For now how about I share how I plan to get back on track this week?  I started off the morning with a major bootcamp butt-kicking session and have been chugging water and eating clean all day.  I sat down and used my new fun meal planning notepad to get organized for the week…cute right?  See what’s on the bottom there?  That’s right we are off to Vermont for almost 2 weeks and I definitely need to hold tight to some of my favorite clean eating recipes to prepare while staying with my family.  Here are some good ones that I have on this week’s lineup before we head out of town.

Monday Meal Plan for the week of 2/16:

Sunday- Thai coconut curry turkey chili over brown rice

Monday- Ground turkey marinara over Mung Bean Pasta <—-have you bought this yet?!?!  If not, get on it…there may be a shortage because my Advocare Facebook group of 500+ people are ON IT!!  We are all in love with it.  I was joking that I should have bought stock in Mung Beans lol.

Tuesday- Buffalo chicken quinoa salad.  Of course without the stinky blue cheese.

Wednesday- Thai peanut chicken in the crockpot.  If you haven’t tried this one yet you are SO missing out.  This is our very favorite meal and you will be seeing this recipe posted every week.

Thursday- Balsamic crockpot chicken with brussels sprouts and brown rice.

Friday- We are flying out on the redeye and making dinner will be the last thing on my mind.  Planning on a organic beet salad with blackened chicken from our local Mexican restaurant.

Lastly I wanted to leave you with a super simple recipe I whipped up for Valentine’s Day.  Greg and I celebrated at home with wine and chocolate covered strawberries…but at least our meal was clean right?  It felt like we were dining out…and just like all clean recipes it was so easy and quick to make.  Enjoy!!

Clean eating Lemon and Garlic Shrimp Scampi 

Ingredients:

3/4 pound cleaned and uncooked shrimp

juice and zest from 2 lemons

2 tablespoon olive oil

4 cloves of garlic minced

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 cup chicken broth

Mung bean pasta

Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

Prepare Mung Bean pasta per instructions on package

Heat oil in a large skillet and add all the ingredients but the shrimp.  Let them simmer for a little so some of the liquid boils down.  Add shrimp and cook until pink.  Drain mung bean pasta and toss into skillet with all the other ingredients.  Serve with parmesan cheese and asparagus.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

I don’t even like shrimp but I LOVED this!  Greg totally gave it two thumbs up and felt like it was a special meal since I normally don’t make seafood.  I will definitely be making this one more often and hope you give it a try too!

I hope you all have a happy and healthy week!!

Monday- Shredded zucchini turkey burgers topped with grilled onions and jalapeños.  Side of baked seasoned sweet potato wedges.  I am so excited to use a new clean ketchup I bought at Whole Foods!

Tuesday- Roasted veggie quinoa salad with a garlic vinaigrette (new favorite meal, a must make!)

Wednesday- Crockpot Thai Peanut chicken over brown rice (use Braggs liquid aminos in place of soy sauce)

Thursday- Ground turkey lettuce wrap tacos with fresh guacamole

Friday- Balsamic crockpot chicken with Brussels sprouts and brown rice

Saturday- Sweet potato hash topped with a poached egg

Sunday- Ground turkey marina over Mung bean pasta

Let me tell you a little more about Mung Bean pasta.  Someone on our Advocare Facebook group board said she found this amazing pasta substitute at Whole Foods.  While we do use brown rice or quinoa pasta quite often, I still keep my portions very low since it is still high in carbohydrates.  It’s great for a night before I have a long run, but otherwise I don’t want to have a high carb dinner before I head to bed.  In comes Mung bean pasta!  25 grams of protein, 6 net carbs, 11 grams of fiber and only two ingredients.  Mung beans and water!  The texture feels just like a hearty fettucine, the flavor is mild and doesn’t taste like beans at all.  I can’t keep going to Whole Paycheck every week so I am happy to find I can order Mung Bean Pasta in bulk Amazon Prime style!  LOVE it!!

That’s all for today!  Make sure you swing by tomorrow for a special surprise on my “Treat Yourself Tuesday” post, you won’t want to miss it!

***Side note:  Tomorrow is the last day to get the sale pricing for the 24 Day Challenge before it goes back to regular price for the rest of the year.  We have group members still joining every single day, so it’s never too late to hop on board.

Monday- Turkey meatloaf muffins & streamed broccoli

Tuesday- Whole roasted crockpot chicken w/ brussells sprouts & sweet potato mash

Wednesday- Hummus crusted chicken over seasoned zucchini

Thursday- Coconut curry turkey chili w/ brown rice

Friday- Date night- True Food Kitchen (Love having an option for a clean eating night out)

Saturday- Shredded Salsa chicken salad w/ pico de gallo & guacamole

Sunday- Shredded chicken marinara over quinoa pasta

Greg has been doing the Challenge with me this time and is doing so great.  I’m pretty sure he’s lost 10 lbs (which includes holiday weight) just in these last 8 days.  We have both been feeling awesome but for some reason are struggling with our sweet tooth this go around.  I don’t even really have a sweet tooth normally, but I have a feeling I got used to all the treats of Christmas that my body is just looking wondering where they went.  There are so many great options out there for clean eaters when they want the occasional treat so I found THIS recipe, swapped out a few ingredients and here you have it: Clean-eating banana pecan muffins….they definitely hit the guilt-free spot!  ENJOY

CLEAN EATING BANANA PECAN MUFFINS

Makes approximately 12

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup almond meal
• 3 tsp coconut flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 tsp coconut oil
• 2 eggs
• 3 tsp honey
• 2 banana mashed
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans
• 1 tbsp flax seed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease muffin tin with coconut oil
2. In one bowl combine almond meal, coconut flour, baking soda, flax seed and salt
3. In a separate bowl combine egg, coconut oil, honey, and banana – mash and mix well.
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients and spoon into muffin tin
5. Bake for about 20 minutes

We had a really nice weekend.  It was a great mix of fun and productivity.  Greg and I went out for an early date night on Friday and we seriously had such a great time…we are still talking about how much fun we had.  It was one of those nights you don’t talk about work or kids and just enjoy the simple fun you have together…the reasons that brought you together in the first place.  In this case it was great food, laughter, good drinks, live music, wine tasting and dancing.  All that fun and we were still home before 10:00pm…it was great!

Saturday turned into a lazy day at home (thanks to Friday night) but we did finally take all those Christmas decorations down!  I was going to try and make it to the gym but I needed a day off and saved my legs for the 10 mile training run I did yesterday.  Felt good to burn off the couple of glasses (bottles) of wine I had from our night out.  Other than that there was lots of playing and relaxing with the kiddos.  Just my kind of weekend.

So that brings me to today…Monday morning and ready to kick off my third 24 Day Challenge.  I have never looked forward to one as much as I have this one, but that excitement is probably triggered by the enthusiasm of the now 300 Facebook group members that are doing it too.  My goal in doing another one this go around is to mainly be there to support everyone through the challenge, especially for those that are new to it.  Of course I want to trim off some of those extra holiday lbs, tone up, rid my system of those Christmas cookies, and get that extra pep in my step that the challenge always gives me.  Greg is doing a full one with me too which is really fun….mainly because he can’t drink wine in front of me haha.  Can’t wait to report back with how great everyone does!  And, as always, it’s never ever too late to join in!

Our fridge is fully stocked with freshness, so I thought I would share what we will be eating this week.  Even if doing the 24DC isn’t your thing at this point in time, eating a clean diet can be so rewarding on it’s own.  Start small with replacing a few meals a week to be completely clean and you will definitely see some big changes.  Enjoy!

Sunday- Balsamic chicken bake (add artichokes to recipe)

Monday- Ground turkey meatloaf muffins with garlic broccoli (make double the amount for a quick and easy lunch throughout the week.

Tuesday- Warm roasted veggie and quinoa salad

Wednesday- Coconut & curry turkey chili

Thursday- Crockpot balsamic chicken with Brussels spout and brown rice

Friday- Crockpot chicken & veggie marinara over spaghetti squash (quinoa pasta for the boys)

Saturday- Shredded zucchini turkey burgers (eliminate breadcrumbs)  with seasoned sweet potato wedges.

For breakfast I will be having a combo of egg white omelets, hard boiled eggs, chia seed pudding with fruit, and green smoothies.  Of course my Spark, Catalyst, and Muscle Gain shakes will be part of the line up as well.

Lunches will be a combination of leftovers (I’m telling you those turkey meatloaf muffins are even better the next day), green smoothies and chicken salads.

I love the organization that comes with doing the challenge and look forward to trying new recipes each week and sharing them with you!  If you have any favorite please send them my way!

Have a happy and healthy week!

{ONE}

We are clean eating this Thanksgiving.  Call me crazy, but I’m pretty convinced it’s going to be our yummiest Thanksgiving to date….while also being our healthiest.  We’ve been going strong now with 10 months of clean eating, and I see no reason why the holidays should put an end to this.  Of course we will have some indulgences {see #3}, but for the most part we will be behaving.  Here’s what I have planned:

Mashed sweet potato, Oil & Herb Turkey, Garlic & EVOO sauteed mushrooms, Green Beans & Balsamic Roasted Shallots, Baked Maple Acorn Squash, Butternut Squash Soup, Pear & Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce.  I also found a recipe for clean Pecan Pie, and you bet I’m giving that a try!

{TWO}

I don’t really decorate for Thanksgiving, but after seeing these photos, I think I can get a little festive with some white pumpkins, glass jars with pine cones, and some kraft paper.  These are items I already have around the house, so why not bring it all together for a little Thanksgiving table decor (that will quickly be pushed aside for food anyways!)

{THREE}

Since our meal is going to be healthy, we have to have a little fun somewhere right?  Well does anything look tastier than this Apple Cider Sangria?  There’s fruit in it…it’s gotta be good for you!  I am SO making this.  In fact I’m pretty sure I need to do a trial run this upcoming weekend just to see how to turns out!

{FOUR}

We eat pretty early on Thanksgiving, but I still like having things to graze on throughout the day. This year I thought it would be fun to have a little fun with the boys and give a couple of these a try.  The tee-pee cones look like a great way to keep the kids busy with Daddy, while I’m cooking up some yumminess in the kitchen.  Plus, I’m pretty sure I will have better luck with the boys eating these turkeys than the actual one!

{FIVE}

I know it’s normally considered rude to wear a hat at the dinner table, but there are no rules when it comes to the holidays.  Christmas you will find us all sporting the paper crowns from our Christmas Crackers, and for Thanksgiving I thought these would be fun.  I found THESE great free feather printables for the boys to color, then I’ll cut them out and we can attach to paper headbands.  I know the kids will love them!

That’s that…my 5 Thanksgiving picks for this Friday!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend friends! xo

I’ve been feeling a little guilty that I’ve been sharing all my information with the Facebook group members and not publicly on my blog anymore.  So here is a look at my clean eating meal plan for the week.  These recipes are extra clean at the moment since I am in the 10 day cleanse portion of my challenge:

Monday- Grilled chicken salad topped with fresh salsa

Tuesday- Turkey & Veggie meatloaf muffins with a side of steamed broccoli (I made about 16 muffins so I could save some for lunch for the week)- photo above

Wednesday- Crockpot balsamic chicken with a side of roasted brussels sprouts

Thursday- Shredded zucchini turkey burgers with seasoned sweet potato wedges

Friday- Hummus crusted chicken with sauteed veggies

Saturday- Garlic & lime pork chops on the grill with a side of cauliflower mash

Sunday- Crockpot shredded taco chicken over bib lettuce, corn, black beans, olives, tomatoes topped with fresh salsa

Usually I have a freebie night of ordering in food or eating out, but since I have to be extra careful during the beginning of the challenge I figured it would be best to plan at home meals for the whole week.  Not a bad menu for being in the middle of a cleanse right?

As for exercise it’s the usual Monday-Friday boot camp with Friday focusing on running & sprints.  Saturday morning is a training run…hoping to hit 11 miles.  Then Sunday is a rest day.  I actually wasn’t able to make it to boot camp yesterday morning because Nathan wasn’t having it at 5:00am, so he won, and I crawled into his bed in my workout clothes and didn’t go. I opted for an evening run instead and tried my best to haul butt on a 3 miler.  Greg told me he could beat me with the double stroller and I wasn’t having any of that!  He even told me he would give me a head start, isn’t he sweet? lol  It felt awesome to run at a fast-for-me pace and not even feel overly winded or tired…I am 100% convinced that boot camp is helping my running in a major way.  PS-I totally beat Greg…but the poor guy was pushing two crazy kids and was slowly dying from heartburn because he ate those meatloaf muffins right before heading out the door.  Not a good combo…but I appreciate him letting me win :P.

Speaking of my husband…HELLO look who hit the 50lb weight loss mark this past weekend!  I mean really, I couldn’t be anymore proud of him if I tried!  I’ve known him for over 14 years now and I’ve never seen him looking and feeling so great. I am so happy for you Buggy!

I also want to wish my awesome Sister-in-law Stephanie a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY today…and also a big congrats to her!! She is in the middle of our group challenge and is having fantastic results.  Add her to my “people I’m proud of” list!!

Well that’s all for this Workout Wednesday…hoping your week is off to a happy and healthy start! xo

I have several people I know on the Advocare 24 Day Challenge right now, or some that are about to start so I thought I would put up our clean eating menu for the week if you were looking for some ideas.  Even if you’re not on the challenge, or don’t clean eat for every meal these are still really quick, tasty and healthy meal options that hopefully your whole family will enjoy!

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MONDAY- Ground turkey and veggie marinara over brown rice pasta

TUESDAY- Coconut Red Curry with Tofu and Veggies

WEDNESDAY- Mushroom and Artichoke Chicken with Zucchini “pasta”

THURSDAY-Shredded zucchini turkey burgers with grilled onions and sweet potato wedges

FRIDAY-Clean Eating Curry Pineapple Turkey Rice Bowl (recipe and photo above)

SATURDAY- Dinner at friends’ house

SUNDAY- Shredded salsa chicken taco salads

If you liked this meal plan you may like these other posts as well:

Meal plan with Summer Kale Salad

Meal plan with zucchini turkey burgers

Meal plan with clean eating pancakes

Monday- Ground turkey & mushroom marina sauce over brown rice pasta

Tuesday- Greg had a work event so I just had a “breakfast for dinner” night.  Eggs, sliced tomatoes from the garden, and a piece of toast.  My favorite clean bread is from Trader joes….It’s called California Style Sprouted Wheat.

Wednesday- Pecan crusted chicken breasts with steamed broccoli and brown rice

Thursday- 4th of July!  We will be BBQing so I’m sure we will stick to some salads, bunless burgers, corn, watermelon and beer!!  One of those items isn’t clean, can you guess which?

Friday- Basil chicken sausage with peppers and onions

Saturday- Having friends over for a BBQ….going to do different kinds of kabobs and make a tomato, cucumber, basil salad.

Sunday- Shredded zucchini turkey burgers and sweet potato wedges.

Last weekend I made a really yummy salad from items we got at the farmer’s market that I wanted to share with you.  I usually just mix kale in our smoothies but I wanted to try to have it on it’s own in a salad and really enjoyed it!

 SUMMER KALE SALAD w/ GRILLED CHICKEN

 Ingredients: 

1 bunch of kale chopped

1/4 cup dry quinoa {prepared}

2 grilled thin chicken breasts {I season with paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and pepper}

1 green apple sliced

Handful of sliced strawberries

Handful of chopped pecans

Feta cheese {add to your liking}

Dressing ingredients:

Juice from 1 lemon

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 clove minced garlic

1/2 tablespoon dried oregano

Whisk dressing together and toss into salad.  That’s all.  So so so yummy!!  Enjoy!

I hope you all have a happy and safe 4th of July!!!

Chia Seed Pudding Recipe

Ingredients:

1 part chia seeds {for my individual morning serving I used 1/4 cup}

2 parts almond milk {1/2 cup in this case}

dash of vanilla extract

sprinkle of cinnamon

Put all ingredients into a bowl and stir.  Put right into the refridgerator.  Let refridgerate {make the kids their breakfast in this time} then go back and stir.  Let sit for another 10 minutes in the refridgerator {clean up after the kids} and stir some more.  You can of course make a large batch ahead of time and keep chilled overnight too.  Serve with sliced fruit and ENJOY!

]]> http://heylaurenrene.com/health-and-fitness/chia-seed-pudding-recipe/feed/ 7 http://heylaurenrene.com/health-and-fitness/weekly-meal-plan-6-10-2013/ http://heylaurenrene.com/health-and-fitness/weekly-meal-plan-6-10-2013/#comments Tue, 11 Jun 2013 18:31:01 +0000 http://heylaurenrene.com/?p=1181 [...] ]]> You guys…I had PIZZA on Saturday after the race.  Like real, cheesy, sausage and pepperoni pizza.  I’m not going to lie, while I have grown accustomed to clean eating and love the foods we eat, that pizza tasted like a little slice of heaven.   I was totally famished after the mud run that I probably could have eaten an entire large pie by myself, but I refrained.  It really is all about moderation, the occasional indulgence, and not feeling deprived of some of your favorite treats.  Of course my stomach was pissed at me the next day, but that’s ok we are just going to fill it up with lots of healthy things this week to make it happy again.

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Here is what we have lined up for this week’s clean eating meal plan:

Monday- Curry chicken & veggie kabobs on the grill with a tomato & olive salad.

Tuesday- Pesto chicken sausage with sauteed peppers & onions

Wednesday- Shredded zucchini turkey burgers with sweet potato wedges {I follow the listed recipe only I grate a small zucchini into the meal to sneak some veggies in for the kids and keep the burgers from being dry}

Thursday- Artichoke, garbanzo bean and veggie Greek salads with oregano, EVOO, and lemon juice dressing

Friday- Balsamic, basil and roma tomato chicken bake over brown rice pasta

Saturday- Shredded chicken taco salads

Sunday- VACATION!!  (going away to Palm Springs for a 2 night family getaway) And just because we are going away doesn’t mean we can’t eat healthy.  My friend Samantha just wrote a great post on how she did traveling while on the Advocare 24 Day Challenge.  She’s already down 7lbs and has a week left.  I couldn’t be more proud of her!!

As for lunch this week my friend Liz e-mailed me this morning and asked if I wanted to do the 14 day green smoothie challenge .  While I don’t think I can commit to it this week with our mini trip coming up, she did inspire me to go green this whole week for lunch.  I stocked up on tons of fruits, almond milk, Chia seeds, and kale and will be blending up something fun for lunch every day this week.  Join me if you can….you just replace one meal with a green smoothie and that’s it!

Hope everyone is having a great Tuesday!  Have a happy & healthy week! xo