Paleo Zuchinni Bread & The Easiest Breakfast Casserole Recipes

As promised, I thought I'd make a quick post about my two Easter dish contributions to our family gathering. I found this blogger 'Detoxinista' a couple of years ago and I just LOVE her recipes. I made her zucchini bread once and it was a hit at our house, even with my kids, so I've kept it as my go to for a breakfast bread. I found the crockpot egg casserole on Pinterest and added my own twist. I've now made it for Thanksgiving morning (because who wants to cook breakfast when you've spent hours in the kitchen baking pies and preparing side dishes!) Christmas morning, because again, I don't like to be missing out on the kid's fun, but everyone is starving after unwrapping gifts, and now Easter!

Zucchini Bread 

(credit to Detoxinista.com recipe)

Here are the ingredients you will need:

3/4 cup coconut flour
6 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini, tightly packed

Method:

Preheat oven @ 350 degrees, and prepare a loaf pan, glass works best. I prepare my loaf pan by just using a cold stick of butter and coating all sides and the bottom of the pan really well. Real butter is much better for you than all of the crap that's in Pam spray, but that's a whole subject in and of itself. So...just prepare your pan. ***Note: Detoxinista suggests using parchment paper, I forgot to this time and it came out fine, but she says sometimes it sticks like crazy *** Next whisk together your eggs, add in the maple syrup, melted coconut oil, coconut flour, vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking soda, and whisk until all of the lumps are gone. Then with a spatula, fold in your shredded zucchini. Your mixture will be thick, similar to cake batter. Pour your mixture into your prepared loaf pan, smooth out the top, and pop it into the oven for 45-60 minutes. The loaf won't rise much, but jiggle the pan to make sure it's cooked through the middle. It will be golden brown, and this bread is very *moist (my least favorite word) so I'd err on the side of baking it a little longer if you're not sure that it's done. Cool on a wire rack, and then store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week. (Although I doubt you'll have it around that long!)

I had to make myself pause to take a picture because it was delicious

This bread is delicious alone, or served with butter, honey, or whatever you like on top of your breakfast breads. It has a nice texture, and the maple syrup & zucchini alone make it sweet, but you don't feel like you ate a donut afterwards. Win win if you're trying to eat healthier!

This is the beautiful picture from Detoxinista.com but this is exactly what the loaf should look like

Crockpot Egg Dish

So, if you're like me, you like good homemade food, but you like it to be fairly easy to make. We love breakfast at our house, and it seems with most holidays that we eat some form of eggs, or egg casserole for breakfast or brunch. I'm usually making quite a few homemade food items around the holidays, and breakfast seems like the last thing I want to stand on my feet in the kitchen to make, but the first thing I want to dig into after a late night! Anyway, I came across this very basic egg dish recipe for the crockpot on Pinterest. I honestly don't even remember what site I found it on, so I wish I could give credit to whomever saved my life with this recipe. But, alas, I cannot. I also don't have any pictures for you, but I'll be making this again later this week, and will update this post! 

The original recipe calls for:

12 eggs

1 bag of frozen hash browns

1 16 oz. roll of sausage

16 oz of shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup of milk

Salt & Pepper to taste

My version...because we love eggs, and leftovers, or if you have a big crowd to feed!

All of my ingredients ( I like to use block cheese & shred it myself- less additives)

18 eggs

1 16 oz bag of all natural hash browns, OR 3 cups of shredded sweet potatoes

1 lb of mild sausage

2 1/2 cups of frozen roasted corn, black beans, onion, & green pepper mix

6 shakes of Frank's Red Hot (or to taste-this amount won't make it spicy)

2 cups of milk

1 TBSP onion powder

1 TBSP garlic powder

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp. himalayan sea salt

8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Method:

In a medium pan, brown your sausage, then set aside. In a large bowl whisk your eggs until thoroughly beaten, add in the milk and whisk again. Add in your Frank's Red Hot, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, salt, and whisk together. Next, add in your hash browns or shredded sweet potato and use a spatula to mix together. Add in the sausage and mix thoroughly, and lastly, add in your cheese and mix until everything is evenly incorporated. Now, get out your crockpot, again I use a cold stick of butter to prepare mine, and make sure to prepare the bottom and sides of the crockpot all the way up! Then dump in all of your egg mixture, put on the lid, and cook for 5 hours on low. If you have a crockpot with a timer (the absolute best kitchen gadget) then it will automatically switch over to the 'warm' setting after 5 hours. If not, you'll want to be sure to set an alarm so you turn it over to warm, unless you're ready to serve it that point. 

All of my ingredients mixed together & ready to go in the crockpot!

I usually start mine around midnight or later on Thanksgiving or Christmas, only because I'm still up doing something in the kitchen at that point. For Easter, I made this ahead, leaving the last step for 5 a.m. so, I set my alarm and dumped my egg mixture into the crockpot and then it was ready to go when we were heading to my mom's in the morning &  I just plugged it back in on the 'warm' setting when we got there because we weren't going to eat breakfast for another 45 minutes or so. It's always a hit, it's super easy, and I have to make more this week because everyone took some home & we didn't have much for leftovers!

Our delicious hot & ready breakfast, just get a spoon & dig in!

www.beachbodycoach.com/DRJENNCHICOINE

"Spring Break" & Easter Weekend

Thursday...

My kids are currently on their spring break for school, it began with an hour early dismissal last Wednesday, and they don't go back to school until this Wednesday March 30th. I took Thursday & Friday off of work, and planned to spend time with my kids before this baby gets here. There were no plans for tropical drinks, beaches, or wet t-shirt contests, however, I was HOPING we would have some nice weather to maybe go for a picnic at the park. Much to my dismay we woke up to 14 inches of snow on Thursday morning, so we were pretty much going to be finding things to do inside. At 31 weeks pregnant my body doesn't really allow for great sleep, so I was up around 7:30 a.m. and decided to start my day with a quick workout. It gave me time to get mobile, get active, and since my kids were sleeping in, it didn't take away from our time together!

View of our deck covered in 14 inches of snow

View out our front window, Randy had made the first tracks of the day heading to work!

Once the kids were up, I made them a fruit smoothie, and then headed out to shovel a path to the back yard for our dog Mugsy. I was thinking I'd just make a path on the deck, but we just built this great deck last summer, so instead of letting the dog christen it, I shoveled out into the yard so he could take care of business in the grass. I was surprised to be so winded after just a few scoops of snow, and I was being really careful not to move in a way I'd pay for later! By the time I got down to the grass, I was sweaty & tired, and couldn't believe that the snow was up to my knees, that's just too much snow for March.

My path for Mugsy

Doesn't look like much but I was gassed!

Reese wanted to bake chocolate chip cookies from a recipe she found off of Pinterest, and that worked for me because I was going to be getting soup ready in the crockpot for dinner. We worked together in the kitchen, and Keaton was finding time to just relax and make the most of a snow day. All in all it wasn't exactly a 'spring' day, but we enjoyed our time together.

My soup ingredients for Chili lime chicken soup

Friday...

Friday started out with putting my 'me time' in first while the kids were sleeping, I wanted to make sure to fit in my workout early because we had a busy day planned. By the time I finished up, Reese was awake, and I made pancakes for the kid's breakfast. I made the healthier pancakes for myself from my earlier blog post, and then we all got showered and ready for the day. We planned to pick up my mom to go to lunch and then an early movie. The kids wanted HyVee Chinese food, so that's where we went, but I went through the salad bar with my mom instead (knowing that we were having pizza for dinner). With our bellies full we headed off to our local theater to watch Zootopia, which was hilarious, adorable, and had a great underlying lesson! The theater was packed so Reese & I sat together, and then Keaton sat with his grandma (who's the best boy!) Afterwards we dropped my mom off at her house, and then went to pick up some take and bake pizzas. By the time we got home it was nearly 4:30 p.m. and Keaton got invited to sleepover at a friend's house, so he packed a bag and I drove him there. I sat and fit in a little more 'me time' reading my personal development book before my nephew was coming over. I had agreed to babysit my nephew, and I said he could sleepover, so his parent's could have a date night and they didn't have a curfew. Reese was my big helper because our little 2 year old nephew just adores her, and he wanted to do what she did, and sit next to her all night. He went to bed early, and I followed close after because he still gets up in the night, and wakes up early!

Done with my workout just in time because then Reese was up!

Fitting in a little more 'me time' before Blake came over

Saturday...

Blake woke up at 7 a.m. on the dot & he wanted his mommy! After some cuddles and coaxing, he settled down and let me change his diaper and then he sat with uncle Randy to watch his movie 'Tangled' while I made him some breakfast. He ate his eggs, banana, and avocado really well, so I let him have a little piece of cinnamon roll cut up that I had just baked. My sister & brother in law came to get him around 9:30 and then he didn't want to leave :D. 

Randy & Blake watching 'Tangled' while I made breakfast

Blake cheesing it up for the camera

Randy & Blake 'sharing' a pillow

At 10:45 I picked Keaton up from his friend's house because we had big plans to go shopping for his upcoming 8th grade graduation. I had Kohl's cash & a coupon (that I normally totally forget to use!) and I wrote it on the calendar that we had to go shopping by Saturday to use the discounts. I knew Keats needed dressed head to toe with shoes, a belt, and the whole shebang, so I was going to want those discounts! Anyway, he was a total trooper because he was in a dressing room trying on so many pairs of pants, shirts, & combinations that it took us about an hour and a half to get his outfit pulled together just right. He didn't complain once, which if you have a teenage boy, is HUGE! Normally I just shop for him and bring stuff home, but because he doesn't usually wear dress slacks & a dress shirt etc. I knew he needed to go with me! Afterwards I took him to lunch at Chipotle because it's delicious, and it's one of his favorites. It was so nice to spend some one on one time with my son. Usually Reese always goes with me to run errands and I love our time together as well, but because Keats is usually on his own agenda,  so this was a very special day. 

Keats & I on our lunch date @ Chipotle

While we were out and about we hit up Target for some Easter candy & goodies to stick in the kid's baskets, and healthy granola & nuts for mine & Randy's basket. (Although I made sure to sneak in a dark chocolate Dove Easter bunny for myself as well) Then we headed home to get working on our hard boiled Easter eggs.

We tried something new this year that I had seen on Pinterest. Since the beginning of time we've used the water & vinegar method with the PAAS Easter kit. But as it normally goes, the kids want to dye one or two eggs, and then I'm left with a dozen or more to do by myself when they lose interest & patience. SO, I thought we'd try something new. This method called for whipped topping (you could also use shaving cream, but the idea of all those chemicals in the shaving cream sitting on our hard boiled eggs made me cringe) & food coloring.

Materials for our Eggstravaganza :D

I gathered all of the materials:

Whipped topping

Food dye

Straws

Craft Sticks

Kitchen tongs

 9 x 13 dish

18 hard boiled eggs

The Method:

I stirred up the whipped topping and then poured it into the pan and smoothed it out so it was fairly even. Then I used multiple drops of gel food dye and left about 2 inches around each. We used the straws to mix the dye into the whipped topping a little. Then we simply dropped our eggs one at a time into a color, and gently rolled it through the whipped topping & dye using our craft sticks to guide it. When it was covered with color, I'd use the tongs to lift the eggs out & placed them on a baking sheet I had covered first with plastic wrap & then a paper towel to contain the mess! They started out looking like a blob of colors. We let them sit overnight, and in the morning I rinsed them off a little and then used a damp paper towel to get the rest of the glopped whipped topping off of them.

After swirling the food dye & whipped topping with a straw

Kids using the sticks to guide their eggs through the dye

Keats & Reese enjoying the messy method

Our gloppy eggs sitting to dry overnight

Our final product, pastel tie dye eggs!

Things I would do differently: I would not stir the dye into the whipped topping, I think I'd just let the dye sit in little pools until the eggs roll through & swirl them to make more vibrant colors. Otherwise it went super fast, the kids were laughing & having fun, and the eggs looked tie dyed so all in all it was a fun project!

Sunday...

To follow suit as a totally 'pregnant brain' lady at 31 weeks pregnant...I forgot to take a photo of all of us dressed up on Easter Sunday. Our plan was brunch at my parent's house, and dinner at Randy's dad's house.I made an egg dish in the crockpot, I'll post the recipe soon because it's super easy and it's now my go-to for holidays. I also made some healthy paleo zucchini bread that was a hit for the second year in a row! Reese baked blueberry muffins on Saturday that we brought to my parent's house, and there was a huge spread of delicious foods, fruits, baked goods, and of course Easter candy :D. My kids did a little Easter egg hunt to each find 10 plastic eggs with money & candy. We normally like to try and do this outside, but due to the winter storm of course, we were forced inside this year. My philosophy is you're never too old for an Easter egg hunt! 

We ate until we were uncomfortable, and of course the morning wasn't without a fiasco at the Chicoine house. My mom tried a recipe for monkey bread in a bundt pan, there is a caramel sauce so when it's done, you flip the pan over onto a serving dish and the caramel coats the whole confection. In customary Chicoine fashion, we successfully flipped the bundt only to find that the monkey bread was still really doughy in some areas. So, now it was on a glass serving plate, but not baked. We suggested that she put the bread back into the oven on the dish, since now there was caramel everywhere...about ten minutes later I could smell (with my pregnancy spidey senses) something burning. I opened the oven and the glass dish had broken in a star pattern, the caramel goo was now leaking down onto the potato casserole underneath it, and some was dripping onto the floor of the oven, which is what I could smell burning! 

We went over to my father in law's house for supper around 4 p.m. and he had cooked a ham, and a whole spread. I was still pretty full from brunch but we sat around and talked and caught up with everyone. We left around 6:30 so it was still early, and we decided to sit and watch a movie as a family, the 'Penguins of Madagascar' that Reese got in her Easter basket. It was a wonderful weekend, and it definitely made Monday morning a little difficult to fire up for!

www.beachbodycoach.com/DRJENNCHICOINE

Coming Clean...

  I decided to re-cap my weekend in all honesty with my crappy food choices and all...because I'm human, but also because I want to let you know that just because you slip up, doesn't mean you have to give up!!! 

Friday...

I ate a healthy and clean breakfast, skipped a snack, and then took my mom out to lunch to spend time with her for her birthday. We both ordered a healthy quinoa chopped salad with grilled salmon at our favorite local restaurant. I devoured my salad in it's delicious entirety and thought to myself, excellent, I've been making great food choices the last few days! After some great chit chat and lots of water refills, it was time to go. I drove my mom back to her house, and then my daughter arrived having walked there after school. We played a few rounds of 'Old Maid' and spent a little time looking over my baby registry, when my mom offered us a sample piece of chocolate cake from her dinner out the night before. Who can turn down chocolate cake, I mean c'mon especially when the description includes the words mousse, and ganache!!! My daughter and I both had a piece and I cannot tell a lie, it was so rich and delicious the small serving was even enough to satisfy my sweet tooth! My daughter and I went home, and I took a nap because it was just one of those gloomy and cold days that are meant for napping. When I woke up, my husband and I felt like moving our Saturday night's menu to Friday and just ordering pizza instead of cooking dinner. SO, we did, and I ate 3 slices of normal amazing pizza. So, to recap, Friday wasn't the worst choices all day, but two big indulgences: CHOCOLATE CAKE & PIZZA. Friday was also a 'rest' day so I didn't work out, however, I DID drink all of my water and I went to bed early!

Saturday...

I woke up early to get ready for my daughter's Band Olympics competition at our high school fine arts building. Her solo time was scheduled for  8:24 a.m. and we were to be there 30 mins. early so she could warm up! I made my daughter her favorite fruit smoothie for breakfast, and then I totally forgot to grab myself a banana on our way out the door! She did amazing on her solo, hit every note clearly, had great breathing technique, and completely wowed her audience (her family), I was so proud! My husband & I had told Reese that we wanted to take her to breakfast anywhere she chose because she practiced hard for her solo and we were so proud of her. She chose Harvey's which is a local diner type restaurant that we LOVE because they have the absolute best pancakes! So, there I was super hungry because in my haste to get out the door on time I hadn't eaten breakfast and had now been up for 3 hours...and the baby made me I ordered a pancake to go with my eggs & sausage! I enjoyed every darn bite of it too, because like I said, their pancakes are sensational. I spent the next few hours at the clinic working on patient files, then I took my daughter to the library, and headed back home. Once I got there I got dinner in the crock pot, ate a leftover slice of pizza :/  ( I know!) and then got down to it and made time for a workout. I did the 21 day fix workout called 'Dirty 30' it's a 30 minute interval workout with weights. It felt good to do something good for my body! My daughter asked to have a friend sleep over, and I said as long as she's ok with our healthy dinner meal I didn't mind. We had already ordered out on Friday night, so I had planned on cooking a healthy meal for Saturday night. I made buffalo chicken, which is essentially just chicken cooked in the crock pot that I shred and throw some seasonings & Frank's Red Hot buffalo sauce onto, steamed broccoli, and baked sweet potato 'fries'. For the fries I just cut up a couple of sweet potatoes like steak fries, season them with a little garlic salt & chili powder, and bake them on a sheet @ 400 degrees for about 25 minutes turning them halfway through. Anyway, dinner was over and we didn't have any treats in the house (because I find it easier to stay away from snacking on unhealthy foods if I don't buy them lol). I told the kids I'd take them for ice cream, so we loaded up the car and they each ordered what they wanted...and then that little voice in the back of my head was like "you really don't need anymore sweets today, yesterday you had plenty & you had a pancake with breakfast!" But my cravings won out, so I ordered a milkshake from Sonic, we NEVER go there for ice cream, but we tried something new. So, the first few sips of my shake tasted super sweet like I had wanted, but then all I could taste was an almost chemical flavor...now, maybe I'm going crazy, but I think it's because I don't normally eat too many artificial flavorings or buy things with artificial dye. So, I ended up throwing it away, and I only ate about half of it, but it just didn't taste that great. So, I did some work on the iPad and then kissed my kids goodnight & went to bed. My Saturday indulgences were: a pancake @ Harvey's, left over pizza for lunch, & half a milkshake. However, I DID workout on Saturday & I drank all of my water...so two good things.

Reese during her clarinet solo

Sunday...

I woke up fairly early to meet up with my girlfriend for coffee on Sunday, I hadn't seen her since Christmas time, when we had met up at the same coffee place. I knew we were celebrating my mom's birthday that night, and she had gotten the cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory that I had recreated a few weekends ago! I totally planned on having a piece too. So I knew heading to the coffee shop that I would stick to an iced coffee, not a specialty coffee, & a breakfast sandwich because I wanted to keep my day on track until dessert at my parent's house. I came home around noon to bring my daughter's friend home, and took a couple of bites of a cinnamon roll that was leftover from breakfast, & I packed my water with me to run to Target afterwards. My daughter went with me and we were gone for about 2 hours running errands, so when I finally got home I was starving, I made a quick salad with chicken on it, and then proceeded to finish off the cinnamon roll I had taken a few bites of that morning :/ I bought a planner at Target specifically to write down my goals for my workouts for the weeks ahead, and also because I was already feeling the effects of my bad food choices all weekend. I felt sluggish, lazy, and craved more bad carbs & sweets than normal! I fit in a workout, and worked on my planner, and had been drinking lots of water all day. When we headed to my parent's house I made a conscious effort not to snack a lot on the nuts & crackers with dip that they had set out. For dinner we had salad, filet mignon, steamed broccoli, & baked potatoes, which was all good. Then out came one of the most glorious cheesecake desserts EVER...the salted caramel cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. Are you kidding me? I mean, I had exceeded my usual indulgences by far all weekend...but how could I say NO to this scintillating dessert that was calling out my name!?!?! And so, as a weak pregnant human craving bad things...I had a slice, and it was so damn fantastic I only regretted it a little. My Sunday indulgences were: a cinnamon roll & a piece of the most amazing cheesecake ever! I did do a lot of walking while running errands & fit in a workout however, and drank all my water for the day.

To recap...

SO, this weekend was by far and away my worst eating choices in consecutive days, and I can't really blame it on anything but giving in to my food cravings and using pregnancy as an excuse to say, sure why not! However, I also did some good things this weekend. I met up with a good friend I hadn't seen in awhile, I fit in a few workouts, I did really well keeping hydrated and drinking OR exceeding my goal of 120 ounces of water each day. I probably wouldn't HAVE to drink that much water, but with being pregnant, and fitting in workouts, sometimes after a normal day of about 80 ounces of water, I'm still thirsty. I have set my goals for these last 9 weeks of my pregnancy to do better. I don't deny myself indulgences once in awhile, but I went overboard this weekend, and I can feel the effects! I also specifically bought a planner to write down workouts for each day and schedule in a 'rest' day to help keep myself on task, and hold myself accountable. I've read that if you write your 'me time' in as an appointment, you're more likely to make it happen. Most days I fit in my workouts, but it's been on average about 4 days each week. I think everyone needs rest days too, but I want to push myself to the end of this pregnancy in a healthy way, so that my labor, delivery, and recovery go as smoothly as possible! Depending on where you are in your health & fitness journey, you may not see my weekend eating as being too terrible, OR you might be thinking holy smokes you blew it sister! With being transparent in this post I guess I just wanted to stress that just because you have a few bad meals, or a few missed workouts, it doesn't mean that you have to give up. It doesn't mean that you can't recover, and it doesn't mean that you're terrible at working towards being better. There are always going to be exceptions, and life shouldn't be about denying yourself experiences, or get togethers. The whole philosophy behind health & fitness should be about making it a lifestyle. Yes, there will be setbacks, yes you will have great days, yes you will have less than great days. If you keep your mindset positive, and work towards being better than you were yesterday that's what matters because that is what will keep you moving forward! 

With that said, I have planned out my meals & workouts for the week to be better than I was this weekend, and I plan to take the next few days to 'detox' from excess sugar! 

www.beachbodycoach.com/DRJENNCHICOINE

Making Time For Yourself

Today I wanted to talk a little bit about how important it is to take time out of your day for yourself. For the first few years of motherhood I really struggled with this, because trying to juggle life, and single parenthood didn't leave much time left over for anything else. I really lost sight of who I was as anything other than a mom in those years. It's easy to do especially as a mom because our kids need so much of us, especially when they're little, and at least in my experience, they gravitate towards 'mommy'. It wasn't until my kids were a little older that I found myself exhausted, and just somewhat lost. I was graduating from Chiropractic school, and moving home to begin practicing with my dad at his clinic, and that's when I finally made the decision that I needed to make some time for ME!

I started out slowly, I joined my mom's book club, I made time to read the assigned book, and we'd meet about once every couple of months to discuss the book, and of course have wine! I would meet with this group of established women that I had known most of my young life as my mom's friends, but I began to look at them differently. I saw how they all juggled life, careers, and becoming who they were as individuals. I looked up to these ladies as strong women who were capable, and I wanted that for myself as well. I started taking time 3-5 times a week to exercise just using an at-home dvd, I didn't really lose much weight, but I felt good about myself. I had more energy, I had a clearer mind, and I could feel myself getting stronger. I also started to read more about nutrition, I had taken plenty of nutrition and biochemistry classes, but I hadn't really connected the dots for myself and put all of the puzzle pieces together yet. I guess you could say, I started to work on personal development in many areas, and that's what I hadn't made time for in those years I'd spent in 'survival mode'. I honestly look back and miss certain things about those days when my kids were young, and even though they were difficult, I needed to go through that to appreciate what I have now. 

Fast forward about 8 years...

Now I make it part of my routine to make time for myself everyday. Most days that's for a workout but some days it's sitting down to read, or to watch my favorite TV show. My husband is wired very much the same way, and he understands the importance of 'me' time so I am very fortunate in that aspect. Taking time to work on yourself doesn't make you selfish, it makes you centered, it helps you to be better at work, at school, a better wife, better mother, sister, or friend. I read this post once that said 'stop glorifying busy' or something to that extent and it really just stuck with me. If we don't take the time to care as much about ourselves as we do about the other people in our lives, what does that say about us? Everyone is deserving of time to themselves.

For me, a big part of me-time is exercise. Why? For many reasons, but mostly because it keeps me healthy. I am not, nor have I ever been a size 2, or naturally thin person, and that's not part of of my goal. I exercise to exert myself, to get stronger, to work out my stress, to keep my body healthy & mobile. I want to be independant into my golden years and I plan to live a very healthy & long life! My work is fairly physical, I walk up & down the stairs all day at the clinic, I physically twist, lift, bend, and stretch patients. But my work is helping my patients, it's not the same as taking time to work on me. More recently I have been doing my 21 day fix workouts at home because at 30 weeks pregnant that's a fantastic workout, & it's only 30 minutes which I can definitely make time for. I find it's easier to keep a positive attitude, and live a healthier lifestyle overall when part of my 'me time' is dedicated to exercise.

So if this is an area where you feel you could use a little work, don't feel guilty making that time for yourself. YOU are the most important person in YOUR life...because if you're not healthy and taking care of yourself first, how can you expect to really take care of anyone else? I know all you mom's out there can understand this, so take some time to put yourself first today, just try it out and see how much better you feel!

www.beachbodycoach.com/DRJENNCHICOINE

Daylight Savings Time Weekend (Tuscan Chicken & Salted Caramel Cheesecake Recipe)

Friday...

Well this weekend was busy and productive! I usually get done a little early with work on Friday, so after finishing up charts I headed home around 3 to meet my husband. We enjoyed the sunny warm weather and walked down the block to meet with our daycare provider for this baby. She literally lives half a block away, she is so sweet and is open to our plan to use cloth diapers...which to me, was pretty big. (I know most people are uncomfortable at the mention of cloth diapers, or just think I'm plain crazy...I'll keep everyone updated as to our trials & tribulations in the future!) After that I spent most of Friday evening sitting on a heating pad on the couch because my sacroiliac, or SI joints, were killing me! Honestly, I have enjoyed this pregnancy for the most part, but I'm not used to having too many aches & pains, and it's very frustrating when I move like I'm 100 it slows me down.

Saturday...

My daughter & I kicked off Saturday morning with a stop through the Caribou Coffee drive-thru for coffee for me & her favorite smoothie for her. Our plan was to go shopping and find an outfit that she could wear for her upcoming spring vocal concert, Easter, & my son's graduation. The hard part is she's 11, and she doesn't really like dresses or skirts, or really anything that's not under armour too girly. So, as you can imagine it took us quite a few stores and bathroom breaks, before we found anything. But alas, success was ours! 

Cold pressed coffee & Mango Orange Key Lime Smoothie

Striking a pose in her new romper

We got home and the best husband ever had already started making the pizza crust for our homemade pizza night. We used Bob's Red Mill gluten free pizza crust mix, and it usually turns out pretty good. We had bought some nitrate free pepperoni, and ham while we were out shopping, as well as organic pizza sauce because it didn't have high fructose corn syrup like most traditional brands. We order out pizza like normal people too, but once in awhile it's fun to make your own & get the kids involved. Reese & I walked our dog Mugsy for 1 mile before it started raining, and then I fit in the 21 day fix yoga workout before we ate dinner. (We had covered a lot of ground shopping, but I wanted to make sure and get some exercise in while I was feeling good!)

You can find this in the health aisle at most grocery stores

Working on a Hawaiian pizza

Sunday...

Okay, down to the good stuff, my big plan for this weekend was to recreate the meal that my mom & I had at The Cheesecake Factory a couple of weeks ago for my family...cheesecake and all! I lived in Dallas, Texas for 4 years while going to graduate school, and every year on my birthday, I'd go to The Cheesecake Factory, because c'mon everything there is DELISH. Needless to say, living in Sioux City for the past 8 almost 9 years...I have had very few dates with my beloved restaurant. So, in my habitual crazy person fashion, I like to set nearly impossible expectations for myself to whip something up that I've never made before...and then critique it accordingly.

So here's the menu, Tuscan Chicken over brown rice noodles (their's was served over farro, but my kid's go nuts for noodles) & salted caramel cheesecake on a blonde brownie crust...I know let the drool run free! 

TUSCAN CHICKEN

Grilled Chicken Breast with Tomatoes, Artichokes, Capers, Fresh Basil and Balsamic Vinaigrette. Served Over Fresh Vegetables and Farro

SALTED CARAMEL CHEESECAKE

Caramel Cheesecake and Creamy Caramel Mousse on a Blonde Brownie all topped with Salted Caramel.

Look at that presentation...I mean c'mon!

So, it's not like TCF (the cheesecake factory) was just just going to hand over their recipes, and I couldn't find a 'copy cat' one that I liked well enough on the internet, so I resorted to my usual methods. Looking through multiple recipes on Pinterest, using what I 'think' went into these dishes, and then compiling all of my ideas into a new recipe. It's organized chaos at best. 

Let's start with the Tuscan Chicken because it was less complex & it's the main course. My ingredients:

- 5 ultra trimmed hormone & antibiotic free chicken breasts
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (2 spins around the pan)
- 2 tsp Minced garlic (the kind you buy in a jar)
- himalayan sea salt
- ground black pepper
- dried thyme
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 heaping TBSP raw honey
- 3-4 TBSP butter (cut into chunks)
- 2 TBSP capers
- 1 bunch asparagus (washed & trimmed)
- 2 pints grape tomatoes (washed & halved)
- 1 bunch fresh basil
- pesto (for garnish)
- 1 can artichoke hearts quartered (for garnish @ the end)
- 1 16 oz. package brown rice spaghetti noodles

Method:
Okay, so I know the menu says grilled chicken, but I decided to cook mine in a pan on the stove top, because I feel like I have slightly better control over the cooking time, and I didn't want these to dry out. So, start with two spins around the pan with some EVOO. I turned my burner onto medium-low heat while I butterflied each of my chicken breasts so they would cook evenly, so my 5 chicken breasts now were 10 thinner breasts. I didn't measure out how much salt, thyme, & pepper I used, I just sprinkled it over the chicken. I threw my garlic in the pan right before my chicken just until fragrant, and then put half of the chicken in, seasoned side down. My pan was only big enough to take 5 pieces of chicken at a time, but if yours is bigger, you could cook it all at once. I seasoned the side facing up in the pan with my salt, thyme, & ground pepper, and let the chicken cook about 3-4 minutes before flipping, and letting it cook an additional 3-4 minutes. Repeat until all chicken is cooked.

*If you are like my husband & need measurements, I would just use 1 tsp each of the salt, pepper, & thyme in a small bowl and use that to season your chicken, if you need more, stick to a 1:1:1 ratio again.

 I started a large pot boiling half way through the chicken being done, so it was ready to throw my noodles in. I cooked my brown rice noodles for 15 minutes, then drained them, and used a little butter so they wouldn't stick to each other too bad. If you've never worked with these noodles, they don't have exactly the same consistency as regular noodles, and if you overcook them they become gummy. 

Boiling my noodles

Chicken ready to be covered

Boiling my balsamic vinegar, water, & honey

Gently cooked asparagus

Once the chicken is cooked, remove from pan placing it on a plate, and cover it with foil to stay warm. While the pan is still warm, add in your water, balsamic vinegar, & honey. Bring to a boil while stirring frequently for about 2 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced by half, or become somewhat syrupy. Then turn the heat down slightly and add in your butter. From here I threw in my asparagus and using tongs, just tossed it gently for about 1-2 minutes, then added my capers, and returned the chicken (and any juices) to the pan. I sprinkled in half of my fresh basil, and then at the very end threw in the grape tomatoes. I garnished our plates with fresh basil, a drizzle of pesto, and artichokes. It was very tasty, and a hit with the fam! I can't say it was an exact replica...but it was darn close :D

My take on Tuscan Chicken

Now for the EPIC cheesecake...

My ingredients:

For the caramel blondie crust:
- 2 cups AP flour
- 2 tsps baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 sticks butter (melted & slightly cooled)
- 2 cups light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup homemade salted caramel*
- Heath Bar/ toffee bits (one bag)

For the homemade salted caramel:
- 4 TBSP butter
- 1 C light brown sugar
- 1 C heavy whipping cream
- himalayan sea salt or fleur de sel (I couldn't find any at our store)
- 1 tsp vanilla

For the caramel cheesecake filling:
- 4 blocks of cream cheese softened
- 4 eggs
- 1.25 C brown sugar
- 2 tsps vanilla
- 1/2 C heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 C homemade salted caramel

For the caramel pastry cream:
- 4 cups whole milk
- 1 TBSP vanilla or 1 vanilla bean halved
- 5 whole eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 10 oz sugar
- 3 oz cornstarch

For the homemade whipped cream:
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 TBSP confectioner's sugar

Yes there are a lot of steps to this cheesecake, and I had originally planned on doing a few steps Saturday & some on Sunday. However, I left my scribbled together recipe on my desk at work on Friday, and didn't go and get it until Sunday. It made for a long day on my feet in the kitchen, but OH MY GAWD...totally worth it! In hindsight, I would've halved the pastry cream recipe, because it made way too much. But I wanted to give it to you as I used it.

Method:

I first made my caramel sauce because it was fairly easy to do, and because it seemed I was going to need it throughout most of my other steps. So I melted my butter, brown sugar, and cream on the stove, and then let it boil for about 5-7 minutes stirring constantly so it didn't burn. After 7 minutes, I took it off the heat, poured a splash of vanilla (about 1 tsp) into the pan, and made a few turns with my himalayan sea salt grinder. Then I let it cool and thicken up for when I needed it.

cream, butter, & brown sugar melting in the pan

caramel boiling for 5-7 mins.

Onto the caramel blondie! Preheat oven @ 350 F In a medium bowl I combined my AP flour, baking powder, & salt and whisked it together. In my mixer I poured the slightly cooled melted butter, and brown sugar, and mixed until the sugar was slightly dissolved. Then I added in my eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Next I added my dry ingredients to my wet ingredients and folded them in with a spatula until everything was mixed thoroughly. This took some elbow grease, but c'mon I was totally going to dig into this epic confection later, so it was worth it! I prepared my 9 inch springform pan, and cut out parchment paper to fit into the bottom of the pan for easier removal later. I layered half of my blondie mix into the pan, then I drizzled the 1/4 cup caramel sauce on top of that with a handful of Heath Bar toffee bits to cover the top. Then I used the rest of the blondie mix and spread it evenly to the edges, and sprinkled a few more toffee bits (for good measure). *Save your bag of Heath bits, because some go into the caramel mousse at the end! Then I set it in the oven for 35-40 minutes to bake @ 350. When it is done, it will have a slight jiggle to it because of the caramel layer, and a toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean but with a thin layer of caramel. I let mine cool for 30 mins. on a wire cooling rack, and afterward I carefully removed the sides to my spring form pan. Next I set the whole blondie into the refrigerator to set up for at least 30 mins. I left mine in there until I was through my other steps however.

cooled caramel blondie ready to go into the refrigerator

While that was cooling I moved onto my cheesecake filling. First I beat my cream cheese with the spatula attachment of my mixer, scraping down the sides as needed until it was a 'spreadable' consistency. Then I added in the eggs one at a time, brown sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and finally the caramel sauce. I just mixed everything until the clumps were gone. Now, because I did this all in the same day, my 9-inch springform pan was occupied by the blonde brownie crust...so I borrowed my mom's 9-inch springform pan. I prepared it by buttering it, and then again cutting out parchment to line the bottom. I also used two sheets of the giant roll of heavy duty foil to wrap around my pan, and then filled the pan with my cheesecake filling. I used a big roasting pan for the 'water bath' by first setting my 9-inch springform pan wrapped in foil inside of it. Then I ran the tap until the water got hot, and started to fill my roasting pan until the water rose up about 1/4 inch, or just a little more up the side of my springform pan. I had my husband help me carefully carry it to the oven so I didn't splash any of the water into the cheesecake pan. I baked the cheesecake for 1 hour @ 350. When the hour was up, I turned off the oven, but didn't open the door, I set my timer for 30 mins. more to let the temperature come down slowly. (This method & the water bath are supposed to help keep the top from cracking) After 30 minutes, I took the cheesecake pan out of the water bath, and out of the foil wrap, to let it cool an additional 30 min. on a wire rack in my kitchen. After that 30 minutes was up, I moved my cheesecake to the refrigerator to set up for at least 3 hours. (Re-cap, total cooling time 4 hours=30 min. in oven, 30 min. on wire rack, 3 hours in refrigerator) Just 30 mins before I was going to combine my cheesecake onto the blonde brownie crust, I put my cheesecake into the freezer to set further so I could work with it, bc I didn't know quite what to expect. You could probably leave it in the freezer for up to an hour, and still serve it that night.

cooling my perfectly uncracked cheesecake after removing the foil :) 

Now onto the pastry cream that we will turn into a caramel mousse eventually. This one I got started while my cheesecake was cooling, I measured out my 4 cups of whole milk into a pan on the stove, with 1 TBSP vanilla and brought it to a boil. Then I took it off the heat and let it sit for 1 hour to let the flavor steep into the milk. After about 45-50 minutes, in a separate bowl, I put my 5 whole eggs, and 2 egg yolks, and beat with a wire whisk. This was a serious arm workout. I measured out 10 oz. of sugar with my kitchen scale, it looked around 2 cups or so, then I measured out my 3 oz. of cornstarch with the same kitchen scale method, that seemed somewhere around a cup. I slowly added my sugar while still whisking (I wanted to earn my cheesecake, you could probably use an electric mixer for this) and then my cornstarch and I mixed thoroughly until there were no lumps. Then I set my pan of milk & vanilla mixture back on the heat until bubbling, whisking frequently. I added in about 1/3 C of my hot milk mixture into my egg mixture to temper the eggs, I did this about 3-4 times to make sure to slowly temper the eggs so I wouldn't get scrambled eggs in my pastry cream. After the 4th time of adding the hot milk & mixing, I slowly added the entire egg mixture back into the pan of milk, whisking all the while. I turned the heat to medium-low so I didn't scorch the pastry cream, and whisked until I noticed sluggish bubbles boiling up. At that point I set my timer for 1 minute to continue whisking as the mixture got really thick, and then after 1 full minute I took the pan off of the heat. At this point you have two choices: 1) put this pastry cream into your kitchenaid mixer using the spatula accessory & mix until it's completely cooled. Or 2) place the pastry cream into a bowl inside of an ice bath to bring the temperature down. Once completely cooled place it in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.

At this point I did a quick workout & got dinner started until I was ready to compile my cheesecake. When I was ready to put it altogether, like I mentioned before, I had put my cheesecake into the freezer for 30 mins. So I took my blondie crust & cheesecake, I slowly removed the sides of my springform pan. Then I took about 1/4 cup of my homemade caramel sauce and drizzled it over the top of my blondie crust as a 'glue' to adhere to the cheesecake. Next using cling wrap to cover my hand I flipped the cheesecake upside down to remove the bottom part of my springform pan & to peel away the parchment paper. (You might be thinking...why didn't you just flip it upside down onto the crust-the answer is simple, I'm crazy and like to do things the hard way, and the top of my cheesecake was perfect, so I had to at least TRY!) It worked perfectly, and with my son's help, I managed to place the blonde brownie upside down onto the cheesecake & the bottom of the pan quickly, to flip it all right side up! 

cheesecake set on top of the caramel blondie...I could just eat it like this :D

At this point I took my pastry cream out of the refrigerator and using the spatula attachment, mixed it to get all of the lumps out and make it fluffy. Then I added 1/2 cup of caramel sauce to it, and mixed it thoroughly. In a separate mixing bowl that I had stuck in the freezer ahead of time for about 5 minutes, I poured my 2 cups of heavy cream, and 2 TBSP of confectioner's sugar & with the wire whisk attachment I quickly whipped up some homemade whipped cream. In a separate bowl I put about half of the pastry cream, and slowly folded in the whipped cream about a cup at a time, until it reached a smooth mousse consistency. 

Pastry cream after mixing in the caramel and smoothing out any lumps in the mixer

Folding in the whipped cream one cup at a time

This is the caramel mousse after the whipped cream is incorporated

I filled a piping bag with the caramel mousse to pipe out onto the top of the cheesecake, and then with my cake decorating spatula, I smoothed it out over the top, and then along the sides of the entire cheesecake until you could no longer see the separate layers. Then I sprinkled a healthy dose of Heath bar toffee bits on top, and covered the top with the rest of my homemade caramel. I used a few more turns of my himalayan sea salt on top, or you could use the fleur de sel if you can find it! 

piping bag in a glass for easy filling

This is sloppy piping but it was a quick & easy way to get it all on top of the cake this way

I had this close to the edge to smooth out my caramel mousse because my pan didn't want to turn

The Heath bar bits and caramel running over the sides, it's definitely tempting right?

This cheesecake was nothing short of amazing, albeit not quite as beautiful as the presentation at The Cheesecake Factory, it tasted pretty darn close to the original. I served each slice with a dollop of homemade whipped cream. 

Look at those layers of deliciousness!!!

Try this crazy recipe collaboration if you have a long weekend and love to bake! Let me know what you think. This recipe is not in anyway healthy lol although I'm sure you have all figured that out, but hey once in awhile you need to splurge, and this was oh so worthy!!!

www.beachbodycoach.com/DRJENNCHICOINE