Monthly Archives: May 2021

12 Ways to Make It Happen at Breakfast

Starting your day off right nutritionally begins that daily cycle of eating healthy. Often I hear; " If I eat healthy at the beginning of the day it helps me to make better choices the rest of the day. BUT I have so hard a time Making It Happen." You'll find 14 different ways to make the best start to your day so you've can set yourself up for better choices as the day goes on. 

12 Ways to Make It Happen at Breakfast

  1. Cook eggs the night before. This is what Dean did for years for his breakfast each day. I cooked his eggs the night before, added in mixed veggies, a small container of salsa and black beans.
  2. Laurie’s keep it simple Breakfast

                         Laurie’s keep it simple Breakfast:

                         3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped

                         ½ avocado, cut into chunks

                         2 Tablespoons of salsa

                         Mix all in a bowl to combine. It’s that simple.

               3. Grab and Go Breakfast- Hard boiled eggs served with cut veggies

  1. Deli meat with salad– who says you can’t have it at breakfast?
  1. Mini quiches from the freezer

                        Mini Quiche

                        2 cups Spinach

                        ¼ cup Red pepper, chopped

                       ¼ cup Onion, chopped

                       6 Egg whites

                       2 whole eggs

                      ¼ cup swiss cheese

                      3 cloves garlic, chopped

                       5 oz ham

                       ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

                       Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add all the ingredients to a blender, blend on low. Lightly                              coat a muffin tray with peanut or coconut oil. Fill each cup ½ way, bake for 20 minutes.                               Remove from the pan and cool. Serve with salsa. 

                                                          Recipe from Gourmet Nutrition by John Beradi.

  1. Breakfast burritos

                          Breakfast Burritos

                          3 egg whites and 1 whole egg

                          1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

                          1/4 cup onion, green pepper, and mushroom, chopped

                          Salsa to taste

                          1 whole wheat or lo-carb tortilla

                          Coat frying pan lightly with non-stick cooking spray - medium heat. Scramble the egg                                 whites and whole egg, then mix in the onion, green pepper, mushrooms, and cheese.                                  Cook until eggs are set and cheese is melted. Spoon mix onto a whole wheat tortilla, add                           salsa, wrap it up, and enjoy!

  1. Protein Icing- You’ll never be bored with breakfast after this one
  1. The Breakfast Stack – slice of ham, slice of cheese, with a poached egg on top
  1. Eggs in a Mug

                          Eggs in a Mug

                          2 whole eggs or 1/2 cup Egg Beaters Original)

                          One wedge The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese, cut into pieces

                          Spray a large microwave-safe mug lightly with nonstick spray. Stir egg and cheese well.                             Microwave for about a minute. Stir gently, and then microwave for another 30 - 45                                       seconds, until scramble is just set. You can also add a teaspoon of salsa and one                                       tablespoon of black beans for a Mexican mug. Or even 2 ounces of cut ham, or what                                  about a ¼ cup of chopped asparagus and red pepper? And then there is an ounce of                                  salmon and three cherry tomatoes. Oh the combinations you can come up with.

  1. Frittatas

                          Colorful Frittata

                           1 cup broccoli florets

                           3/4 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

                           2 green onions, finely chopped

                           1 teaspoon coconut oil

                           1 cup cubed fully cooked ham

                           8 eggs

                           1/4 cup water

                           1/4 cup Dijon mustard

                           1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

                           1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

                           1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

                            In a large skillet, saute the broccoli, mushrooms and onions in coconut oil until tender.                                 Add ham; heat through. Remove from the heat and keep warm. In a mixing bowl, beat                                the eggs, water, mustard, Italian seasoning and garlic salt until foamy. Stir in the                                          tomatoes and broccoli mixture. Pour into a greased shallow 1-1/2-qt. baking dish. Bake                               at 375 degrees F for 22-27 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out                                     clean.

  1. Crustless Sunday Quiche

                          Crustless Quiche

                         5 eggs

                          1 cup milk or half and half

                          1/2 cup cheese (cheddar, American, Colby, jack what ever you have on hand)

                          1/2 cup spinach or broccoli

                          1/4 cup chopped onion

                         1/4 cup chopped red pepper

                         1 Tablespoon corn meal

                          Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
 Mix all ingredients except corm meal in medium bowl.
In a                              non-stick skillet that will take the temperature in the oven, spray with cooking spray and                              coat with corn meal. (I use a 8 inch commercial skillet). Pour egg mixture in skillet and                                 bake for 45 minutes or until top of quiche is golden brown.

                           The veggies in this quiche are so variable. You can use tomato with spinach or broccoli                               and tomato or just the onion, and peppers. Toss in a few mushrooms or sliced zucchini.                               You want to have about a cup of veggies in any combination. Experiment away!

                           Makes 4 servings. 
Easily doubles for larger skillets.

  1. Super shakes

One more bonus breakfast idea, Chocolate Peanut Butter Breakfast. 

Enjoy Good Food,

Coach Nancy

How Can I Lose Weight?

Did you ever wish there was a “magic pill” that could help you get the body of your dreams? To take out the wiggle and jiggle, and replace it with lean and tight?

If that “magic pill” existed, it would come in the form of a food journal. Research shows there is no better predictor of weight loss and maintenance of that loss than keeping a record of what you eat – really cool!

But also a little scary, right? I mean we don’t really expect you to write everything down, do you? 

Let’s start here: There is no morality to fat loss. I like what fellow nutrition coach Josh Hillis had to say “…nothing you eat is bad or wrong. Nothing you eat is good or right. You are not a bad person if you eat junk food. You aren’t a good person if you eat organic veggies with grass fed beef” – Josh Hillis Fat Loss Starts on Monday

Some food choices will get you closer to your goals, and some won’t. I’ll make you a deal; I won’t judge you for what you write down in here if you don’t. Because if you are like me, you are your own worst critic. 

So instead of judging, beating yourself up, and just plain feeling crummy (negative emotions) let’s do the helpful thing, which looks like this.

  • Evaluate my food journal
  • See where I can improve
  • Plan a strategy for what you can do differently
  • Go to the store, buy good food, bring it home, cook it (positive actions)

Easy? I am afraid not. Eating healthy is a skill, and just like any other skill, it takes practice and persistence to get good. 

And that’s what this food journal is all about. Developing the eating skills of a lean person so we can be lean too. 

So embrace the journey, be consistent with your journal, and practice doing what it takes to Get Lean. Lose Fat. Look and Feel Great.

Make It Happen!

Coach Nancy

Shopping List Week of: ____________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Monday

Plan

Actual

Vitamin □   Fish Oil □    Water □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Today I am grateful for

Tuesday

Plan

Actual

Vitamin □   Fish Oil □    Water □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Today I am grateful for

Wednesday

Plan

Actual

Vitamin □   Fish Oil □    Water □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Today I am grateful for

Thursday

Plan

Actual

Vitamin □   Fish Oil □    Water □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Today I am grateful for

Friday

Plan

Actual

Vitamin □   Fish Oil □    Water □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Today I am grateful for

Saturday

Plan

Actual

Vitamin □   Fish Oil □    Water □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Today I am grateful for

Sunday

Plan

Actual

Vitamin □   Fish Oil □    Water □ □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Today I am grateful for

Notes for next week: ________________________________________________

Want a printable version? Click here.

Chicken Bacon Salad

The other day I needed to fix lunch but when I went to grab the leftovers, they were already gone. Now that's usually a good thing but that day. I needed to fix lunch quick. A quick survey of my fridge told me I was down to bare bones. Here's what I came up with. 

Chicken Bacon with avocado dressing on microgreens. As I served it, I was hoping it would taste good. It was fantastic. In fact my family asked me to make it the next day too. Its easy give it a try.

Chicken Bacon Salad

  • 1 chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
  • 4 pieces of bacon
  • microgreens from Papa Dean's
  • Avocado dressing
  • 1 Tablespoon shredded cheddar cheese 

I fried the bacon until it was crispy. I took it out to drain. Then cook the chicken in the same pan. Put the warm chicken, bacon, cheese, and dressing on top of the microgreens. BAM! Deliciousness is served

You can make your own dressing but this time I bought Aldi's Avocado Tomatillo salsa and used that. 

Avocado Dressing

  • 1/2 avocado, pit removed
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 tbsp water
  • Pinch of salt

Blend the ingredients with an immersion blender or in a regular blender and process until smooth. Add more water if necessary to reach desired consistency. Taste for seasoning.

Enjoy good Food,

Coach Nancy

Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa

A few years ago if you would have mentioned Fish Tacos to me, I would have looked at you with a blank stare. Inside my head I would have been telling myself' "Is that such a thing?" I should not have knocked it until I tried it. They are so good. I've tried different recipes but this is one of my favorites.

Fish Tacos

  • 2 large oranges (juiced)
  • ½ lime (juiced)
  • 3 TB olive oil
  • 1 tsp. cumin powder
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • 2 6 oz. tilapia fillets (cut in 1” chunks) Or your favorite white fish

 For the salsa

  • ½ red pepper (diced) 
  • ½ tomato (diced)
  • ½ red onion (diced)
  • ½ mango (diced)
  • ½ avocado (sliced)
  • chopped cilantro

Mix the orange juice, lime juice, olive oil, cumin, and salt in a bowl and combine well.

Gently place the pieces of Tilapia into a large Ziploc bag and pour in the juice. Marinade for 2-4 hours in the refrigerator, flipping the bag over about half way through.

Next, heat some olive or coconut oil over a large skillet. When the pan is warm, add the Tilapia and cook for about 4-5 minutes on 1 side, then turning only once, finish cooking on the other side (about 8-9 minutes total)

Prepare your tacos to your liking, adding the fish, Mango salsa (be creative and add anything else you think may taste great on there!)

Here's how I made them. I added some corn to my salsa (you could also try black beans)  I left the avocado in slices. I added jalapeños to my taco. I served it over cilantro cauliflower rice on a bed of Papa Dean's Spicy Blend microgreens. Sliced green onions added a final touch or color on top.

It’s very refreshing and absolutely DELICIOUS! Once you get the marinade in the fridge, it will only take you about 10 minutes to prepare them.

No leftovers from this meal. 

Eat Good Food,

Coach Nancy

 

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