PROTEIN WAFFLE RECIPE

I recently went dairy-free (well, trying my hardest) because I want to improve my skin.  I've tried all the faces washes and all the creams.  I know better than anyone else your skin is directly related to your nutrition.  Going dairy-free has presented some problems as far as reaching my protein goal, so I have had to add outside protein sources.  I tried quite a few vegan proteins (the only proteins that don't have lactose) and they were well... BAD.  I'm not a huge fan of protein "shakes" so I had to find a protein that would bake well and Unico's Apollo Vegan Protein tastes amazing and bakes fantastic! Apollo has 20P/7C/3F so is macro friendly, and you can use it in just about everything. Protein can be expensive, but at 30 servings per container and a discount code: "SAMGFIT" you'll be adding protein to your day for less.

Ingredients:

1/4 Banana

1 Egg

1 Egg white

dash cinamon

dash vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 scoop Apollo Protein (use code "SAMGFIT")

Toppings of Choice

You can make these fresh, or ahead of time.  If you want them to be "crunchy" I would recommend freezing them and then toasting them when you're ready to eat.

Feel free to use the discount code for any Unico Product

SALSA CHICKEN

I couldn't decide what to prep this week until last night.  It was late I was exhausted and HANGRY.  I had a rotisserie chicken at home.... yuck. So I shredded the chicken threw it in a pan poured in some water, salsa, and taco seasoning and POOF chicken to put on a salad!

So I didn't use a rotisserie chicken, but yet again I prepped salsa chicken because it's literally so quick, easy, and good!









Salsa Chicken:
4 Servings

• Low sodium taco seasoning
• 1lb Chicken Breast (tenderloins or whole breast)
• 1 cup salsa 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F
Grease baking dish (for easy clean up)
Trim chicken and place in baking dish
Sprinkle taco seasoning all over chicken
Pour salsa on top
Bake for 20-25 minutes until chicken is 165F through out

THAT'S IT
Easiest prep or meal 
Place with veggies and cheese in a taco, eat plain, or put on a salad

Slow Cooker Caribbean chicken:
Recipe adapted from Lexi's Clean Chicken
4 Servings

• 1 pounds boneless and skinless chicken
• 1/2 cup diced canned tomatoes drained
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 chopped diced pepper
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon stevia
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in crock pot cook on low for 2-3 hours

Drain liquid
Shred chicken

Serve with mango salasa and vegetable of choice

Mango Salsa

• 1 tsp chopped ciliantro
• 1 mango chopped
• 1/4 cup red onion
• 1/2 juice of lime

I placed all ingredients into a blender and blended on low

TURKEY MEATBALLS

Turkey Meatballs
4 Servings
16oz Ground turkey
1 egg
.5 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 Tbsp Paprika
Garlic Salt to taste (aka a lot if you're me) (optional)

Sauce (optional)
1 28oz can crushed tomato
1 clove minced garlic
.5 cup sauteed mushroom
.5 cup roma tomato
.25 cup diced onion

Meatballs:

• Mix all ingredients together in medium size bowl
• Form ingredients into 1 inch balls, usually makes about 16 or so depending on how big
• Place in greased baking dish
• Bake at 350 F for 20-25 mins or until temp is 165F
• Tip: ground turkey does NOT brown like beef 
• Serve with vegetables of choice add sauce if you'd like, I prefer no sauce.

Sauce:

• Sautee veggies on medium heat until tender
• pour in crushed tomato
• simmer on low while meatballs are baking

GLUTEN FREE OPTION:

Swap Panko for gluten free almond flour 

BEGINNER MEAL PREP 1

Three recipes from my prep this week! Something I get asked often is if the food stays good? number one you need to keep everything airtight.  I've also had a bit of experience in trial and error.  As you see here there is no lettuce involved in these recipes.  I have been getting my greens in through smoothies. Back to the food on hand chicken burrito bowls and meatballs reheat well.  Even my husband enjoys them.  The chicken is cooked in the salsa so it keeps it juicy and the meatballs are so fricken delicious you don't even need sauce!

Keep in mind proper cooking temps and storing.  Make sure you cook both meats to 165 F and let them cool completely before lidding and storing them !  

Breakfast:
Strawberry Protein Overnight Oats
1 Serving
.5 cup Oats
.5 cup Greek yogurt (I used strawberry flavored so it would be sweeter)
.5-1 Cup milk of choice (I used almond)
4-5 Chopped strawberries
.5 Scoop Vanilla protein powder (optional)

• Mix all ingredients together & refrigerate overnight
• Be sure everything is being covered by liquid

Lunch:
Deconstructed Chicken Burrito
4 Servings
16 oz Chicken Breast (~4 Breast)
2 Tbsp Taco Seasoning (low sodium)
6 Tbsp Salsa
1 Avocado
2 Roma Tomatos
2 cups Whole Grain Rice
(other veggies optional- corn, black beans, peppers whatever sounds good) 

• Rinse and trim chicken (I like to use the tenders)
• Place Chicken in baking Dish sprinkle seasoning & Salsa
• Bake uncovered at 350 Degrees F until internal temp reaches 165 (~20-25 minutes)
• Cook Rice while letting chicken cool (I used Uncle Ben's 90 sec rice = Time saver)
• Chop avocado & tomato
• Place rice on bottom, chicken and topping next
• You can put lemon/lime on the avocado to keep it from browning

Dinner:
Turkey Meatballs
4 Servings
16oz Ground turkey
1 egg
.5 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 Tbsp Paprika
Frozen Veggies of choice

• Mix all ingredients together 
• Form ingredients into 1 inch balls, usually makes about 16 or so depending on how big
• Place in greased baking dish
• Bake at 350 F for 20-25 mins or until temp is 165F
• Tip: ground turkey does NOT brown like beef 
• Serve with vegetables of choice add sauce if you'd like, I prefer no sauce.

* These are just meal ideas, not meant to be a meal plan, please discuss caloric goals with a healthcare professional.  I am not a doctor or licensed nutritionist 

CHICKEN SALAD RECIPE

A protein packed chicken salad is a great meal! You can throw it in a low carb wrap, you can eat it plain, or even throw it on a bed of lettuce if you are trying to add extra greens to your day!

Traditional chicken salad is full of mayo and sugar, but by tweaking the ingredients a bit you can get a healthy alternative that still tastes great!

For this recipe I used one of those pre-cooked rotisserie chickens, this was a time saver for me, you could of course roast your own chicken.  This is simply a time saver and it tastes great!

Prep Time: 20 Minutes      Cook Time: 0
Makes 3 Servings

Ingredients:

9 oz Rotisserie Chicken
1/2 Cup Plain Greek Yogurt
1 Cup Red seedless Grapes
1/4 Cup Miracle Whip Lite
2 Tbsp Dried Cranberries
1 Tbsp Pecans
3 or 4 Celery stalks

Directions:

1. Remove skin and shred chicken breast with fork while still warm.  (I didn't use the dark meat, but of course you could) I also "chopped" the chicken to ensure the shreds would be small.

2. Let chicken cool
3. While cooling chop the grapes and celery to desired size (I like them small)

4. When chicken is cool add Greek yogurt and miracle whip. Mix well with wooden spoon

5. Add nuts & fruit

6. Refrigerate until ready to eat

Approx calories per serving: 228
Fat: 7//Carbs: 9// Protein:30

6 THINGS I LEARNED FROM DOING BBG

When I decided to start doing BBG about a year ago, I had every intention of getting a 6 pack in 12 weeks and calling it good.  Well after 12 weeks I didn't have a six pack, but BBG c.h.a.n.g.e.d a lot of aspects of my life>>

1. The human body is S T R O N G 
I'm serious! BBG has shown me that if I work hard enough at something I can do it.  I say this often, but I could never do 20 consecutive push-ups before BBG and now I can practically do them in my sleep.  

2. The scale DOESN'T matter
Easy to say right? BBG girls know first hand that this is true.  Don't believe me? Just look at Kelsey's (@mysweatlife) transformation! Muscle weighs more than fat and it's truly about how you feel not your gravitational pull on the earth!


3. Being active affects your Mood
Exercise gives you endorphins, and endorphins make you happy! BBG girls are honestly some of the most upbeat positive people and it's impossible to not jump on the positive train when you're constantly being bombarded by endorphins and happy people

4. Burpees aren't the worst
If you haven't tried the guides than you probably think I'm crazy.  Jump lunges, tuck jumps, COMMANDOS theses moves will have you begging for burpees.

5. You can get a GREAT workout in less than 30 minutes
If you've ever seen a #postworkoutselfie then you know that 30 minutes is plenty of time to get your sweat on.  The key to a great workout is high intensity and kayla has gone a little overboard on the intenstity, but only to benefit us.

6. Girls can be so uplifting
We've grown up with movies like mean girls that have told us that girls are mean.  This doesn't have to be true and the #bbgcommunity is a huge example.  BBG girls come together no matter age/size/location and are always there to pick you up when you're down. BBG has brought so many girls together and created lasting friendships  

Photo by Melissa Scola

More info about the guides can be found here: http://www.kaylaitsines.com/

5 PROTEIN PACKED SNACKS

Personally I don’t use protein powders often- not to say I never do because sometimes they are convenient or sometimes I have a sweet tooth… Trying to increase protein in your diet can be tough, people associate protein with meat which is somewhat true but there are also other great protein sources because who wants to eat chicken with every meal?

Low- fat cottage cheese

½ cup of low fat cottage cheese has between 13-15g of protein and that’s just for a half of cup! Cottage cheese is a great snack and easily goes with so many things- have you ever had cottage cheese, runny eggs and salsa?! (so good)

Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt has pretty much been deemed the healthiest food ever- but what people really mean is the unflavored super sour kind. I tend to splurge a little and get the flavored kind which does have about 7g of sugar but at 12g of protein I give in a bit.

Spinach

Sure you have to eat a lot of spinach to get a large amount of protein but at 2g per cup adding spinach to your salad instead of iceberg you’re that much closer to your protein goal

Tuna

Yeah kind of a meat, but there are a lot of pescatarian out there.  Tuna is my go to because 17g of protein per 3oz serving is more than most protein powder or shakes and I absolutely love tuna.

Pumpkin Seeds

At 3g of protein per tablespoon these are a great snack especially with fall coming up.  Like most seeds and nuts they do have a fat content on the high side, so this is something you need to look out for.  Salted pumpkin seeds are great after a workout that you sweat a lot of your sodium out as well!