My crockpot meals: version 1

So, school has been much better this semester and I have to say a lot of it has been organizing the rest of my life!  I've even had downtime to read (although from the weight I put back on I probably should have used the downtime on the treadmill...).  Anyways,  I made this document up for a few ladies that I work with that are expecting within the next two months.  The lists I found online were missing things from the grocery store, so I took the time to put together recipes that will cover for 10 days (two bags of 5 recipes) and probably have leftovers!  Hopefully these ladies have time to get them together before babies come and hopefully anyone who needs a list of crockpot meals with grocery list included can use this! I plan on making another version soon that is all Eli/allergy friendly!

Teriyaki Chicken-

   Divide into two freezer bags.  Thaw overnight and cook on High for 4 hours or Low for 8.  Serve with rice.

·         1 bag of Baby carrots chopped into bite sized pieces

·         1/2 red onion in large chunks

·         20 oz can pineapple undrained

·         1 garlic clove chopped

·         6 Chicken breasts

·         1/2 bottle Teriyaki Sauce

·         2 cups broccoli

Sweet Barbecue Hawaiian Chicken- Divide into two bags. Cook on low for 8 hours

·         6 chicken breasts

·         2/3  cup of BBQ sauce

·         20 oz can of Pineapple chunks, undrained

·         2/3  cup soy sauce

·         ½ cup brown sugar

·         2 TBS corn starch

Salsa chicken- makes 2 bags.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours, stir in ½ cup sour cream at end and serve over rice.

·         6 chicken breasts

·         2 cups salsa

·         2 packages taco seasoning

·         2 cans of cream of mushroom soup

Cilantro lime chicken- makes 2 bags- cook on low for 8 hours.  Shred meat and serve on tortillas.

·         6 chicken breasts

·         4 tablespoons of lime juice

·         1 bunch of cilantro chopped

·         2 – 16 oz bags of corn

·         4 cloves of garlic- minced

·         1 red onion chopped

·         2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed

·         2 tsp cumin

·         Salt and pepper.

Pot Roast- make 2 bags- cook on low for 8 hours.

·         2 small hunks of beef roast or pork roast

·         Red potatoes- chopped

·         1 bag of baby Carrots- chopped

·         1 Yellow Onion- chopped

·         Celery- chopped

·         2 cans of beef broth

Shopping List:

Fresh veggies:

·         Bag of red potatoes (or can buy frozen potatoes)

·         2 red onions

·         1 yellow onion

·         Hearts of celery

·         2 bags of baby carrots

·         1 bunch of broccoli (or can buy frozen)

·         Cilantro

·         Garlic- 5 cloves or pre-minced

Meat-

·         2 small beef or pork roasts or 1 large to divide

·         About 24 chicken breasts

Canned/Pantry-

·         Lime juice

·         2 cans of black beans

·         Salsa

·         2 packages of taco seasoning

·         2 cans of cream of mushroom soup

·         Soy sauce

·         Teriyaki sauce

·         BBQ sauce

·         2 cans of pineapple chunks

·         Brown Sugar

·         Corn Starch

·         Cumin

·         2 cans of beef broth

·         Large Freezer Ziplock bags- at least package of 10 for these recipes

Frozen-

·         2 bags of corn

·         Broccoli (if not fresh)

·         Potatoes (if not fresh)

Dairy-

·         Sour Cream

Tips:

·         Look over your pantry to see what you have/need.

·         Write instructions (how long to cook) on freezer bag and what is in it to make meal planning easy.

·         If you use potatoes that are NOT frozen boil first for a few minutes or they will turn black in the freezer.

·         Can buy slow cooker liners to save on dishes- they kind of cost a lot but then you don’t have to scrub the crock pot every night to use it the next day!

Results are in!

Results are in!  My 10 day challenge is over, and I am down 4 lbs, 1.5 inches off waist, 1 inch off hips and 1/2 inch off bust.  Most importantly, I'm eating better and exercising again.  Keeping in a healthy lifestyle is the key to maintaining and I screwed up for awhile.  But now it's time to get back on track and keep it up! 

At it again!

So I'm back in the habit.  Which habit?  Eating well and exercising!  And I'm getting started right with another 10 day cleanse from Advocare!  I love this product for helping me feel full, giving me energy, and keeping my mind on the goal!  The last three months have been rough- I haven't been eating well at all, haven't exercised almost at all, and just in general been lazy with my body.  Time to get back in order before the holidays! 

I started different this time, by getting back into exercise and using a "cleansing water" before starting the Advocare products.  I got the recipe from a friend and it's super simple- a sliced cucumber, a sliced lemon, mint leaves and water.  Tastes clean and fresh.

Then I started by 10 day cleanse and really kicking up the exercise.  I'm on day 7 now, so I don't have final results, but when I do the "pinch test" (pinch my own fat rolls!  lol)  it's smaller!  I'm taking Catalyst too to really burn the fat!  Too much candy the last few months :(.
Advocare recommends using the herbal cleanse every 3 months- I don't do it that often but whenever I really start slacking off it works for me to get back into it!  So we'll see at day 10 what results bring. :)

Allergy Friendly Breakfast Bars

So inspiration struck me the other day when I couldn't sleep after working a third shift.  I could make a breakfast bar for Eli using rice cereal and sunbutter (a peanut butter like stuff but made with sunflower seeds).  So I bought some rice krispies, sunbutter and started tossing stuff together!

 So I started with dry ingredients- rice krispies, dried cranberries, raisins, honey roasted sunflower seeds, and coconut flakes.  Tossed these in honey and sunbutter until it all sticks together. Put it in the fridge for about 10 minutes then took it out- looked like this.

 I tried to roll this into balls, but it didn't lend well to rolling, so I pressed it into a Tupperware as bars and put in the fridge again.  Once they are totally cold I can cut it into bars and give to Eli to try!

Hope he likes it!

Crockpot meals

Here was my project this week.  My healthy eating wasn't doing so good with my busy school schedule, so I made crockpot meals to throw in the freezer.  I even bought crockpot liners so we don't have to scrub it between meals.  Here's the website I got the recipes from.  Warning, however....the grocery list provided doesn't actually make all of these meals.  A couple of them were missing important ingredients and there was no where enough chicken (I had to thaw some from our stock in the freezer).  So..my suggestion is go through the recipes you want and make your own list ;)
Sometime in the next two weeks (when I run out of these beauties!) I'm going to make my own grocery list and meal list and put it on here to share with you all.  Many of these are not Eli friendly so I'm going to aim for a few more allergy friendly meals!

http://femiology.com/make-ahead-freeze-crockpot-dinners-feed-your-entire-family-for-3-4-per-meal/

School is in

Back to school for the last year!  This means one thing...very little time.  As I come up with or try new recipes I'll post them, but don't expect as much activity for awhile. :)  A few things to look forward to: possible allergy testing for little man after the first of the year, a move to another state, new jobs and new home.  Big changes coming so stay tuned.

BBQ chicken salad

So it's a good think I take pictures of stuff...because I couldn't remember what I made yesterday until I looked at the picture!

So this was an easy chopped salad.  I did my own thing from the recipe on pinterest.  Ideally you grill the chicken and corn, and put chips and whatnot on it.  I just made it my own.

I broiled chicken breasts with BBQ sauce on it (we had sweet baby rays).  When that was cooked I took some canned corn and canned black beans and threw them into a skillet to warm up.  Had some bagged lettuce, chop some red onion, dice some tomatoes, put the chicken and corn/beans on it, top with montyjack cheese.  Done :)

It's Allergy friendly as long as there is a BBQ sauce you like and no cheese.  You'd want to avoid cheese for Advocare cleanse also.  You can top with more BBQ, some ranch or even sour cream, but I thought it was fine as is.