UPDATED Crock Pot Chicken Tacos [Recipe]

This is probably one of my absolute favorite recipes of all time. I adore Mexican food. Probably more so than Indian food (and that's saying something). And while this isn't some crazy authentic recipe, it is easy to throw together and it tastes amazing! It looks a hot mess, but it is oh so yummy! I found it courtesy of one of my favorite food bloggers The Girl Who Ate Everything and we have tweaked it and eaten it at least once per month for the past few years. It can be found here. Picture courtesy of her!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken breasts either frozen or thawed
• 3 cups black beans with a little bit of the reserved liquid* (see prep note below)
• 1 bag frozen corn
• 1 jar of favorite salsa (I use medium Newman's Own because its clean)
• 8 oz Greek yogurt (I use Fage)

Directions

1. Place chicken in bottom of crock pot and dump everything else on top. Cook on Low for 4-5 hours.
2. After its done cooking, remove chicken and shred it. Place it back in pot and add the yogurt and stir. Let sit for about 10 minutes.
3. Serve over brown rice or in lettuce wraps (I'm currently going what I like to call paleo-lite so, no rice for me)
4. Devour.

Oh, I'm getting hungry just thinking about these! Enjoy!

*Black Beans prep note:
So, I stopped using canned veggies for the most part because of the high sodium content and my desire to be as clean as possible. So I purchased a bag of dry Goya black beans instead and cooked them in my crock pot:

1. Pour black beans into bottom of crock pot.
2. Cover with water up to two inches about the beans.
3. Cook on high for about 3 hours until tender. 
4. One, 16 oz bag of dry beans yields 6 cups of wet beans. Use 3 cups and a bit of reserve liquid for this recipe.

Nutrition breakdown:

Makes about 6 servings (give or take)

Calories per serving: 310
Total Fat: 2g
Cholesterol: 62mg
Sodium: 480mg
Potassium: 120mg
Total Carbs: 46g
Dietary Fiber: 16g
Sugars: 6g
Protein: 40g
Vitamin A: 15%
Vitamin C: 5%
Calcium: 11%
Iron: 20%

Chocolate Banana Almond Butter Shake [Recipe]

I found this via one of my classmates' Pinterest boards yesterday and made it this morning after my 3-miler. It is really yummy, and once again, customizable. The original recipe did not call for cocoa, but I added it anyway. You can probably add protein powder if you are so inclined, but as a paleo/clean-eater I prefer not to do that.

Pics to come. I devoured this bad boy wayyyy too fast to get a pic of it this morning! It is very delicious and only takes about 5 minutes to prepare. I'll probably be enjoying this bad boy all week for breakfast since I'm always running late in the morning.

Ingredients:

• One large banana
• 6 oz unsweetened original almond milk
• 1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 TBSP raw almond butter (if going paleo--should contain only raw almonds or pasteurized raw almonds on the ingredients list)
• 6-10 ice cubes (depends on how slushy-like you want it--I used 6 and it was just a little thicker than milk--just the way I like it)
• 1 Stevia in the raw packet

Directions

1. Add all ingredients to blender and blend. The end. 

Makes about 10oz give or take

Nutrition Breakdown:

Calories: 248

Total Fat: 12g

Saturated: 1g

Polyunsaturated: 0g

Monounsaturated: 1g

Sodium: 114mg

Potassium: 532mg

Total Carbs: 39g

Dietary Fiber: 7g

Sugars: 19g

Protein: 6g

Vitamin A: 10%

Vitamin C: 20%

Calcium: 39%

Iron: 10%

Quick Chickpea Curry [Recipe]

I really realllllly love Indian food, but it is SOOOO not paleo/clean eating friendly at all. What, with the  heavy cream and the naan and the basmati rice. I want to, but I just...can't. As much as I crave it like always. If you have any paleo/clean eating Indian recipes PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send them my way. I will love you forever.

All that being said, I did come across (on Pinterest, of course) a clean eating recipe for curry. It's not perfect but it was spicy and savory and good enough for me even without the naan and basmati!

I adapted the recipe from Kitchen Demure and the pic that actually looks decent is courtesy of her! The other one is mine, taken straight from the iPhone. Photography is not my thing. Deal with it.

Quick Chickpea Curry

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chickpeas (I used Goya low sodium--currently looking for a sodium-less version)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger (or 1/4 tsp ground ginger)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 2 tablespoons tomato pasta
• 2 cups water
• 1 couple of handfuls of baby spinach (I used spinach/arugula mix because that's what I had on hand)
• salt and pepper to taste (I only used pepper)

Directions

1. Heat medium pan to med/high and add oil and onions, sauté until slightly tender.
2. Add garlic and ginger and stir (you may want to add just a tablespoon or two of water at this point if you are using the ground ginger otherwise it will burn to the pan).
3. Add garam masala and stir until just combined.
4. Add chickpeas and water, stir and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
5. Add tomato paste and salt and pepper and stir to combine.
6. Add your baby spinach and let wilt.
7. Serve as is or over rice with naan (I'm jealous of you for even thinking about doing that without me). I ate it as is.

Makes one serving (about 1.5 cups).

Calories: 438

Total Fat: 15g

Saturated: 2g

Polyunsaturated: 2g

Monounsaturated: 2g

Sodium: 287mg

Potassium: 162mg

Total Carbs: 64g

Dietary Fiber: 17g

Sugars: 7g

Protein: 15g

Vitamin A: 54%

Vitamin C: 23%

Calcium: 13%

Iron: 29%

YUMMMMMYYYYY

Chickpea Avocado Puree [Recipe]

I made this awesomeness today after my run. It's nothing special, but I was starving and I had the ingredients on hand, and I figured I'd post it to give others a jumping off point. It's another one of those fully customizable recipes so feel free to change it up as much as it suits your needs!

Ingredients

• 1 cup chickpeas (drained and rinsed, you can leave their skins on)
• 1 avocado
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 clove minced garlic
• something to serve with or on
• Salt and pepper to taste (I only add pepper)

Directions

1. Put all ingredients into the food processor and puree.
2. Serve it any way you want (with chips, veggies, etc.) I served it on one leaf of swiss chard, cut in half, and topped with red onions and tomatoes. I rolled each leaf up so it was like a wrap. Yummmmm!

This recipe makes 1 serving of about 1.5 cups.

Calories: 521

Total Fat: 28g

Saturated Fat: 3g

Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g

Monounsaturated Fat: 18g

Sodium: 146mg (I used Goya low sodium chickpeas because I had them stored in my pantry for months. I am looking to switch to a sodium-less brand in order to remain completely "clean")

Potassium: 930mg

Total Carbs: 63g

Dietary Fiber: 26g

Protein: 12g

Vitamin C: 36%

Calcium: 12%

Iron: 24%

There you have it, a nice healthy snack!

Back to Business

WELP! School started yesterday! And it is already in full swing....it's like I never left. Wait. I did leave? Really? When? I feel like I just started my break and then it was over. Granted, since I did fail that first anatomy exam I had to retake it 5 days after pretty much all the rest of my class had already started their break. So I got 2.5 weeks off. I know, that's nothing to sneeze at considering in the "real world" you don't actually get any winter breaks. yea, yea...I get it. But it was a nice to weeks nonetheless. I worked which was amazing, because I definitely miss working with actual patients sooooo much. You would think that there would be more patient interaction in PT school, but no, you pretty much work on each other 90% of the time. Anyway, I digress....

So, school has gone well the past two days. I've already got a study system down that incorporates both my computer and long-hand note taking which is so far working out well. I have my first quiz in Movement Science II bright and early tomorrow morning on "Normal Gait" and then I plan on spending the rest of my day at the outlet mall shopping for new school clothes. Assuming I don't need a nap by 12. I have spent the past two nights up until 1 am doing homework or cleaning. Hopefully I will get to bed at a decent hour tonight. I still have a few things to review.

Anyway, the stuff you really care about (no one reads this, but I guess I should sort of stick to the topic anyway):

Yesterday and today both went really well, food-wise and exercise-wise!

Wednesday:
B: 2 protein pancakes with strawberries and blackberries and real maple syrup
L: Mushroom/Onion Turkey burger with balsamic vinegar, mustard, red onion, tomato, spinach/arugula mix and pickles, served with baby carrots
D: 10oz salmon filet (in the frying pan with just a tiny bit of EVOO, garlic powder, onion powder and pepper), spaghetti squash and puttanesca sauce
Sn: Banana
Tidbits: I will admit that I DID have a few bites of Bubs' mac 'n cheese, BECAUSE, I stopped by Kraft because of all of the crazy chemical names in the ingredients and bought Annie's instead and I wanted to see how it stacked up (it's good). Also, that peanut butter tree was still on my counter as of last night so I gave it to Bubs for dessert but not before I took a (smallish) bite out of it...what?! I had to make sure it wasn't rotten--God knows I've never let a Reese's last that long so I'm not sure how long they keep. ;)

Anyway, so totals:
Goal: 1250
Consumed: 1682
Exercise: 312 (I ran/walked about 2.68 miles around my neighborhood yesterday)
Net: 1370

Not too shabby!

Today:
B: 2 protein pancakes, strawberries (my blackberries were moldy after only 4 days...I'm mad), and real maple syrup
L: Chickpea and avocado puree with tomato and red onion wrapped in swiss chard
D: Chickpea curry
MSn: 1 banana
ASn: 1 protein pancake with almond butter and half a banana
Tidbits: I had 2 bites of Bubs' leftover mac 'n cheese to check if it was too hot (seriously!). I had one bite of Hubs' garlic bread that he had with his dinner. Is swear that was all today! Be proud, people!

Totals:
Goal: 1250
Consumed: 1733
Exercise: 393 (I ran/walked for 4 miles near my campus)
Net:  1340


So, I'm doing well! Added a few new recipes today (nothing too crazy) so check them out!

'Night!

Starting Off Right!

Today went really well, in my humble opinion:

B: 2 protein pancakes with blackberries/strawberries and real maple syrup
L: Mushroom/Onion Turkey burger with spinach and arugula mix, red onion, tomato, pickles, mustard and balsamic vinegar with baby carrots
D: Mushroom/Onion Turkey burger with avocado salsa and a bag of the Birdseye Steamfresh broccoli cuts (couldn't afford the florets this time...sigh)
Ds: large banana with honey and cinnamon

Totals: 1293
Goal: 1250

Not too shabby. I want to stay under 1300, so I set my calorie counter at 1250 just to give myself some wiggle room.

Alright, that's all. Tomorrow is the big day--starting semester #2 of PT school. Aaaaand of course I still have a few things to get done around here still and its 11pm....soooooo, goodnight! :)

New Year...New Perspective

Happy New Year!!!!

I am so excited to be starting this New Year off right! I didn't drink last night. We stayed in, actually. Did a little bit of shopping during the day, made dinner, watched a movie, watched the ball drop, went to bed. It was glorious!

And today we are doing our New Year's serious house clean and getting ready for school to start all over again tomorrow for both myself and Bubs.

I did want to take a second to reflect on all of the great things that happened to me this past year, whether they be triumphs of struggles, they were all worth it. I...

• started PT school
• passed my first semester of PT school
• lost 26lbs and learned how to eat right and exercise again
• started to really love me for me for the first time in a long time
• got closer to my husband
• watched my baby grow into her personality just a bit more
• made a huge move to a new state away from my family and friends
• made new friends (who are wonderful by the way)
• started to organize my life a little bit

That's at least some of them. And I listed some of my "resolutions" for 2013 in my last post. But let's recap:

• Get down to 150-160lbs (AND STAY THERE)
• Pass my second semester of PT school (with flying colors)
• Be more organized and on top of things this semester
• Don't let my stress over school derail my eating and exercising like it did last semester

The best part about my eating and exercising, is that I have a goal date this time! My mom (who is the most amazing person ever) is taking me, Hubs, Bubs, my sister and her boyfriend to Cabo in June during my break from classes. CRAZY, RIGHT?!?!? And the best part is that my super awesome Grandpa and his wife, Pam (also super awesome) are joining us! It is going to be the best vacation of my life. I am so unbelievably excited. And, I really want to be able to wear a bathing suit (bikini or otherwise) and feel confident in doing so. Actually, I want to be able to wear anything on this vacation and feel confident and not uncomfortable in any way. So! Here's to June 7th! Time to REALLY get my ass in gear. No excuses, play like a champion. Right?

Here's how I did yesterday:

B: 2 protein pancakes (I made them with greek yogurt this time because I looked at the labels on the cottage cheeses at Walmart and they are most definitely NOT clean), with blackberries/strawberries and two tablespoons of real maple syrup

L: Mushroom/Onion Turkey burger topped with coarse ground mustard, tomatoes, red onion, arugula and spinach mix and 1/2 of an avocado; baby carrots

Sn: Bubs and I shared an unsalted, butter-free pretzel when we were shopping at Target

D: spaghetti squash, puttanesca, and grilled haddock

Ds: Hubs and I split the last of the pecan pie from Christmas

Totals: About 2000 calories give or take because I didn't measure the olive oil I mixed in with the spaghetti squash or cooked the haddock with. Shrug.

Anyway, I was satisfied all day for the most part. Except for when I was ravenous at Target and Bubs really wanted a snack. We had just one stop left and were going to be home within an hour but I couldn't deny the baby a snack considering she didn't want lunch and was going on like 4 hours of nothing. But when I got her that pretzel, OMG it smelled and looked so delicious I just had to have some. So I caved. I ate about 1/3 of it. And the pecan pie, well its been staring me in the face for the past several days and I just wanted it to go away before New Year's Day so I didn't ruin my "resolutions". So we ate it and its gone and I don't have to worry about it again until Thanksgiving. Thank God. Now the only thing left to stare me in the face is the Reese's Peanut Butter Christmas Tree sitting on my counter. But I'm giving it to Bubs for dessert tonight so I will no longer have to worry about THAT either. Frankly, I'm surprised it has lasted the 4 days it HAS been staring me in the face anyway. Will power. I'm working on it.

But I stepped on the scale today and its said 187.8lbs. I'm down 5.2lbs since Saturday. Probably water weight, or just me eating a little bit healthier and in moderation over the past few days so my body is just getting itself back down to equilibrium. I no longer feel as bloated as I did last week, so things are going well so far. I just need to make sure I eat every 4 hours so I don't start to get ravenous and eat a whole bunch of shit I don't need to.

Alright, well that's all for updates. Here's to a happy and HEALTHY (and maybe a little bit sexy) 2013!!! :)