NAKED ENCHILADAS

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1 onion
• 2 red peppers
• 5 mushrooms
• 1 jalapeno
• 2 -3 chicken breast 
• Sea salt (optional)
• 1 can black beans
• 2-3 large kale leaves
• sour cream (optional)
• cooked brown rice (optional)
• avocado (optional)

Saute in olive oil over medium heat:

1 onion
2 red peppers
5 mushrooms
1 diced jalapeno pepper


Once ingredients are soft (about 10 minutes) add in:

2 cubed chicken breasts and sprinkle lightly with sea salt (optional)
Stir occasionally until chicken is cooked through

Once chicken is cooked (about 10 minutes) add in:

2-3 chopped large kale leaves
1 can of black beans - drained
1 packet of enchilada sauce (our favorite Fronterra Red Chile Enchilada Sauce)
Stir gently and let simmer for a couple minutes to heat up final ingredients

Top with a scoop of sour cream

Serve with brown rice and avocado

CHOOSE UP

Something that everyone can do daily is "choose up."  What does choose up mean?  It means always looking for a healthier option.  You don't have to be perfect, but look at what you would normally choose and try to choose one step closer to healthy.

Some examples of choosing up are:

• Riding your bike instead of driving to the store
• Drinking water instead of juice or soda
• Making turkey burgers on whole wheat buns instead of grabbing a burger
• Eating fruit instead of desert to satisfy a sweet craving
• Buying food with whole, real ingredients instead of crap
• Going to the gym instead of watching TV
• Giving up a spa day  to pay for an appointment with a personal trainer or nutrition coach 
• Sweet potato fries instead of french fries
• Eating half of the brownie 
• Buying whole wheat bread
• Eating fish instead of steak
• Eating real oatmeal instead of boxed cereal
• Gelato instead of ice cream
• Buying real peanut butter instead of Jif

Okay, you get the idea.  I realize that there are times when choosing up may be the chicken burger with fries instead of the bacon burger with fries.  You still need to give yourself credit for choosing up. 

A million small choices will make a huge impact on your life and on your health.

PRE OR POST WORKOUT MEAL

This is our current favorite pre or post workout meal (sometimes we do it for both).  The white bagel works only when you are within the window before or after a workout - any other time we use whole wheat bagels.

Toast bagel
Light layer of cream cheese
1 egg - we like over easy
Avocado
Drizzle with sriracha (spicy sauce)


**Jake eats the entire bagel, but if you are not a large male then you are probably good with half

WHY WEIGHT ON THE SCALE DOES NOT MATTER

124 lbs

140 lbs

124 lbs

140 lbs

I fretted every minute of the day if the scale said more than 124.  That was MY weight, that was what I had been for years and I found comfort in that number.  I always believed that if I could just get down to 115 that I would look toned and reach my ideal body shape.  If someone had told me I needed to gain weight to reach my ideal, I would've pretended to listen while silently thinking how ridiculous they were.

Fast forward years and kids and many little micro lifetimes lived and I am here.  Exactly where I believe in my heart I am supposed to be.

I weigh 140+ pounds now.  I still stress knowing this is what I weighed 9 months pregnant, but I know that I am strong and powerful and I love and respect my body.  I did have to get rid of some jeans.  I have an ass now and I love it - so instead of getting pissed that I couldn't zip my old jeans, I went and bought new ones that accentuate the butt I worked so hard for. 

What I have learned:

• Throw out your scale - IT IS DOING NOTHING POSITIVE FOR YOU
• Eat clean all the time
• If you must indulge do it with whole, real food and then move on 
• Drink more water
• Work out hard enough that you repeatedly feel like you are not going to make it through the workout
• SWEAT
• Find a trainer - it is worth every penny
• Do squats - they build your butt - the heavier the better
• When your jeans don't fit - get rid of them and know that getting bigger can be a good thing :)
• Eat small, balanced meals throughout the day
• Prepare your food in advance so you have healthy meals you can prepare in a pinch
• Experiment with your diet until your body tells you, "I love the way I feel"
• Expect that you will have to modify your diet occasionally to keep feeling great
• Don't compare yourself to others - all bodies are unique and what you may have to work REALLY hard for might come easier to someone else (this goes both ways)
• Love and respect your body - treat it with care and compassion 

*The results above were achieved working out with a trainer 2X a week for two year.  Yes, it cost A LOT of money and it was worth it.  Want to read about it  click here to read my blog about why I think great trainers are worth every penny.