Living off the Land #2

Hi friends! I have another random and quick post and recipe for you today! This time last year, I posted a "Living off the Land" meal and it was my intention to keep those posts going throughout the year but, I must have forgot about that -- whoops! Anyway, the other day I shared that yummy buffalo chicken rice bowl. I had a ton of leftover chicken and practically a full can of black beans so last night when I came home from a long day at work... I whipped up these freaking delish buffalo chicken quesadillas. I had all ingredients in my house so I was able to make a healthier meal without spending any extra money. Here's how it all went down!

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NEED:
- Cooked and shredded chicken breast tossed in buffalo sauce (I like Cindy's brand)
- Black Beans
- Whole Wheat Tortillas
- Shredded cheese (I used organic mozzarella)
- Avocado

Step 1: I tossed a bit more buffalo sauce in the leftover chicken and heated up the pan. Toss the tortilla on a hot pan and start piling on the ingredients. My ingredients were cold but, they warmed right up.

Again, this recipe is versatile. Don't have beans? Tomatoes, peppers, and onions would be a great addition to this quesadilla. Remember, I was working with what I had in my kitchen so it ended up being a VERY protein-packed meal.

Step 2: Add all ingredients to one side, fold the tortilla in half and toast each side until the cheese gets melty and the edges are golden brown.

Step 3: Slice and serve! I topped it with sliced avocado because, well, avocado YUM! This meal is extremely protein packed and fills that "comfort food" void without all the extra junk.

I have one more thing to share with you today...

The smoothie recipe I posted the other day has been very popular and I've been getting a lot of questions about ingredients, etc. I made it again this morning and added a tablespoon of cacao powder to it for extra iron, magnesium, and fiber! Cacao powder is cocoa in it's raw form and offers a TON of nutritional value. Plus, it's so delicious... I'm addicted to this smoothie! Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Have an extremely awesome weekend! I hope you laugh a lot, spend time outdoors, eat good food, relax, and get in a little movement! xo

Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowls

Hi friendsss! I hope you are all having a GREAT week! Tonight, I made one of those "live off the land" meals. I didn't have anything in particular planned for tonight so I thought I'd get a little creative with ingredients that were already in my fridge and cabinets. I ended up going with a shredded buffalo chicken and brown rice bowl and it turned out awesome. Rob and I wished I made more brown rice because we wanted seconds! Here's how it went down. (PS: Part of the recipe making is live on my snapchat (username: funfitflavor) right now)

BUFFALO CHICKEN BROWN RICE BOWLS
Need:
- 2 Organic Boneless Chicken Breasts
- 1/2 cup (dry) of Brown Jasmine rice (have you guys tried brown jasmine rice? I could eat an entire bowl of this stuff prepared with nothing but evoo and salt - so good!)
- Black Beans (opened a can but probably only used about a half cup between both bowls)
- Swiss Chard (few big leaves)
- Shredded mozzarella (if you have it)
- Buffalo sauce (I like Cindys)
- Salt/Crushed Red Pepper to taste

Step 1: Prepare rice (takes about 40 minutes) and slice up the chicken breasts and cook in a pan with a little water and coconut oil. I seasoned with salt and crushed red pepper but, don't worry too much about that because it's going to be covered in buffalo sauce anyway. Also, this method of "boiling" the chicken is much faster than baking it or boiling it whole so that's why I did it this way.

Step 2: Rinse a can of black beans and set aside. 
Step 3: Prepare swiss chard by stripping the leaves off the stems. Chop the steps into quarter inch pieces and cook in a saute pan for 5 or so minutes until they soften a bit. Once they are to your liking, add the rest of the chopped leaves and cook for 1-2 minutes with evoo, salt, and crushed red pepper.

Step 4: Once the chicken is cooked, shred it with two forks (or your hands if it's cool enough) and set aside. (I did this while the swiss chard was cooking)

Step 5: Toss the chicken in buffalo sauce and arrange all ingredients into bowls. (I mean, you don't have to arrange it into bowls but it makes for a pretty picture!)

Step 6: Start piling the ingredients. I went with rice, swiss chard, mozzarella, beans, then chicken.

And that's it! Rob and I were both very happy with the way this turned out. (So yummy!) It had a ton of flavor and offers a nice combination of protein, fiber, carbohydrates and healthy fats. I also like that these are ingredients that I typically have in stock. Beans and rice in the cabinet, chicken in the freezer, buffalo sauce in the fridge. This meal could be easily made with quinoa instead of rice, spinach or kale instead of chard, ground chicken/turkey or dark meat instead of white. Plus, I now have leftover chicken and beans so I can make this again tomorrow night - maybe in a wrap or over quinoa. It's versatile!

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Enjoy and have an awesome rest of your week! xo

Recovery Smoothie

Hi friends! I'm coming at you today with a really quick smoothie recipe. I started making this earlier in the week and it's too good not to share. Plus, when your workouts are extra tough - this mash-up of ingredients is excellent for recovery. Protein and dark cherries have been proven to aid in muscle recovery. This time of year when everyone is still sticking to their new workout resolutions (right ;)?), this smoothie is the perfect complement to that!

NEED:
- Whey protein powder (preferably organic/grass fed)
- 1/2-3/4 cup of frozen dark cherries and 1/4 cup of blueberries (antioxidants and anthocyanins)
- 1 scoop of almond butter (biotin, vitamin E, manganese, etc)
- Dash of cinnamon (more antioxidants!)
- Almond milk (try to find a brand without carrageenan - both Whole Foods and Silk offer almond milk without it.)

Blend and serve! Today, I topped it with some paleonola for a little extra crunch.

Enjoy and keep up the good work with those resolutions! xo