FIXate on your New Year Nutrition | FREE 5 Day Clean Eating Challenge

ANNOUNCEMENT: January's FREE Clean Eating Challenge will feature recipes from Autumn Calabrese's cookbook, FIXate!! These recipes are fun, fresh, and EASY! Why not stay committed to your resolution with 5 days of clean eating?! You'll get to chance to slim down and tone up, all while enjoying delicious meals you can make fast!

Join me for a FREE 5 Day Clean Eating group starting Monday, January 18th, to establish some great new habits for the New Year? It's a great way to jump start your nutrition, learn some basic guidelines, and get a repertoire of new recipes!

You'll get a dialed in nutrition plan for the 5 days, the full recipes, and even a complete grocery list to help you shop! All you need to do is go shopping, do some weekend prep, stick to the plan, and PARTICIPATE. EASY & FUN, and you'll even have the opportunity to win PRIZES!! 

Click "GOING" and comment below, "I'm IN!" To RSVP. 

**this group is FREE so please SHARE, tag, and invite your friends no family to join you! The more the merrier!**

Enchilada Pulled Chicken with Black Beans

If you're like me, BUSY, then it's super helpful to do a little meal prep when you can to set yourself up for success on your busiest days. Most weeks, I make a batch of Pulled Chicken in my trusty slow cooker, and one of our very favorites way to flavor it is with Mexican spices.

Years ago, our friend had us over for dinner and made chicken enchiladas. I was floored by how good they were, and she said they were the easiest thing in the world to make. She told me all she did was just dump the chicken breasts and a can of enchilada sauce in the slow cooker and let it rip on low all day while she was gone. Then she just shredded it up with a couple of forks and stuffed it in tortillas, topped with a little more sauce and some cheese and baked them until they were bubbly. It instantly became a staple in our house, but as we've adapted our eating habits, the recipe has had to change as well.

I started off by just saving some of the meat back and eating mine over a bed of greens. My hubby wasn't as concerned with his carb intake as I am, so I still roll enchiladas up for him and the kids. They can keep their tortillas and cheese! Then I got to thinking about it one day when I already had the chicken thawed but found no cans of enchilada sauce in my pantry, that surely I could make a clean version of the sauce as well! I did a little research and found a great recipe that I've tweaked just a bit and came up with the following:

Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce

Yields about 1 1/2 cups depending on how long you simmer to reduce it.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Flour

4 Tbsp Chili Powder

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Cumin

1/4 tsp Oregano

1/4 tsp Paprika

2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock (You could use Vegetable Stock to make it vegetarian)

Directions:

Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook for about 30 seconds. All the rest of the seasoning and stir to combine. Slowly add the stock while whisking, so it doesn’t clump. Bring it up to a boil and then reduce heat to low to simmer until thickened to your liking. 

If you’re worried about the heat level, start with half the amount of chili powder. 

Note: This sauce freezes well, so you can feel free to make extra to keep on hand for next time!

I usually double that recipe and use half for cooking the chicken in the slow cooker, and then the other half is used for the pan of enchiladas. So to make the chicken, I use 4 good size organic chicken breasts and about 1.5 cups of the enchilada sauce. Just put that in the slow cooker and cook on low for about 6 hours. When it's done, you can shred with 2 forks or with a mixer on low. Then I add a can of organic black beans that have been drained and rinsed, and a 7 oz can of mild diced green chilis. 

That's it! Easy peasy. This makes about 8 1 cup servings equaling 1 Red Container and a 1/2 Yellow  each. I generally eat mine over greens, but if you want to roll it up as enchiladas you can do that too! Additionally, it's delicious with a squirt of fresh lime juice over the top.

**If you want to roll it up in tortillas, I spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray (I know this is the cleanest option, but it sure does the job) and then spread a bit of the remaining sauce on the bottom of the pan. I roll a total of 6 for my pan so that I have a couple servings reserved for my salads. Then I top with additional sauce and some shredded cheese. (I'm not providing container counts on this portion of the recipe as flour tortillas aren't Fix approved.)**

Taco Tuesday

Our whole family absolutely loves Mexican food, but the kids in particular love Taco Tuesday! It's easy for me because I just set out a bunch of different toppings and let the kids go after it. The only part I was never a fan of was the mystery packet of taco seasoning I used to purchase from the grocery store. I dutifully purchased the low sodium variety, but when I flipped the packet over to take a peek at the ingredients I wasn't very happy to find many things I couldn't pronounce and even better "spice blend" or some other such generic grouping that could hide a multitude of yucky things.

I decided there had to be a way to achieve the same flavor without all the additives and decided to do a little digging. I came across a recipe that looked pretty promising and decided to give it a go. The kids absolutely devoured their dinner, and my husband and I were super pleased with the taco meat. I haven't purchased a single packet of the store bought stuff since discovering this little gem! It's really very easy and is equally delicious on beef or turkey. I've made a couple changes to the original recipe based on our preferences, so here's my adaptation. 

Clean Eating Taco Meat

Serves 4-5

21 Day Fix: 1 Red

What you'll need:

1 Tbsp Chili Powder

1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp Onion Powder

1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

1/4 tsp Dried Oregano

1/2 tsp Paprika

1 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin

3/4 tsp Sea Salt

1/2 tsp Black Pepper

1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1-1.25 lb package Lean Ground Turkey or Beef

Combine all spices in a bowl, stir to combine.  

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the meat, and cook until lightly browned. Sprinkle the seasoning over the top and stir to combine. That's it! It's that easy! 

This is the perfect amount to replace one packet of the store bought stuff. I just mix it together when I need it, but you could easily make a bunch and store it in an airtight container to keep on hand. If you do that, you'll need about 2 Tbsp per pound of meat. Keep in mind that you can also easily adjust the heat of this recipe by decreasing the chili powder, crushed red pepper flakes, and black pepper. 

Serve along with any toppings you like. Our family really likes shredded romaine, homemade refried beans (another post for another day),  fresh guacamole, chopped tomatoes, shredded cheese, salsa, and plain greek yogurt in place of sour cream. The fam eats them in tortillas, but I prefer mine as a nice big salad. 

I hope you enjoy your next Clean Eating Taco Tuesday as much as we do!

**original recipe source Food Renegade**

Make a YEAR-END Resolution!

You guys!! Thanksgiving is TOMORROW. Christmas is 30 DAYS AWAY. I know, it's crazy right?! My life is crazy busy this time of year, as is everyone else, but in that craziness I find 30 minutes a day to commit to my health and fitness. I do this for myself because it makes me an all around better achiever during the day. I have more to give if I get in just those 30 minutes for myself. I'm a better Mom, a better Wife, a better Housekeeper, a better Friend, you get my drift. The energy and positivity I gain from my own health spills over into EVERY aspect of my life. If someone told you, you could be better all day just by sacrificing 30 minutes of your time, would you do it? I think most people would gladly say yes, and exchange 30 minutes for a better overall day. So what are you waiting for?!!

I am running one last Accountability group this year. This group will be featuring the fool proof 21 Day Fix nutrition plan and clean eating. You can do the full program with the workouts, or you can do another workout program like I am. I'll be doing the 21 Day Fix NUTRITION plan, but completing the 2nd month of Insanity:Max 30. It's kicking off on November 30th, and will run right up to the week of Christmas. Think about that... You could still lose up to 15 POUNDS by the time Christmas gets here! Better yet, you can still enjoy yourself (in moderation) this Holiday Season AND see progress!

It's easy to say, "I'm going to make a New Years Resolution. Starting January 1, I will turn over a new leaf and really commit to getting myself in shape." WHY WAIT? Let's start now. Let's make a YEAR-END Resolution! Let's make some progress today instead of waiting for someday!