​Today I started the 21 Day Fix. They say that weight loss is 80 percent diet and 20 percent exercise. So this plan takes both into consideration and kicks your butt for 21 days to ensure rapid weight loss and toning. You can repeat the program as many times as you want until you reach your desired goal.

I hate exercise, so that will be the part I’ll struggle with the most. My goal is to do the workout first thing every morning to get it over with. I’m not even going to have my coffee first! Lol

What I like about this program is that it focuses on healthy whole foods, using containers for portion control. It’s a little strict, but I think it will be a great way to kick off my weight loss and help me get back into the habit of eating clean again. 

I joined a challenge group that started the 21 Day Fix a few days ago, so  I started with the same workout they’re on today, which means I’m starting a little out of order. But that’s okay.

Today was really hot and I was busy, so I didn't eat as many meals as I normally would in one day. 

EDITED: I am no longer following the 21 Day Fix plan, this was my one and only 21 Day fix post, but I'll leave these recipes on here because they are really good! 

WORKOUT: Pilates

MEAL 1

Deli Wrap

1 yellow - corn tortillas (2 tortillas)
1 green - veggies – (spinach, tomato, green onion, bell pepper)
1 red - turkey deli meat (6 slices)
¼ blue - shredded aged cheddar (1 tbsp)
¼ blue - light garlic cream cheese (1 tbsp)

Makes 1 Serving
Total container count per serving = 1 yellow, 1 green, 1 red, ½ blue

MEAL 2

½ purple - 1 plum

MEAL 3

Chicken and Veggie Bake

4 yellows – 1 small sweet potato
6 greens – broccoli, mushrooms, carrots
4 reds – chicken breasts (16 oz, 3 breasts each cut into 4 pieces)
8 tsp greys – olive oil (2 tbsp + 2 tsp)
Seasonings (1 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder, paprika plus salt and pepper to taste)
 
Chop, toss, bake at 400 for about 30 minutes.

Makes 4 Servings
Total container count per serving = 1 yellow, 1.5 green, 1 red, 2 grey

I know kale chips have been such a huge internet fad and you're probably sick and tired of seeing them everywhere... but these are seriously good! I mean they're very addictive and they totally fill my need for "salt & vinegar" chips. I'm in love. The secret to these is making sure the the kale is completely dry before attempting this or any kale chip recipe. 

SALT & VINEGAR KALE CHIPS

1 bunch kale, stems removed and torn into pieces
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp white vinegar (or apple cider vinegar for a milder flavor)
1/8 tsp Nom Nom Paleo's Magic Mushroom Powder (or your fav seasoning salt)
sprinkle of sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
   
2. Place the kale in a big bowl and drizzle with olive oil, apple cider vinegar and magic mushroom powder.
   
3. Use your hands to mix it all up really well.
   
4. Spread the kale out onto a large baking sheet lined with foil or parchment and sprinkle a little more sea salt over top. 
   
5. Bake for about 15-17 minutes, until crisp*.
   

*  I find that the timing depends on how small your kale pieces are. 17 minutes was perfect the first time I made these but too long the second time, luckily they didn't burn but they were slightly overdone.  

I finally have a tortilla recipe that is easy to make, hardly and ingredients and tastes really good! It also holds together really well for a wrap. These store well too. I've been making one at night, letting it cool and then folding it and putting it into a sandwich bag until I make my work lunch in the morning. It unfolds and wraps perfectly without tearing or falling apart at all. 

So far I've been using these for breakfast and lunch wraps, but I'm also looking forward to using these for cheesy quesadillas and tacos... however I've sworn off all dairy, including cheese for the month of January. boohoo :(  But really, it's no wonder I can't lose any weight eating a huge brick of cheese every week anyway, right? I admit I'm a cheese addict, which is not very paleo of me. My excuse was to be a proud primal instead, but enough is enough and I need to at least cut down. I figured going cold turkey for January would be a good start, then maybe I'll reintroduce my favorite vice (other than wine of course!) in small, occasional doses after that. 

Grain Free Tortillas

1 egg
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1/4 cup water
pinch of sea salt

1. Whisk all the ingredients together then pour it into a large, lightly oiled, hot frying pan, turning/rotating the pan to spread the mixture out evenly to the edges.
   
2. Let the tortilla cook until set, then flip the tortilla over and continue cooking the other side until done. About a minute per side.
   

Note: The recipe as stated makes one large tortilla using a large frying pan (approx. 11 inches). Alternatively you can divide the mixture in two and then make two smaller tortillas using a smaller pan (approx. 8 inches).

I finally got a spiralizer and I used it last night for the first time to make "zoodles". Some of the noodles look really short in the picture but once I got the hang of it (I wasn't applying enough pressure at first), the noodles became really, really long. 

I followed nom nom paleo's method for cooking them, which is to simply to put the noodles in a covered microwave safe dish and nuke them on high for 2 minutes, then drain the little bit of liquid that accumulates. It worked like a charm and I had some of the best spaghetti ever last night. The noodles were even twirlable! Perfect with my favorite Spaghetti Sauce and lots of parmesan cheese.

So I took my old favorite chicken chimichanga recipe and adapted it to be primal enchiladas. I basically used the same filling as before but exchanged the tortillas with cabbage leaves and added a simple enchilada sauce on top. They turned out awesome and work well for freezer lunches to bring to work. I ate one for dinner and froze the rest individually in freezer bags.

Chicken Enchiladas (in the style of Cabbage Rolls)

1 head of cabbage (you'll want 6-8 cooked cabbage leaves depending on the size you want the rolls)
2 cups cooked chicken, finely chopped or shredded
1 cup salsa
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1.5 cup cheddar cheese, shredded (reserve .5 cup for topping)
2 green onions, chopped
For the Sauce:
1/3 cup salsa
1/3 cup sour cream
1 tsp garlic powder

1. Core the cabbage and place it in a large stock pot filled with water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the cabbage leaves loosen up and can be removed with tongs. Boil them long enough to make sure they are quite soft. Remove the cooked leaves from the boiling water and allow them to cool until they can be handled.
   
2. Meanwhile, mix together the chicken, salsa, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cheese and onions.
   
3. Place about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture in the center of each cabbage leaf then roll up and place seam-side down in a baking dish. 
   
4. To make the sauce combine the salsa, sour cream and garlic powder.
   
5. Top the cabbage rolls with the sauce and sprinkle the reserved cheese overtop.
   
6. Cover and bake at 350°F for 45 minutes.
   

This recipe makes a small batch of chicken salad using just 1 chicken breast since I only need it to last myself a couple meals, but you could easily multiply the recipe to feed more.

To make this really simple, I picked up a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken breast from the grocery store, but it's also a great use for leftover chicken. Don't worry about measuring precisely, this is another recipe that is very versatile and can handle estimated ingredient amounts. 

You can eat this alone, or serve on paleo crackers, bread, tortillas or better yet, wrapped in lettuce leaves!

Chicken Salad (or optional: Buffalo Chicken Salad)

1 chicken breast, cooked and chopped fine (about 1.5 cups)
1 small celery stalk, chopped fine
2 green onions, chopped fine
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/4-1/3 cup mayonnaise (depending on how you like it)
1 tsp lemon juice
1 teaspoon dijon 
salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine all ingredients, give it a taste and adjust the seasoning to your preference.
   
2. Optional: Add 1-2 tbsp of Frank's hot sauce for Buffalo Chicken Salad. 
   

I wanted to make something with chicken and feta for dinner and needed to use up some zucchini and mushrooms... and thus, this greek inspired casserole was born. This is another one of my "throw it all together and cook it at once" recipes. No pre-cooking or browning, just throw the chicken and vegetables into a casserole dish and coat it with the lemony greek dressing and voila! So good. It would also be great with some green or red peppers added to the mix. You could definitely play with the ingredients to use what you have on hand.

Greek Style Chicken and Veggie Casserole

2 chicken breasts, cubed 
2 medium zucchini, cubed
8 mushrooms, quartered
2 tomatoes, cubed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt 
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup feta, cubed

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
   
2. Combine the chicken, zucchini, mushrooms and tomatoes in a casserole dish.
   
3. Whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, dijon, salt and pepper and pour over the chicken and veggies. Stir it up well to evenly coat everything.
   
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes then take it out, add the feta cheese and give it a good stir. Pop it back into the oven and continue baking it for another 15-20 minutes.
   

These are the first wings I've ever made in the oven that truly came out super crispy, just like deep fried! I adapted this recipe from Primally Inspired's recipe for Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Wings. I really can't wait to try this method to make buffalo wings in the very near future. 

The original recipe called for the oven heat to be higher but I had so much smoke coming out of my oven that I almost thought I'd have to pull the wings out and give up... but instead I turned the heat down to 400 degrees and seemed to make all the difference with the smoke issue.  The sauce on these is great, but it's the method that makes them crispy and that's the key here! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! :) 

Crispy Asian Chicken Wings

1.5 lbs chicken wings
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste

Sauce:
1/4 cup coconut aminos
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green onion, chopped
1 tbsp hot sauce
1 tbsp honey

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
   
2. Toss the wings with the baking powder and salt in a large ziplock bag. Mush around the bag really well to get all the wings coated evenly.
   
3. Place the wings on a wire rack that's on a baking sheet.
   
4. Bake the wings for 30 minutes. And then turn up the oven to 400 degrees and continue baking for another 45 minutes.
   
5. Meanwhile, combine the sauce ingredients.
   
6. Remove the wings from the oven and toss with the sauce. Let them sit for a couple minutes to absorb the sauce and then toss again. 
   
7. Place the wings on a serving platter and serve. Optional: sprinkle with sesame seeds and finely chopped green onions for garnish.

This Ham "Mock Mac" and Cheese Casserole is from George Stella’s Good Carb Family Cookbook. I made this a couple weeks ago and thought it was amazing!!!  My kids liked it too, which is a big plus. It uses cauliflower in place of real "mac" and adds in some diced ham to the rich, creamy mix for a totally decadent comfort food meal.

HAM “MOCK MAC” AND CHEESE CASSEROLE
Original recipe is by George Stella and can be found here.

1 large head cauliflower, cut into small florets and pieces 
3⁄4 cup heavy cream 
4 ounces cream cheese, cut into small pieces 
1 1⁄2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 
1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt 
1⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper 
1⁄8 teaspoon garlic powder 
1 1⁄2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, plus 1⁄2 cup more for topping the casserole 
6 ounces baked ham, cubed 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 
   
2. Cook the cauliflower in boiling, salted water for about 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Drain well, pat between layers of paper towels to dry and transfer to a greased baking dish. 
   
3. Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan and whisk in the cream cheese, mustard, salt, pepper and garlic powder until smooth. 
   
4. Stir in 1 1⁄2 cups of the cheese and whisk for just a minute until the cheese melts. Remove from the heat and pour into the casserole dish, covering the cauliflower. 
   
5. Sprinkle the cubed ham over all, top with the remaining 1⁄2 cup cheese and bake for about 15 minutes until browned and bubbly hot. Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.
   

I got the idea for these Cheese & Bacon "Loaded" Sweet Potato Rounds from a popular online recipe that uses regular baking potatoes. A friend brought those ones to a party I went to and they were a big hit, so I adapted the recipe to be Primal.  These taste a lot like potato skins, but even better. I have to admit that when I made these I was alone and ate the whole batch of these tasty little appetizers myself... oops! ;) 

Loaded Sweet Potato Rounds

1 lb sweet potato, cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 tbsp olive oil or melted butter
salt, pepper and garlic powder, to taste
5 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
2 green onions, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
   
2. Place the sweet potato slices on a baking sheet and brush both sides with the olive oil or butter. Sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder over all the slices (to taste).
3. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, turning once halfway through.
   
4. Top each sweet potato round with bacon, cheese, and green onion. Pop them back into the oven for about 1 minute to heat the toppings and melt the cheese. (This is optional, as they will be hot enough to melt the cheese anyway).
   
5. Serve with sour cream if desired. Or do as I did and mix together sour cream and ranch dressing.