I don't know about you guys, but nothing screams SPORTS or HAPPY HOUR like a good beer and some YUMMY buffalo wings!!! Don't get me wrong, I definitely still treat myself to some amazing wings and a good IPA but when I'm working hard on fitness and nutrition goals I am very careful about grabbing for that extra beer or that fried bar food!! I have found a GREAT alternative and just wanted to share it all with YOU!!! BUFFALO CAULIFLOWER!!!! If you have the gut reaction to say "YUCK" when I said buffalo cauliflower, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!! My husband said the exact same thing but he ended up LOVING them!!! Such a nice treat but still WAY healthier than fried chicken wings from the bar!!! BUFFALO CAULIFLOWER RECIPE:
ENJOY!!!!! Let me know if you make it and what you think!!!
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Does your family make a certain meal that just makes you feel like you're HOME? Growing up on a farm on the Midwest, I am no stranger to AMAZING homemade meals, and am so grateful for that!! This recipe I have had my entire life but about 2 years ago decided to mess around and alter it to make it a little more health conscious for my lifestyle!!! Last week when I was meal planning I asked my hubby what is one meal he would want me to make that I hadn't in awhile and without skipping a beat he said "chicken supreme!" I wanted to share both recipes for you and asked my mom for the original and got the back story on this recipe!!! My parents lived in Des Moines, Iowa for several years and she said that in the 70's she had a co-worker whose son has the same birthday as my mom, so my parents were invited over for dinner! She made this Chicken Supreme and my mom immediately asked for the recipe and it's been in our family ever since, so over 40 years!!!!!! Chicken Supreme Family Recipe 4 Chicken Breasts Velveeta Cheese 1 can cream of chicken soup diluted with 1/2 can of milk 2 Cups of Stove Top Stuffing Place chicken pieces in baking dish. Put a slice of cheese on each piece of chicken. Spread each piece with soup mixture Sprinkle Stuffing over each piece. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Cook for 45 minutes covered in tin foil Cook for 45 minutes uncovered ENJOY!!! Chicken Supreme Clean(er) Version 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can of low sodium fat free cream of chicken soup diluted with 1/2 of the can of unsweetened cashew milk 2 cups of low sodium Stove Top Stuffing Pepper to Taste! Place chicken in a baking dish Pour soup and milk combination over chicken Sprinkle Stove Top over the Top of it all Preheat oven to 375 degrees Cook for 30 minutes covered with tinfoil Cook for 30 minutes uncovered ENJOY!!!!! If you know me, you know I do NOT like cheese ESPECIALLY Velveeta, so I remember growing up and scraping as much as I could off of the chicken before I would eat it!! Now I LOVE the way that I make it and so does the hubs!! He said he prefers it without cheese!! Let me know if you try either one of these, I would love to hear if you and your family enjoyed it!! I have loved banana bread my entire life!!! I get so excited when the bananas on the counter get darker and darker (which usually doesn't happen because I either eat them or freeze them) but I know banana bread is coming!!! This past week I just had too many bananas and when I was cooking dinner Monday night, I decided to try and tweak my recipe a little more and find a clean, healthy banana bread recipe that I LOVE!!! So this is just a combined version of several different ones I've found the last 2 years (thank you pinterest) but I am confident you and your family will LOVE this as much as I do!!! It was just a tiny bit more time consuming then some of the other recipes I've tried, but not bad at all and TOTALLY worth it!! Cooking or meal prep tip: Take your laptop to the kitchen and play your favorite netflix show to make time pass by if you are cooking and baking alone!! So while making this bread Monday night, I was watching the best show of all time....FRIENDS!!! The one where Ross and Emily got married in London to be exact!!! Scroll below the picture for the recipe!!! Ingredients 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 1/4 cups mashed brown bananas 1/3 cup melted and slightly cooled coconut oil 1/2 cup pure maple syrup or honey 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt 1 large egg 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Instructions
Pair with your favorite berries and coffee, or just have plain, either way it is melt in your mouth AMAZING!!! It does freeze well and I had EVERY intention of freezing it, but I don't think it will last that long!! Let me know if you try it out and what you think!! Eating clean and healthy does NOT have to be tasteless and boring, I PROMISE YOU!! ENJOY!!!!!!!!! Pizza is probably my favorite cheat meal of all time - well BEFORE I found healthier ways to make it!! If you couldn't tell by the THREE different healthy pizza recipes on this blog, Pizza is my JAM!! And even though I'm from 2 hours south of Chicago, I am not a big fan of deep dish pizza (please don't take my midwest card away)!!!! I do prefer pan or thing crust but my problem was I couldn't just eat ONE PIECE, I would eat the entire pizza!!! This past weekend was the Super Bowl and I was going to have Pizza for my treat meal to myself!! But then - I saw this AWESOME recipe for bell pepper pizza and thought, Why not give it a try?!?!?! So if you're like me, and LOVE pizza, but would rather use your treat meal for wine and red vines like me, then you have GOT to check out this bell pepper pizza recipe (or even scroll down to the other healthy pizza recipes below!!! Bell Pepper Pizza Recipe
Ingredients: 3 peppers of your color of choice Lean meat (I used turkey sausage AND turkey bacon) Veggies (I used onion and chopped green pepper) Mozzarella Cheese Marinara sauce of your choice (I always look for low sugar!) Fresh Basil Garlic Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Cut the tops off of bell peppers and remove seeds Chop all veggies Cook meat In a lightly oiled saucepan, add garlic, chopped veggies and meat Stuff peppers with meat/veggie mixture. Add marinara Sprinkle mozzarella cheese and any additional toppings you'd like to add Coat a small baking dish with a cooking oil or non-stick spray Add stuffed peppers Bake 8-10 minutes Sprinkle fresh basil on the top! ENJOY!! I'd love to hear if you try this recipe, and what combinations you make!! I'm definitely going to be trying this recipe again soon with chicken!! Bon Appetit!!!! Acai Bowls!! Have you all ever heard of these? Can you even pronounce the name Acai?!?!?! hahaha I'm kidding!! Kinda.... I had my first Acai Bowl experience two years ago and it rocked my socks off, in more ways than one!!! First of all, it was AMAZINGLY delicious!! I devoured it and was confident that I had just filled my body with the BEST nutrition possible!! Well, after doing further research, I discovered that the bowl I had was 385 calories - pretty good for a meal but 69 GRAMS OF SUGAR!!!!!! Holy crap. I about lost it when I read that!! According to the American Heart Association, the maximum amount of added sugars women should eat in a day are 25 grams. So - almost tripled that in one meal! And not to mention the hefty price tag of $11 plus tax!! So then WHY with all the sugar and the large price tag, are acai bowls SO darn popular?!?! Well - I think because they do taste delicious, there is also the illusion that they are "healthy" for you, and EVERYONE is eating them!! ENTER my superfoods bowl..... Yes, this bowl is as delicious as it looks!! I mean, it was almost too pretty to eat.... But I couldn't let this wholesome goodness go to waste!!! So.....what is my secret?!?! What makes MY bowl so much healthier and more affordable than the acai bowls that you can snag at any health foods store?!?! My secret ingredient.......SHAKEOLOGY!! Maybe you've heard of it before. Maybe you're rolling your eyes and thinking, "oh great, another weight loss shake." Or maybe you truly have never heard of shakeology!! Well let me give you a little info on this superfood shake of mine!! I have been drinking it for OVER 2 years. It is NOT a weight loss shake. NOT a protein shake. NOT a magical "lose 20 pounds in a night" drink. It is my daily dose of dense nutrition. There are over 70+ vitamins, minerals, prebiotics, probiotics, adaptogens, and SOOO many more good things in it that I just don't have all day to list out!! But I do know that drinking this (or eating it in a delicious bowl) every single day has done SO MUCH for my health. I have been sick only 2 times in the last 2 years!! I used to have an ongoing cold, flu, cough, runny nose and would NEVER be able to shake it! It has aided in my 80 pound weight loss by giving my body the nutrients it needs and cutting out those CRAVINGS! It has helped me develop the strongest nails, hair and my skin has looked better than ever! I have stopped taking ALL vitamins and supplements that I was previously taking, and my doctor said that I am healthier than EVER!!! Oh - and it's all for less than $4 a day!! So less than that Starbucks latte you're sipping on!!! So let's good to the point, right?!?! We don't have all day Emily, geeesh!!! This is how I make my superfoods smoothie bowls!! *Blend strawberry shakeology (I use it with ALL 9 flavors, this one is just my favorite!) with 6 ice cubes, 6-8 oz cashew milk, 1/2 frozen banana, and a handful of mixed frozen berries *pour thick smoothie mixture into bowl *add toppings of your choice! *ENJOY and feel GOOD knowing you aren't spending $11 and you are NOT consuming 69 grams of sugar!! Want to try out this wholesome goodness for yourself? Send me a message on Facebook, Instagram, or shoot me an email at [email protected], and I can tell you how to get this AMAZING concoction and get you started TODAY!!! YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. Choose Wisely..... Nutrition has absolutely been the HARDEST part of my weight loss journey because I LOVE FOOD!!! What has helped me more than ANYTHING is finding alternate ways to make some of my favorite foods!! I have experimented so much in the last year and a half and found some of the most delicious recipes that I just cannot believe are healthy!!! One of my FAVORITES are these No-Bake Chocolate Energy Bites!! They are simple to make, full of nutritious, CLEAN ingredients, and curb my cravings!!! I have had so many requests for the recipe that I thought I might as well throw it up here on the blog for you all!!! Here is the recipe: NO-BAKE CHOCOLATE ENERGY BITES *1 cup of chocolate shakeology *1 cup of all natural peanut butter or nut butter *1 cup of old fashioned oats *1/3 cup of honey *I usually add in chia seeds and unsweetened coconut, either in the balls/bars or on top!! Feel free to throw in any nuts or ANYTHING!! *Mix all ingredients together in a bowl! Either roll into balls or flatten out into bars in a pan - BOTH ways are delicious!!! *Let set in freezer for one hour (or a day like me!) I usually store them in the fridge!! *ENJOY!!! Let me know if you try them, they are DELICIOUS!!! Meatloaf should be coined the all-American dinner!! I remember having it ALL the time growing up, and I just LOVED it!! It has been years though since I have made a meatloaf in my house, so I decided to change that. However - now that I am on a mission to be the healthiest ME I can be, I wanted to switch up the recipe a little bit to make it as clean and as healthy as possible!! I tweaked it a little bit last night, and it turned out even better than I thought it would, so I wanted to share the recipe with all of you!! Turkey Meatloaf: 1 pound of lean ground turkey 1 pound of lean turkey sausage 3/4 cup of oats 2 eggs beaten Crushed Black Pepper Garlic Himalayan Sea Salt *any additional spices you would like to use! Mix all ingredients in large bowl and pour into 9 x 13 inch baking dish Bake at 350 for one hour Pair with veggies, potatoes, and ENJOY!!! This recipe was actually the FIRST blog post I made, but I have tweaked the recipe a TON and changed things up so wanted to re-post it!!! PIZZA is absolutely one of my guilty pleasures! It is probably the most eaten cheat meal by me this past year and a half since I've been on my own personal transformation journey. I was tried of only saving it for a CHEAT though and have been on a mission to find the most delicious, healthiest pizza recipe I could!! I completely believe in BALANCE and that we should not deprive ourselves of things we love. I am all about making a LIFESTYLE change that is SUSTAINABLE and not just a fad diet. Because of my thinking and the relationship I have developed with food, it has helped me with my 72 pound weight loss!! Check out the recipe below and feel free to tweak it and add things you like to make it like your favorite pizza!! Build-Your-Own Healthy Pizza RecipeIngredients:
1 whole wheat pita flatbread – I LOVE the ones I found in the picture above! Lean, ground turkey sausage Bell Peppers, diced Onions, chopped Fresh spinach marinara (pictured above – BEST and most healthiest I have found) Dried oregano or Italian seasoning Garlic and onion powder Mozzarella cheese (low-fat) ***You can use ANY toppings that you like, these are just some of my FAVORITE! Instructions: Preheat oven to 400 Brush a tiny bit of olive oil on the pita and place pita directly on the rack and cook for approximately 5 minutes Meanwhile, brown ground turkey sausage in a skillet. Season with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper Once you remove the crust from the oven, spread sauce Layer ground turkey sausage Layer mixed vegetables Top with mozzarella cheese and sprinkle dried oregano or Italian seasoning over top Bake for 5-7 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly Remove from oven (unless you want to burn it) and enjoy!! **In case any of you out there are doing the 21 Day Fix or Fix Extreme, 80 Day Obsession, or ANY of the programs with container system these are the equivalents for this recipe: 1 Red = Turkey Sausage 1 Green = Green Pepper and Onion 1 Blue = Cheese 1 Yellow = Flatbread ½ purple = Marinara Sauce **If you are not doing any current workout program or nutrition program but are interested, you should definitely think about it! Shoot me an email at [email protected] for more details. I have a rocking accountability group going on right now and we are ALWAYS looking for new members!! I hope you all try out this recipe and love it as much as I do! I hope you all have an amazing day! Party mix, and mashed potatoes, and Fireball OH MY!!!! I don't know about all of you, but I fully took advantage of the holidays this year. And by fully, I mean continually eating beyond the point of being full!!! I don't know what it is about December, but there is just food everywhere and I lose ALL control! I totally let my workouts fall behind, threw clean eating out the window, and packed on a few pounds. I have struggled with my weight up and down for quite awhile, but am so committed and ready to get back on track!! I don't know if you have ever heard of a little thing called the 3-Day Refresh, but it is AMAZING! So what is this 3_Day Refresh you ask??? Well, it's not your typical cleanse or detox, because there is plenty of food and I was never once hungry! No meat or dairy for 3 days, but there is a wide variety of food options that keep you full the entire time. Now I am a creature of habit, so I had the same foods every day, but there are so many different options to switch it up so you never get bored. I'll take you through a typical day of the Refresh. You start the morning with a 8-10 oz glass of water, and I had done some research and realized the benefits of warm water with fresh lemon juice, so I would drink that as soon as I woke up. For breakfast, you have one serving of fruit (the list of options is GIGANTIC) and shakeology. If you have never heard of shakeology or never tried it, please talk to me ASAP because it is life-changing!! It is a yummy superfoods shake that I have ever day and there are way too many benefits from it for me to go on about right now. That is for another post! But seriously - ask me about it! Are you a coffee-crazed caffeine connoisseur like me?!?! Well, one thing about the refresh, they suggest no coffee for 3 days. If you absolutely can't live without it, then they just suggest having black coffee. You can have herbal tea though! So I would sip on green tea with fresh lemon juice in the mornings, and let's be real folks, you can make it 3 days without the coffee!! It just tastes that much better when you're done (speaking from experience)! Alright folks, now onto the least desirable part of the refresh, the FIBER SWEEP (bottom right pic above). It's really not that bad, don't let me scare you! You just mix it with 8-10 oz of cold water, shake the crap out of it, pinch your nose and guzzle that wholesome goodness!! I mean, I've had way worse shots at bars, you can do this 3 times!!! Now moving on to lunch and your afternoon snack! So, what do you usually have for lunch? Fast food? Take-out? A microwavable meal? Well let me tell you, the lunch I had on the refresh tasted WAY better than any of that, was healthy and nutritious, and completely filled me up. For lunch you have a vanilla refresh shake which is packed with 20 grams of plant protein, vitamins and minerals, and has no artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, or sweeteners. Plain english - it fills you up and you're not putting crap into your body! You also get one serving from the fruit list again (I chose an apple), one vegetable, and one healthy fat. So I would have spinach, asparagus, and drizzled all of that yummy goodness with olive oil! Oh, and by the way, I bought a steamer awhile ago and never used it until the refresh. I am idiot. It is so easy to do and the veggies taste so much fresher, crisp, and amazing! Well, even though you're all filled up after lunch, you get an afternoon snack!!! This is not pre-school folks, I do not mean cookies and a juice box. I mean, one more serving from the veggie list and one more healthy fat serving! A lot of people have veggies and hummus, but if you know me, I'm a weirdo when it comes to food and textures freak me out! So I opted for spinach/asparagus/olive oil again! So by this time, it's later in the day, and you are all filled up with fuel and feeling pretty good! Oh, and treat yourself to another tea if you would like! But now it's on to dinner.... Alright y'all. The options for dinner are crazy good!! There are options like, coconut steamed veggies, roasted asparagus with almonds, spinach salad, lemony green beans, cucumber and tomato salad, and the list goes on and on! I opted for the veggie stir fry though and do not regret my choice!! It was amazing! Super simple to make (took about 15 minutes total) and left me full and happy! I will continue cooking this for dinner, and might throw in a little chicken and some more vegetables, but this is truly a keeper! You also get another Vanilla Fresh shake with dinner and there is an options cup of organic vegetable broth (I skipped this option because the stir fry more than filled me up). Feel free to end the evening with another tea if you would like!! ![]() Now let's not forget one of the most important points of the Refresh, and this shouldn't just be constricted to the Refresh but every single day, is WATER!!! Drink a MINIMUM of half of your body weight in ounces of water a day. I drank way more than that because I really wanted to get the most out of this Refresh and flush all of those cookies, beer, and pizza out of my system!! I also kept track of every single thing that I put into my mouth during those three days. To the left here are 2 of the days, I would post the third, but it's exactly the same!!! I really feel like writing what you eat down holds you more accountable. And no cheating!!! The only person you're cheating is yourself (thanks Autumn Calabrese for that awesome nugget--Ooooooo chicken nuggets, yummmm! just kidding, NOT part of the refresh). Sorry for this extremely long-winded explanation and I hope you all have made it through the entire thing!! I feel like the 3 Day Refresh is WORTH this long, drawn out read! It's amazing guys. I am an idiot and did not take my measurements, but I am down 8 pounds for the refresh. Yes, EIGHT! I know a lot of it was water weight, and consuming fewer calories, but I don't care!! I feel fantastic and ready to take on the world! I'm so ready now to continue on with the healthy eating (and splurges here and there) and definitely staying on track with my workouts. Face it, you just feel better, inside and out, when you are working out and putting good foods into your body! I hope you all got some useful information out of this and I hope it tickled your curiosity. It is 100% worth it!!! Please ask me if you are interested and I will get you more information on it!! Heck, I'll even do it again with you!!!! Seriously, shoot me a message, let's pick a date and get refreshed, recharged, and reset TOGETHER!!!
Hey all!! Remember my last post how I was talking about life begins at the end of your comfort zone?!!? Well, I am trying my best to live by that and push myself to do things I wouldn't normally do. As you all know, I am on a weight-loss journey to becoming my fittest, healthiest version of myself (I know, I know, you're probably annoyed by all the workout selfies that I post, but hey, that's my accountability!) but my journey doesn't stop there. I am on a mission to help women (and men) everywhere to feel good about themselves, not hate what they see when they look in a mirror. I want to help people get healthy and feel amazing about themselves, and I am going to make a career out of it... ![]() I have been to some really low places when it comes to my self-esteem and how I saw myself when I would look in a mirror. When I go running in the morning, I go by a lot of store fronts and at 4:30 in the morning, dark windows with streetlights cast on them look just like mirrors. I would do everything in my power to not look at myself or even catch a glimpse of my figure when I would run by. NO ONE should ever have to feel like that! We are all beautiful, uniquely made, and special, and I think everyone should feel that way!! Now back to how I am going to make a career out of this!! I have become a health and fitness coach! Now what does that mean you ask???!! Well let me tell you...I get to run challenge groups with anyone who wants to get in shape, lose weight, tone up, get their nutrition on track, or just to have fun! I get to build a team of leaders who want to do the same thing and inspire others. I get to attend fun and amazing events with other coaches who have the same dreams, ideas, and aspirations as me (they just had a huge event in Nashville, TN!!). I get to build lifelong relationships and friends. I get to work towards becoming debt free, building a solid future for my family, and eventually run my business from the comfort of my own home. I am so excited for this opportunity that has been given to me and cannot wait to see what the future has in store for me!! If any of you want to join a challenge group (currently doing one for the 21 Day Fix Extreme, but will be doing a clean eating group, and at the end of August this amazing new dance workout from Shaun T called Cize) or are interested in hearing more about the coaching opportunity, just let me know!! You can always shoot me an email at [email protected], facebook me, or comment below! And remember, YOU are beautiful, YOU are special, and YOU can do ANYTHING you put your mind to!!! Don't live a life of "what if" or "maybe next time." Create your own destiny!!! OH, and make it a great day!!! |
AuthorHey all!! My name is Emily Warring. This blog is just me writing about my day to day life, fitness goals, and journey to better health. Join me on my coaching journey, and let's end the trend! |