Homemade Ice Packs

Have you ever needed to ice a sore muscle & grabbed an ice pack that just wasn't cutting it? Of course you have. Most of the time they're too bulky, too uncomfortable, or they just don't work for where you need to ice. Or maybe sometimes your ice pack also doubles as your heating pad & you need relief now, not in 3 hours from now. 

The good news is that if you have zippered storage bags (any size will do depending on how big you want them to be), dish soap & a freezer, then you can make your own ice packs!

The best part about these Homemade Ice Packs, is that as the dish soap thaws, the bag will form to where you need it!

Homemade Ice Packs

• zippered storage bags of any size

• dish soap

- Pour desired amount of dish soap into storage bags & freeze until firm. 

- Reuse again & again, storing in freezer between uses. 

Peach Salsa

If there's one condiment I really, really love, it's salsa! Usually a good pico de gallo is my go to, but recently I decided to switch it up a bit. The result, a Peach Salsa that was simply amaaaazing! 

Disclaimer: I generally don't follow actual recipes (& if I do I always change them), so just use approximations & adjust accordingly. 

*21 Day Fix container counts will follow below the recipe*

Peach Salsa

• 3-4 medium peaches, pitted & diced

• 2 plum tomatoes, seeded & diced

• 1/2C. diced Vidalia onion

• 1 fresh jalapeno, seeded & finely diced

• juice of 1 lime

• 2Tbsp each of minced fresh cilantro & mint

- Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl & stir to combine. 

- Cover & keep refrigerated until ready to serve. 

*21 day Fix container count: portion desired amount as a purple.

The Best Seafood Seasoning...EVER!

It took years for me to like any kind of seafood. And even now my choices are fairly limited as to what I will or will not eat. But it's a big enough variety for me (for now anyways) & that's all that matters. It also helps that I have a go-to seasoning for when I cook seafood at home, something I've been doing at least once a week since I started the 21 Day Fix last December. 

I use this blend on cod, salmon (pictured) & even shrimp. (I told you I had a limited list.) But I don't see why it wouldn't be delicious on whatever kind of seafood you prefer.

Disclaimer: I generally don't follow actual recipes (& if I do I always change them), so just use approximations & adjust accordingly. 

Seafood Seasoning

• Mrs. Dash Salt-Free Lemon Pepper Seasoning Blend
• smoked paprika
• ground black pepper 

-Simply give your preferred seafood a light drizzle of EVOO, a generous sprinkling of Seafood Seasoning & cook as desired. 

Healthy Chili Cheese Fries

When you think of healthy food, what do you think of? Lettuce, carrots, tomatoes & Chili Cheese Fries. Wait. WHAT?! 

Ok, so you may not have actually thought of Chili Cheese Fries. But I bet you will now!

Disclaimer: I generally don't follow actual recipes (& if I do I always change them), so just use approximations (with the exception of the 21 Day Fix Extreme Turkey Chili) & adjust accordingly. 

*21 Day Fix container counts will follow below the recipe*

• 21 Day Fix Extreme Turkey Chili:

• 1tsp olive oil

• 1.5lbs raw 93% lean ground turkey

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 1.5tsp ground cumin

• 1Tbsp chili powder

• 1/2tsp sea salt

• 1/4tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

• 2-15oz. cans black or pinto beans, drained & rinsed

•  1-15oz. can all natural diced tomatoes, no sugar added

• 12 fresh cilantro sprigs, finely chopped (for garnish; optional)

- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.

- Add turkey, onion, bell pepper, and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-8 minutes, or until turkey is no longer pink. 

- Add cumin, chili powder, salt & cayenne pepper; cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

- Add beans & tomatoes (with liquid). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; gently boil, stirring occasionally, for 15-20 minutes, or until thickened. 

- Serve sprinkled with cilantro. 

• Roasted Oven Potatoes:

• potatoes, scrubbed clean & cut into fries

• paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper & sea salt

• extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

- Preheat oven to 450º. 

- In a large glass baking dish, toss potatoes with seasonings & a splash of EVOO. 

- Bake for 25-40 minutes (depending on the thickness of your fries), flipping occasionally, until done. 

• shredded cheddar cheese

• diced green onions, optional

To Assemble:

- C'mon now! You know how to put together Chili Cheese Fries... 

- Fries. 

- Chili. 

- Cheese. 

- Melt it all together. 

- Top with diced green onion (if using). 

- Eat & be amazed that it's HEALTHY! 

*21 Day Fix container count: 2 yellow (for the fries), .5 green, 1 red, .5 yellow (for the chili - 1C. serving size) & 1 blue (for the cheese).

Bruschetta Chicken & Pasta

Bruschetta Chicken & Pasta is one of my favorite meals of all time! Not only is it delicious, but it's relatively quick & easy. 

Disclaimer: I generally don't follow actual recipes (& if I do I always change them), so just use approximations & adjust accordingly. 

*21 Day Fix container counts will follow below the recipe*

Ingredients:

• Roma tomatoes, finely diced

• garlic, minced

• fresh basil, chopped

• extra virgin olive oil

• balsamic vinegar

• boneless skinless chicken breasts

• ground black pepper

• garlic powder

• whole wheat pasta 

• shredded Parmesan cheese, if desired

Directions:

• In a medium sized bowl, combine your tomatoes, garlic & basil. 

• Add just a bit of extra virgin olive oil & balsamic vinegar, stirring to combine. 

• Allow bruschetta topping to sit so that the flavors combine. 

• Cook chicken in a grill pan (or on an actual grill if you prefer), until cooked through (roughly 7-10 minutes), carefully seasoning both sides with black pepper & garlic powder. 

• In the meantime, cook the pasta according to package directions. 

• When chicken is done, before removing from the grill pan (or grill), splash with a bit of balsamic vinegar, thoroughly coating on both sides. 

• To serve, top pasta with sliced chicken, bruschetta topping & Parmesan cheese if desired.

*21 Day Fix container count: 1-2 yellow (for pasta), 1 red (for chicken), .5-1 green (for bruschetta topping) & .5-1 blue (for shredded Parmesan, if using)

NOTE: Top romaine with leftover chicken, bruschetta topping, shredded Parmesan & a splash of lite balsamic vinaigrette for a quick & easy salad. Perfect for lunch the next day! 

Spaghetti Squash with Homemade Arribbiata Sauce

I'm not sure why in the world it took me so incredibly long to try spaghetti squash. I mean, the stuff is pretty amazing! But the best part, is that it's a vegetable & not a carb. I know that's not a newsflash or anything, but coming from a girl who adores her pasta, I found that I actually liked it more than traditional spaghetti noodles. And that says a lot! 

Of course if I was going to be making my own spaghetti squash, then a Homemade Arribbiata Sauce would be the perfect thing to top it with. 

Disclaimer: I generally don't follow actual recipes (& if I do I always change them), so just use approximations & adjust accordingly. 

*21 Day Fix container counts will follow below the recipe*

Ingredients:

• spaghetti squash

• extra virgin olive oil

• sea salt & black pepper

• whole tomatoes

• fresh basil

• garlic cloves, peeled

• 1/4-1/2C. water, if desired

• cayenne pepper, just a pinch

• Stevia

• garlic powder

Directions: 

For the Spaghetti Squash:

• Using a sharp knife, cut off the top or bottom of the squash so that it will stand flat and secure on your cutting board.

• Slice the squash in half lengthwise.

• Using a spoon, scrape out the seeds.

• Heat oven to 375º.

• Brush the inside of each half with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and ground black pepper.

• Place cut-sides down on a baking sheet.

• Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until you can easily pierce the squash with a fork. (This is where you start the Arribbiata Sauce.)

•Let cool for 15 minutes, or until squash is cool enough to handle, before using a fork to scrape out the spaghetti-like strands. 

For the Homemade Arribbiata Sauce: 

• In a large pot, combine whole tomatoes (I used fresh but you can use canned if you'd like, just cut back on your simmer time), fresh basil, garlic cloves, olive oil & water if desired (although not necessary).

• Allow to simmer, covered, for one hour.

• Remove the pot from the heat & allow to cool slightly.

• Working in batches, use a food processor or a blender to puree the tomato mixture into a sauce, adding the cayenne pepper during the last batch.

• Transfer sauce back into the large pot & bring to a low boil.

• Add stevia, garlic powder, salt & pepper (and even more cayenne pepper if desired) to give yourself a slightly sweet but spicy Arribbiata Sauce.

To serve, simply top spaghetti squash with Homemade Arribbiata Sauce & sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese if desired. 

*21 Day Fix container count: 1-2 green (for the spaghetti squash), .5-1 purple (for the sauce) & .5-1 blue (for shredded Parmesan, if using).

Healthy Mexican Pizza *Taco Bell Copycat Recipe*

I have so many recipes to share with you all, but I thought I'd share this one first since I've had quite a few people ask me about it. 

Yes!!! A Taco Bell Copycat recipe of one of my favorites - Mexican Pizza! OK, so it's not as convenient as going through the drive-thru of Taco Bell, but it's far healthier & it really doesn't take that much time at all to make one for yourself at home. Especially if you just happen to have the meat already in the refrigerator from the night before. Yep, this was a total leftover meal on top of it all! *High five!*

Disclaimer: I generally don't follow actual recipes (& if I do I always change them), so just use approximations & adjust accordingly. 

*21 Day Fix container counts will follow below the recipe*

Ingredients:

• whole wheat tortillas

• lean ground beef, seasoned with Smokey Southwest seasoning blend 

• nonfat refried beans

• shredded cheddar cheese

• diced tomatoes

• Mexican hot sauce

• green onion, diced 

• Plain Greek yogurt (Chobani, preferably) 

• Pico de Gallo or diced green peppers & white or red onion, diced (if desired)

Directions:

• Place the tortillas on a cookie sheet & place in a preheated 375º oven until slightly golden on both sides, about 5 minutes, flipping halfway through.

• On one tortilla, lightly drizzle hot sauce, then top with refried beans & seasoned lean ground beef. 

• On the other tortilla, top with shredded cheddar cheese & diced tomatoes. 

• Return tortillas to the oven, until the cheese is melted. 

• To assemble, place cheese & tomato topped tortilla onto the other, pressing down slightly before cutting into 4 pieces. 

• Top with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt & Pico de Gallo if desired. 

*21 Day Fix container count: 2.5 yellow (.5 for the nonfat refried beans), 1 red, 1 blue, .5 green (.5 purple if using Pico de Gallo).

My Story

Hi there! My name is Melissa Renee (obviously) & I'm a SAHM to 3 wildly crazy kids. I'm a total foodie (which you'll definitely find out in the future), love to read, be creative & workout. Although I have to admit that the last one didn't come along until recently.

All of my pregnancies were c-sections. After the first, I bounced back relatively quick. You know, being 24 & only my first child and all. My second, not so much. I wasn't working then & found it far to easy to be lazier. I gained around 60lbs if memory serves me right. In somewhat of a defense, my son was almost 2lbs heavier than my oldest daughter at birth (& he came 2 weeks early?!). But when I got pregnant with my third, I was already at a disadvantage. My pre-pregnancy weight was 20lbs more than my other two. Add in issue after issue, along with being borderline preeclamptic, left me huger than huge. I was severely swollen & just all around miserable. But after a very eventful birth, it seemed like I was well on my way to my already heavier pre-pregnancy weight. Then the scale quit moving. For years! (Thank you lingering high blood pressure.)

I ate healthy in between my fits of brownies & ice cream. I exercised here & there, but nowhere near what I should have. I just didn't have the time. Sure I could still play with my kids, but without that magic number on the scale going down more than a lb or two & none of my clothes fitting a bit looser (or even getting into the ones sitting in my closet for an eternity), it wasn't very motivating to stay focused. I needed a change. I wanted a change. But quite frankly, my follow through sucked because I just wasn't a happy person. 

Over the course of a few years, I was following my mentor on social media. I had seen the way that Beachbody programs helped her, both physically & financially. It took me months, if not a whole year, to be able to get the money to get started. I knew the 21 Day Fix was going to be perfect for me. I also knew that signing up to be a fitness coach myself, would give me that extra little push to stick to it. Why? Because I needed a purpose. Sure, I'm a mom & I love being a mom. But that was all people would see me as. I stayed at home so I basically just sat around watching TV & eating bon-bons. RIGHT?! Uhhh, NO! Not even close. I was on autopilot - cook, clean, eat, cook, clean, eat. I felt that not only had I lost myself physically, but I was slipping away to the world of mundane mediocrity. But deep down inside, I knew I was destined for greatness. Somehow! 

I'm happier now even though I'm still on my fitness journey. Hey, I have goals for myself! But I LOVE being able to help others work on their goals too. Sure the occasional paycheck is nice to help out with groceries, gas or even a teeny tiny bill. But that's not what drives me. I now feel like I have the purpose I was meant for. I'm still a SAHM, but now I get to join others on their fitness journeys as a motivator. I know what it's like, remember. I know that starting is the hardest part. I know how difficult it can be when your family is chowing down on cheeseburgers & french fries (you actually can too by the way, just a healthier version). I know what it's like to stand in a packed closet & wonder what you're going to wear because you didn't do laundry & the only 2 pairs of pants that actually fit are dirty. I know what it's like to avoid the camera at all costs because it shows everything. I know what it's like to want to stop because it seems to hard. Been there, done that. 

So how about we become friends (if we're not already). I'll be sure to post some amazing posts about food, fitness & maybe just life in general from time to time. All I want from you, my friend, is unconditional support. And maybe letting me win a game of tic-tac-toe from time to time too.