Meal Plan Monday: Chicken Tetrazzini

Fall is officially here which means saying hello to crockpots and easy oven meals! I wanted to share this meal that is super easy and convenient to make (read: you can make most of it ahead of time)

Most importantly, this is kid and family friendly.

Now, before I get into the recipe, I want to let you all know that…YES. I do eat this with my family. I feel like sometimes there is a misconception that I only eat salads and grilled chicken! News flash…I DON’T! Carbs are good. Period. It is important to know that. The biggest piece of advice I could give anyone is be smart about when you eat them! I choose to eat a dish like this on a day that I’ve trained hard (ie. leg day or a longer run) to make sure these carbs go to good use!

My kids LOVE this meal- in fact when I made it last week my oldest asked if we could eat it every night! ha! Both of my older sons had seconds! He also asked for it again today!

I love oven meals because once you get them set up, you have the time they are in the oven to do other things and not stand in front of the stove. This is so important with three small kiddos.

For this particular recipe, the chicken, bacon, pasta and mushrooms can all be made earlier in the day. This is totally clutch for me. If you have kids at school, or who nap (naptime is a great time to prep), this is a great meal to bust out. Yes, I know that time is “yours” but I don’t know about you…but the stress I get cooking when the three kids are running around…making it ahead of time is worth it!

Once everything is made, all you have to do is dump it in the pan, make the sauce (which literally takes 4 minutes) and throw it in the oven. BINGO.

I think pairing this with a simple salad would really complete the meal!

Ingredients:

1 lb spaghetti noodles (I use wheat or barilla protein)
1 container mushrooms
1 lb bacon cut in pieces (I use turkey bacon)
4-5 lb chicken breasts
Shredded mozarella

Sauce:
2 tablespoons melted butter
2-4 tablespoons of flour
1/2 pint Heavy cream
1 cup Chicken broth
Pepper

1. Boil Water & cook pasta. Cut bacon & dice chicken.

2. While pasta is cooking, sautee mushrooms in frying pan. In different pan, cook chicken. Place in dish.

3. Preheat oven to 375 F.

4. When mushrooms are finished sauteeing, brown bacon.

5. Place cooked pasta in 9 x 12 pan. Put cooked chicken, bacon and mushrooms on top of noodles.

6. Make Sauce: Add flour to melted butter and stir until there are no lumps. Pour into pot and add 1 cup chicken broth. Add 1/2 pint of cream. Heat over stovetop until thickened. (you may have to add more flour/more broth depending on thickness. More flour if it is too watery, more broth if too thick)

7. Stir sauce and pour over pasta mixture.

8. Put motzarella cheese on top and cook for 25-30 minutes or until browned. (sometimes I put the broiler on at the end to make it crispy)

   Enjoy! Happy Monday!

   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

Friday Flow: 17 weeks & Our Go-to Recipe

Happy FRIDAY y'all! Hope this week has flown by for you and you have some fun weekend plans! I'm sharing a few random things today...Pregnancy, my thoughts on the post baby #2 photo shoot (and some advice!), and an AWESOME recipe thats been a go-to this summer for us! Let's get to it!  

17 weeks Pregnant

No news is good news, right??! I don't have anything to report over here, except that I've had a great week of working out, moving and being active. I also had pizza twice. lol. hey, its called #balance.

Workouts: I'm still able to hover around 8:30 splits when I run, and am doing very low, low box jumps lifting wise ((those will probs end very very soon)). Everything is pretty much fair game in the weight room except I've started to put some of my upper body lifting exercises (benching, free weights) on an incline.

Sleeping has been hit or miss. Some nights I'm really restless and then I think it catches up to me and I sleep like a log after a few nights of average sleep. It's crazy how much bigger I am with this baby than the first 2, I feel like I was hardly showing with my first at this point in time!! I guess thats called muscle memory ha.  I've had some heartburn and I'm still squeezing into my "postpartum" regular jean shorts (a size or two bigger than I was when I got pregnant).

I am actually really looking forward to some cooler temps in September and LESS humidity. MY RINGS have been a serious issue! Its been so humid I feel like my fingers are already swollen! EEEK! Some days I have been going without which honestly makes me feel naked. Ugh. I'm kind of like..this is happening already? Really? I haven't even hit 20 weeks. ha. 

Also, last but not least, YES I have felt the baby move :) 

Names- we have no idea. Naming a third baby in the same sex is pretty difficult!!
Any suggestions??! 

Weight wise I'm still hovering around 11 or 12 lb weight gain! 

Photo Shoot

So..truth be told I'm gonna be blitzing your timeline on insta over the next month or so with my shoot that I did when I was about 6 weeks pregnant. Even though I was already pregnant...I am so dang PROUD of the photos (and thanks to my girl Kristy for her awesome work during the shoot). Its funny how in the moment you're always criticizing yourself and thinking "I'm not enough"...but I look back on the photos and I feel this overwhelming sense of pride- for achieving a goal, for getting a piece of me back ((even if it was for only a month or so lol)), for following through with something I wanted to so badly, for the sacrifice and discipline. For fighting through the moments of doubt, moments of hard, hard mommin'. Moments of looking at myself and not even recognizing who that was in the mirror, but believing if I persisted it would lead me to my goal. 

So...this is just a reminder to all of us-its HUMAN NATURE to always want more. Of course I could be more "fit" looking in those photos. And now, My baby bump could be smaller and so could my ass. But its OKAY. I am enough...and so are you. And if you have that yearning for more...go for it. But still respect the hell out of yourself and your body in your current state! 

 

Recipe: Ground Turkey Fajita Bowl

Okay..even though my nutrition has been not quite as disciplined as I normally would be, I am still loving some healthy meals and wanted to share this awesome meal that is not only healthy, but EASY and FAST!! This has been on our weekly meal plan every. single. dang. week. 

Things I love about this recipe- awesome flavor, quick and easy, no cutting of meat (ground turkey #ftw!!), you can buy most of these ingredients pre-cut if you don't have time to prepare (or lets be honest don't feel like it ha) , its lower carb, and you don't need to know how to cook to make this!! 

Ingredients:

Green, Orange, Yellow Pepper Sliced
1 small onion sliced
1 Poblano Pepper sliced
Mushrooms (optional)
Simply Organic Fajita Simmer Sauce
Lettuce (cut)
1 Avocado pitted and sliced
1 lb Ground Turkey
 

Directions: 
1. Slice Onion, Peppers. Cut mushrooms if already not sliced. Heat oil in pan. Warm onion, until starting to brown. Add mushrooms, brown. Add peppers. Sautee for 4-5 minutes until softened. 

2. Remove vegetables from skillet. Add oil if pan is dry. Cook turkey. While turkey is cooking, slice lettuce and prepare avocado as a garnish. 

Ground turkey cooking...above is the boys fajita that we made for them for dinner!

3. When turkey is cooked, add Fajita sauce. Add vegetables. Stir an cook for 3-5 minutes. Let cool. Place in bowl with salad and avocado. Enjoy! 

Hope you guys all give this one a try! Have a great weekend! 

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

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

Hot Chicken Recipe: The healthy alternative to Chicken Wings

Morning everyone! I thought I would share a super yummy recipe thats been one of my favorites for years {{courtesy of my late aunt Qui...we miss you!}} For lack of a better name we call it "Hot Chicken." 

So Yummy......

When I was a kid I LOVED chicken wings. I mean, ate them by the bucket. literally. When I got older I realized they weren't the healthiest for you so I stopped eating them cold turkey. Haven't had a wing in about 20 years. I haven't stopped my *love* of chicken wing TASTE though. This recipe can fill this void and is a lot healthier {{read: #guiltfree }} Warning: You must like spicy/hot food to like this. I would recommend this dish to anyone who like medium, hot, or extra hot wings! I am so obsessed with hot sauce that I add Franks to my plate as well ha ha! 

What I love most about this recipe is that it is only 4 ingredients! And you can pop it in the oven and is low on prep time which is key when you have kiddies {{or you're just super busy. which is everyone!}} running around. Also, even though you do use flour, there is only 26 Carbs in the entire recipe which is a keeper for me! Divide that up between 3-4 breasts and you're looking at about 10 g carbs per breast of chicken and tons of flavor! 

Hot Chicken

1/4 cup flour (I use Arrowhead Mills enriched unbleached white flour)
3/4 cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
1 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon butter, melted
3-4 breasts of chicken

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter in microwave in glass bowl. Mix in hot sauce and juiced lemon to melted butter. Put 1/4 cup of flour in different bowl and place next to hot sauce mixture. Line a pyrex dish with foil. (I find that foil works better than parchment paper). You can cut the chicken breasts into tenders or leave them as breasts-up to you (I do both-below they are in tenders and the above photo is just breasts). Dip chicken in flour, then into hot sauce mixture and place in pyrex dish. Repeat with all breasts of chicken. When complete, if you have extra sauce leftover, you can dish the rest on spots that may have not been covered with the hot sauce mixture.  In this photo I show using parchment paper but like I said I find it works better with foil. 

Bake for 30-40 mins. I like to broil mine the last 3-5 mins to get a little crisp on them. This is served great with mixed veggies & salad! 

Next time you have a hankering for some chicken wings...try this recipe! Have a great day everyone....

xo

Alex