter on your English muffin…you can put international delight in your coffee…you can take a nap instead of working out…go ahead and throw in the towel and eat what you want”… But there is a bigger voice inside me shouting “NO. You’ve made it 18 days…You have 3 days left… Why give in now? Why cheat now? Do you want to prove you can do this 100% without cheating?”… And thankfully that voice silenced the temptations today, despite the volume of the temptations’ voice…


DAY 18 WORKOUT: PILATES FIX

I had zero motivation today heading into this workout. Along with the conflicting voices in my head, I still am fighting whatever virus/cold crap I got sick with last week…I feel better, but not 100%...still dragging, dealing with sinus congestion, and I lost my voice 3 days ago and its yet to return. Anyways, as it always seems to happen, once I get into the workout I rediscover my sense of motivation and push through it. Today I once again held an elbow plank for 60 seconds and completed the 10 second plank hold intervals…I’m still really struggling with the plank side twists where you hold yourself in an elbow plank and twist and drop your hip to either side- I can only do a couple before falling, lol… always something more to work for.

DAY 18 FOOD

Back to spinach, egg whites, and feta this morning. I only had half a whole wheat English muffin. Really wanted butter, but just ate the English muffin plain and spooned some of my egg whites onto it like an open-faced breakfast sandwich. While I usually eat a whole English muffin, peanut butter, honey, and banana as a breakfast accompaniment, I was saving it for my shakeology and snacks later today

For shakeology, I did chocolate banana. I like how adding the banana not only enriches the flavor of the shake, but also adds more substance. Granted I can only add half a banana to count as 1 purple serving.

For snack, I made this cookie dough greek yogurt I’ve been dying to try. I love cookie dough- I think I like the dough more than baked cookies themselves, so when I saw this recipe on Pinterest, I reorganized my daily meal plan to accommodate this treat (looks good in the picture, right?). I used plain, nonfat greek yogurt (1 red), 1 teaspoon honey, 1 teaspoon peanut butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 teaspoon chocolate chips (1 yellow substitute). Epic pinterest fail. I was so disappointed. I don’t know what kind of cookie dough the person who made this pin eats, but this tasted nothing like the cookie dough I make. I tasted like peanut butter sour cream with this awkward tang and gaggy sweetness. I scooped out the chocolate chips, dumped those in the trash, and gave the rest to my dog, who seemed to enjoy it much more than I did. Oh well, guess I have extra protein and a carb left for dinner…

Dinner turned into another scramble (today is just not my day). I totally forgot in my meal planning to account for Josh having church band practice tonight and not getting home until like 9 or 10. I don’t know why I forgot to account for this- its not like he doesn’t have band practice every single Thursday night. But anyways, I planned to make a big dinner for us, but he was just going to have shakeology for dinner, so I had to fend for myself. Because of the kind of day today was, my mind immediately went toward what I could go buy at a restaurant for dinner, but instead, I made a better choice and searched for Pinterest recipes. Yes, giving Pinterest another chance after it really left me down with the disgusting yogurt debacle earlier- I was hoping it would redeem itself. And it did!
 
I actually combined 2 Pinterest recipes to make a Greek chicken wrap. I poached some chicken and tossed that in homemade Greek dressing (Pinterest recipe 1: EVOO, red wine vinegar, oregano, basil, garlic and onion powder, and Dijon mustard). I spread the remaining orange container of Greek dressing on a whole wheat tortilla, then added the chicken. Next, I made what is called a Tabbouleh (Pinterest recipe 2). Basically I threw a bunch of vegetables into the food processor (tomatoes, red bell pepper, onion, cucumber, zucchini) with some garlic cloves, parsley, and lime juice. It looked almost like a relish in the end. I spread that on top of the chicken and topped with a little feta cheese (I didn’t fill my blue container full of feta this morning with my eggs because I had reach the end of the cheese carton and didn’t want to open a new one this morning- but I surely opened a new one tonight and used up my remaining blue serving). Rolled it all up and I devoured it. It was sooooo good. Probably one of my favorite things I’ve had yet on 21 Day Fix. So, so good!


OTHER THOUGHTS

Well today was tough (until dinner), but whether it’s a good day or bad day, it’s a day to be thankful for—and another day closer to my goal! See you tomorrow… only 3 more days!

Sunday, March 23, 2014

21 Day Fix, Day 12-14: Weekend Update



You can make time or make excuses.

This was one of those non-stop weekends where it would have been easy to make an excuse to break the eating plan and skip workouts. But despite the whirlwind of activities, we chose to make time to exercise and to make healthy eating choices fitting within our Fix plan. Here are some highlights from this weekend:

FRIDAY, DAY 12

We were out-of-town for the day, so both Josh and I had to get in our Total Body Cardio Fix before we left. And let me tell you, its not easy to do the total body cardio fix by itself, much less when you simultaneously are supervising/entertaining your child.  But we did it, despite the weird looks coming our way from Anniston.

Friday night, the 21-day fix went out to dinner. We went to Bonefish Grill. I ordered the wood-fire grilled salmon with asparagus and their vegetable of the day (chickpeas with spinach and tomatoes- which I’m not sure if chickpeas is a green, yellow, or blue- because, although our waitress called them a vegetable, I’m don’t think it counts as green… beans and peas are yellow, but hummus is blue. So yeah, I have no idea). Anyways, our waitress was so sweet to make sure they cooked our food without adding butter and salt. And we said NO to Bang Bang Shrimp, crabcakes, and that amazing fresh bread with pesto olive oil. Didn’t help that they sat us at the table right next to the kitchen where we had to see at least two dozen loaves of fresh bread being carried past our table as we gazed longingly at it. Nonetheless, we stuck to our guns and enjoyed a delicious, healthy, fix-approved dinner. 



SATURDAY, DAY 13

If I thought the loaves of bread were a tough temptation to exist, I put myself in an even more tempting situation the next day. I was coordinating a brunch event for all the women at our church. Bad time to be on 21-Day Fix, right? Well, yes and no. Of course I had to pass on the donuts, cinnamon roll cake, and other assorted yummy pastries, but one of the women made ham and cheese quiche without salt! Shout out to Liz for saving brunch for me! The quiche only had ham, eggs, cheese, and milk (so 2 reds, 1 blue, and 1 yellow substitute). I didn’t eat the crust since it was white flour, but the quiche filling was delicious. I also had strawberries, grapes, and some nonfat plain greek yogurt. I tried a mimosa with 100% orange juice and champagne (another yellow substitute) and I only took 1 sip because it tasted too sweet to me- what is happening to my life?!?!

I did my “Dirty 30” workout mid-afternoon. This workout is probably the most challenging because it works everything that is already sore from the rest of the week. But, this was the first time I’ve switched to 10lb weights instead of 5lbs on some exercises, so I felt encouraged that I’m getting stronger and continuing to push myself.

Then my dog broke off her leash and decided to wade in the retention pond next to our house. She came back absolutely covered in muddy grossness. So I pretty much had another workout bathing her- lets call it a different version of Dirty 30 lol, I’ll show myself out now…

After running errands that night, I made a giant salad with grilled chicken breast and Djion vinaigrette (from the fix book). Tasted great!


SUNDAY, DAY 14

Well, since I learned my lesson about not eating breakfast from last Sunday’s debacle, I made sure to take something with me to eat on the way to church this morning. I made a whole wheat English muffin with peanut butter, honey, and banana. It was awesome. Although, I really really miss eating an English muffin with butter and jelly (polaner all-fruit, so technically its better than jelly). Seriously, I think I crave that more than a cookies.

When we got home from church, we were all so exhausted from running everywhere and not getting home until 2:30am Friday night that all 3 of us took a 3 hour nap. When we woke up, it was pretty much dinner time so I started making that.

I made stuffed peppers- filled with ground turkey, mushrooms, peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, cheese, cumin, Italian seasoning, and fresh parsley. I had to adapt my usual recipe by eliminating breadcrumbs and reducing the amount of cheese.. It got a little watery at the bottom of the peppers- I think we didn’t have any breadcrumbs to absorb the moisture of the vegetables. Nonetheless, it was a very filling dinner that checked off a lot of my portions- 1 red, 1 blue, and 3 green.

We capped off the night with our Yoga Fix and shakeology for dessert: chocolate-strawberry! Mmm, mmm…

OTHER THOUGHTS

I’m going to try to go back to daily posts now that the crazy weekend is over. I will probably put together a quick Week 2 Review sometime as well. 

We are headed into our third and final week friends! Its gone by so fast!

Saturday, March 15, 2014

21 Day Fix, Day 6: On What Other Diet Can You Eat Pizza?



You can’t wish for it, you have to work for it.


It’s the weekend…time for some R & R. Nope, no rest for the weary- its 21 days straight people. You can’t wish for it, you have to work for it!

Really loved that quote from today’s workout. For years I have wished that I would wake up and my body would magically look the way I wanted it to. But that’s not real life- you have to work to see results. And when you want something bad enough, you will work for it- Another golden quote from Autumn…I’m thinking of writing all these down in different colors and making a motivation board. Project time!

DAY 6 WORKOUT: DIRTY 30

I love that this title rhymes. I also loved that the workout seemed to fly by quicker today for some reason. However, I don’t love my 3-story townhouse right now because my legs are in so much pain trying going up and down stairs after this workout. Good thing I picked up some IcyHot at Target yesterday!


DAY 6 FOOD REVIEW

Breakfast on the weekends are fun because I can experiment with different combinations and have more time to clean up the major messes I make in the kitchen. Today I made an open-face breakfast sandwich with 1 slice of whole wheat toast, turkey bacon, eggs, and a dash of Tabasco. I had strawberries along with it, so my breakfast portions were 1 yellow, 2 red, and 1 purple.  I think I will make this again and add some spinach and/or tomato to the sandwich to get a green serving in there as well.


Still continuing my shakeology recipe experimentation. Today I made a hybrid of the past 2 days and did a peanut butter & banana shakeology. Again delicious and filling. Really getting used to these as my lunches.

Dinner was awesome! My husband and I both love pizza. We’ve had a tradition of making homemade pizzas together ever since we started dating about 7½ years ago. And there’s no reason tradition had to stop just because of 21 Day Fix! We just had to modify our recipe a bit. Today, we used whole wheat pita flatbreads (1 yellow), 1 red container combination of lean ground turkey and chopped deli ham slices, 1 green container with mixed vegetables (mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomatoes), and 1 blue container of mozzarella cheese. We baked the pitas at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes in the oven before adding the toppings so that it would crisp into more of a crust than a pita- worked like a charm. Then added the toppings (which piled on to the pizza) and baked until the cheese melted and was bubbly. These turned out fabulous and were beyond filling with all the toppings. And on what other diet can you eat pizza? This was great.


OTHER THOUGHTS

A huge thanks to my Pinterest feed for this:

Also, proud of my hubby for turning down free pizza and beer after helping our friends move into their new apartment. That’s dedication right there! So glad he’s doing this 21 Day Fix with me so we can support and encourage each other to be strong, stay strong, and get stronger! Because you can't just wish for it, you have to work for it!

Thursday, March 13, 2014

21-Day Fix, Day 3: Temptation at Target



Be better than your excuses

Autumn threw out this one-liner during the workout and I thought it fit today perfectly. Day 3 has the potential to be a day full of excuses- I’m very sore and its raining outside- a great excuse to trade my workout for a nap. In addition, we have community group at church tonight, which means we need a quick dinner. This would be a great excuse to grab fast food, but its time for me to be better than my excuses. I put a meal in the crockpot this morning that will be ready to eat before group.

DAY 3 WORKOUT: LOWER FIX

I think the word pain is an understatement. I could hardly walk up or down my staircase today before this, so the prognosis for walking the rest of the day looks dismal. But I felt really good about this workout. Nearly 10 years ago, I had a knee injury and subsequent surgery and my left knee/quad has never been the same since. To this day, my left quad is still a good 1-2 inches smaller than my right. Typically, I would have made an excuse to cheat some of the exercises in this workout for the sake of my weak knee- but its time to be better than my excuses. It’s been 10 freakin’ years for crying out loud. My knee can handle more than what I give it credit for. My body can handle more than I think. The exercises in this workout are exactly what I need to do to finally re-strengthen my knee/quad back to what it used to be. This workout was like knee physical therapy on crack. It hurt, but it was a good hurt.  I am very encouraged by this!

DAY 3: FOOD REVIEW

Same breakfast as yesterday, minus the fruit because I was saving that to make a chocolate-strawberry shakeology…which was sooo good, it was almost like drinking a milkshake.

For snack, I had raw broccoli and an orange container of creamy herb dip I whipped up yesterday using a recipe from the book. Honestly, I didn’t really like the dip, and I’m a big fan of dips. I think it could be better using a different herb: The recipe gives you a choice of fresh herbs to use, and I only had parsley, so that’s what I used. Maybe I will try it again with fresh dill and see if it tastes closer to ranch.

For dinner, I made apple-cayenne pork loin. I’ve made this before- so easy, so few ingredients: pork, cayenne pepper, and apple butter. However, I don’t think apple butter is an approved Fix Food, mainly because of the sugar and processed aspects of it, so I gave it a whirl substituting the apple butter with unsweetened applesauce. I also threw in some chopped onions and mushrooms for flavor and vegetable content. This didn’t turn out so well. Completely flavorless. But, it did have great texture, which I think I can attribute to the applesauce. So, I got creative in how to rescue the meal. Because I cooked the pork loin in the CrockPot all day, it easily shredded into pulled pork. So I added some more cayenne, garlic powder and onion powder, along with yellow mustard and red wine vinegar (mustard and vinegar are “free” foods”). So, I was able to create my own mustard-vinegar hybrid barbeque sauce without any added sugar or salt…and it tasted so good! Serve it on a whole wheat deli round with some unsweet tea and greens and there’s a (modified) southern dinner for ya! By the way, a lot of pulled pork fits into a red container- I was very full! Great way to maximize your red serving.

OTHER THOUGHTS

I feel like I’m starting to learn the difference between just wanting something to eat and actually being hungry. Like today, I had just finished my Shakeology when I was making Anniston lunch, and I really wanted to eat too- wasn’t hungry, just had food on my mind and literally in front of my face.

Later, I walked into Super Target to buy weights and a yoga mat and the first thing I see is a display full of St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes. I don’t really even like store-bought cupcakes, but it was a struggle to push the cart right past them. Oh, and then the women in front of me in the checkout lane spent $290 on all sorts of quality food like Cinnamon Toast Crunch and four 12-packs of Dr. Pepper, and she was skinny as a rail. So this made me *slightly* jealous and angry because I’m over here measuring teaspoons of olive oil. But whatever, I won’t hate on you Target lady, I’m doing this 21-Day Fix for me, because its time to change…and because its time for me to be better than my excuses.