Banana Bread Oatmeal - Yummo!!

Slow Cooker Banana Bread Oatmeal

 Original post from Team Beachbody

Whoever said, “Life is short. Eat dessert first,” probably meant first thing in the morning. Right? Hmm. While birthday cake for breakfast might sound like the stuff of dreams, it certainly won’t help you fit into your skinny jeans. And crashing out by 10 am because you haven’t had any protein or fiber is definitely more of a nightmare.

Luckily, with this Slow Cooker Banana Bread Oatmeal, breakfast can taste like dessert while still being a wholesome and nutritious way to fuel your day. It’s got all of the flavor of a luscious slice of banana bread, without the oily fat (or the extra smear of butter on top). Cinnamon, nutmeg, and three whole bananas give it authentic “baked-in” taste. Ground flax seeds give it extra nuttiness and a boost of fiber and healthy omega-3s. And, the best part is, this recipe cooks overnight and is ready to eat when you wake up!



It’s super simple to make. Just pour all of the ingredients into a slow cooker before you go to bed. In the morning, you’ll be able to fumble your way to the kitchen with your eyes half-closed by following the scent of freshly baked banana bread. All you need to do is spoon your serving into a bowl, top it with chopped walnuts, maple syrup, and almond milk, and your banana bread breakfast is ready to eat (or heat it up in the microwave if it’s been stored in the fridge).

If you’re one of those people who leaps out of bed at the first twinkle of the alarm, you might consider the additional, but worthwhile, step of toasting the walnuts you’ll sprinkle on your Banana Bread Oatmeal. Simply heat a dry pan on the stove and toss in the walnuts. Gently shake the pan as they cook, until the nuts smell… well, nutty… then immediately remove them from the heat. WARNING: Do not attempt to toast walnuts if you can barely remember your own name before a cup – make that two – of coffee. Nuts can go from delightfully toasted to charcoal in the blink of a (very sleepy) eye.



Slow Cooker Banana Bread Oatmeal
Total Time: 8 hrs. 10 min.
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cooking Time: None
Yield: 6 servings, about 3/4 cup each

Ingredients:
3 cups water
4 cups unsweetened almond milk, divided use
1 cup dry steel-cut oats
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
6 Tbsp. ground flaxseed
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. sea salt (or Himalayan salt)
½ tsp. ground nutmeg
¼ cup pure maple syrup
6 Tbsp. chopped raw walnuts

Preparation:
1. Place water, 1 cup almond milk, oats, bananas, flaxseed, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg in a 3-quart slow cooker; cover. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or until oats are soft but chewy.
2. Top each serving evenly with maple syrup, walnuts, and remaining almond milk; serve immediately.

Photographs by Kirsten Morningstar

Fixate Roasted Acorn Squash

This is a delish and super easy side dish.  It made the house smell so good too!!  I had never cooked acorn squash before but it was super easy and my hubby and I loved it! Be careful when you cut it in half though.  It's a little awkard.

Fixate Roasted Acorn Squash

Serves 4 (1/2 squash each)

Container Equivalents 3 green 1 tsp

Ingredients

• Nonstick Spray
• 2 medium acorn squash, halved, seeded
• ½ tsp sea salt (or Himalayan salt)
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 4 tsp unsalted organic grass-fed butter
• 4 tsp pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheight
2. Coat large baking sheet with spray. Place squash, cut side down, on baking sheet.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until tender crisp.
4. Turn cut side up. Season with salt and pepper. Dot each half with 1 tsp. butter: drizzle with 1 tsp. maple syrup. Sprinkle evenly with cinnamon and nutmeg.
5. Bake for 15 to 20 additional minutes, or until tender.

Fixate Creamy Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

I loved this and this will be a go-to lunch for me!  It makes enough for a few days and I think it was actually better the next day.  Make it super easy on yourself and get a rotisserie cooked chicken at the grocery store.  Makes the prep of this super fast and you have more chicken for other recipes for the week.

Creamy Chicken Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing

Serves 4 (1 1/4 cup each) and you will have plenty of dressing for other things.

Container Equivalents  1 green 1 red 1/2 purple 1/2 blue 1/2 orange

 Ingredients:

• 3 cups chopped rotisserie chicken breast (boneless / skinless)
• 1/2 cup chopped green apple
• 1/2 cup seedless red grapes, cut in half
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 2 green onions, sliced (I did not use as I don't care for them)
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh tarragon (I did not use)
• 1/4 cup Honey Mustard Dressing (see below)
• 8 cups shredded romaine lettuce

Directions:

1. Combine chicken, apple, grapes, almonds, green onions, tarragon, and Honey Mustard Salad Dressing in a large bowl.  Mix well, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Serve 1 1/4 cup Creamy Chicken Salad over 2 cups of romaine lettuce per serving.   

Honey Mustard Dressing
** Serves 8 with 2 Tbsp per serving
** 1 Orange Container

• 1/2 cup reduced fat plain Greek yogurt
• 3 Tbsp Dijon mustard, gluten-free
• 3 Tbsp raw honey
• 3 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Sea Salt to taste (optional) 

Directions: Combine yogurt, mustard, honey, and vinegar in a medium bowl and mix well. Slowly add the oil, whisking constantly until well blended.  

Fixate Beef Stew with Sweet Potatoes

My entire family absolutely LOVED this recipe.  It takes some prep and planning for time.  You need to let it simmer on the stove for 2 hours.  Total time is about 3 hours but most of that it is simmering and you can go do other things, like maybe workout?  :)

I made a couple of changes so I'll note those below.

Beef Stew with Sweet Potatoes
Serves 6
Container Equivalents 1/2 green  1/2 yellow  1  1/2 red

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil
1 lb. 10 oz. raw lean beef stew meat
1 medium onion chopped
1 medium carrot, sliced
2 medium celery stalks chopped
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
8 cups low sodium organic beef broth
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 tsp sea salt or Himalayan salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground paprika
3 bay leaves (I did not have any so I left them out)
2 medium tomatoes chopped
2 large sweet potatoes cut into 1 inch cubes (I used cubed butternut squash that I found already cut for me at the grocery store)
2 tsp cornstarch
lukewarm water

Directions:

1.  Heat oil in large pot (I used a dutch oven) over medium high heat.

2.  Add stew meat; cook, stirring frequently, for 4-5 minutes, or until browned.

3.  Add onion, carrot and celery; cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes, or until onion is translucent.

4.  Add garlic; cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute.

5.  Add 1 cup broth and the wine; cook, stirring constantly, scraping bottom of pan so beef doesn't stick, for 5-8 minutes, or until liquid is reduced in half.

6.  Add salt, pepper, paprika, bay leaves and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; gently boil, stirring occasionally, for 5-8 minutes, or until liquid has almost completely evaporated, and tomatoes begin to break down.

7.  Add remaining 7 cups broth.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Reduce heat; gently boil, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours.

8.  Add sweet potatoes, cook, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are tender.

9.  Combine cornstarch and water in a small bow; whisk to blend.

10.  Add cornstarch mixture to stew; cook, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes, or until stew has thickened slightly.

Enjoy!

Chocolate, peanut butter and banana sweet treat!

Here's a delish "cheat clean" sweet treat that is even Fix approved!! For something so decadent and delish, it only has 300 calories and provides 7 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber.

Ingredients:
1 (6-inch) whole wheat tortilla
1 Tbsp. all-natural smooth peanut butter
½ large banana, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp. dark chocolate (or semi-sweet) morsels

Preparation:
1. Spread half of tortilla with peanut butter.
2. Top peanut butter with banana and chocolate morsels. Fold tortilla in half; cook in medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, for 4 to 5 minutes, turning once, until chocolate is melted and tortilla is golden brown.

Sit down and enjoy your clean cheat!!

Recipe from Team Beachbody

Ladies only.....are you really serious this time?

Ok ladies....this video is for you IF you know that it's finally, really seriously this time, I'm going to do it, finally time to drop the excuses and go for it. Want to take a chance and do this with me? Is what you are doing working for you or do you need to change your game plan or even more important do you just need a game plan? Take a look. This might be exactly the sign you've been looking for!!

Are you ready to give this a shot this holiday season? Let's get FITTER not FATTER this time of year. Yep! I said the big, bad F word, but it's true right? This time of year is hard for all of us!! Just because it's hoodies and sweatpants season doesn’t mean you shouldn't work on what's going on underneath all that coziness.

I have many challengers that tell me their biggest regret is, “I WISH I WOULD HAVE JOINED YOU SOONER."

So, what is a Challenge Group?  It's your online family, it's a support system.  It's a place to go every day to check in, see how others are doing, let everyone know how you are doing.  We share our successes and our struggles and we motivate, support and encourage one another to keep going.  We make sure we've worked out each day, when we said we were going to.  We help one another guarantee our success and reach our goals.  We chart our progress, we share recipes, and tips and tricks and advice.  It's a full on support system in the comfort of your own home or your phone or tablet.  We're always there, 24 hours a day, whenever you need us.

Challenge groups aren’t difficult, they are fun! The overall goal is to CHANGE your MENTALITY about your health so you create LIFELONG habits.

So are you ready?  You want to reach some goals so you feel a bit more comfortable this winter, have a vacation coming up?  Maybe you don't have weight you want to lose but you want to tone up or train for a race or reach another milestone.  Maybe you have 5, 10, 20, 50 pounds or more you'd like to get rid of...forever.  Maybe you just need to get yourself back on track and challenge yourself with something new.  Whatever the reason, I've got you covered.  Let's do this together and make this the winter where you get fitter instead of gaining those extra pounds so you have to make those lose weight and get fit New Year's Resolutions!!


That’s it! I want you to have fun and enjoy it, to see RESULTS & to stop putting yourself on the back-burner. You can even still have wine and chocolate! Are you ready?? 

We’re starting November 2nd so time is short but it's only 21 days. You can give me 21 days right? We'll be done before Thanksgiving. I still have a few spots left just for you!!

Check out the 21 Day Fix Challenge Pack or send me a FB message or email and we'll get you set up for amazing success!!

~Christina

Transformation Tuesday

Here’s a fabulous Transformation Tuesday!!

Here's a little something to get you excited!! Contact me for more info!! Let's get you going this summer with my Summer Fitness Challenge Group starting on July 6th! Just give me 21 days and we'll get you on the right road to change your life too!

“Portionology is Awesome!”

Meet Stella H. She lost 42 lbs with 21 Day Fix, 21 Day Fix EXTREME, and 3-Day Refresh. She entered her results into The Beachbody Challenge®, and won the $500 Daily Prize for June 6th!

Tell us about your life before you started the program. How did you feel about yourself and your body?

Before 21 Day Fix, I was searching for a quick way to get thin. I’ve lost weight before but always yo-yo’d right back up. I was mad, tired, and had given up on getting back to a lower weight. All I wanted was to find a way to get healthy, never expecting to lose any weight. I actually said those very words to my Coach: “I don’t plan on losing a pound. I just want to set a good example of health for my children.”

What inspired you to change your life and begin your transformation journey?


My Facebook friend, Jenny, was posting over and over again about her amazing transformation. She sent out an invitation for a free exercise Challenge Group. That piqued my interest. I joined in October and participated in the group. By the end of the month, we had a phone conversation where she recommended the Fix as I was wanting something with clean eating and whole foods, along with an exercise program that would push me to be healthier.

What is the greatest challenge you faced before beginning the program? How did the program and Beachbody® help you overcome that challenge?


I never, ever used to enjoy exercise. That was my downfall. I always viewed exercise as an evil necessity that would help me to dump pounds, so I’d only do it for as long as it took for me to lose the weight. As soon as I hit my goal, the fitness portion would be done – and so would my goal weight. The Fix helped me to want to exercise. I couldn’t believe it! Because of the nutrition piece of the program, and Shakeology, my body craved using energy in a healthy, productive way! I became obsessed in wanting to work out daily, to the point where I had to force myself to take days off! Thanks to 21 Day Fix, I have found balance between my mindset, fitness and nutrition!

What in particular did you like about the program you chose?
I love the following (all would be ‪#‎1s if I could list it like that!):

The containers! Portionology is awesome! * Shakeo! Yum! And whole food. And easy! * The workouts – especially Pilates Fix and Yoga Fix! I’ve also done 2 round of 3-Day Refresh! Love it! The mental clarity that I get from Refresh is amazing! Then, in late March, I was challenged to take on EXTREME! Oh my! This is what I needed. I lost a lot of weight with the Fix, but now needed to get toned and sculpted. I didn’t do a caloric reduction with 21DFX, but I worked my butt off to build muscle. This program is outstanding! In three weeks, I’ve become so carved!

Describe the results you achieved with your Beachbody program. Which achievements are you proud of?


In my first week of Round 1 of 21 Day Fix, I dropped 9 pounds!!! By the end of Round 1, I started running and for the first time, learned to enjoy the physical and mental aspect of it. On Valentine’s day, I ran my first 5K! If you’d told me in July last year that I’d be running a 5K at 33 minutes in February, I’d have laughed at you! I’m a powerhouse now! I love my body, I love my nutrition and I love my commitment to a clean, healthy life! One of my ongoing fears with exercise has always been resistance training. I took EXTREME as a challenge during the busiest month of my work. I faced my fear of not doing well with the resistance, and I conquered it! Wow. I replaced my excuses with effort, every day. And now I have the results.

How has your life changed since completing your Beachbody program?


The 21 Day Fix, 3-Day Refresh, and 21 Day Fix Extreme programs have brought amazing clarity and function into my life. Even when I’m not ‘completing’ a Fix program, I’m still eating with my containers, drinking a Shakeology every day, and committed to a daily exercise program that pushes me a little more each and every day! My children are watching and learning. We are all healthier thanks to these programs! I am now the role model mother that I was aiming to be when I first started! And I’m inspiring others to contemplate their fitness and nutrition approach. It’s a wonderful thing to be a positive influence!

How did participating in a Challenge Group help you reach your goals? How did your group support you and keep you accountable?


The Challenge Group helped so much, as the accountability piece was brand new to me. The participants in the group kept asking me for recipes, which made me feel so good! Then, when I posted my first round pictures, they noticed changes that, to me, seemed subtle! It wasn’t until I read of their excitement for me that I realize what was happening! I’m hooked on those groups! The members of my groups have become close friends! I’m ecstatic to continue to develop these friendships and and to welcome new members!

How did your Team Beachbody® Coach support you on your journey?


My first Coach was Jenny Beauregard Connor. She has been a lifesaver! She paved the way for my success, set me up with the right programs and got me involved! I was transferred to Jenn Greenberg and am so happy to have her and Mike as Coaches and uplines! They are so inspirational and I am lucky to have them, as well as Jenny, alongside my journey!

How did a Beachbody Supplement or Nutritional Product or Program (such as Shakeology® or Beachbody Ultimate Reset®) support your transformation? What are the greatest benefits you gained? Did you see benefits to your energy, sleep, mood/mental clarity, digestion/regularity?


Shakeo and 3-Day Refresh both have benefited every aspect of my life – energy, sleep, mood/mental clarity, digestion/regularity! I’m a different person! I’m happy, calm, and ready to take on challenges!

How did a Beachbody Supplement or Nutritional Product or Program affect any existing health conditions you have?

I have broken my sugar habit! Completely! Save for a glass of wine, I don’t consume any sugar any more. This is an amazing realization as my sugar addiction was legendary!