Eating Clean: Healthy General Tso's Chicken

Get In My Belly!

I LOVE Chinese food. It's one of my biggest guilty pleasures. Of course will go ahead and cancel out that entire Insanity Max 30 workout I did for the past month in one plate full. So when I came across a healthy version of General Tso's Chicken I had to try it out. Um, it was pretty much amazeballs. You have GOT to try it! I paired it with the Lime Quinoa that I made a few weeks ago and it was pretty fantastic.

Healthy General Tso's Chicken

Ingredients:

*1 lb. raw chicken breast, boneless, skinless, cut into 2-inch pieces
*2 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. cornstarch, divided use
*¼ tsp. sea salt
*1 tsp. sesame oil
*2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
*1 thin slice fresh ginger, peeled, finely chopped
*2 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
*½ cup low sodium chicken broth
*1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
*2 Tbsp. tomato paste, no added sugar
*2 tsp. hoisin sauce
*1 tsp. pure maple syrup (or raw honey)
*2 Tbsp. cold water
*2 green onions, sliced
*1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
3. Place chicken, 2 Tbsp. cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl; toss until well coated.
4. Place chicken in a single layer on prepared baking sheet; bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until cooked through.
5. While chicken is baking, heat oil, garlic, and ginger in large skillet over medium heat; cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
6. Add soy sauce, broth, vinegar, tomato paste, hoisin sauce, and maple syrup. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook for 4 to 5 minutes.
7. Dissolve remaining 1 tsp. cornstarch in cold water; add to soy sauce mixture. Gently boil, stirring frequently, for another 3 to 4 minutes, or until sauce begins to thicken.
8. Add cooked chicken to sauce, coating thoroughly.
9. Serve chicken sprinkled with sesame seeds and green onions

Eating Clean: 21 Day Fix Approved Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken

I am loving finding all these new recipes to incorporate into the Fix!! These Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken breasts will account for 1 GREEN (broccoli), 1 BLUE (cheese), and 1 RED (chicken).

Healthy and Tasty!

Ingredients:

*Chicken Breast

*Mozzarella Cheese (shredded)

*Broccoli

*Any Seasonings you would like (I used garlic powder, sea salt, lemon pepper, and chili pepper)

Directions:

1. Slice your chicken breast in half

2. Sprinkle in your mozzarella cheese (if you are doing the fix leave enough to put on the top of the chicken breasts at well.

3. Add in your broccoli.

4. Fold chicken back over and place in a baking dish. Add your seasonings on top of the breasts

5. Bake in the oven at 350 for about 30-35 minutes.

I served my with some sweet potato fries, because lets face it, sweet potato fries are my JAM!  

Eating Clean: Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I have been on a slow cooker kick lately. I mean who doesn't love a meal that practically cooks itself while you go about your day?! Its also convenient for us because Adam works nights and it allows him to have something besides a turkey sandwich to take with him for his "lunch break" Thus I present to you: Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches! Which are most definitely 21 Day Fix approved!

Um, YUM!

Ingredients:

* Pork Loin

* 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

* 1/2 cup water

* 1 cup of chopped onions and mushrooms

* 1 tsp cayenne pepper

* 1 tbsp garlic powder

* 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

* 1/4 cup yellow mustard

* 1 whole wheat bun or roll

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients except the red wine vinegar and yellow mustard.

2. Cook on low for 7-8 hours

3. Shred the pork and stir in the red wine vinegar and yellow mustard.

4. Serve on whole wheat bun and enjoy!

 

Eating Clean: Tex Mex Sweet Potato Skillet

Okay so I've been slacking on my blogging game! No worries though, I have a few ideas up my sleeve to hammer out some posts over the next few days or so! In the meantime I wanted to share this new recipe with you! I love trying out new recipes, its actually rare that I'll cook the same thing twice because I just like experimenting. This stuff though, I will be making it again, and again, and probably again. Introducing: 

Tex Mex Sweet Potato Skillet

Sweet Potatoes for Mexican Food?! Oh yeah! 

Ingredients:

1 lb sweet potatoes, cubed. I used 1 and 1/2 medium sized and it was plenty!
1 small onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 large red bell peppers, diced
14 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed (I don't like beans so I skipped this)
1 cup corn (frozen or canned is OK)
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp cumin, divided
1/2 tbsp all-natural taco seasoning, divided
1 tsp salt, divided
1/2 lime, juice of
1 cup (4 oz) Cheddar cheese, shredded
2 medium avocados, diced
Non-fat Greek yogurt & salsa, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat large deep skillet on medium heat and add coconut oil, spreading with spatula. Add sweet potatoes, 1/2 tbsp cumin, 1/2 tsp salt and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add onion, garlic, bell peppers and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add black beans and corn, cook for another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add diced tomatoes, remaining cumin and salt, black pepper, taco seasoning and stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook covered for 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Squeeze lime juice on top, sprinkle with cheese and broil on high for 5 minutes or until cheese turns golden. 

I added chopped up some avocado and threw that into it and put some dabs of Greek yogurt on top!

This makes a ton of food that will easily feed the whole family! I actually made it Sunday night and threw it in a tuberware in the fridge and ate it for dinner all this week! Adam even had some of it as well and it lasted me 4 days! As you noticed there is no meat in it so of course there's always the option of cooking up some chicken in the oven and chopping it up and throw it in after its cooked! I loved that it was a quick meal I made after I put Ryken down for the night and it saved me time throughout the week for dinners!

Eating Clean: Chocolate Shakeology Balls

Oh my goodness guys, you have to try these! SO GOOD! Us girls all know around that "special time" of the month we need chocolate. It doesn't matter how good you are the rest of the month, at that moment we need chocolate and we need it NOW!! 

Good news, these delightful treats are not only yummy in all kinds of ways. THEY ARE GOOD FOR YOU! Now I wouldn't recommend eating the whole batch in one sitting, but one or two for a snack will kick those sweet cravings out the door!

Chocolate Healthy Treat

So what you're going to need is:

*1 Cup Chocolate Shakeology

*1 Cup Quick Oats

*1 Cup Natural Peanut Butter

*1/3 Cup of Honey

What you're going to do is:

1. Throw all that stuff into a big bowl and mix it up

2. Take about a TBSP of the mixture and roll it into balls

3. Set on foil and chill in the fridge

Bing, baam, boom you got yourself a tasty treat!

Eating Clean: The Easiest Meal You'll Ever Make

Who doesn't love easy?! Plus its healthy, plus it tastes YUMMY, plus its a crock pot meal, AND it's budget friendly! Done and done!! So whats it called?

Chicken and Spinach Crock Pot Meal

Chicken and Spinach

Ingredients:

*2-3 Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breasts

*A Handful of Spinach

*1 Jar of Clean Marinara 

*1 Can of Diced Tomatoes

Directions:

*Throw everything into the crock pot and turn it on low for 7-8 hours.

Seriously, that's it! I paired it with a side salad or you could do a sweet potato!! Like I said, easiest meal you'll ever make!

Eating Clean: Egg Fried Rice (21 Day Fix Approved)

So I started my next round of the 21 Day Fix on Monday, yay! I seriously LOVE LOVE LOVE this program I have gotten SO many great results from it! More on that later though! What I want to talk to you about today is mixing up the containers a little bit!

This round I decided to step a little outside the box! All my previous rounds I just selected which containers to eat at each time of the day but I never really got brave enough to make an actual meal out of them! So this time I did a little research and found some really yummy looking things I wanted to try out! Last night I tried a little concoction I like to call Egg Fried Rice! This uses 1 red container, 1 yellow, and 1 green. (I actually had a left over red container for the day so I added turkey bacon to the mix as well, because who doesn't love turkey bacon?!)

21 Day Fix Dinner

So first things first I assembled my ingredients:

2 Eggs

Brown Rice

Veggies of my choice (I chose to use onions and carrots but you can do whatever you like just make sure they fit into your green container!)

Like I said above I also used 2 slices of turkey bacon but that was an extra red container!

Directions:

1. I used the instant brown rice so I just microwaved a serving of it and measured out the correct amount to fit into the yellow container

2. Then I cooked up my turkey bacon in the skillet on medium heat and set that aside

3. Next I sprayed my skillet (you can also use one of your tsp for this and add coconut oil or EEVO) and cooked up my veggies and set those aside.

4. I then scrambled up my eggs.

5. I added everything to my bowl and devoured it!

I was actually really surprised because I thought I for sure was going to miss my beloved soy sauce but I didn't at all!! I did sprinkle some garlic powder and paprika on top of the finished product and it was DELICIOUS!

Eating Clean: Pineapple Chicken

Pineapple Chicken

You guys, I might have made one of the easiest, yummiest, concoctions last night! If you own a slow cooker (and if you don't you SERIOUSLY need to invest in one) try this out ASAP!! It's great for on the go mom's and busy full time working wives or even if you just are feeling the kitchen vibes that day!!

Introducing: Pineapple Chicken!

Ingredients:

-Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breasts (I used 4 medium to small pieces to feed three people and Ryken and there was PLENTY left over)

-A Jar of Clean Salsa 

-1 Large Zucchini

-1/4 of Large Pineapple

Directions:

1. Throw your chicken breasts into your slow cooker and pour the jar of salsa all over them and let it cook on low for 4-6 hours 

2. Take two forks and shred the chicken after you've had it sitting for at least 4 hours

3. Slice up your zucchini and pineapple and throw it into the mix and stir

4. Eat up and enjoy

I could have done without the zucchini, it didn't add much flavor but it was a way to get some veggies in so no harm there!

Try it out! Let me know what you think! 

How to Cook a Spaghetti Squash

So a few months ago I had no clue what the heck a spaghetti squash was or where to find one. I just kept hearing everyone talking about them! So I did some research and now I'm going to share it with you!

First off, where can you find said spaghetti squash?? You can pretty much buy them in any store that is going to have a produce area. I've found them at Walmart, Kroger, Cub Foods, etc so you don't have to worry about going out to the "fancy" health stores :) They are usually on the wall with all the other vegetables that get watered so to speak. Around the same area you'll find the spinach, carrots, green beans, you get the idea! Moving on, I have some pictures to help y'all out :)

How to Make Spaghetti Squash

1. This is what you are going to be looking for, they come in REALLY big sizes, medium sizes, and smaller size. I usually pick the smaller size because I don't have a huge family to feed. It kind of has a football shape to it (Go Cowboys!) and they are this yellow color.

2. Once you bring that bad boy home you are going to need a large pretty sharp knife. (Kids, let's let the parentals handle this) You are going to want to cut it long ways. It's a little tough so I suggest employing the helpful hands of a partner if need be.

3. So now you've got your two halves, next you're going to scoop the guts out. Kind of like when you carve a pumpkin at Halloween time. I use a spoon or a fork. It doesn't need to be perfect, but you are going to need a trash can.

4. Now here's the fun part, you get to season it HOWEVER you're little heart desires! I like to use some sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Get creative with it! First you need to drizzle some EVOO (extra version olive oil for us new to the game) over it and then season it with your fixin's. Pop those babies into the oven at 400 and cook for about 35-40 minutes depending on how big yours is.

After you've cooked your spaghetti squash you're of course going to want to let it cool for about 5-10 minutes, long enough to where you'll be able to pick it up and handle it. Once that time has arrived take your fork and go to town scraping the insides out, get as much as you can! Again, if you get tired, I would employ a partner to help out. Team work guys! End result is this yummy goodness----->

Delicious in a Bowl 

So now what? Now you eat! You can pretty much do whatever you'd like with it and it's pretty much going to taste amazing. I've paired it with marinara sauce and eaten it like spaghetti, I've eaten it plain straight out of the bowl, I've mixed in some onions and mushrooms, I've drizzled chocolate of it...wait scratch that haha but really please try this out, it's so good and you end up with SO much leftovers!!!

Finished Product

Eating Clean: Twice Baked Cauliflower

I actually found this recipe on Pinterest months ago and I'm pretty sure I've made it like ten times already. It is SO good. I made it last night for some friends that came over to see the new place. Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of it before it was demolished, it was that good! You need to try it out, your family won't even realize its cauliflower!!

Twice Baked Cauliflower:

Ingredients:

1 Large Head of Cauliflower

1 TBSP Coconut Oil

1/2 TSP of Sea Salt

1/4 TSP of Pepper

1/2 Cup of Greek Yogurt

1/2 Cup Green Onions

1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

4 Slices of Turkey Bacon, Crumbled

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Spray 8x8 dish with nonstick spray

3. Cut cauliflower into pieces and boil in water until soft

4. Put cauliflower in large bowl and mash with fork or potato masher

5. Mix in the coconut oil, sea salt, pepper, greek yogurt, green onions, and 3/4 of turkey bacon

6. Put mixture into baking dish and sprinkle the shredded cheddar cheese and rest of bacon on top

7. Bake for 30 minutes

8. Enjoy!!!

Clean Eating: Turkey Meatballs

Clean Turkey Meatballs

I have been LOVING trying out new dinners for the family! Now that my kitchen is all FINALLY unpacked I can get to cooking!

For dinner last night I made Turkey Meatballs, and they did not disappoint! Plus they were SO easy to make and budget friendly!

Ingredients:
2 lbs of ground turkey
3 egg whites
1 cup of quick oats
1/2 tsp of ground cumin
1/2 tsp of thyme
2 tsp of dried yellow mustard
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp chipotle pepper
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp garlic powder
1 small onion diced
2 celery stalked diced

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Spray muffin pan with non stick spray
3. Mix all your ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
4. Roll into balls and place in the muffin pan
5. Bake for 40 minutes

I also made some sauteed Brussels Sprouts and onions seasoned with lemon pepper and just a tad bit of sea salt to go with!! SO GOOD!!

What Does My Kitchen Look Like?

Boxes on Boxes

Well, due to the fact that I have spent the whole past weekend moving into our new home this is the current state of my kitchen: ---------------->

It's a work in progress, finding out you have enough things to fit in seven kitchens that you must figure out how to fit in to just one can be a bit of a task! Anyway, our brand spanking new refrigerator finally arrived yesterday afternoon so I was stoked to get it pilled high with some good clean eats! So I sat down last night to finally put together the meal plan for the week. (Does that mean I kind of slacked over the weekend and yesterday? Yes, that is what that means. But we are all human and moving is hard! I did manage to at least have my Shakeology every day though!)  

So here we have it, here is my meal plan for my week, Tuesday and on:

Meal Plan PiYo Week 6

Grocery List

So after I draw up what I think I want to eat for the week I'll go through and write down all the ingredients needed for everything. All of them. No matter if I think I have them in the kitchen already or not. I write them all down. To some this may seem a bit overkill, to me it helps me not miss something by assuming its already in the kitchen and then come to find out it might not be. After I write everything down then I make my way into my kitchen and go through the list crossing off the things that most definitely in my kitchen already and then its time to hit the local grocery store with list in hand!

Grocery Shopping For The Win!

After that fun little outing and you are back in your kitchen this is where the exciting part happens! After getting all your goodies put away you are going to want to start prepping things! Here are some of the things I have done to get ready for the week:

Greenberry Shakeology

1. Breakfast is a no-brainer, Shakeology. Every morning. It gets me revved up and ready to tackle my baby and workout for the day! I don't have a blender for the new house yet so I just mix it with some water and shake and it is DELICIOUS

Lunch on the Go!

2. Next my mid morning snack will be my 1/2 of greek yogurt with some strawberries, blueberries and honey thrown in the mix. For this step I buy the big tub of greek yogurt and keep it in the fridge and just scoop some out each day. As for the strawberries and blueberries I wash them and cut the strawberries up and throw them all into a tuberware container so I can scoop these out as the week goes on. I would show you this step, but all my bowls are being washed from coming out of boxes so I have yet to do this yet! But I will, I promise :)

3. My lunch is consisting of spinach salad with some chicken breast I baked and the oh so delicious creamy garlic dressing. So for that I cook up a chicken breast that I will divide up for the week. (I only needed to do one because I'm starting late, normally I'd do two) and then I mix up the dressing and put it all in the fridge so its ready to go with for lunch time.

No Bake Chocolate Shakeology Balls

4. My afternoon snack will most likely be my favorite this week. Chocolate Shakeology Balls. I love chocolate and I have a MAJOR sweet tooth so these will be perfect! Grab two and enjoy!!

5. For dinner I have grabbed some recipes from various sites that sounded good to try out! One of the perks of being a stay at home mommy and with my fiance working days for the time being is by the time dinner rolls around he can take Ryken and I can cook dinner. I like having a fresh hot dinner so I don't mind doing this. So I'll decide that day if its been a good baby day I'll take the time to cook that night, if its been a crazy baby day I'll throw something into the crock pot. So when I'm making my meal plan I make sure to throw in some crock pot meals for days like that :)

I hoped this helped! Meal planning and prepping seriously has saved my life! Being home by myself with Ryken all day leaves me with VERY little time to myself, especially since he is now into everything with his crawling! So being able to grab something really quick while he's napping or being entertained for five seconds helps so much!!! Please if you have ANY questions feel free to leave a comment or email me at alissatarner1988@gmail.com OR find me on Facebook at facebook.com/alissa.tarner

Eating Clean: Chicken and Fries

Clean Chicken and Fries

I am a SUCKER for chicken and fries, it used to be my STAPLE when I would cruise on through the drive-thru. BUT NOT ANYMORE! I tried this clean eating alternative last night and I was very pleased! Here's the low down on how to make this plate of deliciousness!

Ingredients:
(I should note, I didn't take any actual measurements for the spices I just kind of added until it looked good!)

• Ezekiel Bread
• Parmesan Cheese
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Italian Seasoning
• Egg Whites
• Sweet Potatoes
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Sea Salt

Directions:

•  Toast the whole grain bread, break into pieces and put into food processor with the Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning. Process until fine.
• Cut chicken into strips, beat egg whites. Dip the chicken pieces into egg mixture and then into bread mixture
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
• Cut up sweet potato in wedge fries, place in Ziploc bag with olive oil and sea salt and shake to coat evenly.
• Lay fries on a baking sheet and cook for 25 minutes or until crispy.

So good guys!! Please try it out and let me know what you think!!

Eating Clean: Orange Chicken

Clean Eating Orange Chicken 

I am slowly learning how to eat clean.  Afterall, you can't hope to achieve that healthy lifestyle by just working out!! By no means have I perfected it but I am making progress!! I made this delicious clean alternative to orange chicken last night that the WHOLE family loved!!

Ingredients:

• Brown Rice
• 3/4 C Fresh Orange Juice
• 3 TBSP Low Sodium Soy Sauce
• 1 TBSP Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 TBSP Cooking Oil
• 3-4 Small Dried Chilies, Broken into Pieces
• 1 Small Red Bellpepper, Cut in 1 Inch Chunks
• 1 Small Red Onion, Diced
• 1 LB Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast, Cut into 1 IN Chunks

Directions:

• Cook rice according to box, I just used the Minute Brown Rice
• In small bowl whisk together orange juice, soy sauce, and whole wheat flour
• Heat wok on high, add oil and add chilies and bell pepper and stir fry for about 30 seconds
• Add onion and stir fry for another 30 seconds
• Add chicken and stir fry until cooked thoroughly, about 4-5 minutes
• Add juice mixture and boil until it thickens, about a minute
• Portion over rice and enjoy!