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OMG – It Worked!

Sweet Potato Chips – in the MICROWAVE!  OMG – WTH – LOL!  chips

So…I’ve seen the recipes for these a few times and thought, “NO way this would ever work!” That’s what you’re thinking RIGHT now…isn’t it?! Well, like me…you’d be wrong! This actually works!

I was HIGHLY skeptical! But my husband was trolling Pinterest or something and insisted we give this a try. So, I got out my madolin slicer gizmo – which is just kinda fun to play with! This thing is CRAZY sharp, and I am known to be a walking disaster, so I wear the protective gloves lest I slice off a finger.

I digress…

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • 1 sweet potato – I didn’t even peel it!
  • parchment paper
  • something to slice with
  • olive oil spray
  • sea salt
  • a microwave
  • 4-5 minutes

Directions: So I scrubbed, dried and sliced a sweet potato pretty thin, not see-through, but thin! I think it would be hard to get it right if you were slicing by hand, unless you are super skilled at knifery! You could also use a food processor with the slicing attachment. After I sliced them, I spread them out on a piece of parchment paper that I cut to fit on my twirly, glass, microwave plate (so that it wouldn’t get caught up as it spun around). Then, I sprayed them with the olive oil spray and sprinkled with sea salt. I microwaved them for about 4 minutes – but watch them as it gets close! When you see the edges start to curl, keep an eye on them and stop before they start getting TOO brown! It shouldn’t take any more than 5 minutes – TOPS! I took them out and let them cool for about 30 seconds. Like magic, they turned all crispy and delicious! I was stunned!

Downside: You can only make a small handful at a time this way. So it’ll probably take a total of about 20 minutes to do the whole potato…unless you figure out a clever way to do more in one batch than I did. 🙂 But for a tasty, crispy, salty snack that is practically guilt-free…this is worth a little effort!

*I am not an advocate for microwaving meals and snacks all of the time. I am sure I lost a couple of brain cells or something in the process…but I did it for science. And I’ll do it again! 🙂

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*21 Day Fix (above recipe makes about 2 servings) – each serving is 1 yellow

 

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Things I ❤! Thursday

Today I am LOVING our CSA farm! Do you know what CSA is? I’ve talked about it on my little blog here before, but it stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and I am a BIG fan!

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I found out about this whole concept a few years ago and I was immediately interested! When we moved to Michigan a few years back, I was on a mission to find a farm near us where I could get involved. I found Stone Coop Farm in Brighton, Michigan – run by the 2 smartest, friendliest farmers you’ll ever know! It is clear, from the second you meet Joannée and Shannon that they are truly working their life’s passion. All of the produce, and eggs are certified organic and non-gmo. Which is becoming more and more important as we learn about the less than stellar sources for the foods we’ve been eating.

As a CSA member, you pay for a share of the farm’s harvest. So for us, that means that every week, we go to the farm and pick up our weekly share. Depending on the season, we get anywhere from 5-10 different veggies. I have been introduced to some new and exciting produce that I had never tried before. It’s kind of fun actually to cook based on what I get in my share each week. It forces me to look up new recipes and try new things! We are now hooked on kale and kohlrabi as a result of our farm share.

Of course, I’m totally spoiled too…I can hardly stand to eat a store tomato anymore! The colors and varieties of veggies are astounding! I never knew there were purple peppers and beans! Or purple and yellow carrots! Tomatoes come in so many shapes, sizes and colors, but sadly…we usually only ever see 2-3 varieties in our grocery stores. In the grocery store, we get red and round tomatoes, because they pack, stack and keep longer than the farm fresh varieties. The produce we get from grocery stores are genetically modified to look the same, keep longer for shipping and be uniformly sized and shaped so that they can be boxed and displayed efficiently. And guess what they DON’T have…TASTE!

This is going to be my third year as a ‘helping share’ member. That means that I actually work a little for the farm and in exchange, I get a discount on my share! Cool right! My “job” is to work at the local farmers’ market on the weekends and sell our beautiful produce. I like talking to the customers and ask them what they’re making to eat with the goodies they buy! I’ve gotten some pretty good ideas!

And I’ve LEARNED so much! Joannee and Shannon are a wealth of information! Our kids have gotten involved, too. We’ve taken them out to the farm to help out quite a bit. They like to hang out with the chickens and squish tomato worms – the nastiest, fattest, green caterpillar – things you’ve ever seen! And we’ve discovered that when you step on them, they pop like a tomato juice-filled water balloon! YUCK!

Anyway…I’m excited because summer is just around the corner. I just got my first of 5 spring shares that will have a lot of nice green leafy veggies that they grow in hoop houses in the dead of winter in Michigan! I’m in awe of everything they do, and I’m so proud to be a part of it! I love knowing that our food is fresh, clean, local, organic, and non-gmo. . I highly suggest supporting your local farms! If you can find a CSA – GREAT! If not, make sure you check out your local farmers markets, but ask a lot of questions! Not all booths at a farmers markets, are actual farmers…or selling food from actual farms! Get involved, and be informed!

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Time for a GIVEAWAY!

Giveaway

Who doesn’t love a giveaway? I’m excited to share 3 flavor samples: (chocolate, strawberry and vanilla)

plus a handy shaker cup with 2 lucky winners!

Just enter below to win!

You have until midnight on Sunday to enter. Winners will be announced on Tuesday.

*Offer not available to coaches, or anyone working with another coach.

So, IF you’re not a coach, and don’t currently have a coach, you’re eligible to win! 🙂

Just click the link below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Let’s Catch up, and Plan Some Meals!

First, here’s what happens when you’re not the greatest muti-tasker in the world. I get big ideas, and try to spin as many plates as I can at the same time. So, earlier, while I was preparing and putting our dinner into the crock pot to enjoy later, I had some leftover ground turkey that I didn’t want to freeze. I thought, “Hey, I’ll just patty these suckers up and throw them on the grill to enjoy later on this week”. I like to add them to salads, wraps, etc…so I’m thinking ahead, right? Well, thinking ahead is no good, unless you continue thinking until your project is complete. I slapped them on the grill, as planned, and got busy spinning at least four other plates and totally forgot about them until about 45 minutes later. And the only reason I remember them at that point, was because someone randomly used the word “turkey”. TURKEY!!! $#*T! And this was the finished product of that experiment.

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Luckily dinner was a success! That meatloaf recipe is SO good and SO easy! It turns out GREAT every time! And the only thing that I do differently is to add 1 C. ground oats (the old-fashioned, rolled kind), because I don’t know nothing bout no whole wheat panko – I haven’t located such a thing as of yet! My mom always uses oats in her loaves of meat, so I knew it would work out just fine!

I made it through my first week of Insanity…relatively unscathed! It’s become evident that I will be doing extra loads of laundry for the duration! I get sweatier during this workout than any I’ve done thus far. Even sweatier than when I run! I don’t mind it though. It’s a challenge for sure, but I love the feeling of doing something that has been a little out of my comfort zone and finding that I CAN do it! Yes it’s hard, but if it wasn’t, there’d be no point in doing it! I’m flirting with the idea of doing a hybrid with Chalean Extreme and only because I LOVE lifting so much. I really love the results that I get when I do it and I don’t want to lose ground on all of the hard work I’ve put in with Chalean Extreme AND Les Mills Pump. I want the benefits of both cardio AND weights! Also, I’m a little ADD…and it helps to mix it up a little during the week.

And now on to the meal plan…I sat outside on this glorious, sunny, summer-like spring day with some of my Beachbody cookbooks. I grabbed the Food Guides from Les Mills Pump and Chalean Extreme; there’s some good eats in there! Just trying a few different recipes this week…mixing it up…keeping it fresh…you know. Also, I had to include a couple of meals that STILL have not been cooked from like 2 weeks ago. This is the time of year when wrenches are thrown left and right! You gotta stay on your toes! I WILL cook those pizzas on the grill if it KILLS me!!! I’m going to be grilling up some flank steak this week, too. I’m a little nervous, because I don’t believe I’ve had beef more than once since about October! I hope it doesn’t wreak havoc on my already ‘iffy’ digestive system! Fingers crossed!

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Click here to print and link to recipes.

Have an over the top FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC week! 🙂