A different way to enjoy your eggs and oats!

If you want to just make 1 at a time it is a good way to start to make sure you like them:)

For those of you who bought the muscle eggs like me and could not stand to drink them...this is a great way to use them up:)

Ingredients for 1 serving

1/2 cup oats

6 oz of Chocolate Muscle Egg or 6 egg whites with 1/2 tbsp of cocoa

 http://www.muscleegg.com/chocolate-egg-whites.html

1Tbsp of chia meal or flax meal

1/4 cup of canned pumpkin

1tsp of vanilla

6 drops of stevia

top with a few walnuts chopped up

Mix all ingredients and put in a mini loaf pan or muffin pan.  Depending on your pan, one serving can fill up multiple little ones, 2 or 3 medium ones or 2 large ones.  I make 4 servings at a time and it fills up 6 Large muffin holes which makes 1 serving 1 1/2 of these large muffins. 

Bake at 350 for 20 to 30 minutes depending on your oven.  Just watch them.  You can't really over cook them.

Amazing treat or breakfast on the go and a perfectly balanced meal!

Stay posted for some other variations coming soon!

Curry Chicken Salad

Amazing!  A new favorite of mine.

2/3 cup Vegenaise (I use grape seed oil vegenaise)

1Tbsp curry powder

4 cups shredded chicken

1/2 granny smith apple

1/2 cup white onion

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup fresh parsley

1Tbsp lemon juice

1/2tsp salt

1/4tsp pepper

Mix all together and enjoy!

I put mine over Romaine lettus and it was super yummy!

You could also put inside a pita pocket or just eat it by itself!

Chicken Shawarma Salad

Recipe from Eating Well that I tweaked a little;)

Stir together 1 cup cucumber (shredded), 1/4 cup low fat plain yogurt or non dairy veganaise, 3 TBSP Tahini, 2 Tbsp lemon juice and 1/4tsp salt.  Set aside.  This is the sauce you see on the top.

I took shredded chicken that I made in the crockpot earlier and put it in a fry pan and added 1Tbsp garlic powder, 1tsp curry powder, 1/2tsp pepper, 1/4tsp salt and a little olive oil and mixed it all up to coat the chicken. 

Option 2:  uncooked chicken:  Combine garlic powder, curry powder, pepper and tsp salt in a small bowl.  Slice chicken breast crosswise into 1/4 inch strips; toss with the spice mixture to coat.  Add oil and toss to combine.  Grill chicken turning once, until cooked through, about 2 minutes per side.

Option 1:  Cut up romaine lettus and top off with chicken.  Add cucumber/yogurt sauce and some fresh tomatoes.

Option 2:  Take a pita and add the cucumber sauce to the bottom, add chicken, and top with lettus and tomato for a true Chicken Schwarma;)

Chicken Portabello Mango Salsa Salad

Start with mixed greens or romaine hearts.
Make Mango Salsa.
I cut up 1 mango, 1/3 cup red onion, tbsp of lime juice and 1/2 cup diced cucumber and dash of salt and pepper.

Saute 1 large portabello mushroom, shredded chicken, and handful of green onion. These are all items I had prepped for the week so I grabbed a mixture and threw it together and heated it up.

My salad. I added fresh tomatoes and black beans to it.

Greg's salad. Added a little cheese to his and made homemade corn tortilla chips for him:) For the boys, I took corn tortillas and made little chicken quesadillas with spinach, tomatos, black beans and cheese. They also love to dip them in "cream" sour cream:)

PREPARING THE WAY

As some of you may know, I experienced quite the speed bump in my journey to competing this up coming Saturday. Ten days out from my competition I was getting ready to do a box squat and on my way down, something happened to my right side hip/back. I tried to pretend it was nothing, that I could somehow shake it out but I soon realized it was unshakable.

The night before I met with my church and I was selected to be prayed for and little did I know, these words would sustain me in the next days to come. The day of my injury was a good day for me, I felt like God was going to get me through this, I was hopeful and fully convinced that I would be healed the next day despite how uncomfortable I was. I made God this special card and wrote him a letter thanking and praising him for all he has done and for being with me every step of the way. It was a great day. God was filling me up and overflowing my love tank knowing I would soon need every oz of it.

Thursday morning I woke up to serious pain. A friend came over that morning and prayed for me and my hope had changed quickly to despair. I had doubts, I questioned God, I questioned my journey, and found myself in a dark place quickly. My friend took the boys for the afternoon and I decided to go into Now Care to see a Dr. immediately for answers. As I walked to the door to get my keys to go, I fell to the floor in pain that was indescribable. I crawled to my phone and called my husband to come get me and take me in. Two hrs later after sitting painfully in a wheelchair, I saw a Dr who gave me the great news that I had a spasm in my back. Really? This much pain for a muscle spasm? I felt weak as if I should be able to suck this up and get on with my life but I knew this was bigger than my will and my strength. I was given meds and sent on my way to rest and let this run its course.

My worst moment came Saturday morning when I attempted to walk to the kitchen table and was in SO much pain, I swore...not just a little cuss word but the F BOMB came right out of my mouth in front of my family. In that moment, I wanted to just be dead. I could not imagine having to go another day in the amount of pain I was in. It was such a helpless feeling. How was I suppose to function as a mom?

A friend of ours came that day AND the next to take the boys and I was able to just rest and only get up to eat my scheduled meals. I was able to get in to an acupuncturist that Saturday and massage that evening and Sunday I felt significantly better. Today is Monday and I have had another round of acupuncture, massage, and saw the chiropractor who was able to gently adjust my hips. I am hanging on to hope and thankful that I am healing and making great progress.

Going back to Tuesday night before my injury. A couple of words were given to me.

Proverbs 31:25-29

She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.26 When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness.27 She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness. 28 Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her:29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!”

Philippians 4:11-13

11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ,[c] who gives me strength.

I have read these over and over trying to regain strength and rest in his truth. I have had a lot of time to think the past 5 days while I lay on my back. I've had time to just be, to reflect, to be thankful, to doubt, to feel sorry for myself and through all of it, God was sitting right next to me, listening and picking me up off the floor and giving me hope when I felt hopeless. I will make a decision on Wednesday whether or not I will be up on the stage competing Saturday. I have thought about how I may feel if I do, if I don't, if I will continue and do another. My answer is always to stop trying to figure it all out. God has faithfully prepared me and I need to let go and allow him to lead the way. I know this is so small on the scale of what life can bring our way but for me in this moment it seems big. I've worked really hard to get to this point and I have been faithful in my prep (minus one animal cookie extravaganza) but in the end for me it truly has been the journey. Getting on stage is not why I did this. It's the celebration of what I have done and trust me, I want to be celebrated BUT from the beginning, 9 months ago I had a goal and I have met it full on and am proud to be here in this moment to truly have reflection on what this journey has done for me personally. I am coasting into Saturday with hope and peace knowing that no matter what happens I already won!

COMPETITION FOOD PREP WHEN YOU STILL HAVE A FAMILY TO FEED!

I get asked time and time again about how I prep my food for competition dieting. I will give you a glimpse of what I am currently doing. It changes depending on where I am at but at 5 weeks away from my competition this is what I am eating:)

Prepping your food is a must when dieting because as far as I am concerned eating anything other than my specific food is NOT an option. If you see me at a restaurant I will have my container of food with me...no trying to get them to make my food. This way I know exactly what I am eating and don't run the risk of getting special ingredients added to my food:)

I cook my food every 4 days since I feel like that is about the safe zone for my food. It usually takes me about 1.5 hrs from start to finish. The first thing I do is turn my oven on and get my rice boiling. As I am doing this I am getting my tilapia defrosted by putting it in cold water for about 15 minutes. While it is defrosting I start cooking my ground sirloin.

By the time I am done cooking my sirloin my fish is ready to put in the oven. I don't season any of my food until I eat it.



I put my fish in the oven and bake it at 350 for about 45 minutes...I cook it!!! While it is baking I am measuring out my ground sirloin and putting it in its designated containers.




I measure out every oz of my food using this nifty gadget! Super easy and very inexpensive to buy. By the time I am done measuring out my sirloin, my rice is done and I measure out my rice and put it in the designated containers also. As I continue to wait for my fish, I will steam some green veggies and have them ready to add to my food as needed for the day. I do my veggies fresh everyday but if you don't have the time to do that, you can cook them ahead of time and add them to your designated containers. My fish is done and I measure out my oz's and add it to containers and I am done!








As a mom I still have to cook for my family so I always make a casserole with my extra food. I intentionally make extra so I can do this every time. I took the extra ground sirloin, rice and green beans and made this casserole for dinner tonight. I sauteed onion, celery, and carrots and added it to the casserole. I also used pacific organic cream of mushroom soup and put some cheese on top. I will throw it in the oven tonight and bake it to warm it back up and have meals for 2 days out of this.

This is my food for the next 4 days in its designated containers. The white container has green beans in it for the day. I tend to pick one green veggie and eat it for the entire day. Today it is green beans:)

When it is time to eat, I open my container and warm it up in a fry pan. Super yummy and easy. If you are on the go, throw it in the microwave or sometimes you just have to eat it cold!

Some of the seasonings I love. Starting from the left is cinnamon I add to my oatmeal. Organic hot sauce with garlic and onion powder with parsley is delicious on my chicken and fish. Montreal steak low sodium is awesome on your beef but as you get closer to your comp this may not be an option as the sodium content is high and it also contains sunflower oil...check with your coach on this one. Sea salt and pepper make everything taste good and last is a poultry seasoning that is salt free and delicious on your chicken.

My current meals are

1. 1/2 cup oats, 6 egg whites and spinach

2. 4 oz ground sirloin and green veggie

3. 5oz tilapia and 1/2 cup rice

4. High Five Protein Shake and 1TBSP nut butter

5. 6oz of tilapia or chicken (I rotate them every 4 days to keep it exciting) and green veggie

6. 6 egg whites and spinach

Meals 1 and 6 I cook fresh every day. If I am home I make my shake into icecream and pretend I am eating cold stone...HA! If I am on the go I use a shaker cup and mix my powder with water and bring my tbsp of PB already measured out. I always measure out my PB since I am super anal and will make sure I have no more than a TBSP. I know it would be easy to pretend extra wouldn't hurt but it's all based on a formula that works so DON'T DO IT!!

When your mind is IN IT doing anything other than following your diet should be like smoking a ciggarette...NOT AN OPTION.

When it comes to show time I know without a doubt I never cheated on any of my meals. I know that I never added anything I wasn't suppose to that wasn't on my meal plan even if I think it's healthy. I'm in this to win it and if I get 10th I know that I did exactly what was required of me and I am ok with that:) Following your meal plan is critical if you want results. When your body is use to eating the same thing everyday at the same time, when a change is made your body responds and it's an amazing feeling! If this is a struggle for you let me know because I am crazy passionate about this!! I actually love my food and would love to help you if I can!!! As Victoria would say..."Eat clean train dirty!"

Other meal ideas with your extra food for your family...

a. Add your ground sirloin and veggies to a speghetti sauce and make speghetti. If you saw my post on the veggie snack container I tend you open it up and use these veggies to add to all my meals I make for my family.

b. Take extra chicken and make a chicken, rice, and brocolli casserole. Add mushrooms, onions and celery and any other veggies. Add a soup base such as cream of chicken, celery, or mushroom.

c. Take extra chicken and make a chicken curry. Take your chicken and rice and add veggies and stir fry them all together. Add curry paste of choice and can of cocount milk and chili paste and you have an awesome curry.

d. The easiest meal is always a meat, veggie, and rice and you can make a special sauce to add to it!

e. Take extra ground sirloin and make tacos!

ENJOY!

OUR NEW SNACK CONTAINER!

Tired of your kids asking for snacks constantly? I am;) Here is a great idea that I just came across from a good friend Dr. Ida Bergman! Every time the boys ask for a snack, I can send them to the snack container in the fridge! Have fun with it. My boys are SO excited that they have their very own snack container. If you can, always buy organic veggies.
Costco sells single hummus containers the boys can also help themselves to. This is a huge hit in our home. This container contains broccoli, cauliflower, red pepper, orange pepper, celery, radishes, and carrots. I took the boys with me to Whole Foods and let them pick out what they wanted in their special container. As soon as I got home, I cleaned them and cut them up. Only took me about 15 minutes. I can't even tell you how excited this makes me! Thanks for a great idea Ida...Genius!!!