Ultimate Chopped Salad with Creamy Avocado Pesto Ranch Dressing

What do you do on Saturday afternoon when you have a thousand things to do and yet another vacation to start packing for…COME UP WITH A NEW RECIPE OF COURSE!

I was craving a salad…go figure…and I had all the fixins for this amazing chopped salad! The dressing is totally amazing! It is seriously bowl-licking good!!!

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You could really interchange the veggies, based on personal preferences and what you have on-hand!

The amounts I used here served 2-3 people.

I used:chop_salad4

  • 1 romaine lettuce head
  • 4-6 Roma tomatoes (from our CSA)
  • red onions to taste (from our CSA)
  • 1 yellow pepper
  • 1 English cucumber
  • 1/2 avocado

Directions: Chop all of the veggies into small, bite-sized pieces. In my opinion, that is what makes a good chopped salad! Place all of the veggies into a big bowl

For the dressing (should be MORE than you need):chop_salad2

  • 1/2 avocado
  • 1/4 c. Greek yogurt
  • 1 garlic clove – chopped/minced (I used garlic scapes from our CSA.)
  • 1 T. white balsamic vinegar
  • Juice from 1/2-1 lemon (depending on size and taste)
  • 1/2 cup basil leaves (or just a nice bunch!)
  • 1/4 c. olive oil
  • salt & pepper to taste

chop_salad1Directions: Place everything except the oil into a blender or food processor and pulse until it starts to come together. Then blend, while slowly drizzling the olive oil into the mix (may use less or more depending on taste and desired consistency). Add by spoonfuls into the veggie bowl and gently toss together until everything is lightly coated with dressing. Reserve the rest for later!

*Optional Extras: add some chopped grilled chicken, feta cheese, nuts, beans, etc…you can’t make a mistake with this!

 

 

For 21 Day Fix:
1 blue, 1 teaspoon, 1.5 greens per serving

21 Day Fix and 21 Day Fix Extreme Challenge Packs are on sale through the end of July! You can actually get either program PLUS Shakeology for LESS than a one-time order of Shakeology! Check out the links below! And then go make this salad!!!

check_out_fix_cp 21dfx_cp_button*I’ll coach you through it – for FREE – as I have SO many others! I’ve seen women lose up to 10-15 pounds in the first 21 days…and just keep going! I’ve seen men lose even more! (not fair though is it?) Just join my next challenge, and you won’t be alone. I’ll help you every step of the way!

purple-button-CHALLENGE

 

10 Tips to Get Back On Track After Vacation

If you’ve ever been on vacation – gee I sure HOPE you have! – than you KNOW it can be a real B!+(# to get back on track!

Vacations are SO fun! There’s eating out and drinks, late nights and snacks, treats and ignored workouts! And then…you come home…. Scale? What scale? I don’t see a scale! Please don’t make me stand on that scale! That’s when reality hits, and regret follows: WHY did I do it?! WHY WHY WHY!!!???

Nothing a little hard work and dedication can’t fix!

Here are my top 10 tips for getting back on track after a vacation!

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1. Re-hydrate! Drink half your body weight in ounces of water per day to help flush those toxins from all that fun OUT of your body! Add some cut-up fruit for flavor (lemons, limes, berries, etc…). You’ll feel less bloated and better each day!

2. Re-fibrate! Eat lots of plant-foods plus oats, chia, flax, seeds and beans to clean out your insides and move the junk OUT of your body!

3. No eating late! Close the kitchen early and give your body time to digest before you lay down to sleep. You’ll sleep better and feel better in the morning.

4. State your goals. If you’ve fallen off track and want to get back on, sit down with pen and paper and remind yourself WHY it’s important for you to re-commit and get to work. Then it’s REAL!

5. Create a game plan. HOW are you going to reach those goals? Schedule your workouts, create a meal plan and shopping list and stick to it!

6. Start NOW! What are you waiting for? Don’t put off your goals for one more second. Every little step forward gets you closer to where you want to be.

7. Tell a friend. Maybe they’ll want to join you, but at the very least you’re holding yourself more accountable to your goals when you tell someone what you’re up to.

8. Get moving! Lace up and get sweaty! You will always feel better when you get in a good workout each day. You are more likely to stick to your nutritional goals when you’ve worked out early in the day. Who wants to sabotage that early morning workout?!

9. Eat at home. You can control what you eat when you prepare your foods at home. On vacation we eat out and consume a lot more fats and sodium than we would typically eat at home. Take a break from eating out and feed yourself clean, whole foods.

10. Get your Zzzz’s! I struggle to sleep in a bed other than my own, so when I get home from vacation, I always feel like I need a vacation! Does that make sense? Sleep a little extra to help your body recover from lost hours of sleep while you were away.
I’ll be tackling almost every one of these with the 3 Day Refresh!

What is the 3 Day Refresh? Watch and learn! 😉

I’ve done it before with GREAT results, so I’m doing it again. And the best part is that I won’t be starving myself – unlike some other detox/cleanse type programs.

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The last time I did the #3DayRefresh, I felt less bloated the first day! I could tell a noticeable difference the second day! I just felt leaner and my tummy was definitely flatter! And after the third day I woke up with the following results:

I lost 4 pounds! 
Waist shrunk 1.5 inches!

*Now, of course you cannot lose 4 pounds of body fat in 3 days, BUT you can shed excess fluid and CRAP (literally!) that your body is holding on to from feeding it ‘not so nice’ foods!

It was a great re-boot! And it’s a fantastic way to get back on track after vacations and/or holidays!

UPDATE! Here are my NEW results!!! LOL!

Exact same as last time! 4 pounds and 1.5 inches!

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For more information click HERE.

To save some money when you bundle the 3 Day Refresh together with Shakeology, and/or another fitness program, click on the pictures below!

3 Day Refresh + Shakeology

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3 Day Refresh + Beachbody on Demand + Shakeology

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3 Day Refresh + 21 Day Fix + Shakeology

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3 Day Refresh + 21 Day Fix Extreme + Shakeology

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