Breakfast Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cups

These breakfast cupcakes are:

• Healthy, sugar-free, dairy-free (Gluten Free Option)
• Quick to make
• Portable and non-messy
• Easy to eat at a desk… or pack in a lunchbox!

Just throw a couple into your bag, perhaps along with a container of peanut butter and some fresh fruit, and you’re good to go with a balanced breakfast. Once you try them, you will understand how easy it is to get completely hooked on these! 

Never skip breakfast again.

Cook once, and you have a delicious breakfast for the entire month that you can take from the freezer as you need and enjoy on your way to work, have a healthy after-school snack ready for the kids, or use this for your Sunday Brunch at the park!

There are endless options and add-ins to change these up from batch to batch. Use your creativity and preferences to come up with a combination unique to what you enjoy the most! Blueberries, nuts, cinnamon, dried fruits, and other seasonings will keep them interesting and different each time you make these.

Ingredients

• 5 cups rolled oats (uncooked, Old Fashioned)
• 2 1/2 cups over-ripe mashed banana, measured after mashing 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 C. pure maple syrup, agave, or honey (or a combination) 
• 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips
• 2 2/3 cups water
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
• 2 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 C. Chia 
• optional add-ins: cinnamon, shredded coconut, chopped walnuts, ground flax or wheat germ, raisins or other dried fruit, etc.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F, and line 24-25 cupcake tins. In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients and stir very well. In a separate bowl, combine and stir all wet ingredients (including banana). Mix wet into dry, then pour into the cupcake liners and bake 21 minutes.  (If you let them cool overnight, they'll no longer stick to the liners.) These oatmeal cakes can be eaten right away, or they can be frozen and reheated for an instant breakfast on a busy day. Be sure to store properly in the freezer if you don't use them within a day. 

Berry Summer Salad

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!! The sun is shining, it's warming up...and most likely you'll have a gathering, BBQ, picnic or potluck of some sort this weekend. Along with that, there will most likely be lots of food and drinks that might throw you off track and set you back from your health and fitness goals - remember...SUMMER is just around the corner - along with BIKINI SEASON!!! 

So here is a YUMMY triple-berry salad that YOU can bring to your picnics so that you always have a healthy option to fall back on!

Ingredients:

9oz baby spinach, torn

1 cup sliced strawberries

1 cup raspberries

1 cup blueberries

1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1/3 cup chopped basil

1 avocado, chopped

4oz feta cheese

Directions: Divide baby spinach between plates then top with berries, almonds, basil and chopped avocado. Crumble goat cheese on top then dress with salad dressing. I recommend Balsamic Glaze or a strawberry balsamic vinegar, but any olive-oil based vinaigrette would be fantastic!

Recipe source http://iowagirleats.com/

Double Chocolate PB Oatmeal

How would you like to begin your day, indulging in a yummy peanut butter, chocolatey oatmeal for breakfast? I know so many busy women don't have time to slave over their morning meal. If you have just a few minutes, you have enough time to make this:

This dish is sure to be a real treat, and almost guarantees I will set my day off on the right foot.  Why not  make sure it’ll be a good day… by consuming chocolate, first thing?! 

I don't know many people who don't LOVE the combination of PB and chocolate, and I quite honestly could very well have this for every single meal of my day...but everything in moderation, and good healthy balance, right? Instead I just really look forward to morning, so that I can make my favorite meal of the day!

Double Chocolate PB Oatmeal

(Serves 1)

• 1 serving rolled oats (40g)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 tsp. all-natural PB or other nut butter
• 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• extra sweetener if desired (I love using honey)
• 1/4 cup Almond or other milk to serve
• 1 T. Chocolate Chips or cocoa nibs

Combine first 6 ingredients and cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes. When it starts to bubble, stir occasionally. Add remaining ingredients, and sweeten as desired.  

What's YOUR favorite way to eat oatmeal?

Clean Eating Chocolate Mug Cake

You might never want chocolate cake (the old fashioned way) again, once you try this recipe out. No kidding - it's THAT GOOD! I can't believe it took me so long to discover, that I can literally make this individual serving-size cake, in the microwave, in less than one minute, from start to finish. 

This is kid-tested, family approved, clean eating...and one would NEVER KNOW it takes such little time to make. My 2 year old LOVES this simple Peanut Butter "frosting" as much as I do!  

So now that I have you convinced you NEED to try this, this is what you need:
1 Scoop Chocolate Shakeology
1/4 c. Milk of choice (almond, skim)

Method:
Combine the shakeology powder with the milk to form your dough. Place in a microwave safe bowl, microwave for 30-35 seconds. 

Meanwhile, prepare your frosting. You'll need:
1/4 c. plain Greek yogurt
1 tsp. PB
1 tsp. honey

Combine in a small bowl. Turn cake out of bowl onto plate, top with your frosting, and serve warm. ENJOY!!!  

If you are using the 21 Day Fix meal plan, this cake is one red container, and add your gray for the PB frosting. SO GOOD! And zero guilt. Now I know what you will have from now on if you find yourself needing a sweet treat to follow your dinner or if you have an extra red left over for the day!!!

21 Day Fix Extreme Meal Plan

So it's 8PM, on the Sunday night of Mother's Day. What a beautiful day it was spent with my family, everything in perfect balance. Slept in, celebrated morning mass, came home to change into my running gear so that I could get my sweat on, took the kids to play at the park, out for a family dinner, and now planning my week to set me up for success!

Do you have one day designated each week to list out what you want to accomplish? What are your goals, your to-do list, and your master "bucket list" of things you want to achieve? This little practice will help you be SO much more productive with your time! Get your focus and game plan together to succeed! 

So Sunday nights have become my favorite time to do this, once the kids are asleep and I'm sipping on some tea, winding down after a busy day with the family <3 and it dawned on me that I have just over 9 weeks until our annual convention in Nashville, Coach Summit! 3 rounds of the 21 Day Fix Extreme....funny how my mind thinks in terms of fitness programs!  Since Cancun, I've gotten a bit too lenient with my meals and tracking, so I have committed myself to dialing it in and getting to my fitness goal by the end of July - I want to kick things up a notch or 2 to really see what I am capable of! That means getting my containers out, portioning my foods, tracking my intake, and celebrating my successes each week!!! This is so much fun, knowing how my body will respond to following this program developed by trainer Autumn Calabrese. 

The simplicity of the 21 Day Fix meal plan just works for me.  It's so easy, and rather than count calories (I REALLY don't like doing that!) I think in terms of containers.  My entire family eats what I eat, and its just what we do!  No "dieting" or special foods that nobody would want except for me. Who wants to be making separate meals for the kids? No thanks! One dinner is enough work for me to handle, no need to add more work to a busy momma's schedule! 

   

So what's the game plan for this week?  It's a super busy week, with dance class activities almost every night for the girls. Their annual dance recital is on Saturday, so they have photos, dress rehearsals, lots of running back and forth...so I need to have a plan for those nights we'll be out, or we would be left to make hasty decisions. Our focus this week is all about planning, prepping snacks that we can take with us, and avoiding late night snacking.   
I'm going to start the 21 Day Fix Extreme Meal Plan tomorrow.  I am going to do the countdown to competition plan the last week of the 3 week program. I am going to be sure to get in my 5 runs each week, and double up with the workouts of the 21 Day Fix Extreme Program a minimum of 3 days per week.  I love using the weights with my workouts. With running, my body really needs some cross training to strengthen and tone my core and upper body especially. 

Here is how I work my containers into the 21 DFX meal plan, and I just cross off the containers as I use them as I go throughout the day.  For those who do not want to use the countdown to comp plan, there is also the option to fall back and use the regular 21 DF (white boxes every day), which is less restrictive but equally as effective! I'm ready with my game face on to cut the late night snacking, the extra containers (especially those YELLOWS!) and to be Nashville ready come 9 weeks!!! 

This is how you use your meals with the containers. SO easy, and once you have a plan that you love, you can use it over and over with a few simple substitutions so that you don't get bored.  

If you are looking to lose those last few pounds, tone, tighten up for a vacation, special event, class reunion, or trip... trust me, THIS is the way to go!  Plus the fact that I have done several rounds of the 21 day fix and fix extreme I am more than happy to help you in my accountability and support groups.  For me, honestly, it was the accountability that keeps me on track! Without that I would not have had the success that I did!  It's so easy to loose your mojo, but when you are surrounded with others like you, all working on the same goals, it's so much easier to stick with it and work for your own progress!  So make sure that I am your free coach, or connect with the one you have for support!

And besides, I LOVE that muscle burns more fat at rest, so even while I'm sleeping, after a good weight training day, I can just FEEL my body's metabolism revving up! 

The 21 Day Fix Extreme Nutrition Book tells you EXACTLY what you need to know. For most of us, we just want things to be easy. Tell me what to eat, give me a plan, and just plug it into my day!  There is a list of foods to choose from in each food group, so you pick from the green (veggies) category, and whatever fits in that container, you eat.  You check off the box for that meal and then you know how many containers you have left.  Super simple. Besides just the foods you are eating, there are also super yummy recipes to use. I can truly say that there isn't one recipe in the book that I don't like, especially the seasoning blends!  The food is filling & the portion sizes are perfect.  In the evenings if I feel hungry, I know it's working because my metabolism is working overtime. Sipping on some tea before heading up to bed does the trick!

30 minute workouts, weights in most all of them, Cardio with weights, Upper Body, Lower Body, Intervals, Pilates with resistance band, Yoga...has such awesome variety!

I'm starting a 21 Day Fix Busy Mom's group next week to help YOU and I stay on track! If you are interested in support hit me up by completing the application HERE. 

Success Club Trip 2015 Cancun Mexico

April 14 - 19th, 2015 will go down as one of the many amazing memories for Adam and I. We were fortunate enough to have joined 2000 other Health Coaches on an all-expense paid vacation for both hubby and myself, at the Moon Palace Resort and Spa in Cancun, Mexico. This was the second free vacation I have earned since coaching, which I started on July 30th, 2013. The Team Beachbody Success Club trip is at a different destination every year, with next year being a cruise on the Royal Caribbean to Jamaica and Haiti! I earned this trip for myself and family by meeting certain criteria each month in my business based on how many people I'm helping get started with their health and fitness goals. I was treated like a princess, greeted with gifts and found out that I didn't have to wait in line for registration with the rest of the coaches because of my being a top Elite Coach in 2014 (too bad this was AFTER we waited in line for over an hour)!  This all really just felt like a dream because seriously, I am just a small town farm-girl, who wasn't on social media, had zero followers and a very small network of close family and friends. I started coaching with Beachbody not knowing a THING what I was getting into. My desire to change my family's situation was worth more to me than the fears and doubts I had from within. I really just wanted to inspire and motivate others to a healthier way of living, and in turn, live out my passion for health and fitness by also creating a life to love, a life of freedom, for myself and family.  Less than 2 years later, I'm in Cancun with 2,000 other coaches in a luxury suite, fully stocked with a full fridge and bar!  With this whole experience, something that I've come to realize is this --- Once you become consciously aware of how powerful your thoughts are, and your willingness to change them, you will realize everything in your life is exactly how you ALLOW it to be.  Just imagine what the possibilities could be if you would just let GO and imagine the "what if"!

So I wanted to document my favorite memories from the trip!  There were so many things we did, and over the course of just 5 days. Adam and I flew out of MSP early Wednesday morning so that we would arrive early afternoon. We were greeted with flowers onto the shuttle to take us to Moon Palace Resort. Beachbody doesn't do anything small, the Arena was decked out in huge Team Beachbody swag. Made me so proud to represent a company with such integrity and passion for their mission, to "help people achieve their goals to lead healthy, fulfilling lives". 

We had a bit of a surprise when we got to our room to find it was already inhabited by 2 other guests! Somehow we were given the wrong room key or number. Once we were settled into our amazing room, equipped with a private Jacuzzi tub, balcony with a hammock, view of the ocean and beautiful resort grounds, full bar... we were set to join our friends for the Welcome Reception, dinner hosted on the beach with entertainment and fireworks! Beachbody sure knows how to do it up! Then the next morning was the Celebrity Trainer Question/Answer discussion panel. I learned so much about Tony Horton, Shaun T, and Autumn Calabrese. Where they started with their careers, what their lives were like before being "found" by Beachbody. I am so glad I have this insight - a reminder to us all to stay grounded and humbled...and to always be evolving, changing and improving oneself. 

Thursday evening was an exclusive, invitation only, Elite and Premiere party on the beach! Decorations, dinner, dancing and fun music right on the beach with the top 1% of the company, Shaun T, Autumn and Tony, with all the company executives! Getting to talk with other top coaches about best practices, business strategies, ways to help our teams...that was an invaluable experience!  Success is only fun when you have a team to celebrate it with - next year I will have my team of coaches with me on the cruise to Jamaica!  I am working towards helping them also achieve this same level of success in their businesses. There is no reward or satisfaction in being at the top of the company by yourself. Why not bring along your team and your best friends to experience it with you?  I've always said that my goal is to help my team to experience the same success that I have and that is exactly what is happening. I have seen my team following in my footsteps, and it is my #1 goal to help more and more coaches reach THEIR goals, achieve financial success, earn these trips, and live the life they love.  That's where the magic happens. When one can pay it forward - working as a team unit, to help lift each other up to a higher place than they would have imagined possible. 

I don't know if I'd ever had dinner in the sand - the beach, water, everything was more amazing than I could even try to describe.  I remember the wind being SO STRONG...the ladies with short skirts or pumps were in trouble that night! 

It's also cool to watch Adam (my #1 supporter, and one I owe for being where I am with this business today) make some amazing friends! The wives get together to work, get our tans on, while the boys play and take full advantage of the all-inclusive amenities!   

Each morning there were live workouts with Tony Horton, Shaun T and Autumn Calabrese... LIVE!  Talk about some energy in the room, doing a group workout with hundreds of other people, but to be doing it live with the trainers themselves is something that completely blows my mind every time I have the chance to do this.  It's just such an amazing experience to be surrounded by your friends and other coaches getting our sweat on!  

Saturday was spent poolside with fellow coaches, soaking up the sun, playing beach volleyball, and just enjoying alone time with hubby. Taking vacations like this is something we never would have been able to do before Beachbody and coaching. Although we really missed the kids, having that time together to reconnect and just focus on US was so great!  We enjoyed taking in some Miami Vice's, and Scooby Doo's - don't ask me what's in them, I haven't a CLUE...but I do remember them being really good! 

This was our "hangout" location so us coaches knew where to find eachother throughout the day. This resort was SO large with so many different attractions and things to do. But this bar was pretty central, and close to our room, which made it the perfect meeting place!

The view from our balcony was simply AMAZING - another one of the perks of an Elite coach is to get the best rooms in the resort. As much as I missed the kids, it was really hard to leave and say good bye. I loved every second of this trip, and feel so entirely blessed and thankful to the many people who have entrusted me with their health and fitness goals and to choose me to mentor them with their business. 

I know that this is one amazing trip of many more to come. This one goes down in the books as memorable, inspiring, so beautiful, and definitely one to cherish. 

Farewell friends, until next time!!

Join TEAM FIT4MATION TODAY!  Now Accepting applications, and join us on the S.S. Beachbody Cruise to the Caribbean in 2016!

Team Fit4mation Coaching Application 

Chocolate Shakeology Pie

Are you looking for a dessert this upcoming Easter weekend that you can enjoy GUILT FREE!?!?! I know I DO! If you're like most people, you want to have something sweet with coffee while visiting with family...but HATE the guilty feeling and YUCK that follows. What if you could have all the treat but none of the guilt or regrets that follow? 

YOU CAN!


~~Chocolate Shakeology Pie~~
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:2 scoops Chocolate Shakeology1 container tofu, silken firm (approx 12 oz.) ½ cup natural peanut butter2 Tbsp. skim milk1 premade whole-grain graham pie crust


Preparation:1 Place peanut butter, tofu, Chocolate Shakeology, and milk in blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add more milk if necessary.2. Pour into pie crust and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
Nutritional Information (per serving):Calories 273, Fat 15g, Sodium 157mg, Carbs 24g, Fiber 2g, Sugar 8g, Protein 13g