CLEAN EATING SLOW COOKER ITALIAN STYLE MEATBALLS

(Makes 22 Meatballs)
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 pounds lean, ground turkey
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
• 1 1/2 cups clean tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup fresh, grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:
In a large mixing bowl, knead the turkey together with the spices.

Roll meat into 22, walnut sized meatballs, and place in a single layer in your slow cooker 

Pour the tomato sauce over the top, being sure to cover the meatballs well and evenly.

Sprinkle the cheese across the top and set the slow cooker to low heat for 4 hours.

Serve over pasta with a little extra parmesan cheese.

Note: These are a fairly dense meatball. You can add finely chopped mushrooms to the mixture to soften them up a bit. About 1/2 to 1 cup should be fine, and you’ll get more meatballs out of it to boot.

Recipe courtesy of http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-slow-cooker-italian-meatballs/

COMING SOON!! Spring 2015 UNLIMITED STREAMING ACCESS

COMING SOON!!! BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

Unlimited streaming access to hundres of Beachbody workouts for as little as 44 cents a day!  Its Beachbody on Demand and its coming to your laptop or mobile device BUT only if you are a Team Beachbody Club Member.  

Stay Tuned for more details as they are announced!  

Sign up for a free account now so you can get the latest updates.  Create a FREE account.

21 Day Fix Approved -- 
Crockpot Turkey Chili

Ingredients

1. 1 lb. raw 93% lean ground turkey
2. 1/2 white onion, chopped
3. 1 sweet bell pepper (yellow), chopped
4. 2 cloves garlic, chopped
5. 1 (15 oz.) can canned diced tomatoes
6. 1 (15 oz.) can whole-kernel corn, drained
7. 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
8. 1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
9. 1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
10. 2 tsp. chili powder
11. 2 tsp. ground cumin
12. 1 tsp. crushed red peppers
13. Himalayan salt and ground black pepper (to taste; optional)
14. Plain Greek Yogurt (optional topping)
15. Green Onions, diced (optional topping)

Instructions

1. Cook turkey, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, 4 to 5 minutes, or until turkey browns. Drain; discard fat.
2. Add all ingredients and turkey mixture to the slow cooker and cook on low for 4 hours (or warm until needed).
3. Add a dollop of plain greek yogurt and top with green onions before serving (optional).
4. ENJOY!!

21 Day Fix Container Equivalents (for 2 cups of chili)

1. 1 Red = Turkey Meat
2. 1 Green = Sauce, Peppers, and Onion
3. 1 Yellow = Beans & Corn
4. If you use the yogurt, add an additional 1/2 red.

 Support/Challenge/Accountability Group

Soooo…What Exactly is This Challenge Group Thing?

 Here’s a brief description of the definition:

A challenge group is a private Facebook group of individuals who are currently using a Beachbody fitness program. While some challenge groups want you to use one specific program, for my groups, it doesn’t matter which program you’re doing because I just want to help you succeed. In this group, we post about the workouts, our nutrition, what we are struggling with, and our successes. It’s a great way to keep and build motivation.

The great thing about challenge groups is we are all there for the same reason and are all looking for support, motivation, and accountability.  Also it is helpful to hear about others experiences and share tips...good and bad!

You of course can skip workouts and eat junk and tell everyone you did the opposite and no one will know but who does that help? Definetly NOT YOU!  So be honest if you are struggling with workouts or just didn not feel like working out post that! if you ate a cupcake for lunch post it...BUT know that if you put half the effort in you will only get half the results! so be honest with yourself and put the work in...i promise it will be worth it!  Also remember nobody’s perfect! I do not always eat perfectly, and I do miss a workout but i try to make it up on a rest day or double up one day.  

There really is no better way to get the best results than by joining. It’s fun, and you build relationships with others who are facing the exact same challenges as you. It’s good support.

How to Be Part of the Next Challenge

1. I have to be your Coach.

2. You have to be following a Beachbody Program.

3. Be present in the daily posts! This is whole point of the group to post your daily workouts, successes and failures. 

What If I’m Not Your Coach

If you don’t already have a coach, click here to Create a free account and make me your coach.

(Already have a coach? Ask them if they run any challenge groups, and if not, you can always send me an email at makeyourselfstrong@yahoo.com and I can let you know how to switch coaches.)

Ready to Get Started?

Connect with me on Make Yourself Strong - Facebook, or contacting me at makeyourselfstrong@yahoo.com to see what groups we have going starting. 

On the Eve of 2015 I am thinking about my goals for the upcoming year.  New year, new chapter, bigger goals, better attitude.  I have so many things I plan to achieve in 2015, mentally, personally, family, financially.  It is actually a bit overwhelming when I try to think about it in my head.  So I have decided to list them here...to keep myself accountable.  To have a clear path of the things I need to work toward. Some are easier then others and the ones that seem easy are going to be the biggest challenges.

Top 10 Goals for 2015:

1. Spend more QUALITY time with my kids.  Put away the phone, listen to them, converse with them, actually think about what they are saying and respond better. 

2. Have more patience with my kids.  I tend to be a hot head and immediately yell and I know this is not good for them or for myself.

3.  I think #2 goes hand in hand with my 3rd goal which is to be consistent my physical fitness daily.  Exercise (run, beacbody, stretch, walks, hikes anything but something 30 minutes daily.) I know that this is the key to my patience.  Nomaste!

4. Eat more healthy meals at home and at work, which means more cooking...yikes ;)

5. Eliminate our debt, this is a goal I have want to be satisfied by May 2015!  (besides the major big ones like my mortgage)

6.  Help and inspire others to create a healthy lifestyle which of course will motivate me to do the same.

7. Have a more positive attitude about myself and others

8.  Work on my personal development with books and podcasts

9.  Eliminate clutter in my house...I feel like we have too much stuff.

10. Go on a date with my husband every 4-6 weeks no matter what!


I have already started working toward some of these goals when I became a coach with Team Beachbody and more specifically my actual team, TEAM BOOM has helped me get started on all these goals in 2014.  I am so happy to be part of an amazing team and a company who cares about the future health of the population. Love helping others and keeping each other motivated!


Recently an article was just published and listed Beachbody programs as 5 of the top 10 workout trends of 2014! How cool is that!

Click below to read the Top 10!
Biggest Workout Trends of 2014

Welcome!! I,  like many of you have struggled to lose the baby fat, muffin top, saddles bags, whatever you call it in your house.   Here is my story...

 I have always been into working out but after my second child the time and energy was not there like it used to be and the little i was doing was not working.

I continued to workout here and there but nothing consistent.  I have friends who are beachbody coaches and continued to see there posts on facebook about working out at home and being consistent.  

I had tried beachbody products in the past but never stuck to them.  I was running a lot, completing, 5Ks, 10Ks, and even half marathons but still not losing the weight.  Very fulfilling to be able to train and complete 13.1 miles but in the sense of weight loss not fulfilling for me.  I am not sure why some people lose weight running and others it makes little difference, guess its everyone is DIFFERENT.

I finally decided to try 21-Day Fix.  This was a great jump start program for me with the only 21 days of commitment.  I loved this program and followed the meal plan and lost about 10 pounds.  Still not feeling like  I was happy with my muffin top i decided to try Shakeology with my next program PIYO.  This was a game changer for me.

Learn more about 21-Day Fix

21 Day Fix results

I drink Shakeology in the morning as my breakfast meal and it fills me up, give me energy, curbs my cravings significantly.  I also started the 60-day PIYO program in July.  This is by far my favorite program. Low impact, and really stretched me out, i had developed some foot and ankle issues from all my running.  This program was truly amazing.  I had defined my back and shoulders like i never had before, abs started to appear and my "muffin" was FINALLY shrinking (not gone still a work in progress) but...7 years after the birth of my last baby...FINALLY!! What a great feeling!!

Learn more about PIYO

Learn more about Shakeology

I completed the 60 days of PIYO and I will continue to do PIYO 2-3 days a week with any work i am doing.  It is a perfect complimentry workout to every workout regime and has helped me in so many areas.  

I also did 2 rounds of 3 day refresh with Amazing results!! This is a great kickstart to any program or if you need to lose a couple pounds quickly. These are my results the first time around.

Learn more about 3-Day Refresh

I am not a fitness expert or nutrition expert, just someone who wants to share my experiences with others and try to pass along ideas and solutions that have helped me in my journey and can hopefully help and inspire others.  

Feel free to comment or email me at makeyourselfstrong@yahoo.com  I am happy to try to answer any questions or help find ideas and ways to motivate and inspire.