Week 9 Meal Plan

Meal 1 Sweet and Spicy Chicken Bites                               

2 ½ cups almond flour         

½ tsp salt        

 ¼ tsp pepper

2 eggs          

1lb boneless skinless breast cut into strips

¾ cup honey    

1/3 cup hot sauce    

½ tsp garlic powder

Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place almond flour, salt, pepper into a bowl and mix. Place eggs in another bowl with a splash of water and whisk. Dip the chicken strips one at a time, in the flour, then the eggs, then in the flour again. Bake for 25 minutes or until crispy and beginning to brown. In a small sauce pan heat honey, hot sauce and garlic powder. Bring to a boil and then set aside. Dip each chicken strip in the sauce and replace in baking dish. Bake an additional 5 minutes. Baste with any extra sauce once they come out of the oven.

Meal 2 Bruschetta Chicken                                                    

3 or 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts              

5 small tomatoes chopped                           

1 clove garlic minced

½ red onion chopped                                        

1 tsp EVOO

1 tsp balsamic vinegar                                       

1/8 tsp salt

1 handful basil chopped

Preheat oven to 375. Season chicken with salt and pepper as desired. Bake 35 minutes or until cooked through.(or you can grill the chicken) Meanwhile combine remaining ingredients. Refrigerate and serve on top of chicken.

Meal 3 Hawaiian Baked Chicken                                  

Marinade: 4 chicken breast halves        

1 can pineapple chunks, juice reserved                    

3 minced garlic cloves

salt and pepper to taste                        

1 TBS lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest      

1/8 tsp paprika  

Pineapple topping: 2 TBS butter    

 1 TBS Dijon      

1 TBS honey                         

1 can pineapple chunks

Lightly pound chicken to make even thickness. Combine chicken, pineapple juice, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, lemon zest and paprika in a gallon size ziplock bag. Place in fridge 3-4 hours. Preheat oven to 400. Remove chicken from marinade and place in a lightly greased baking pan. Melt butter over medium high heat. Add mustard, honey, pineapple chunks stirring occasionally, cook for 2 minutes. Spoon mixture over chicken and bake 35-40 minutes.

Meal 4 Paleo Taco Skillet                                                    

1lb ground beef     

1 onion diced        

2 bellpepper diced

1 can Rotel        

packet of taco seasoning or make your own          

 3 cups baby kale, mixed greens or other salad

In a large pan, brown and crumble ground meat. Add onion and bell peppers. Cook until soft. Add rotel and stir. Mix in taco seasoning and add TBS of water if desired. Cook together until fully incorporated. Serve over salad. Add cheese if desired.

Meal 5 Cauliflower Potato Salad                                        

Head of Cauliflower              

6 hard boiled eggs chopped

1 onion chopped                      

1 cup frozen peas thawed

 ½ pkg bacon cooked and crumbled                

1 cup mayo 1 squeeze mustard                     

salt and pepper to taste

Boil cauliflower until fork tender (about 15 minutes). Mix all ingredients together. Refrigerate at least 3 hours. Enjoy

Meal 6 Creamy Seafood Chowder                                     

1large head cauliflower coarsely chopped   

2 cups water

2 cups chicken broth         

liquid from scallops shrimp and clams                        

1 package of mushrooms sliced

1 onion chopped           

1/2 orange bell pepper finely chopped             

½ tsp salt               

1/4 tsp black pepper

1lb frozen cooked shrimp thawed       

1lb frozen bay scallops thawed          

1 can baby yellow clams, liquid reserved                         

pinch of nutmeg

Thaw shrimp and scallops over night making sure to collect the liquid that will drain from it. Add cauliflower, water, chicken broth, liquid from seafood to a large pot. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cover until cauliflower is really soft (5-7 min). Meanwhile, cook mushrooms in large skillet over medium high heat until golden. Lower heat and add onion, bell pepper, salt and pepper and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Ladle the cauliflower mixture into blender and process on high until super smooth. (you may have to work in batches). Return soup base to the pot and add nutmeg, shrimp, scallops, baby clams and vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the scallops start to lose their translucency and shrimp are heated through. (4-5 min).

Meal 7  Paleo Tuna Spinach Casserole                            

2cans tuna drained                           

2 cups baby spinach

1 onion chopped    

2 eggs beaten  

1/3 cup coconut milk

1 TBS garlic powder                 

1 TBS dried parsley           

1 TBS coconut flour                    

½ cup shredded cheese

½ cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 375. Spray casserole dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl, stir together all ingredients besides cheese until very well combined. Transfer to casserole dish. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake 35-45 minutes until firm in the middle. Let cool a few minutes, then serve.

Week 8 Meal Plan

Meal 1 Pork Carnitas with Mexican Coleslaw                   

3-4lbs pork tenderloin cut into steaks        

1 onion sliced

1 pack mushrooms sliced             

1tsp each: cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, chili powder           

Slaw: 1 small head of cabbage         

4 large carrots             

 ½ cup mayo   

1tbs apple cider vinegar       

1tbs lime juice    

1 tsp cumin     

1tsp hot sauce     

1tsp chili powder 

salt and pepper to taste.

Mix all seasoning in a small bowl. Rub the pork steaks evenly with seasoning. Heat small amount of EVOO in skillet on medium high heat. Sear steaks 4 minutes each side and set aside. Add onion and mushroom to pan and cook until tender. Meanwhile slice steaks into thin strips and add back to skillet. Turn off heat when meat is cooked through. In a food processor with the grating attachment, process carrots and cabbage. Combine remaining ingredients with cabbage and carrots. Serve with carnitas.

Meal 2 Spaghetti  Squash with Meat Sauce           

1spaghetti squash    

1lb ground beef   

1lb Italian sausage

1 onion chopped      

1 bell pepper chopped                       

1 celery stalk chopped                       

1 can tomato sauce

1 can crushed tomato                                    

1tsp oregano

1 tsp Italian seasoning                   

4 cloves garlic crushed

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and discard seeds. Place each half face down on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until you are able to indent the skin of the squash easily, but not so easily that you puncture it. Meanwhile heat small amount of EVOO in large pot. Cook onion, bell pepper celery on medium high heat for 5 minutes. Then add meat and cook until browned, make sure to break up the meat with spoon. Season meat as desired with salt and pepper. Add remaining ingredients, mix well and simmer for 10 minutes. Once squash is manageable scrape out with a fork into mixing bowl. Season with Salt pepper and garlic powder and small amount of EVOO stir well. Serve meat sauce over spaghetti squash.

Meal 3 Chicken Cordon Blue                                               

4boneless skinless chicken breasts     

4 slices ham   

4slices swiss cheese          

seasoning of your choice        

 ½ cup parmesan cheese                  

EVOO

Preheat oven to 375. Butterfly the chicken breast, season the inside as desired. Place one slice of ham and one slice of cheese inside and then fold over. Sprinkle outside of chicken with EVOO and then dredge in parmesan cheese to make a coating. Season with salt and pepper. Bake 45 minutes or until cooked through.

Meal 4 Curry Shrimp Stir Fry   (FAMILY FAVORITE!)                                         

3lb peeled deveined shrimp           

3TBS EVOO                

1-2TBS curry powder               

1tsp each salt and pepper

1 sliced onion                

1 sliced red bell pepper                

1 cup chicken broth               

1 can coconut milk

Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Sprinkle shrimp evenly with curry powder, salt and pepper. Cook onion and bell pepper for 5 minutes then add shrimp. Cook 3 minutes or until shrimp just turn pink. Add coconut milk and broth and simmer  5 minutes.

Meal 5 Creamy Paleo Chicken Skillet                                   

2 boneless skinless chicken breast

4 slices bacon     

1 onion chopped         

½ each red and yellow bell pepper chopped          

 6oz mushroom sliced

1 tsp white wine vinegar                  

1 can coconut milk

2c fresh kale, spinach, or green of choice                          

4 cloves garlic pressed               

salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon in large sauce pan. Remove and set on paper towels. Leave grease in the pan. Add onion to the bacon grease and cook 5 minutes. Push onion to one side and add chicken. Lightly brown and then add bell pepper and mushroom. Cook 5 minutes then add bacon and garlic. Add vinegar to deglaze the pan. Add coconut milk and green of your choice. Cook 3-5 minutes or until wilted. Season with salt and pepper (I chop my chicken in bite size pieces before I cook it so that it is kid friendly.)

Meal 6 Greek Chicken Stew  (FAMILY FAVORITE!)                                             

2TBS EVOO                          

2lb boneless skinless chicken               

S and P to taste                                       

1 chopped onion

2 tsp minced garlic                                

1 TBS lemon juice

1 ½ tsp oregano                                   

1 cup chicken broth

½ cup chopped roasted red bell pepper

Heat oil in large pot over medium high heat. Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper. Cook chicken for 3 minutes each side. Add onion, garlic, juice, oregano and cook 5 minutes. Add broth and roasted bell pepper bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes or until chicken cooked through. You can shred or chop chicken and add back in if desired.

Meal 7 Cracklin Chicken                                                           

5 bone in, skin on chicken thighs         

Salt         

Pepper

Onion Powder                                             

Garlic Powder

1-2TBS Bacon Grease

Using kitchen scissors carefully cut the bone out of each thigh, leaving all the meat and skin intact. Sprinkle the skin with desired amount of salt. Heat grease in non stick skillet over medium high heat. Cook skin side down for 10 minutes without flipping or stirring. While it is cooking season the meat side as desired with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder. Flip and cook 7-10 more minutes or until cooked through.

5 Key Components to Wellness and Health

There are many things that play a role in someone's ability to remain well and healthy. But I will go over the top 5 that lay the best foundation for ongoing success with wellbeing.
1. Physical Activity. If you live a sedentary lifestyle your body and your mind will suffer. It is crucial to incorporate physical activity into your daily life. You must do this to stay well. TO lose weight you must go above and beyond just "regular" physical activity. You must push yourself beyond what it easy or comfortable. Everyone should at least be walking daily. If you want to lose weight, however, try adding in a bit of jogging or running even. As far as weight loss is concerned, you have to have muscle to burn fat. So, don't hesitate to start lifting weights. You will not get "bulky" by lifting; you will get lean.
2.  Sleep. Sleep is a vital part of maintaining your health. Do not short yourself in this area. Get 8 hours of sleep every night. Make it a priority. There are some circumstances when this is impossible (like having a new baby), but in general you must make sleep a priority. Don't sleep with the TV on. Seriously! People love to tell me "I can't sleep without the TV on." Let me tell you something about television: television makes its money (billions of dollars) off of being stimulating and engaging. They are good at it. If you think you are immune to this you are mistaken. Turn the TV off. Keep your bed reserved for sleep and intimacy only. Doing other things in bed, like eating, reading, computer work or whatever, programs your body to disassociate the bed with sleep. Also, keep the bedroom at a cool, comfortable temperature and make sure  your bedding is comfortable. Stop drinking caffeine and alcohol at least 3-4 hours before bed. And don't eat a large meal before bed either. Try not to rely on medications to help you get to sleep or remain asleep. There are natural alternatives to medications that you can try. These are just a few very important aspects of "sleep hygiene" that you should start implementing.
3. Water. Your body needs water. A lot of water. You should be aiming for half of your body weight in oz of water a day. Say I weigh 200lbs; then I need to drink 100oz of water each day. Unless you have congestive heart failure or some pretty serious kidney failure, you should be drinking a whole bunch of water each day. Get yourself a nice big cup with a lid and a straw. Buy bottled water. Whatever you have to do to get yourself to drink: DO IT!
4. Nutrition. You have to eat right. I am not saying you have to eat perfectly 100% of the time. But I am saying you need to try and shoot for a minimum of 80% of the time hitting the bullseye when it comes to eating clean. 20% of the time it is ok to splurge. Just keep in mind that you probably will have a tendency to underestimate that 20% and overestimate that 80%. Eat clean. This means eating foods that are in their most natural form. If it comes in a box or a bag then you should probably avoid it. If it is made in a plant by humans avoid it. If it is made on a plant in nature, go for it. Focus on these food groups: vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, meat, seafood, and hormone free dairy. Notice how "grains" are NOT included.... yeah, avoid those as much as possible. They are typically highly processed.
5. Supplementation. Even if you eat perfectly 90% of the time, which I doubt you do, (I don't think anyone does), your body will still be missing vital nutrition that it needs to run. So make sure you are taking the right supplements, vitamins and minerals. For example, women of child bearing ages should all be on a multivitamin with folic acid and iron. Ovulating and cycling women need extra iron and folic acid in addition to all the other vitamins found in a good multivitamin. Not all supplements are created equally though, so keep that in mind. The FDA does not get involved too much in supplement quality control, however there are some companies that voluntarily hold themselves to a higher standard when it comes to the production, safety, efficacy, and quality of their products. So do your homework before you just go and buy that store brand multivitamin. Josh and I firmly believe that we have our hands on the FINEST supplements available through Advocare. As members of the Council for Responsible Nutrition and investors in getting third party testing of the products through Informed Choice Certification, as well as having an unmatched group of non-cash endorsed world class athletic endorsers; Advocare is a brand we trust and feel confident in suggesting to our friends and family. To find out more about Advocare you can go to our site here: www.advocare.com/141227334