Greek Chicken Pitas

I don't know about you all, but where I live (south Florida) it is super HOT!!! With my meal planning, I am trying to find things that are A). easy to cook B). Light C). and not hot (like soup hot...spicy hot I LOVE). This recipe meets all the requirements for my summer cooking!
I did my chicken in the slow cooker. It's just easier for me to throw my chicken breast in there. I am not a big fan of those chicken strips sold at stores in the Ziploc bags and I could get the chicken from the deli section...but I just prefer this method.

this meal was super easy to prep since the slow cooker took care of the cooking part. Just cut up some veggies...add some lemon and chives. Cut the pitas in half and you have yourself a fabulous dinner!

Each serving has 380 calories.

 

Total Time: 10 min.
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cooking Time: None
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients:
1 (6½-inch) whole wheat pita, cut in half to make pockets
3 oz cooked chicken breast, boneless, skinless, cut into 1-inch cubes
¼ medium tomato, chopped
¼ cup chopped cucumber
1 Tbsp. chopped red onion (optional)
¼ tsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
¼ cup shredded romaine lettuce
2 Tbsp. crumbled feta cheese (about ½ oz)
Preparation:
1. Fill pita halves evenly with chicken, tomato, cucumber, onion (if desired), oregano, lemon juice, romaine, and cheese.

3 day refresh

Before we went on our family trip to Tennessee, I had purchased the 3 day refresh. I had meal planned for our family so we would make wise choices, but let's be serious...there is always a trip to a fast food joint no matter how a road trip goes. I had purchased this to get me back on track after being gone for 9 days and get rid of any bloat that I had.
First let me tell you, this is the HARDEST thing I have ever done!!! I thought it, hey three days how hard can this be? Here are my before pics:

Here is what I did every day while on the refresh:
Day 1:
I woke up and had water.
A little later on I had the vegan chocolate shakeology with 1/2 of a banana.
I had more water.
Then for lunch I'd do the vanilla refresh shake. I had carrots, some blueberries and strawberries, and hummus.
For snack I did the cucumbers with hummus (made them look like sandwiches.
My dinner (which was delicious) was the veggie stir fry. I also had the vanilla refresh shake.
I also had more water throughout the day.
I also did insanity max.

Day 2:
Started off the same as the previous day: water and the chocolate/banana shakeology.
Adding tons of water to the day as well.
For lunch I stuck to the same routine...carrots, blueberries, strawberries, hummus, and the vanilla refresh.
For snack I had some red peppers with hummus.
Dinner I had the carrot salad that is in the recipe booklet that came. I also added the vanilla refresh.
Today I did max following a modifier.

Day 3:
Were the same things except for dinner: I did the cucumber and tomato salad.
For day three I did not exercise at all.

All in all thoughts:
Day 1 as the easiest...probably b/c I had food in from the night before. LOL!!! Day 2 kicked my butt. I had the worst headache. After that I decided that exercising at all probably wasn't the best idea and taking care of three kids (hence no workout on day 3). I did feel a difference and def. less bloated. I wouldn't say I had more energy, but did feel better w/o junk coming into me.

Here are my after pic:

Would I do this agan...probably if I knew I was going to fall of the tracks again eating wise. It helped me get past a weight plateu and I can totally see a difference. It's hard but now I know what to expect and feel like I am better prepared.

Avacado Chicken Salad

The boys and I had spent all of yesterday in the van. I will be the first to admit we didn't make the wisest food choices on the way home. We stopped at Mickey D's, had tortilla chips in the car, Zaxby's chicken..you get the point. We also are just coming off a week vacation in TN where we ate at Paula Deen's restaurant and a few other yummy places (although we did a good job on dinners with our crock pot). This is our first day home and I knew I wanted to make something light...and yummy!
What you are going to need:
2 cups shredded chicken
1 avocado
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp lime juice
1 tsp fresh cilantro
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup plain Greek Yogurt

Easy to make:

 Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 20-30 minutes to let all those yummy flavors blend together.


Serve on your favorite bread, crackers, pita pocket or on a bed of lettuce.

Chocoate Peanut Butter Protein Balls

It's been awhile since I last blogged. My family and I spent a week in Gatlinburg. What a fun trip we all had. I will probably blog about our various adventures.
My post today is chocolate peanut butter protein balls. I had made a batch of these for our van ride up (we drove from FL to TN). I made these so we wouldn't have to stop a lot for snacks and also, I wanted to make sure we made wise choices on the road.
These are super simple to make. All you will need are:
1 cup oats
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (can be shakeology or whey powder)

Super simple to do:
Combine ingredients in a bowl. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll into balls. Enjoy. Will last about 5 days refrigerated.

clean eating: citrus flank steak

Citrus Marinated Flank Steak:
Ingredients
•The juice of 1 orange
•The juice of 2 limes
•¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
•2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
•1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
•3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
•1 teaspoon ground cumin
•1 teaspoon salt
•2 pound flank steak

Instructions
1.With a small, sharp paring knife score the steak on both sides.
2.Combine the orange juice, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, chili powder, cumin and salt in the bowl of a food processor or blender; puree until smooth. Place the steak in a large, resealable plastic bag and pour the marinade over it. Press out the air, seal the bag and marinate at room temperature for at least 2 hours.
3.Prepare the coals on the grill until they are glowing red with a white ash around them. Drain and discard the marinade and place the steak 4 inches over the coals; sear quickly, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side.
4.Move the steak away from the direct heat, cover the grill and continue to cook until the internal temperature reaches 135 F, about 7 to 10 minutes longer. Remove the steak from the grill and allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

clean eating: sriracha lime chicken chopped salad

This recipe is super yummy! Don't let the title of the recipe scare you. You can adjust the heat to fit your taste buds: today I'd love to share with you sriracha lime chicken chopped salad! This might be one of my new favorite ones!
Sriracha Lime Chicken
2 organic chicken breasts
3 tbsp sriracha
1 lime, juiced
1/4 tsp Himalayan sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Salad
4 cups lettuce, chopped
8 pineapple slices, using pineapple corer
1 cup organic grape tomatoes
1/3 cup red onion, finely chopped
1 avocado, cubed
Lime Vinaigrette
1/3 cup light olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 limes, juiced
2 tsp raw honey
Dash Himalayan sea salt
Instructions
1.1. Heat the grill
2.2. Season chicken with salt and pepper
3.3. In a bowl or marinade dish, combine sirarcha and lime
4.4. Add chicken and let marinade in the fridge for at least 20 minutes, the longer the better
5.5. Once marinaded, add chicken to grill
6.6. Cut pineapple using pineapple corer and add to grill, grill for 3-4 minutes on each side
7.7. While they are grilling, chop lettuce, then chop avocado, tomato, and red onion and add to serving dish
8.8. Whisk together dressing, taste, and adjust seasoning as desired (i.e. more lime, additional sea salt, additional vinegar)- place in fridge until ready to use
9.9. Once chicken is done cooking, assemble the salad, toss with dressing and enjoy!

Clean eating: BBQ carrots

I waanted to share a simple and easy side dish to prepare with some of meat entrees I have already shared or will continue to during the week.
Today is bbq carrots!
•2 pounds organic baby carrots
•1 teaspoon black pepper
•1 tablespoon onion powder
•1 tablespoon garlic powder
•1 tablespoon olive oil

Steps:
Place all the ingredients in a large Ziploc bag. Shake the bag until all the carrots are well coated.
Place a piece of aluminum foil onto the grill. Place the carrots on top of that in a single layer.
Put your lid down on the grill.Grill your carrots for 30 minutes occasionally stirring with grilling tongs.
You will know they are done when they are easy to pierce with a fork.

Clean eating: Foil Packets: Steak

This is a meal my hubby was totally suspicious about! He thought that I was nuts that I wanted him to put a foil packet on our grill. I totally surprised him and we both enjoyed this meal....
I present to you: Lemon herb steak foil packet:
Ingredients (for one packet):
1 thin cut steak (i used rib-eye)
1/2 lemon
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Dried Thyme
Salt (Kosher) & Pepper
Butter & Olive Oil
Heavy Duty Foil – 2 sheets (approx. 12″ x 12″)
Asparagus or your choice of vegetables

Directions:
preheat your grill to medium high. on a piece of heavy duty tin foil (approx. 12″ x 12″), lightly coat with olive oil and dot with butter. season both sides of your steak with salt and pepper. place the steak in the center of the foil. sprinkle with thyme, rosemary leaves and a slice of fresh lemon. place fresh vegetables and lemon next to the steak. dot with butter and cover with the second piece of foil over the top. seal each side of the foil shut. once your packets are sealed and marked, place them onto the grill at medium-high heat. grill them for 8-10 minutes (depending on how you prefer your meat), flipping them over halfway through cooking. when they are finished grilling, let stand for 2-3 minutes before you open foil in the middle and enjoy

Clean eating: Citrus Grilled Chicken

Here is a delicious recipe for  grilled citrus chicken!!
Ingredients:
•1 orange
•1 lime
•2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
•1 teaspoon minced garlic
• boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I had a package of 5 when we did this)
•1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
•1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
1.Zest orange and lime into a large bowl.
2.Squeeze orange juice into bowl.
3.Add oil, garlic and chicken, shift in bag to make sure the chicken gets all the flavorings.
4.Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
5.Prepare grill or grill pan over medium-high heat.
6.Remove chicken from marinade, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
7.Cook chicken 6 minutes per side or until done.

Clean eating: spicy lime black beans quina salad

Today's recipe is a side dish, quinoa lime salad. It is really yummy! A side might not seem so WOW to some but think of your typical side dishes...macaroni salad...potato salad...colesaw...nothing that healthy about those. This is so light and yummy. I make a lot and take it in for lunch during the work week.
These are more or less estimate for the ingredients...
quinoa
1 can of black beans
1 red pepper
1 red onion
cilantro
garlic
cumin
jalpeno
2 limes

Cook the quinoa. In a large bowl put in the drained and rinsed black beans. Chop the red pepper and red onion. Add to the beans. Chop cilantro and also add. Chop the jalepeno (add as much as heat you want to taste). Stir in the quinoa. Add the olive oil, garlic, and cumin and stir. Add the juice of the lime and the zest of 1 of the limes. Mix...chill...serve...enjoy!

Clean Eating: BBQ sauce

Good Morning! Today's recipe is a simple one: Homemade BBQ sauce! I am the type that usually buys one (especially when they go on sale) but thought for this challenge I'd give this a shot!! It wasnt too hard (just had to mix to a right combo that both hubby and I enjoyed). We put it on thin cut chicken breasts...and it was delicious!
Clean eating bbq sauce
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce – no sugar added
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste – no sugar added
1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
4 tablespoons unsulfered molasses
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.