Fix Approved Shrimp Chowder

Servings: 5

21 Day Fix Container Equivalents:

• 1 green (cauliflower, onion)
• 1 red (shrimp, bacon, yogurt)
• 1/2 yellow (corn, almond milk)
• 1/2 blue (cheese)

 Ingredients:

• 2 heads of cauliflower
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 cup frozen sweet corn
• 3 cups cooked, peeled shrimp
• 2 slices cooked turkey bacon

Directions:

1. Place cauliflower, garlic, onion, and chicken broth in slow cooker for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low
2. Remove cauliflower and blend in blender until smooth, put back into slow cooker
3. Put corn in microwave safe dish, add 1 tbsp water, and microwave for 1.5 min or until warm
4. Add corn, yogurt, cheese, milk, and shrimp to slow cooker until warm through
5. Serve soup and top with turkey bacon crumbles

Nutritional Information: Calories 320, Fat 10 g, Cholesterol 24.2 mg, Sodium 98.7 mg, Potassium 1388.5 mg, Carbs 26.9 g, Protein 35.3 g, Vitamin A 10.0%, Vitamin C 270.6%, Calcium 34.8%, Iron 19.8%

If you have any questions about 21 Day Fix, I would love to answer them. Feel free to contact me in the comments below. Check out my story here.

21 Day Fix Approved Sweet Potato Crusted Quiche

My husband found an idea online where someone had had made quiche crust using sweet potatoes and asked if we could try it. The result was super flavorful and definitely my new favorite way to make quiche!

  
Servings: 4

21 Day Fix Container Equivalents: 

• 1/2 yellow (sweet potato)
• 1 red (eggs and turkey bacon)
• 1 green (spinach, onion, mushrooms, peppers)
• 1/2 blue (cheddar cheese)
• 1 teaspoon (olive oil)

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet potato
• Cooking spray (preferably olive oil)
• Olive oil
• 2/3 cup chopped onion
• 2/3 cup chopped bell pepper
• 2/3 cup chopped mushrooms
• 2 cups spinach
• 6 eggs
• 4 slices turkey bacon, cooked and crumpled
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Spray pie pan with cooking spray
3. Cut sweet potato into ~1/8 in slivers (I used a spiralizer)
4. Cover bottom and sides of pan with sweet potato slices (see picture below)
5. Spray lightly with cooking spray 
6. Bake for 15 minutes
7. Lower temperature to 350 degrees
8. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in skillet over medium heat
9. Add onions, peppers, and mushrooms
10. Cook and stir until unions are translucent
11. Add spinach
12. Cook and stir until spinach has wilted
13. Remove from heat
14. Beat eggs in medium bowl
15. Mix cheese into egg mixture
16. Mix vegetables and bacon into egg mixture
17. Pour egg mixture into crust
18. Bake for 35 minute or until egg mixture is firm and browned

  

Nutritional Information: Calories 295, Fat 20 g, Cholesterol 344.1 mg, Sodium 524.8 mg, Potassium 471 mg, Carbs 11.7 g, Protein 17.3 g, Vitamin A 133.6%, Vitamin C 30.1%, Calcium 20.5%, Iron 11.4%

If you have any questions about 21 Day Fix, I would love to answer them. Feel free to contact me in the comments below. Check out my story here.

Clean Mini Pumpkin Pie

I’ve been craving pumpkin pie lately.  I really have a thing for pumpkin pie.  Before I started eating clean, I picked up the individual servings of pumpkin pie almost every time I went to the grocery store!  I tried some of the clean pumpkin pie recipes I found online, but they just weren’t cutting.  I played with a recipe this weekend until I got it just the way I wanted.  These babies only have 71 calories!

Servings: 16

21 Day Fix Container Equivalents:  1 Yellow (I’m counting these as a yellow treat.  They actually have a very small fraction of purple, yellow, blue, red, and tsp.  Their container count isn’t clear.)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 can pumpkin puree
• 12 oz unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp Baking Truvia Blend
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 2 eggs
• 16 pecan halves for garnish

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Prepare 16 muffin cups with silicone liners or spray with cooking spray
3. Place oats and 1/2 tsp of salt in food processor and pulse until oats become a flour-like consistency
4. Add butter to food processor and pulse until butter and oats have mixed into a dough
5. Press approximately 1 tbsp of dough into the bottom of each muffin cup
6. Mix pumpkin, almond milk, Truvia, pumpkin pie spice, eggs, and remaining salt until well blended
7. Pour mixture on top of dough
8. Place a pecan half on top of each mini pie
9. Bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle of mini pie comes out clean

Nutritional Information: Calories 71, Fat 4.7 g, Cholesterol 34.1 mg, Sodium 192 mg, Potassium 13.9 mg, Carbs 6.2 g, Protein 1.7 g, Vitamin A 3.3%, Vitamin C 0.1%, Calcium 4.8%, Iron 2.1%

If you have any questions about 21 Day Fix, I would love to answer them. Feel free to contact me in the comments below. Check out my story here.

Fix Approved Turkey Quinoa Frittata

This dish is great because you can make the frittata “filling” ahead of time and then quickly finish the rest of the frittata later. (This is great for quick morning meals!)

Servings: 6

21 Day Fix Container Equivalents:  1/2 green, 1/2 yellow, 1 red, 1/2 blue, 1/2 teaspoon

Filling Ingrediants:

• 2 chopped bell peppers
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 chopped onion
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 3/4 lb ground turkey
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup organic tomato sauce
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1/2 corn kernels
• 1/2 cup Montery jack cheese

Frittata Ingredients:

• Frittata filling
• 6 large eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup Montery jack cheese
• 1 tbsp Rosemary

Filling Instructions:

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat
2. Add onions and peppers, stir and cook until onions are translucent
3. Add garlic and cook for one minute
4. Add turkey, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper; cook until turkey is no longer pink
5. Add tomato sauce, quinoa, and corn; cook until heated through
6. Store filling in refrigerator or freezer in airtight container until ready to make frittata

Frittata Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to broil
2. Heat oil in cast iron skillet over medium heat
3. Beat eggs
4. Add Parmesan cheese, salt, and filling to egg mixture and stir
5. Pour mixture in skillet
6. Cook stirring frequently with rubber spatula until egg mixture has begun to set up, about 5 minutes
7. Sprinkle Montery Jack cheese and rosemary on top of egg mixture
8. Place skillet in oven and broil for 3-4 minutes or until browned

Nutritional Information: Calories 319, Fat 17.2g, Cholesterol 269 mg, Sodium 554 mg, Potassium 303 mg, Carbs 14.5 g, Protein 25.1 g, Vitamin A 14.3%, Vitamin C 46%, Calcium 15.4%, Iron 14.2%

If you have any questions about 21 Day Fix, I would love to answer them. Feel free to contact me in the comments below. Check out my story here.

Fix Approved Carrot Cake Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling (Gluten Free)

My husband loves carrot cake, and I wanted to try to make a clean version.  A typical carrot cake is loaded with fat and calories.  It seemed like I ought to be able to make it healthy.  Carrot cake has a ton of carrots in it after all!  In the 21 Day Fix Fixate cookbook, there is recipe for a pumpkin muffin with cream cheese filling.  I realized that I could use the same concept for a carrot cake muffin.  These turned out so good!  (With only 84 calories per muffin!)

Servings:  5 (2 muffins per serving)

Muffin Ingredients:

• 1 cup old-fashioned oats (make sure the container says gluten-free)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup baking stevia or 3 tablespoons stevia
• 1/4 cup brown sugar baking Truvia
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups of carrots
• 20 pecan halves

Muffin Filling:

• 2 oz fat free cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

21 Day Fix Containers (per single serving):

• 1/2 yellow
• 1/2 green
• 1/2 blue
• 1/2 teaspoon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Prepare muffin tins with cooking spray, paper cups, or silicon cups
3. Put all filling ingredients in a small bowl and whip with fork until blended, set aside
4. Put all muffin ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth
5. Fill 10 muffin cups halfway with muffin batter
6. Spoon one teaspoon of cream cheese mixture in center of each muffin cup
7. Spoon remainder of batter evenly over each muffin cup
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean!

Nutritional Information:  Calories 168, Fat 5 g, Cholesterol 84.4 mg, Sodium 406 mg, Potassium 166 mg, Carbs 36.6 g, Protein 6.6 g, Vitamin A 53.2%, Vitamin C 4.6%, Calcium 5.6%, Iron 8.2%

If you have any questions about 21 Day Fix, I would love to answer them.  Feel free to contact me in the comments below.  Check out my story here.

Fix Approved Bacon and Cheese Crockpot Quiche

By far my most popular post on my blog has been Bacon and Cheese Crockpot Quiche.  The meal is delicious and I decided to update the recipe so it was 21 Day Fix approved. The changes greatly reduced the calories and fat while maintaining the great flavor!

Servings:  8 (I like to half the recipe and make it in my mini crockpot.)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 10 eggs
• 1/2 cup of 0% Plain Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk
• 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
• 6 pieces of turkey bacon
• 2 cups of torn fresh baby spinach (about 4 cups loosely packed whole leaves)
• 1 1/2 cup of chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cup of multi-colored bell peppers
• 1 cup of sliced mushrooms

21 Day Fix Containers (per single serving):

• 1 red (eggs, bacon, yogurt)
• 1 green (onions, peppers, mushrooms)
• 1/2 blue (cheese)

Directions:

1. Grease the crock pot with the butter.  Turn the crock pot on low and leave the remaining butter in the bottom.  It will melt while you are preparing the other ingredients.
2. Cook the bacon.  I cook the bacon in the microwave while I am preparing the other ingredients.  Feel free to cook it any way you want.
3. Cut the stems off of the spinach and tear the spinach into about 1/2 inch pieces.  I tear the pieces into a measuring cup.
4. Chop the onion, peppers, and mushrooms (or buy pre-chopped).
5. Beat the eggs in a large bowl.  Whisk in the yogurt, almond milk, cheese, pepper, spinach, onion, peppers, and mushrooms.
6. Pour the mixture into the crock pot.
7. Tear the bacon into approximately 1/2 inch pieces and top the mixture with bacon.
8. Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or on high for 2.5 to 3 hours.  The quiche is ready to eat when it is firm to the touch.

Nutritional Information:  Calories 249, Fat 17.9 g, Cholesterol 305 mg, Sodium 393 mg, Potassium 283 mg, Carbs 2.6 g, Protein 19 g, Vitamin A 28.6%, Vitamin C 15.4%, Calcium 27.8%, Iron 10.3%

If you have any questions about 21 Day Fix, I would love to answer them.  Feel free to contact me in the comments below.  Check out my story here.

21 Day Fix Transformation Story

Since I’ve started the 21 Day Fix program several people have asked me why I’m on a diet if I’m not fat.  That’s because it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change.  And while I wasn’t fat, I certainly wasn’t healthy.

Before Beachbody

Before I started my Beachbody journey, I felt pretty good about how my body looked.  I was what most people would consider thin.  I could have been more toned, but I was thin.  However, the way my body felt was a completely different matter.  I was struggling with several. seemingly unrelated health problems.  I had three different digestive issues.  My lips had been painfully chapped for months and no balm or ointment gave any relief.  The skin all over my body was so dry it was flaking off similar to if I had been sunburned despite the fact that I put lotion on several times a day.  Also, despite sleeping upwards of nine hours a night, I was chronically fatigued.  Every evening I counted down the minutes to what I could convince myself was a reasonable bedtime, sometimes as early as 8 pm.

Why I Decided to Start Making Healthy Choices

What inspired me to change my eating and fitness habits was the idea of becoming pregnant.  (No.  I am not pregnant.)  A lot of our friends are having children and my husband and I began discussing children.  Before we even started going down that route, I knew that I had to make serious changes in my diet, and I was not exercising at all.  It never occurred to me that my health issues could be diet related.

Why I Chose the 21 Day Fix

For months I had been watching my high school friends post about the 21 Day Fix on Facebook.  With a PhD in engineering, I had a strong science background.  The fad diets in which one deprived oneself of certain nutrients never seemed like a logical way to become healthy.  The 21 Day Fix, however, made a lot of sense.  Eating balanced meals using the entire food pyramid and exercising at home for 30 minutes a day appealed to me.  When one of my friends invited me to a free five day sneak peak challenge, I was hooked!

I chose the 21 Day Fix program because it included a detailed nutrition and exercise program.  Because I was looking to improve in both areas, it was a great fit.  I had seen people I know transform and thrive on the program.  This meant much more to me than seeing a commercial on television.  I was very satisfied with my choice.  I found the nutrition plan to be very flexible.  I could make nutritious meals with proper portion sizes that both my husband and myself found delicious.  I could also exercise on my schedule in my own home whenever I had time, whether that was 4:30 am or right before I went to bed.  I found the exercise program to be challenging for a variety of fitness levels with various modifiers to make exercises easier or more difficult.  I felt that was important so that the workout can grow more challenging as the participant becomes stronger.

My Transformation

My results were not apparent from the scale alone.  I actually gained weight during the 21 day program!  However, I was putting on muscle.  My scale give body fat percentages; therefore, even though I gained 2.0 lbs, I actually gained 3.4 lbs of muscle and lost 1.4 lbs of fat.  I also lost 1.5 in around my waist and 0.5 around my hips and became much more toned.  While the physically viewable achievements were fantastic, I am most proud of the change in my health.  All of my health issues disappeared.  The symptoms from all of the digestive issues subsided within the first week.  The very first day I was drinking the appropriate amount of water, my lips quit burning.  A few days later they had begun to heal and my skin quit flaking.  I also felt a huge difference in my energy level.  I do not spend my entire day looking forward to the minute I can crawl into bed.  I actually look forward to working out now!  I can’t wait to see how I continue to improve in the future!

Beachbody Coaching

I felt so strongly about the changes in my energy levels and health that I wanted to help others with the same achievements.  I signed up to start coaching with Beachbody.  If you have any questions about 21 Day Fix, I would love to answer them.  Contact me on this website or check out my Beachbody coaching website here.

21 Day Fix Approved Salted Caramel Brownie Brittle (Gluten-Free)

I developed quite a liking for brownie brittle before starting the 21 Day Fix and was really craving it today.  I decided to run by the grocery to pick up supplies and try to make my own clean, Fix-approved version.  This is what I came up with, and it was great!  You also can’t beat 70 calories per serving!

Servings:  6

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cups old-fashioned oats (make sure the container says gluten-free)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 cups baking stevia or 3 tablespoons stevia
• 2 tablespoons unsweeted cocoa powder
• 1/4 cups unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon caramel extract
• 1 tablespoon almond milk
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 1 tablespoon miniature chocolate chips

21 Day Fix Containers (per single serving):

• 1/2 yellow (oats)
• All other ingredients less than 1/4 of a container

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. Place parchment paper on a baking sheet
3. Put all ingredients except for salt and chocolate chips in blender (oats, baking powder, stevia, cocoa powder, applesauce, vanilla, caramel extract, almond milk, egg whites, and paprika)
4. Blend ingredients until fully mixed with no large oat pieces (will be very runny)
5. Pour batter into middle of prepared baking sheet
6. Use a spoon or spatula to spread batter as thin as possible
7. Sprinkle top of batter with salt and chocolate chips
8. Bake for 20 minutes
9. Remove from oven and pick up paper by corners transferring baked brittle to countertop to cool
10. After cooling for 2-5 minutes, the brittle should be cool enough to touch and easy to tear into bite-size pieces; you will notice that at this point the brittle is a soft, chewy consistency (because of the nature of the oat/applesauce base, the brittle will not get super crunchy)
11. Optional:  While you are tearing your brittle into pieces, increase your oven temperature to 400 degrees
12. Optional:  Place the parchment paper back onto the baking sheet and spread brittle pieces evenly on top
13. Optional:  Continue baking for 5-10 minute intervals checking the “crunchiness” of the brittle until it is the consistency you desire; the edges will begin to curl as the brittle hardens

Nutritional Information:  Calories 70, Fat 1g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium 115 mg, Potassium 68.4 mg, Carbs 13.5g, Protein 3.7 g, Vitamin A 5.2%, Vitamin C 0.1%, Calcium 0.2%, Iron 5.2%

If you have any questions about 21 Day Fix, I would love to answer them.  Feel free to contact me in the comments below.  Check out my story here.

Pumpkin, Gingerbread, Chocolate Waffles (Gluten-Free)

I really wanted 21 Day Fix approved waffles or pancakes this morning but didn’t have all of the ingredients for any of my existing recipes.  I decided to experiment with what I did have, and the outcome was delicious!

Servings:  2

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of old-fashioned oats
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
• 1.5 tablespoons unsweet cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons 0% fat Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• chocolate chips (a few)
• Honey or maple syrup for topping

21 Day Fix Containers (per single serving):

• 1 yellow (oats)
• 1 red (eggs, egg whites, yogurt)
• 1/4 green (there’s so little pumpkin you don’t really have to count it unless you really want to…)
• teaspoons (depends on how much honey/syrup you use)

Directions:

1. Turn on your waffle iron and allow it to preheat
2. Add all ingredients except chocolate chips and honey/maple syrup to blender (oats, eggs, pumpkin, cocoa powder, Greek yogurt, vanilla, salt, pumpkin pie spice, ginger, and nutmeg)
3. Blend ingredients until fully mixed with no large oat pieces
4. Separate batter into two equal amounts (I like to measure it in two measuring cups)
5. Pour 1/2 of the batter into your iron; depending on the iron size, it may not fill the entire iron
6. Put a few chocolate chips on top of batter and close iron
7. Cook waffle according to your waffle iron instructions
8. Repeat cooking process with second waffle

Nutritional Information (without topping):  Calories 310, Fat 9.8 g, Cholesterol 211 mg, Sodium 726 mg, Potassium 207 mg, Carbs 38.4 g, Protein 17.8 g, Vitamin A 4.9%, Vitamin C 0.4%, Calcium 8.0%, Iron 20.6%

If you have any questions about 21 Day Fix, I would love to answer them.  Feel free to contact me in the comments below.  Check out my story here.