Marinated Chicken & Veggies

Hello friends!! How are you?! I am BEYOND excited, I am one week away from my favorite event of the year, Coach Summit. NashVegas better be ready for us again! 

Anyways, speaking of Coach Summit, I have been TRYING to keep myself in check with my food prior to us leaving but I have also been on the lookout for new ideas for my meal plan. I was very good about my meal plan while I did Hammer & Chisel, I had no issues sticking to pretty much the same foods throughout the entire program but I am ready for a change.

One thing that came to mind yesterday while meal planning was chicken kabobs with veggies over brown rice.  When we BBQ with my parents, we used to always do skewers marinated in Italian dressing with this amazing brown mushroom rice my mom makes (full of BUTTER baby, but oh so good), sooooo, I wanted to make something similar but Fix approved, of course! 

So here it is! My marinated chicken & veggie recipe, I made plenty extra for meals throughout the week too. Keep in mind, I feed Aaron and myself, if you are prepping for just 1, you could cut back on the ingredients.

What you need (makes about 6 servings):
2 Bell Peppers (I did red/ orange), cut  
Small Container of Whole Mushrooms, cleaned
3 small-medium Zucchini (you can do Squash too), sliced
Onion (optional, I don't like onion but many do), sliced
2lb (or a little over) chicken, cut into chunks
1/2-3/4 C Bolthouse Farms Classic Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
3 C cooked brown rice (or quinoa, etc.) 

Preparation: 
1. Grab a ziploc bag, open it and pour in about 1/3 cup of the dressing. Place your cut up chicken in the ziploc, seal it and make sure all the chicken is covered before placing back in the fridge to marinate. Leave in there for at least 2 hours.
2. Do the same for the cut up veggies! Place in fridge for at least 2 hours. 
3. Heat up indoor/outdoor grill (if using an outdoor grill, make sure to cook on some type of pan that is grill safe so you don't lose the food in the grill!).  I used an indoor grill. 
4. Place veggies on grill, grill until desired tenderness.  (I also cooked mine separately because I didn't have space to cook both at the same time)
5. While those cook, measure out your cooked brown rice into separate containers. 1/2 cup per container. 
6. Measure veggies out (about 1 cup) and place into containers.
7. Place chicken on the grill, grill until no longer pink and fully cooked. 
8. Measure out chicken (about 3/4 cup) and place on top of veggies in containers.

You can add 1-2 tsp more of the dressing if you want/need when you eat or cook it but I did not need it. I personally had two servings of veggies today with my lunch and it was a TON of food.  

For my Fix Family: 1 green, 1 red, 1 yellow (if you add rice), 1 orange




 

Caprese Chicken

What do you do when you have leftover basil and fresh mozzarella from your Margherita Pizza? You make Fix approved Caprese Chicken, of course!

This is one of my favorites and it is beyond simple but taste like it took hours to prepare...sometimes literally depending on if you are good at cooking chicken or not, mine sometimes tastes a little chewy and overcooked but I don't mind. ;) 

What you need for the top:
Pesto (2 tsp per chicken breast)
Tomato (I use 1 roma per chicken breast & eat any extra that doesn't fit) 
Basil Leaves (about 4 leaves per piece of chicken breast)
Fresh Mozzarella (1oz per chicken breast)
Salt & Pepper, just a dash will do

What you need for the chicken: 
Chicken Breast (4oz piece per person)
Dash of pepper
Olive Oil Spray

1. Spray a pan with olive oil spray and turn on medium heat. 
2. Season your chicken with some pepper and add to the pan. 
3. Cook your chicken about 4 minutes per side or until no longer pink in the middle (I use thinly sliced chicken breast so they cook quicker).
4. Place 2 tsp of pesto on top of your chicken breast, then layer it with 1oz mozzarella and 1 small roma tomato, alternating between the two.  
5. Cover and cook on low for about 2 minutes or until cheese starts to melt and tomatoes are soft. 
6. Take out of pan, place on a plate and top with fresh basil!   

I ate mine with a side of leftover tomatoes and broccoli with leftover cheese from my blue container melted on it...I mean, everything is better with cheese, right?! 

For my Fix Family (including my sides): 2 Greens, 1 Red, 1 Blue

Recipe modified from the Fixate cookbook. 

BBQ Chicken & Sweet Potato

I have totally been MIA but summer is busy! My main focus has been my kids and my challengers, so the blog has definitely seen better days but I did want to share a new recipe with you all that was SUPER simple and yummy!! Next time I make this, I want to top it with a slaw of some sort! I love an extra crunch in my food! 

Serves: 2 servings, 1 sweet potato and about ¾ cup chicken each

Ingredients

• 2 small sweet potatoes, washed, pierced several times with a fork
• 1½ cups shredded cooked chicken breast, boneless, skinless, warm (I cheated and used a rotisseree chicken & peeled off the skin)
• ¼ cup barbecue sauce (they always call for reduced sugar, I can't find one, so I use Trader Joe's or you can make your own)
• ¼ cup Quick Pickled Red Onions (or 2 Tbsp. chopped red onions) (optional, I skipped this step)

Instructions

1. Place sweet potatoes on a plate. Pierce each sweet potato 3 to 4 times with a fork. Microwave 4-6 minutes or until tender. 
2. While sweet potato is cooking, combine chicken and barbecue sauce in a small bowl; mix well. Set aside.
3. Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise.
4. Top sweet potatoes evenly Quick Pickled Red Onions and chicken mixture. Serve and enjoy! 

Tips:

1. Look for barbecue sauce that has an ingredient list that does not contain artificial sweeteners, additives, or preservatives. There are many brands on the market that are sweetened with small amounts of honey, maple syrup, or molasses.
2. Use Healthy Barbecue Sauce as a homemade alternative to store-bought barbecue sauce.

For my Fix Family, it is 1.5 yellow and 1 red! 

Spicy Asian Tilapia w/ Mixed Veggies

I typically prep 80% of our lunches and dinner.  However since we have gotten back from our cruise (another post, another day), I have tried to mix things up a bit! I decided to throw some fish back on the menu, I can't tell you the last time I bought Tilapia, cooked it at home and actually enjoyed it! Usually it is way too fishy for me but this was so good! And it was the EASIEST meal to throw together ever, especially on a week night! 

No prep work, just out of the package & into the pan! I even used the same pan for the tilapia after I cooked the veggies to save myself (er...Aaron) the hassle of washing more than one pan! Yes, you read that right, he does the dishes around here too. 

What you need: 
2 pkg precut veggie mix from Trader Joe's (pictured) 
1 lb Tilapia (farm-raised fresh tilapia from TJ's, pictured)
San-J Szechuan Sauce (or other flavor you like), this one is spicy! 

1. Spray a large pan with olive oil cooking spray. Warm it up & throw in the veggies! Sauté them to your liking, I cook mine for a while because I prefer them softer. 
2. Once they are done, set them aside, covered in a bowl or container. 
3. Spray a tad more olive oil in the pan & place the tilapia in there. 
4. Salt & pepper the fish. Cook 2 minutes & flip. 
5. Squeeze a little fresh lemon juice over the fish. (About 1-2 tsp total) 
6. Cook another 5 minutes. Fish will flake when done. 
7. Place 2 cups veggies on a plate with 1 piece of fish. Top with 1 tbsp of the sauce (or less if you can't handle spicy), serve immediately and devour! 

You can add brown rice if you want or even turn it into tacos but it is perfect with just the veggies!

Enjoy! 🙌🏼

For my Fix Family: 2 green, 1 red, 1/2 orange

Pulled Chipotle Chicken & Slaw Pizza

...insert drool here

Oh my goodness you guys...we made this pulled chicken and slaw from the Team Beachbody Blog a couple of weeks ago and loved it but then it hit me to turn it into a pizza, I mean who doesn't love BBQ Chicken Pizza? And one that is good for you!! Like so good for you, I can eat it while doing my program without any guilt! THAT's A WIN! Plus, I love having pizza on the weekends! It's my jam. 

Pulled Chipotle Chicken with Cilantro Slaw Pizza
 4 servings, about ¾ cup chicken and ¾ cup slaw each

Ingredients:
½ cup apple cider vinegar, divided use
7 tsp. olive oil mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp. raw honey
½ tsp. celery seed
4 cups shredded cabbage (or half a small cabbage) --> (I buy this shredded at Trader Joe's)
1 tsp. olive oil
½ medium onion, finely chopped (yeah, I use 1/4 onion, we aren't onion people though)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped
2 Tbsp. adobo sauce (the sauce from chipotle pepper in adobo sauce)
½ cup barbeque sauce, no sugar added (I used a local company, Pappy's, it was NOT no sugar added though)
3 cups cooked chicken breast, boneless, skinless, shredded (I used rotisserie) 
For Pizza:
Extra BBQ Sauce (2 tsp per pizza) 
Shredded Cheddar (4 tbsp per pizza) 
Golden Home Ultra Thin Whole Grain Crust, Individual Size (or other crust of your choice) 

Preparation:

1. Combine ¼ cup vinegar, mayonnaise, cilantro, honey, and celery seed in a large bowl; mix well.
2. Add cabbage; mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
3. Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat.
4. Add onion; cook for 4 to 6 minutes, or until onion is translucent.
5. Add garlic; cook for 1 minute.
6. Add chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, barbecue sauce, and remaining ¼ cup vinegar; cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until sauce thickens slightly.
7. Add chicken, cook, stirring frequently, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until chicken is well coated and heated through.
To make into a pizza:
8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, once preheated, place the crust in the oven on a foil lined pan for 3-5 minutes.  Careful not to burn it.
9. Take out the crust, spread 2 tsp of BBQ sauce on the pizza crust. Top it with 3/4 cup chicken and 4 tbsp shredded cheddar cheese. 
10. Place back in oven at 350 for another 5-8 minutes or until edges are golden brown. 
11. Remove from the oven and top it with 3/4 cup slaw.

Slice and enjoy! 

For my Fix Family (without the pizza): 1 Green, 1 Red, .5 Yellow, 2tsp
For my Fix Family (with pizza): 1 Green, 1 Red, 2 Yellow, 2tsp