Roasted Butternut Squash & Beef

This is a very tasty, very easy, almost 1-dish dinner. Uummmm, yes please! I wanted to try the original recipe but I didn't have her spicy seasoning or pistachios. So, once again, I customized to what I had in my pantry and this is what it turned out to be:

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1 red onion
1 butternut squash
about 1-2 tablespoons minced garlic
about 2 tablespoons raisins
about 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
salt & pepper
parsley
cumin

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425. Peel, scoop out seeds, and dice the squash. Feel free to toss the squash in olive oil or ghee, with salt & pepper. Bake squash for about 45 min on a cookie sheet.
2. Brown meat. Drain fat and put back into skillet. Add chopped red onion, minced garlic, and seasonings. Sautee for a few minutes. 
3. Finally add the raisins and walnuts. Stir and serve! 

Salsa Fiesta Squash!

Tonight I created my own recipe. EEEeek! I'm usually the customizer, not the creator. I was originally going to cook Tomato Basil Spaghetti Squash Bake but then I realized I didn't have any tomatoes or basil! I started looking through my fridge to see what ingredients I had and this is what I came up with! Enjoy!

Salsa Fiesta Squash:
1 spaghetti squash
1 lb ground beef
1 cup salsa (I used my home-made salsa from my Sis-in-Law! Yum!)
4 handfuls Spinach
1/2 red onion
1 red bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup Cilantro dip
1 Tsp cumin (I kinda just sprinkled, I'm bad at measuring seasonings)
2 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Fresh Cilantro
Lime Juice
Optional: Cheese
Optional: Jalapeño 

Directions:
- Bake Spaghetti Squash on 375 for about 50 minutes. Cut it half, scoop out insides, drizzle your Olive Oil on both halves, salt and pepper, place inside down and bake. 
- Brown ground beef in skillet. While cooking the beef, cut the onion and bell pepper. When the beef is almost done, drain fat and replace meat back onto skillet. Add the onion, pepper, and minced garlic. Sautee for a few more minutes.
- Once your squash is done and cooled, fork out and place in 9 x 11 glass dish.
- Mix squash, beef mixture, salsa, cilantro dip, and spinach in glass dish. Season with Salt & pepper, and cumin. Top with cheese.
- Bake on 375 for about 20 minutes. Top with fresh cilantro and lime juice. 

My "Cilantro Dip" was from the farmer's market and its absolutely DELISH! 

Serving Size: 1/8 of the casserole dish. Approximately 200 calories. Packed with protein and healthy veggies! Hope you enjoy!

Whole30 Review

So, I attempted to do the Whole30 program. To be honest, I didn't give it my 100% effort. I was already eating pretty clean so it wasn't way hard to cut out some other things the program doesn't allow. If you don't know what the Whole30 is, you can read into more detail. 

Whole30 in a nutshell:
(For 30 days)
- No sugars
- No dairy, legumes, grains
- No alcohol
- Recreate a HEALTHY relationship with food
- 3 meals a day that include a protein, fat, and veggies.
- After the 30 days, slowly integrate dairy, legumes, and grains back into your diet to see if you notice a difference in your body, how you feel (tired, ornery, fatigued). 

Things I didn't cut out:
- Whey protein shake
- Almond Milk (you can use PURE almond milk with the program that doesn't have added carrageenan but I live in Vernal)
- I still had my 1-2 cheat meals for the month
- Gum. Yes, they don't want you to even chew gum. I thought that was weird...
- I didn't follow the 3 meals a day. I tried but I couldn't! I had 4-5 smaller meals a day. They don't promote "snacking." I felt like I could get away with having my morning post-workout shake and afternoon snack if I needed it because I was eating something approved (except the protein shake!) and my snacks were at the same time everyday. I ate the snack then continued. I didn't grab a bag of chips and eat the whole bag from 1 pm - 4 pm. 

At first, I went crazy because I was setting such strict rules for myself that I WANTED to cheat. Kinda like the forbidden fruit. I'm so weird! Once I got over that, it wasn't that hard. I found some awesome recipe ideas from Pinterest, as usual. 

Here was a typical day of Whole30 approved meals I ate:
Meal 1 - Sweet Potato Egg Quiche (OMG so delicious)
Meal 2 - After cross fit, 1 Cup almond Milk with Chocolate Protein and banana
Meal 3 - 4-6 oz chicken breast covered in about 1 tsp olive oil, side of steamed veggies (Lots!)
Meal 4 - A fruit with 12 almonds or 4 oz tilapia
Meal 5 - Beef Frittata 

Things I really liked about it:
- Melissa and Dallas really encourage a HEALTHY relationship with food. Appreciate the sweetness of nature's food and to turn our cravings to the things we need to operate like protein, the right fat, and veggies. 
- It explains what the harmful ingredients in bad food does to our bodies. 


Ending Results:
My body scan at the beginning of the month was 19.7% Body Fat and weighed 116 lbs.
At the end of the month it was 19.2% body fat and weighed 114 lbs. I didn't even work out for the last 2 weeks of the month because of my back. It wasn't a huge difference but I had to try it. I did notice a difference in my bloating. I'm pretty sure it was the dairy! I never would've thought. Overall, I think its a great program to try.

Whitney's tip: If you want to try it and you're not eating clean, try it slowly if that would make you feel more comfortable. For the first week, cut out sugars, then each week cut out something else. It would take longer but it's about changing your lifestyle. It's not a race! New habits take loads of time to master. If I can do it, You can do it!

Meal Prep Ideas

Wednesdays are 1 of my cook days. I usually prepare Thursday-Saturday lunches for JD and me. I'm really excited to try this weeks meals. 

Thursday - Baked Salmon with Avocado Salsa 

Friday & Saturday - Spinach, Feta, and Tomato stuffed Chicken Breast 

How I prep FAST while Navy is napping:
1. Preheat oven before I even put her down for her nap.

2. Once she's down, I start prepping. I started with the chicken. It is actually WAY easier than I ever imagined. I'm not a gourmet cook so I like things that are fast and easy. I ALWAYS customize my meals and ingredients to things I already have in the fridge and pantry! This particular recipe calls for sun dried tomatoes but all I had were regular tomatoes. So guess what? That's what I used! I didn't have any twine to hold the chicken together, either. It still works. Don't stress about being perfect!

3. Once the chicken breasts were stuffed, I placed the frozen salmon in their own dish. I cooked the chicken and salmon at the same time. Kill 2 birds with 1 stone. 

4. While the proteins were cooking, I started the avocado salsa. I only had 1/2 avocado. All I  did was mush the avocado, onions, lime juice, and cilantro all together in a bowl and VIOLA! Done. 

5. Cleaned the kitchen and still had time to spare. :) 

Whitney's tip on meal prepping: 
- CUSTOMIZE each recipe to what you and your family need. 
- Prep when it's convenient for you and your family. I prep when Navy naps. I'm lucky that she naps 1.5 hours every day. Sometimes I even have to prep when she's awake but I pick meals that are quick!

You can do it!

How To: Runner's Pant

My new obsession: Runner's Pants. A.K.A Harem, joggers...Why, you ask? 

1. Comfort. They're pretty much sweat pants. I can be a mom in them while having swag. 

2. Stylish. They're definitely the trend right now. I hope they last a while because I'd love to have them be in style while I'm pregnant. 

3. One word, VERSATILE. They can be worn with flats or high heels, blouses or T-shirts. ANYONE could wear them. If you're short, tall, athletic, petite, pear. They can work for you. If you're still on the fence about them but want to try it, start with a dark neutral color and flats. Then on date night, pair with heels and a printed blouse. 

Remember: CONFIDENCE is the sexiest thing a woman can wear. 

Whitney's tip: Don't overspend on a trendy item. I found mine at K-Mart on sale for $17. 

Product Review

So has your summer flown by as fast as mine?! It's gone in a blink of an eye! Soon it'll be sweater weather again. Bittersweet. Anyways, it's been a while since I've blogged and I'd like to do a product review today. It's about Revitalash's Nouriche Eyelash Conditioner.

I first used Revitalash years ago and my lashes were UH-MAZING! Some got so long I had to trim them. The 2nd time I used Revitalash I didn't see the same results. Then in March I started using Nouriche from Revitalash. It's the more natural eyelash conditioner. Any eyelash conditioner is super easy to use. ONCE a day, EVERY day, one swipe along your closed eyelid along your roots. Let it dry before opening your eye! Make sure the brush is fully saturated with the conditioner so it seeps through all your lashes and reaches the bottom lashes. You should see results after 3 months of use. 

Yes, it's helped my lashes grow back from my eyelash extensions but have I seen a great result? No! They aren't nearly as long as I'd wish or expect them to be by now.  Not only did Revitalash change the packaging, they changed the formula because this does not work like the old Revitalash. I hope to soon be using Latisse and I'll let you know how that goes :) 

HERE  is Nouriche on Amazon 

another Derm FAV!

I just wanted to give you all a quick rave about one of my favorite products....EVER! I'm in love. I've turned into a Get-Ready-Quick mommy now so I need products that will deliver. It's one of the reasons I love Dermalogica so much. These two products offer me SPF, moisture, and a bit of coverage! 3-in-1 action right here. I don't wear "foundation" anymore (except nice occasions, I'll use some mineral powder). Both of these are perfect all-year round and especially awesome for summer when you don't want to cake on the make-up but want to look good. Both are great for ANY skin type!

 The cover tint offers a bit more coverage than the sheer. Not a lot. It's also more concentrated so the medium shade looks really dark on your finger but blends in beautifully.

The sheer tint still offers color and coverage. I love the squeeze tube better than the bottle. Medium shade is very versatile! It can go on red heads, native americans, and everyone in between. 

the Good News, they are now available in samples! Go to Ooh La La & Friends for yours. Tell them I sent you :) Enjoy...