What IS Shakeology??

   Alright so you might be thinking, what IS Shakeology? I mean, come on, i have an entire page heading dedicated to it, so you KNOW its special to me at least. Obviously I am about to tell you all the awesomeness that I have found in Shakeology over the past year, both from being a dedicated consumer of it as well as the research I have done on it. I of course researched it before i started drinking it everyday but throughout the year I still like to look up the new recipes and ingredients it has in it so i know what it can and is doing for me constantly.

Lets start with what Shakeology is NOT;

-A protein shake - although it does contain protein in it traditional protein shakes provide a single or double source of protein and little to no nutritional value after that
-full of chemical mixtures and concoctions that you cannot pronounce
-containing added sweeteners, preservatives or artificial flavours
-a generic over the counter magic solution

Ok, now, here is what Shakeology IS;

-a superfood nutrient dense shake made up of over 70 different nutrient rich foods that provide your entire days bodily requirement of nutrition in one simple glass a day.
-a meal replacement - although it can easily be drank as a snack it works out great as a daily meal replacement as well without having the after effects of being hungry after drinking one serving!
-fantastic for crushing your cravings into the ground, seriously, i havent wanted to get "chocolate wasted" in over a year. And thats a big deal for me, i have 2 toddlers, they love their junk food!
-perfect for weight loss, and no its not from any special chemical compound gimmick. Simple answer, when you have cravings its your body telling you its either addicted to something or your body needs something that item might have in it. Most cravings are not for the healthier option either, so if you give in you end up eating unhealthy food, thus most likely causing weight gain. Proper nutrition cuts off the cravings which cuts off the binge eating thus decreasing weight gain possibilities.

 

    And if you are anything like me and hate taking pills for anything ranging from medications to vitamins than Shakeology is an answer to a prayer.  Even my kids love drinking it! And all parents know its easier to get your kids to drink a smoothie or milkshake over swallowing pills!

Healthy Eating On A Budget!!

     Ready for some helpful tips on how you can eat like a rockstar without hemorrhaging money like one trying to support a bad drug habit?  I promise its possible, all you need is a budget and a plan!  Try these tips out and you may surprise yourself, its easier than you might think.

1. Grocery Lists: meet your new best friend. I know it can be so tempting when you walk into the store and there are some fun new snacks or fresh backed cookies. Although these fun new items sound healthy, they can ring up your shopping bill. So, make a list and if you have budged for a fun healthy treat then choose one (but plan and put it on your list in advance).  Winging it won't cut it. 

2. Buy Whole Foods: Unprocessed foods are cheaper and more nutritious than processed foods. They also give you total control over the ingredients. Avoid anything that comes from a box 90% of the time. 

• Proteins: Ground beef, frozen chicken breast, tuna cans, calves’ liver, cottage cheese, plain yogurt, eggs, milk, whey, … 
• Carbs: Pasta, rice, oats, potatoes, beans, apples, bananas, raisins, broccoli, spinach, cabbage, … 
• Fats: Olive oil, fish oil, flax seeds, real butter, mixed nuts, … 

3. Proteins = happy budget balancers:  Foods such as eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese and chicken are going to be your more budget friendly AND healthy proteins. Buy the Cheap Proteins. You need 1g protein per pound of body-weight per day to build and maintain muscle. Eating whole protein with each meal also helps fat loss as protein has a higher thermic effect than other foods.

4. Choose your fruits and veggies that are in season. If they are not, go with the frozen ones. I love buying frozen fruit!!

5. Buy Generic Food. And store brands. Raw foods like rice, pasta, eggs, milk, cottage cheese, frozen fruits/veggies, … taste like brand name foods once you get used to them. But they’ll save you money on packaging & advertising.

6. Avoid buying those little extras while you're out and about. You know the ones i am talking about!! That scone or “whole grain” looking muffin you are tempted to buy while you are at Starbucks getting your coffee. All these miscellaneous items add up!

7. Pack your snacks and meals! This will almost always be much cheaper and healthier. You wont be tempted and you will save $$$ in the long run.

8. Buy in Bulk. Especially when you have promos running. Foods like pasta, rice and oats are easy to stockpile. If they’re on sale, buy as much as you can afford & store to last you until the next sale.  There's also nothing wrong with buying that family sized package of chicken breasts regardless of if they expire two days or two weeks from when you buy them either.  (Check out my entry about portioning and meal prep for more into those as well.)

9. Get The Customer Card. Many grocery stores hold sales for customer card holders only. Some cards save AND give you money, like gift certificates once you’ve spent a fixed amount. Signing up takes 5 mins and is free.

10. Grow Your Own Food. Cheaper than frozen, tastes better and you control what you put on them to keep bugs off. Plant your own trees that grow berries, walnuts & apples. Buy chickens for free eggs & meat. More ideas: 

• Square-Foot Gardening. Build a raised bed and divide it into sections of 1 square foot. Check Mel Bartholomew’s site & book for how to’s. 
• Container Gardening. Grow vegetables in containers on your balcony or doorstep. Check this & this guides. 
• Rent Garden Plots. If you don’t have a yard, some cities rent garden plots. Just google rent garden plots in your state/province

Baked Chicken Wings

My husband loves salt and pepper chicken wings, and honestly, SO DO I!!  But we refuse to buy anything resembling a deep fryer just because they are messy, heavy, and they smell horrible if not cleaned out practically daily.  Plus deep frying food is probably the unhealthiest way to cook anything, ever.

Thus, my 4 ingredient baked chicken wings!!

Ingredients total: 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 25 Minutes

1 lb of chicken wings

Himalyan Salt, to taste

Black Pepper, to taste

Paprika, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, toss wings in salt, pepper and paprika before laying out on wire rack (which you want on top of a baking sheet to prevent drippings all over your oven)

Sprinkle a little extra salt and pepper over top of wings before putting in oven to cook for 25 minutes.

Now, these end up nice and crispy without being dried out because they arent sitting in their own drippings.  You can use just about any dry rub on these too. You can even marinade your wings overnight in a large ziploc first if you want to really saturate them with flavour, like hot wings for instance!!

They were so tasty!!

Hawaiian Chipotle Roast Chicken Dinner!!

Mmmmmm, ok so my husband and I are total food nerds.  We love food!! Which unfortunately for his metabolism does not equal a slim trim figure.  I still have a pretty good metabolism but still, looking good and feeling great are two very separate columns these days.

But I digress, for Christmas I won a shopping spree with a friend of mine who sells Steeped Tea and little did i know that Steeped Tea isn't ONLY Tea!!  They have hot chocolate and cheese ball mix and tons of dip mixes and dry rubs and stuff.  Sure they all have Tea IN them but ohmygosh my foodie heart just exploded when i was perusing the catalog.

One item we got was the Hawaiian Chipotle Topper, which has pineapple bits in it and actually smells really light.  Definitely a key ingredient.  Here's the recipe for the chicken;

Total Ingredients: 7 

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook Temp: 225 Celsius

Cook Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

1 Whole Thawed Chicken

1 clove garlic

2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

Rosemary (fresh is best)

Paprika

Hawaiian Chipotle Topper (from Steeped Tea)

Do the usual beginnings, you know, preheat the oven, chop your veggies etc.  Than sprinkle your paprika and rosemary on the chicken.  With the topper it does work like a salt and pepper grinder so you have to spend a minute or two grinding it out until you have as much or as little on your chicken as you want.  It is a very light taste so the stronger you want it the more i suggest using.  Using fresh pineapple to include with your veggies never hurt either if you like it really Hawaiian style.  (I couldn't do that cuz my husband doesn't share my pineapple obsession and it was his night to cook)  Add the coarsely chopped celery and onion around your chicken in the dish.  Cover in tinfoil, put in oven, set timer, and walk away!!

Chop Porks, like the kids say

As a parent to a threenager its a constant battle of "what do you want for dinner?" leading into "But i don't WANT dinner!!"  And if its my household than usually that little tiny tyrant really wants Pizza or Chocolate.  Mind you, wouldn't we all love to eat just junk food all the time?  Sadly no can do.

Tonight we made "Chop Porks" as my oldest daughter calls them.  I think she demanded them for dinner specifically because she liked saying Chop Pork over and over again.  Oh well, we were more than fine with it, after all, at least for once she wasn't having a meltdown over wanting pizza!!  We even managed to sneak some Red Quinoa on there and she only refused to eat most of it.  Total win in my books.

So here's the recipe for these awesome "Chop Porks"

Total Ingredients: 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 Min

2x medium pork chops (in our case we used 3 because our 2 kids shared one)
1 tbls Avocado Oil or Extra Virgin Olive oil
Seasoning salt (we got ours from Epicure)
Apple Bacon Rub*

Preheat oven to 325F, line a baking tray with tinfoil.  Rub the chops down with the oil than the salt & apple bacon rub.  Bake for 15 minutes than flip, bake for another 15 minutes than take out of the oven and let them rest for 5 minutes.

**Apple Bacon Rub, here is my little secret, i got it from Steeped Tea! Who knew they had meat seasonings?? Absolutely delicious, seriously, it was great!**

For the Quinoa all i did was throw some finely diced yellow onion and celery into the pot about 5 minutes before i had to fluff and serve.  Great way to sneak the veggies into my kids.  The Quinoa totally distracted them.

Can't wait to try out some other recipes!!