Recipes We Love

So today is the first Monday of the new year and I am so thankful to have one more day of winter break! Stuart went back to work today though and he started on Whole30 today so yesterday I took some time to prep a few things for him. These are staples in our house each week and they are super easy!

Whole30 Basic Vinaigrette (this makes 1 cup and only takes like 5 minutes. We easily double the recipe or I will make 1 or 5 jars at a time ;))
-1/4 cup white wine or apple cider vinegar
-3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon black pepper

This goes great over salads obviously but I also love to use it with my sliced bell peppers for snacks.

Whole30 Basic Mayonnaise (makes 1.5  cups)
-1 1/4 cups light olive oil (this is important. you must use light or you will remake this 5 times like I did my first time)
-1 large egg
-1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-Juice of 1/2 lemon

Place 1/4 cup of olive oil, the egg, mustard powder, and salt in a blender, food processor, or mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly. While the food processor or blender is running (or while mixing in a bowl with an immersion blender), slowly drizzle in the remaining 1 cup of olive oil. After you've added all the oil and the mixture has emulsified, add the lemon juice, blending on slow or stirring to incorporate.

This mayo is a staple because you can use it like you would normally use mayo or if you're like me and don't do mayo, you can switch out the lemon juice for lime juice, throw in some cilantro, and it makes an awesome "sauce" over a steak.

I use this mayo to then make Stuart's chicken salad. He eats this by itself or over lettuce. I got this recipe from my aunt when she sent it to me she just said, "These are the ingredients. Add them and mix til it tastes right." (We get it honest. Mimi never measures. You always just add and mix til it "feels right")

Chicken Salad
-Shredded chicken breast
-Mayo (I use less because we like a dry chicken salad but that's up to you)
-celery, chopped to your liking (we like it a little more chunky)
-parsley flakes
-salt and pepper to taste

I just throw everything in my Ninja with the dough blade attachment and mix until it is all combined. It's that easy and extra yummy!

We keep eggs (fresh and hard boiled), clementines or mandarins, bell peppers, and bananas around all the time for "snacks"

As for an update of our weekend and how we've done with our plans. It was not a success but it was not a complete failure either. We walked 3.5 miles Saturday and Sunday which was nice. We did kinda okay with our eating but we did go to Sonic for ice cream last night ;( Stuart said it was our last blow out with sweets haha.

So what are some of y'all's favorite healthy recipes that you make each week? 

Here We Go!

So today is January 1st and as I said, today was SUPPOSED to be the start of a new lifestyle. But things do always work out the right way do they? We had meals at both of my grandparents houses today. One for lunch and one for dinner. Let me tell you, that is always some GOOD food but boy do I have self-control problems when we go there. Cornbread and sweet tea get me every time.

So tomorrow I will wake up to a new day and a new opportunity to put my plan into action. I don't start my AdvoCare All-In 24 Day Challenge until January 11 but I am going to start eating clean and exercising now to get ready. If you're interested in more info about the challenge or just about AdvoCare in general, check it out here or feel free to ask me! 

As far as meals this week, I am working on our menu and I'll be making chicken salad with Whole30 mayonnaise and a few other staples. This pork loin recipe is going in the crockpot tomorrow for our dinner and the leftovers will be for lunches this coming week. Tomorrow I'll post about the recipes we love to use each week and what we prep on the weekends to get ahead for the week.