I really try hard to make healthy eating as easy as possible, but also as delicious as possible!
And with this pregnancy thing, I've dealt with my phases of cravings. This week it was chicken strips - and not the healthy baked kind, but the deep fried breaded type with a bunch of honey mustard... *drool*.
However, I didn't get any of those, so I decided to make some chicken strips of my own.
So, here's a new recipe I tried out this week for Coconut Chicken strips! [courtesy of Breezy Body Fitness] (Sorry for the low quality photos)
The recipe calls for 1lb of chicken tenders, but you can always use a full chicken breast or cut them into strips yourself.
Then season them up with some salt, pepper, ground mustard, and paprika (or whatever spices you like).
Set up your dipping stations: a bowl/plate of almond meal (ground up almonds), a bowl for 2 lightly beaten eggs, and a bowl/plate for shredded coconut. And that's the order you'll dip the strips- first almond meal, then eggs, then coconut.
Bake your seasoned and coated chicken strips at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes
Enjoy!
These were really quite simple to make, and have a short cooking time. Plus, they're super delicious even without honey mustard (or any other type of dipping sauce). They got the husband approval that night for dinner! I will be making these again very soon.
Many of you may know that I am now a certified personal trainer! For the past year or so I have been studying for this test through ACE and it is finally behind me. No more studying, and I can finally breathe knowing I passed.
So, with that, I'd like to share a bit more on exercise!
It wasn't until high school that I realized my love for being active. I had joined the tennis team [which allowed me to meet the man of my dreams] and I just loved the way I felt when I was running around and doing something accomplishing and something that motivated me - even though I wasn't ever that good.
Then in college I did different DVD workout programs like Turbo Jam in my dorm room [don't laugh] and P90X [which I completed successfully].
Nowadays I find ways to workout at home, saving some $$ on gym memberships, which is totally doable if you have a few little things on hand.
My home gym consists of:
5 lb and 8 lb dumb bells
A set of adjustable dumb bells that goes up to 25lbs each
10 lb kettle bell (really hoping to add to this collection with heavier weights)
Resistance band
Exercise ball
Pull up bar that hangs on door frame
Pretty simple, and I hope to continue to grow it from here. I'd love to add a barbell for back squats or a BOSU ball for balance work. But you can always start out using your own body weight and still get a great workout!
Here are some of my favorite exercises to work the arms:
[Always start out with a short warm up before diving straight into your strength exercises. Marching in place, jumping jacks, or arm circles are great options]
Push Ups: they've been around forever, but they really do wonders!
Pull Ups: if you have a bar, this is a great challenge. Modify them by putting your feet up on a chair to help yourself up.
Upright Rows: works just about every muscle in your arms
Biceps Curl: no rocket science here
Shoulder Press: classic
Try this short circuit twice a week and I know you'll see those arms tone right up! Especially if you're eating a healthy diet.
Also, here are my some favorite workouts from PopSugar:
My goodness, how times flies! This summer has been going by so quickly, and I need to take a few minutes to soak it in. My husband and I have been trying to keep afloat with all sorts of baby appointments, baby preparation for our house, other house projects, church events, family events, job changes, etc. And I know you all hear me when I say that summers can get busy! With the busy and crazy that life brings, it can be that much harder to keep a healthy diet. I talk to people all day long about their health and by far the most common challenge people deal with is the lack of time. How in the world are we supposed to get to all the appointments, activities, work full time AND plan healthy meals for our family? It can seem impossible sometimes, so here are my tips to make healthy meals doable and, dare I say, easy! TIP #1: Get into a routine Routines are definitely easier during the school year when life is a little more structured and there aren't a ton of extra events going on. But creating somewhat of a routine for yourself is necessary.
I know I've talked about this many-a-time, but make it a priority to plan ahead for the week. Decide what will be for breakfast and dinner each day, and what you will have around for snacks. Planning a week's worth of meals doesn't have to be rocket science, but it may take some time to gather healthy, real food meals. So start collecting ideas - Pinterest is a wonderful resource! Search for 'paleo dinners' or 'whole 30 recipes' or 'crock pot dinners'. Pinterest is my cookbook, for sure. I definitely am a person of routine and can handle eating the same thing for breakfast every morning. In fact, I still look forward to my Greek yogurt and berries when I go to bed each night even though I've eaten that for breakfast almost every day for years. It just works for me and I don't have to think about it. So find what you like! I've shared my egg bake recipe with you now, which is another favorite of mine. Have something easy to prepare and something you and your family enjoy. I don't know about you, but I don't have much brain power in the morning, especially now that I've taken out my daily cup of coffee [oh, how I look forward to having a cup of coffee again some day.. ]. So whether it's quick scrambled eggs in butter with some fruit or even a quick protein smoothie like this one, create a plan. Same goes for dinner. Find easy meals that you can prepare in advance and just whip together quickly. I have my go-to meals like pork roast in the crockpot, frozen chicken with salsa in the crockpot, or taco salad. All of those have little to no prep. I think everyone should treat their crockpots with the utmost respect and love - they are life savers sometimes! TIP #2: If you buy the goods, you'll eat the goods
Buy some fruits and veggies! I always have apples, bananas, and berries around. This last time I went to Aldi they had such a huge selection of fruits, I think I went a little overboard.. but we Minnesotans need to take advantage when the opportunity arrives.
You may say that fruits and veggies are expensive and hard to keep fresh... That can definitely be the case sometimes. If you know where to shop [Aldi.. uh hem.. go to Aldi] and if those become your main snacks instead of say, crackers or chips or cookies then you can actually save a ton of money in the process. If you can't afford organic then don't worry about it. I don't buy organic and I'm not too worried about it. I can only do what I can do. Non-organic fruits and veggies are far better than any processed foods you could buy, even the organic processed treats out there. But I can always tell when I've bought processed snacks, my grocery bill skyrockets! ..more on how eating real food can save you money later..
Buy the fruits and veggies that can keep for a while: -Apples, oranges, bananas (you can freeze them for smoothies or for a frozen treat if they get brown quickly) -Celery keeps for a long time if you cut and wash them and put them in a big plastic bag. Add some peanut butter, your day is made. Yum! -Baby carrots -Romaine lettuce vs. spinach - I enjoy spinach but it does get bad pretty quickly, so I will have romaine lettuce around and if I can buy a fresh bag of dark greens then I'll add them to a salad soon after I buy it. -Find nice containers for berries - if you can wash them and put them in a closed container they will keep longer than if they're left in the plastic container they come in.
TIP #3: Fast food at the grocery store!
All this talk about planning and prepping in advance.. again, time is the challenge, so what do you do when you can't spend 5 minutes after a grocery shopping trip to prep your fruits and veggies or to create a dinner plan?
Make your fast food restaurant the grocery store!
Buy a rotisserie chicken, a bag of cut up lettuce or veggies, and some fruit to bring home for dinner. Those chickens are actually cheaper than the raw ones, not sure why, but they are. Just try to avoid the deep fried options.. we don't need those yucky trans fats.
Need a 'fast food' lunch? Go to the grocery store to buy natural deli meat, hummus and cut up veggies.
Gas stations like Kwik Trip have really good real food options as well. Things like string cheese, hard boiled eggs, fruits and veggies.. all real food options, they're just not as obvious as the candy and donuts they display that are so tempting.
TIP #4: Evaluate your commitment
Is your health important to you? Do you really want to take out processed foods in your diet? Do you really want to avoid eating out at fast food places? Do you want to give up your donut in the morning? Is eating real food a priority and why?
We can create all of the excuses in the world for ourselves - time, cost, lack of variety, busy lifestyle - but I believe it boils down to one question: is my health important to me?
If you answered yes to that question, then you will be more committed and motivated to do something about it. I can give you all of the tips that I've experienced or have come up with throughout my few short years eating real food, but if you aren't willing to put in the effort and time that is needed to make it a lifestyle change then I can't help you much further than that. Understanding why is a huge deal. Once I learned why eating fat was good for me or why avoiding sugar was important to my health it made a huge difference. I had a bigger reason to change my habits that meant more than just a clothing size or a number on the scale.
If it means taking out one activity in your schedule in order to plan a healthy lifestyle, then maybe that's what you need to do. I definitely encourage simplicity in life - less stress and more time to focus on what's really important is huge!
TIP #5: Take it one thing at a time
Changing our habits and lifestyle is not an easy task. Our habits have been with us for years and are engrained in what we do every day.
So, take it one small step at a time.
Replace your breakfast of cereal or toast with eggs and fruit.
Replace your snacks of crackers or sweets with nuts and veggies or yogurt and fruit.
Plan one or two meals for the week and practice what it feels like to have that plan in place, then add more meals to that plan.
Try exploring your grocery store for easy options instead of going through the drive through somewhere.
I started my real food journey by taking cereal out of my house and eating eggs instead. And it progressed from there. I'm very thankful and blessed to have a husband who isn't picky and who is on board with our real food lifestyle. He goes with the flow of these changes, and honestly doesn't have much choice since I'm the one who cooks and shops for us!
I will leave you with a couple visuals to get some more ideas to help you brainstorm how to make eating real food easy and doable with limited time, thanks to Nutritional Weight and Wellness:
