Why a Cleanse?

Have you ever felt like your body just needed a detox? Maybe your feeling less energetic or have been eating the wrong foods. Maybe you just have never done one and want to see what the "big deal" is! Well, I'm about to start a new program that I have been WAITING for the last few weeks. Before I get started though, I just needed a jump start. I wanted to clean out my body and have a fresh beginning for this new program.

For this reason, I chose to do a shakeology cleanse. What is SHAKEOLOGY? It's only the healthiest thing I put in my body every day since September of last year. That's when I decided to start treating my body better. Shakeology is full of fruits and veggies, digestive enzymes, fiber, and my vitamins I need to fuel this "every day getting older" body of mine! :) There are NO artificial ingredients. NO artificial sweeteners. It is made up of whey protein and not soy. AND it tastes yummy! I love that I am putting this in my body. I love how it makes me more energized, clears my skin, strengthens my muscles, and helped me to lose the initial 20 pounds.

So, what is a Shakeology cleanse? Basically, you drink a shake for breakfast and for lunch mixed with water; not milk. Then you have a salad with protein for dinner. You make SURE that anything you put on that salad is all natural and no artificial ingredients. Simple salad. You do this for three days all while drinking lots and lots of water to "flush" your system. Yes, you will lose the pounds doing this. Think about it.... it's not much you are putting in your body. Most likely you will gain a few back when you start to eat again but 75% of it will stay off if you do it right.

Why am I so passionate about this stuff? Because it WORKS! I couldn't afford to go buy $41 of produce every day. That is exactly how much ingredients are in a single CUP of this! So, I choose to drink it instead. I've never felt better and am so glad I started this for me! No matter what your age (my kids drink it too) or where you are with your health this can help you. If you have medical concerns I can help you with that and give you the information to take to your MD. I'm a nurse and am very cautious about that as well. Feel free to contact me or use my link above in the picture. I can't wait to report back in 3 days my results! For now, a dull headache and feeling hungry! lol So...... checking out for now! Have a great weekend!

PB2!

Any way we can cut calories right?! This stuff is super healthy and MUCH better for us than peanut butter! You can find it at Walmart, Ingles, Amazon.com, or other local health food and grocery stores. Try it out!

Healthy Comfort Foods

 

Tonight my goal was to make mac n' cheese with a healthy twist. I need to start by saying that I had never heard of QUINOA until a few weeks ago. Many of my friends who are in this weight loss journey with me started using it and until then I had no idea it even existed. So, today I bought some and tried a new recipe. Someone asked me to find a healthy alternative to mac n' cheese so that's exactly what I did. To top it off, I made a crock pot honey chicken. The smell of my kitchen tonight was awesome! Everyone came in wondering what I was up to which makes this journey a lot more fun! I was getting tired of cooking the same old foods. I always say I don't have time to do much else, but I am finding that to be wrong. I'm enjoying this new found adventure and I hope you are too!

 

So here it is.... tonight's recipes....

 

Broccoli and Cheese Quinoa

 

1 1/2 cups dry quinoa, cooked (see directions below)

1 cup milk

2 T minced garlic

2 eggs beaten

1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese

1t salt

1 t pepper

1/2 t crushed red pepper (I only had pepper flakes and worked fine)

2 cups lightly steamed broccoli (I used a steamer bag)

 

To cook quinoa: add 3 cups of water (always double the quinoa) to a sauce pan and pour in the 1 1/2 cups quinoa. Bring to a boil. Cover and turn down to med-low for 15-20 min. After, take off heat and leave another 5 minutes.

 

While that sits, in another bowl mix milk, eggs, garlic, red pepper, salt, and pepper. Stir well. Mix cheese and broccoli in with quinoa folding lightly. Add wet ingredients a little at a time until all mixed together. Put into greased 13x9 pyrex and bake on 350 degrees for 30 min.

 

Crock Pot Honey Chicken

 

 

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 small onion diced

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup ketchup

2 T minced garlic

3T soy sauce

2T olive oil or coconut oil

 

cut chicken and combine all ingredients in crock pot. Stir and cook all day on low.

 

I hope you all enjoy this meal! The kids gave it an overall average score of "A". I asked them to rate A-F so I could tell you how they liked it. I don't think they mind being the guinea pigs. One entire dish of quinoa was gone and we have leftovers for tomorrow. Since breakfast and lunch are always so easy for me, I can devote more time to planning healthy dinners for the fam. Let me know how you and your family likes this! Until tomorrow! :)

Dinner on a budget.... AND still healthy!

Tonight my wonderful hubby decided to cook dinner. Since Levi got up at 5:30 this morning, I was tired and took a nice nap. While I was sleeping, he surprised me and stuck a Boston Butt in the crock pot! I got two huge ones on sale this week for only $7 each. Here is how he made it!

Boston Butt
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
Couple shakes of McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 bottle Caribbean Jerk Marinade
A Pinch of Lawry's seasoned salt

Cooked on low heat all day until we were ready to eat. We served it with steamed broccoli and green beans. I know.... lots of green foods, but you eat what you have in the kitchen! :) The nice part for me is that there are leftovers FINALLY! Plates were licked clean by the kids and once again it was a fantastic yummy dinner. Try it out!

It's your turn to make a change!

I used to feel like it would never happen for me! After having Levi in my 30's my body was totally whack! haha In my 20's I found it easier to lose and now not only had I tipped the 200 mark pregnant with him, but I was not finding it easy to lose this time.

I remember walking passed my bathroom mirror so many days after getting out of the shower and just crying at my reflection. I knew something had to change. I started at the gym again and eating weight watchers meals and counting points. I would find myself craving food. I was hungry all of the time. After months, I only lost 3 pounds. I was discouraged and wanted to give up, but I knew that wouldn't help me at all.

Back in September 2013, I stumbled upon a friend's post on facebook. It was about shakeology. She was talking about how she had lost eating more foods, but learning to eat the right foods. I messaged her and asked more about it. Then I went online and search around to see what I could find. I didn't want to do anything unhealthy for my body. I wanted to make better choices for myself. As I read the ingredients to Shakeology, I found it to be full of super foods (fruits and veggies) and a ton of stuff I had just heard on Dr. Oz! :) Yes, I am sure some of you watch him too!  Not only that, but it also was full of natural digestive enzymes which my family has had issues with for generations.

I was super skeptical, but prayed about it and felt this was something I needed to do for myself. Well, the first month I just drank a shake for breakfast and at normal the rest of the day and lost 6 pounds! That was without crazy workouts. Then after I started getting excited about each pound I thought I'd better start the workout program to go with it since so many had success. Well, by December I hit my first 20 pound goal. I can't tell you how thrilled I was to know that I had done this! For all those times I gave up and got overwhelmed.... now I could finally say I did it!

People were starting to notice and I had begun helping others do the same thing I did. Now, I have over 80 people I help and that number grows every day. When people see you consistent and committed to something that works, they want to try it too! I've got 20 pounds to go now, but I am determined. I love the accountability I get from others watching me and wanting the same. I'm pumped and excited to see others feel better physically, mentally, and spiritually through this.

So here's the secret to weight loss...... ACCOUNTABILITY!

If you are ready to see a difference and make a change message me and let's get going. There is no reason why you should continue to be so upset with how you feel about yourself. You are the only one standing in the way of a better you! Everything we do is done privately online. You can be my neighbor or live in another country! There is no excuse too great not to try!

Cauliflower Pizza... That's dinner folks!

Who would've thought you could cut out the bread and make pizza crust with cauliflower? I thought it sounded a little odd, but tonight I had all I needed in the frig to try it! Here is the recipe...

Crust:
1 cup cauliflower
1 cup mozzarella
1T minced garlic
1t garlic salt
1T oregano
1 egg beaten

Read directions carefully. Using a food processor, chop cauliflower until it look like rice. Then place in microwave for 4-6 min with 2T water. Mix half way through and then finish. When done, add all other ingredients and mix well. Pat down in circles whatever size you would like. Make sure it's not too thick. Cook on 450 degrees for 15 min or until golden and bubbly all over.

Topping:
Add whatever pizza toppings you want.
Sauce
Cheese
Veggies
Meat

Place back I oven long enough to melt cheese and serve.

The baby even ate it all and loved it. No complaints! Think this might be another addition to the Ashley Crew Cookbook!

Lunch In A Snap

Quick lunch help today! Here is what I am eating...

Yes, it is a salad. But, not just any boring old salad. Since I stopped eating salad dressing I have found I can actually TASTE what's in it now! haha I change it up all the time but it is an easy go to meal for me while I work.

Shredded iceberg
Turkey lunch meat (about 2oz shredded)
Feta
1/2 Avocado
2 Scallions chopped
2T Olive Oil
salt/pepper to taste

Have a great lunch!