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Meal Plan Monday: Sesame Chicken Stir Fry

June 10, 2019

Happy Monday! I’m a week into FASTer Way to Fat loss and I’m feeling great! I can already see a difference in my body and my milk supply has been great! I’m so excited to go through the full 6 weeks and share results!

Its been awhile since I threw a recipe on here…mostly because I have been eating the same thing over and over the last month or so #BASIC..haha. I did try this recipe at home yesterday though and it was easy to make so I had to share. It IS kid friendly but I would lay off the paprika in the dredge if you have young kids.

This meal is literally bomb.com and some of it can be prepped ahead of time (rice, and sauce!). I can’t take credit for this amazing-ness though-a friend of mine made it for me during my postpartum phase and it was pretty much heaven on earth. This is pretty much the first stir fry that isn’t sunbasket that I’ve made that actually tastes like a legit stir fry! So I’m here to tell you that this recipe can be mastered by anyone! Special shout out to my friend for this recipe! xo!

Anyway, enough talk. Let’s get to this stir fry!

Sesame Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pound chicken breasts sliced into frying pieces
Canola oil for frying
Broccoli
Rice

Batter:

1 C Flour
3 t paprika
1 t garlic powder
2 t salt & pepper
Mix above ingredients in large dish for chicken to be dipped in.

Dipping:

2 eggs beat (separate bowl)
1 C corn starch (separate bowl)

Sauce:

5 oz Mae ploy sweet chili sauce
5 Oz water
1/4 C low sodium soy sauce
1/8 C rice wine vinegar
1/4 C honey
1 t Thai chili sauce (more if want spicier)
1 T sesame oil
2 T corn starch

Combine all ingredients except cornstarch and mix well.

To Serve:

Sesame seeds
Cooked rice
Steamed Broccoli

Instructions:

Heat adequate oil in large frying pan
Dredge the chicken in the cornflour, then dip in the egg and then dredge in flour mixture. Add to the frying pan and cook on medium high heat for 7-10 minutes or until brown on both sides. Remove from the pan and place on paper towels.
While chicken is cooking, cook rice. Remove broccoli from stems, and steam.
add all the sauce ingredients to a hot pan. Mix in corn starch with whisk through fine sleeve to prevent clumping. and cook to thicken, generally 2-3 minutes.

Enjoy!

Alex

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Pregnancy Fitness #2: Swimming/Aqua Jogging

January 21, 2019

Pregnancy Fitness: Swimming (Aqua Jogging)

Hi babes! Hope you are all doing well! Happy weekend! Hope you are all settling in ready for the big storms hitting this weekend! Yikes!

We are currently settling in at home now and big brothers will be joining us tomorrow. I have so much to share about the birth of baby Sammy, but I have honestly just been trying to rest, recover and soak up every moment so far!

Before I had baby Sammy, I wrote up a “series” of pregnancy fitness posts for the blog to post during the first couple of postpartum weeks (the first post I wrote was about Running while pregnant), and I’ll be posting 2-3 more that I wrote up throughout pregnancy.

Today I’ll be sharing Pregnancy Fitness: Swimming. In each of these posts I’ll talk about what workouts I did, what I liked/didn’t like about the particular form of working out, and my must haves for each! I linked my aqua jogger…and a ton of bathing suits that I am loving right now …a few maternity and the rest just regular (sooooo excited to be out of maternity clothes woot woot!!!!!)

Some super cute Bathing Suit Picks!

My swimming background

I’ve been swimming ever since I was a baby..I’m pretty sure my mom had us in the water at like 3 months old! Partially this was due to the fact that she never really learned how to swim and she wanted to make sure that we didn’t turn out the same way. So, we were in the water ever since we were babies and also took swimming lessons. I didn’t love the lessons; but as a kid I did enjoy swimming. As you all know, soccer was obviously my passion so any swimming I did was leisurely. But let me be clear that I’m no Michael Phelps ha.

Intro to Aqua Jogging

Fast forward to college, where my roomie was a cross country runner. Because I have quite good endurance, when she would have extra mileage to do for her workouts for the week, sometimes I would run with her at night. The family that runs together, stays together..amiright??!! LOL.

The Aqua Jogger & some Amazon swimming picks!

Cupshe is awesome quality/price for suits LOL!!!!

Anyway, she ended up at some point getting injured and not being able to run for an extended period of time. The coaching staff and trainer instructed her to head to the University pool and swim with an aqua jogger. I had never heard of it and had no idea what it was! But, being the great friend and roomie, I decided to join in with her to make it less boring for her!

What is aqua jogging you ask? Aqua jogging is basically where you run in the water! You have a belt that goes around your waist and you are able to swim upright and run in a running motion.

There are all kinds of positive studies that show using aqua jogging as a form of cross training/injury prevention allows you to maintain your current cardiovascular level and fitness without the impact of actually running. In fact, they have done studies where participants have actually replaced 1-2 runs/week and still maintained their fitness level. In addition, aqua jogging is a great form of cardio for runners or ANY athlete with running in their sport who have an injury to continue exercising without impact.

Honestly , i am SO thankful that I was introduced to aqua jogging during my collegiate soccer career. It certainly isn’t the most “fun” workout (its a little bit boring at times) but there are so many benefits and it helped over the course of my professional career ( and AFTER!!) recover faster after travel, games, and also was a GOD SEND when I was injured! It allowed me to stay active, keep a good fitness base, and manage my weight while injured.

When I found out I was expecting with my first baby, swimming was one of the most popular forms of exercise that I read about for pregnant women. It was a great cross training option for me that I mixed in with my running, walking, and lifting. With each pregnancy I found I utilized the pool more and more, and this last baby especially. It also gives me a different option for a workout when not pregnant- if I’m sore, tired, etc!!

Reasons why I loved swimming/Aqua Jogging while pregnant:

Weightless: When you’re in the water you’re said to only feel 10% of your body weight. That literally has to be every single womans dream when pregnant! Feeling weightless for that 30-45 mins is amazing!
Reduces swelling: I always got a lot of comments from people about the fact that I had little to no swelling during my pregnancies. When you’re pregnant, your body produces 50% more blood and fluids to support the needs of your body and growing baby. I attribute low swelling during my pregnancies to good diet, staying active, but also my time in the pool. When you are submerged in the water, the outside water pressure pushes the extra fluid tissue water into your veins and kidneys …and out of your body into your urine! I swear i have to go to the bathroom 4 times after swimming! I’ve even weighed myself after and there is no doubt I lose a pound or two of fluid retention.
No impact: I love the fact that I can get a workout in without it hurting any of my joints or muscles. Pregnancy is a huge demand on the body and being active without impact is a WIN. No uncomfortable pounding (like running when you get bigger)…and the bigger you get the heavier that uterus, placenta and baby are! The pressure is unreal…to not feel that..AMAZING.
Calorie Burn: The calorie burn for any activity in the water is HUGE. Obviously you have to work harder because of the resistance of the water, and aqua jogging is said to burn anywhere from 8-12 calories/minute depending on how much you weigh. That’s 80- 100 Calories for 10 minutes; similar if not more than running!
I don’t need to get my hair wet: haha. I know this one is kind of vain but I love aqua jogging because I don’t need to get my hair wet :)
Refreshing: Last but not least, I always felt so refreshed coming out of the water. If you are pregnant during the summer months, get. in. the. water!! And, even thought this last pregnancy ended in january, I still enjoyed getting in the water even though it was so cold outside. The first minute or two might be a bit chilly, but once you get going its totally worth it!

My workouts:

I usually have two forms of aqua jogging workouts: Intervals and steady state.

During this past pregnancy, 75% of my aqua jogs were steady state mostly because that is what I felt my body could do at the time. Earlier in the pregnancy, and when I utilize swimming for cross training, I definitely do more intervals. This basically means I “jog” steady state for 5 mins as a warmup and then pick either time or distance to “sprint” in the water, and then jog. So, 30 seconds “sprint”, and then into 30 seconds “jog” and repeat. This gets the heart rate up, makes the workout go faster, and burns more fat/calories!

The cons of swimming/aqua jogging:

The first would have to be obviously access to water! I am lucky and have access on a personal level (indoor) as well as belong to a fitness club with a pool.
Comfort level in a public pool while pregnant: I know some women can be self conscious working out, being in a swimsuit while pregnant, don’t like being in a public pool…etc.
Boring: It can get a little boring. I try to play music, or get someone to join me (my mom, or my husband)
Time consuming: It does take up more time than a simple run or walk— driving to and from the pool (if not at your house), changing, full shower after…etc.

Bottom Line: Swimming is a WIN

The pros clearly outweigh the cons IMO and I honestly feel so grateful to have been able to swim and stay active throughout my pregnancy. It was so amazing to have the option especially in the later stages of pregnancy where just moving seemed challenging! Also, I missed running so much and this filled the void a little bit.

I definitely recommend getting in the water if you can- whether that is at your house, a friends, a local high school/college or the YMCA that you belong to! In addition, the aqua jogger is fairly inexpensive!

Have a great weekend xo

Alex

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Monday Meal Plan: Breakfast

May 7, 2018

Hi friends!

Ok, so…lets get to it. I’ve gained and lost 135 lbs over the last 6 years so I have a little experience in getting your body back after baby. I always get questions about what I eat! Today I’m focusing on breakfast.

Breakfast has always been one of my favorite meals. I truly believe it is so important to have a good breakfast and set yourself up for the rest of the day. .

So, whats the best thing to eat?

Stay away from:

-Anything sugary, high refined carbohydrate (a lot of cereals, bagels, donuts, muffins, pastries have these high refined carbs etc.) This will avoid you having sugar crash and energy lull.

What you SHOULD eat:

Eggs, omelette, egg whites, Turkey Bacon, Chicken Sausage, Oatmeal, whole grain toast (I never have toast any more but its definitely better than muffins/other carbs!), nut butters, yogurts, fruit. All of these are excellent choices!

Intermittent Fasting

I do want to say that I have done intermittent fasting in the past, but I came back to eating breakfast because I just feel better eating it! I do try to give myself 12 hours between eating the night before and eating the next morning. So, if I snack at 8:30 pm, I’ll wait until 8:30 am to eat breakfast! According to some researchers, fasting for 10–16 hours can cause the body to turn its fat stores into energy, which releases ketones into the bloodstream. This should encourage weight loss. This is why I do the 12 hours!

Breakfast Favorites

Last week's Meal Plan Monday was my go-to in the morning for breakfast- Peanut Butter Oatmeal.

Oatmeal is a great slow burning carb to start the day with! I also make sure that at every meal I have 20-30 g of protein so today I'll be sharing what I've started to really enjoy in the morning with my oatmeal!

I'll talk more about my "macro" goals and what I focus on at a later date to lose "the baby weight" as well as different supplements I use, but I always find that hitting your protein goals for lunch, dinner and snacks is relatively easy. There are tons of different recipes and and foods that you can make.

Breakfast on the other hand...meh. I feel like I have fried eggs. Or an omelette. Or Scrambled eggs. And occasionally some chicken sausage. It gets REAL old, fast.

Last week I tried something completely new and its rocked my world. Honestly, it is something SO simple and I don't know what took me so long to try it!

Turkey bacon and Egg sandwich. Bingo. This is so easy and fast to make and you NAIL your protein breakfast game with 24 grams! This keeps you full for the morning and starts your day out right. You can use any kind of turkey bacon, I just buy the Wegmans organic but you could find a flavored bacon if you like that.

I throw them on a frying pan, let them cook for 2-3 minutes and crack two eggs right on top. Then just flip them when the eggs have reached your desired level (I like mine a little runny). Something about the two combined tastes SO SO good and you don't have to force 3 or 4 eggs down in the morning!

Have a great week everyone! xo

Alex

Meal Plan Monday & snacks I'm loving

April 23, 2018

Anyone else have a sunshine hangover? Can we all just skip work today and celebrate SPRING and no more snow?! Kidding...{kind of} Hope you all had a great weekend and are ready to get after this week!

Today I'm sharing a unique recipe... Pork is not something I have in my usual meal rotation but this meal is actually super tasty, healthy, and even kids like it because its more sweet than spicy. The Hoisin sauce I use to flavor this meal is pretty low in sugar and carbs which makes me love this recipe even more.

Pork Stir fry with Snow Peas

Pork Tenderloin, cut into cubes
4 cloves garlic
1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled & minced (2 tablespoons)
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
2/3 pound Snow Peas
1/2 Red & Green Pepper, chopped
Mushrooms
3 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
1/4 cup water
Rice

1. Toss the pork with half the garlic, half the ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes.
2. While pork is marinating, start cooking the rice. Heat a skillet over high heat and add olive oil. Add the remaining garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add mushrooms and peppers. When mushrooms begin to sautee/peppers soften (3-4 mins), add sugar snap peas. Cook for 2-3 mins. Remove into a separate bowl to cool.
3. Heat the same skillet used for the vegetables and cook the Pork mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Return the vegetable mixture to the skillet when Pork is nearly cooked through. Add the hoison sauce and soy sauce to taste, cook until juices thicken. I like to add 1/4 cup of water as the juice thickens- I think it makes it perfect to spread over the rice! Totally up to you though.
4. Serve over rice and enjoy!!

Snacks I'm loving

Also, I wanted to share a few snacks that I've been loving for me...and a few for the kids. My boys love the Nature's Bakery fig bars. I just saw today that they have an Organic Oat and Honey option so I snagged it and they LOVE them. I like how there is no high fructose corn syrup, that they're organic, and not too messy!

Strangely enough, Neither of my boys like cow's milk. I don't really force it because I'm not super sold on cow's milk anyway...so we try to get their dairy through almond milk in their oatmeal, yogurt (Seb really isn't feeling it at the moment..hopefully that changes!) and various cheeses. These Horizon cheese stars are Max's favorites. I think he likes the taste as much as the different shapes :) These I have only been able to find at Target. Just what I need, another reason to "force" me to go into target..ha.

I've completely overhauled my diet the last 3 weeks and cut out all sweets so finding alternatives for my sweet tooth has been a challenge to say the least. I've been loving the thinkthin Cake pops lately though. My favorite flavor definitely has to be the chocolate. Low sugar and it hits the spot after dinner when I crave something sweet!

Last but not least... is this Buff Bake Peanut Butter spread. GUYS. This is so freakin good. Not nearly as good as Nutella, or Peanut Butter Company {{these are clearly off limits at the moment}}, but it certainly satisfies and packs some extra protein. Beggars can't be choosers at the moment so I'll take what I can get, I love how these two treats are somewhat guilt free and help me satisfy that sweet tooth that never seems to disappear!

Have a great week everyone!

Alex