Healthy Holiday Treat

Need an easy, healthy TREAT to bring to the Christmas parties this weekend?

Here you go! I got this idea from a teammate and am totally thinking about bringing these on Saturday!

Ingredients:
1 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
2 ripe medium bananas, mashed
½ c. mini semi-sweet choc. chips
¼ c. sliced almonds (more if desired)
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. sea salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350⁰ F
Coat baking sheet with coconut oil spray.
Mix all ingredients together: I mashed the bananas, and then mixed in the oats, cinnamon and salt. I stirred in the almonds and chocolate chips.
Drop by Tbsp onto baking sheet and flatten with spoon.
Bake 14-15 minutes or until firm.
Makes 8-12 cookies

21 day fixers --- this is similar to the recipe in our book with a few substitutions. I would use less chocolate chips if on the fix. 2 cookies=1 yellow

Bruschetta Chicken Pasta

I am IN LOVE with pasta. IT is easily one of my biggest downfalls to eating healthy, but every once in a while, we just gotta do it, right? Here's how I made this yummy dish cleaner! I had two servings of pasta under my chicken because I hadn't had any carbs yet today and thought I had the extra room, but boy did I fill up QUICKLY!

BRUSCHETTA CHICKEN PASTA
1 package chicken breast, thawed
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 8oz can tomato sauce
About an oz of basil/italian seasoning
3/4 cup shredded cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Whole grain pasta noodles of choice (I like angel hair)

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Mix diced tomatoes, seasoning, and cheese together in bowl (not pictured)
2. Flaten chicken breasts into 1/2 inch thick and then top with mixture from step one. Picture #1
3. Place tomato sauce and garlic in bottom of large skillet. Picture #2
4. Add chicken with topping to pan and bring the sauces to a boil. Picture #3
5. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way through. Picture #4
6. Cook whole grain pasta noodles to preference.
7. Place about a half cup of drained noodles on plate or in a bowl.
8. Place chicken and toppings on top of noodles. Drizzle some extra sauce around the pasta for added moisture and flavor. Then INDULGE and ENJOY! Picture #5

21 Day Fix Containers:
About 1/2-1 green depending on sauce/tomato on your serving
1 1/2 red
1/2 blue (1 blue is you like a lot of cheese and added extra)
1 yellow (Mine above is 2 yellow)
Seasonings and garlic are FREE!

Does Shakeology have a weird after taste?

So here is my two cents:

I have tried all of the flavors except green berry. I love shakeology and swear by it. When I talk to people I hear a lot of "I don't like shakes" or "shakes are chalky or have a funky aftertaste." I get it, we try something we think is similar and it isn't a great experience, so we give up on the idea forever. Whatev, no big deal. Right?

WRONG! Most people just need to find their favorite way to prepare their Shakeology and sometimes it takes a couple tries. Need not be worried, once you find your soul mate recipe, there will be no turning back. I will give it to all you nay Sayers on only ONE of the flavors that I have tried, and that is strawberry. It tastes delicious until you get to the aftertaste. However, I really don't want you to confuse this with the VEGAN TROPICAL Strawberry flavor, which is what inspired this post.

 I am at heart a chocolate FREAK and when I started my journey, the only thing that came even close to satisfying that void in my life was chocolate Shakeology. No joke, if I didn't have my shake, I was doomed. Especially because I always blend mine 99% of the time and I don't carry a blender with me everywhere I go and midday, those cravings take over. I have been drinking 90% chocolate since July 2014 and randomly stealing a packet of vanilla or strawberry from my mom just to have a different change of pace. I decided that I wanted to switch it up a little more and completely changed my monthly order to the tropical strawberry. I was skeptical and nervous because the regular strawberry did give me that aftertaste and I was worried I would have a whole month supply of it, even knowing I could exchange it at no cost to me.

It finally arrives and I cannot tell you how pleasantly surprised I was and that this actually CONTENDED for my heart against the chocolate. I am loving it and it's been about a week. ZERO aftertaste, and the flavor is much more dynamic than the regular strawberry, in my opinion. Plus, my chocolate cravings are still in check, which is what worried me the most.

So all in all, don't close the door on anything until you have thoroughly gone through the process of trying it. And if you're nervous about doing something new, just try it and get it over with. It may just change your life.

If you are interested in trying this out feel free to let me know or just go to www.shakeology.com/kljeska

I haven't had a lot of groceries or time to come up with any cool recipes, but this is what I've tried putting in it thus far in random combinations and all has been phenomenal:

Banana 

PB2

Almond butter

Almond milk

Chia seeds

Strawberries 

Cinnamon