Carrot Bread Muffins: 80 Day Obsession Approved Recipe

Some of you know that my husband & I recently started a new program that we're a little over 5 weeks into.

Details on our 80 Day Obsession progress (4 week photos/results!! woowoo)

& WHAT the program is coming to the blog SOON.

Well, a HUGE part of this program is the nutrition plan - not just the WHAT to eat, but the HOW MUCH & even the WHEN to eat it.

Our first meal of the day is a little after 5am & we've gotta have some sort of veggie, grain & protein combination.

That's EARLY for a full meal, right?! So I'm sure you can see the appeal of finding some winning recipes to try!

For the first few weeks, we were chowing down on egg + spinach muffins with toast & peanut butter OR turkey bacon with cut broccoli (yes, I'm serious) with oats & peanut butter. Some days it just felt like a LOT to eat so early. Other days, it was fine but we were still becoming eager for a little variety in our mornings.

Enter THIS recipe - which we saw many variations of online, but found our own little sweet spot combination that we INHALED this morning at 5:15 & decided was going to be part of our regular meal repertoire!!

Shout out to my hubby, Nate, for making them.

You da best, boo.

So whether you're on a regimented meal plan also, are simply trying to find another healthy breakfast or snack OR maybe you're desperately needing to sneak veggies into food for your picky kids or spouse - you're going to want to give this recipe a spin.

CARROT BREAD MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup carrots

(roughly 10 large baby carrots)

1/4 cup rolled oats - uncooked

2 eggs

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

(you could also throw in some clove, dried ginger or pumpkin pie spice!!)

*optional sweetener: truvia, stevia, agave or honey to taste*

(we used baking truvia to sweeten ours & stay on track with our meal plan!)

DIRECTIONS:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease muffins tins or miniature loaf pans.

(I use coconut oil baking spray).

Combine ingredients in blender & let it run until SMOOTH.

Pour mixture into muffin tins or mini loaf pans.

(One serving of this mix will "fill" 4 muffin tins OR 1 mini loaf pan)

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out of the center clean.

Remove from pan or tin & allow to cool on baking rack, before storing in fridge.

Why hello, beauties..

Oh! I can't forget!

Here's a little serving suggestion that takes this RIGHT over the top.

We added 1 teaspoon of natural, crunchy peanut butter to the top of our warm muffins before serving with a dash or three of cinnamon! Holy smokes it decadent.

{this is me literally eating my breakfast in bed this morning}

Y'ALL.

This was seriously so good. 

Simple, naturally "sweet", light & YUMMY!

And if you're working through the same program as us, it will likely fit ONE of your meal plan options to a T. For us, it's our pre-workout combo!!

For my friends following the Beachbody fixate meal plan, here is the container breakdown for 80 Day Obsession and 21 Day Fix:

Each serving is 1 red 1 yellow 1 green 1 teaspoon.

FYI, we made 6 total servings of this at one time & refrigerated them in our portions so all we have to do is heat, drizzle with PB & eat - so that's 24 muffins at once!

BULK PREP APPROVED!

*be realistic & open minded when you taste these the first time, friends. remember that these are very healthy muffins & taste really yummy. BUT, don't be expecting carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting when you bite in. Ha!*

Give this recipe a try & let me know what you think

+ if you make any awesome substitutions, share!

ENJOY!

Zucchini Lasagna Boat Recipe

I saw a recipe recently, well it was actually just a photo with the recipe title on pinterest, for "Spaghetti Squash Lasagna" & thought I HAD to try it!

But when I went to the store to grab the ingredients, they were out of spaghetti squash. That's where the idea to roll with zucchini came from!

So I never actually read the original recipe...

Often times, I'll see a photo of something & just guess on how I can recreate it.

OR I'll read part of the recipe & decide how to make my own version.

You could say that even a quick parooze on pinterest might just inspire my entire weekly meal plan.

(I'm pretty sure I get that food-creativity from my momma!! She taught me while I was growing up to use what you've got & improvise when you can! She also taught me how to look for great sales & stretch your meals.. super valuable lessons!)

That's actually EXACTLY what happened last week.

I pulled up pinterest - saw photos of the spaghetti squash, stuffed peppers, greek salad & a kale, sweet potato, chicken crock pot recipe - jotted down a rough list & ran to the store within an hour!

Okay, so back to the "recipe."

Since I didn't measure anything, we all have to get a bit creative.

Let's all just agree up front to use our imaginations a bit so you can cater this to your taste/what's in your fridge + be willing to go with your gut to decide when it looks about "right."

Deal?

Zucchini Lasagna Boats

Ingredients:

Zucchini

(grab the largest or widest pieces you can find)

Cottage Cheese

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Egg

Seasonings

(I used Himalayan Salt, Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes & Dried Parsley)

A marinara or sauce of your choice

So how many veggies do you buy..

I would say to plan for at least one zucchini for each person.

We each had a half when we were eating it as a "side" with some grilled chicken, but could have eaten more & definitely would have if it was our primary entree.

When I made this "recipe," I was only cooking for the two of us. So keep in mind that my LOOSE directions are for two zucchinis/people.

Directions:

1. Wash the zucchini, cut in half (long ways) & scoop out the middle part to create your "boats"

When I scooped out the seeds, it still wasn't quite wide enough. So I used my knife to widen it up a bit, then followed with a spoon to clean it up.

Not going to lie, it about killed me not to have a purpose for the scooped-out pieces. If you're a SUPER creative person, maybe you can come up with some ideas. Maybe buy a little more zucchini & use the left over parts with it for zucchini bread?? I don't know.. but if you're a #FrugalFelicia too, let me know what you decide to try!

Then, I seasoned my veggies with some himalayan salt + pepper & placed in a dish.

(I sprayed my dish with a little coconut oil)

2. Create your FILLING

This is where you're going to have to eye-ball//go with your gut.

Because I'm totally spit-balling here as I estimate what I used.

First, I grabbed my cottage cheese. Let's say I used a cup & a half to two cups for the two of us. However, I had some extra filling I ended up scooping on top.

Next, I cracked one egg into the cottage cheese.

Then, I sprinkled a palm full of shredded mozzarella in.. I saved a a little for the tops too!

Finally, I seasoned the mixture with himalayan salt, pepper & dried parsley.

Stir this until it's completely mixed together.

3. Fill your boats!

Like I said, I ended up being PRETTY generous with how much I put in mine!! I definitely could have stretched it to share with a third zucchini.

4. Top with a marinara or sauce of your choice & sprinkle with a little more shredded mozzarella cheese

I personally used a DELICIOUS mushroom marina that I got one sale (BOGO at publix!). You could use anything though, depending on your tastes. Something plain, spicy, with meat, etc!

5. Bake at 350 degrees covered for 30 minutes.

Then, for uncovered for another 30 minutes OR until zucchini is fork tender & the top is golden brown!

Seriously, it's THAT easy!!

And gosh - it tastes great, is inexpensive to make, is healthy & can be tailored to your tastes!

You could totally prep several of these for extra meals during the week OR this would be an easy meal to prepare if you have several guests coming over!

I already have a few variations in mind to try with this "recipe" in the future:

1. I'd love to add some sautéed spinach and/or mushrooms to the cottage cheese mixture!

2. I'd love to try mixing in either a browned meat (turkey or grass-fed beef) OR some chopped veggies (like onion, grape tomatoes or mushrooms) into the marinara on top!

I have no doubt that this SAME concussion could easily fill yellow squash, large tomatoes, spaghetti squash, portobello mushrooms OR be a tasty topping with egg plant! You could even slice any of those veggies in a way that would allow you to make more of a traditional, layered veggie lasagna!

Be sure to let me know if you try any variations of this recipe that turn out extra tasty.

Bon Appetite!

{be sure to SHARE this recipe with your friends!}

FIXATE Approved Chocolate Banana Bread Muffins

FIXATE Approved:

Chocolate Banana Bread Muffins

This recipe began as most do in our house.. with a scroll on Pinterest!

Praise tha Lawd for sweet sweet Pinterest.

Can I get a witness from my other domestic wanna-be friends out there??

I came across the original banana bread muffin recipe from Adventures of a Shrinking Princess & decided to modify it a bit to (1) what I had on hand (2) my personal taste.

Basically, I never have ALL the ingredients for a recipe & I refuse to run to the store. So I've learned how to come up with lots of substitutes with sweeteners, fats, etc!

There are a TON of different ways you could tweak this for some tasty variations, but I wanted to keep the ingredient list within my meal plan so they are guilt-free.

Here's what I tried!

And you can hop over to the original recipe to see the two things I changed this go around.

Ingredients:

3 {ripe} Bananas

2 Eggs

3/4 C Quick Oats

2 Scoops Chocolate Shakeology

2 Tbsp Trivia

1 Tsp Baking Powder

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1/2 Tsp Cinnamon

1 Dash of Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

*optional: 1 palmful of dark chocolate or carob chips*

This recipe was SO easy, y'all!!

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350.

2. Put all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor & mix until smooth. My batter was so thick that I had to stir in the middle then continue blending!

3.  I personally sprayed my muffin tins lightly with coconut oil & opted out of using liners or a silicone pan, but that's completely up to you! Either way - prep your tins or liners so there's no sticking!!

4. Divide the batter equally into 12 muffin tins. This recipe makes 12 total servings.

I'll post the Fixate container/serving equivalents below!

 OPTIONAL:

I chose to top each muffin with 4 chocolate chips.

I think it would have been even better baked INTO the batter, but I wanted to make sure the portions were correct!

5. Bake muffins for 18-22 minutes, or until a tooth-pick comes out clean when testing the centers. Roughly 20 minutes was the sweet spot for my muffins!

Do you see how AMAZING these turned out?!

And talk about fluffy!!

I read originally that muffins with oats instead of flour can turn out kind of sunken, but that was clearly not the case with this recipe.

I stored the muffins (all 11 of them after my IMMEDIATE taste test) in an air-tight tupperware & they lasted all week in the fridge! I'm surprised too that they made it that long :)

Just pull one out one of these puppies when you're in a pinch for time or trying to avoid succumbing to your sweet tooth & microwave for about 15 seconds before you dig in.

FIXATE Nutritional Information Per Muffin:

1/2 Purple, 1/3 Red, 1/3 Yellow, 1/2 tsp (chocolate chips)

________________________________________

So what might I try next time?

Well, my hubby loves vanilla.. I'd call him CRAY for not being a total chocoholic like myself, but instead I'll say we complete each other :) So next time I may opt for vanilla shakeology instead!

Also, I could totally see mixing in some PB2 powder, diced strawberries, flax or chia seeds, etc!!

What do you do if you DON'T have shakeology?

Obviously I'd recommend buying some because it has changed my LIFE.. just search "shakeology" on my blog for info. BUT, if you don't have any right on hand, opt for whatever protein mix you have at home! 

 Give this recipe a try & let me know how YOU decide to tweak it!!

________________________________________

To learn more about shakeology, feel free to read here (why it's worth the $), here (if it's safe to drink while pregnant) or here (what the heck it is).

You can even watch this funny video I made, if you'd like!

________________________________________

Zucchini Noodle + Pesto Chicken Bowl Recipe

I'm a few days behind on this recipe.. you've gotta forgive my foggy brain, please!

This recipe was actually whipped up mainly by the HUBS, so I can't take full credit.

Thanks, boo!

It was EASY, flavorful & healthy.

PLUS, you can definitely tweak it to your tasty or modify the ingredients depending on what you have at home.

Ingredients:

Zucchini (spiralized)

Chicken Breast (cooked & shredded)

Pesto Sauce

Mushrooms (sautéed)

Sun Dried Tomatoes

Garlic (minced)

Himalayan Salt + Fresh Pepper

First of all, we spiralized 2 large zucchinis.

Which fed both of us 3 times each.

You could definitely do a quick sauté & season on these, but we decided to go raw with ours & let the topping warm the "noodles!"

We also used two (large) boiled then shredded chicken breasts, which was the perfect amount for two zucchinis.

Sorry this is how I measure.. or don't measure.

It's mostly guesstimating!

In a pan, we sautéed sliced mushrooms with the minced garlic & then added in sun dried tomatoes. The sun dried tomatoes we had were stored in olive oil so we squeezed them out a bit so they weren't saturated!

Then, we tossed in the shredded chicken & coated everything in pesto sauce!

Top off with some red pepper flakes if you like a little SPICE!

This was awesome night one.. & even better as leftovers!

Give it a try & if you make any tweaks, let me know.

I bet some artichoke hearts or sautéed spinach would be AWESOME in here too!

Go crazy.

Teriyaki Chicken, Veggie & Rice Bowls

Teriyaki Chicken, Veggie & Rice Bowls.. oh my!!

I found this recipe on pinterest earlier in the week to share with the women in my online accountability group (shout out to the gals in my February Virtual Fit Camp). While I was typing it up to share with them, I decided to try it out THAT night because it sounded so good!

I mean, having defrosted chicken already laid out in the fridge just seemed like a sign also.

Right!??

First of all, this was SO darn easy to make.

It seriously took me 30 minutes or less to get EVERYTHING together.

Secondly, this recipe was flavorFULL & guilt free.

There are several substitutions that can be made from the original recipe to tweak it to your taste!

Lastly, you could absolutely make this in bulk for meal prep to eat on the whole week.

And no.. it would NOT get old & boring.

Okay, so the original recipe can be found HERE via GimmeDelicious

These are the instructions from that blog post, but I'll drop my own tips & modifications at the bottom!

Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 12 mins
Total time: 17 mins

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless/skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon oil
2 cups broccoli florets
1 bell pepper, sliced into strips
sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
2 cups cooked brown rice
4 meal prep containers

For the teriyaki sauce:

¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
½ teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
¼ teaspoon ground ginger (optional)

Instructions:

Heat a large pan to medium-high heat. Add chicken, season with salt and pepper and cook until no longer pink 2-3 minutes.

Whisk all the ingredients for the teriyaki sauce in a small bowl.

Add the teriyaki sauce to chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes or until sauce is thick.Remove chicken from heat.

Add the broccoli florets and bell pepper to the same pan. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes or until the bell pepper is slightly softened.

Divide the chicken and broccoli into 4 meal prep containers. Add ½ cup of brown rice into each container. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional) and cover. Refrigerate for up to 4 days.

My PERSONAL modifications & tips..

For me personally, recipes are more like guidelines.

I'll peek at the list, see what I have & WING it.

Occasionally I'll substitute based off what I have at home OR just leave things out & hope for the best. Let's just say I'm not a fan of making multiple grocery store runs throughout the week & that fuels my creativity.

Let's start with the chicken!

To cut down on cook time, we chopped the trimmed breasts into SMALL bite-sized pieces. I seasoned them on the cutting board with himalayan sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, garlic powder & some red pepper flakes for heat. For the actual cooking, I browned up those little "nuggets" in coconut oil - I prefer it usually over other oils.

Now, for the veggies.

I went with what I had. And NO. I am not above frozen veggies - I can buy them inexpensive & in bulk at SAMs. I always prefer fresh produce, but use frozen veggies as a secondary option on the regular. This week, I had frozen broccoli florets that I steamed in the microwave with fresh carrots & onion that I minced up & mixed in. Once those veggies were all steamed, I seasoned them a bit & put to the side until everything was done. I then mixed the veggies IN with the chicken & sauce so they too were lightly glazed.

For the sauce, I only made a couple of tweaks.

I used liquid aminos instead of soy sauce (same measurements) & agave nectar instead of honey (same measurements).

As a side/carb, I whipped up a quinoa + brown rice blend. It was a perfect little bed for the teriyaki combo!

Both hubby & I were big fans of this recipe!!

In the future, I'd try a few modifications:

adding green onion or cilantro

using shrimp or lean beef instead of chicken

leaving out meat if I want a lite, ALL veggie meal

subbing peppers, snap peas or cauliflower into the veggie mix.

or tossing some chopped water chestnuts on top for crunch

I really think you could customize this completely to your taste!!

Give it a try & let me know what you think.

Happy, healthy eating, friends.

Quick Asian Week Night Dinner

Tasty + Easy + Quick = the PERFECT week night meal!!

Here's the run down on what I whipped up Thursday night.

And yes, it's as simple as it sounds! PLUS, this delicious concoction was 21 Day Fix approved!

First, I marinaded a trimmed flank steak for about 5 hours. I would have let it set for however much time I actually had, but I'd say it's needs probably 2 hours at least.

Here was my marinade blend. And no, I didn't measure anything!

Liquid Aminos

(a soy sauce substitute you can snag in some grocery stores OR via amazon!)

Agave

(you can use honey if you have that instead)

Garlic

Ginger

Red Pepper Flakes

Fresh Cracked Pepper

Next, slice the steak against the grain into evenly-cut pieces.

Meanwhile, heat coconut oil or vegetable oil up in a non-stick skillet over medium heat & cook sliced meat until browned on each slide.

Since I'm pregnant, our meat was WELL done.. sorry, hubby!

We decided to keep dinner low carb & opted to serve the meat with a steamed veggie stirfry (a pre-sliced frozen blend.. EASY). You could also serve with brown rice or quinoa, if you'd like!

If you really want to finish it off nice, top with sliced green onions, cilantro or toasted sesame seeds!

Bon Appetit, y'all!

BBQ Chicken Baked Sweet Potatoes Recipe

Source: Beachbody Blog

How about this quick, easy to prep ahead recipe that works for a packed lunch or family dinner? This healthy, flavorful recipe is available amongst many others on the Beachbody Blog.

Putting this recipe on my meal planner this week!

Ingredients:

2 small sweet potatoes, washed, pierced with fork

1½ c. shredded cooked chicken breast, boneless, skinless

¼ c. barbecue sauce, reduced-sugar

¼ c. Quick Pickled Red Onions (or 2 Tbsp. chopped red onions)

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley or cilantro (for garnish)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet. Pierce each sweet potato 3 to 4 times with a fork. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until tender.

While sweet potato is baking, combine chicken and barbecue sauce in a small bowl; mix well. Set aside.

Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise.

Top sweet potatoes evenly Quick Pickled Red Onions and chicken mixture. Sprinkle evenly with parsley; serve immediately.

Tips:

Look for barbecue sauce that has an ingredient list that does not contain artificial sweeteners, additives, or preservatives. There are many brands on the market that are sweetened with small amounts of honey, maple syrup, or molasses.

Use Healthy Barbecue Sauce as a homemade alternative to store-bought barbecue sauce.

Happy cooking!!