A few Quick Tips

I wanted to share a few quick tips with you... Money saving tips as well as maximizing what you buy.

Tip #1: When you buy meat, buy it on sale and buy extra. Freeze portions so that you always have a nice lean meat on hand for dinner. This also helps when meal planning because you can go to the freezer and say I have this, this and this to use this week, so I will only buy 1 protein to use 1 and freeze 1 this week. It is going to save money in the long run.

If you shop at places like costco where you can buy in bulk some of the meats to stock up on are pork tenderloins and pork loin roasts. The tenderloins have a total of 4 to a package. That is 4 meals for just a little more than you pay at the grocery store for 2 tenderloins.  The pork loin roast looks intimidating. It is very long and looks like a HUGE piece of meat. This is one that can be cut into 4 or 5 portions and serve a family of 4 easily. These are two pieces of meat I buy often and keep in the freezer for a yummy meal.

Tip #2
HERBS: summer time is great because herbs are in abundance and they are cheap to buy at the store. When you see that they are on sale for $1.00 or less STOCK UP! Bring them home and chop up the herbs, place them into ice cube trays and then pour a little water over them so they will freeze into cubes. You are freezing it at the peak of its "ripeness" and can have fresh herbs when cooking all year long.

Fill the tray with chopped herbs

  cover with water and freeze

 Once frozen you can remove the cubes of herbs

 Place them into a freezer bag and label them. 

Now you have fresh herbs to use all year long! 

Tip #3:  ZEST

Lemon, Lime, Orange... I am finding more and more recipes that are using the zest of these three fruits. I don't always have them on hand, or I let them go bad in the fridge before getting to use them. Anytime I have a recipe that calls for the juice of a lemon or lime etc, I will zest it first. I have a ziploc bag of each on in my freezer and I will add the zest to the bag and stick it back in the freezer. This way I always have zest when it is needed. It freezes perfectly. 

Tip #4: 

ONIONS

I always find that when I buy a bag of onions, one or some of them sprout before I get to use them all. I try to notice when my onions are starting to get a little soft right before they are going to sprout. I will dice them up and put them into a ziploc bag in the freezer. They freeze well and it is a perfect way to add already diced onions to a recipe that you are cooking. (I would not add it to a recipe if the onions don't get cooked, they will end up a bit soggy) 

Green onions are another onion that freezes really well, and can be a bit expensive when not in season. I usually can't use them all before they start to get slimy in the fridge, so I try to chop them up and freeze them. 

Tip #5:

CHICKEN STOCK

Chicken stock is the easiest thing in the world to make! Any time I go to the store and pick up a rotisserie chicken, I will take the chicken off the bones and put everything into a crock pot. I will add celery, (the stock or pieces you cut off, onion the paper part and all, just cut it in half and throw it in, and a handful of baby carrots) Put it all into the crock pot and fill it to the top with water. I will do this at night before bed and cook it on low all night. When I wake up the house smells like a wonderful meal has been cooked. I let the crock pot cool down, put it into the fridge so the fat will rise to the top, then the next day I scrape the fat off, and put it into ziploc bags in 8oz (1 cup) portions. I lay them flat in the freezer and stack them on top of each other. I usually get 12-14 bags per crock pot. Next time I make it, I will post pictures of the process. 

Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Shallot Mushroom Gravy, Couscous salad and fresh fruit

Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Shallot Mushroom Gravy

Recipe courtesy of Cooking Light fresh food fast weeknight meals cookbook

Couscous Recipe courtesy of myself Lauren Buczkowski

Ingredients:

1. Pork tenderloin (approximately 1lb)

2. 8oz presliced mushrooms (I used portabello)

2-3 Tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

1 medium tomato, or 1/2 cup quartered cherry tomatoes

1 3/4 cup Israeli couscous 

2 teaspoons corn starch

1 Tablespoon sherry

salt

pepper

4 cloves of garlic (use a garlic press)

8oz beef stock

1/3 cup shallot sliced 1/2 lemon and zest

parsley or cilantro (1/3 cup) 

2 cups boiling water

 Start by putting the couscous into a pan and let it toast (about 5 minutes) don't let it burn. This is going to brown it and it brings out a slightly nutty flavor in the pasta. It just enhances the flavor. Just like toasting pecans or any type of nut is going to bring out the flavor of the nut, same thing is happening here.

Once it toasts, add in a little salt and then add in the 2 cups of water. Let it simmer on low for 12-15 minutes.

 While the couscous is cooking, slice the tenderloin diagonally into medallions. Lightly salt and pepper the medallions and rub each one with a little of the minced garlic. Coat pan with cooking spray and cook medallions 2 minutes on each side. Once they are done, put them on a plate and cover with foil to keep them warm. (don't worry if they are not completely cooked, you will cook them more in a bit.)

 Place pan back on the burner and spray once more with cooking spray. Add in the mushrooms and shallots and let them cook down. Approximately 5 minutes.

 While the mushrooms are cooking mix beef broth, corn starch, and sherry into a bowl and use a wisk to make sure there are no lumps and the cornstarch is mixed in really well. Pour the liquid over the mushroom mixture and bring to a boil over medium heat.

 Once it comes to a boil, add the pork back in and let it cook an additional 2-3 minutes.

 While the pork finishes cooking, put the couscous into a bowl and add in the zest of 1/2 a lemon. Then squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon. (if you are not a huge citrus fan add less lemon juice)

 Next add in the tomato, parsley, and feta cheese. Add approximately 1 Tablespoon of olive oil.  Lightly salt and pepper as well.

 Mix it together and serve at room temperature or chilled. 

Enjoy! This was a delicious meal and well balanced. You could add a side salad  or some sauteed green beans if you wanted to add in a Green container. 

21 Day Fix: 1 Red, 1 Yellow, 1/2 Blue, 2 Tsp. and 1 Purple

For this meal, you dont get enough of the sauce to count the cornstarch or sherry as anything. If you felt like you needed to count it as an orange for the sauce, you could do that as well. The couscous doesn't have enough veggies to count it as a green.

Honey Curry Pineapple

Honey Curry Pineapple

Recipe courtesy of Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast Cookbook

This recipe is SO easy and so yummy. Don't turn your nose up at it because it is curry and pineapple.. I promise you will wish you doubled the recipe. This is a great side dish, would be great as a dessert if you are craving something sweet, or even for breakfast. I served this with fish tostadas. 

Ingredients: 

3 cups diced fresh pineapple

1 Tablespoon of butter (yes I did use the butter in this situation.. you do need the flavor of it) 

1 tsp curry powder

1 Tablespoon of honey

 Melt butter in a pan. (my pan looks dirty, its just because I had just cooked another part of the meal in it) 

 Add in pineapple, curry, and honey and stir. Cook on medium low for 5-7 minutes until the sauce gets a bit thickened. 

Once the sauce has thickened, it is ready. This is a great way to add in a fruit as a side dish. 

This counts as 1 Purple, 1 tsp (because of the butter)

Cravings

We all get cravings.. its part of life. Right now I am craving a huge slice of coconut cake from Brickstreet Cafe, but I know that I will not be getting a piece of this cake until August 23rd... My 32nd birthday and the one huge splurge that I am allowing myself.  We have to live, we have to splurge and we can't beat ourselves up over it. There will always be situations where we have to make a choice to fight the urge or to give in. Sometimes that urge is stronger than other times and we are weak, so we eat something that is not on plan. Other times we are so strong and not tempted by the things that will only bring us down in the long run.

I get cravings mostly at night. When the kids are in bed, i am vegging on the couch or blogging, and then that sneaky little thought comes into my mind... "what can I eat?" "I am hungry... what containers do I have left?" Usually its green and then I decide I don't want veggies at 10pm.  I work hard to fight off the temptation to eat at night. One of my biggest downfalls is cereal. Not the healthy kind, the sugar packed, put you in a diabetic coma type of cereal. I love a bowl of cereal at night, but I have to fight the urge. I also don't buy a lot of sugary cereal because sugar really affects my boys. I try to keep to to 10 grams of sugar or less, but it is still sugar.

Anyway.. we all have cravings and things we battle when it comes to eating. We are all human and we are all on a journey to become a better version of ourselves. So keep up the good work! YOU ARE WORTH IT!

Oh My Delicious!

Let me just tell you that you will LOVE this meal! It is a WINNER. If you are a meat and potatoes person, or your husband or significant other is, this is a meal for them.
My littles love this meal for a few reasons. 1. It is called cowboy steak and the first time I made it, we told them that real cowboys ate it. They ate every bit of it because they were eating like cowboys! 2. Its just delicious and even kids love it.
This is a fairly quick meal! It was not quick for me due to taking pictures etc., but overall it can be made within 30 minutes including prep time.

Cowboy Steak, Garlic Cheddar Potatoes and Asparagus with a Lemon Vinaigrette

Recipes courtesy of Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast Weeknight Meals, and Food Network's Ten Dollar Dinners 

Ingredients: 

1 london broil or flank steak (I prefer london broil for this) 

Asparagus (1 bunch)

1 lemon

salt

pepper

1 clove garlic

1-2 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 tsp cumin

2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp instant coffee (I use the pre-packaged servings, which are exactly 1 tsp)

fingerling potatoes or any small potato

Cheddar cheese

garlic powder

olive oil

chopped chives for garnish

(butter is pictured, but i didn't use it and don't feel that you need it) 

 Making the Spice Rub.  Mix 2 tsp. of chili powder, 1/2 tsp of cumin, 1/2 tsp of brown sugar, and 1 tsp of instant coffee. Wisk together so it is well mixed. 

Once your spice rub is mixed salt and pepper one side of your meat. 

Spread 1/2 of the spice rub on the meat, and pat it into the meat, making sure to cover it well with the spice rub. 

Flip it over and repeat with salt, pepper and spice rub. At this point get your grill heated to high while you get the rest of your meal prepped. Go ahead and heat your oven to 400 degrees as well. Set the meat aside until ready to cook it. 

Trim your asparagus and spread out over half of a sheet pan. 

Drizzle with approximately 1/2 tsp. of olive oil and toss so the oil covers the asparagus. Lightly salt and pepper the asparagus. Set aside until ready to cook.  

Now you want to slice your potatoes in half and place into a microwave safe bowl. Put into the microwave for 6 minutes. This is going to precook the potatoes to allow everything to cook evenly and finish at the same time. 

While the potatoes are cooking you will start your vinaigrette that will go over the asparagus. Start by adding 1 to 2 tsp of dijon mustard to a small bowl.

use a garlic press to press 1 clove of garlic and add it to the mustard. 

Next you want to add in the juice from 1/2 a lemon. 

Add in a touch of salt and a generous amount of pepper. This will disperse over all of the asparagus, so it is ok to add a lot of pepper. 

Wisk all the ingredients together while adding in approximately 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. The mixture will become smooth. 

Set the vinaigrette aside so flavors combine.

Once the potatoes are done, place them on the other half of the sheet pan. Spray with PAM spray, lightly salt and pepper the potatoes then lightly sprinkle with garlic powder. 

You are now ready to start cooking! Place the pan into the oven and set the timer for 10 minutes. Once the pan is in the oven immediately put the london broil onto the grill. You only want to cook the london broil for 4 to 5 minutes per side. DO NOT COOK ANY LONGER!! I promise it will be perfectly cooked. Once the meat is done, put it on a plate and cover it with foil until ready to slice. This allows the meat to rest and the juices to redistribute throughout the meat. It also will give you some great juice to pour over the meat when you plate it. 

Pull the pan out of the oven flip your heat to broil and move the rack to the top slot in the oven. Remove the asparagus to a plate to cool slightly. Now you can top each potato with cheddar cheese. 

Place back in the oven on the top rack under the broiler for 2 minutes. This will melt the cheese and slightly brown the top. 

While the potatoes are cooking for the last few minutes, remove the meat from the plate and place on a cutting board to slice.  (you can see the remaining juice) 

The meat is nicely browned and there is a wonderful crust that has formed on the outside from the rub. 

To slice you want to slice diagonally and slice thinly. As you can see below the meat is perfectly cooked. It is still a little pink, but cooked through. If you cook this longer, the meat will be really tough. London broil and flank steak are a tougher cut of meat anyway. 

Sprinkle potatoes with some chopped chives before serving. 

To serve, slice the meat and add potatoes to the plate. Pour the vinaigrette over the asparagus and toss before putting it on the plate. ENJOY!! 

Now lets talk about the containers... 

For this recipe here is how I would count it. 

1 Red, 1 Yellow, 1 Green, 2 tsp, 1 Blue 

I debated on counting the dressing for the asparagus as an orange. There is such a small amount of it on the asparagus I didn't feel like it should count as an entire orange container. You could count it as orange, or just as a teaspoon. 

Enjoy this meal, it is truly wonderful! 

4 Days Post 3 Day Refresh

Because I posted my results and experience doing the 3 day refresh, I wanted to update after 4 days. I lost 7 lbs on the refresh (which is amazing) and I wanted to see if any of it immediately came back due to water weight. I am happy to say that 4 days later, I am still down 7 lbs! I am amazed and so excited. I have been consistent with my exercise (right now I am doing PiYo and eating from the 21 day fix meal plan). I am really pleased with my results! It really is amazing to have kept off the 7 lbs for 4 days after. I am so motivated to keep pushing and lose more! I am considering doing it again towards the end of August and then once again after our family returns from Disney World.

I am really excited that for the first time in 21 months, I am wearing my wedding rings. I also got into a dress, that I bought last October and was not able to wear because it was just a little too tight. I bought it because I knew I would be able to wear it. My clothes are loose on me and I am only going to get thinner! Woo Hoo!

I am just excited about this refresh.

If you want to join in and experience this I would love to have you along side me. Check it out. WWW.beacbbodycoach.com/Laurenb1022

Pork Tostadas

Pork Tostadas

Picture and recipe courtesy of Lauren Buczkowski

Sometimes you just feel like something easy and quick for dinner that doesn't take a lot of prep time. Tostadas are something that can be very versatile. You can make them with fish, you can make them with pork, you can make them with turkey or chicken. This is one I made with pork. It is such a simple recipe and a good, filling meal. It is also something that you get to cook all day in a crock pot and forget about. 

Pork loin is something that you can buy really inexpensively. It usually comes in large portions as well, allowing you to freeze part of it for another meal. Buy them when they are on sale. 

Ingredients: 

·       6” corn tortillas (I like to use white corn tortillas) 

·       1 lb pork loin roast

·       ¾ cup apple cider vinegar

·       2 Tablespoons honey

·       ½ cup water

·       Salt

·       Pepper

·       Garlic 2 cloves minced

·       Tomatoes

·       Avocado

·       Plain nonfat greek yogurt 1 cup

·       Cilantro 1/4 cup

·       Chives 1 tablespoon

·       Cheddar cheese

·       Limes

Place the pork loin into a crock pot. Lightly salt and pepper the pork loin. Add in apple cider vinegar, honey, 1 clove of garlic and water into the crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. 

When the meat is done, use two forks to shred it and then let it sit in the liquid until you are ready to serve. 

Get your toppings ready: Cheddar Cheese, chop tomatoes, dice avocado, Slice limes. 

To make the sauce to go on top of the tostadas, mix yogurt, remaining garlic clove, Chopped cilantro, chives, salt to taste and the juice of 1/2 a lime. 

Heat broiler and place tortillas onto a baking pan. Spray with cooking spray. Place under the broiler and watch them because they can burn quickly. Usually only cook for a minute or two. Flip them over and toast the other side. 

To put them together use 2 tortillas, 1 red container of meat, 1/2 blue of cheese split between the two, 1/2 blue of avocado, top with tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of sauce (one for each tostada) Sprinkle with cilantro if wanted and a squeeze of lime. 

Here is how I would count this meal: 

1 Red  (for the meat and sauce) 1 Blue, 1 Yellow

You don't use enough tomatoes to count it as a full green container.