Better for You Turkey Nachos

Nachos have always been one of my guilty pleasures. There's something about the cheesy, melty goodness that makes my mouth water and my stomach grumble. BUT they are so not good for me that it's become a very occasional treat. We substitute ground turkey for ground beef in just about every recipe we make to help cut the fat and calories and we've made our own tortillas before to spare ourselves some of the extra preservatives so we decided to combine the two and make homemade nachos with homemade tortilla chips. The result was DELICIOUS!!! So, of course, I thought I'd share the recipes with you so you can make your own cheesy awesomeness without quite the guilt.

So to start: Tortillas

We adapted our recipe from TheCafeSucreFarine. Swapping for whole wheat flour and avocado ups the fiber, vitamins and antioxidants.

1.5 c whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 c pureed avocado
1/2 c warm water

1. Stir together dry ingredients
2. Mix in avocado and water until smooth. I mixed by hand - less dishes that way! Whole wheat flour tends to be a little drier so you may need to add a little more water.
3. Divide into 8 equal balls. Place on greased cookie sheet and cover. Let rest for about 15 minutes.
4. Spray skillet and heat on medium high.
5. Roll out tortillas as thin as you can go and place, one at a time, on hot skillet. When it starts to bubble (about 1 minute), flip. Another quick moment then remove from heat.

*This made just enough for my husband, myself and our two littles. I'd recommend doing the full recipe (ie doubling what we did) for anything more than that.

I can't roll a perfect circle to save my life (as those who follow my Facebook page have probably noticed from my pizza attempts...). That's ok, though, since we're going to be cutting these up for chips anyhow!

Better start pre-heating that oven. 350 degrees should do it.

Next step is to get your taco meat going. As I mentioned, we use ground turkey in place of ground beef. Less fat and with the seasoning you don't even notice the taste difference (at least I don't). <-- Great if you're trying to sneak healthier foods in!

1. Brown your meat as you normally would. Drain.
2. Add seasoning and water.

You can use pre-packaged seasoning. We make our own - healthier and cheaper. Super easy, too! It's 1 part chili powder, 1 part ground cumin, 1 part garlic powder, 1 part onion powder and 1/4 to 1/2 part cayenne (to taste). Just mix it together and you're good to go! Recipe from 5 Dollar Dinners. Notice there's no salt?? Better for you and you don't even miss it. Super tasty recipe.

Ok, so now that your meat is browning and your oven is preheated, it's time to make some chips! Lightly spray each side of your tortillas with cooking spray. Lightly salt* one side then cut in sixths. I stacked 'em 4 high and took a pizza cutter to them. Made light work of it. Lay them out single file on a cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes. That easy.

*Feel free to get creative with your seasonings. Next time I might try a dusting of cayenne or maybe a light splash of lime juice.

This is my first batch out of the oven. A nice browning from the skillet and crunch from the oven. Just a hint of salt. Yum!

Last step is to assemble your nachos. This is really up to you. I like to layer the chips with a little bit of cheese, some black beans, onions, taco meat, black olives and microwave for about 30 seconds to melt the cheese. Finished off with some fresh diced tomatoes, avocado and hot sauce. Really whatever I've got lying around the house at the time. Enjoy!!

Voila! The finished product!!

Shakeology Cleanse - Day 3

Didn't sleep well last night - had a hard time falling asleep and a hard time staying asleep. Didn't help that my 4 year old was up at 5am again. Woke up with a headache, which is really unusual for me. Not sure if it's the cleanse or something else but it's rare for me to get headaches. Stepped on the scale and saw I somehow managed to gain 0.6lbs since the first day... and got a visit from Mother Nature. :o/ Not a great start to the day. Work was more stressful than usual today, too. Kept up with the cleanse as best as I could mentally.

Food - Chocolate Shakeology for breakfast followed by a glass of green tea. Apple for snack. Spinach salad with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, grilled chicken and low fat French dressing for lunch. Decided to cheat a little and get a coffee after work to help bolster myself for an evening with the kids. I don't think they rinsed their machine out right because it had an acrid, chemical taste that burned my throat. :o( I figured it was karma getting me back for cheating. I'm an emotional eater - always have been. Gave in to temptation when I got home and grabbed some pretzel crisps. Salt and carbs - a definite no-no on the cleanse. Like I said, not a great day. Chocolate Shakeology followed by green tea for dinner. I will say, I did have a small victory today. My birthday is Saturday (yay me!) and the secretary always makes these delicious, homemade "birthday cookies" for staff. I figured I was safe and wouldn't get it until tomorrow. No such luck. She delivered that chocolate-y goodness to me this morning. I was strong, though, and resisted temptation. I put it in the freezer at school to save for tomorrow. Small victories!

Exercise - Got in a 1.6 mile walk at school and a few trips around the grocery store this afternoon. Very lethargic feeling today. I'd planned on doing a little something today but by the time I got home from work and grocery shopping and got the kids unloaded and settled in with all needs met, I was exhausted! :op

Mood - Overall ok. I was tired from lack of sleep, stressful day at work and dealing with the little ones alone for almost 6 hours this evening while my husband was at work. Survived though. :o) Looking forward to being able to eat again tomorrow. Seems all of the commercials are suddenly food related!!

Shakeology Cleanse - Day 2

Whew! Two-thirds of the way done and still going pretty strong. Fighting a headache through a bit of the day but I don't know if that's due to the cleanse, an incident that happened at school yesterday or my running last night (I sometimes get a headache an hour or so after I run for some reason).

Stepped on the scale this morning and I was down 2.2 pounds. Yay! I realize it's mostly "water weight" but it's nice to see that number move - motivating to keep going.

Food - Had my chocolate Shakeology for breakfast followed by a cup of green tea (forgot to mention the teas that I drank yesterday). Lunch was a spinach salad topped with cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices and 4oz of grilled chicken seasoned with pepper and garlic. A squirt of low-fat French dressing to top it off. After school I gave in to temptation and had a small serving of Chex Mix - had a serious craving for salty and crunchy (probably because most of my meals have been sweet and liquid). Had a chocolate Shakeology for a snack and then another for dinner, followed by a final glass of green tea. As with yesterday, no need for the extra fruit. Lots of water and I'm feeling pretty well sated.

Exercise - Walked 1.6 miles at work (we do most days) and did some light cleaning around the house. Contemplating some yoga or ab work once the kids are in bed. Nothing as intense as the run yesterday.

Mood - A little tired today but nothing unusual given the late bedtime (11:30 last night - yikes!) and the 5am wake-up with my oldest. A little crabby but, again, given the lack of sleep and chasing after a 1 year old and a 4 year old, nothing out of the ordinary. Overall, I'm finding this easier to follow than I anticipated (though I've not been as strict as it calls for with my after school snack).

One more day! :o)

Shakeology Cleanse - Day 1

I have to say, today wasn't as bad as I expected. :o)

Food - I had my Shakeology for breakfast with just water. It was a little thinner than I'm used to but not bad. Apple for snack and my salad for lunch. I did "cheat" a little and use the other half of my turkey burger (without the bun but still with the bacon and cheese...) from dinner last night as my lean protein. I also had a salad with baby spinach, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes with just a squirt of low fat French dressing. Shakeology "snack" when I got home from work and then another for dinner. LOTS of water. I was pretty excited that I wasn't even tempted to have a taste of dinner when I was cooking for the kids. Didn't even need my second fruit today.

Exercise - It's normally not recommended that you do vigorous exercise so as not to over-tax your body. I got a new pair of running shoes yesterday and since this is the first day of the cleanse (and my body hasn't figured out that this is it yet!) I decided to hit the treadmill a little. Definitely kept it easy, though. Once my body catches up with the idea that there're fewer calories coming in, ie tomorrow, it's down to yoga.

Energy - Pretty good today. I expected to be tired, especially chasing after two little ones. We'll see what tomorrow brings!

I stepped on the scale this morning before my breakfast shake. We'll see what it says tomorrow morning. 'Night all!

Decide. COMMIT. Succeed.

The Beachbody motto is a straightforward, three-step process. Step 1: Decide what you want. Step 2: Commit to making it happen. 3. Achieve success. I initially joined as a coach in August as part of a challenge group so that I could get a discount on products. Since then, I've decided I'd like to take a more active coaching role. I love the idea of helping other people achieve their health and fitness goals, too! There's something exciting about realizing you don't have to squeeze to get into your jeans when you pull them out of the dryer - I want to help other people find that feeling.

This neverending Michigan winter has zapped a bit of my energy and drive, though, especially in the last couple of weeks (woke up to snow falling today.... AGAIN!). In order to recommit myself to the cause (and my own fitness) I've decided to take on the Shakeology 3 Day Cleanse. Unlike other cleanses out there, you still get to eat. You replace 2 meals a day with a shake (I already do one, anyhow) and have a dinner full of vegetables and lean protein. Green tea, fruit and a bonus shake for snacks. While a little weight loss is expected during the cleanse, that is not the focus. The main idea is detoxing and jump starting the system. It's a physical and mental way of getting yourself back on track. I'm starting my cleanse tomorrow and will post updates as I go so you can see my progress. I've also included the cleanse plan below for you to check out. Let me know if you have any questions!

TurboFire Day 5

Sorry for the lack of posts. It's been a crazy week. We had a kitchen pipe burst so between meeting with the plumber, back to school meetings and a trip out of town I've been swamped. It'll be short and sweet today. Fifth day into my Beachbody challenge group and our daily goal was to post a picture of ourselves working out. Easier said than done I learned! I thought I had my camera set up alright but when I went to view the video it was all torso. I figured no one wants to see all that jiggle :) My 3 year old grabbed the camera and caught some of the cool down on camera. I hate watching myself on film but I figure if I do and share it, it provides more incentive for me to improve. Just wait til day 35!! No more jiggle I hope. hehe

P.S. I have a workout challenge group going on my Facebook page. No cost to join/participate. We're only halfway through the first week so there's still time to jump on in. It's an 8-week challenge total. Come check us out! Fast&Furious Fitness

Beachbody Challenge Day 1

The challenge group I'm participating in is 3-pronged: 1. exercise (duh), 2. Shakeology (really kind of enjoying this) and 3. clean eating. Ugh. That last one is going to be my biggest struggle for sure. I can make time to exercise. I can do a chocolate shake a day. In order to "eat clean" I have to overcome 31 years of bad habits. Eating clean basically means eating foods in their most natural state (or as close to it as you can safely get). Lean meats. Fruits, veggies. No packaged foods, no preservatives, no Taco Bell, McDonalds or Wendys. Oh, and no pizza. Well, not the commercial ones at least. This is going to be hard. Those meals of convenience have become a bit of a habit in our house. Heck, Friday night has become "pizza night." We eat out more than we should. I know that. But cutting everything out cold turkey... yikes! It didn't help that when I went on a message board for Beachbody coaches this morning I found a post from a coach lamenting the fact that a member of their challenge group had a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast. What?! I mean, I realize they're not the greatest for you. Sugars and all that. But really?! I'm not perfect. I'm going to mess up. Probably a lot while I get the hang of this. But there are a lot of worse things the person could have been eating... like Fruity Pebbles (which I happen to have on top of my fridge right now, by the way...). Therefore, I solemnly swear if I'm ever your coach, I am not going to freak out about an occasional slip up.

I really believe that you get out of the challenge what you put in. I enter it with that full knowledge and acceptance. If I eat a slice of pizza, or a bowl of cereal, I'm the one who suffers for it. And I'm ok with that. I don't want to develop such a complex over the clean eating that I feel guilty if I have a beer with friends or cake at my daughter's birthday party. Every healthy choice I make makes me that much better. I'm going to work hard. I'm going to 'challenge' myself to do better, to be better. But I'm not going to strive for 'perfection," that's just setting myself up for failure. As a special education teacher, setting goals is something that has been ingrained in my education. Goals have to be SMART - Strategic/Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results oriented and Time bound. So I'm setting attainable goals for myself. :o)

P.S. My first official workout of the challenge went well. I burned 458 calories according to the HRM. Pretty stoked about that!

Sweet Potato Apple Soup

My family participates in a local CSA (community supported agriculture). Read more about CSAs here.  We've gotten some fantastic produce this summer. With trips and planned nights out for dinner, I've got a stock pile going in the fridge. I was looking for something to do with my apples and sweet potatoes when I came across a recipe for apple and butternut squash soup in one of my Beachbody recipe books.  I wasn't too sure about the apple soup idea but I have to say, it turned out great!!  By the time I substituted out for ingredients that I don't have or don't like, I've almost got a whole new recipe. Here's my recipe with the original recipe is linked below.

Sweet Potato Apple Soup
4 c. peeled, chopped sweet potatoes
5 medium Fuji apples, peeled and chopped
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
4 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 c. homemade vegetable broth
2 c. water
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 c. unsweetened almond milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Other seasonings to taste: thyme, rosemary, etc

1. Steam chopped sweet potatoes until soft.
2. While sweet potatoes are steaming, saute onions in oil until browned, 8-10 minutes. Add apples, vegetable broth, nutmeg and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 10 minutes, until apples are soft. Remove from heat.
3. Puree sweet potatoes with almond milk (may need to do in two batches). Set aside.
4. Puree apple/onion mix until smooth. Stir sweet potatoes and apple mix in large saucepan. Season to taste. Bring to a boil. Cover, simmer 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Great to freeze and take for lunch at work!

Original recipe courtesy of Beachbody: Apple and Butternut Squash Soup

New Gadget!

I picked up a heart rate monitor at the store the other day. Not knowing how much use I'll get out of it or what features I really need, I grabbed the cheapest one I could find. I was really excited to try it out for my workout yesterday... Until about 10 minutes in when my feet couldn't keep up with the rest of me and I rolled my ankle. To add insult to injury, I fell flat on my butt causing my darling 3 year old to laugh and run upstairs to tell my husband. Glad someone thought it was funny... :op The ankle was a bit tender and with my big Beachbody challenge starting on Thursday I didn't want to risk injuring it further so I decided that was a good time to take a break. Stupid HRM said I burned a whole 13 calories in those 10 minutes. Needless to say it was not a great workout day for me.

Not one to let a bad day get in my way, I was back at it today. And boy did I need to de-stress. The weather was gloomy, the little one is teething again and my oldest has entered the phase where she questions EVERYTHING. We had multiple errands to run today and my oldest fell asleep on the way home, giving me some much-needed peace. I really just wanted to curl up on the couch and watch TV but opportunities to exercise uninterrupted don't happen often enough. So I laced up the tennis shoes and strapped on the heart rate monitor, making it a smidge tighter this time. I slid the little one into her exersaucer, slipped the DVD into the player and got to work on my TurboFire workout. I managed to get in 30 minutes of exercise before the youngest had had enough. I have to admit, I was kind of thankful for the break. I was exhausted, but in a good way. And the best part? My HRM said I burned 320 calories. Woohoo!

TurboFire Day 1; Shakeology Day 2

My challenge doesn't officially start until the 15th but I thought it would be a good idea to check out the  videos and get a look at what I'm in for. The first video in the series is the Fire Starter. Thirty-eight minutes of of a high energy kickbox/dance routine. It was fast-paced but doable. I was definitely lost at times but Chalene does a nice job slowing it down when first learning the steps. I just got off track when we started combo-ing steps one into another. Thankfully I wasn't so lost as to become discouraged. There's nothing worse when first starting a program than to think "no way I'm going to be able to figure this out." I think after doing the video a couple of times, I'll have it down. The time went by quickly and although I feel as though I worked out, I still have the strength and energy to get through the rest of the day. We'll see what tomorrow brings but I'm not anticipating any lingering soreness at this point. I'm excited to see what the rest of the program brings!

As for the Shakeology... wow! I'm a skeptic when it comes to the "superfood" and weight loss ads. They always seem gimmicky to me and I question the validity of the statements they make. I normally don't buy in but part of the challenge is to do a 30-day trial of Shakeology. If we're not sold by that point, then we don't have to continue with it for the 90-day challenge.

I've tried Kellogg's Special K meal replacements as well as Slim Fast. They always leave me hungry. I decided to replace breakfast yesterday with Shakeology. We were totally out of milk of any sort so I just mixed my scoop of Chocolate Shakeology with a cup of cold water. It tasted surprisingly good for something so healthy for you!! I was not nearly as hungry as I'd been with other shakes though I did feel like I needed something more substantial. I know a lot of people will blend the Shakeology with a banana, water and ice. Not a bad idea. One thing I noticed was that I did have more energy through the day. Which is saying a lot considering the night before my darling eldest wouldn't go to bed until midnight!! And then was up and ready to go at 6:20am. :o/

Went shopping yesterday and picked up some almond milk. Breakfast today was a scoop of Shakeology and a cup of unsweetened almond milk. Just that little addition helped. The drink was creamier and seemed to stick a little longer. I got through my workout this morning and still wasn't too hungry. I've noticed both days that after lunch I get "snacky" again. I don't know how much of this is habit and how much is hunger. I'm hoping that as my body adjusts to the new diet plan, the hunger will go down. As with yesterday, I have more energy to get through the day. Kids were up multiple times last night but I was able to get through a workout, chores around the house and still chase my daughter around the front yard this afternoon - without feeling like I wanted to curl up for a nap.

Shakeology is kind of daunting at around $4/serving, especially when I'm used to stretching a loaf of bread and deli meat into multiple lunches or a box of cereal and some milk for breakfast. That said, it's definitely healthier - providing tons of nutrients without the "bad" stuff in my sugary cereal or processed breads. And if this energy boost keeps up, then I won't have need for the energy drinks and coffee that normally get me through a long day after a sleepless night. It may be a little more expensive than my normal meal plan, but not significantly and at this point I'm thinking it's well worth it.

Interested in trying TurboFire or Shakeology? Beachbody is having a sale on TurboFire right now and they have a 30 day money back guarantee on the Shakeology. Just return it and get your money back (less S&H) even if your bag is empty!!! Interested? Contact me here to find out how!

It's Here!!

My Beachbody Challenge pack arrived today!! I was so excited when the mailman started his walk up to the door but told myself that opening the package was my reward for finishing up the dishes. Boy is it a good thing I waited! There was so much information to take in!

What I got in my lovely blue box:
- 30 day supply of Chocolate Shakeology meal replacement
- TurboFire workout DVDs
- Info guides for Shakeology and TurboFire
- DVDs/CDs with coaching tools
- Workout schedule
- Shakeology recipes
- A TurboFire "fuel the fire" guide with tons of recipes
- A bonus Thin Kitchen recipe book with even more recipes
and
- A bonus DVD with 3 more workouts

Not too shabby, huh?

After tossing the promotional materials I quickly curled up on the couch with the recipe books. I'm a recipe junkie. My husband can attest to this. I have a box full of recipe cards and probably hundreds of pages I've ripped out of magazines that have recipes I thought I might someday try. One thing I've always found with "healthy" recipes is that they either sound too fancy or way too boring. They're not something I'd ever make. I was pleasantly surprised with what I found in these books. Sirloin tip roast. Chicken and pear salad. Chocolate peanut butter smoothie. Blueberry muffins. There's even a section devoted to "sweet temptations (be still my heart!)."

I'm excited to check out the videos. My challenge group doesn't start until the 15th but I want to get a feel for the moves before then. My right thigh is still a little sore from the run Saturday (probably should have stretched a bit before and after. Lesson learned) but hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get the first one to check out!

The Happiest 5K

Let me begin by saying that I am not a runner. I have never been a runner. So when a friend of mine decided to get a team together for the local Color Run I thought to myself, “Sure! Why not?!” I’ve been looking for a way to get rid of some of that post-baby flub and thought this was a great motivator. I had 5 months to prepare and I embraced it eagerly. I started the Couch to 5K treadmill program and the first week nearly kicked my butt. It was rough. Who knew 60 seconds could feel so long when you’re running?! But I stuck to it. And by the 8th week I surprised myself by running a solid 30 minutes. It may not have been the fastest, but I did it. I cannot say enough positive about the Couch to 5K program. I love how you build a little each week. It really works!!

Fast forward a couple of weeks to the beginning of summer vacation and the end of all diet and exercise plans I’d been sticking to. We jumped from one trip to another. Before I knew it, the Color Run was upon me. I awoke at 6:30 (ugh…) and threw on my running clothes. Thankfully my husband and best friend were participating, too. We managed to find a parking space forever far from the start line (with a short uphill hike to get us warmed up) and joined the throngs of other white-clad runners. We bounced nervously from foot to foot as the crowd pushed towards the start line. None of us had any idea what to expect. My friend is recovering from an ankle injury and opted to walk the 5K so she went out in one of the first groups while my husband and I waited. Finally, it was our group’s turn and the crowd surged forward…. Slowly. Oh so slowly. As we rounded the first corner, the group started to thin out as some people began to run. My husband and I decided to join them. I have to admit, I loved weaving in and out of the walkers as we ran. (Not trying to be jerks, they were just spread across the entire road). I’m proud to say that we actually jogged quite a ways before slowing down for a walk break. The color lanes provided other opportunities for rest as the participants lined up for their chance to be blasted with color. We ran some. We walked some. With 1K to go, my 3 year old joined us and boy can that kid run! She was so excited to be participating that she ran the whole way!! We paused for a moment just before the finish line to wait for our friend and forty-one minutes after we began we crossed the finish line, together.

 It wasn’t fast. It probably wasn’t pretty, and I’m definitely feeling the burn today (not to mention still a little colorful despite scrubbing). But we did it and I am so proud of all of us for completing the race. It was an absolute blast and a great race for beginner runners. I can see why they bill themselves as the “Happiest 5k on the Planet.” One of my happiest moments of the day? When my daughter looked up at me when we’d finished and said, “Mommy, I want to run some more.”

 My husband, daughter and myself with 1K to go! ->

Me!

I have always struggled with being overweight. Just admitting that publicly is hard for me. I've always been a private person and don't like people to see my weaknesses. I was somewhat active in high school - a member of the school swim team as well as the city team. Then I hit college and gained the dreaded freshman 15....and sophomore 20... I did the swim team for about the first two weeks of the first semester but balancing two jobs and a full class load meant that something had to go. 5am practices just didn't cut it and the more "active" I became with work and school, the less "active" I became.

Since then I've watched my weight do the proverbial yo-yo. I moved abroad for a year after college and watched the weight drop since I was walking everywhere. Came back home and gained those darn LBs back. Got engaged and worked on getting in shape for the wedding. Then we moved, started new jobs and started a family. "Hello LBs. Can't say as I've missed you." My first daughter was born in September '09 and my second in October '12. While I've managed to lose the weight I gained with the pregnancies, I'm nowhere near where I'd like to be. I love good food (though not always good for you) and am great at making plans and then making excuses. Balancing a full-time job and taking care of things on the homefront makes time for myself a rarity. Last Thanksgiving my husband and I made a decision to get healthier. We signed up for MyFitnessPal (awesome tool, by the way) and sought out exercise programs. He decided to do P90X and I decided to do, well, some of the videos. We signed up for our first 5K - the Color Run - and since I've never been a runner (seriously, not a pretty sight) I decided to do the Couch to 5K program. I completed it in the spring and looked for something else to do next. My husband was finishing up P90X and talking about starting Insanity so I thought, "Sure! Why not?!" and started the Insanity program. But then summer break hit and we hopped from one family vacation to another. Exercise went out the window. MyFitnessPal was right behind it. Despite having the summer "off," I haven't touched a treadmill in months and have done workout videos only splotchily. I'm doing great when I think to clench my abs as I sprint up the stairs while doing laundry. The Color Run is tomorrow and am I worried? Nope. It's an untimed "fun run" and my 3 year old will be joining us for the last leg so it's not like I really have to push myself, right? (see what I mean about making excuses?)

So what changed? A week or so ago I was back-to-school shopping with my mom and sister. I went store to store looking for something new for the fall. Just about everything I looked at or tried on just didn't look right. And I'm tired of it. I'd love to be able to wear the cute clothes and actually look good in them. But it's more than that. I want to be healthy for my kids. Not only to be around longer but to set a good example for them at a young age, to help them live a healthier lifestyle. This means educating myself and making some major changes. So when a MFP buddy brought up doing a Beachbody challenge I hesitantly agreed to join (that's a bit of $ to be putting up in an era when teachers are taking cuts). The more I think about it, the more excited I become. I look forward to the team aspect and the support/accountability inherent to the challenge. I'm really hoping this will be the thing that sticks. Follow me on the journey and help keep me accountable! My Beachbody Page.