This is REALLY exciting for me! When I started coaching and then blogging almost 2 years ago, I started following a blog called Fat Chick to Fit Chick. I loved the way that Jennifer wrote, she’s HILARIOUS and insightful and full of wonderful pop-culture references! I LOVE funny people and all things funny! Besides that, she is so dang inspiring! Her transformation and her journey had me hooked! I have also used many of her recipes and workout ideas!
In short…LOVE HER!
So…I’ve been following her blog for quite some time. And I also follow her on Instagram and Facebook. I truly admire her. She has a sweet little girl she calls “Tink” and her husband Tim is hilarious, too! It’s funny how you feel like you sort of get to know these people you follow on Social Media, and to me, she had become a bit of a celebrity!
Therefore…when I contacted her about doing a Challenge Group with me, and she said YES! My heart was all a flutter! 🙂 She has been intrigued by The 21 Day FIX, so that is the program that she and her husband Tim will be doing in my next, very special edition, Challenge Group! You know I’ve talked a lot about this program in other posts, but I truly can’t say enough about it! I’ve seen SUCH amazing results with it! It is SO effective because it combines Fitness AND Nutrition! And let’s be honest…NUTRITION is the key! You can work out until you’re blue in the face (though I wouldn’t recommend it), but if you fall apart in the kitchen, you’re just not going to see results! You’ll get handy, color-coded portion control containers. So no need to count calories or points! If it fits in the container, you can eat it! And don’t worry…you won’t be hungry. Most participants are shocked at the amount of food they CAN eat! *There’s even a container for chocolate and wine! BAM! The workouts are quick (30 minutes!) and perfect for ANY level! They are basic; no fancy equipment needed, and no difficult choreography.
*If you’d like to join Jennifer, and ME, we’ll start on Monday, June 30. The deadline to join and order will be next Friday, June 20th.
Just fill in the info below, and I’ll give you the details you’ll need to join, and I’ll save you a spot!
I’ve stumbled onto something…and it’s my new favorite thing in the whole wide world!
I was making nachos for the kids the other night and decided that I would make myself some sorta health-ed up taco salad! So I had browned and seasoned the lean ground turkey for everyone, and now I just needed to figure out what I was going to do to make my salad deelish! I chopped up the veggies I wanted. I crunched up some baked blue corn tortilla chips – in place of the Doritos that we used to use. All that was left was the dressing! I think I only ever bought thousand island dressing for making taco salads in the past! (Doritos, too for that matter!) So I needed to find a substitute. My invention – as I am SURE that I am the ONLY person who ever thought of this 😉 – well go ahead and read the recipe!!!
Clean Eating Taco Salad (for 2)
1/2 pound lean ground turkey (browned and seasoned to your liking – I don’t use packaged seasonings, *I just make my own)
2 handfuls of baked blue corn tortilla chips – crunched (that’s what I used, feel free to add crunchy bits of your choosing)
2 romaine lettuce hearts – washed, rinsed and chopped
2 Roma tomatoes – diced
1/4 sweet onion – chopped
1/2 sweet bell pepper – chopped
Directions – Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss with the dressing…oh BOY…you’re going to LOVE this!
And for the DRESSING!
1/2 avocado
1/2 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt (I like Fage)
1/2 cup medium salsa (or whatever heat suits your fancy!)
1 lime – squeezed!
little fresh cilantro! (optional but delish!)
Directions for the dressing: BLEND! As in – use a blender, or a food processor would probably work, too!
Top with shredded cheese and black olives. And ENJOY the heck out of it! I have several times since my discovery! I’ve also been using the dressing as a dip, condiment, topping for random objects, etc.
*My taco seasoning consists of lots of chili powder, some cumin, paprika, garlic salt, pepper, oregano and a pinch of chipotle chili powder. I’m sorry…I don’t measure. So that’s probably not very helpful at all!
NOTE for 21 Day FIX-ers: If you’re following the 21 Day Fix OR the 21 Day Fix EXTREME, I use 1 red, 2 greens, 1 yellow and 1 blue and 1 orange for this deliciousness!
This recipe is from my FREE 7 – Day SlimDown plan!
Last week, for FIVE days, a group of ladies – mostly busy moms – made time for themselves! Imagine THAT! We focused on preparing healthy foods, and fitting in 30 minute workouts. We had a 5-day meal plan and a private group for support and accountability. We measured before we started and then hid the scale for 5 days! Five days later, we brought the scales back out and the results were AMAZING!
In just FIVE days, with 12 ladies reporting, they lost a combined total of 37.5 pounds! That’s an average of over 3 pounds each…in just five days! And truth be told…many of them admit to not getting in every 30 minute workout, but by just cleaning up their diet for 5 days, they lost the weight anyway!
Read their testimonials!
Kristin: “I lost 2 pounds and stayed on track. Thank you Angie!!! Your kindness shows through in helping others.”
Chris: “I lost 2.4 lbs., no inches. I love having the accountability because it keeps me on track! Thank you!”
Hope: “Happy … dropped 3 lbs! A start to those unwanted extra 7 I packed on during the fall/winter. Heading in the right direction. I’m feeling real good about what could be an awesome outcome with an exercise routine. Thanks for invite!”
Audra: “I too lost 3 pounds. Believe it or not. I didn’t exercise much. I did love the meal plan. I am excited to keep on going. Thanks Angie. I can’t wait to give the next one more commitment. I’m sure the results will be amazing.”
April: “I lost 2 pounds. I haven’t measured but I notice my stomach is a bit tighter and I cranked up my back workouts this week and loving the progress. Thanks so much for the motivation all week!!”
Sharon: “Down a pound and down 1.5 inches. Thank you Angie for coordinating this challenge for us! I loved having the accountability and the easy to follow meal plan. It definitely got me back on track with clean-eating and showed/reminded me that it’s not as hard to do it as sometimes I think AND I feel better and sleep better when I eat good, clean food! Thanks Angie ! You’re the best!”
Molly: “I lost 4 pounds! I didn’t see much change in my measurements. I’m going to keep using the meal plan but mix it up a little! My typical work day always included a stomach ache after lunch – no matter what I was eating – the healthy choice meal or a salad? I did not have one stomach ache this week!! I didn’t think I would be able to cut out the diet pop – it was hard but not as hard as I thought it would be! It was a very good week – I had to adjust some meals for my kids but hopefully they will work into more of the food as we keep going! Thanks for a great week with nice results!”
Debbie: “I lost 1.3 pounds. I just got P90X3 so anxious to start that. I never have an issue working out. I love to work out. I just can’t get the last bit of my diet dialed in. I have a mental hang up somewhere. Thanks for the great week.”
Stefanie: “I actually lost 1lb. I did eat clean But didn’t follow the meal plan 100%. I exercised only 2 this week. It really wasn’t about losing anything for me, but feeling energized and the good feeling you get when you eat clean!! Ty Angie Beech Hunt!!”
Kelley: “Loved this 5 day challenge! Before I got the stomach flu, I’d say I was at an 8 for the challenge. I love the hide the scale idea…I have to do that more often!!!! I lost 10.8, which some of that was due to being sick, but definitely not all! Thanks, Angie”
Michelle: “Really enjoyed this challenge, thank you Angie. I just got back from vacation so this was great for me to get right back on track! I have had so much energy this week and felt great! I lost 3 lbs and am very happy with that! I would give myself a 7 for excercise this week and a 9 for nutrition! I will be making my own meal plan today for next week. Thanks again!”
Nancy: “I was so excited to weigh and measure this morning! I lost 4 lbs and 5 inches! Even though I couldn’t workout much this week, I think being sick helped me not eat much. Angie, thank you SO much for doing the meal plan. I always thought eating clean would be harder…and it did take some extra planning, but I really liked all of the food! This is definitely something I am going to continue (with exercise).”
Now imagine what those results could have been with everyone focusing on BOTH exercise AND nutrition!
And then imagine what we could accomplish in 21 Days of clean eating and daily 30 minute workouts! Well, some of these ladies are going to find out! And you can, too! 🙂
Starting April 7, I’m starting a 21 Day Challenge. We’ll be using the EXTREMELY popular program – The 21 Day FIX. My first group with this program lost an average of 4 pounds/week each! One of the ladies lost 18 pounds in just 21 days – almost a pound a day!!! This program combines nutrition AND fitness. You’ll get an easy to follow nutrition guide that utilizes neat, color-coded containers that you fill with the foods you need to eat each day. You’ll be eating lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, veggies and good fats, in PROPER portion sizes! You won’t need to count calories or points or anything like that. If it fits in the container, you can eat it! And you’ll find that a little goes a long way! The most common comment from my first group was how satisfied everyone was eating this way every day! They were shocked, because they weren’t hungry! And the workouts? Every day you’ll do a different 30 minute workout. They are so effective and easily modified for anyone at ANY level of fitness!
I’m excited to start another group with this program, because it is SO effective! Deadline to join is March 31 and spots will be limited. So if you’re ready to commit for 21 days and see what you can achieve, provide your information below so that I can get you signed up and ready to go!
*Sorry, no coaches or anyone already working with a coach.
Oh. Em. Gee! This dressing is MONEY! I’m looking all over my house for things to put it on! Celery, carrots, spoons, bowls! I don’t buy dressing of any kind anymore, I just find it so much easier and healthier to make my own. Not to mention the artistic freedom I have, creating works of salad-topping art! Typically, I work in oils and vinegars…until my latest discovery…
Creamy Avocado “Ranch” Dressing!
*This recipe was inspired by a dressing recipe from “The 21 Day Fix”. I just had to tweak a few amounts and ingredients for my taste!
4 T. finely chopped herbs (I used dill, chives and parsley)
2 garlic cloves (minced)
3 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 C. low-fat buttermilk (more to adjust consistency if desired)
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste (lots of pepper for me!)
1/3 C. extra-virgin olive oil
Directions
Place avocado, yogurt, herbs, lemon juice, buttermilk, garlic, salt and pepper in a blender; cover (duh!). Blend until smooth.
Continue blending avocado mixture, slowly adding oil until well-blended. *Use more buttermilk if you prefer a thinner consistency.
Store in the frig, tightly covered, until ready for use. I filled a pint Ball jar to the top!
*This is tasty on salads, but also a great dip for raw veggies – and spoons! 😉
Best News: There are only 34 calories in 1 Tablespoon of this dressing…so go ahead and have 2!
Bestest News!: All of the ingredients are SUPER clean and healthy. I bet you can pronounce EVERY one of them! Well…”herbs” can be a little tricky. The “H” is silent! 😉
Unlike THIS chemical ____ storm ingredient list! YIKES! What the heck is disodium inosinate? My spell-checker doesn’t even recognize those as words, let alone FOOD! Blech!
21 Days, COMPLETE fitness and nutrition plan, AMAZING results!
*UPDATE: Limited Supply! Base kits have sold out until the end of March! Challenge Packs still available…read below!
Now there’s a program that makes losing weight so simple and easy to follow, you’ll never have to diet again! Counting calories and points can be a PAIN! You won’t need to do any counting with this program! And the workouts are just 30 minutes/day! Everyone can find 30 minutes!
A total body reset with ‘normal foods’! 🙂 The 21 Day Fix was designed to be tough and effective. But it’s also a program that takes the guesswork out of weight loss. It’s a unique portion-control system combined with easy-to-follow workouts that fit into anyone’s busy schedule.
The program’s trainer, Autumn Calabrese, has designed a plan that is the key focal point in this 21 day program. As you may know already, the Beachbody Ultimate Reset is a power 21-day total body cleanse that will give you insane results! However, the menu and foods can be quite intense and over-whelming. Well…good news. Autumn took the 21-Day Reset philosophy and broke it down using more traditional foods and meal planning. Also, unlike the Ultimate Reset, you are still able to workout with the 21 Day Fix! YAY!
The Meal Plan
When you purchase the 21 Day Fix, you will get portion-controlled containers to measure all of your food. Furthermore, Autumn outlines everything so you don’t have to do any kind of counting. If it fits into the container, you can eat it! Just fix, go and eat! What I like about the program is that she realizes that the ideals behind the program are not short-term. This has to work in real life! So she allows you to have things like chocolate and wine! You will develop behaviors during the 21 days that will become habits that will turn into a healthy lifestyle! Anyone can do this program! And you can do it again and again. As long as you want results, or whenever you need a short re-boot, this is your go-to program!
The Workouts
The program consists of 7 different workouts. Each workout lasts just 30 minutes and they are mixed up over the 3 weeks. The workouts can be done anywhere with very little equipment. Many of the moves are done with just body-weight. You’ll want a couple of hand-weights, and that’s about it. You’ll do a little of everything: yoga, pilates, strength-training, plyometrics, etc! The workouts are basic enough for beginners and challenging enough for more advanced users.
Test Groups
Initial test group participants, with people who stuck with the program, lost up to 10-15 pounds! And the weight loss won’t come from starving or depriving yourself! You’ll eat healthy, balanced meals, with plenty of calories. This is Beachbody’s first program to place equal emphasis on the nutrition AND fitness components…together!
I have a test group slated to start February 17! There’s still time to get your program and join the group for support, accountability and motivation! As of yesterday, base kits have sold out and are expected to begin shipping again at the end of March. BUT, challenge packs (with Shakeology) are ON SALE in February only, and still available for $140, which is like getting the program for $11! And you can order yours HERE!
To sign up for the Test Group, please provide your information below.
I’m still getting a zillion peppers from our CSA farm and trying to come up with different ways to use them ALL!
Step 1 – Share some with my neighbor!
Step 2 – Search the internet for recipes to start with and then change to match the contents of my fridge and pantry! Which brings us to last week’s creation:
Stuffed Pepper Soup – with lean ground turkey and quinoa (or brown rice)
Ingredients:
3 cups cooked quinoa or brown rice
1 T. olive oil
1 – 1.25 pounds of lean ground turkey
3 bell peppers (any color will do!) – chopped
1 med. onion – diced
3 cloves garlic – minced
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz.)
1 can tomato sauce
2-3 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 tsp. paprika
1 T. chili powder
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 t. marjoram
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Directions:
In a large pot, over medium heat, add olive oil, onion and garlic. Cook until the onion is translucent (about 2-3 minutes). Add turkey and cook through. Drain fat, if any. Add peppers and cook about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, 2 cups of chicken broth, paprika, chili powder, cayenne, marjoram, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes, adjusting consistency with reserved 1 C. of broth as needed. Serve with 1/2 cup of quinoa or brown rice.
Makes about 8 servings
Nutritional Information:
WITH quinoa/rice – 241 calories, 17 g. protein, 32 g. carbs
without quinoa – 131 calories, 13 g. protein, 12 g. carbs
News from Beachbody today! Two new programs are on the horizon! The theme is time! We have less and less time these days, and the number 1 reason people give for not getting in shape is “no TIME!”. Well that excuse is no longer valid!
First up is my old boyfriend Tony Horton with P90X3!!!
P90X3 is billed as the Accelerated Workout. That means you will get maximum results in the minimum time. The original P90X is incredibly effective and has worked for 1000′s of people, including ME, but there has been a lot of research and studies done in the last ten years which have resulted in new, refined training techniques that are more effective at getting the results you are looking for in the shortest amount of time. The program will consist of TWENTY different workouts, 30 minutes each! Expected to be available December 10!
Check out this video for a preview of what you can expect!
Want to be among the first to find out the minute it is available to order? P90X3 will be only be available through Beachbody Coaches like me for the first phase of the launch. It’s likely going to be in HIGH demand! I’ll alert you the moment the new X is ready for us to order if you provide your name and email address below!
Next up! There is a brand new trainer coming to Beachbody!
The 21 Day Fix program takes the guesswork out of weight loss. It’s a unique portion-control system combined with easy-to-follow workouts that fit into anyone’s busy schedule. Trainer Autumn Calabrese shares her passion for food and fitness as she shows you how to make simple choices that add up to life-changing results. Test group results were AMAZING! Expected to be available in February 2014, just in time work on your New Year’s Resolutions!
As I mentioned above, coaches and their customers will be the first to be able to order! So provide email below, and I’ll let you know the SECOND you can order! 🙂
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I’m super excited about BOTH of these! 🙂 Add them to Shaun T’s Focus T25, which is already getting people fitter than they’ve ever been in a lot LESS time, and Beachbody is ending the trend of obesity…. quicker than ever! 🙂
This is REALLY exciting for me! When I started coaching and then blogging almost 2 years ago, I started following a blog called Fat Chick to Fit Chick. I loved the way that Jennifer wrote, she’s HILARIOUS and insightful and full of wonderful pop-culture references! I LOVE funny people and all things funny! Besides that, she is so dang inspiring! Her transformation and her journey had me hooked! I have also used many of her recipes and workout ideas!
