21 Days of Fitmas

Christmas is one of my favorite holidays. I take huge pride in picking out special things for the people I love and spending time enjoying special moments with my family and friends. It is a season where I am reminded why I do what I do.  I love giving of myself to people.  I love sharing my passion for health with others. I love helping others make their lives a little more healthy and a lot more enjoyable. But more than that, I love working on my overall health and longevity so that I can spend more time with my future kids, grandkids, great-grandkids...

This is also a season where people tend to throw caution to the wind and over-indulge. Heck I’ve done it. I’ve been guilty of “sampling” a few too many cookies AND sipping hot cocoa each afternoon AND cozying up instead of moving more. But not this year! Did you know the average American gains between 5-10 pounds during the Holidays. Ugh. When I think of erasing all of the hard work that I put in this year...

My friends, I will stay the course with some careful indulgences AND I wanna share the gift of fit with YOU! I have created an epic accountability group that will help you stick to your goals PLUS I will give fitness gifts EACH day- just for sticking to your goals!!! You can keep it for yourself or gift to someone else YOU love. << I LOVE giving gifts!!!! And I give you full permission to re-gift!  I am partnering with some  amazing brands like Bolder headbands, Limelight by Alcone, Kast Fitness, Whole Foods, Fitbit and more to bring you fitness-y gifts EVERY single day of our challenge. And they are so fabulous…I kinda wanna keep them all myself!

AND the big winner…Are you ready for this??? They will win a pair of NikeID that they get to customize!!! Custom kicks, just for sticking to your goals? What!?

Let’s avoid being average. Let’s be Holiday Extraordinary. I’ll hook you up with a solid nutrition and fitness program and then all you have to do is stick to it, post each day and you are eligible to win that day’s prize! Motivation and stick-to-it-ness all rolled into one!!!

AND because I believe in balance, we will also give you some tips on how to build in some treats of the season without falling victim to the average 5-10 pound weight gain during the holidays!!! Join me on my Merry Mission and you can not only stay true to your health and fitness goals but also have the chance to win all this good stuff!!! 

There are only 20 spots available, so let me know today if you are interested! Comment below with "Fitmas Fun" or find me on Facebook and I will get you more information!

Crapple Cookies- A Paleo Breakfast.

Since we've been doing this Paleo thing, breakfast has been a challenge.  I love having something "bready" with my coffee in the morning, and being grain free doesn't exactly work with that.  I have tried muffins, pancakes, and all sort of other paleo recipes online, and most of them have been way to eggy.  If I wanted an omelet, I'd make one, but I wouldn't put blueberries in it.

So instead, I have decided to try regular recipes with Cassava Flour, and modify them as needed.  Since oats are also out, I have swapped flaked coconut to get the same texture.  If you aren't Paleo, you can use regular flour, but you might not need the cashew milk.  You can also use oats instead of the coconut flakes, but I can't really say how they will turn out.

Ingredients:
1 apple, finely diced
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup honey
1 cup flaked unsweetened coconut
1 egg
1 cup Cassava flour*
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsps apple pie spice
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup non dairy milk, like Cashew
1/2 chopped pecans
1/2 unsweetened cranberries.

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients through the sea salt.  Mix well, and add the milk a little at a time until the batter is smooth and moist.  You may need more or less milk depending on the brand of Cassava flour you use.  Stir in the pecans and cranberries.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15- 20 minutes until firm, but bouncy.

*The brand of Cassava flour you use will greatly effect the moisture content. This recipe was tested using Moon Rabbit brand. Otto's Natural is also good, but you may need to adjust the amount of milk you use.  If you use tapioca flour instead (they are both made from the Cassava root), it will not have the same cookie texture.  It will be more like a brownie.

Paleo Sweet Potato Pie

Let's talk Pie. Thanksgiving is coming, we are currently in the season of Pumpkin Everything, and you know it won't belong until there is pumpkin (or sweet potato) pie everywhere. Do you have to give up your holiday pie? No. Should you make the healthiest (and tastiest) pie you can, with the cleanest ingredients possible? Definitely. 
This pie can be made with pumpkin or sweet potato puree, depending on your preference. It is totally grain free, there is no shortening in the crust, no condensed milk, and no white sugar. It is still a treat (and a yellow on the 21 Day Fix ), but it isn't one I feel guilty about. 

FOR THE CRUST:
1 cup Almond Flour
1 ½ cup Cassava Flour
½ tsp Real Salt
6 TBSP. Butter, cold
1 Egg

FOR THE FILLING:
2 ½ cup Sweet Potato or Pumpkin Puree (4 medium potatoes, baked)
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
½ tsp Real Salt
1 tsp vanilla
⅔ cup natural sweetener ( I prefer a 50/50 split of honey and maple syrup)
3 TBSP Coconut Oil, melted
3 Eggs

Instructions

FOR THE CRUST:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the almond flour, cassava flour, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 4-5 times for a few seconds until blended.
Add the butter, 1 TBSP. at a time, processing for about 5 seconds with each addition until the butter resembles coarse crumbs.
Add the egg and process until the dough comes together. The dough will look dry, but it should stick together when pressed. Pat the dough into a 9” pie dish. It may take a little time, but press the dough into the bottom and sides, evening out and smoothing the dough with the back of a spoon. Prick the bottom of the pie crust with a fork to allow steam to escape.
Cover the pie crust with a sheet of tin foil. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, uncovered.
Remove from oven and let cool.

FOR THE FILLING:
Place the sweet potato puree in the bowl of a food processor. Add the pumpkin pie spice, salt, vanilla, honey, coconut oil, and eggs. Process until smooth and well blended. Pour the filling into the pre-baked pie crust and tap on the counter to smooth and level. Bake at 350 degrees for 65-75 minutes, or until the filling is puffed and set. Remove from the oven and let cool completely at room temperature.
Refrigerate until cold. Serves 12

Mango "Salsa"- AIP Recipe

I am on week 2 of the Auto Immune Protocol and I miss condiments.  Like seriously, what am I supposed to put on my food?  Later today I am going to attempt to make some "flat bread" and "bbq sauce" (I put those in quotes because they will be far from the real thing), but for now I am going to share this salsa recipe with you.  It's not exactly like salsa, but it is close enough for me, and it gives my food some flavor!

In a large bowl, add 1 diced red onion*, 5-7 diced radishes (these will give us a little peppery kick since we can't have real peppers), 2 diced mangos, the zest and juice of 2 limes, 1 clove of garlic minced, and a handful of chopped cilantro.  Mix to combine well, and then allow to chill in the fridge a few hours (or over night). Once it is chilled, taste and add a sprinkle of Himalayan sea salt (you won't need much) if needed.  I serve it on top of everything (like lettuce wrap tacos!), occasionally combined with avocado to make guacamole!

21 Day Fix Conversion- 1 purple

*note- this as a really strong onion flavor, especially once the radishes and onions sit in the lime juice over night. I like onions, but if you don't, you might want to use less to start with.

No-Mato Marinara Sauce

My family and I have decided to do a not so fun elimination diet to see if it helps clear up any of our issues.  We've known we needed to try it for awhile, but we've kind of been putting it off.  We got back last week from vacation, and with 2 months before the holidays really get going, we decided now was the time to buckle down and commit!

We will be following the Auto Immune Protocol Diet, which means no grains, dairy, seeds, nuts, sugar, alcohol, and nightshades.  Out of all of those, it's the nightshades I miss the most.  Enter, No-Mato Marinara Sauce.  For not having any tomatoes, it is pretty tomatoey.  I made mine on the thick side, so I can thin it out as need for different recipes.  I am also going to try to use it in place of tomato paste in beef stew (per my husband's request), but more on that later.

I started by sautéing a red onion in a small amount of olive oil.  Once they were soft I added a clove of minced garlic, 3 cups chopped carrots, and 1 chopped beets.  After stirring, I added 1 cup water and brought the mixture to a boil.

I reduced the heat to low, and allowed the veggies to simmer for 1 hour.  Once cooked, I transferred the ingredients to a blender with the juice of 1 lemon, a palm full of Italian herbs, and a tsp of himalayan sea salt.  I blended until smooth, adding more water as needed to keep the mixture going.  This batch made 12 servings. Adding more water, or liquid when cooking would increase the serving size.

To serve, I combined the sauce with ground beef (pre cooked, from my freezer stash), additional seasonings (because the meat was unseasoned), and 1/4 cup pork stock (made from cooking down a ham bone, and straining off most of the fat).  I heated the ingredients until well combined, and then served the meat sauce over roasted spaghetti squash.  If you are following the 21 Day Fix (which I am not currently on, but I try to keep the balance on the containers in the back of my mind), the plain sauce counts as 1 green.  With the ground meat, it would be 1 green and 1 red.

3 Day Jump Start

We all have those weeks/months/seasons where we don't eat like we should or are a little more lax in our diet than usual.  When this happens to me, and I realize it's time for a change, I find the easiest way is to jump in feet first.  I spend 3 days really cleaning out my pantry, and only eating super clean, low carb and low sugar to really got my body prepared and used to this healthier way of eating.  

During the 3 days I focus on tons of water, vegetables, fruits, clean proteins, and food that give me the most nutritional bang for my buck.  My calorie intake is slightly lower than usual these days, but it is certainly not a starvation diet.  It is just enough to bump my metabolism and kick start my body.

After the 3 days I am super ready to get back into the clean and healthy lifestyle.  Not only have I prepared myself emotionally, but my body is primed for all the good nutritious food, and I've broken through the sugar and carb addiction.  If you like more information on my 3 Day Jump Start, please contact me or message me on Facebook!

Breakfast Deviled Eggs

I have only recently learned to eat hard boiled eggs.  My mother hates eggs, and she only ever made me scrambled eggs as a child. Lately I have lamented the fact that I don't like hard boiled eggs, and how much easier breakfast would be if I did.  So I decided to start with deviled eggs.  I just kept trying them, and finally yesterday I liked them.  This gave me hope, so this morning when my niece said she'd like a hard boiled egg white,  I attempted a breakfast deviled egg for myself.

While I enjoyed a regular deviled egg at dinner, I didn't think mustard and mayo were going to be appetizing for breakfast.  I also wanted a recipe that was 21 Day Fix friendly.  So, I swapped the mayo and mustard for ricotta cheese.  I used about 1/2 TBSP per egg (roughly equal parts yolk to ricotta).  I mashed it together with a fork and add a small amount of salt and pepper.

I then topped each egg white shell with the yolk and ricotta mixture.  There was a little more filling than the usual deviled egg, but it felt like the perfect yolk to white ratio to me! I count 3 halves as 1 red container 21 Day Fix container (since 2 whole eggs equal 1 red, or 3/4 cup ricotta). If you'd like more information about the 21 Day Fix, please feel free to contact me!