Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Clean Eating French Onion Soup - 21 Day Fix Approved

On Monday, I started 22 Minute Hard Corps from Tony Horton.  To say I love this program is an understatement.  I can do all the exercises, but it challenges me so much!  I can barely get through the entire workout.  It is so much fun and as an added bonus, my kiddo is participating.  I love being able to workout with my kiddo!



I have had several requests for a 21 Day Fix French Onion Soup.  I have been thinking about it for a while deciding the best way to go about it.  Our family has always loved Kelsey Nixon's French Onion soup, but it was not Fix approved.  I have been working on tweaking her recipe and I think I have come up with full flavored, fix approved soup.


Start by cutting up 4 large sweet onions into thin slivers.  Using a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Once oil is hot, turn down heat to low and add onions, thyme, and pepper.  Over low heat, cook onion mixture for 30-50 minutes, stirring frequently.  Keep an eye on the onions, they will burn if not stirred.  Onions will become a golden brown and very soft.


Add flour and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add wine and scrape up anything caught to the bottom of the pan.  Increase heat to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes.  Add beef and chicken stock.  Bring back to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.  Season with pepper.


During the last five minutes, prepare your bread.  Turn oven to broil.  Use whole wheat or oatmeal bread.  Use 1/2 slice bread for each serving.  Cut bread into small pieces.  Arrange bread on baking sheet and toast until crispy, 3-5 minutes.


Remove thyme from dutch oven.  Pour soup into 6 oven-safe crocks.  (For 21 Day Fix, 1 1/2 green containers.)  Top with 1/2 slice of bread and 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese.


Place crocks under broiler for 3-5 minutes or cheese is melted and begins to brown.  Be careful removing the crocks from the oven.  They will be super hot.  Enjoy!



Clean Eating French Onion Soup
Servings: 6 servings
Time: Prep: 10 minutes
          Cook: 1 hour 10 minutes
Containers: 1 Green, 1/2 Red, 1/4 Yellow, 1/2 Blue

Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup Olive Oil
  • 4 Large Sweet Onions
  • 8 Sprigs of Thyme
  • 1 tsp Pepper
  • 1 tbs Sorghum Flour 
  • 1 cup Dry White Wine
  • 6 cups Low Sodium Beef Broth
  • 2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
  • 3 slices of Whole Wheat or Oatmeal Bread
  • 6 tbsp Mozzarella Cheese
Directions:
  • Slice onions in thin slivers.
  • Heat Olive Oil in a dutch oven over medium heat.  When oil is hot, reduce heat to low.  Add onions, thyme, and pepper.  Cook over low for 30-50 minutes, stirring frequently.  Onions will be golden brown and very soft.
  • Add flour and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add wine and scrape bottom of pan.  Increase heat to high and bring to a boil.  Boil for 2-3 minutes.  Add beef and chicken broth.  Bring back to boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and simmer for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to broil.  Cut bread into small pieces.  Arrange bread on baking sheet and broil for 3-5 minutes or crispy.
  • Remove thyme.  Pour soup into 6 oven-safe crocks.  Top with bread and cheese.  Place crocks under broiler for 3-5 minutes or cheese is melted and begins to brown.
  • Enjoy!

Sunday, March 13, 2016

Blackberry Cheesecake Shakeology

Lately, I have been obsessed with blackberries.  Not sure why.  But they have been cheap at Sam's and are very sweet.  At the same time, I am not a fan of cheesecake.  Not sure why.  I love cake and I love cream cheese.  But together, not so much.

However, when I saw sugar free cheesecake pudding at the store, I wanted to try it in Shakeology.  I had seen a couple recipes with sugar-free Jello and wanted to try it out for myself.

It turned out very yummy.  Even kiddo wanted more.


Blackberry Cheesecake Shakeology

Time: 3 Minutes
Serving Size: 1

Ingredients:
1 scoop Vanilla Shakeology
2 tbsp Sugar Free Cheesecake Jello (just the powder)
6oz Unsweetened Almond Milk
6oz Water
1 cup Fresh or Frozen Blackberries

Directions:
Add all ingredients to blend.  Blend until smooth.


Monday, March 7, 2016

Blackberry Vanilla Shakeology

Yesterday, I had a long run scheduled.  It was supposed to be 11 miles, but my crazy brain said to keep going so I made it 13.1.  It felt nice to knock that out.  Now I know I will be able to complete my half in May.  It is a nice feeling.

After my run, I was so craving something sweet and fruity, so I came up with this simple Shakeology recipe.

Blackberry Vanilla Shakeology

Serving Size: 1 serving
Time:
Prep: 3-5 minutes

Ingredients:
1 Cup Fresh or Frozen Blackberries
1 Scoop Vanilla Shakeology
6oz Unsweetened Almond Milk
10oz Water
1 tsp Honey

Directions:
Put all ingredients in a blender.  Blend until smooth.



Wednesday, March 2, 2016

21 Day Fix Approved Chipotle Ranch Dressing

I love chipotle ranch.  It is my favorite salad dressing and dip.  Last weekend, I saw it used on a hamburger.  It sounded so good, but not at all 21 Day Fix approved.  So I set out to make my own.

I like my food on the spicy side, so I added a little more chipolte.  You can add as little or as much as you would like to get your level of spicy.


21 Day Fix Approved Chipotle Ranch Dressing

Serving Size: 1/2 Red Container
Servings: 2-3 depending on how you fill your Red Container

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Idle Time: 2 hours to refrigerate if used as a dip

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup 1% Cottage Cheese
2 Tbsp low fat plain Greek yogurt
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1 Tbsp 1% milk or unsweetened almond milk
1/2 Tsp Onion Powder
1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 Tsp dried Dill
1 Tbsp diced Green Onion
1 Tbsp parsley
1/2 can Chipotles in Adobe Sauce

Directions:
Add all ingredients to blended.  Blend until smooth.  (Dressing will be thin.)
If using as a dip, refrigerate for 2 hours.
Portion into one red container for a serving.