Sweet Potato Muffins

These babies were sooooooo good. Obviously I don't focus on the presentation with my plastic kid plate and all:) forgive me and just try these for yourself. The way I made them I got 12 muffins at 167 calories a piece. The recipe was adapted from Gweneth Paltrow's recipe from her new cookbook. 

Sweet Potato Muffins

2 small sweet potatoes (cooked and peeled)

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup canola oil (the recipe called for 1/2 cup oil but I opted to cut that in half and add the applesauce. You could probably just use applesauce and no oil if you want to cut more calories)

1/2 cup skim or almond milk

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup Splenda (you could try stevia or just use more maple or honey if you don't want the artificial sweetener)

1tsp vanilla

1 cup oat flour (just food process 1 cup of old fashion oats til they are like flour)

1 cup spelt flour (can use whole wheat flour or more oat flour)

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp sea salt

Mix wet ingredients. Mix dry ingredients and combine to the wet. Divide into 12 greased or lined muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes. 

And then if you really want to go crazy blend some cottage cheese and blueberries til creamy and smooth and drown your muffin with it, then top with some yummy fresh strawberries...

I really wish I had some of these left cause I really want one.  I kind of think they would be amazing with  fresh blueberries baked in them.  I love baking and it is even more fun knowing my treats are healthy!

Progress Report!....

We all love some good before and after shots and Sara has some that do not disappoint! This girl is a champion. I am continually impressed by her perseverance and desire to reach her goals. I posted progress pics of her last week but I wanted to share these ones as well. The pants she has on fit her last winter before she started her weight loss journey. Obviously the girl needs to go shopping for new pants. And don't you just love the smile on her face!? She should be smiling, the girl is rocking her challenge. 

Thursday Sara is running in her first race. She totally has the jitters but I am so proud of her for not letting that stop her. Stories like hers inspire me and motivate me to keep working on my own goals. 

I asked Sara to share a few things that have helped her be successful on her 90 Day Challenge. I love hearing what is working for others and how they are overcoming obstacles and setbacks. 

Weight loss to date- 

I am on week 7 of my 90 day challenge and have lost 18.8 pounds so far. This makes my total weight loss 41 pounds since March. 

Favorite thing about the Challenge and why it's working for her-

I love the challenge because it is so simple!  Starting my day off with a shake motivates me to make better choices.  I love the energy I have.  I don’t feel as tired and I get so much more done in a day.  I love the way my shakes taste.  In fact, sometimes I crave a shake.  The protein helps me feel satisfied.  

Go to Snack List-

Some of my favorite snacks are apples, bananas, almonds, clean pumpkin bread, english muffin topped with egg beaters and salsa, and anything with peanut butter!

Favorite Way to Make Her Shake-

My favorite shake is my Vi mixed with almond milk and a tablespoon of PB2 mixed in my blender bottle.  It’s quick, easy, and I love the way it tastes! 

Best Advice She Has Received About Losing Weight and Getting in Shape-

The best advice I have received is that the only person I can compete with is myself!  Often times I think we tend to compare ourselves to others... how much they’ve lost.... how much they can they lift... how fast they can run... what size they wear.  You CANNOT do that!  You must only compare YOU with YOU... no one else!  This is not a competition with anyone but you. The goal is to be better than you used to be.  

Successes Beyond Weight Loss-

Something I love to do is teach dance classes to little ones.  Honestly, my weight has always made this a challenge for me.  It’s great being able to move around easier and do things I used to be able to do back when I was a dancer.  I can even do a cartwheel again! 

My biggest temptation is without a doubt pizza!! I LOVE pizza!  Once I start eating it, I CANNOT stop.  It’s nothing for me to eat 4 or 5 pieces!  I am trying really hard to realize that it’s ok to just have one or two pieces!  Now I also like to make healthier, lower calorie, flatbread pizzas at home (thanks to a friend’s suggestion), which helps feed my craving for pizza. 

Sara's Words of Wisdom-

One of my biggest struggles is not feeling good enough.  I have a lot of self-doubt.  Can I really do this?  Can I keep the weight off?  Can I really motivate others to become healthier, too?  I have already lost more weight than I thought was possible.  I think I feel surprised that I can actually do this.... and that I AM doing this!  I want to be healthier and I want to teach my family how to make healthy choices.  I want my kids to know how and why it’s important to eat healthy.  It’s definitely a process and sometimes I struggle with food choices. I can easily become overwhelmed in menu preparation or in the grocery store.  I still have a lot to learn.  I have to remind myself that this is not about 90 days.  This is about me (and my family) having a healthier lifestyle.  I can’t do it all at once but I must take baby steps.  And I’ll get there! A little change goes a long way!  When I’m having a hard day and I don’t want to work out or I just want to pig out, I have to remind myself that just for today I can suck it up and get to the gym..... or just for this meal, I WILL have portion control.  Each day I do the best I can and move on to the next.  Baby steps.... one day at a time.  You will never regret being healthier!

Thank you Sara! 

Does Sara's story speak to you? 

You will be seeing more progress pics of this girl because I know she is on a mission to crush her weight loss goals. 

www.meganrencher.bodybyvi.com

Cooking Clean in the Crockpot

Yesterday I tried a new crockpot recipe. I have to say it turned out mighty delicious. It was nice to come home from church to the smell of yummy chicken, garlic and curry waiting to be devoured. 

I came across this recipe the night before and was excited to find out I had all but two of the ingredients. And those ingredients were ones I felt comfortable substituting with ones I did have. I honestly don't claim to be a good cook. I can follow a recipe but when it comes to improvising, most of my creations turn out less than stellar:) but I am getting better. But the small changes I made to this recipe turned out fantastic. I am sure the original recipe would be great too but I will stick to my version  in the future simply because these are ingredients I usually have on hand.

I am posting the original recipe (from www.the graciouspantry.com) and putting my changes in parenthesis...

Clean Eating Curry Chicken

(Makes 8 servings)

Ingredients:

• 4 large chicken breasts (I used just two large breasts and we still have leftovers)
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1 shallot, diced (I used a sliced red onion)
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, no sugar added ( I used a can of no-sugar added peaches and drained the juice)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried ginger
• 12 cloves garlic, chopped (yes, 12. That’s not a typo, but I wasn't brave enough to put this much garlic in so I used 6. The garlic flavor wasn't strong so u really could use 12)
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 3/4 cup chicken stock (use 2 cups if you want gravy, + 1-2 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour. Whisk well into the broth before adding to the crock pot to avoid clumps.)
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• Juice of 1 lemon

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in the crock pot and stir as best you can to get everything mixed and coated in the spices.
2. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
3. Serve over brown rice and add a side of broccoli or greens beans....Yum!

I considered adding in a can of chickpeas but decided against it because I knew we were already going to have a lot of leftovers. But i think they would be yummy. You could just use chickpeas and leave out the chicken if you wanted to make this a vegetarian dish.  Sweet potatoes would be great too. Tonight I am using the leftovers and serving it on whole wheat buns like a pulled pork sandwich with some grilled veggies. 

What's for dinner at your house tonight?

Working on my Legs...

Yesterday's workout tore my legs to shreds...in a good way. I could tell right after my workout that I was going to be waddling for a few days. I want my legs to start building so very badly I am totally okay with being beyond sore for a few days. My legs have become substantially stronger over the last two months but it will take some time for me to lean out now to show off any of those muscles. My darn legs take forever to make changes.  Let's be honest, progress is slow. Which is why many people give up.  I am absolutely loving how much stronger I feel so I am not letting slow progress discourage me. I do have to remind myself not to compare my body to anyone else's as I try to get in shape. Comparison is EVIL. My body has come a long way since having my third baby. It's far from perfect and I get frustrated easily when I see other girls with killer legs or ripped shoulders. But giving up sure isn't going to get me what I want either. 

I have recently accepted that many of the changes I want to make with my body are going to happen with super clean nutrition. I have always exercised so that I have some wiggle room for sweets and treats. Lately my body has needed me to be a little more in tune with what I put in it. I go through phases of giving up sugar but its usually temporary and unless I am doing it with someone else I tend to cheat...a lot. This time I decided to sugar detox by truly making a lifestyle change. Instead of giving up sugar I am learning to make healthy clean treats. And I am involving my family in the process. My girls help me bake and are my taste testers. We have created some delicious and not so delicious things and will be making a cookbook of our favorites.  I will post more about this in a separate post. 

Anyway If you want a killer leg workout, I posted what I did down below. It's day 44 of Jamie Eason's LiveFit program. It's a good one!

LEGS

•  

  Narrow Stance Squats

  2 light sets of 15 reps and 2 heavier sets to failure
•  

  Narrow Stance Leg Press

  4 sets of 8 reps
•  

  Barbell Step Ups

  4 sets of 8 reps
•  

  Walking Barbell 'Double' Lunges (step- down-up-down)

  3 sets of 20 reps
•  

  Single Leg Barbell Squat (foot on bench)

  4 sets of 8 reps
•  

  Seated Calf Raise

  3 sets of 20 reps, last set to failure
•  

  Standing Calf Raises

  3 sets of 20 reps, last set to failure
•  

  Leg Extensions

  3 sets of 10 reps, last set to failure

Breakfast for Dinner...a favorite at our house

We had a super yummy dinner tonight at our house. Lately it has been hard to please everyone but this recipe did it....

Recipe from www.paleomg.com

Meat Crust Quiche

1lb pork sausage
1small sweet potato, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic
2 cups fresh spinach
4 eggs whisked (I used 5)
1tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Make a meat crust in a 8x8 pan or something similar to that size.
Just put your sausage in the pan and press it to fit the pan.

Bake for 15 minutes or until it looks done. Drain off excess fat. I also dabbed the top to get even more of the grease off.

While crust is cooking sauté onions, sweet potatoes and garlic. Season with the salt and pepper. Add spinach and cover to cook and wilt the spinach

Let this cool before adding the eggs, garlic powder and paprika.
(I also added about a cup of cooked quinoa and some crumbled bacon to the egg mix)

Pour the egg mix on top of the meat crust and cook for about 23 minutes.

I served this with Ezekiel bread toast with a little honey drizzled on top. 

I will share another successful recipe with you tomorrow!

My Progress Pics...

Picture in pink shirt was taken April 1, the other two were taken today June 24.

Since April 1 I have been working on lifting heavy and building muscle. Progress is SLOW but lately I feel like I am finally seeing a difference. I am struggling to build my left arm as much as my right but with time I hope this will change. I am almost done with my second 90 day challenge and can't wait to start my third! I love what the challenge has done for me! 

What are your fitness and health goals? Weightloss? Muscle? Healthier lifestyle? 

I would love to coach you thru your challenge. Check out www.meganrencher.bodybyvi.com. Or go back thru some of my old posts for more before and after shots. 

Energy Bites...a New Twist

I posted a recipe a while back for some power protein balls. They are yummy but I improved on them and created a delicious and clean treat that has been approved by friends, hubby and kids...

Pic from www.fooddoodle.com (because I am horrible at food photography) 

 In food processor mix 1 cup oats, 1/2 cup almond meal, 2/3 cup unsweetened coconut.

Add in 1/2 cup peanut butter or any nut butter, 1/2 cup milled flaxseed, 1/3 cup honey, 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1 tsp vanilla, 2 scoops vanilla protein powder (I used my Vi protein).

Once mixed, roll into small balls. To give them even more yumminess roll them in cocoa powder and allow the cocoa to soak in. If you don't like a dark chocolate taste omit this step.

The biggest change is adding the 1/2 cup almonds and protein powder and putting the oats in the food processor. 

You seriously need to make these...NOW!. 

But share them or you may be tempted to eat them all.

I found another clean treat off Instagram. It's from JazzyThings. She has tons of great recipes. If you are on Instagram check her out. 

Clean No-Bake cookies

Mash 2 ripe bananas, add 1/3 cup cocoa powder, 1 cup nut butter of choice (I used peanut butter).

Mix in 1 tsp vanilla, 1/3 cup honey, and 2 tbsp milled flaxseed.

Mix in enough oats to get the consistency you want for your cookies.

Shape into balls and refrigerate. I froze the leftovers and enjoyed them for a little treat each night before going to bed. 

Enjoy my friends!