Making life easy with an Instant Pot

I am so excited that I finally went out and purchased an instant pot. I have heard so many things about them. Its super easy and fast PLUS its healthy!! This thing has done wonders for my family especially during our summer vacation with the kids and two adults in an RV. With minimal counter space available to prepare meals it definitely makes things challenging when cooking for a large family.

So far all the recipes we've tried have rocked. My kids loved the BBQ chicken (click here for recipe). The only change I made was using the wired rack that's included with the instant pot to hold the potatoes on and cook them separately from the chicken

With living gluten free (not by choice since I have Celiacs) we are constantly learning and researching brands and recipes. Oh- that little cooker is our rice cooker. I had rice and veggies cooking in that one since the instant pot was full! And let's not forget to mention Advocares amazing SPARK focus drink! If your never had Spark you need to seriously contact me so I can send you a sample to try. Its amazing and keeps this mom on her feet with a TON of energy.

If you're on the fence about purchase one of these - DO IT! You won't regret it! I'm already debating an upgrade since that smart bluetooth one is pretty darn cool. Heres the instant pot website! 

Find the right food for your 24 day challenge

TWO MORE DAYS !! Can you tell I'm excited??

                      You should SERIOUSLY join us! 

Check out our Advocare site and lets start your new healthy life already :)  You can do it and we are here to help you be successful!

tessandkyle.com 

Why YES! Kyle and I are SUPER excited to begin our very first 24 day challenge 

I want to take a moment and blog about a super important topic...which is purchasing the correct food choices by following the grocery guide 

(pic below or click on the link to take you to a better copy). 

The first part of the 24 day challenge is the cleanse. During this phase your body is as I like to put it "ridding the waste and resetting the pace." Phase one supplements and clean eating are SUPER important because if you misfire, you wont start properly! 

This video will help you with understanding what we should avoid.

Many people have difficulty with changing their eating habits. Its unfortunate that we have become so accustomed to prepared meals, fast entree's, and on the fly dinners. 

I believe this challenge will help you feel better not only with overall wellness but you will become an awesome role model for others who are interested in the same journey! 

Eating clean is ALOT easier that eating out of a box. Make this challenge fun!

•  Take a chance at new recipes
•  Have fun cooking with your children 
•  Enjoy a sit down meal that is properly portioned 

YOU CAN DO IT! 

Remember, your NOT alone! This is our first challenge and just like you we have SO many questions! Resources are available 24/7 through Kyle and I, your sponsor, and there is a 24 day challenge app available for IOS and Android!

PLUS check out the Daily Guide and my Pinterest for some awesome recipes! 

I'm so excited to blog about our success!  

SO.. here is my BEFORE picture of ME!! 

(Kyles will be added soon)

Advocare is AWESOME! Not only has it made me feel better, it has allowed me to enjoy life and become financially stable with something I LOVE DOING!!!

                   

 Interested in Advocare products or becoming a distributor on our team? 

Contact us today! 

24 Day Challenge

This summer has been awesome! It has been filled with laughter, fun times and lots of "not so healthy foods". So with going back to school there is no better time to start Advocares amazing 24 day challenge. 

If anyone has done or heard about this challenge, its completely amazing. Its not a 24 day diet... Its an amazing program that you can visually see and physically feel. It is designed for everyone. Whether your looking for an increase in energy, a boost in your metabolism or to loose weight this challenge will give you results.You will feel amazing! 

September 6th the Back to School 24 challenge and we would LOVE it if you joined us!!

Signature Spectrum Smoothie

This smoothie is a signature breakfast in my home. It is SOOOOO tasty and all my littles love it too!!

• 8 oz Milk
• 1/4 Cranberry Juice
• 1/2 Cup Spectrum Blend Frozen Fruit
• 1 Scoop of ON (Optimum Nutrition) vanilla ice cream protein powder

This is seriously the BEST TASTING protein powder I have yet to find. Since I'm not a fan of meat I need to find other ways to get in my protein. 

This flavor is seriously delicious! 

Grape O'Berry Smoothie

A few weeks ago I decided to make a change and instead of my morning cup of sugar with a drop of coffee I was going to make smoothies. At first this was really hard. I had lots of headaches thanks to the caffeine withdrawal and I had to adjust my morning routine.

As the days progressed I have come to love this. I look forward to my morning smoothie and my children love them too! This new morning routine gives me the wholesome energy I need versus the short lived cup of morning joe. It also helps me with protein since I am not a fan of meat,

But BEST of all..... I am no longer skipping the most important meal of the day! 

This is probably one of my favorite smoothies! Its kid loved, perfectly filling, and super scrumptious! And,since we are members at Costco we bulk up on frozen fruit so having all types of varieties is even more awesome!!!

 Give this one a try!!!

Grape O'Berry Smoothie
1/2 cups of Frozen 3 Berry Blend (blueberry, raspberry, blackberry)
1/2 cups Frozen Cherries
1 package of Greek Blueberry yogurt
1 Orange squeezed into blender
2 scoops Protein
1/2 cups Organic Concord Grape Juice
3 Ice Cubes

Daughters Delight Smoothie

This smoothie was made my 4 year old daughter.  I do have to admit, I was pretty impressed. It was rather Delicious!

Daughters Beautiful Pic of the Ingredients :) 

   Ingredients

1/2 Cup Frozen Berry Mix

1/2 Cup Organic Concord Grape Juice

1 Container Greek Blueberry

2 Scoops of protien 

3 Ice Cubes

I love mom & daughter time. So thankful that she LOVES SMOOTHIES TOO!!!

Sunrise Smoothie

Another YUMMY!!!  Super easiy and full of Vitamin C!!

Ingredients

1-2 Oranges
1 Greek Peach
1/2 cup of Milk
2 Cups of Protein
3 Ice cubes
Blend and Enjoy!!

* There is Pulp! So if you don't care for pulp then you may not enjoy this one*

I'm not a big fan of pulp and I enjoyed this one, it is NOT overwhelming. Give it a whirl

Cheers!

Super Berry Protein Smoothie

 Yum YUM!!! 

 Made this super simple yet delicious protein smoothie for breakfast and it was AMAZING! I hit the gym shortly after breakfast and I felt fueled for LEG DAY! It Filled me up but didn't make me fill bloated or overfull and its super simple to make! Cant beat that!

                                       

                                     Enjoy!!!! 

Super Berry Protein Smoothie

1/2cup Frozen mix of Rasberries and Blueberries 
1/2 cup of Milk
1 Greek Blueberry Yogurt
2 Scoops of Protein Powder
3 Ice Cubes 

Honey Ginger Baked Chicken Breasts

Looking for an AMAZING healthy, low fat AND low calorie dinner that is kid approved??? Try this super delicious Honey Ginger Baked Chicken Breast! My mouth is watering just blogging about it!



Ingredients

4 chicken breasts
1/3 cup Honey
1/3 cup Rice Vinegar
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
1 Heaping Tablespoon of freshly    shredded ginger 
2 fresh garlic cloves minced
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

2. Combine honey, rice vinegar, soy sauce, ginger and garlic cloves in a small sauce pan. Heat on low until the consistency is fairly runny.





3. Place your chicken in an ungreased glass pan and seasoning with salt and pepper and pour mixture over the chicken







4. Place in oven uncovered and cook for 35-40 minutes or until internal temperature is 165 degrees F.
 (I recommend turning the chicken half way through and baste) 

Add a delicious side of wild rice and a mushroom spinach salad and 

      DINNER IS SERVED! 

Sweet Appleberry Smoothie

Having a major sweet tooth?? Looking for something that will not kill your healthy habits or make you regret your decision later? Well, check out my sweet apple strawberry smoothie! Its good for you and hits the sweet tooth perfectly! No regrets here! 

    

      Sweet Appleberry Smoothie

      1/2 cup of diced strawberries

      1 small apple peeled and cut

      1 Stawberry Greek yogurt

      1/2 cup of Milk (we use whole)

      2 Scoops of Naturade Whey protien 

      3 Ice cubes 

      A Drizzle of Hershey Simply 5

       Makes around 3 servings

   Throw it All in the blender and blend on high 

(or what your blender suggests)

 

         YUM !!

Mama and Kid Approved!!!  

 Drizzle some Hershey Simply 5 on the sides of the glass

and Wha La!!

A healthy fix for the sweet tooth!  

http://runmamarunn.blogspot.com/2016/05/sweet-apple-strawberry-smoothie.html

Cheesy Chicken Cauliflower and Broccoli Crockpot

                                                                                                                                                                    Ever have one of those days where you suddenly stop everything your doing and think crap, what am I going to make for dinner? Yea, I did. I walked to the pantry, starred at my options and realizing that grocery shopping is tomorrow. I pulled a bunch of items of the shelf, looked in the freezer, fridge, and spice cabinet and TADA a delicious kid friend crock pot recipe was born! 

This was terrific and is now staple in our house. My children inhaled it and our pick eater 4 year old asked for seconds! We served it over rice but I'm sure it could also be served with another option as well. So grab the crock pot, the recipe below and get cookin!

In all honesty, I am not a fan of the ingredients in the store bought condensed cheese soup. I found an AWESOME substitute for this soup on http://realfitrealfoodmom.com/. I included her recipe below or you can use the store bought can. 

print recipe

Cheesy Chicken Cauliflower and Broccoli Crockpot

by Tess Schweitzer May-6-2016

Super cinch to make and kid approved!

Ingredients

• 3-4 Boneless chicken breasts
• 12-14oz Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 12-14oz Cream of Chicken Soup
• 12-14oz Chicken Broth
• (cheese soup is optional) Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup Substitute
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Oregano
• 1-cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 16 oz Frozen or 2-3 cups fresh Broccoli & Cauilflower florets

Instructions

1. Spray crock pot with cooking spray. Add cream of mushroom, cream of chicken and Cheddar Cheese Soup Substitute (recipe below), chicken broth, salt, garlic powder, and oregano.
2. Stir to combine then add the chicken
3. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 3 hours.
4. When there is 30 minutes left pull apart the chicken breasts with two forks. This should just fall apart easily. Add the cauliflower and broccoli, shredded cheese. Cook for the remaining time or until veggies are tender and chicken is at least 165 degrees
- Serve over rice and top with shredded cheese! YUM

Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup Substitute from realfitrealfoodmom.com
Ingredients: 3 T organic butter
 3 T white whole wheat flour 
 1 cup organic whole milk
 1 1/2 cup cheese, freshly shredded
 Melt butter over medium-low in a saucepan. Add flour and whisk/stir together until smooth. Slowly add milk and continue whisking while bringing mixture to a gentle boil. Once it thickens slightly, add cheese and stir until melted.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 4 hour Total time: 4 hour 15 mins Yield: 4-6

The Dirty Dozen & Clean 15

I am a huge supporter of eating a wholesome diet consisting of fruits, veggies, healthy proteins and drinking WATER..
There is always a question on what fruits and veggies NEED to be purchased organic for your safety, your families safety and so that you can reap all the amazing benefits of them.

The Environmental Working Group has a full guide available that can be downloaded to a PDF or your smart phone. This guide is amazing and is a HUGE help when you are shopping, when you are new to eating healthier foods or if you want to become more educated in whats really in our food.

Below is a quick reference that you can print off and fold into your wallet. Its in mine!!

We need to remember that we are what we eat. If you eat processed foods that are GMO and filled with sugar your body will react by increasing its inflammatory response, your metabolism will slow and your immune system will be lacking.

 People who eat CRAP are battling their bodies with medications (or symptom suppressors as I like to call them)  People who eat FOOD are healthy, manage a healthy weight, have more energy, are happier, on little to no medications... SO which will you chose? Will you choose to fill your body with fake food and pay high costs in medical expenses... OR pay a little higher of a price for wholesome organic food and non-GMO and live a long healthy life???

I CHOOSE FOOD!

Simple Macaroni Goulash

Need a quick yummy dinner in a pinch that's also kid friendly? This one should be sure to please!

I was in a pinch and needed to figure out what was for dinner. With three children under four there was NO way I was going to run to the store last minute to find something. I ventured into the fridge and pantry and was able to make a crowd pleasing dinner with ingredients I had at home!

Here's what you'll need:

1lb elbow macaroni  (I usually purchase organic whole wheat. I purchased this for art projects BUT we needed to eat, LOL)
1 lb Organic Lean Ground Beef
1 garlic clove minced
1/2 cup organic onion
2 (14.5 ounce) Organic Diced Tomatoes
1 (8oz) can of tomato sauce
1/2 Tablespoon Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
Salt and Pepper to taste
Couple dashes of Worcestershire Sauce

1. Brown ground beef in a dutch oven on medium-high heat. You should not have to remove the grease because it ill evaporate nicely in the dutch oven.

 

2. Once the ground beef is browned, add the onion, minced garlic, chili powder, paprika

3. Stir and mix well, after about 5 minutes then add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, and Worcestershire sauce.

4. Simmer on low (covered) for 30 minutes. 

5. Cook elbow macaroni according to directions on package. Save about 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Drain then add to sauce. 

If the sauce it to thick for your liking that you can add the pasta water. I didn't need to add any. We served with garlic bread and it was very good!

All for now!

Mango Sunrise Smoothie

This smoothie is for my dear friend Nicole that requested some smoothies that were made with orange juice. Well Nicole, here ya go!! This one is another wonderful blend of fruits and packed with nutrients. It was an excellent breakfast too and kept me full until lunch.

Here's the recipe

1 Mango
1 Banana
1 cup Pineapple cubed
1//2 cup orange juice ( my favorite is Uncle Matts Pulp Free)
4 ice cubes

1. Throw it all in a blender and blend! YUM YUM YUM

Total calories: 304

Totally refreshing! Let me know what you think

The Grape Berry Goodness Smoothie

What mom does buy grapes for the children and then there are always a few left right before they are bad? This is a perfect recipe to use the remainder of those grapes without throwing away our money!
As I've used before in my smoothies, the Lifeway Vanilla Kefir is an amazing addition to the smoothie. It adds probiotics with out the lactose! Heres the recipe.

Grape Berry Goodness

1/2 cup of Lifeway Vanilla Kefir
1 cup of grapes
1/2 cup of black berries
1/2 banana
1/2 strawberries
3-4 ice cubes

Total Calories :228

OH Nana-O Smoothie

Need your fruit serving? This vitamin packed smoothie with fill you up and give you an extra blast of energy! I love having this one in the morning on my way to the YMCA for a cardio pumping workout. I chose organic fresh fruit minus the bananas. Bananas skin is so tough that those nasty chemicals can penetrate through their skin.. Don't you wish our skin was that tough? However, definitely go organic on the berries. Driscolls has very tasty organic berries that are always available at the grocery store. The OJ is also organic or go even farther and make your own!! Heres the recipe!

1/2 cup of  uncle matts orange juice
1 banana
1/2 cup of driscolls blueberries
1/2 cup driscolls sliced strawberries
2 ice cubes

Total Calories: 257

The Simply Amazing PEAR BEAR Smoothie!!!

WHOAAAAAAA!  Looking for an awesome pick me up or a quick healthy lunch??? This smoothie is amazing!! This is probably one of my favorites. I'm not a huge fan of just eating a pear... the texture is just not my style but its an amazing fruit. Adding it to your smoothie is a total bonus. What is also in this smoothie is #lifeway kefir (vanilla flavored). So your smoothie is smothered in the goodness of probiotics... Heres the recipe!

1/2 cup Lifeway Kefir Vanilla (Heres the link to check out this amazing stuff)  lifeway.net
1 pear skinned and cubed
5 strawberries sliced
3/4 cup blackberries
3 ice cubes

Total calories: 227