21 Day Fix: Round 1

I did the 21 Day Fix program for the first time this month, and I absolutely loved it! I have yet to meet anyone who has not had success in some form from this program!

I ordered a challenge pack that came with the 21 Day Fix workout program, portion containers, and a bag of Shakeology. I was introduced to this program buy a friend who is also a Beachbody coach, bought the challenge pack thru her and got involved in a challenge group; which I can honestly say made all the difference!

The program is broken down in the books so it is easy to follow and abide by, but the best assets I found on this program are:

1. 21 Day Fitness Tracker App
2. Joining a Challenge Group on Facebook

The App

This made sticking to the program so much easier! Not only does it allow you to keep notes from each day, it give you place to keep track of your weight if you're weighing yourself daily, advises what workout is coming today and lets you keep track of your container usage throughout the day.

Challenge Groups

My best advice to get the most out of this program is to get a coach and join a challenge group. The support and encouragement from the women in my group gave me so much more than the weight loss I experienced!
Interested in joining a challenge group? Click here and contact me for more information!


The first week of the program I saw the most weight loss (5 lbs) the rest of the program I maintained and lost a couple more the last week. The first week was good, I was motivated and ready to make a change! I can honestly say that it was a toss up to say what was hardest for me between the daily work outs and sticking to the eating plan. I never worked out regularly enough and I discovered that after this program (honestly, after the first day), but I stuck it out and I'm so proud of myself for doing so!

The second week was the hardest for me, I was going through major withdraws from sugars, and my body was sore everyday. It was this week that I began feeling discouraged due to not seeing the scale go down at all (literally at all) and I likely would have caved this week if it had not been for the challenge group I was in. These ladies shared similar struggles, and we encouraged each other and kept each other accountable. That made all the difference!

In the third week I felt my body changing, my clothes are fitting looser, I can see muscle definition, my stomach is flatter and the scale is finally creeping down again (slowly, but I was still thrilled) and it was the home stretch! This was a hard week to get through, I had lots of temptations this week, but the changes I was seeing kept me on track and I made it all 21 days!

These 21 Days gave me 6.5 lbs of weight loss, and lifestyle I can maintain. I am beginning a second round of this program next week and I cannot wait to see what additional progress I can make!

Have you tried the 21 Day Fix program? What did you think of it??

Interested in learning more about the program? Checkout my Beachbody website and contact me for more information!

www.BeachbodyCoach.com/KristenSperry

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't love cookies?? I have a huge sweet tooth, but I'm also always on the look out for a healthy alternatives! I stumbled across many recipes for cookies with chickpeas and patched them together and came up with this one!

Ingredients:

2 Cans Chickpeas (rinsed, drained, patted dry)
1.5 C Peanut Butter
1/2 C Honey
4 Tsp Vanilla
2 Tsp Baking Powder
3/4 C Dark Chocolate Chips (or 1/2 C Mini Chocolate Chips)

Begin by pulsing 2 cans of chick peas in a food processor until it looks like this:

Then add peanut butter, honey, vanilla, and baking powder to the chickpeas and pulse until fully incorporated.

 Transfer mixture into bowl and add chocolate chips (or nuts) and mix evenly, then roll into small balls and flatten with a fork.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 mins, cookies with be soft to the touch and slightly golden on edges.

And enjoy!

Shredded Beef Tacos

I love Mexican food, all kinds really, tacos, burritos, enchiladas, nachos - I don't discriminate! So while on the 21 Day Fix program I needed to create an approved recipe to add to my meal plan.
This is the recipe I came up with for the beef, it can me used in tacos like I did here, or any other sort of Mexican dish! Feel free to modify to suit your taste, I don't do spicy so this is a mild version.

Ingredients:

2 lb Beef Chuck Roast
1 Can Beef Broth
2 Packets Taco Seasoning (or home made)
1 Tsp Olive Oil
1/4 Chopped Sweet Onion
1 Can Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies (or hot chilies to your taste)

For me the easiest thing to do is use my Crock Pot and put everything in before I leave for work and come home to a perfectly cooked meal! (who doesn't love that?)

First add the teaspoon of Olive Oil to the bottom of the crock pot, then add a handful of finely chopped onion. Then to the beef! I trimmed the large chunks of fat off and separated the large two pound roast into 4 more manageable chunks. Then rub one packet of taco seasoning on all side of each chunk to fully coat and place all the meat in the crock pot. Cover beef with the can of beef broth and let it go to work! I left mine on low for 10 hours while I was at work.

After the 10 hours remove the beef from Crock Pot and shred with a fork removing any fat chunks that remain. Drain all but approx 3/4 cup of liquid and return the shredded beef to the Crock Pot. Top with the can of diced tomatoes and green chilies along with 1/2 of to the full second taco seasoning packet. Mix thoroughly and continue cooking on low for 30 minutes, and voila!

I then measured out my toppings and assembled my tacos with corn tortillas and topped with lettuce, cheese, and guacamole with a side of fat free re-fried beans.

For the 21 Day Fix I made two tacos, and a yellow container of beans this meal equals:

2 Yellow, 1 Red, 1 Green, and 1 Blue Containers.

I used the left over shredded beef for nachos and taco bowls during the rest of the week, how did you use your left overs?

Want to know more about the 21 Day Fix? Follow the link on my home page to my Beachbody website!

Pumpkin Patch Perfection

For me Fall means crisp weather, cute sweaters, chai tea lattes, and Pumpkins! Though the crisp weather is still evading us in Southern California, it didn't stop our adventure to a pumpkin patch to select a perfect pumpkin!

In the past I always went to small local stands that pop up or my local grocery store to get pumpkins but I recently heard that a local college, Cal Poly Pomona, has an annual pumpkin festival and I knew I had to go!

Rows and rows of pumpkins is clearly an understatement!

Though it was over 85 degrees it didn't stop the hundreds of people who showed up to enjoy the food, vendors, and pumpkins.

This kick-started the Fall Season for me and I couldn't imagine a better way to do so! I encourage everyone to check out local Fall festivals and events, you never know what could be going in right in your home town.

Happy Harvest Season!

I loved autumn, the one season of the year that God seemed to have put there just for the beauty of it.

~Lee Maynard

Overnight Oats

My mornings are always rushed between getting ready and packing my meals for the day, so a quick breakfast I can prep the night before makes a world of difference! While searching around on Instagram I came across a page for @sammybfit, which lead me to her amazing blog with hundreds of recipes. Her recipe for overnight oats can be found here, which is what I used as a base and modified to fit my taste.

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Oats
1/4 Cup Almond Milk
1/2 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt
1 Tbs Flax Meal
1/2 Tsp Honey
3 Drops Liquid Stevia
1/2-1 Cup Fruit of Choice (I used 1/2 a Nectarine)

1 Mason Jar


Begin by mixing all ingredients  except fruit, together in a small bowl. Layer sliced fruit on bottom of mason jar.

Then add half the oatmeal mixture, a second layer of fruit, followed by the remaining oatmeal mixture, then finish with a few fruit pieces.

Cap the mason jar and put in the fridge over night. The next morning top with granola (check out my homemade granola recipe) or more honey and enjoy! This is a great summer alternative to the typical hot breakfast oatmeal.

Enjoy!

"Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days" 

Psalm 90:14 

Homemade Granola

I originally came across this recipe on Pinterest which led me to an amazing blog, With Peanut Butter on Top, which is where this delicious recipe for homemade granola originated. (Check out her blog, it's amazing!)

I modified the recipe slightly to fit my taste preferences, and it turned out wonderful, so here is my version:

Recipe:

Bake at 275 F

4 Cups Oats (quick oats can also be used)
3/4 Cup Sliced Almonds
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts
1/2 Cup Sunflower Kernels
1 1/2 Tbs Cinnamon
1 Tsp Nutmeg
1/2 Tsp Ginger
1 Tbs Vanilla Extract
1 Cup No Sugar Added Applesauce
1/3 Cup Honey
1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl, mix all wet ingredients together separately. Slowly add wet to dry ingredients and mix very well. Spread mixture out in a large rimmed baking pan lined with parchment paper or sprayed with non-stick spray.

Bake at 275 degrees for 1hr - 1hr 15mins, mixing every 15 mins. After 45 mins granola made with quick oats will be done, it will take longer for regular oats. Allow granola to cool completely on baking pan then store in air tight container.

Leave a comment below with your go-to granola recipe, I'm always looking to try new variations!

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances"

1Thessaionians 5:16-18

Healthy Chicken Bake

In an effort to get a bit healthier with my eating I have begun cooking more, and so far so good! I made up this recipe with left over ingredients that I had to use up and it turned out great! Feel free to tweak the recipe to fit your family's preferences or what you have on hand.

Start with chicken breasts, washed and fat removed, I use frozen ones which I thaw over night in the refrigerator. Place the chicken breasts in a baking pan and season to taste, this time I use Mrs. Dash, and preheat the oven to 350F.

Begin prepping the veggies, I prefer green and yellow squash, mushrooms and diced tomatoes. Chop the squash into bite size pieces. I use pre-sliced mushrooms that only have to be washed, super easy! You can use fresh tomatoes however canned has extra liquid that helps cook the chicken and veggies.

Pour 1 can of diced tomatoes, slightly drained, over all of the chicken.  Next mix the squash with the sliced mushrooms and layer over chicken and tomatoes.

Bake in the oven at 350F for 20 minutes, then cover with foil and continue cooking for an additional 10-15 minutes. Once done, cut into the chicken to verify it is thoroughly cooked, or check it's internal temperature.

And voila! Easy and quick meal with dinner on the table in less than 45 minutes.

Check back for a future blog post on Shredded Chicken Burritos, I use all the left-overs from this meal to make dinner the next night!

Ingredients:
6-8 Chicken Breasts
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
2-3 Large Yellow Squash
2-3 Large Green Squash
1 Package Sliced Mushrooms