Wicked Chicken Tai Soup

I just finished a bowl for lunch and man this soups gets even better the next day!! The oooonly thing missing was a bit of lemongrass, that would have totally kicked up to that next level. But it is so good I am going to share it with you NOW!!!

Wicked Chicken Thai Soup

Into a crock pot place:
1 whole chicken separated, skin removed
3 carrots diced
4 celery stalks diced
1 onion diced
1 carton organic chicken stock
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
2 cups water
1 tbsp coconut aminos
2 tbsp thai spice blend (SEE BELOW)

Give it all a stir and let it sit on high for roughly 5 hours. You can always add a touch more spice near the end if you want it HAWT!

During the last hour of cooking pull out the chicken out of the crock, let cool enough to handle, and then pull it all apart. Add it back into the crock.

Cook up some rice and put in the bottom of a bowl then pour a ladle full of soup over it. You could garnish with a bit of cilantro (but I don't like cilantro…it's genetic).

My Top Ten Weight Loss Foods

I am often asked from people looking to achieve weight loss success what I eat. I often say I eat whole foods, clean foods, single ingredient foods. But that leaves many wondering what does that really mean when you go into the grocery store. So, I decided to make a quick list of my personal top ten favourite foods for weight loss. These are foods that are regulars in my grocery basket.

Top Ten Weight Loss Foods From Weight Loss Success Story

Apples

High in fibre and supposedly better at waking you up than coffee apples are something that go fast in our house. Transportable, sweet, and crunchy it doesn't matter what kind you get, they are going to be good for you. So whether you like gala, spartan, or granny smith, be sure to stock up on apples.

Dried Fruit 

With a wide array of vitamins and minerals dried fruit is a quick and easy treat, especially if you are needing to replace a candy craving. Dried cranberries and dried cherries are sweet and tangy while dates can give you a pseudo chocolate feel.

Citrus Fruits

Packed with Vitamin C citrus fruits are super refreshing!! Grapefruit at breakfast, lemon in your water, oranges as a snack. It's all good!! Lemons in particular are known to help detoxify the liver.

Coconut

If you follow me on any of my social media you may know already that I am nutty for coconut! Coconut milk, oil, butter, shredded, flour, water…all of it!! It's the medium chain triglycerides that are the magic of the coconut which help the liver and coconut oil specifically is great for thyroid function.

Bananas

Somewhere along the line bananas got a bad rap, something to do with the high sugar content, blah, blah, blah. But in reality bananas are VERY good for you. Their combination of potassium and fibre makes for a power packed perfect snack.

Broccoli

Broccoli is hands down one of my fav veggies. Steamed then tossed with some coconut oil. YUM YUM! This understated veggie is full of vitamins, minerals, and even calcium and protein.

Spinach

Nine times out of ten when making my daily Shakeology I will throw a handful of spinach in it. That 10th time is usually because I'm fresh out! You'll find calcium, iron, vitamins and minerals in spinach. It helps build muscles and stabilize blood pressure.

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a breakfast staple in our house, and not those single serving processed packages. I make large flake or stone cut from scratch. A perfect whole food. With lots of fibre and and protein it's a perfect way to start the day, just dress it up with some dried fruit, nuts, seeds, and some cinnamon and you are ready to tackle your day!!

Eggs

If I'm not having oatmeal for breaky I'm having eggs. Such a powerful combo of protein, all 9 amino acids, and an array of vitamins. Studies also show that women that eat eggs for breakfast versus other traditional breakfast items (like bagels or cold cereal) lose more weight and feel fuller longer. 

Nuts/Seeds

While high in fat nuts and seeds are great to toss into and on things to just give a little nutritional punch. In oatmeal, over yogurt, into your salad, they not only give a little crunch but also provide you with omegas, vitamins, some protein, and even fibre. Just be sure to get the unsalted and unsugared kinds to avoid extra unnecessary calories.


I hope you find this list helpful and add some, or even better all of them, to your grocery list. And it you'll also notice none of these are fancy or expensive. Eating healthy doesn't have to break the bank!! Keep it simple and basic. 

10 Tips to Survive Holiday Eating

Over the last four years and 101 lost lbs I have invariably had to wade my way through my fair share of holidays. This weekend we are celebrating Thanksgiving here in Canada and this very topic came up in one of my challenge groups. I listed a few things out and then thought, hey, more people need to know this. They need to know that you CAN enjoy eating at the holidays without the guilt and uncomfortable waistline.

So here they are…

Top Ten Tips To Survive Holiday Eating

1. Drink a big glass of water before you go out or before you get into the eating. You will more than likely be eating more sodium than usual, you will probably be having a drink or two, plus that big drink of water will help fill you up a bit.

2. When you first arrive take a good look at the appetizer table. Take a small plate then go sit down. Don't GRAZE the appetizer table!

3. Speaking of the appys head for the fresh cut veggies first. Don't forget to be careful of dips. I love dips. I can get carried away with dips.



4. Don't be afraid to have a little bit of everything, but for your sake TAKE SAMPLE SIZES. You don't have to have a full scoop of everything, just try a bit, there is lots to take in.

5. When it comes to the main course try choosing a smaller plate. Dinner plates now are WAY bigger than they used to be. Taking a smaller plate is a great trick because it fills up faster and gives you that visual illusion that you are eating more.

6. Keep your servings sizes in check. If you have those awesome containers from the 21 Day Fix don't be afraid to take them. And use them. Hey, they may even start up some conversation ;) 

7. Watch out with salads. While they maaaay seem like a healthy option they are often loaded with creamy or oily dressings. By all means still have some, but be aware. Same thing goes if you are putting dressing on your own salad. A little goes a long way. 

8. Load up half your plate with the veggie options. They should be taking that space up anyways. 

9. With holidays comes eating, and with holiday eating comes holiday DRINKING. Those drinks do come with calories, and while they go down fast, that is just how easy it is to consume a lot of calories over a short period of time. Pace yourself. Stick to a couple drinks tops. And try to have a glass of water in between. 

10. Pumpkin pie. Apple pie. Pumpkin cheesecakes. Lemon pie. Chocolate something. Whatever dessert is going to be gracing your holiday table HAVE SOME!!! But having some doesn't mean going all out. Ask for a half a slice, nothing wrong with that at all. 

BONUS: Be thankful for every bite you have. There are so many less fortunate in the world. I'm not trying to be a downer but when you are thankful, truly, you savour your food more, you don't rush through it. Slow down. Enjoy. Enjoy the family, enjoy the friends, the holiday is not just about the food but the people you share it with. 

Have a Happy Holiday Season. 

New Autumn Calabrese Program???

Is it true? Is Autumn Calabrese coming out 

with a new program? 

At the Team Beachbody Winnipeg Launch when Autumn Calabrese was going through her Q&A session she was asked if she would be coming out with a new program.

While nothing concrete was said we were all left with the feeling that yes something in the near future would be in the works. Little did we know how NEAR that future was going to be.

So when asking NOW "is Autumn Calabrese coming out with a new program"…the answer is definitely...

YOU BETCHA!!!!

And from the looks of it is going to be AWESOME!!

I am so excited about this new program coming from Team Beachbody and Autumn Calabrese.

Are you ready for it???

Introducing 21 Day Fix EXTREME

The 21 Day Fix EXTREME was announced at the Team Beachbody Leadership Retreat taking place right now in Scottsdale Arizona. Elite coaches in attendance got the low down and passed it down the line to get the entire coach network and our customers and challengers excited about this incredible new program from Autumn Calabrese. 

There aren't a lot of details released yet but what we do know is that it takes many of the basics from the 21 Day Fix and well, it gets EXTREME. 

Here is what we DO know:

-It will be building on the basics from the 21 Day Fix

-The workouts will still be 30 minutes 

-Similar format of the original 21 Day Fix there will be different daily workouts (upper, lower, yoga, etc.)

-Still includes the incredible and revolutionary portion control system

We also know that it will be coming out February, 2015. Perfect timing for after all that Christmas and Holiday partying, and just when you start abandoning your New Year's weight loss goals here comes the answer. 

As information is released I will be sure to update!!

In the meantime please enjoy this quick sneak peak of what the 21 Day Fix Extreme is going to offer

Be sure to check for updates and get ready to ROCK the 21 Day Fix Extreme when it is released in February. 

Pumpkin Spice Coconut Pecan Biscuits

I have to admit the majority of my baking recipes aren't 100% clean or healthy. I do make a number of substitutions though and I'm aways a bigger fan of lowering sugar instead of fat.  

That being said after I posted a pic of the pumpkin spice coconut pecan biscuits I had a few requests for the recipe. So here it is.

Pumpkin Spice Coconut Pecan Biscuits

Preheat oven to 450'

Cream together the following ingredients and set aside:

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup large flaked coconut

Mix together all the dry ingredients: 

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tbsp coconut sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Mix the coconut oil into the dry ingredients to resemble crumbs:

1/3 cup coconut oil

Then mix in the milk:

3/4 cup milk

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and gently roll out into a 9" square. Spread the filling mixture over top. Roll up jelly roll style. Cut into 12 slices. Lay cut side down into a greased muffin tin (I used the spray coconut oil). 

Bake for 12 minuets and remove from the pan immediately (as soup spoon works great for popping them out). 

That's it! Pretty simple. Hope you enjoy them. Oh and you can also try the variation listed below :) 

Cinnamon Variation

omit pumpkin spice from dough and add 1/2 tsp cinnamon to the filling mixture instead

Beachbody Canada Launch - Winnipeg

Yesterday was such an AMAZING day! It really is hard to put into words the energy, the emotion, the fun, the excitement, the joy, and the tears, that summed up yesterday. 

Right from first thing in the morning to into the wee hours of this morning we laughed, cried, grew as a team, and connected as part of the larger family of Team Beachbody.

On August 28th the Team Beachbody Opportunity officially launched in Canada and there have been events taking place across Canada. Yesterday was OUR turn to SHINE! And did we SHINE!

We were ridiculously lucky to have THREE amazing representatives from Beachbody in Winnipeg to lead us through and get us ready to ROCK CANADA! We had Arnauld Nakaha,

Michael Neimand,

and DUN DUN DUN….

the one….

the only…

AUTUMN CALABRESE

I am still on cloud 9 that I was not only able to listen to her speak, but participate in a LIVE workout, got to have my picture taken with here, AND had her sign my 21 Day Fix case. 

Even cooler was that I actually got to speak at this prestigious event. Yep, your truly was able to get up on stage and share my fitness success story of losing 101 lbs to 230 people. I think I did pretty awesome, you'll have to check out the video (which I'll post later) and tell me what ya think!

Here is Arnauld Nakaha introducing me and inviting me onto stage.

Now, if you think that was fun, just WAIT until you see what our evening consisted of. I like to joke that Beachbody coaches work hard and play harder. And man did we ever last night. I celebrated the night away with 30 top coaches from across Canada. We are on the front lines of ending the trend of obesity and is was so much fun to take some time to bond together, share our stories, and get to know each other. 

Our evening started with dinner, and we went around the table I sat I (there were three tables total) and just at our table alone we lost a total of 362 lbs. CRAZY! I learned of others' transformations. Some were physical and some were more personal and emotional transformations. 

After dinner we had Winnipeg's longest stretch limo pick us up and take us for a tour around the city. CRAZY!!! I haven't been in a limo in years, and was nothing like this one. We had the music cranked and we had such a blast driving around the city. After the limo ride we went to one of Winnipeg's poshest clubs, Opera, where we were treated to bottle service. Champagne and Grey Goose vodka. I was BLOWN. AWAY. But really it makes sense as we had so much to toast to. We toasted to the Team Beachbody Canada Launch. We toasted each other's weight loss success. We toasted our business successes. And we toasted just for the pure sake of toasting. 

I'm still pinching myself that I got to experience what I did yesterday. With the energy I felt yesterday I can only imagine what Beachbody Summit in Nashville will be like next year! It will be on a whole other level. 

I am so in love with this company and everything it stands for. Like CEO Carl Daikler said at the event in Vancouver, isn't just about ending the trend of obesity, but ending the trend of low self esteem and feeling like we don't matter. I matter. YOU matter. We all MATTER! 

I am part of this and I would love for you to be a part of it as well! Please consider joining the Rock Your Life Movement team. 

Butter Chicken Recipe

Making butter chicken is one of the ways that I like to use up chicken thighs. I bought a big pack of them from Costco and the other evening pulled out the recipe. It was a cool and chilly day so it was perfect for making something spicy, warm, and cozy. I posted the pic on Facebook and got lots of requests for the recipe so here it is!!

What you're going to need:

5-6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
3 medium sized onions
1 can of tomato sauce
1 tbsp butter or ghee
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/2 cup milk (cow or almond)
3 tbsp cream OR canned coconut milk


What to do: 
Melt the butter in a pan
Chop the onions and add to the melted butter and fry until lightly golden
Add the following: ginger, garlic, coriander, chilli power, salt, garam masala, and tumeric
Let the spices fry with the onions a few moments until it becomes nice and fragrant
Chop of the chicken into the size of pieces you'd like and then add to the pan
Let the chicken fry about 5 minutes
Add the can of tomato sauce, milk, and cream OR coconut milk
Let it lightly simmer until chicken is cooked through (about 10 minutes)

Serve with rice and steamed or lightly sautéed veggies.

Enjoy with a nice cup of chai tea :)