Turkey Taco Zucchini Boats

Who loves tacos? Me? Who could eat tacos every night? ME!! Who is trying to eat all of her carbs before dinner....yeah, me. So I decided to take my favorite Southwest Turkey Taco Meat and make Zucchini Boats out of it! 

Both Aaron and I were a little unsure as I was making them but when we took our first bite, we were sold! 

What you need for 2 servings:
2 servings of Southwest Turkey Taco Meat (about 3/4 cup each) 
2 large zucchinis, cut in 1/2 lengthwise
1/2 cup of salsa
Shredded Cheese
Guac (optional) 

How to prepare: 
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Boil water in a large pot (just enough to throw in your zucchini).
3. Spread enough salsa to cover the bottom of a baking dish (you should have about 4 tbsp left) 
4. Meanwhile, use a small spoon or melon baller to hollow out the center of each zucchini halves. Leave about 1/4 inch in each zucchini shell.  You can take the center of the zucchini and chop it up to add to your turkey taco meat, that is optional. 
5.  Place zucchini halves in boiling water and cook 4-5 minutes (we like ours soft, you can do 1-2 minutes if you prefer a crisper veggie). Remove from water.
6. Place each zucchini boat in your baking dish.  
7. Each person will get 2 zucchini halves and 3/4 cup meat mixture, so divide it equally among the boats. Press the meat firmly into zucchini. 
8. Top each one with 1 tbsp salsa (4 tbsp total) and 2 tbsp shredded cheddar (8 tbsp total). 
9. Cover pan with foil and place in oven for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and zucchini is cooked through.
10. Enjoy! 

Optional: You can serve with a side of guac, like I did! However, since I did that, I cut back on my cheese to do so, therefore my zucchini boats only had 1 tbsp of cheese on each one. 

For my Fix Family: I counted this as 2 Greens, 1 Red, 1 Blue (some may count the salsa if they use a ton of it, I didn't) 

Deconstructed Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps

So, I made this recipe which came from the Team Beachbody blog, however, 1) It wasn't enough protein me for in 1 serving so increased it and 2) It was BLAND, nothing a little Frank's Red Hot Sauce can't fix (or Sriracha if you prefer)....

I also preferred taking it apart and throwing in brown rice, making it into a bowl vs a wrap. This is a recipe I would recommend doubling so you can throw some in the freezer! You know I love to do that.  This is a perfect meal for lunches throughout the week! You can precook it and eat the meat cold in your bowl or warm it up, whichever you prefer! 

Total Time: 19 min.
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cooking Time: 9 min.
Yield: 4 servings, 2 wraps each or 1 bowl

Ingredients:
1 tsp. olive oil
1 lb. raw 93% lean ground turkey breast
½ medium red onion, chopped
½ medium red or green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 green onion, chopped
⅔ cup chopped water chestnuts
1 Tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 large head of lettuce, I use romaine (no iceberg folks, has no nutritional value whatsoever), roughly chopped up
4 cups cooked brown rice (I use Trader Joe's frozen brown rice, precooked, all I do is heat it up) 

Preparation:
1. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add turkey, onion, and bell pepper; cook, stirring frequently, for 4 to 6 minutes, or until turkey is cooked through and onion is translucent.
3. Add garlic, green onion, water chestnuts, soy sauce, and vinegar; cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
4. Add cilantro; mix well. Remove from heat.
5. Put 2 cups of lettuce, 1/2 cup brown rice and 3/4 cup of the meat mixture together in a bowl, drizzle with the hot sauce of your choice & dig in! 

For my Fix Family: 2 greens, 1 red, 1 yellow

Wraps! This was before I discovered the hot sauce gave it more flavor, I tried extra reduced sodium soy sauce (Trader Joe's brand of course) and it didn't even do the trick! Gotta go w/ the heat! 

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

So last night, I had "Easy Pizzas" from the Fixate cookbook on the menu but for some reason, I wasn't feeling the toppings I had planned (veggies, natural ham, red sauce...the usual) and I was SOOO close to caving and going out and getting pizza from a new place "near" our house. I put "near" in quotes because no place I like to eat or ever want to try is NEAR our house. 

Anyways, I was looking at menus, drooling, then it dawned on me, I had my amazing crockpot buffalo chicken in the fridge AND I had my pizza crusts that we use for our Easy Pizzas, so why not make my own healthier version of a restaurant worthy pizza?!

What you need (1 serving):
4oz of Crockpot Buffalo Chicken, get recipe here. 
1 Whole Grain Ultra Thin Pizza Crust from Golden Home (I find these at my local grocery store) 
Franks Red Hot
3 tbsp reduced fat shredded cheddar
2 tsp yogurt ranch (I use Bolthouse Farms)  

1. Make sure you make the chicken first! It takes 3-4 hours on high or 7-8 on low. 
2. Once the chicken is done & you are ready to start getting your pizza together, preheat your oven or your toaster oven (I use my Breville Smart Oven) to 425°. 
3. While that heats up, cover your pan with foil, non stick spray is not needed. 
4. Lay your pizza crust on the foil. You can also use a whole wheat or sprouted grain tortilla, it just does not crisp up as much.  
5. Drizzle Frank's Red Hot over your crust, now this is totally up to you and your taste buds on how much you use. I like mine hot! 
6. Top the pizza with the 4oz of Buffalo Chicken and 3 tbsp of reduced fat shredded cheddar.
7. Place in Oven or Toaster Oven, bake for 10-12 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbling. 
8. Take out, drizzle with 2 tsp of yogurt ranch.  
9. Let it cool, slice & serve!

Writing out this recipe seriously makes me want to go make one right now! Typically I would eat closer to 6oz of meat (give or take) on my meal plan so I did a little picking at the meat while my pizza cooked to get my portion in...hey, I was hungry. 

This pizza would be great with a side of celery & carrots! 
 

Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Anyone else a huge fan of buffalo chicken ANYTHING?!  I stumbled across a few recipes for crockpot buffalo chicken but they all called for stock but I wanted to keep it more simple than that! 

Feel free to double the recipe (I would keep the chicken to just a single layer on the bottom of your crockpot though).

What you need:
1 lb chicken breast
Water
Garlic (I used the freeze dried diced garlic)
Onion Powder
Frank's Hot Sauce (original not buffalo)

If you prefer, you can omit the onion powder & garlic, instead throw in a 1/2 onion (just cut in 1/2) & a couple of celery stalks for flavor, both are great options. 

Instructions: 
1. Place chicken in the crock pot. Cover the chicken with water.  
2. Sprinkle in some onion powder and garlic to taste. (I did not measure, just winged it)
3. Cook on high for 3 hours.
4. Remove chicken, shred it.
5. Discard most of the water from the crockpot (and any funk in it). Keep about 1/4 cup water in the crockpot.
6. Add chicken back into the crockpot with the water and 1/3 to 1/2 cup hot sauce (depends on how much you want). Cook for an additional 30 minutes. 
7. Serve over Romaine Lettuce.  Add cheese and ranch. I use Bolthouse Farms Yogurt Ranch. 

For my Fix family: 1 red, 1 blue & 1 green (I had some pretty big lettuce leafs) 

Week 7 of Hammer & Chisel

I just realized I haven't really been sharing as much about my Hammer & Chisel journey as I originally planned to do! Maybe because I have been slacking in the nutrition department? I mean, don't get me wrong, I am not off the wagon completely, but I have had found my foot dangling from it a time or two...or three.  What has been hard for me is no wine or treats! One of the many reasons I love the 21 Day Fix is you can have wine and treats, which are staples in my life.  If I was in a different spot in my journey, I would say screw the meal plan from the program and follow my 80/20 rule but the problem is, I am not to my goal yet and I still have work to do which means I need to get my mind in the right spot stat and follow the meal plan because I know that is essential to results! Plus, summer is only 4 months away! 

Phew, now that I got that off my chest, let's talk about the program in general. To say I was afraid to commit to this program is an understatement, the workouts TERRIFIED me! I mean, 60 days of weight training? That was definitely not something I was used to doing. But can I just say, I LOVE LOVE LOVE these workouts.  Today is my rest day and I am actually sad about it! The workouts challenge me, they make me push harder and they make me realize I am capable of more than I was giving myself credit for....

I know as women, we get scared to lift.  We don't want to be "bulky" and believe me, I get it. I ha those same exact thoughts. After all, looking like Sagi is not my goal.  That is the great thing with this program though, you can pick the meal plan that aligns with your health and fitness goals! If you want to tone, slim down, bulk up or even maintain, there are options for you.  I can tell you that I am definitely seeing where I have lost inches on my body or built more muscle, but I am far from bulky.

And ladies, do you want to know something about lifting? Did you know that it helps to:
--> Burn fat faster
--> Burn more calories
--> Feel stronger mentally
--> Increase flexibility
--> Strengthen your bones
--> Ease any joint pain
--> Improve your running (if you run)
--> Improve your heart health
--> And the one to prove all you ladies wrong, you may drop a size or two: Women tend to think they will bulk up but the more your weight comes from muscle, rather than fat, the smaller you'll be. Now, your body weight may go up due to the muscle but your pant size will go down & I can personally attest to that! 

The combination of resistance training and cardio in The Master's Hammer & Chisel will get you summer ready & this is the type of lean, defined muscle every hot mama deserves!  Plus, other than the fact that you are supposed to not have wine or treats, you can eat all the normal foods you love! I mean, we have pizza, taco night, spaghetti on the menu next week! 

I am hosting a second accountability group this month starting on 2/22 and if you are interested in joining, message me, there are 4 spots left and I would love to chat! We can find the right program for you and get you all set up! 

Meal Plan, Week 7 (Second bracket) 

PS - if you are interested in seeing a short peak into any of the workouts, I post them on my YouTube page!