Chili Weather Cometh Back ... And Better Than Ever!

So... It snowed last night, and we'll see single digit air temperatures to start the work week. That means one thing in our house: chili is back on the menu! I was quite busy making two pots of chili this evening ... one for me, complete with all the added veggies, and one for the rest of the family, sans any non-meat food chunks. I've written about my veggie-added chili recipe previously, but I made a couple of changes this evening that really took it to the next level:

• Used 1 large can of Rotel in place of the Diced Tomatoes
• Added 1/2 T Cinnamon

The result was simply AH - MA - ZING!

It's probably bad to say this, but I'm very, very glad that the rest of my family wants nothing to do with my chunky chili. More for me!

Stay warm, my friends!

Post Mid Week Recipe Experiments: Blueberry Protein Waffles and Steak in the Instant Pot

Hi everyone! This is my first blog post in a couple of weeks because a) I've been in a meal rut - ergo, nothing to say! and b) a mix of early, early morning shifts and mid shifts unfortunately brought out my inner introvert. But, I'm officially stepping out of my mid-induced darkness and back into a more normal routine today.

I'll say one thing about this week of mid shifts. It was hard. Really hard. The shifts themselves were challenging work-wise. Sleep did not come easy. Workouts were very, very hard. It took a tremendous amount of willpower to stick to a healthy routine. But I did it! Meal planning was a huge help and hopping on my treadmill at the first sign of a "I don't want to workout today" thought was crucial. Don't let that negativity ferment! Nip it in the bud ASAP!

I rewarded myself with a successful breakfast experiment upon waking up from my final post-mid morning sleep: my first foray into protein waffles.

These blueberry protein waffles were fabulous! Will make again 10/10. Here's the recipe:

• 1/4 C ground oats
• 1 scoop protein powder (I used vanilla flavor for this batch...)
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/4 C liquid egg white
• 1/4 C water
• Dash of vanilla
• 1/2 C blueberries, optional

1. Mix all ingredients into a batter and spoon into greased waffle iron.
2. Serve with additional fruit, yogurt, cinnamon, light syrup or similar healthy topping.

I will definitely experiment with different add-ins on future batches, including varying the flavor of the protein powder, fruits, maybe adding some cinnamon. These waffles were quick to make, filling and more than adequately fueled my challenging boot camp workout that followed.

For dinner this evening, I thawed a couple of previously frozen thick sirloins and closely followed a recipe for cooking steak in an Instant Pot with a garlic butter sauce. I ate mine with a healthy and oh, so yummy side of roasted parsnips and brussels sprouts (veggies tossed in 1 T olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, 400 degree oven, profit...).

So... The steak... The end result was good, although it was a tad on the dry and overcooked side. Rather than pressure cooking it for 12 minutes as the original recipe suggested, I cut the cooking time to 8 minutes, and in hind sight, I should have cut it more given how my family likes steak - mooing. I wouldn't try this with a better cut of steak (i.e., a good filet), but I think it might turn out better with a more fatty cut and the less cooking time. I'll try this one again with these variations. The garlic butter sauce was simply fantastic, though and cut some of the dryness in the meat.

I'll sign off this post with a shift-worker pro tip. I've been steaming a lot of vegetables in the microwaves at work lately. Chopped cauliflower... Broccoli slaw... Asparagus... Just place the vegetables in a food container, add a little water, crack the lid on the container to vent and microwave for a couple of minutes and drain any excess water. Doing this is a life saver when it comes to having some wonderful meals at work and not having to rely solely on a salad to get some veggies.

Hope this finds all of you finishing off this February on a high note. Let's start climatological spring tomorrow with a bang!

Welcoming an Old Friend Back into the Routine + Quick and Easy Lunch Concoctions

Happy Valentine's Day Eve, fellow health and fitness nuts!

This entry isn't an easy one for me to write for a couple of reasons. First, it's not easy for someone as independent as I am to admit when you need a little help. Second, I don't want this blog to come across as a sales pitch because that's not the intent at all (except for the once sentence toward the end that's clearly labeled as one!). That being said, I AM writing this entry in the hopes that others will see that it's okay to not be perfect and that it's okay to seek ways to help yourself.

Over the past few weeks, I'd noticed little changes in how I've felt. Negative changes. Waning energy during the early to mid afternoon led to nagging thoughts of skipping post-work runs and making unhealthy dinner choices, thoughts that gained steam until my willpower wasn't enough to overcome them. Extra caffeine, whether in the form of coffee or Diet Dr. Pepper, wasn't enough to correct the energy plummet or the snowballing thoughts that followed.

I wondered why this had suddenly started. What routine changes had occurred around that time?

Until I finally realized that's when my pink drink supply ran out.

A few years ago, I began taking Plexus products after seeing a couple of childhood friends' social media posts on their own successes with them. After a few months, I even became an Ambassador myself, although I never really got into the business part of that title. Once I started taking Plexus, I noticed changes right away: fewer cravings, more energy, better sleep, not as many sinus infections. During that time, I tried quitting the products a few times to see if Plexus REALLY was the reason for the improvements. And each time, I lost those gains after a few weeks. Now, correlation doesn't equal causation, but... I just wanted the positive changes back! So I'd put in a new order...

This time, I really thought I could quit for good. I'd changed my eating habits, eliminating simple carbs and sugars and increasing my protein and fresh vegetable intake. I'd found my boot camp and a new love of strength training. But apparently those changes weren't enough to account for the gut health stimulus provided by my pink drink. Last week, I ordered a new bag of Plexus Slim, and I'm ecstatic that I'm already noticing an increase in midday energy and a lack of consuming destructive thoughts.

Plexus obviously works for me, but maybe you have some other supplement or - legal! - aid that you've found helps you on your own health and fitness journey. It's okay to rely on that!

Here's an absolutely no pressure sales pitch: If you'd like to learn more about what products Plexus has to offer or whether they might be right for you, feel free to reach out to me and/or see my website: https://plexusworldwide.com/ouwxgirl/home.

Now for a couple of quick lunch concoctions...

Two proteins that are super quick and easy to create a meal around are canned tuna (in water!) and shrimp. The tuna comes packaged fully ready to eat, and frozen uncooked shrimp can be quickly thawed and prepared. All you need to do is combine one of those with a healthy carb and some veggies and voila! healthy, quick and easy midday meal.

Yesterday, canned tuna was the star. I lightly-dressed a mixture of baby spinach and spring mix with an Asian-style dressing and topped that with a serving of instant-cook brown rice and the tuna. It's not much to look at, but it was very tasty and filling.

Today's lunch menu featured shrimp tacos. I seasoned 6 ounces of thawed large uncooked shrimp, tails removed, with garlic salt and cayenne pepper and cooked the shrimp in a skillet coated in cooking spray, around 2 minutes per side. I divided the shrimp onto three sprouted grain tortillas - warmed in the microwave for ~25 seconds - and topped with broccoli slaw lightly-dressed in cole slaw dressing.

Both of these lunches took about 10 minutes to prepare... And about the same amount of time to devour...

I hope all of you have a joyous Valentine's Day tomorrow. Remember to choose your "treat yo self" wisely!

Big Game Eats

Super Bowl Sunday is one of the big eating "holidays" of the year. Pizza, wings, brats, chips and guac ... or chicken noodle soup if you believe the fake troll map making the rounds on social media the past few days. Lots and lots of unhealthy foods abound, but it doesn't have to be that way.

So what's on my super satisfying big game menu?

I've known for several days that today would be a very warm day in my neck of the woods. Which translates to grilling weather. Perfect for burgers! I make mine with 96/4 ground beef and a little store-bought burger seasoning. I passed on a bun and also any cheese, choosing to dress my burger with some dill pickle slices and mustard.

Let's talk sides... Cole slaw goes perfectly with burgers. Luckily, I had some broccoli slaw mix and some low calorie cole slaw dressing. Mix that up and add a little pepper. Voila!

Now, to round out the meal, I experimented a little. My little sister swears by buffalo-style cauliflower, and I am fond of buffalo wings. So I tried this buffalo cauliflower recipe, courtesy of Food Network, although I didn't make the bleu cheese sauce ... this time. The result was wonderful. The cauliflower was tender, and the buffalo sauce gave it just enough kick. I'll definitely make this again.

With this menu, you can definitely afford a couple of a brews without taking bite out of your fitness and nutritional plans.

Anyone else have any unique, healthy big game menu recipes or ideas? March Madness isn't that far away, after all...

What's in YOUR salad?

At the risk of being stereotypical, one of the easiest and most transportable healthy dishes out there is a salad. Some might also say it's one of the most boring. But it doesn't have to be...

This is where I answer the question in the subject line: What's in YOUR salad? (I can't be the only one that reads that in the Capital One commercial voice, right?)

I'm definitely a creature of habit when it comes to most things and the base ingredients to my go-to salad stick to that standard: spring mix or 50/50 blend of spring mix and spinach, cucumber, radishes, and grape tomatoes. Iceberg lettuce is definitely something that won't be found here since it adds no nutritional value.

While the base ingredients don't change, some of the add ons might. I've added a serving of grilled or stir fried chicken breast, shrimp, steak, ground beef and turkey for some protein in the meal. If it's a meal that I'm supposed to include a fat serving, I might add avocado, sliced almonds, or a little shredded cheese, too. For a carb serving meal, adding fresh berries to the mix is a good idea.

There are so many potential combinations that a simple salad every other day just doesn't get old.

Now that you've seen my salad habits, what's in YOURs?

Chili Weather Cometh...

Have y'all seen the weather forecast?! Back to the deep freeze for the next week. The forecast just screams chili weather...  So, appropriately, that's what I meal prepped today for my upcoming day shifts.

There are approximately a million different ways to make chili. The one I favor is healthy, filling, and best of all, spicy! Oh, and chunky. With hidden vegetables. Which means it's definitely not husband or kid approved so it's allllll miiiiiiine.

The batch I made today will make 3 lunches according to my nutritional goals. In addition to the chili, I also cooked some brown rice to serve with it, southeast Texas style...

So what about that recipe?

• 1 lb 96/4 ground beef
• 2 cans petite diced tomatoes
• 4 C baby spinach
• 2 T minced garlic
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
• 3-4 T chili powder
• 2 T ground cumin
• Salt, to taste

1. Coat a large pot in cooking spray and add the onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat until the onion is translucent.
2. Add the ground beef to the pot. Cook until browned.
3. Add the chili powder, cumin, and salt to the ground beef mixture. Stir until combined.
4. Add the spinach to the ground beef mixture. Cook until wilted.
5. Add the tomatoes to the ground beef/spinach mixture. Stir until combined.
6. Cover the pot. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 30-40 minutes.

There are a lot of different ways this can be served: as is, with rice (like I will ... this time), with a little cheese, with black beans added ... if you're into that sort of thing, that is.

So let's hear from you. Any favorite healthy chili recipes out there?

Back At It

Welcome to the short week! And this time, I'm like the normies with a short work week of my own. Although unlike the normies, I've got the evening watch. So this means that my "big" meal of the day will be midday. Today, I made one of my go-to's: a chicken fajita bowl.

Think of it as Chipotle/Qdoba/Baja Jacks/whatever your fast casual burrito restaurant of choice is without leaving the comfort of your own home. Because just like at any of those fine establishments, I can customize a chicken fajita bowl in any number of ways.

Let's start with the base, otherwise known as the Fajita Part.

• 6 oz chicken breast
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 1/3 red onion
• Chicken fajita seasoning

Stir fry the chicken (cut into 1 inch chunks), green bell pepper, and red onion in a pan coated with cooking spray, using the chicken fajita seasoning according to taste.

Now what about the rest of the stuff that goes in the bowl? Well, besides salsa (because there must always be salsa), that depends on whether it's a carb/no fat meal or a fat/no carb meal. Potential combos include:

• Spring mix + 1 serving brown rice
• Spring mix + 1 serving black beans
• Spring mix + 1/2 serving brown rice + 1/2 serving black beans
• Cauliflower rice + 1 serving brown rice
• Cauliflower rice + 1 serving black beans
• Cauliflower rice + 1/2 serving brown rice + 1/2 serving black beans
• Spring mix + 1/2 avocado
• Cauliflower rice + 1/2 avocado
• Spring mix + Cauliflower rice + 1/2 avocado

The above pictured bowl features the spring mix + brown rice combo. And it was wonderful. As always!

Feel free to share any other good-for-you combos you think might work well. Because I'm always open to suggestions...