Ahhh…Super Bowl Sunday.  Even though it’s not all that cold here in SoCal, I had to make chili today.  Don’t you just think CHILI when you think Super Bowl?!  To me, one cannot exist without the other.  Well, that does not mean I only make chili on Super Bowl Sunday.  Ugh – ok, I digress…

This recipe was shared with me by my friend Sam and I’ve made it many times.  It’s definitely my favorite chili recipe I’ve ever made.  I also love that it’s fairly healthy and very filling.  Enjoy!

Turkey Chili Taco Soup

Servings: 9 • Size: 1-1/4 cups • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 5 pts

Calories: 198.8 • Fat: 1.4 g • Carb: 29.7 g • Fiber: 7.0 g • Protein: 19.5 g

1.3 lbs 99% lean ground turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

10 oz can rotel tomatoes with green chilies

15 oz canned or frozen corn, drained

15 oz kidney beans, drained

8 oz tomato sauce

16 oz fat free refried beans

1 packet taco seasoning (I use about 2 tablespoons and then added more to taste)

2 1/2 cups fat free low sodium chicken broth

In a large pot, brown turkey on medium heat, breaking up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. When cooked through, add onions and pepper and cook 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes, corn, beans, tomato sauce, refried beans, taco seasoning and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer about 10-15 minutes.

Serve with a few baked tortilla chips and your favorite toppings such as low fat sour cream, jalapeños, reduced fat cheese, chopped scallions, onions, or chopped fresh cilantro. Freeze leftovers in individual portions for future meals.

I absolutely LOVE curry.  Specifically, I love Japanese curry…you know, the stuff you can buy at the grocery store that comes in bricks and you basically melt it over chicken.  I used to eat that stuff like it was going out of style, and my thighs paid the price.  I’m always on the lookout for healthy curry recipes to satisfy my craving without throwing my diet completely off track.  Enter Vegetable Curry.

I’ve had this recipe in my rotation since it was published in Fitness Magazine’s February 2010 issue.  Since I’ve recently gone pescatarian, I decided to dust this baby off and make it for dinner tonight.  It was super easy to make, delicious, and filling.  Enjoy!

Makes: 6 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes, plus 5 extra minutes while the onion is cooking
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large red onion, halved and cut into thin wedges
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon garam masala powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups cauliflower florets
1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes with liquid
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup loose-pack frozen peas
4 1/2 cups cooked couscous or brown rice

Directions
1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the curry powder, cumin, garam masala powder, and cayenne pepper. Stir well and cook for one minute.

2. Stir in the cauliflower, tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, broth, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the peas; heat through. Serve over couscous or brown rice.

Nutrition facts per serving: 284 calories, 9g protein, 55g carbohydrate, 3g fat (0g saturated), 7g fiber

We recently signed up for biweekly delivery of organic vegetables from Farm Fresh to You.  I’ve always loved the idea of getting a box of veggies from local farm straight to my door, but I’ve never really made the time to sign up for the service.  A few weeks ago, they had a person going door to door and I bit the bullet and signed us up.

In our first box, we had some butternut squash and with the recent rain storms that have been hitting Southern California, I knew it was the perfect time to make it.  Let’s face it, it’s going to be in the 80s by Thursday so I had to jump on it quick.

I busted out my trusty Cooking Light Soups & Stews recipe and pulled out this puppy.  Boy was it GOOD!!  One small warning though…when it tells you to put it in a food processor, don’t put it in the blender instead.  Trust me on this one.

YIELD: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups soup and 3 croquettes)
COURSE: Main Dishes, Soups/Stews

Ingredients

Soup:
2 pounds butternut or kabocha squash, or pumpkin
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon canola oil
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Dash of freshly ground black pepper
Croquettes:
2 cups leftover cooked turkey, finely chopped
1 3/4 cups panko breadcrumbs, divided
2 tablespoons 2% reduced-fat milk
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 egg white
2 1/2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
Fresh sage leaves (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

To prepare soup, cut squash in half lengthwise. Discard seeds and membrane. Place squash, cut-sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with honey; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender; cool. Scoop out squash with a spoon; discard skin.

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic; sauté 10 minutes or until tender. Remove 3/4 cup vegetables; set aside. Add broth to pan; cook over medium heat 12 minutes. Stir in squash. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes. Place soup in food processor; process until smooth. Add 1 cup milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and dash of pepper; set aside.

To prepare croquettes, combine reserved vegetables, turkey, 1/4 cup breadcrumbs and next 6 ingredients (1/4 cup breadcrumbs through egg white). Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm. Shape into 12 (1-inch-thick) patties; press 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs onto patties.

Heat 3 3/4 teaspoons oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 6 patties to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove croquettes from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining oil and patties.

Reheat soup. Divide evenly among 6 bowls; top with croquettes. Garnish with fresh sage leaves, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 602
• Calories from fat: 28%
• Fat: 18g
• Saturated fat: 3.5g
• Monounsaturated fat: 8.6g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 4.6g
• Protein: 33g
• Carbohydrate: 77g
• Fiber: 11g
• Cholesterol: 100mg
• Iron: 4.5mg
• Sodium: 1375mg
• Calcium: 282mg

I used to weigh myself every morning.  It was a habit and one that usually ended in me being overjoyed or really let down.  After many years of this roller coaster, I decided to weigh myself once a week.  Not only that…I’d weigh myself on MONDAYS.  After the dreaded weekend.  I figured this would help keep me in check on Saturday & Sunday.

Today is Monday and I was really excited to jump on the scale.  After all the running I’ve been doing AND the strength training AND clean eating, I was confident that the number on the scale would reflect my hard work.

You know where this is going, don’t you?

Yep – I gained weight.  About 5 pounds over 2 weeks to be exact.  As I stood on that scale scratching my head, I gave myself the pep talk I give so many of my customers.  I know I’ve been building muscle because I FEEL so much stronger.  Now, I know that muscle does not weigh more than fat (1 lb of muscle weighs the same as 1 lb of fat), but I’m ready for that muscle to start burning the fat, darn it! My clothes fit just fine and I feel healthy.  We’ve been conditioned all our lives to give that number on the scale so much meaning.  Sure it’s important and is a good benchmark to measure your progress, BUT it’s only one component of a healthy body.

This coming week, I will be researching where I can go to get a hydrostatic body fat test done (where they dunk you in water).  I need to know where I’m starting from since one of my big goals for 2012 is to decrease my body fat by 50%. I also am going to be more religious about wearing my Bodybugg to figure out how many calories I’m burning per day.  I generally burn less calories running than I do with Insanity or TurboFire, which may be why I’m seeing a weight gain as well.

Happy Monday!  Have a healthy week!  Eat well, move daily, stay positive!

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a friend asking if I’d be interested in filling out their group of 5 for the Camp Pendelton Mud Run in June.  My immediate reaction was violent head shaking…NO WAY!  I’m the kind of girl who doesn’t eat anything messy without a fork for fear of getting my hands dirty.  Now you want me to dive in the mud??

I also am the worst runner on the face of the planet.  I’ve tried the Couch to 5K program a few times and have quit every single time.  It just doesn’t hold my attention and well, I’m awful at it.  The Mud Run is a 10K so I knew I’d have to train.  Needless to say, this was not my cup of tea.

But – then I thought of something Chalene Johnson (creator of TurboJam, TurboFire and ChaLean Extreme) taught me: “Do something scary every day.”  She teaches that personal and physical growth come from doing what we fear the most.  The Mud Run definitely made that list for me.  So, I committed.  I am officially signed up with 4 other friends who are much more physically fit than I am to complete this race.  Their goal: To complete the race in UNDER 1 HOUR.  That’s 10 minute miles with obstacles.

Oh boy.  I have a lot of training to do.  I decided to “dust off” my Couch to 5K application on my iPhone and hit the pavement.  I’m currently nearing the end of week 5 (out of 9) and I’m actually enjoying it so far.  *GASP* At the end of 9 weeks, I will start the Bridge to 10K program and hopefully work on my time during this entire process.  In addition to this, I’m doing strength training with ChaLean Extreme and P90X so that I’m strong enough to scale muddy walls and swim my way through mud pits.

I’m excited.  This is the biggest challenge I’ve ever taken on physically (and mentally!).  Let’s hope I make my team proud!

A guest post from 12 Star Diamond and founding coach, Traci Morrow

When Shakeology was added to our exclusive Beachbody Coach store, it made a lot of sense to me: the idea of a meal replaced with a shake that in effect, filled in the large gaps of my present diet’s nutrition. An unhealthy accumulation of days – even years – stacked up where my body wasn’t getting what I was needing and I felt it. Tired, feeling run down from my busy life, and out of time to prepare what I thought I needed – or did I even know what that was? Fruits that don’t taste all that great anymore because they’re pulled from the trees or vines too early for mass crops, vegetables that came from a frozen bag and devoid of flavor as well. I’m a terrible pill taker, so my multivitamin consumption was more hit than miss. A shake that “acted like a salad but tasted like a dessert” is what it said, and as a protein shake consumer, I was game.

Shakeology turned out to be far more than I knew to hope for. A complete system: two workouts (30 and 50 minutes), a month of recipes for both flavors, and a meal plan (through the Club) for how to incorporate the shake into my day? This wasn’t just a meal replacement shake that was going to require me to figure out how to incorporate it into my day – this was a lifestyle shift and one I desperately needed if I wanted to LIVE healthy.

I love being able to speak from personal experience of how the Shakeology system has helped me regain energy, and have everyone I love on it! My 70+ year old parents, my 86 year old father in law, my siblings, my teenagers, and my 6 & 7 year olds love it too. All ages, both genders; experiencing health in a shake and a lifestyle shift that helps “End the Trend” of obesity, fast food diets, and highly processed foods that harm our generation..starting with us. ☺ If you’d like to try Shakeology for free, ask for a free sample and I’ll be happy to send you one!

Words Of Encouragement

This is an inspirational story that any parent should read…

One of the best benefits of learning how to eat to fuel my body, as a mom, was learning what a healthy plate looks like. At Tony Horton Fitness Camps in the days of old, Tony used to talk about the important fuels for your body: lean protein, healthy fats, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

When we first started on this health and fitness journey, I cleaned out all my cupboards and fridge of the bad stuff that I’d allowed to creep in, and replaced it with the healthy stuff listed in my new food journal provided with the Team Beachbody Club. That was a big deal for me, because it was a commitment with my pocketbook! I used the expression “Say no to yourself once: at the grocery store!” that I’d learned from another member in my Beachbody Challenge Group. That saying made sense to me, and I wanted to teach my kids the same thing. Rather than me having m&m’s in a bag that they ask me for 10 times throughout the day, not even having them on the shelves was a few less “no”’s I had to tell my kids. It helped me get creative in making the snacks fun, and the meals tasty!

My kids really resisted at first. Well, the older ones. They were grumpy that the junk food they’d grown accustomed to were no longer an option. Oh, I’m all about moderation, and they still had desserts, and sweet foods, but I changed their options for the more healthy counterparts: Fat free yogurt instead of go-gurts, lime Perrier (“bubble water”) in place of soda, thin crust, light cheese & veggie pizza instead of the thick crust, oozing cheese pepperoni pizza’s of old. We had tons of different fruits, and instead of calorie laden casserole’s we had grilled chicken, lots of veggies and instead of white rice, we had whole grain rice and quinoa and bulgar. Havent tried em? Neither had I until I found the Beachbody Club and then I was hooked on these new flavors! In fact, my kids actually (and this is the truth!) used to say “Brussel Sprouts? Yay! Thanks Mom!” It sounds so fake and cheeseball, but they really love brussel sprouts – a veggie I’d never made before then. Because the truth is, healthy foods DO taste good, and its possible to re-train our habits and taste buds.

Oh, we still have soda, and ice cream every now and again, just not every day or week, and you know what? My kids are healthy, strong, and adjusted. So be encouraged if you are just starting on your journey to a healthier family – with time and consistency, and open, honest communication, ie: “I cant in good conscience give to you what I know now to be so unhealthy for you, son.” your kids WILL adjust and when they’re adults they’ll thank you. When they do, you can pat yourself on the back knowing you did the hard, but right thing by your family.

Fitness Journal Example

Day Two of P90X/Plyometrics

Up at 5 am again. I am going to need to go to bed earlier, as it was not nearly as easy to roll out of bed this morning!

Took my supps, fried KC his eggwhites before he was out the door to work, set up my living room to look like “My Gym”, signed on to WOWY “Online Super Gym” and then pressed play. I don’t get to work out with music, as my kids are all asleep down the hall, and I have to keep the volume VERY low and do all my hopping, jumping, grunting, and straining as quietly as possible.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE PlyometriX!! It works your legs something fierce, but all in good fun, and I love having new moves to learn. One thing about ME: I am pretty competitive, so I really try to keep up not only with the girls, but with the boys. (NO ONE can keep up with Tony Horton – every good competitor knows when they are outmatched!) Some sound advice I got before this workout: “Don’t go at it like an animal or you won’t walk tomorrow”. So I started out with those intentions. That lasted about 30 seconds. I was having so much fun the time flew as I worked my body like crazy in this routine. But not beyond safety and keeping good form; just a good hard workout that ROCKS!!

The inside tip of the day:
“THINK CATWOMAN; NOT CRAZY WOMAN”.

Soft landing is the name of the game so our knees that have recovered from the SQUAT NAZI Debbie Sieber’s Slim in 6 will not be sore again!!

I am so excited to be going through this with all of you! It’s just a CRAZY program that will whip our bodies into tip top shape come day 90. And the fun of doing it alone in your house is that you really are competing with yourself. Yes, there are those on the tape who we compete with each time, but it’s a personal best against them. And no one standing next to you to make you feel less because you can’t keep up with them. In the flesh. It’s a beautiful thing, this home fitness idea. And then we pick back up our living room and no one is the wiser to our private fitness sessions, except that our sweatshirts are starting to bulge in the arms.

I’ve got someone coming for a haircut in a few minutes and I still have yet to take a quick shower. A good hot shower sounds good for my worked body right about now!! Check back in to see if I’m able to walk tomorrow!? I’m up a for a GREAT day today, after a BLAST of a start!!

Is it tomorrow yet?????

Bring it!

True life changing results and new outlook on life are right at the top of the list

My personal journey has taken me down a course in life that is both wonderful, and at the same time completely life changing! The best way that I can describe the change in my life is both physically and now mentally…my entire outlook on life has changed for the better.

And now I want to give back! I want to make a difference! The best way that I know how is to spread the news, helps others, and be there for anyone that wants to take control of their lives and feel better than ever in the process.

What are the “TOP 10″ reasons for joining my team?

1. A chance to return physically and mentally to the “YOU” you use to know!
2. Free coaching along your fitness journey!
3. A fitness accountability partner in me directly and so many others just like you!
4. Someone to listen, motivate and be there when you need them most!
5. Access to the best workouts, meal plans and recipes to help you be a success!
6. Discounts on Shakeology and any Beachbody Workout!
7. A chance to become a Beachbody coach and help others – to make a difference in someone else’s life!
8. A chance to start your own business!
9. A chance to win fabulous trips and prizes!
10. A chance for life changing, financial independence!

Watch the video to see how Shakeology’s ingredients are sourced from the world over

Follow the adventures of Darin, Shakeology’s Ingredient Hunter, as he finds the ingredients that make Shakeology the healthiest meal of the day!