Lemon Thyme Pork Chops

I am always trying to find some quick healthy meals for during the week. This one is super easy and was on the table within 30 minutes!

Lemon Thyme Pork Chops

Ingredients:
Juice from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 cloves of garlic minced
3 - 4 pork chops
1 cup vegetables *I used mushrooms and peppers

Combine lemon juice, olive oil, and thyme in a bowl. Dip pork chops in the mixture until coated. Set aside.

Pour what is left in the bowl into a pan. Add the vegetables, 4 cloves of garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook the vegetables until slightly tender and add the pork chops.

Cook until pork chops reach 145 degrees. Serves 4.

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How I Control My Curly Hair

As a woman with curly hair, I have always struggled trying to control my frizzy curls. For years, I have asked almost every curly haired person what she uses on her hair. No matter what I tried, I could never find something that worked for me. After years of trying different routines, I have finally found a routine that works for me! I hope that these tips will help you!

First, I only wash my hair with shampoo 2 or 3 times a month. Instead, I now use cleansing conditioner. I really did not like the idea of not using shampoo, as I felt that my hair wouldn't be clean. I was worried for nothing though, as my hair has never felt better!

I never brush or comb my hair when it is dry (I actually don't even own a hair brush). Instead I keep a wide tooth comb in the shower and comb the cleansing conditioner through it. I make sure that I put the cleansing conditioner in my hair first thing. That way my hair has time to soak up the moisture.

I have learned that every minute I wait to dry my hair, the more frizz I get. So, as soon as I get out of the shower I dry my hair with a 100% cotton t-shirt. I have found that a t-shirt works so much better than a towel with controlling frizz.

I then put in leave in conditioner, curl defining cream, and mousse. The best products I have found are pictured below. I have always hated spending a lot of money on my hair, and I have found that the Renpure products and Suave are some of my favorites. The Renpure Coconut Creme Cowash, Coconut Whipped Creme Leave-in Conditioner, and the Coconut Creme Curl Defining Creme are all around $6 or $7. The Suave Flexible Control Curl Mousse is under $4.

I let my hair air dry and I'm done! It's a super quick process, and I love how my curls turn out! Every once in a while I will get the Pravana Smoothing Treatment done at the salon. It is supposed to last 8 to 12 weeks, but I feel like it lasts so much longer. After the first time I noticed a big difference, so I only get it done once or twice a year.

After hating my curly hair for years, I finally have learned to love them! I hope that you can learn to embrace your curls and rock that gorgeous hair!

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Spinach Mushroom Feta Eggs

One of the easiest meals to make on the 21 Day Fix is eggs. I love eggs and it is a nice change of pace to have breakfast food for dinner.

One of my favorite omelets to make is a spinach mushroom feta omelet. Or if you are like me, sometimes it ends up just being scrambled eggs. Sometimes I just can't seem to flip the eggs!

What do you need for the omelet:

1 cup Fresh Spinach
1 cup Sliced Mushroom
6 Eggs
1 tbsp Olive Oil
4 tbsp Feta Cheese
Splash of milk (organic or almond)
Spices to taste

Turn the stove on medium/low. Heat the olive oil and add the mushrooms.

As the mushroom are cooking, combine the eggs, milk, cheese, and spices in a bowl and mix. I like a little spice to my eggs, so I normally use red pepper flakes and garlic and herb seasoning.

When the mushrooms are just about done, add the spinach to the pan. Once it has cooked down, add the egg mixture. Once the eggs start to cook around the edges and on top, flip to finish the omelet. Don't worry if you can't get it to flip right the first time. You can always turn them into scrambled eggs!

Following the 21 Day Fix, this would be:
1/2 green, 1 red, 1 tsp oil, and 1/2 blue

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Tasty Tuesday - Tomato Cucumber Feta Salad

I made a super easy Tomato Cucumber Feta Salad the other day. The best part is...it is 21 Day Fix approved!

What you need:

2 1/4 cups cucumber - quartered

1 3/4 cups grape tomatoes - cut into halves

1/3 cup red onion minced

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup fresh basil

Jane's Krazy Mixed Up Seasoning Salt and Pepper to Taste

4 tbsp feta cheese

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 4 servings and counts as 1 green,  1/4 blue, and 1/3 tsp in the 21 Day Fix meal plan.

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Food Prep - What to prep in 20 minutes or less

I often get asked what I prep for my food prep for the week. It can be confusing and time consuming. So, what do you prep when you are short on time? Breakfast, lunch, and snacks should all be prepped for the next 3 days to set you up for success. So, if you are short on time, what can you do? Here are some quick food prep options:

Hard boiled eggs - These take 20 minutes or less and it is easy clean up. The best part is, you don't have to spend the 20 minutes cooking. You can spend the 20 minutes prepping the rest of your snacks/meals. I personally use these as a snack, but these can be utilized as a breakfast or as part of your lunch.

Veggies and hummus - buy veggies that you don't need to cut. I buy baby carrots, mushrooms, and grape tomatoes. I can just grab these and dip them in some hummus. If you want more variety, you can get the mix at Sam's Club or Costco that has cut broccoli, cauliflower, and baby carrots. No need to cut, just put the veggies and hummus in serving size containers.

Salad - Buy organic spring mix from Sam's Club or Aldi, some spinach, and some cherry/grape tomatoes. The spring mix and spinach is normally pre-washed, so you would only have to wash the tomatoes. I normally just throw it in a bowl to make a salad. If you have an egg slicer, you can use some of the hard boiled eggs to add some protein to the salad. Another easy thing to add to salads is tuna fish. All you need to do is open the can and add it to the salad.

Fruit and Cottage Cheese/Greek Yogurt - Blueberries and blackberries are options that don't need cut that you can add to either cottage cheese or greek yogurt. Another good thing to keep on hand is frozen fruit. I usually have frozen sliced strawberries. If I take them out in the morning, they are thawed by lunch time.

Personally, I drink Shakeology every morning for breakfast. That guarantees that I always have a healthy meal that I never have to prep!

Even if you don't prep your food for dinner, at least PLAN what you are going to make at least 1 day in advance. That way you know all of the ingredients that you need for the next day. If you are in a pinch for dinner, my go to is baked chicken, brown rice, and either salad or a frozen vegetable.

I hope you find these tips helpful when you are prepping your meals for the week. Remember, if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail!

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Easy Chicken Bowl Recipe - Think Chipotle, but healthier!

I don't know about you, but I love Chipotle chicken bowls. However, with all the things that you can add to it, it can become an unhealthy option very quickly. So, I decided to make my own, and I have to say it was amazing.

There are two steps to the recipe.

The first step is salsa chicken in your crock pot:

Ingredients:
8 Chicken Thighs - I used bone in but removed the skin
1 3/4 cups salsa
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup cilantro

Add the chicken thighs with salt and pepper into the crock pot. Then add the salsa, the garlic powder, 3/4 tsp cumin, and the 1/4 cup cilantro. Cook on low for 4 hours. Remove the chicken and put on a plate. Add the last 1/4 tsp of cumin to the liquid mixture, save 1 cup of the mixture and discard the rest. Shred the chicken and then add the 1 cup mixture back on top of the chicken. I cooked this the night before so I put it in a plastic container and heated it up in a sauce pan the next day. You can always just add it back to the crock pot and cook. It makes about 8 servings.

The next step is actually making the bowl. I added lettuce, the chicken mixture, a little bit of salsa, some cheese, so avocado, and some plain Greek yogurt (this is a great healthy substitute of sour cream), and some brown rice.

Super easy and 21 day fix approved. This equals:

Red - 1 1/4
Green - 1 1/2
Blue - 1/2

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21 Day Fix Extreme - Round 1 Final Results

I have finished round 1 of the 21 Day Fix Extreme. I definitely had some cheat days with my meals, but I kept at it with the workouts.

I think my results show that nutrition is 80% of the battle. I am feeling stronger, but I know I could have toned more. I just needed to follow the meal plan!

Overall, I lost 4 lbs and 5.5 inches. Round 2 starts next week with my next challenge group. This time, I am committed to following the nutrition plan 100%! 

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