Meal Plan Monday: Chicken Piccata

Happy Monday!

I’ve been on a roll experimenting with recipes and changing things up for dinnertime! #soproud ! I love playing around with ingredients and putting a healthy spin on meals & sharing them with you all!

I made a really nice Chicken Piccata meal last night for the whole family and everyone loved it!

Ingredients:

Whole grain or Protein pasta
Olive Oil
Butter (optional)
Chicken Cutlets
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 cup Flour (I try to use Unbleached white flour-they were all sold out yesterday)
2 cloves garlic, minced
pre-sliced mushrooms
1.5 cup chicken stock
Capers, to taste
1 lemon

Notes:

Pasta: I usually pick something easier to eat for the kids- angel hair or any other long noodle is a little bit harder for us with the age of our boys so I usually pick ziti, penne or bows! But if you don’t have young kids, angel hair is awesome!
-I definitely recommend buying cutlets of chicken! Much quicker to cook!
-We also made a side of a salad to go with this!

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

2. Mince garlic; warm oil in frying pan. Sautee 1 clove garlic on low.

3. While pasta is cooking & garlic is becoming fragrant, place 3/4 cup flour in dish with salt, pepper. In a separate dish, pour 2 tablespoons oil & 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Dip chicken in oil/lemon mixture. Then dredge chicken in flour, shaking off excess.

4. Place chicken in frying pan with garlic . Cook 3 min on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan. (I added butter when I flipped the chicken for a little more flavor)

5. In same pan, warm other clove garlic with oil. Cook until fragrant. Add mushrooms. Cook until browned. Add 1 tablespoon flour and 1/4 cup stock to pan, stirring with whisk. Add remaining 1 1/4 cup stock and capers, bring to boil. Tip: if it is too runny, add more flour. Add chicken back to the pan and cook for another 3-5 mins.

6. Top pasta with chicken & sauce. Enjoy!
   

xo
Alex

Fast & Easy Family Friendly Recipe: Turkey Pepperoni Chicken

Recipe: Pepperoni Chicken

I wanted to hop on and share a quick recipe that our whole family enjoys…I know how it can be a struggle to make only one meal (thats somewhat healthy!) for the whole family, especially with toddlers/kids in tow!

For this meal, our boys love the pepperoni and they LOVE pasta. My oldest son loves this meal and requested it for his birthday!

I put a healthier, lower carb spin on it for my husband and I with the zucchini noodles, but you can totally make yours with pasta.

This meal is kind of like pizza…minus the carbs and packs a mean protein punch with a little zing with the pepperoni. I usually get this in the oven, and steam so veggies and I’m good to go! You could even make this ahead of time and throw it in the fridge in the morning, and when you’re ready to cook or get home from work, just put in the oven and you’re good to go. I’ll definitely be using this trick when baby 3 comes along because…#witchinghour !!!!

Pepperoni Chicken

Ingredients:

Turkey Pepperoni Slices
Breadcrumbs of your choice (1/4 or 1/2 cup)
1 egg, mixed
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Chicken (I use cutlets, if i happen to use breasts I slice and pound them so they cook faster)
Motzarella Cheese
Pasta of your choice (you can subsitute zucchini noodles)
Red jarred sauce (any kind you like, I happened to use Chefs)

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Put parchment paper on cookie sheet or pyrex dish ( I always use parchment paper, the breading never sticks to it!)

2. Slice/Pound the chicken if needed. Crack the egg in a medium sized bowl, beat.

3. Pour breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in a different bigger size plate or dish.

4. Dip Chicken in egg, then in breadcrumb and cheese mixture, coating.

5. Place on baking sheet and continue until all chicken is on sheet. Put in oven.

6. Cook for 25-30 mins, flipping halfway. (at the halfway point I throw my veggies in the steamer and cook my zucchini noodles & pasta)

7. The last 5 minutes, pull out of oven and place pepperoni on chicken breast. I usually do 3-4. Sprinkle cheese over. Place back in oven for 3-5 more minutes. (If you like it crunchy you can broil it!)

8. Warm the sauce, and drizzle it on the chicken and/or pasta. My boys don’t really have the red sauce but I do!

9. Enjoy!

   
   Have a great day!
   xo Alex
   

Make your own Panera Bread: Family friendly Chicken Avo Panini

Happy Monday! I’m dragging a little this morning and not sure why. I feel like last week is finally catching up with me. Sometimes I get on a high and work on adrenaline and that might be the case after our big trip last week!

I wanted to share a favorite recipe of ours that I’ve modified in a couple of ways to make more healthy! It is honestly one of our go-to weekend meals because its quick and easy; but also satisfies us like we’ve gone out for a meal even though we are too tired to go out! ha! #thatparentlife Also, bonus, the kids like it!

I am so obsessed with paninis and if you love them too, you NEED to try this recipe. We have a KRUPS panini machine that my mom got us for Christmas but I think you could probably cook this on the stovetop or even in a George Foreman. Looks like you can panini presses at all levels of price including like $20 so its a good investment if you have kids & want to make sandwches, paninis or even a fancy grilled cheese!

Chicken Avo Panini

Ingredients:

Chicken Cutlets
Italian Seasoning
Olive Oil
1 Lemon juiced
2 garlic minced
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
3 tablespoons mayo
1 tomato sliced
1 avocado sliced in pieces
Cheddar cheese (shredded)
Bread: we use soft sided Italian (a lot easier for the kids to bite down than regular Italian. I have tried to find wheat but haven’t found it yet! That could also work!)

Also: those who DON’T like Mayo: please do not let this scare you away from the meal! I don’t ever eat mayo and I LOVE this sandwich :)

1. Marinate the chicken in a ziploc bag- put the cutlets in a bag with olive oil, italian seasoning (to taste), 1/2 lemon juiced and 1 garlic minced. Make sure you mix it around so it all gets covered. Place in fridge. You can do this 8 hours before or 20 minutes before!

2. Make the sauce. Combine garlic, the other half of the lemon, the greek yogurt and mayo. Stir and put saran wrap over the bowl and place in the fridge.

3. When you’re ready, put some olive oil in a bowl and cook the chicken in a frying pan. Slice your tomato and prepare the avocado while the chicken cooks.

4. Turn your panini machine on.

5. Take the sauce out of the fridge. Spread on the bread, add chicken, 2 slices tomato, avocado, and desired amount of cheese. Spray machine & put sandwich under panini press.

6. Remove from press and repeat process with any other slices of bread. Let cool. Enjoy!!

So, there you go! What I love about this is its pretty quick and you can either prep before you are gone for the day (before work or a weekend day) and throw in the fridge, or you can make it right before! To me there is really no taste difference it just depends on how much time you have!

I also always use cutlets; if I have breasts than I cut them in half and pound them because it cooks so much faster & you need it thin for the sandwiches!

Hope you all enjoy!!

xo
Alex

Family friendly Breakfast & 16 Weeks Bumpdate

Happy Friday! I'm rocking in today at 4 months pregnant...I can't believe it! Hope you all have some fun plans for this summer weekend :) 

Guilt free Family friendly Breakfast:

I wanted to share with all of you an awesome breakfast that is great for the whole family! I know that sometimes it is such a struggle to make only ONE meal for the whole family..especially when you are trying to eat healthy ((hello fellow moms of picky eaters!)).

Introducing...Kodiak Cake Buttermilk Pancakes. The macros (Protein, fat, carbs) on these bad boys are AWESOME, and they taste great. Our boys love them and we usually top them with syrup or honey for the kids. Right now ((because I'm a little bit of IDGAF about nutrition sometimes ha)) I usually top mine with syrup too haha #pregnancyprobs. A healthier more clean option would be to top with either Walden farms sugar free syrup ( I haven't tried, I've seen a lot of people use though) or a nut butter- Peanut butter, almond butter, etc. 

These are literally IDIOT proof to cook (I am a decent cook but for some reason pancakes aren't on the top of my list of great meals I can cook), and you can play up the protein content with adding milk and egg. YES- that means the mixture needs NOTHING else. So, those days that you have nothing left in the house (read: no eggs), you can still make these suckers. 

I get mine at Wegmans but I'm sure you can snag them online. 

BumpDate: 

16 weeks pregnant! Boom! Another month and we will be halfway there. I've had a killer week of workouts and can't wait to have a day off tomorrow and rest my body! Weight gain is staying steady at 9 pounds. I have my anatomy scan scheduled in a few weeks before we go out of town, so fingers crossed everything is okay. I've started to stock up on maternity basics (short sleeve and long sleeve tees, leggings, etc.) for the upcoming months. By mid September I think I'll be hard pressed to find too much of my closet that fits properly! Ha! I'll be doing a post on my maternity must haves and brands I love for fit, comfort, and quality so keep an eye out for that! 

Hope you all have a great weekend! xo

Alex

Transformation Tuesday

Nothing worth having comes easy. 

20 long, long months. 

But I made it. And it feels so, so good. 

I'm here to show you that it can be done, if you want it.  I'm not a mom that "bounces" back and loses all her baby weight in 3 weeks ((Clearly)). Or has a flat stomach within 6 weeks ((see photo)). It takes time. Lots of time. Making the right choices, over and over again. Sometimes when you don't feel like it. Sometimes when you're just going through the motions. But every single one of those choices count. The little choices that at the end of the day make the difference.

I spend a maximum of 2- 3 hours at the gym ...a WEEK. Any cardio is mostly done with my kids (walking or running) and any other workouts I get in are in my basement with 3 sets of kettlebells and some bands. Do I watch what I eat? Of course. But I also don't turn down ice cream, pizza, or any other treats with my boys, family or friends. Balance. And when its time to knuckle down, I'm smart about fueling my body at the right times (and yes, that means carbs!!). 

My biggest tip? Start small. Make small changes. For example, my first step after Baby 2 was cutting out granola and replacing it with berries or greek yogurt with protein powder before bed. Once I conquered that, then I started working on my habits during the day. Committing to doing some meal planning, adding more vegetables, not sneaking bites off of the kids plates, eating more protein, etc. It all adds up and everything...EVERYTHING is a habit. 

Fitness and being healthy has always been a passion of mine due to my background and love of a sport. Now, its a passion of mine because I'm a good role model for my kids..because I'm healthier and feel strong and confident...and at the end of the day I'm holding on to the pieces of ME for those few hours a week.

I'm not just Max and Seb's mom.

Is being their mom the most important part of my life right now? Yes. But at the end of the day, and quicker than I think, they're going to grow into their own lives. And while I'm holding on tight to my fleeting moments with them, I'm also holding on to Alex. Just a little bit. Because I don't want to lose her in the midst of raising my littles and wonder where she went 15 years from now. 

Have a great day everyone!

xo

Alex

Meal Plan Monday #2: No Bean Chili

How is it already Monday?! This weekend literally flew by and I think I need an extra day just looking outside! This weather...smh.  I'm looking forward to the temperatures warming up and the ability to get outside later on this week...this never ending winter has been brutal. The recipe on tap today is actually perfect for these RIDIC temps/ice storm we have right now! 

I wanted to share a meal I made last week that I think some of you will enjoy. To be honest, I've never been a huge chili fan. A couple of years ago I started to make it in the crockpot but I mostly made it because it was easy, convenient, and relatively fast to make. I'm always looking to make meals that are healthy but that there's no drop off in taste and flavor. Ones that I actually look forward to eating lol. Who's with me on that? Nothing better than coming home from a long day at work and having a yummy meal to look forward to!

After making several different chili recipes, I've pieced together my favorite version of this staple! 

Sweet Potato Chili

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time 30-40 minutes

Ingredients:
Ground Turkey
Red Pepper
Green Pepper
2 tomatillos or a can of diced tomatillos
1 large sweet potato (or 2 smaller sized ones)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Diced tomatoes
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup onion
Cilantro to taste
Cayenne, paprika, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder

Directions: 
Dice onion, green and red pepper, and tomatillos (if needed).  In a large saucepan, heat oil. Add onion, and sweet potatoes. Cook for 8-10 minutes. Add green and red peppers. Cook until soft. Remove from heat. Use same pan and heat oil (if pan is dry) and cook turkey. Add vegetables to turkey along with the tomatillos, vegetable broth, 1/2 cup of water and tomato paste. Sprinkle with desired amount of spice blend. Let simmer and thicken for 10-15 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy!

You can honestly use a different pan if you want to cook the turkey at the same time that the veggies are cooking-that saves a little time. I mostly do it in the same pan to get the extra flavoring thats in the pan after the veggies cook. Also, if your chili is "too thick" you can add more water, or more paste if not thick enough. This is all down to what you like. 

This is a great recipe because you can play around with the ingredients- if you want it really spicy or just mild just adjust you spice levels. Keep in mind that spicy food does kick the metabolism up a little! #winning #givemealllllthespice

I LOVE the sweet potatoes as the carb vs the beans personally! Sweet Potatoes are one of the best slow burning carbohydrates and are great fuel for anyone!

In addition if you don't want it as "tomatoey" (if thats a word ha) then you could use 1 cup of water instead of the crushed tomatoes. Also Diced tomatillos are such an awesome way to add flavor and they are super easy to cut up and find in the grocery store! 

I have 3 sunbasket meals on tap for this week which I am SO looking forward to. This past week got a bit monotonous with salmon and chicken! 

Have a great week everyone and enjoy! 

xo

Alex
 

MealPlan Monday: The best healthy Sweet Potato fries

Hi everyone! Happy Monday!

I plan on sharing more recipes on the blog moving forward and I thought I would start today because, why not?!

For those of you who don’t know, I did the Advocare 24 day JumpStart after Max weaned and I had amazing results. It was definitely really challenging for me from a diet/nutrition standpoint but it opened my eyes to what works for my body now that I'm getting older/being a mom. Its completely changed my nutrition (for the better) over the last 2 years!

Like anyone else I definitely loosened up my nutrition while pregnant. I mean who doesn't, amirite-its the least we can do when we are waddling around and can barely sleep. Postpartum I worked out and eat pretty healthy, but I FOR SURE have a SAVAGE sweet tooth that kills some of my gains ha.

I'm super excited to get back on the wagon now that I'm done nursing and have no more excuses ("I can't lose weight while nursing,..my body holds onto the fat lollll" ) and getting serious with this 'ish!

I'm always trying to find great recipes that still taste good. I love eating clean, feeling good and looking good...but you will not find me eating fish and asparagus every day! I LOVE food! The below recipe has lots of flavor but it is as healthy as can be. I am obsessed with these sweet potato fries...and so is my hubby and youngest son (I just don't put the spice on the boys portion)

Here we go...Recipe of the week: 

Paul Prudhomme's Chicken with Baked zucchini and Sweet Potato fries

Paul Prudhomme's Poultry magic is of my favorite poultry spices- it is fantastic. They don't sell it here in upstate NY anymore but they do in Florida, and I bought mine online at vitacost.com. It is actually a really great meal prep spice to use if you are making chicken in bulk. It definitely has a little bit of a kick to it which I love because well..we eat alllll of the chicken when meal prepping lol! Also it is so EASY and FAST to use with plenty of flavor so I'm all for it! 

Ingredients: 
Chicken as desired
Paul Prudhomme's Poultry Magic spice
2-3 Zucchini
1-2 Sweet Potato
1 egg white
cayenne pepper
Garlic powder
Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil

Heat oven to 450 F. (Keep the pan in the oven while it heats) Wash and Peel sweet potato. Cut lengthwise and then again into quarters so you have "fries". Pour egg white into small bowl. Sprinkle cayenne, garlic, salt and pepper as desired in egg white. Dip fries into the egg white mixture. Place on parchment paper (make sure they do not touch). Drizzle with olive oil if desired. Bake on one half of the baking sheet for 10-15 minutes, then flip. Cut Zucchini in half, then into half moons. Place on other half of baking sheet with olive oil, salt and pepper when you flip the fries (so halfway through). Cook for 10 minutes or until soft.

                                                                     Ingredients

While the sweet potato fries are cooking, Cut the chicken in small pieces (or leave as a breast if desired..I usually find diced is best because you can throw the leftovers really easy in a salad!). Warm oil in pan. Place chicken in oil, and shake desired amount of spice onto chicken. Stir While chicken is cooking. Serve and enjoy :)) 
 

                                                           Spread out on the pan

                                                           The finished product :) 

 For those who are interested in anything Advocare or want to know more about the Jumpstart...just DM me at @alexsahlen2 on instagram, or email me at peanutbutterblondie@gmail.com.

Have a great day everyone and enjoy! 

xo

Alex