Crispy Baked Chicken Tenders.

I'll just start off by saying these are probably my best creation yet. Who doesn't love chicken tenders? You can enjoy these without sacrificing your fitness goals!

What you'll need:

1 package of organic chicken tenders

1/4 cup hummus of your choice

1/4 cup egg whites

1/2 cup almonds

2 handfuls of Mary's Gone Crackers (THE BEST <3)

Salt/pepper/spices of your choice (I use salt, pepper, garlic powder, and chili powder)

In a large bowl combine hummus and egg whites. Stir until you have a creamy consistency. Go ahead and place your chicken strips into the mixture. I let the chicken marinate for about 30 minutes, it adds extra flavor. However, that's optional! 

For the "breading" place almonds, crackers, and seasoning/spices into a food processor. Pulse until you have a coarse mixture. Do not over pulse.

Once the chicken strips have marinated, coat them in the "breading" mixture. 

Bake for 45 minutes at 400 degrees or until crispy!

What I eat in a day!

A lot of people ask me about meal plans but I really don't follow a plan. I eat 5 meals a day, which are minimally processed, and sometimes dessert! You guys can see what I ate throughout the day and maybe get some new meal ideas :)

Meal One was Oatmeal(and NO, not Quaker or something doused in sugar. I prefer plain grain by Three Sisters), with blueberries, half a banana, 1 tbsp almond butter, and raw coconut flakes.

Meal Two was a Perfect Fit Protein Bar! These are so delicious!! They are available online! Perfectfitprotein.com

Meal Three was one egg, two egg whites, a slice of yogurt cheese, 1/4 an avocado, and mango hot sauce on an Ezekiel English muffin.

Meal Four was 1 cup of non-fat greek yogurt with 1/3 cup KIND granola and two dates.

Meal Five was a hummus crusted chicken breast, 1/2 cup long-grain brown rice, and a tomato/cucumber salad with feta cheese! 

Sweet Potato Enchiladas.

Yup, you heard me... SWEET POTATO! I made these last night for the first time and they will blow your mind. They were so delicious that I didn't miss the chicken at all. These are great for Meatless Monday or what I like to call Meat Without Feet Monday because I still eat fish. In my brain I just don't consider fish to be meat... I'm weird. Anyways lets get to the recipe!

What you will need:

• 6 Tortillas, I use Brown Rice Tortillas from Food For Life.
• 1 bottle of Enchilada Sauce, Trader Joe's Enchilada Sauce has been my favorite so far! It's so tasty and surprisingly pretty low in sodium.
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup black beans
• 1 cup corn
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 2 cups spinach
• 1/2 a red onion, diced
• 1 large sweet potato cooked with skin removed, mashed
• 1 jalapeño pepper, minced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1 jar of salsa ( you'll only need 6 tbsp.)
• Cheese and Cilantro are optional!

I know this seems like a lot of ingredients but as far as the veggies go feel free to use what you have on hand and don't be afraid to substitute ingredients!

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Now add in garlic, cumin, chili powder, jalapeño, mushrooms, spinach, corn, black, beans, sweet potato, red onion, and cook until spinach is wilted. It should look something like this...

Next place about 1/4 cup of the mixture inside a tortilla with 1 tbsp of salsa.

Cover the bottom of your pan with a thin layer of enchilada sauce. Place all 6 enchiladas into the pan and pour remaining enchilada sauce over top. You can also throw in some cilantro and sprinkle them with cheese! 

Put into a 450 degree oven for about 25 minutes. 

Top with a dollop of Greek yogurt!

No Bake Chocolate Protein Date Cookies

These are a great pre-workout snack for energy, or post-workout for a little bit of protein!

What you will need:

• 1/2 cup of dried, pitted dates
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 2 scoops of chocolate protein powder
• 1/4 cup walnuts
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 pinch of Pink Himalayan salt

Start by placing the oats and protein powder into a food processor. Pulse until flour-like. 

Next add in the dates, peanut butter, and walnuts. Pulse again until everything is incorporated together. The mixture will be extremely thick. At this point go ahead and add the honey and almond milk.

Once everything has been processed together go ahead and transfer your dough into a bowl and sprinkle the pinch of salt into it. Knead your dough to make sure the salt is dispersed evenly. 

Now you are going to use your dough to make 8 balls. After you have rolled out the balls you are going to flatten them into a cookie shape. Place your cookies in the fridge for 15 minutes and then they are ready to enjoy!

Serving Size: 1 cookie

Calories: 150

Protein: 7(g)

Carbs: 17(g)

Fat: 7 (g)

What I eat Wednesday!

Some of my favorite fitness bloggers often do posts like this! They are usually my favorite to read; it's interesting to me to see what other "fit foodies" eat on a daily basis! 

I always start my day off with a cup of coffee with almond milk and stevia. I just purchased these sweet drops from Whole Foods. They pretty much turn your coffee into a Skinny Vanilla Latte from Starbucks.. Just sayin'.

For breakfast I created this beautiful masterpiece haha, a breakfast sweet potato! All you need is half a sweet potato, 1 tbsp of almond butter, and a generous sprinkle of a dried fruit and nut mix! It's like candy for breakfast. So sweet and delicious. 

When I get home from class I like to have a little something before I workout to keep my energy up. Today I opted for 1 egg with spinach and half an orange. 

After my workout my go to snack is a protein smoothie. I blend 1 cup of coconut water, 1 scoop chocolate protein powder,  1tbsp of ground flaxseed, and 1/2 a frozen banana.

Lunch! I usually have some type of sandwhich for lunch almost every day. I used a brown rice tortilla and stuffed it with sliced turkey, peppers, onions, jalepeno, lettuce, and hummus!

For dinner I had sautéed eggplant and zucchini in roasted vegetable pasta sauce with shrimp. So good. I topped it with red pepper flakes and nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast? Yea, don't knock it until you try it haha. 

Quinoa Summer Salad With Shrimp.

This recipe is based off of a quinoa salad by my favorite fitness blogger, Sarah Dussault. I did modify it a bit and it came out great! 

Serves 4

What you'll need:

•1/2 cup of uncooked quinoa

•1/4 red onion, chopped

•1/4 cilantro

•1 bell pepper, chopped (any color)

•2 tbsp olive oil

•1 tsp dijon mustard

•1 tbsp lemon

•3 oz of shrimp per person

Cook quinoa according to package and set aside.

In a bowl mix the olive oil, lemon juice, and dijon mustard. 

Add in your chopped pepper, onion, and cilantro.

Once your quinoa has cooled add it to the other bowl and mix.

Top each serving with 3 oz cooked shrimp, 1/4 avocado (optional), and salt and pepper to taste! 

Don't forget you can switch it up and substitute the shrimp for chicken!

My go to guilt free snacks!

Pictured above are some of my favorite snacks!

• Homemade Trail Mix. I make my trail mix using 2 tbsp of unsalted almonds, 2 tbsp of no sugar added dried fruit, and 1 tbsp of chocolate chips. I love making my own because it is portion controlled. It's about 200 calories, which most of my snacks are.

• KIND Bars. These bars are becoming very popular so you should have no problem finding them at your local grocery store. I tend to choose the ones with 5 grams of sugar or less. My favorite is dark chocolate nuts and sea salt!

• Über Bars. These can also be found at most grocery stores. My favorite is coconut macaroon and bananas foster.

• Questbars. These are great for a post-workout treat. I usually pop mine in the microwave for 10 seconds and top it with nut butter. These are a little harder to find but GNC does carry them.

• Hummus or Hommus (who knew there were two different spellings.. I didn't haha) I'll usually have 2 tbsp of hummus with baby carrots and a few pita chips. The pita chips are dangerous, at least for me, I can't stop.

• Turkey Roll Up. For a quick snack that'll keep me full I roll up a string cheese in 2 slices of turkey.

• Popcorn. Honestly popcorn doesn't always keep me full but I like it to snack on and really enjoy it! I like BOOM CHICKA POP because it comes in a single serve pack! They also have other tasty favors AND best of all their corn is non-GMO( It is not genetically modified like most corn products are)!

• Somersalts. I originally discovered these at Whole Foods but they are popping up at conventional grocery stores, even target. They are cookies with sunflower seeds mixed in. My favorite flavor is the Dutch Cocoa. It tastes like Coco Puffs cereal!

• Ants on a log. I'm sure you have all had this! I put 1 tbsp of almond butter on 2 celery sticks with 2 tbsp of dried fruit on top!

Protein packed French Toast!

This is my go to breakfast when I know I need a lot of fuel to get through a workout! The balance of protein and carbs provides me with steady energy all morning! Not to mention my sweet tooth is totally satisfied! 

What you will need:

2 slices of Ezekiel bread, or your choice of bread 

2 egg whites (6 tbsp liquid egg whites)

1/2 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp  vanilla protein powder

1 packet of stevia 

In a mixing bowl combine egg whites, protein powder, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and stevia.

Once you have combined the above ingredients go ahead and place your bread into the bowl and allow it to soak up the mixture.

Place bread into a skillet over medium heat and cook for about 2 minutes on each side.

 Drizzle with honey and enjoy!

Calories: 250

Fat: 1

Carbohydrates: 32

Protein: 26

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies!

I was really wanting homemade chocolate chip cookies last night and these hit the spot! They are by no means low calorie, but they are a healthier (better ingredients) alternative to satisfy your sweet tooth!

1/3 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup honey

1/4 melted coconut oil

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

About a handful of chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

This mixture should make about 12 cookies. Place onto a greased baking sheet. Be sure to flatten the cookies before putting them into the oven because they will not flatten on their own while they cook.

Bake for 14 minutes.

Pesto chicken wrap!

This is one of my favorite things to make for lunch! It's quick, simple, and healthy... yet tastes indulgent.

What you'll need

• 1 Ezekiel tortilla or whole wheat wrap

• 4 ounces of lean chicken breast

• 1 tbsp of pre-made pesto

• 1/2 ounce goat cheese

• tomato or any vegetables of your choice

This is delicious hot or cold, but I prefer it heated. Below I have listed the nutritional information. You can definitely cut some calories by using a lower calorie wrap. However, I find that low calorie wraps are filled with chemicals and I would rather consume more calories and eat REAL food. 

Nutritional information:

388 calories

15 grams of fat

27 grams of carbs

36 grams protein

Enjoy! 

Paleo Coconut Shrimp!

I LOVE the coconut shrimp from Outback Steakhouse. Warm, crispy, sweet, and fattening. One serving of their coconut shrimp has about 420 calories, but to be honest it's not the calories that bother me. What I don't like is that they are dipped in beer batter, fried (probably in canola oil), and served with what i'm sure is a dipping sauce of high fructose corn syrup. So although these are delicious, and I still order them occasionally, I would rather make my own at home and enjoy a bigger portion for less calories and fat. I also like making my own because there are no mystery ingredients. So the other day I attempted to make my own and they came out great! After looking through a few recipes on pinterest this is what I came up with.

MAKES 2 SERVINGS

• 24 regular sized shrimp
• 2 tbsp coconut flour
• 3/4 cup shredded reduced fat coconut
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp coconut oil

In one bowl mix all of your dry ingredients. The coconut flour, shredded coconut, cayenne, salt, and pepper. In another bowl go ahead and mix your wet ingredients. The egg and egg white.

Make sure that your shrimp have been cleaned and patted dry.

In a medium sized frying pan melt 1 tbsp. coconut oil on medium heat.

Place a few shrimps in the egg mixture to coat them, then move them over to your dry mixture to "bread" them. 

Once they are covered with the dry coconut mixture you are going to drop them into the coconut oil. Let them cook for two minutes on each side.

Remove the shrimp from the frying pan and place on to a paper towel.

And here's what they'll look like!

 These are great for lunch! Full of protein,healthy fats, and no processed carbs. They were delicious! Hope you guys enjoy!

How to make the BEST Protein Waffle!

According to Livestrong.com the average Belgian Waffle contains 510 calories... And that's before the syrup and other calorie dense toppings. Traditional waffles contain very little protein and a crazy amount of carbs. I'm going to share with you guys how I enjoy delicious waffles for breakfast and stay fit! 

What you will need...

•1 scoop of vanilla or chocolate protein powder. (I use perfect fit, organic and plant based)

•1/2 cup of quick oats.

•1/4 cup low fat cottage cheese

•Two eggs 

 Pre-heat your waffle maker to medium heat. 

First, place your 1/2 cup of quick oats into a blender or food processor. You want to pulse the oats until they turn to flour. You can also buy oat flour from most grocery stores, but I find it just as easy to make my own.

Once your oats are a flour-like consistency add your eggs, protein powder, and cottage cheese. You can also add one packet of stevia to the mixture for added sweetness.

Mix all ingredients in the blender until you have a batter.

Pour half the batter into your waffle maker and...

Here's your delicious protein waffle! 

This recipe makes 2 waffles. 

1 waffle 

• 202 calories

•19 protein 

•17 carbs

•7   fat

I usually like to drizzle a little bit of honey on top. You can also top your waffle with fruit, shredded coconut, or  1 tbsp of nut butter. This recipe is so delicious and guilt-free. These waffles will not weigh you down and with all that protein you'll be full for hours! 

If you guys make your own protein waffles I would love to see them on Instagram! Just hashtag #JenTheFitFoodie so I can find them!

I used to be fat.

This is me in 2009 (18 yrs. old), the heaviest weight I have ever been. This was the year that I would change my lifestyle. I was about to graduate from high school and I wanted a fresh start. I was chubby all throughout my childhood/teenage years. It didn't bother me though. I was confident in myself, liked the way I looked, and obviously really enjoyed all of the horrible crap I was putting into my body. I was never really made fun of for my weight, maybe a few times. One bitch did call me a pig haha but I just laughed stuff like that off; I have thick skin. It never really got to me. I knew that my family and friends would accept me regardless of my size. Actually, now that I think of it, the only thing that did bother me was not being able to shop at the same stores my friends did. I wanted to be stylish and wear the latest trends. I could barely fit into a large at Forever21. But oh well, I found cute clothes elsewhere. From ages 3-18 I was involved in dance; first for recreation and then competitively. Once I started competing I had dance rehearsal after school 3 days a week, usually from 3-8 pm.  I typically went straight from school to dance and grabbed fast food on the way there. My friends did the same, but they were still fit and skinny haha. Even though I was dancing my butt off, I was still overweight because of the quantity of food I was consuming. I didn't let my weight hold me back though. If you ask me I was actually pretty fit for being overweight. I worked hard (most of the time) and enjoyed every second of it, even going to Florida multiple times to compete at the national level with other dance schools around the country.

So why did I decide to change my lifestyle? I really don't know what clicked for me. One day I just decided to give it a try. I wanted to feel healthier. I wanted to be strong. I started counting my calories. I still ate terribly though, mostly low calorie, low fat, processed crap. I remember eating Lean Cuisine and feeling like I was doing something good for myself. What a joke, but I had to start somewhere. I definitely don't advocate this stuff now, but hey, it worked. Once I saw the numbers on the scale going down I wanted to keep going. I was motivated. Since I was no longer dancing I decided to join a gym. Oh how I hated the gym. I can remember  being on that treadmill and wanting to rip my eyeballs out. I could barely run for 3 minutes straight. BUT, I never gave up.

This is me now. A fit, healthy, happy 22 (almost 23) year old. I lost most of my weight in about a year and a half. I am 70 pounds lighter and I have finally found balance between eating the foods I love and maintaining my weight. I now eat clean, nutritious, healthy foods. I still go out to dinner and enjoy life! I allow myself to indulge, but have learned to get right back on track the next meal. Weight loss is not about depriving yourself, it's about finding balance and making healthier choices. I love to transform some of my favorite fattening dishes into healthy alternatives that I can enjoy guilt-free. I have created this blog to share those recipes as well as things I've learned on my weight loss journey! I would love to answer any questions you guys might have and I hope this blog provides some great tips and delicious recipes for you!