Tortellini Primavera

I have been trying a lot of great recipes lately, all of which are SO easy to make and are healthy.  This one has to be one of my faves though.  In fact, it was a family favorite.  I found the recipe on eatingwell.com and since I'm a HUGE pasta lover, I just had to give it a try :)
 
Makes: 5 servings, about 1 1/4 cups each
Active Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
 

Ingredients

• 1 14-ounce can vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 cup shredded fontina cheese or 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon, dill or chives or 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups chopped vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots and snap peas, or 16-ounce bag frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 16-ounce package frozen cheese tortellini

Preparation

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil.
2. Meanwhile, whisk broth and flour in a small bowl. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until just beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the broth mixture to the pan, bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in cheese, tarragon (or dill or chives) and salt.
3. Add vegetables and tortellini to the boiling water; return the water to a simmer and cook until the vegetables and tortellini are tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Drain; add to the pan with the sauce and stir to coat.

Nutrition

Per serving: 424 calories; 15 g fat (8 g sat, 4 g mono);68 mg cholesterol; 55 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 14 g protein; 5 g fiber; 566 mg sodium; 321 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (126% daily value), Calcium (20% dv), Vitamin C (17% dv), Folate (16% dv).
Carbohydrate Servings: 3
Exchanges: 3 starch, 1 1/2 vegetable, 1 high-fat meat, 2 fat

25 Minute Total Body Burnout

This total body workout will target cardio, abs, glutes, quads, ect.  I just put it together and tested it out and it should take you no longer than 25 min to do :)

RUSSIAN TWIST
Feet can be off the ground or lightly touching the ground.
punch the floor twisting side to side for 1 min

Pulse Thru Crunches
Chin away from the chest and pulse
through with your hands between
your knees.  Short fast bursts

 

Bowler Lunge
Just as the name says.  Lunge back as if
you're bowling.  When it comes to the
pulses, keep the legs back and
pulse down to the ground.  Shift all
your upper body weight onto the leg you're
working, but make sure the knee stays
behind the toe!

Strawberry Shortcake Without the Cake

I absolutely LOVE Strawberry Shortcake and was having a craving for it last night, so I whipped this up and loved it.  I'm sure most of you have done this before, but I just added a few twists here and there.


2.5 C Halved Strawberries
1/4 C Sugar
Mix Sugar and Strawberries until somewhat mashed and a little syrup texture.  Then add 2 cups blueberries and stir.

Mix in the LITE Cool Whip and Refrigerate until after dinner.

When ready to serve top with crushed up graham crackers and Enjoy!

Blueberries are optional.  I just had a lot so I threw some in there.  Nutrition information is based on a 1 cup serving size per person.

21 Day Fix Breakfast

Here are two versions of breakfast ideas based off the 21 Day Fix Program.

Mine is 2 purple containers of fruit, 3 pieces of turkey bacon equals 1 red protein container, 1 piece of whole wheat bread equals 1 yellow grain container and 1tbsp of PB equals 1/2 orange healthy fat container.



Adam's 2 red with scrambled eggs (I think 3) and 2 pieces of Turkey bacon for the protein container, 1 green which is filled with chopped broccoli for the vegetable container, and 1 purple was filled with blueberries and strawberries for the fuit container.

You are allowed to fill each container a certain amount of times throughout the day (for example, in my meal I used 2 purple containers.  I still had 2 more that I could use throughout the day).  Make sure that you get a good source of your protein in within 90 mintues post workout.  I workout mid afternoon, so I have my Shakeology as my lunch and after workout meal..just a suggestion!  Either way, just use a red container :)

Cornmeal-Crusted Chicken Nuggets with Blackberry Mustard

I found this recipe on eatingwell.com and I just had to try it.  I have my own version of chicken nuggets that I made for Mya a while back and these looked too good to pass up.  Plus, I was intreged by the Blackberry Mustard.  Here is my opinion about the meal.  I really, really enjoyed it.  Adam liked it better than I did, however, he is a blackberry fan and I am not.  Blackberries are just too sour for me.  The recipe says that you can do it with raspberries and I think next time I'm going to do that and I know I will be absolutely in love.  For the first time ever making it I just wanted to follow the recipe exactly.  It's a different way to eat chicken nuggets and I will definitely be making it again :)

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh blackberries or raspberries, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 pound chicken tenders, cut in half crosswise (see Tip)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

 

Preparation

1. Mash blackberries (or raspberries), mustard and honey in a small bowl until it looks like a chunky sauce.
2. Sprinkle chicken tenders with salt and pepper. Place cornmeal in a medium bowl, add the chicken and toss to coat (discard any leftover cornmeal).
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook the chicken, turning once or twice, until browned and just cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes total (thinner nuggets will cook faster than thicker ones). Serve the chicken nuggets with the berry mustard.

Tips & Notes

• Chicken tenders are the lean strips of rib meat typically found attached to the underside of chicken breasts. They can also be purchased separately. Four 1-ounce tenders will yield a 3-ounce cooked portion. Tenders are perfect for quick stir-fries, chicken satay or kid-friendly breaded “chicken nuggets.”

Nutrition

Per serving: 184 calories; 5 g fat (1 g sat, 3 g mono);67 mg cholesterol; 9 g carbohydrates; 3 g added sugars; 26 g protein; 2 g fiber; 452 mg sodium; 70 mg potassium.

Carbohydrate Servings: 1

Exchanges: 1 starch, 4 lean meat, 1 fat

Sculpted Arms with NO Equipment

Arm Workout

Sculpting the biceps, triceps, shoulders, back and chest


ALL MOVES ARE 45 seconds with 15 second break:

1. Push Ups
2. Tricep Dips
3. Downward Dog Push Ups
4. Plank
5. Small Arm Circles/rest/Reverse


ALL MOVES ARE 50 seconds with 10 second break:

1. Tricep Push Ups
2. Plank Dips (dip hip down from side to side)
3. Wide Push Ups
4. Up/Down Plank
5. Downward Dog Push Ups


ALL MOVES ARE 60 seconds with 20 second break:

1. Small Arm Circles
2. Reverse
3. Alternating Superman
4. 3 Burpees then 5 Push ups & repeat for 60 sec
5. Push Ups

10 STRETCH


Alternating Superman

Countdown from 100 Workout

Countdown from 100 Workout

100 Jumping Jacks

90 Crunches

80 Reverse Crunches

70 Lunges

60 Jumping Jacks

50 Squats

40 Crunches

30 Leg Lifts

20 Jumping Jacks

10 Minute Run

Reverse Crunches

 

LEG LIFTS