Chocolate Berry Protein Smoothie Recipe + Tracking Your Macronutrients (aka macros)

Hi friends!

After a week off due to a crazy, busy schedule, I’m back. If you’re a regular at Mallard and Magnolia, you know I really enjoy healthy, clean eating (and baked goods – it’s called balance). I’m a big advocate for Whole30 and recently completed the program for the second time. I love Whole30 and appreciate the fact that you do it as a “system reset” and not a weight loss program.

However, I’ve had a few lingering pounds from the holidays that I can’t seem to get rid of. This was especially frustrating because I eat pretty clean but realized that I had probably plateaued and my portions may be off. I’ve heard a lot about tracking your macro intake and decided to give it a try. For the past three weeks, I’ve been tracking my macronutrients – carbohydrates, protein and fat and am down four pounds. I definitely feel leaner and plan to calculate my current body fat percentage in the next week or two because the goal is to lose fat and not muscle mass.

I calculated my recommended macro goal using If It Fits Your Macros at iifym.com and use My Fitness Pal – app and website for tracking. I adjusted my macro ratio in the app according to the numbers I was given by IIFYM. The only downfall to the free app is that it won’t let you input your macros based on grams. You have to adjust the percentages which means that your macros may not be exact but you can get them pretty close. I was okay with this so I stuck with the free version. I’ve also found it’s a lot easier to view your nutritional intake for the day, create meals and meal plan on the website. The app is a great tool to use on the go though!

Here’s my log from yesterday. You can easily view your intake by clicking Nutrition which shows percentages under the macro tab and grams under the nutrients tab. I didn’t hit my goal dead on but was pretty close. You can see my goal and see what I actually consumed for the day.

I’ve been making protein smoothies for breakfast lately since they are an easy and quick way to enjoy a balanced meal. The key to making a smoothie that keeps you full until lunch is making sure it includes plenty of protein, carbs and healthy fat. Today, I’m sharing one of my go-to smoothie recipes with you. I try to avoid dairy on a daily basis (but do love it) so my liquid preference is either an unsweetened almond milk or coconut almond blend.

Chocolate Berry Protein Smoothie

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 cup strawberries, frozen
• 1/4 cup blackberries, frozen
• 2 TBSP unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 2 cups organic baby spinach
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1/2 cup ice

Directions

Add all ingredients into a blender. Blend on crush ice mode to break up your frozen ingredients and ice for about 30 seconds. After frozen ingredients are broken up blend on the liquify setting until smooth.

Notes: I use Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk and Body Fortress Whey Protein Isolate. I prefer to use a whey isolate protein since it has less calories than a plain whey protein.

Calories: 318, Protein: 33 grams, Carbohydrates: 26, Fat: 9, Fiber: 9, Sugar: 11

Serves 1

I hope you enjoy this quick and easy breakfast. I plan to share some other recipes soon so stayed tuned! Do you have any favorite smoothie ingredients? I’d love to try them.

Cheers, 

Christa 

Herbed Breakfast Potatoes with Fried Eggs & Avocado: Whole 30 Approved

Happy Sunday!

I’ve had a lot of requests for the recipes of meals I’ve been featuring on my Instagram stories lately. For a sneak peek into my kitchen, you can follow me here.

Today, I’ll be sharing one of my favorite healthy breakfast recipes. As I’ve mentioned before, I follow Whole 30 and just finished another round this week. For those unfamiliar, Whole 30 is an elimination diet that focuses on changing your relationship with food. Essentially, you eat whole foods consisting of lean protein, tons of veggies and healthy fats. You cannot have added sugar, alcohol, dairy, soy, peanuts, refined starches, legumes, certain preservatives like MSG, or processed foods of any kind. Instead of weight loss, they focus on resetting your system and ridding your body of cravings so you have a healthier relationship with food. Many people, myself included, experience the added benefits of balanced hormones, better sleep, clearer skin (it was the dairy), more energy (after the first two weeks) and weight loss. Overall, I feel so much better on this program! If you want more information on Whole 30, you can download the PDF rules and guides here.

Disclaimer: The website has a ton of information on it but I definitely recommend reading the book, The Whole30: The 30 Day Guide To Total Health And Food Freedom as it gives more in-depth information about servings sizes, approved foods, advice and the science behind the program. The new cookbook just came out but I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet so let me know your thoughts!

Today’s recipe is herbed breakfast potatoes with fried eggs and avocado. I did my first Whole 30 last May/June and the program inspired me to change my lifestyle. After the 30 days, I stuck to clean eating for the most part (the holidays did me in though). So, for breakfast for the past seven months, I’ve had some form of eggs, potato and a healthy fat which can get pretty boring quick. In an attempt to jazz up my normal breakfast routine, I whipped up this bad boy sans recipe. This dish was serendipity – a flavor party was happening in my mouth. The heavens parted and beams of light shone down on my plate while angels ascended into my kitchen singing glorious music. Okay, that’s dramatic BUT there are only so many ways to make eggs and potatoes and this recipe was pretty legit.

This meal took about 30 minutes from start to finish, so it’s a great weekend go-to or occasional workday breakfast when you have some extra time in the morning.

Herbed Breakfast Potatoes with Fried Eggs and Avocado

Ingredients:

• 1 small russet potato
• 1 cup pepper and onion blend, frozen (you can obviously use freshly sliced but I keep always frozen pepper blend in my freezer )
• 2 large handfuls of kale, de-ribbed and chopped
• 1-2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 spring fresh rosemary
• Small handful of cilantro, for garnish
• 2 eggs
• 1 avocado, sliced
• Coconut oil (or your favorite high heat cooking oil)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Start by washing produce and herbs. Dice your potato into one-inch cubes and place in a small mixing bowl. Destem the thyme and rosemary and give it a rough chop. Destem the cilantro and set aside for garnishing.

Next, drizzle your potato with olive oil. Sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper, add thyme and rosemary and toss together until evenly coated.

In a non-stick skillet heat a teaspoon or two of coconut oil on medium-high heat. Add your potato mix to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally for about 10-15 minutes or until your potatoes are soft and golden on all sides.

Next, add your pepper and onion mix. Saute until your veggies are translucent. Add the kale and cook for a minute or two until your kale is wilted. Season with more salt and pepper. Turn heat off and let sit on the warm eye while you cook your eggs.

In a small skillet, heat your cooking oil on medium heat. Crack your eggs into the skillet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let the eggs fry slowly until the whites are completely set and the yoke begins to thicken. This should take about two to three minutes. If your egg cooks too quickly, turn heat down. Flip your eggs and let cook for another minute or two, depending on how you like your eggs (I prefer medium-well).

Place your potatoes on a plate with eggs on top. Garnish with sliced avocado and cilantro. Serve immediately. Note: This is also delicious with poached eggs or spinach in place of kale.

Serves 1 hungry person

I’d love to hear from you… be sure to comment or email with any recipes you’d like to see featured on the blog!

Cheers, 

Christa 

 

Clean Eating With Roasted Chicken & Brussels Sprouts

Hello!

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend! The freezing temps here in South Georgia had us inside most of the weekend lounging around the house. I did make some time for a few projects around the house and also worked on some new, healthy recipes I’ve been wanting to try out.

I’m two weeks into another round of Whole 30 so I’ve been eating clean and on the lookout for ways to shake up my normal routine. I tend to be a creature of habit and will literally eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day. This weekend, I threw together an easy winter detox salad with fresh kale, shaved brussels sprouts, roasted sweet potatoes, pistachios, dried cranberries. I topped it with an easy homemade balsamic vinegarette I made by whisking together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. This was a delicious twist on my normal salad and a great way to utilize these seasonal veggies in a different way. I don’t normally meal prep, but thought a big batch of homemade salad mix and a roasted chicken would make for easy lunches to carry me through the week.

Even when I’m not actively on a Whole 30, I try to eat minimally processed foods on a day in and day out basis, steering clear of refined starches, sugar and dairy (even though I love these things). Not only do I feel better but I noticed a HUGE difference in how much my skin cleared up after cutting these things out.

I understand that roasting your own chicken may seem like a daunting tasking when you can easily pick up a rotisserie-style chicken from any local grocery store. I do this from time to time and throw it in a salad or serve with veggies and call it a meal. However, these store-bought rotisserie chickens are processed with preservatives, sugar and other hidden ingredients – all of which I am trying to avoid.

I roasted my first chicken last spring and was surprised at how easy and quick it was. It is an inexpensive and impressive dish you can serve for Sunday night dinner or your next dinner party. I decided to make one as the main entree for Easter dinner last year and everyone loved it. Here’s a picture of my mini Martha-in-training helping prepare the meal last spring. She wants to open her own bakery when she grows up and I’d say she is off to a great start!

There is something so classic and elegant about a perfectly roasted chicken in the center of a table. The prep is super simple and the ingredient list is short – you simply throw in fresh garlic, onion, citrus, herbs and roast.

I love that you can sub the ingredients, so the flavor combinations are endless. My recipe called for lemon and thyme but I wanted to use the fresh rosemary that I planted this fall instead. You could also try orange in place of the lemon. I use an orange and rosemary combo for my Thanksgiving turkey and it is divine. It would even be an interesting twist to make a Thai inspired chicken with fresh basil, lemongrass, ginger, lime and chilis to serve over curried vegetables and rice (yum), but I digress.

To go with my roasted chicken, I prepared a simple side dish of roasted pan veggies. I already had an abundance of brussels sprouts in the fridge so I decided to utilize these. I chopped them up and added diced sweet potato, seasoning and sprinkled on some fresh cranberries. I had some leftover cranberries from a dish I made and have been trying to come up with a way healthy way to use them. I’ve paired this dish with dried cranberries but really recommend the fresh. They added a touch of tart and sweetness that really brightened the dish.

This made for an easy winter, weekend dinner utilizing seasonal ingredients. I like that it is healthy yet still satiating. Plus, I can use the leftover chicken for my kale and brussels salads this week.

Stay tuned for the chicken with vegetable recipes later this week on the blog!

What’s your favorite healthy dish to cook in the winter?

Cheers,

Christa