Why the scale is NOT your friend...

I posted this on social media, but in the off chance that I have followers on my blog that aren't on my FB or IG, I wanted to share here for you too! 

Let's have some real talk ladies (and gentleman too)....

I have said it before and I will say it again, THE SCALE DOES NOT DEFINE YOU! Stop letting it get in your way on your journey. That number you see doesn't show the REAL progress! I BARELY get on the scale anymore, for me, the proof is in the pictures and that is all I need!

I used to tell myself I had to be 135 lbs to be "happy." But why? What is it about 135 that makes me happy? HAPPY IS A MINDSET NOT A FREAKING NUMBER ON A SCALE! (yes, I am yelling at you😂 ) I have been 135 before and I can tell you that I wasn't NEAR as healthy as I am now, I was barely working out, I wasn't eating like I do today or drinking the most nutrient dense shake around...and to me, being healthy is more important than some damn number.

So yeah, that pic on the left is when I started my journey back in March 2015 & the pic on the right is from just a few short weeks ago.

Wanna know something freaking crazy about them both...I am the SAME DAMN WEIGHT in them. Let me repeat that in case you didn't quite catch my drift, I am the SAME DAMN WEIGHT in both pictures. And trust me, it isn't anywhere near 135 lbs, folks.

And no, I am not even going to tell you what it is now because IT DOESN'T MATTER!

But do you know what I see when I look at the girl on the left?
-> Insecure
-> Lack of confidence, uncomfortable in her skin
-> Exhausted

And then there is the girl on the right....
-> More accepting of herself, flaws & all
-> More confident at 33 than ever
-> More energy
-> Stronger (just don't ask me to do diamond tuck jumps)

STOP letting a number on a scale determine how you feel about yourself. Are you stronger? Do you have more endurance? Is your energy level higher? How is your health? What about your happiness?

You get my drift?! You are more than a damn number.

Buffalo Turkey Burgers

What you need (4 servings): 

1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup hot chili sauce, I used Frank's Red Hot
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cups whole wheat panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoon reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese (Additional for topping) 
Head of romaine lettuce (for lettuce wrapped burgers)
Tomato slices (topping) 

Preparation: 

1. In a large bowl, mix hot sauce, garlic powder, salt and water. Add ground turkey and panko, mix well. Add in cheese. Mix again. 

2. Divide meat into 4 even patties. 

3. Heat a skillet or your grill over medium-high heat, and spray with cooking spray. Add patties and cook until done. You can add a another tbsp of shredded cheddar to the top once cooked if you like. 

4. Top with a tomato slice and wrap in romaine (optional). 

I had mine with a side salad! It was perfect! Actually, I am about to go heat up my leftover burger for dinner...just talking about it on this post makes me excited for dinner! 

Marinated Chicken & Veggies

Hello friends!! How are you?! I am BEYOND excited, I am one week away from my favorite event of the year, Coach Summit. NashVegas better be ready for us again! 

Anyways, speaking of Coach Summit, I have been TRYING to keep myself in check with my food prior to us leaving but I have also been on the lookout for new ideas for my meal plan. I was very good about my meal plan while I did Hammer & Chisel, I had no issues sticking to pretty much the same foods throughout the entire program but I am ready for a change.

One thing that came to mind yesterday while meal planning was chicken kabobs with veggies over brown rice.  When we BBQ with my parents, we used to always do skewers marinated in Italian dressing with this amazing brown mushroom rice my mom makes (full of BUTTER baby, but oh so good), sooooo, I wanted to make something similar but Fix approved, of course! 

So here it is! My marinated chicken & veggie recipe, I made plenty extra for meals throughout the week too. Keep in mind, I feed Aaron and myself, if you are prepping for just 1, you could cut back on the ingredients.

What you need (makes about 6 servings):
2 Bell Peppers (I did red/ orange), cut  
Small Container of Whole Mushrooms, cleaned
3 small-medium Zucchini (you can do Squash too), sliced
Onion (optional, I don't like onion but many do), sliced
2lb (or a little over) chicken, cut into chunks
1/2-3/4 C Bolthouse Farms Classic Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
3 C cooked brown rice (or quinoa, etc.) 

Preparation: 
1. Grab a ziploc bag, open it and pour in about 1/3 cup of the dressing. Place your cut up chicken in the ziploc, seal it and make sure all the chicken is covered before placing back in the fridge to marinate. Leave in there for at least 2 hours.
2. Do the same for the cut up veggies! Place in fridge for at least 2 hours. 
3. Heat up indoor/outdoor grill (if using an outdoor grill, make sure to cook on some type of pan that is grill safe so you don't lose the food in the grill!).  I used an indoor grill. 
4. Place veggies on grill, grill until desired tenderness.  (I also cooked mine separately because I didn't have space to cook both at the same time)
5. While those cook, measure out your cooked brown rice into separate containers. 1/2 cup per container. 
6. Measure veggies out (about 1 cup) and place into containers.
7. Place chicken on the grill, grill until no longer pink and fully cooked. 
8. Measure out chicken (about 3/4 cup) and place on top of veggies in containers.

You can add 1-2 tsp more of the dressing if you want/need when you eat or cook it but I did not need it. I personally had two servings of veggies today with my lunch and it was a TON of food.  

Caprese Chicken

What do you do when you have leftover basil and fresh mozzarella from your Margherita Pizza? You make Fix approved Caprese Chicken, of course!

This is one of my favorites and it is beyond simple but taste like it took hours to prepare...sometimes literally depending on if you are good at cooking chicken or not, mine sometimes tastes a little chewy and overcooked but I don't mind. ;) 

What you need for the top:
Pesto (2 tsp per chicken breast)
Tomato (I use 1 roma per chicken breast & eat any extra that doesn't fit) 
Basil Leaves (about 4 leaves per piece of chicken breast)
Fresh Mozzarella (1oz per chicken breast)
Salt & Pepper, just a dash will do

What you need for the chicken: 
Chicken Breast (4oz piece per person)
Dash of pepper
Olive Oil Spray

1. Spray a pan with olive oil spray and turn on medium heat. 
2. Season your chicken with some pepper and add to the pan. 
3. Cook your chicken about 4 minutes per side or until no longer pink in the middle (I use thinly sliced chicken breast so they cook quicker).
4. Place 2 tsp of pesto on top of your chicken breast, then layer it with 1oz mozzarella and 1 small roma tomato, alternating between the two.  
5. Cover and cook on low for about 2 minutes or until cheese starts to melt and tomatoes are soft. 
6. Take out of pan, place on a plate and top with fresh basil!   

I ate mine with a side of leftover tomatoes and broccoli with leftover cheese from my blue container melted on it...I mean, everything is better with cheese, right?! 

Margherita Pizza (Fix Approved)

Update: When I originally posted this pizza, I had mentioned I was having issues with it being watery in the end...I think I have perfected it! Not only that but I used a new crust from Golden Home that has 16g of protein which is perfect for this recipe in particular since it doesn't have any meat on it! So here it is, new and improved....and so pretty I didn't really want to eat it.  Oh, who I am kidding, I cut that "ish" up and devoured it! 

I am loving finding new pizzas to make each week. I had my standing meat and veggie, then I went for buffalo chicken...now on to the Margherita! We love pizza in our house so it is in a weekly rotation. And it is approved for pretty much every program I have done (21 Day Fix, Hammer and Chisel, 22 Minute Hard Corps, Insanity Max: 30).

Serves 1

This was from my original post, see new pictures below! 

What You Need: 
(Updated info is in parenthesis!)
1 Whole Grain Ultra Thin Pizza Crust from Golden Home  or their amazing protein crust (pictured below)! 
1/4 C Sauce - I use just enough Marinara or Pizza Sauce from Trader Joe's to cover the bottom.
1 small tomato sliced (preferably romo)
3 slices precut mozzarella (pictured), broken up
4-6 pieces of basil (sliced into strips)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Place pizza crust on foil, top with sauce.
3. Place in oven for 5 minutes.
4. Take your 3 slices of mozzarella and dab with a paper towel to get rid of the extra water.
5. At the 5 minute mark, top your pizza evenly with your cheese. 
6. While the pizza, sauce and cheese are cooking, cut up your tomato, take out the middle seeds, etc. and place in a paper towel to remove excess moisture. 
7. With 3 minutes left, top your pizza with the tomatoes and finish cooking (cooks for 10 minutes total).
8. Take your pizza out and top with your cut up basil. Slice and enjoy! 

Tips: When you buy a sauce, make sure it is natural, has no added sugars or other artificial crap! If you can only find a sauce WITH sugar, it will count as a purple on the Fix meal plan versus a green if you can find one without the sugars! Which I know you can. ;)