Taco Tuesday: Simple, Delicious Chicken Tacos

If your family is anything like mine, Taco Tuesday is a must for every week! We love to switch it up so new, tasty, simple recipes like this are HUGE finds for me! 

If you're running short on time, in search of a quick and delicious dinner jump on hugest tonight! Trust me - your family will thank you and gobble them up! 

                

These simple chicken tacos taste like delicious comfort food, they have only 248 calories and 6 grams of fat per serving.

Total Time: 18 min.
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cooking Time: 8 min.
Yield: 4 servings, 2 tacos each

Ingredients:
1 tsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb. raw chicken breast, boneless, skinless, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ tsp. ground cumin
Sea salt and ground black pepper (to taste; optional)
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas, warm
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation:
1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and chicken; cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent and chicken is no longer pink.
3. Add garlic and cumin; cook, stirring frequently, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until well blended.
4. Season with salt and pepper if desired.
5. Top tortillas evenly with chicken mixture; garnish with cilantro.
6. Serve immediately.

Are you a taco fiend?? What's your favorite way to spice up your Taco Tiesday? 

Xoxo,

Corina

Thanksgiving Bites - Quinoa Stuffing

Thanksgiving is riiiight around the corner! Can you believe it?! 

Check out this great alternative to traditional Thanksgiving stuffing - made with quinoa, celery and green apples! Yum! 

                       

Quinoa Stuffing: 

This simple stuffing is loaded with delicious vegetables and herbs and takes just 10 minutes to prep.

Total Time: 42 min.

Prep Time: 10 min.

Cooking Time: 27 min.

Yield: 16 servings, ⅔ cup each

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

8 medium celery stalks, chopped (about 4 cups)

2 medium green apples, with peel (about 2 cups)

4 cups low-sodium organic vegetable broth

2 cups dry quinoa, rinsed

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. ground black pepper

½ cup dried cranberries

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

½ cup pine nuts

Preparation:

1.Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat.

2. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes, or until fragrant.

3. Add celery and apple; cook, stirring frequently, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until tender.

4. Add broth, quinoa, salt, cumin, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, covered, for 15 minutes, or until most of liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat.

5. Add cranberries. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.

6. Add cilantro and pine nuts; fluff with fork and serve.

What are you serving for Thanksgiving?  Share in a comment below! 

Xoxo, 

Corina 

A New Challenge! & Your On-Ramp to Fitness

Today my hubby and I started a brand new Beachbody workout program: P90!

We had been doing with 21 Day Fix since February, and I hopped between 21 Day Fix and Piyo since Piyo released in June.  

When we saw this program we were both intrigued and excited. 

I'm not going to lie --- I've NEVER completed P90X or Insanity. 

Why?

They scare me! 

They're long, arduous and seem designed specifically for pro athletes or people in the military. 

There was once a time, when I was wanting to get serious about my health and fitness, that I thought I would do Insanity. 

That lasted about 2 days. 

But this program? This we knew we could do! (We were even able to get my parents on board with us and they didn't need much persuading!)

Why this program? This program is being called Beachbody's "on-ramp to fitness".

You may be wondering why we felt we needed an on-ramp to fitness since we've been working out consistently for well over a year by now and the answer is extremely simple - our goal is to show the versatility of this program. 

As I mentioned earlier, my parents agreed to do this program with us so now we have the privilege of showing people of different stages of fitness and ages getting incredible results from the program that is the perfect introduction to home fitness. 

My parents have just left on vacation so they'll be starting the program once they get back but let me just say - day 1 was excellent and I genuinely can't wait to tackle the rest of this program! 

I'm confident that P90 will be the spring board for giving us all the skills, confidence and fitness levels necessary to confidently take on Insanity or any of the P90X series - I'm thinking Insanity Max or P90X3 will be next on our list! 

What are you taking on this season to continue challenging yourself? Leave a comment below; I'd love to hear about it! 

xoxo,

Corina

Clean Eating Recipe - Chicken Tortilla Soup

I know it's the end of October but I feel like Fall has finally arrived!!! Can we say that officially?!

This girl has busted out her sweaters, boots, & leggings - I am SO excited!! 

For me one of the best things about fall is honestly the food - chili, soup, pumpkin erethang! 

But let's be honest - for clean eaters those things can be a little dangerous!
These fall time eats are typically laden with salt, fat, cream and tons of sugar! 

So what's a Fall lovin' girl to do?!
My solution?

Take advantage of a crock pot and tasty, whole food ingredients!

Behold - Clean Eating Chicken Tortilla Soup!

Let's get to the How To!

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

2 (16 ounce) cans chili beans

1 cup whole kernel corn - I used frozen

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce or paste 

1 (16 ounce) container chicken broth 

1 (10 ounce) can green chilies 

1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning

3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Salt & Pepper to taste

Optional - Choose 1:

shredded Cheddar cheese (optional garnish after cooking)

greek yogurt or sour cream (optional garnish after cooking)

crushed tortilla chips (optional garnish after cooking)

Directions:

Cooking immediately:

Put all ingredients in Crock Pot, cook on high for 4 hours or low for 7-8 hours. Shred chicken once cooked through. 

Cooking from frozen:

Combine all ingredients into a Ziploc bag. Freeze. Thaw and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken in crock pot once cooking is done (or use kitchen aide to shred). 

Serve with a side salad for a great dose of veggies OR topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of greek yogurt (or sour cream), and/or crushed tortilla chips, if desired. Served approx. 5-6 people.

I freeze half of this soup in individual serving containers for a quick meal during a busy week! 

Serving Size:

-1 cup 

21 DAY FIX Serving Size: 

Measure 1G container and count as  1G, 1R, 1Y 

Make sure if you add greek yogurt and cheese you count those in addition!

My absolute favorite thing about this recipe is its Crock Pot friendliness! I threw this in the crock pot on Sunday night as my hubby and I snuck out for a quick dinner date together.  By the time we came home the soup was just about done!!

Soup for lunches & dinners prepped and a date?! Now that's a wifey win in my book! 

Can you feel the fall coziness?  Imagine eating this soup in front of a fire, wrapped in a blanket, surrouded by your family and friends! :) It smells like Fall to me!!!

xoxo,

Corina

P.S. If you try this recipe out for yourself let me know!  

Instagram - @ririluvsabs

Facebook - www.facebook.com/cmadfitness OR www.facebook.com/Madforfitness9 

21 Day Fix - Container Breakdown & What I Eat In a Day

I've been following the 21 Day Fix program for my nurition since February and I have to say I honestly am head over heels in love with it!! 

Not only does it  allow me to flex the nutrition to my tastes and family activities, it shows me exactly what to eat to get amazing results like I've never seen with any other program while I'm still able to eat my favorite foods - like pizza and chocolate!  I have seen unbelieveable results with this program and that is why I've maintined the nutrition as my lifestyle. 

So....how does it work? And what does my day of meals actually look like? 

It's pretty simple - I eat very similarly every day as far as which container I eat at what time, but I change up what I actually eat according to my cravings and what we've agreed to have as a family for meals that week.

The plan is based off of a container system; depending on which calorie bracket you fall into you get a specific number of containers to eat each day. 

I fall into the lowest calorie bracket of the plan and this is how I breakdown my containers for the day:

Breakfast - 1 red, 1 spoon:

Shakeology (1 red) with peanut butter (1 spoon) + Coffee with stevia or Green Tea with honey 

Snack 1 - 1 yellow, 1 purple:

Oatmeal (1 yellow) + fruit (banana, apple, berries, etc - 1 purple) + cinnamon + stevia

Lunch - 2 green, 1 red, 1 blue, 1 orange:

Green salad mix (kale, spinach, romaine, bell peppes, cucumbes, carrots mixed - 2 green) + Baked Chicken/Tuna/Hard Boiled Eggs/Salmon (1 red) + Crushed pecans/almonds + 21 Day Fix dressing (1 orange)

Snack 2 - 1 purple + 1 red OR 1 purple + 1 spoon OR 1 green + 1 orange OR 1 green + 1 blue:

Sliced fruit - strawberries, pineapple, apple, banana (1 purple) + Greek Yogurt - sprinkled with cinnamon & stevia (1 red)

Piece of fruit - Apple or 1/2 Banana (1 purple) + Peanut Butter (1 spoon)

Sliced veggies - cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers (1 green)  + 21 Day Fix dressing to dip (1 orange) 

Sliced veggies - cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers (1 green)  + hummus (1 blue) 

Dinner: 1 red + 1 green + 1 yellow

Meat of choice (chicken/lean steak/ground turkey - 1 red) + Steamed or raw veggie of choice (1 green) + Carb of choice (brown rice, tortillas, sweet potato - 1 yellow) 

BAM!  By the end of the day, I'm full, satisfied and my metabolism is revving!! I love this plan because it allows SO much flexibility and that is the KEY to keeping me content and on track with my meal plan & my fitness goals! 

What is YOUR favorite thing about the 21 Day Fix meal plan?

Until next time! 

xoxo,

Corina

If you're tired of the mundane diet, retricting yourself to a certain list of foods or you're just plain tired or feeling sick and tired and ready to be energized, loving life and in the best shape of your life, fill out this form and I'll contact you about my upcoming 21 Day Fix accoutability group!

Don't Let Your Hang-up Be Your Hindrance

I heard this on my way home from work this afternoon and it made me pause:

Radio DJ:
"I was reading out of Galatians, chapter 6 this morning:
"Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone..." 
So I should see people as an opportunity - an opportunity to do good, share good and show love. Being introverted my natural instinct is to see people as an inconvenience, not an opportunity to show love. What areas of your life are you ignoring the opportunities to share goodness and seeing only inconveniences?"

In my car, by myself, I found myself saying "Woah."

My introverted instinct is to feel the same way. I'm shy. I end up feeling awkward in one on one conversations. I am constantly looking for a way to get out and get on the outside of the action, looking in.

Each and every time I react in such a way I'm missing the opportunity to love on people, as Christ calls us to do.
Today I'm claiming my timid nature & shy personality and seeking every opportunity to interact, to love and share life with others.

What inconvenience do you need to turn to opportunity?

Don't let your hang up be your hindrance.

xoxo,
Corina 

Fact: I Almost Ate a Pop-Tart

Fact: this girl A L M O S T ate a Pop-tart

Today is our first official day back from vacation and my hubby and I agreed that we would be back to proper nutrition starting TODAY. 

My plan?
Go to the grocery store early this morning and stock up on the necessary food to get us back on track

My reality?
Laundry. And many a suitcase to unpack.

I whipped up a shake and pushed the store off for later.

Later struck and so did a Pop Tart craving.
Oh, crap.

I was thiiiiis close to actually scrapping the plan and downing that sugary, frosted Pop-Tart.

But I KNOW myself.

One sugary treat leads to ten more after nearly 2 weeks of abnormal eating.
So I put my foot down, sucked up my craving and bolstered my willpower.

Sorry Pop-tart, this girl has some goals to crush.

Pop-Tart: 0 Corina: 1 

What is your biggest obstacle when returning from vacation?

xoxo,
Corina