Baked Zucchini Fries! || Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 Zucchini
• Egg (use 2 eggs if you want to substitute out milk)
• 1/4 Cup Milk
• 1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs {i used croutons}
• 1/4 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
• Mix Bread crumbs and cheese in 1 bowl
• Milk and egg in a separate bowl
• Roll zucchini strips in the milk/egg mixture first
• then into the cheese and bread crumbs
• place on sheet (line with tin foil for easier clean up
• Bake for 20-25 minutes!

Please Share!

Follow me in INSTAGRAM !!

{Fitness/TummyTuck Instagram} 

{Family Makeup Instagram}

Subscribe for Emails on New posts!
(left side bar)

 Follow me on Bloglovin' 

  

Eating Healthy on a Budget!

Im so sorry im slacking on my blog posts!

Better late then never though right!?

Ok, so one of the BIGGEST myths... is that eating healthy is more expensive then eating bad.

{STOP THE EXCUSES!}

But if you legit believe that... i am going to help bust this myth :))

First of all.... sit down and really check your receipts, bank accounts, etc... and add up the amount of money you spend on eating out, hitting the fast food places, etc etc.

It will shock you.

You gotta stop that!

Every once in a while is ok, but we go out way more then we think we do!

and it all adds up!

2nd of all.... WALMART always tends to be cheapest.

Ok lets move on.

----------------------------------------------------------------

So basic foods we buy to be healthy....

*Chicken

*Hamburger

*Pork

*Fish

*Veggies

*Fruits

*Whole wheat bread

*Nuts {optional}

Now meat can be pricey. But regardless if we are eating bad or good, meat tends to be a staple food that we HAVE to buy. So i wont be comparing meats.

But one thing i will say, is bulk bags of frozen chicken 

is a way cheaper deal then the packaged cuts!

Bad foods........

Good foods............

So in actuality.. if you times each meal eating out, by how many people in your family... you're spending up to $40 or more! Or at fast food, You're spending $20 or more for ONE meal. Where a meal with chicken, veggies, and a light carb, you spend more like $10 or less when you divide out how many servings of an item you bought in bulk divides out to be!

The other night... we had spaghetti squash {$5.00} a can of tomato sauce on top {1.00} and that was it! a $6.00 meal for a family of 4! (yes Baiden had some, and i think we all had 2nds!) Adding in meat is an option as well!

----------------------------------------

So now that this myth is busted...

go my friends... buy good foods! they aren't more expensive!

This was in my last post.. but ill post again!

Be sure to check out Holly's post on eating healthy on a budget!

--------------------------------------

Check out THIS post for a discount code of some AMAZING jewelry! And a $50 gift card giveaway to Bella Ella Boutique is coming! STAY TUNED GUYS!!

Dont go MIA from the Young&Restless Blog!

Google reader is donezo as of July 1st.

 Follow me on Bloglovin' so we dont get lost in the hiatus!

 

"Abs Are Made in the Kitchen".. Why Good Nutrition is Key

We've all heard the saying "Abs are made in kitchen".

But is it true?!

ABSOLUTELY!

(get it. ABsolutely..... :S )

So what does this mean?!

While cardio and ab workouts are still necessary, they will be in vain if you are eating crap.

CLEAN EATING is the only way to go if you are seeking out your hidden abdominal muscles. 

I did a post on simple tips for changing your lifestyle

and EASING into clean eating.

Find it HERE <---->

Clean eating means things that are natural. Grow out of the earth or come from an animal. Anything that comes in a box or can and package, have chemicals, preservatives, and CRAP that likes to hang tight on your stomach.

• Cut out white flour (WHOLE wheat in moderation)
• Cut out refined sugars and salts

 -Sea salt is great. Sweeteners are BAD. They confuse your body and mess up your metabolism. Putting chemicals into your body is never a good substitute

• Eat GOOD fats. Ie avocado, nuts, etc.
• DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!! {cant emphasize that enough}
• Commit 100%.

     -Of course cheat meals are ok, but if you're really committed to gaining the physique you desire, you    have to go into it full heartedly and COMMIT! Even if its not the ABS you desire. If you want to be your healthiest, clean eating 24/7 is the way to go!

• Count Calories. 

-Lastly, if fat loss is your goal, calories in vs calories out is the only way to go! Counting calories is SO annoying. But if you want fat loss, you kinda have to to make sure you're on track! Once you're at your goal, dont count, just commit to clean eating and exercising and you'll be good :)

Now, i have NEVER had to watch what i eat because i was so active. I used to run a lot and did an aerobics class in high school. So when i got pregnant with my first kid, had high blood pressure and couldnt even get off the couch much or my heart would explode, my poor eating habits caught up with me.

Ive lost all the weight, but battle with Hashimotos Hypothyroidism now.

A few weeks ago, i tried the 100% clean eating thing... and holy crap, i was amazed.

It really does work!

I know im not the best example. I dont eat 100% clean but i am slowly getting there.

And I'm still pretty swollen in my lower tummy from my surgery.

But i can DEFINITELY see lots of definition forming in my upper abs :))

You can do it guys!

Take baby steps and slowly it will just become habit!

A new LIFESTYLE :))

**CHEST BUMP!**

Dont forget to go see what Holly has to say on this topic!

-----------------------------------

Check out THIS post for a discount code of some AMAZING jewelry! And a $50 gift card giveaway to Bella Ella Boutique is coming! STAY TUNED GUYS!!

Dont go MIA from the Young&Restless Blog!

Google reader is donezo as of July 1st.

 Follow me on Bloglovin' so we dont get lost in the hiatus!

{Recipe} Honey Sauced Chicken

Honey Sauced Chicken

This is a crock pot type recipe.
However you can do it in your oven too if you have less time.

You will need:
3/4 pound chicken (of your choice)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/8 cup chopped onion (or 1/16 cup onion flakes)
1/8 cup ketchup
1 Tbs. vegetable oil1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3 hours or on high 1 1/2 hours. Chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce. Serve over rice or noodles.

Guys i seriously had to google how to "mince" garlic haha.

To bake chicken as a 30 minute meal:Dice chicken and season both sides with salt and pepper, place in 8x8 pan. Pour sauce over chicken and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.
Serves 2.

I was short on time and used my oven but here is the end product..

Mine was more soupy than saucey.. assuming it did that because i used the oven instead of slow cooking it in the crock pot.

It still was SOOO delicious! I think i might make it again tonight :)

I HAVE BIG NEWS!!!!

Are you ready for it??

Are you sure!?

K well here it comes!!

So i hope this news isnt a disappointment to those of you who are thinking this is a "IM PREGNANT!" post cuz its not. Its even better! Haha ok so myabe not BETTER but, with this big news we can consider baby news. Anywho.. k here it is.

For the first time in 9 FREAKING MONTHS............

MY THYROID LEVEL IS NORMAL!!

HALLE-freaking-LUJAH !

Im trying not to get my hopes up cuz i have an auto immune thyroid disorder so basically my body can decide to destroy my thyroid some more at any time. BOO.

I guess HERE is where i will start my weight loss journey.

I know ive already come a long way sense ive had Braylee but im still 30 pounds over weight and that is NOT ok. I dont feel like myself and i will not settle for less.

I just want to be healthy.

not skinny. HEALTHY!

and comfortable in my own skin!

But along the baby note.

Braylee is almost 2 1/2 years old. So age spacing wise, we are in the clear for me to get pregnant. But i always said i want my thyroid under control before i get pregnant. And now it is... so i guess we are in the clear there too.....

BUT. I dont feel ready yet. I want my thyroid to be under control for a few months.

Im scared of loosing another baby. 

My Endocrinologist said that by getting pregnant my thyroid will go out of control again and ill need to go in like every 2 weeks to get my levels monitored but if my thyroid is too high or too low, my baby will have disabilities.

So all im hearing is that i will probably miscarry and i will probably have a disabled baby.

Um....

We MIGHT be done having kids. 

Regardless. Im just not ready yet. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Having all that being said... lets talk about WORKING OUT!!

Lately ive been doing TurboFire and i LOVE it!

I cant decide if INSANITY was more intense or not but Chalene Johnson is definitely more fun!

Girls: If you still look CUTE after working out... YOU DIDNT WORK HARD ENOUGH!

I recently just got a gym pass and my focus at the gym is to build muscle. Ill continue my turbofire at home but focus on weights at the gym at least 3 times a week.

When girls are trying to loose weight they think CARDIO CARDIO CARDIO. But this is SOOO wrong!

Building muscle is probably THE BEST thing you can do for your body.

Because the more muscle you have, the more cals you burn when you are doing nothing like sleeping, and sitting on the couch. And who wouldnt want to be buring calories 24/7?!
You still need cardio of course but DONT NEGLECT YOUR MUSCLES! 

DONT BE AFRAID OF MUSCLE!

If your worried about getting "bulky" just use lower weights with higher reps! Simple.

Of course dieting is in there somewhere..

But i think diets are so stupid..

Im not saying eat but im saying you need to make a LIFESTYLE change.

"Diets" should be continued through out your life time but im talking about eating lots of food. Lots of natural food. Clean eating for say. Pack yourself full of veggies and fruits and LIMIT your carbs, not DEPRIVE.

Sugar is NOT that terrible. Get over it. Of course candy is bad, and other things like that but if your sprinkling a little sugar on your cheerios... ITS O-KAY!

REWARD yourself!

Diets are so freaking depressing...

Eat normal. and healthy.

and WORK OUT!!!!

Working out is SOO good for you.

Good for your heart, your EMOTIONS. It relieves stress and raises endorphin's making you HAPPY!

SO WORK OUT!!!!

Dont sit around "dieting" being lazy.

Amen.

Going Anorexic??

So as many of you know.. for 3 months, working out regularly, eating right, the whole works, i lost NO weight. Found out i had a thyroid problem. Got on meds. Well i am cracking down on loosing this baby weight. I started the INSANITY program. 6 days a week, INTENSE cardio workouts. POURING sweat, not even exaggerating. The first week i ate normal, counted calories, was eating between 1200-1500, lost no weight. Then i heard when you are working out that intensely and dont eat enough calories your body goes into starvation mode and stores instead of burns fat. So the second week i upped my calories to about 1700-2000, and lost 2 pounds that week. Third week, doing the same thing, lost nothing. So i had my thyroid re-checked, its normal.

So i went to see my doc and he told me to try this 3 day diet. But he wants me to do it for 2 weeks and check back with him then. And wow... i feel anorexic sometimes. I eat about 700-800 ish calories. So i guess now ill try a low calorie diet.

Here is what i ate the last 3 days

First i had my last unhealthy meal

the next day we got down to business yo.

keep in mind. Im being very for real here.

my DOCTOR, told me to do this diet

i had to work this day and forgot to take a picture of my breakfast

Monday: so there is my lunch and dinner. lunch i had toast with TUNA on top. Check it people. CHRISTA HATES fish! It took me about 10 minutes to finally put it in my mouth and the entire time all i could think about was scales and fish bones and fish poop and guts and it was HORRIBLE. Then for dinner i had a cup of carrots, a cup of green bean, an apple, and chicken. about 717 calories that day. I felt sick, weak, nauseated, and tired that day. But somehow i made it through my workout that night.

 Tuesday i had toast, an egg, and half a banana. For lunch i had 5 saltine crackers and a cup of cottage cheese. Dinner i had a cup of carrots, cup of broccoli, and 2 hot dogs. What diet allows hot dogs?? but hey i wasnt complaining. I cheated on my diet a little this day but still only had 944 calories.

Today, Wednesday, i had 5 saltine crackers, cheese (braylee ate most of that cheese lol) and an apple. Lunch i had a slice of bread, and a hard boiled egg. are we for real?? i was starving by the time it was dinner, and my tummy was so shrunk and small, and i SOMEHOW had to choke down a cup of carrots, a cup of broccoli, and a cup of chicken (learned i could substitute chicken for tuna lol). THATS ALOT OF FOOD YO for a tiny shrunk down tummy. So that is 599 calories..

but i cheated a little and had an Arizona green tea with ginseng and honey, a few extra crackers, and bite of cottage cheese. So total of 848 (that was mostly the green tea lol).

Guess what people! i lost a whole pound in 3 days! big woop. thats like.. a poop. i eat hardly anything for 3 days (granted tomorrow morning will be my final weigh in), work my butt off still, and loose one pound? That i will probably just gain back? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH <------FRUSTRATION!

im going anorexic

actually not really cuz i bet i will gian weight from eating AIR.

smh

(shaking my head)