30 day update!

Crazy to think that it has already been 3 months

 since I decided making a lifestyle change had to happen.

It has been hard. I have cheated many times.

 I have also pushed myself harder than I knew I could. 

I still have a ways to go, but holy moly am I proud of how far I have come!! 

This was the day I started Piyo                   And today a month later 

In the last month I lost a combined all over 13 1/2 inches and 7 pounds.

And simply because I was curious and seeing the results really help me….

When I started                                          and today!

Total down so far 35 pounds!!! 

Clean eating more than not and lots of pushing myself and working out at least 5 days a week.

On that note I am about to do PIYO: Core!

Oh, if I can do it. YOU CAN!!! 

Shine on Lovlies,

Ashley M

Clean Baked Chicken Fajita's

Finding recipes that are quick and easy have always been a favorite of mine. 

So finding one that is clean, fast and easy is even better!!! 

Plus it was a hit with my boys which is awesome sauce =) 

Ingredients: 
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into strips
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1 (15 ounce) can diced organic tomatoes-no salt added
1 small can diced green chiles
1 medium onion- sliced
1 large bell pepper, seeded and sliced (I used green since that is what I had at home

Directions: 
Preheat Oven to 400 degrees
Slice chicken and veggies into strips
Place chicken in 13x9 baking dish
In a small bowl place olive oil, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, dried oregano and salt
Drizzle the spice mixture over the chicken and stir to coat.
Mix diced tomatoes and green chiles in a bowl. ( Don't drain)
Next add the tomatoes, peppers and onions to the dish and stir to mix.
Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes until chicken is cooked through and veggies are tender.

If you would like serve on whole wheat tortilla's with plain greek yogurt (as sour cream substitute) and with mashed avocado!

There you have it. A yummy, healthy meal that the whole family will love! 

Ashley M.

Clean Stuffed Peppers

Clean eating has been going great with just a few hiccups. And for the most part it is becoming second nature and must easier. Don't get me wrong it is still a daily struggle but making new recipes and trying new things have become a fun challenge! I love bell peppers and I haven't made stuffed peppers in awhile so I thought I would clean up the recipe I have used before.

Clean Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

• 6 Bell Peppers
• 1 1/2 Pounds Ground Turkey
• 3 15 Ounce Cans Organic Tomato Paste
• 2 Cans Organic Diced Tomatoes
• 2 Cups Brown Rice 
• 1/2 Red Onion
• 1/2 Cup Chicken or Veggie Broth
• 1 Teaspoon Onion Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Chili Powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cook brown rice according to the instructions.
3. Slice the tops of peppers off and remove cores. Set aside the tops.
4. Place your peppers in a baking dish (with a lid if you have one. Don't panic if you don't have one.) Make sure dish is small enough so the peppers will snuggly stand upright.
5. Pour 2 of the 3 cans of sauce into the bottom to the pot so that your peppers will sit into the sauce. 
6. Remove the seed from the pepper tops and chop up the top of the peppers, as well as the onion.
7. Put your veggies and diced tomatoes into a pan with the olive oil and sauté until they are nice and soft, Add the cooked rice to the veggie mixture.
8. Place cooked veggies in a large bowl and set to the side.
9. Using the same pan you cooked your veggies in, cook your ground turkey with the broth. Add spices to your meat.
10. In the last 3 to 5 minutes of cooking add the veggie and rice mixture to the meat.
11. Return entire mixture mixture to the large mixing bowl. Add last can of tomato sauce. Stir well.
12. Fill you peppers with the meat mixture.
13. Cover with lid. If you don't have one cover with tin foil. 
14. Bake for about an hour or until your peppers are very soft. 
15. Cool and serve with a little sauce on top! 

This turned out so good and were a hit with everyone even my toddlers! 

 Hope you guys enjoy!! 

Shine On Lovelies,

Ashley M

Clean Eating Meal Prep

For me meal prep is the number one things for me to succeed! 

Each week on either Sunday or Monday evening I set aside a hour or so and prep my meals for the week. This has been a huge part of me sticking with it. 

I mainly just prep for breakfast and dinner since I am running out the door to work 

in the morning and need something to eat while there.

 Dinners are easier for me to prepare on the spot since I am home at night. 

First,  I start by making a large batch of uncut steel oats. 

In the morning all I have to do is a little almond milk,  raw honey or cinnamon 

and I like to add fruit to it as well.

 I portion this out into wide mouth pint jars so that i can just take it with me and eat it from the jar. 

1/2 Cup Uncut Steel oats cooked and ready to be reheated! 

Then I make a big batch of brown rice. I make enough to portion out for 6 days and have a little left over for home that I will have for dinner as well. I add about a 1/2 a cup  into my lunch container. 

I grill six chicken breast. I portion them out into my lunch and then it 

leaves me with some for at the house as well. 

 The ones I use are large so about half is good for my lunch! 

This is the chicken I use and I buy it frozen from Walmart

Then I steam 2 to 3 different veggies so I don't get burnt out eating the same thing. 

I put the brown rice on the bottom and chicken and veggies on top.

While prepping I also cut up veggies and fruit so that they are easy for me to grab. 

This way when I want a snack or for me to make a smoothie if I am in a hurry.

 I try not to let to long go in between meals and snacks or I start craving things I don't need! 

I also cut up veggies to throw into egg whites or in with the brown rice to make a veggie bowl. 

Cutting up fruits and veggies for the week!

Some of my go to meals are:

 Grilled Salmon with veggies.

Spinach Salad with veggies, fruit and an organic vinaigrette.

Veggie Brown rice bowls and I add chicken sometimes.

Grilled Chicken with veggies.

Veggies on the grill with grilled pineapple.

Rarely, but sometime Grilled Turkey Sausage.

Stuffed Bell peppers with brown rice and ground turkey.

Some Go To Snacks:

Greek Yogurt with fruit and healthy granola.

Apple with natural peanut butter.

Banana with raw honey. 

Smoothie if I am really hungry or to follow up a hard workout.

A cup of fruit with Almonds.

This is just some of what I do and I will be sharing some clean recipes and new things I try as well! 

Try to take the time to prepare your meals before hand. 

It helps me when I am in a hurry as well as with my mindset before the week has even begun. 

Oh and because I am SUPER EXCITED! I have lost 19.5 pounds!! Still a lot more to go, but I am looking forward to it and the Journey ahead of me. 

Shine on Lovelies,

Ashley M.

Getting less squishy!

Today was a good day for me as far as my eating goes. I only ate clean. No temptations or wants of anything else. Getting myself in the mindset to workout tonight took some persuading! I did it. 

I pushed myself hard and I am so glad I did. I am seeing changes, feeling better and loving it! 

Mind you I know I still have a long way to go until I am at my goal. 

This is a start though and I couldn't be prouder of myself. 

If you look really close you can see that I am less squishy than a week ago! =)

I have had a lot of people ask me what I am doing? How am I losing weight? Let me first say A LOT of soul searching. Getting pass the food itself and focusing on why I turn to it. Once I made my mind up I knew I wanted to change my lifestyle, not just do a quick diet and gain it all back in a year or so. For me to do that I knew I had to cut all the crap and crud I was putting in my mouth multiple times a day. So NO sugar, NO fast food, NO soda's, NO processed foods! The things I just listed were pretty much all I ate. Take all of that out and what do you do? Start fresh. Eat CLEAN!  My sister and a few other people I know have been eating clean for awhile. As I began to research it and look into it I knew that it was something I could do with a little work and a lot of preparation. Prep is key with clean eating for me. Having things ready to go, so I can just grab when I get hungry. Or when I am so busy with the kids I don't have time to make something healthy. With my research I found an awesome blog that has some great grocery list that you can just print off. 

Check out: http://rebeldietitian.us/eat-clean/grocery-lists/. 

Then I started a clean eating board on Pinterest. 

You can find my board here: http://www.pinterest.com/avmcgowan/clean-eating/. 

Each week on either Sunday or Monday night I prep my food for the whole week. 

For Breakfast:

I make a large batch of steel cut oatmeal and put it into pint size jars so I can grab and warm up and go. I put 1/2 a cup in the jar and I add a little almond milk when I go to warm it up. Also, I put raw honey, cinnamon, and apple or banana in it.  

If I want something different I will portion out fat free vanilla greek yogurt and add healthy granola I got from a local health food store. 

Days I am running behind I will throw frozen fruit, spinach, almond milk and fat free greek yogurt if I have it into the blender. 

Snacks: 

I keep carrots cut up, apples with natural peanut, banana with a little raw honey. 

Lunch:

I grill a whole package of the hormone free frozen chicken.

Cook a big batch of brown rice and steam healthy green veggies.

Then I will portion it out into tupperware for the week. I switch up the veggies each day. 

Some days I will just make a spinach salad and add tomato, onion, strawberries, cucumber. 

Snack: 

I do one of the above listed in between lunch and dinner. 

Dinner: 

I will do fish or chicken with a veggie most nights. 

Sometimes I will make a burrito type bowl and add brown rice, black beans, chicken, onion, green pepper. 

Or if I am in the mood I will do egg whites and make a veggie omelet. 

So far these have been my go to items and if I cut everything up and get it portioned out each week then it helps a ton!!! Trust me when I say if I can do tho you can. 

First, be ready and have it in your mind that you can do this! Take pictures so you can see the process. It's hard to see yourself, but it does help. Find a friend or someone that can help hold you accountable, so that when you are having a bad day you can message them and they can give you that extra push that you may not have been able to muster. Most importantly believe in yourself! 

Know that you are strong enough and you can do it!!!

If you want more meal pictures or would like to follow my journey more closely you can find me on Instagram as ANMCGOWAN! 

Shine on Lovelies! 

Ashley