Buffalo Chicken Pizza

My kids have been begging for pizza lately, and honestly, it's just not my favorite food.  If I'm going to eat junk, I want my sweets.   But this little gem, is YUM!!!  And as a extra little bonus, it's 21 Day Fix approved!  Woop Woop!!!!

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Crust:
1 head of cauliflower (I used one bag of frozen)
1 egg (I used 1/4 c egg whites)
1/2 Parmesan cheese (or mozzarella cheese)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt

Put cauliflower in a blender and mix into a crumble (rice like grains). If you have cheesecloth, put in there and work all of the juices out. If you don't, just put it in a towel and absorb the juices. Mix together cauliflower, egg, cheese and seasonings. Spread out on a greased pan, bake for 20 minutes at 375.

Chicken:
3 cups shredded chicken
Franks red sauce (to your personal liking)

Mix together until it's "hot" enough for you! Add to the cooked crust and put in the oven for another 5 minutes to warm.

Celery Sauce:
1/3 cup light alfredo sauce (it's what I had on hand!!)
1/2 tsp ranch seasoning
1/2 tsp celery seeds
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Mix together and drizzle on top of pizza cooked pizza
Enjoy!!

21 DF: 1 1/3 yellow, 1 blue, 1 orange, 3/4 red (for 1/3 of entire pizza!!)

21 Day Fix Cheat Sheet

The Beachbody Crowds go WILD!  

21 Day Fix!  

It's so easy!  It's only 3 weeks!  It's only 30 minutes!  We can DO this!!!

AND we can look like Autumn Cabrese in NO time!  Let's GO!!!

HOLD IT!  

There's a few "pre-planning" things you need to do first to make sure that your 3 weeks are a TRUE success!

1.  SCHEDULE YOUR WORKOUT: Put in on your calendar, set your phone alarm, bribe your kids with movies and money- whatever you need to do, get it on your schedule and DON'T CANCEL on yourself!  You'd never cancel a meeting with your boss, sooooo.......  GET IT DONE!

2.  EAT, EAT, REPEAT: You think - hmm...21 days worth of meal plans is so overwhelming!  AH!  Here's a little trick: It's 3 weeks.  Figure out about 3-4 lunch (or breakfast) meals total, 4-5 dinner meals total, and just eat them again!  For example: I usually eat fruit with a small bit of protein for breakfast, Shakeology for lunch, so all I have to plan for my entire 3 weeks is about 4 dinner meals, and have snacks in the fridge, and I'm DONE.  DONE, I say!

3.  SPEAKING OF SHAKEOLOGY: If you aren't drinking it, START NOW!  This is an easy way to get your dense nutrition in!  If you're not a breakfast person, you need to become one, and the easiest way is to grab a shake on your way out the door in the morning.  I personally struggle with lunches...I don't have time to pack a lunch for work, and at home, I just graze on whatever the kids are eating.  Not anymore!  During work months, I mix up my Shakeology drink the night before and grab it on my way out the door the next morning.  During the summertime, I put a few things of crushed ice in my Shakeo cup, add almond milk and my powder, shake, shake, shake, and head back out to to the pool.  WINNING!!

4. ACCOUNTABILITY:  Join a challenge group (hello - PRIZES!), grab some friends (Get your meanest friends who will call you at 11pm at night and MAKE you workout if you haven't done it already - the ones who will SHAME you if you eat the donut at work.  You know the people I'm talking about!)  You can't do this alone! (I mean, you can, I guess, but what fun is that??)

5.  JUNK FOOD - BE GONE!:  Cleaning time!  Go through your cupboards and your fridge - lock away (or throw out, if you're super hard core!) anything that will tempt you and that goes against your fitness goals.  And another tip - STOP buying crap food!  Don't buy it for your spouse or your kids - they don't need it either!!  Remember - you're setting an example for your kiddos - if you won't eat it, why would you give it to them??  (PS - getting rid of the junk food is not an open invite for eating all you can before you start your diet!)

6. KISS:  No - not literally - thought it DOES burn calories!  I mean Keep It Simple, Stupid!!  Don't get overwhelmed with the cute colorful boxes and the workouts, and the schedule, and the expectations - AH!  Keep your meal planning as simple as possible, get your workouts in, DRINK WATER, and relax!  If you mess up, get back at it!  Don't give up - you're too awesome for that!!!

For more tips, quips, and Beachbody info, comment below or head over to www.beachbodycoach.com/fitmamamandy

Oh - two more thoughts:  WATER is your friend - both drinking, and soaking in! 

Also - those cute little containers - yeah - make sure you can put the lid on.  If you can't, it's too full :)

My Love Affair

Don't get your panties all in a bunch:

 I'm still madly in love with my hubby!

Seriously - how could one NOT be smitten??

I'm talking about Beachbody.  His name is Beachbody.  And he lured me in with his promises of skinny waists, taunt butts, and strong arms.  We've had a rocky 16 year relationship, but we're in a pretty good spot as of late.

Just like any relationship, it didn't take me long to realize that I had to put some effort into how well things were going to go.  The more I gave, the more I got.  Ugh.  It was frustrating!  I just wanted to sit back and let him court me, and enjoy being treated like a princess.  Not. So. Much.

It started back in college - when I'd been treated with an unlimited food card, late nights, and pounds and pounds (I'm being literal here!) of chocolate covered peanuts.  Double dipped.  Helllooooo Junior year and 30 extra pounds.  This is me in October of 2002 - I was not at my heaviest here, but had managed to lose about 10 pounds already.  There are no pictures of me at my heaviest.  They were not allowed to be taken!!

At my highest weight, I weighed more than I did 6 years later when I was 9 months pregnant with our first child.

College was amazing, but my food addiction was a serious issue!  Insert, BEACHBODY!  An infomercial caught my eye one day (I'm a sucker for whatever they'll sell me!)

I quickly ordered, and my transformation was about to begin! Remember Tony Horton?  He started his career many, many years ago with Power90.  I loved it and stuck with the workouts off and on, had fun doing them, and did shed some pounds.  Many years, and many exercise programs later (I was always a casual exerciser - doing it when I felt like it, blessed with a fast metabolism that would allow me to eat what I wanted, and working out when I was in the mood.  I lost my college weight and maintained a healthy BMI as I finished college, married, and started my teaching career.

Fast forward one hot husband, 3 amazing children, and dozens of Beachbody workout programs later.  In 2013 I started using Shakeology and I was hooked!!

It was a hefty price to pay for one  meal a day, but with 3 littles, a full time job, a hard working husband, and a messy house, Shakeology was the only way I was going to get any nutrition in my diet, and quite frankly, I had no time to pack a lunch.  It was much easier to throw a scoop of powder in my shaker of milk and head out the door.

In 2014, the 21 Day Fix was released, and I decided it was time to start seriously telling others about this gem I'd known about for oh-so long and became a Beachbody coach.  I'd been approached several times with the option, but always turned down the offer because I was NOT an athlete (HELLO uncoordinated long limbed girl!!) and the word "coach" was terrifying!!

I discovered, though, that coach didn't mean I had to excel in a sport or have a "team" in the sporting sense of the word.  Instead, it just meant that I could encourage others to make healthy choices, and offer them information, guidance, and insight based on my own experiences and my knowledge bank through the Beachbody network.

This is a decision that I've never regretted.  Becoming a coach meant that I had to be proof of my product.  This element provided my own accountability.  Becoming a coach also offers discounts, which allows me the opportunity to afford my "habits."  Can we say WIN WIN????  

Bottom line - Beachbody changes lives.  Just do a quick internet search and you'll see thousands and thousands of success stories.  I'm not saying it's the only way to make healthy choices, and turn weight into muscle, but I DO know that it's one proven way, and I don't plan to look back!

Want more information?  Head over to www.beachbodycoach.com/fitmamamandy and see what kind of trouble you can get in to!  I promise you won't regret it! :)

Let's Talk Pyramids

I know exactly what you're thinking:

It's so annoying, isn't it?   Every time you scroll through your Facebook feed, you're bombarded with all of your friends selling SOMETHING!  It used to be the obligatory Tupperware party or Mary Kay gathering.  At least there you could get some great free food, maybe win some prizes, and walk away with some great new stuff (that would be delivered while your husband was at work hopefully!)

Now, it's in your face.  Every. Single. Day.  So many people out to get rich quick.

Well let me give you some real life talk.  9 times out of 10, the folks who are peddling their goods aren't getting rich - instead, they've found a great product that they personally use and enjoy, and have gotten wonderful results, and they want to tell you about it too!  It's basically a friend recommending a product to you, same as they would if they found something amazing at Meijer, or Home Depot, or Kohl's.

So when I start yakking at you and telling you all about these amazing products I happen to personally use, sell, and promote, I'm not pushing them because I'm trying to make a dime off you (cause seriously, if that were my reasoning, I'd have kept these secrets to myself!!) It's because I think these things are the bees knees and I want to share my amazing deals and finds with you!  Take it as a compliment that I love you enough to share!

(PS - Beachbody, Plexus, and Younique all get delivered while your husband is at work! - It's not just Mary Kay and Tupperware who know what's up!!) :)

Here's another coaches thoughts on the subject: http://www.teambeachbody.com/member/journal/-/journal-entry/rainbowmandy/56713529

Back in Business

I'm BACK!  And this time, I'm hopefully here to stay!  It's summer time and I've got a few minutes to kill while the kiddos play in the pool, and I put off housework and enjoy the summer sun.

 (Well, not at the moment.  At the moment, yes, I'm avoiding housework, but it's actually tickin' close to midnight and I SHOULD be sound asleep in bed!  Details, details!)

It's time to get this blog up and running and start sharing some CRAZY amazing products with you, as well as my experiences!  You're going to start learning a TON about Beachbody workouts, healthy food choices, and challenge groups, this amazing new product I discovered recently called Plexus (hellooooo healthy GUT!!!), and some incredible makeup that I discovered and will NEVER return to drugstore products!  Are you ready?  GOOD!  Because it's going to be a crazy ride!