Sweet Potato "Hash" with Eggs - 21 Day Fix

One of my favorite meals of the day is breakfast.  So naturally, I have breakfast for dinner.  A lot.

I used to make a version of this "hash" which I loved, and really all I did was modify it a bit to make it a little more fix friendly.

For the sweet potato, I sliced it then and roasted it with 3 tsp. of olive oil (it ended up making three yellow containers) and 2 tsp. each of cumin and chili powder.  Lay on a baking sheet and roast at 400 for about 25-30 minutes (I kept an eye on it).

This is also a great "clean out your fridge" dish.  So basically the breakdown is this.

1 red - 2 poached eggs
1 yellow - roasted sweet potatoes
1 tsp. - olive oil the potatoes were roasted in
1 green - filled with any veggies you have on hand
1/2 blue - shredded cheese of your choice (I used a reduced fat mexican blend)

To poach the eggs, I used a trick I found on Pinterest.  Basically put a tbsp. of water in 2 muffin tin cups and crack an egg.  Bake in a 350 oven for about 15 minutes.  They won't be extremely runny yolk-wise but it was so easy and they were delicious!

For the rest, I simply "fried" up the sweet potatoes in some coconut oil spray and added in the veggies.  Once everything was heated through, I tossed in the cheese to melt it a bit.  Put it all on a plate and top with the eggs!

Super filling and delicious!

Chili Roasted Butternut Squash Salad - 21 Day Fix

Butternut squash.  Mmmmmm.

However, this time of year, not the easiest to find.  What's an aspiring healthy cook to do?

Improvise!

Frozen butternut squash chunks it is.

Basically, 1 bag of frozen butternut squash (keep it frozen!), 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 2 tsp. of chili powder and 2 tsp. of cumin, a little kosher salt and black pepper.

Preheated the oven to about 450 and bake for about 20 minutes (I kept an eye on it, that seemed to do it).

Now, the downside of the frozen variety is that it isn't going to get as crispy.  However, it tastes delicious!

And now to put it all together.

So basically:

2 Green: 1 filled with baby arugula and 1 filled with the roasted butternut squash
1 yellow:  black beans
1/2 blue: crumbled goat cheese
1 tsp.  - extra virgin olive oil (the butternut squash as a whole made 3 servings so I'm counting 1 tsp. per serving).


A quick and healthy lunch to go!  Rounding it out with a purple filled with mixed berries (blueberries and blackberries).

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken - 21 Day Fix Style!

I mean, because who doesn't love buffalo chicken?  Except for the fact that it's not exactly calorie friendly.  But yeah, still good.

So I challenged myself to lighten it up.  Ended up with about a pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast, 1 red container of 2% greek yogurt, and a small bottle of tabasco.  Threw it all in a crockpot and cooked it on low for about 3 and a half hours.  After about three hours, I went in and shredded it and let it sit for a bit longer.

Not going to lie, I didn't even miss the ranch dressing or the cream cheese / sour cream.

When I went to use it in my lunch, I didn't fill the red container the entire way with chicken, allowing some "room" for the greek yogurt I used.  I would say that the entire recipe made at least 7 servings in a "red" container, so the greek yogurt in each serving is probably minimal.

So to make a healthy lunch for the week, check it out below!

1 red - crockpot buffalo chicken
1 green - steamed mixed veggies
1 yellow - quinoa
1/2 blue  - crumbled goat cheese

Delicious and filling!

It's All About the Prep....

So, in starting (and continuing) the 21 Day Fix, one thing I have learned is that it's all about the prep.  If you are prepared, the program itself is very user friendly and easy to do.

But the prep.

So what I have started doing is setting aside Sundays to really set myself up for the week.  The weeks are CRAZY for me, between work and tutoring and anything else I have going on.  Most days I leave my apartment at about 7 and don't get home until about 6.  So having things ready to go is key for me.

One strategy I use is making grab and go snack bags.  Pictured above are "green" container portions of cucumbers and baby carrots.  This makes it easy at 5:30 in the morning when I'm making my lunch to just toss a couple of bags in there so I'm set up for the day.

Another thing I do in utilize my crockpot and rice cooker.  Often on Sundays I'll make a meal in the crockpot that can work as lunches during the week, and steam either brown rice or quinoa in my rice cooker so I have it prepared to simply throw in a "yellow" container to measure.

These simple tips have really helped me follow this program!