Combat results

Christmas 2014 was a healthy one for me. I received both Insanity Max (which I did from the end of December to the end of February) and Les Mills Combat.  I was excited to get into Combat as it was something that is totally different from anything I have ever done...in terms of the kicking...punching.
I lost about 3 lbs while completing the program. I still have yet to do measurements but I don't know if there was a huge difference. I can tell from my side views a difference in stomach definition which is great. Getting excited for this coming summer season.
My before pictures (these were taken as my after for Insanity max):

I am very pleased with the after pictures. I cannot even begin to explain to you all how much my confidence has grown while completing these programs. I feel better about myself both inside and out.

My two favorite days of the program were the power and plyo ones. It's not that I didn't enjoy the other combat ones..I just really felt like I got my best work out on these two dvds. I loved the weight aspect...and now am looking forward to starting Char Lean when I get home from vacation.

Banana Split Shakeology

Today I am going to share a new shakeology recipe that I tried out this morning and I loved it!!

I used:

~ one packet of chocolate shakeology

~ 2 slices of pineapple

~ 2 strawberries

~ 1/2 banana

~ 8 oz. water

~ I blended in the blender. Poured in my shaker cup...and enjoyed!!!

Definitely a yummy shake! One that will have to go into my rotation!



Garlic Lemon Chicken

This was such a delicious smell in my house (esp. after working with 19 5/6 year olds...and a car ride with three boys..LOL).

Again simple ingredients....simple prep...simple execution to the table!! Win Win.

Ingredients:

~ 4 lemons

~ 1/2 cup of chicken broth

~ 1 envelope of Italian seasoning

~ Garlic to your tasting

~ 1 packet of chicken breasts

Throw it all in the slow cooker. Cook for 8 hours. Shred the chicken breasts.

Serve with whatever sides you like (I just did a salad).



Red Wine Pork

I probably say this a lot, but this meal was delicious. I loved it at dinner...and just as much the next day for lunch leftovers. Camden was in love with this meal as well and ate it for a couple of days. LOL!

I have no idea what the real name of this one is called...but try it...it's yummy :)

 

You will need:

Pork Boneless roast (I usually get the pork over at Walmart from Smithfield. I find it cooks great in my slow cooker)

~ one envelope of the onion soup mix (You can make your own but I had one of these in pantry I wanted to use up, I'll post the make your own version down below the pic).

1/2 cup red cooking wine
4 cloves of minced garlic
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

 

Now what to do with this all:

Place your pork in the slow cooker.

Add all of your liquids.

Rub half of the onion mix on the pork. The rest place in the water mixture.

Rub the garlic and black pepper on the pork.

I cook mine on slow for 12 hours and it is soo moist and easy to shred.

 

Make your own onion mix:

1⁄4 cup dried onion flakes
2 tablespoons low-sodium beef bouillon granules
1⁄4 teaspoon onion powder
1⁄4 teaspoon parsley flakes
1⁄8 teaspoon celery seed
1⁄8 teaspoon paprika
1⁄8 teaspoon pepper



Soy Sauce Beef

Confession....another meal I just make on the whim. The night before I cooked this meal I felt like I wanted an Asian dish the next day. So I looked around the pantry/fridge to see what ingredients I had in the house. Again add the ingredients to your liking. I honestly paid no attention to how much I was really adding.

The night before I cooked I let it marinate in a Ziploc bag.

Place your bottom roast in a bag and add:

~ soy sauce (I used about half a bottle)

~ minced garlic

~ ginger

~ red pepper flakes

The next morning add to the crock pot....set it on low....and cook for about 12 hours.

I served it over a salad with my favorite dressing...makato ginger!!!



Buffalo Chicken

This was one of my go to dishes while I was completing the 21 day fix. Easy to make and not a lot of ingredients. Those are two of my requirements for most of the food I make.

I do not have exact measurements for this one...as it all really depends on your taste buds.

To make you will need:

~ Frank's Red Hot Sauce

~ 1 envelope of ranch dressing mix

~ chicken breast

~ fixings (such as cheese, lettuce, tomato, tortilla, etc)

For me, I simply added the chicken breast into the slow cooker. I then added the Frank's hot sauce. I put about half a bottle in. Lastly, add the envelope of ranch dressing mix in and stir. Put the lid on it and let it cook (time depends on your slow cooker). I usually do about 7  hours on ours.

When done, make a wrap.  My picture shows it all portioned out in my fix cups.

Enjoy!!



21 Day Fix approved Carnitas

Like any busy Mommy, I love my crock pot. This recipe provides left over for lunches. Make at the beginning of the week and you can spread your left over the course of the week; which is great. This was so yummy my 1 year old totally approved!!

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs of Pork Loin
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 cup of water

To make the rub combine:

• 2 tbsp of chili powder
• 2 tsp of cumin
• 1 tsp of ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp oregano

Directions:

Mix all spices together except the bay leaf in a bowl.
Rub down the entire pork loin with the spices and place in your slow cooker.
Add the bay leaf and water and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Keep an eye on the pork just to make sure the water doesn't absorb and it dries out.  If you have to add more liquid please do.
Your pork should pull apart easily so you can shred it.

Once you it is able to be shredded take it from the crock pot, shred and then place back into the crock pot.  Stir the meat to coat with the juices.

Cilantro Lime Dressing:

Greek yogurt

1/4 Cup Fresh Lime Juice

1/4 Cup Fresh Cilantro Chopped

1 lime cut into wedges for garnish

Combine these ingredients in a bowl for the dressing and set aside.

Add what you want to your carnitas:
~ black beans
~ lettuce
~tomato
~ cheese

Enjoy!

Sweets: Banana Oatmeal Cookies (aka Sinless Cookies)

 

 

 

Are you all ready for a treat that is so simple to make that even a mom juggling a 1 year old and helping out a 4 and 7 year old all at the same time can make?

During the break my 1 year old has really taken to food. I've been introducing him to so many new things that I still want to make sure I keep him eating healthy. I saw this recipe and knew for sure I'd have to make it for all of us.

What do you need?

~ 2 ripe bananas

~ 1 cup quick oats

~ 1/2 dark chocolate chips

~ 1 heaping tbsp. of natural peanut butter

 

Now what do you do with all of those things?

 

~ preheat your oven to 350. While waiting for it to warm mix all the ingredients. Plop a spoonful of the dough onto a cookie sheet. Place in the oven for about 15 minutes.

 

And of course...ENJOY :)

 

To really maximize your taste buds, put them in the fridge. We cooked these on our way out the door so we first tasted them warm. By the time we came home from the park, they were soo cool and it really brought out all the tastes of the ingredients. YUMMY!

 

 

 

Dinner Time: Garlic and Herb Beef

 

I was so excited for this recipe. I'm a sucker for pot roasts in my slow cooker...and garlic!! It's great to find beef recipes that are both clean and healthy for my family.

Obviously since it went in the slow cooker it's super easy to make from the prep time to serving.

Ingredients:

3 lb chuck roast, cut into 2 pieces

8 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

1 teaspoon salt, 3/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup beef broth, low sodium preferred

 

Directions:

Place the chuck roast into the slow cooker. Rub with the garlic, parsley, chives, thyme, and  salt & pepper. Add the broth. Cover the slow cooker and let it cook. I set mine for about 10 hours. Yes 10 hours...I like to cook mine nice and slow. When I went to shred it, the beef feel apart like butter.

 

 

I served mine with a little bit of mashed potatoes and a side salad (tomato, cucumber, red onion, and red wine vinegar).

 

It was a delicious meal...and I am happy to report that 2/3 of the boys enjoyed their meal (the other one is too picky and just wanted a waffle!)

 

 

Enjoy!

 





Transformation Tuesday~ And this is where my journey began......

I know everyone's story is different....I know everyone has different results...but this is mine.
I remember the night perfectly. I was packing for my son's first trip to Disney and none of my shorts that buttoned fit. I began to cry. He was 4 months old and still nothing fit. I was so excited to be taking him to Disney but had nothing to wear. I looked back at the pics and yes I am smiling but I did not like the way I looked in them.
I had seen postings on Facebook about shakeology and the 21 day fix. I reached out and began with PiYo..and drinking the shakes. (21 day fix was later in this journey).
Within two weeks I was able to button my jeans again! I was so excited. I have no idea what my exact measurements were pre working out or even post working out. I gauge that I lost about 30 lbs. But to me, that's not the important stuff. To me getting back my confidence was the best part of PiYo and my daily shake.

Clean Eating Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken Lettuce Cups

I don't know about you all, but I LOVE Mexican food. I could eat some variety of it almost every day of the week.
The best part of this recipe is that it doesn't require too many ingredients and they are all considered "clean" eating. I put this in the slow cooker in the morning and went off to go shopping with my boys on this busy spring break day. To keep down on the calories, I put the chicken into lettuce cups. I topped with a little pineapple mango salsa and a little cheese. Easy dinner on the table!

Ingredients:

• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 4 oz can diced green chiles OR seeded & deveined fresh jalapeños, chopped
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper, ground
• 2 lbs chicken breasts, boneless & skinless
• 1 tbsp cornstarch (optional)
• 1 head of butter or iceberg lettuce, separated into leaves

Directions:

1.  Add ingredients through black pepper to a large crock pot and stir to combine. Dunk chicken in the sauce making sure it’s somewhat covered. Cover with the lid and cook on Low for 6 hours or on High for 3 hours. Remove chicken on a platter and whisk cornstarch (optional) in the sauce. Shred chicken into strands using two forks, return to the crock pot and stir.

2.  To serve, put 1/2 cup chicken into a lettuce cup, top with 1/4 cup salsa and some cheese.

3. Enjoy a yummy dinner.

Blueberry Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

This has quickly become Camden's favorite treat! As soon as he sees the container it's in he starts bouncing to get some. It's great because these were super easy to make and I can keep in the fridge for when he needs a snack. Even I have enjoyed these (I can only eat mine once he goes to sleep...little stealer).
You can make with either fresh or frozen blueberries.
Here's the recipe for a perfect snack anytime of the day (so much better than the store bought bars).

Ingredients

• 2¼ c. Old Fashioned oatmeal
• 2¼ c. flour
• ½ c. brown sugar
• 1 c. butter (2 sticks)
• 1½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 3 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
• ¼ c. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. corn starch

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a mixing bowl combine the oatmeal, flour, brown sugar, soda and salt. Melt the butter, and pour over the oatmeal mixture. Mix until incorporated and crumbly. Press ⅔ of the oatmeal mixture into a 9x13 pan, saving the other ⅓ for the topping.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the blueberries, sugar and corn starch. Mix until the blueberries are evenly coated with the sugar and corn starch. Pour over the bottom crust. Crumble the remaining oatmeal mixture over the blueberries. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before cutting.

Here's a pic of my baby boy totally enjoying his treat:

 

And here is a picture of what is left in our fridge:

 

 

I hope you enjoy this recipe for a tasty snack to have on hand at your house!!

Let me introducde myself :)

Well, hello there! I am so glad that you checked out my little blog!!

This has been an exciting past seven months for me and I wanted to start sharing in one easy place for everyone to see recipes...ideas...workouts...etc...

Where do I start?

In February 2014 I had my third son. Of course after baby every woman wants to get back into that "old" body of hers. While I initially lost the weight fine, I started gaining back the weight. By June of that same  year I had NOTHING that fit right. I was always tired, had no energy to keep up with my full time job and taking care of my family (a now 7 year old, 4 year old, and 1 year old boys), and like I said, no clothes.

I had been seeing posts on beachbody products.  Since 2011 I had done Insantiy and some of T25, but did it just because. I was determined to get back to the old "Sarah." One who loved going out and doing stuff with her kids and not yawn 100 times...one that could fit into all the cute clothes in my closet...you get the point.

So I signed up for my first challenge pack at the end of the month. I gave PiYo a shot with daily Shakeology. Believe it or not, two weeks after starting the program I was able to fit into my jeans (would I say they were total comfortable...no..but hey they zippered and buttoned at the top that's all I cared about).

I continued to have success with PiYo and shakeology. I was then told about the coaching discount and signed up solely for that...like who doesn't want to save about $99 after 6 months.

I did post on Facebook my progress and had some other friends joined in the PiYo fun.

Pretty soon I was feeling like myself and wanted to spread the word. I began to do various vendor events...post more and more about my success on the programs.

I have also done (since the summer of 2014) 21 Day Fix, Insanity Max, and currently, Combat.

I am so happy that I am on this BeachBody adventure. I now look at my food completely different, try to find the best and healthy recipes to cook, and love sharing with my friends.

What do I like the most? I can work out at home. I don't have to drive somewhere and fight for the equipment. I'm done in 30 minutes at my house. My kids can join me if they want to. They see me working out. They see healthy!

Here are my reasons for this journey...not my excuses!