5-Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies - Clean Eating and Paleo

My family LOVES chocolate chip cookies.  They don't want any other kind, and even when I've made other types, they always say chocolate chip is their favorite.  So, I tried tons of recipes, and recreated them to come up with one that is low in sugar, with few ingredients, but still has a delicious chocolate chip cookie taste!  I hope you enjoy these as much as my family does!

One 16 oz jar almond butter
2 large eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup coconut sugar
1 cup dark chocolate chips, at least 60% cocoa (I use the Ghiardelli mini chips, so more chocolate chips are spread throughout the cookies - you can use Enjoy Life chocolate nibs to make these dairy free)
1 cup chopped pecans or other type of chopped nut (optional)
One  or two SILPAT cookie sheet liners (at least one)
One or two cookie sheets (at least one - with two it makes it possible to have consecutive baking)
A one Tablespoon cookie batter scooper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1.  Pour off the oil at the top of the almond butter jar.  If there is no oil, then don't worry about it.
2. Mix first four ingredients in a bowl. Blend well.
3. Add chocolate chips (and nuts if desired)
4. Lay the SILPAT cookie sheet liner on the cookie sheet

5. Take the cookie scooper, scoop batter and place on SILPAT, spacing out 10 cookies (they spread quite a bit).

6. Take a paper towel and press them flat.  This makes the cookies flatter, and also the paper towel absorbs some of the extra oil.  Press quickly with the paper towel, as if you press too hard and too long, the towel will stick to the batter, and some of the batter will come off the cookie.  This is an optional step.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes.  9 minutes for softer cookies, 11 minutes for crisper cookies.

8.  Cool and remove from cookie sheet. This is where it helps to have 2 cookie sheets and SILPAT liners.  While one batch is cooling on the cookie sheet, the next batch can be prepared and ready to go into the oven.

Makes 36-40 cookies (I can usually get 40 out of them).

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8 Thanksgiving tips to stay on track

Are you new to a healthy lifestyle or trying to lose weight, and worried about the Thanksgiving holiday coming up? You’re not alone. For many of us, the kids are home from school, you are traveling to visit family or hosting family, and it’s easier to abandon our healthy lifestyle. After all, Thanksgiving is based around a giant meal, and most of us associate it with stuffing ourselves with so much delicious food that we must unbutton our pants, and take a couch nap during the big football game. It doesn’t have to be this way, and with a little bit of planning and balance, Thanksgiving can be enjoyed thoroughly in moderation without feeling deprived. Here are 8 healthy Thanksgiving tips for staying on track.

1. Plan

Plan ahead of time. Just like planning to cook Thanksgiving dinner, or planning what dish to bring to someone else’s dinner, I plan what I will eat. Even if I don’t know what’s being served, I make a commitment to fill my plate first with turkey and vegetables before serving myself candied yams and stuffing. There is less room on the plate for those, if it’s filled with turkey and vegetables. This will prevent me from making impulse decisions that I will later regret. When hitting the desserts, I make decisions about what is worth indulging in and what isn’t.

2. Move

Workout in the morning and get it out of the way for the day.  Participate in a 5K Turkey Trot; bring your sneakers to your family’s house and go for a run; do a 40-minute circuit of jumping jacks, push-ups, squats, planks and crunches; or bring a Beachbody DVD or watch one of the Beachbody workouts on YouTube and have others join in!  After the meal, instead of lying down after the meal to watch the game, encourage everyone to get outside and play a game of touch football, or take a walk and catch up and just enjoy the fresh autumn air.  Remember, some movement is better than no movement.

3. Don’t show up hungry

Eat a normal healthy breakfast, or a small filling but smart snack before the get-together. Have a yummy Shakeology Pumpkin Pie shake!  This will make sure I’m not starving, which would make me more likely to lose control at the food buffet.

4. A plateful of protein and color

Protein and color are our friends. Thanksgiving meals have some excellent choices. Turkey white meat is lean and full of protein. Sweet potatoes are another great choice as long as they aren’t loaded in butter, marshmallows, or brown sugar. Any colorful fruits and vegetables like salad, broccoli, green beans, apples, pumpkin, and even red wine can be enjoyed without derailing a healthy lifestyle. If you are cooking Thanksgiving or bringing a dish, there are tons of healthy recipes out there for you to prepare yourself!

5. Have a taste

It’s a holiday, and life is about balance, so enjoy the foods you love, but in moderation. After you fill up your plate (and your belly) with the best choices, take a small sampling of the candied yams, the apple pie, the mashed potatoes and gravy. A few bites aren’t going to wreak havoc on your fitness and nutrition plan, just don’t let it spiral into a binge-fest.

6. Stop when you’re full

While I’m eating, I pay close attention to my hunger and fullness.  I don’t want to feel literally sick to my stomach, stuffed with food.  I enjoy my meal, and when I feel full, I stop.

7. Get right back on track

I make the next meal after my Thanksgiving meal a healthy one, focused on protein and vegetables. I don’t worry about too many calories. It’s more important to get right back into my good nutrition habits. Then the next day, I get right back to eating healthy foods and a good sweat session.

8. Be thankful

I am grateful that I am able to workout and have healthy foods available to me.  I workout and eat right, because I can, not because I have to.  I count my fitness and health reminding myself of why I am making the healthiest choices possible every day of the year. Be grateful for your good health!

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Best Chicken Recipe EVER!! (Mustard-Maple-Rosemary Chicken)

I promise you, this is the most delicious and easy to make chicken recipe. Even my picky eaters at home love this recipe.  And to top it off, it is gluten-free, dairy free, fat free and sugar free.  It does use some 100% pure maple syrup, but a small amount for a serving for 3-4 people.  I've made this almost every time we have guests for dinner, because it's quick and simple to make.  I pair it with brown rice, steamed green beans and a salad, for a well-rounded meal!  

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt & pepper
Fresh rosemary

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, syrup, and vinegar.

2. Place chicken breasts into 9×13 lined baking dish. Season with salt & lots of pepper. Pour mustard mixture over chicken. Make sure each breast is coated. Put some more pepper on, if you like pepper. No need to marinate. (I love that because I hate marinating/often forget to until it’s too late.)

3. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees. Exactly how long you should leave it in is based on personal preference and your oven. I like my chicken well-cooked, so I leave it in the full 40 minutes. (Lining the pan with foil will keep clean up easy!)  There will be extra sauce in the pan, which you can use for extra flavoring over each breast or over rice.

Season with fresh rosemary. 

Makes 3-4 servings

I serve this with brown or whole grain rice, and steamed green beans, seasoned with olive oil, garlic, and salt. 

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December 1st Challenge Group!

ARE YOU:
▶Interested in improving your nutrition
▶A person that only eats a few times a day
▶Too busy to make breakfast in the morning
▶Aware you eat poorly
▶Have tried everything and nothing has worked to drop those unwanted pounds or inches
I'm running a Shakeology and Clean Eating group on Dec. 1st.
We will go over:
the amazing gifts Shakeology can bring to your life, health and nutrition
the principles of eating clean and how our Challenge Groups help get your nutrition in line
recipes for the Holidays
favorite Shakeology recipes from the coaches in the group
✅ 5 amazing days FILLED with treats, tricks, and tips
$19.95 + shipping and tax

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Paleo Pumpkin Bread (Gluten free too!)

Fall is here, and at my house that means pumpkin everything! I just make sure it's healthy! Just got done baking this yummy pumpkin bread. Filled plenty of pumpkin and fall flavors of cinnamon and nutmeg, a slice goes perfectly with a cup of coffee! And it's gluten free too!

This is a great add to your morning or afternoon snack!

Ingredients:

• 3 C. Coconut Sugar
• 1 C. Buckwheat Flour
• 1 C. Almond Flour
• 1 C. Coconut Flour
• ½ C. Ground Flax Seed
• 2 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1 tsp. Cinnamon
• ½ tsp. Nutmeg
• ½ tsp. Salt
• 4 large egg whites
• 2 large whole eggs
• 1½ 15oz can of pumpkin 
• 2/3 Cup of Water
• ½ C. Canola Oil
• 1 C. chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Spray 3 aluminum loaf tins with cooking spray.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flours, baking soda, sugar and spices) and mix well.
4. In a large mixing bowl, add the wet ingredients (eggs, whites, pumpkin, water and oil), and mix. 
5. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the large bowl. Mix well.
6. Pour in even amounts into the 3 loaf pans.
7. Bake for 1 hour.
8. Cool before slicing. Makes three loaves, eight slices per loaf.

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Pumpkin Pie Shakeology

Pumpkin Pie Shakeology

It's fall and pumpkin is the flavor of the season. Starbucks comes out every year with their famous Pumpkin Latte. While it's delicious, it can really rack up the calories and fat content for the day! Try this Shakeology Pumpkin Pie recipe. It has that same fall, sweet pumpkin flavor we all love, but a lot less calories and fat, and packs a punch of protein and nutrition. Instead of drinking a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte for breakfast, sip on this yummy shake! See my Shakeology page for more info about this nutritional powerhouse!

Here's the recipe: 

1 packet or scoop of Vanilla Shakeology

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/2 - 3/4 of a cup of pumpkin puree

1/3 of a banana

2 cups of ice

1/2 cup of water

1 tsp. cinnamon, nutmeg, and/or pumpkin pie spice 

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