Challenge Du Jour!!

TODAY is the Beachbody Challenge Du Jour and YOU can do a lot of good for a lot of people!

Carl Daikeler, the CEO of Beachbody is challenging everyone to complete “Plyo Fix Extreme” from the 21 day fix Extreme using Beachbody on demand.  You must complete the workout on Monday, 3/23/15 between 12:01 AM PT to 11:59PM PT.  If you do so he will be donating $100 to the International Justice Mission to help end slavery.  Pretty awesome that he is willing to donate up to $100,000 of his own person money just by YOU and I completing this workout!  

I just finished my workout and contribution!  Did you?? 

Don't have Beachbody on Demand??  Sign up for a Club membership HERE for only $39.95/quarter and give it a shot!!! 

Black Bean Soup - 21 day fix approved

Black bean soup is a family favorite in our house!  It freezes well and makes for a great lunch or dinner.  Even my kids like it!  I make them grilled cheese or get crusty bread and they use the soup as a dip.  YUM!!!!

Here's a great Black Bean Soup from Beachbody.com.

Black Bean Soup

Total Time: 9 hrs. 48 min.
Prep Time: 15 min.
Cooking Time: 1 hr. 33 min.
Yield: 6 servings, about 1½ cups each

Ingredients:
1 cup dry black beans, sorted, washed
5 cups water, divided use
3 cups low-sodium organic vegetable (or chicken) broth
2 medium celery stalks, chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium jalapeño, seeded and deveined, chopped
1 tsp. ground red pepper (optional)
½ tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
Sea salt and ground black pepper (to taste; optional)
Hot pepper sauce (like Tabasco) (to taste; optional)

Preparation:
1. Place beans and 3 cups water in a large saucepan. Soak for six hours to overnight. Drain and rinse beans.
2. Place beans, remaining 2 cups water, broth, celery, carrots, onion, garlic, jalapeno, red pepper, chili powder, coriander, and cumin in saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally, for 60 to 80 minutes, or until beans are tender.
3. Add salt and pepper if desired; cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until beans are very tender.
4. Place half of bean mixture in blender, in two or more batches, if necessary; cover with lid and kitchen towel. Blend until smooth.
5. Return blended soup to saucepan; cook, on medium-high heat, for 2 to 3 minutes or until hot.
6. Serve with a splash of hot sauce if desired.

This recipe could easily be made in a crockpot as well.  Simply follow the preparation instructions as stated above until step 2.  Then place all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 6 hours.

If you are following a Team Beachbody program here are the equivalents for your meal plan: 

If you would like to join a challenge group of mine to help you stay accountable on your health and fitness journey simply fill out this form: 

Clean Turkey Chili

I love CLEAN meals that I can make ahead of time, reheat well and are healthy!  I don't always have time to make a fresh meal each time I need to eat.  I LOVE leftovers!  I try to cook extra at times to have leftovers for lunch the next day or to freeze as my own personal homemade frozen meal.  

That being said, there aren't a ton of meals out there that are a complete meal and reheat well.  One pot meals with a protein, veggie and complex carbohydrate are a busy Mommy's dream!  Chili is one of those meals for our family!  Do my kids eat it, no....maybe in time!  But, it's something that I can make a BIG batch of easily and relatively quick.  I'm always on the hunt for great clean meals and this is a GREAT one that is also 21 Day Fix AND 21 Day Fix Extreme Approved!!!  

(Makes 6 servings, 1 cup each) **doubles well**

1 tsp olive oil

1 1/2 lbs ground lean turkey, chicken or beef 

1 medium onion

1 large zucchini 

2 cups sliced carrots 

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp smoked paprika 

1/2 tsp sea salt or Himalayan salt 

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste; optional)

1/4 tsp black pepper 

2 (15 oz) cans black beans or pinto beans undrained 

1 (15 oz) can all-natural diced tomatoes

12 fresh cilantro sprigs, finely chopped (for garnish; optional)

Directions

1. Heat oil in large sauce pan over medium-high heat
2. Add meat, veggies, and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 8 minutes or until turkey is no longer pink
3. Add all spices; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute
4. Add beans and tomatoes (with liquid). Add 1/2 can of water if seems too dry.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low; gently boil, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until thickened.
5. Serve warm, sprinkle with cilantro.

Container Equivalents

1 Green

1 Red

1/2 Yellow

You could also make this recipe in a Crockpot!  I serve with 1/4 cup of wild or brown rice.  This recipe freezes well and I highly encourage you double the recipe and freeze individual portions for busy days!  Enjoy!!! 

(recipe adapted from the 21 Day Fix Extreme Nutrition Guide)

Family Friendly HEALTHY Baked Ziti

I have been on the search for a healthy pasta dish, more specifically BAKED ZITI!!  My husband is a pasta lover, I guess I'll blame it on his Italian genes!  He always gets bored with my typical chicken dinners so I have been inspired to create a HEALHY Baked Ziti that is also FAMILY/KID friendly!  It's not too time consuming and makes for great leftovers!!  It also fits very nicely into my Insanity Max30 or 21 day fix Nutrition Plan!  This dish includes carbs, protein, cheese/dairy and veggies so it a 1 DISH, complete meal!  

If you enjoy pasta, cheese, any one dish meals you will LOVE this recipe!

Ingredients (**I try to use Organic as much as I can**)
-1 pound lean ground beef 
-sea salt and pepper 
-1 T Italian Seasoning 
-1T mined garlic 
-2 cups carrots sliced/chopped 
-1 cup tomatoes diced 
-1 cup plain tomato sauce 
-3/4 cup 1%/part skim ricotta cheese 
-10oz dry whole wheat/grain pasta 
-2/3 cup mozzarella cheese 

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375.  In a large sauce pan add ground beef and cook until browned.  Pour cooked beef into a dish.  Save some of the fat from the meat in the pan to use to cook with.

2) Before you prepare sauce, cook pasta.  In a large pot, add 6-8 cups water and bring to a boil.  Cook pasta according to directions on box.  Drain and set aside.   

3) While pasta is cooking, create sauce.  In the pan with some of the beef fat add garlic, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and carrots and sauté for about 10 minutes or until softened.  Add diced tomatoes.  Add tomato sauces and seasonings.  Let simmer for about 10 minutes.  

4)Add ricotta cheese, stir in slowly.  Add cooked beef, stir.  Add 1/2 mozzarella cheese and stir.  

5) Spray a large casserole dish (9x13) with cooking spray.  Add the pasta mixture to the dish.  Sprinkle other 1/2 mozzarella on top of pasta mixture.  Bake for 15-20 minutes to melt cheese.  Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and/or basil if desired.

If you are following the Insanity Max 30, 21 Day Fix or CIZE Nutrition Plan this dish makes 4 servings. One serving would be 1 Red, 3/4 Green, 1/2 Blue, 1.5 Yellow and 1/4 Purple 

Never heard of the above nutrition plans and want to learn more about clean, portion controlled eating and daily exercise check it out here: More info

For MORE recipes like this follow me on Facebook and learn more about my story here <3

INSANITY MAX: MONTH 1 TRANSFORMATION

I'm so excited to share with you the newest Shaun T fitness program and MY MONTH 1 RESULTS!  Today I want to talk about MONTH 1 of the program and what to expect! 

If you don't know who Shaun T is, he is the creator of Hip Hop Abs, Rockin Body, Insanity, Insanity the Asylum, T25 and now Insanity Max30.  He has been creating amazing fitness programs that truly work and get you the results you are looking for!  I started my journey with Insanity almost 3 years ago after my 2nd child but before my 3rd.  I fell in LOVE with Shaun T and have been addicted ever since! 

So, what is Insanity Max 30?  It is a program that combines cardio and strength moves without using any equipment at all.  There are 150 new moves to help you dig a little deeper and get your body in the very best shape of your life!!!  No, there are no weights!  I promise you won't need any!  

The program is 60 days long and is broken down into month 1 and month 2.  The workouts are all 30 minutes each with a 10 minute ab workout.  The idea of this program is not to make it through the entire 30 minutes, but to "MAX OUT" and go as hard as you can until you have to take a break!  It's important to understand that maxing out is not a bad thing.  On of the ways you will track your daily progress is with your Max Out time!  Each time you repeat an exercise you should do your best to increase your MAX OUT time.

Who is Insanity Max30 created for?  It is for anyone that is a fitness beginner who wants to jump start their journey with an insane workout, (it does have a modifier the entire workout) a T25 graduate ready for a harder challenge, or an Insanity grad looking to take it to the next level!  It can be for, but not limited to Spartan Racers, Adventure Races, marathon runners, any ATHLETE!  But, don't get me wrong, it's not only about your physical fitness.  It's also VERY MENTAL!  Anyone can do insanity max 30, you just have to WANT IT!  You have to be willing to PUSH IT each day and DIG DEEPER!!  I'm not saying it's easy, but I am saying its worth it!

I just completed MONTH 1!  The workouts in month 1 are a combination of cardio and tabata style strength workouts!  If you have never heard of tabata style, it is 20 seconds of work on and 10 seconds of work off.

To Max Out means to stop or fail for the first time in the workout.  When you start the workout you continue with each move and DO NOT take a break.  If you have to stop and catch your breath, or take a break, THAT'S A MAX OUT!  The whole idea is to go AS HARD as you can for AS LONG as you can, till you MAX OUT.  Once you MAX OUT you write down the time, take a break, maybe grab some water and get right back into it!

MONTH 1 workouts:

Cardio Challenge:  This workout serves as your FIT TEST and your introduction to the program. All cardio with 4 1/2 minute interval 30 second rest.

Tabata Power:  Your strength training starts here with 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off" workout structure.  It is plyometrics focused.  

Sweat Intervals:  Cardio intervals that have you sweating!

Tabata Strength: This workout starts Week 3 and it takes it up a notch.  There very little rest, with 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off.  

Friday Fight: ROUND 1: You've been preparing all week and now it's time for the FRIDAY FIGHT!  This workout will be a battle between your mind and your body!

This program is 5 days with an optional Pulse workout for Saturday.  Plus is an 20 minute active recovery workout, low impact, combo of stretching and small pulsing movements.  

So what were my MONTH 1 RESULTS LIKE..........

I LOST 5 pounds AND 3.5 inches!!!  I lost more inches in other areas but gained in some, adding a 1/4 inch to each arm of muscle!  Each week I felt stronger and faster!  I could feel my body changing!  I'm super excited about my results and cannot wait for MONTH 2!

For more info about my transformation follow me daily on facebook at: HEALTHY LIFE WITH 3 or on Instagram at: healthy_mom_of_3

So what is this whole coaching thing??

I have been getting a lot of questions lately about Beachbody Coaching! How did I get started? What is a Challenge Group? How can I help others without being a sales person? How much time does it take? Does it cost money to sign up?

OR maybe you've tried Beachbody products such as P90x, Insanity or Shakeology through an infomercial or Amazon but never knew that you could get a discount on these products!!

So, to help answer all of these questions, my team and I have put together a 5 day SNEAK PEAK into Beachbody Coaching! This will be a closed private Facebook group where we will cover a few common concerns, questions and topics about coaching.

If you have any interest please message me or comment below to join the sneak peak group starting Monday January 26th!!!

**No purchase or obligations***