Chicken and Cornbread Dumplings

I have not made chicken and dumplings in FOREVER. I knew it was time when I suggested it and my daughter thought I meant Asian style dumplings to dunk in soy sauce LOL she is a hot mess!

So we had to make it together for her Southern training, and I thought I wanted to try a cornbread twist to the dumplings. They turned out divine. Both kids declared them a make again! I really liked the macros and all the veggie goodness hidden inside ;)

Ealier this week, we made flat out pizza using a flat out wrap! Huge and so tasty! This time I added mushrooms and olives with my turkey pepperoni and spinach! 429 cals and 33 g of protein 💪Recipe HERE if you need more deets!

This is our "supplement cabinet" (it also holds coffee and teas, but I digress). Perks of our new huge kitchen! I was asked for a recommendation for a pre-workout the other day, and my answer is the Optimum Nutrition Amino Energy in Blue Raspberry (I am pointing to it). My husband ALWAYS does a pre-workout and I am an occasional user. When I lift in the morning, I prefer my normal coffee with creatine in it. But today I lifted in the afternoon, and I prefer this. It tastes good, and does not have extra junk. I use creatine separately so it does not have that.  I just need something for energy and focus, the amino acids are a bonus ;) we have tried a lot of different ones, and we keep coming back to this one. Do you have a favorite pre-workout need to try?

Tempo can completely change your weight lifting game. 💯Here are feet-elevated glute bridges done with a 2-3-3 tempo in the middle of my workout. So 2 counts up, hold for a count of 3, then lower on a count of 3. That is 1 rep. I did about 20 reps for 3 sets. The 3 count isometric hold at the top and the 3 count slow eccentric will LIGHT your glutes on FIRE 🔥🍑🍑🔥You can use this tempo for any set on any body part to really increase the complexity of your workout and get those #gainz 💪 It also hones your mind-muscle connection which is HUGE for progress!

Some pull-up action! I just got this grey tank in from Lululemon ...Their stuff washes and wears so well but DANG the $ hurts my feelings! Coach Jenny got me hooked by sending me an outfit for my birthday 🎂 totally her fault that I love it! What is your favorite gym wear line and what item?

Anyway, onto the recipe :)

Chicken and Cornbread Dumplings

Serves 4

Ingredients:
3 stalk large (11"-12" long), Celery, raw
4 T., Butter- divided
3 medium, Carrots, raw
1 medium, Onion
0.50 cup, Masa (can also use corn meal)
3.50 cup, Chicken Broth (can also use water)
16 oz (112g), Chicken Thighs, Boneless, Skinless (I used frozen)
4 oz, Milk
0.50 cup, All Purpose Flour
2 tsp salt and pepper, each
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp tarragon

Directions:
Bring broth to boil with chicken in a large Dutch oven. Meanwhile, chop onion, celery, and carrots into bite size pieces and add to Dutch oven. Stir in 2 tbsp butter, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook until chicken pulls apart and vegetables are tender; using frozen chicken, it took mine about 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, add 2 tbsp butter with flour and masa. Using a pastry cutter or potato masher, chop butter into flour mixture until resembles course crumbles. Stir in milk, tarragon, baking powder, and baking soda until combined.

Drop flour mixture by the tablespoon into simmering soup. Cook for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Southern girl in training ;)

Nutrition Facts
Servings 4.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 424
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 16 g	25 %
Saturated Fat 7 g	36 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 133 mg	44 %
Sodium 302 mg	13 %
Potassium 547 mg	16 %
Total Carbohydrate 30 g	10 %
Dietary Fiber 4 g	14 %
Sugars 5 g
Protein 33 g	66 %
Vitamin A	166 %
Vitamin C	9 %
Calcium	8 %
Iron	4 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

Tamale Casserole

This casserole was a little bit of a gamble with my family. They all love tamales, but not so much casserole. I had a busy week, and there was no time for tamale making. So this just sounded like too good of an idea not to try it, and it payed off. Both kids said it was a make again!

Playing with tempo can really change your weight lifting game. They are useful for hypertrophy and can make even the lightest of weights effective. Here I should a 3 count eccentric. Raise the weight at a normal pace, pause at the top, then lower as a count of 3. I did it for 3 sets of 8, and was sore with only 30 lbs!

Part of the reason that I was so busy this week was that I had a business trip to Detroit for Venus. Lucky me, my bestie and fellow co-worker Coach Jenny got to accompany me :) this is Kallie (middle) touring us through the Melprints warehouse ... big things are coming from #venusindex #venusfactor ❤ I am dying to tell you all!

Jenny and I doing what we love BEST at the hotel gym in Detroit-  glutes! To be clear, we did a full body workout but this is a snippet of our favorite things ;) On the right is Jenny doing bird dogs for glute activation. We try to do these (or something along these lines) as one of our first sets to really help with motor recruitment. Bottom left is me doing single leg hip thrusts with a 5 second pulse at the end. This was a middle of the workout set for hypertrophy. Top left is Jenny doing glute briges (single leg then double) as a burnout set or finisher. That really helps with the pump and max bloodflow. Notice both of us feeling our glutes or palpating to make sure muscles are engaged and engaged equally. This also helps with mind-muscle connection! 

"Muscles communicate what you are about without saying a word." Greatness from Jen Sinkler (who even commented on this picture and MADE MY DAY)! ❤ Never apologize about your body. Own it and go after what YOU want. Nobody else is entitled to that decision.

So onto the recipe ;) this one will end up on our regular rotation, and it reheats perfectly!

Tamale Casserole

Serves 8

Ingredients
1 cup, Masa or Corn Meal
1 Bell Pepper, Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1.75 cup, Tomato products - Canned, sauce (1 can)
1.25 lb(s), 85% Ground Beef
1 can (1.33 cup), Corn
1.50 cup, shredded, Cheese, cheddar
16 oz, Milk

2 medium (2-1/2" dia), Onions, raw, chopped
3 tbsp garlic
2 tbsp chile powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
Optional- hot sauce, olives, plain Greek yogurt, and greens

Directions
Saute onions and bell pepper until onions are translucent. Add in ground beef and saute until cooked. In a large bowl, mix masa and milk. Stir in remaining ingredients except cheese. Spread into a greased 9x13" casserole. Bake at 350*F for 45 minutes, top with cheese and allow to melt. Serve ontop of a bed of fresh greens topped with Greek yogurt, olives, and hot sauce.

Nutrition Facts
Servings 8.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 371
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 19 g	30 %
Saturated Fat 9 g	44 %
Monounsaturated Fat 2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 71 mg	24 %
Sodium 497 mg	21 %
Potassium 379 mg	11 %
Total Carbohydrate 27 g	9 %
Dietary Fiber 3 g	12 %
Sugars 8 g
Protein 23 g	47 %
Vitamin A	10 %
Vitamin C	12 %
Calcium	25 %
Iron	15 %
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

Green Protein Oats

This recipe morphed from an old one I posted over a year ago. I still eat it almost every day for my first meal, whenever it falls between 10 AM -2 PMish. Yeah, I sorta get into these "food loops" where I eat and crave the same thing daily LOL Do you do that?

What I love about this recipe is that it literally ticks all the boxes. Greens. Check. Protein. Check. Good carbs. Check. Lots of polyphenol-filled berries. Check. Peanut butter. CHECK!

Plus I can make it in no time flat. Minutes. So even though the finished product is not cute (as in no snapchat filter can fix this kind of ugly), promise me to give it a try ;)

Brad Pilon over at ESE has been putting out some very interesting research findings on polyphenols and gut health lately in two of his products- Good Belly, Bad Belly along with his email subscription, The Advocate. Berries happen to have one of the highest polyphenol ratios of almost any food on earth. (If you are an ESE member, you can check those out in your portal. If you are not, you can grab those at eatstopeat.com/gbbb or eatstopeat.com/add-advocate)

Pounding the water today as I did my normal weekly Eat Stop Eat 24h fast until dinner on Monday :) since I work for ESE part time now, I feel like I need to know the program front to back. My sis-in-law, and fellow Venus, Erin got me this AWESOME glass Zulu water bottle for Christmas. I just adore it! Also went for a little 4 mile beach run with my sweet pup Olive Marie. The ocean was smooth as glass, have never seen it this calm! I try to do cardio the morning of my fast days, and prefer to save lifting for non-fasting days as a general rule  enjoying this weather %! 

Just an FYI that the new Diet Pepsi blend is now aspartame free. Usually, I prefer a Diet Coke, but it is a good idea to rotate your sweeteners if you choose to use them. I will now be rotating between Diet Pepsi/Diet Coke for this reason. I generally have one can of diet soda per day, and 2 cups of coffee with stevia. A few times per week, I have acesulfame in my whey protein powdee. I eat sugar occassionally at events (once per month-ish). Sweeteners effect everyone differently, and the best plan is always to reduce and rotate so that you are not over consuming any one. Look at everything you eat from start to finish in a day and try to see how you can reduce and/or vary the sweeteners.  Just how I do things, and what keeps me sane ;)

#flexfriday au natural this week. Busy getting stuff done all week (and weekend). Physical strength begets mental fortitude. Making time for fitness while trying to keep your head above water at work/home is always worth it 💪you have to take care of yourself before you can care for others!

Standing Banded Hip Thrusts - something new for the truly glute obsessed to try  basically you put your giant band across your power rack, I used a purple Spri band. Then you grab the front supports, and walk your feet up so it looks like you are preparing to slingshot yourself  squeeze those glutes as you thrust forward. It took a couple of rounds until I could really get the feel.

Green Protein Oats

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup oats (I use old-fashioned or quick cooking, but use what you want and adjust cooking time.)
• 1 cup greens, fresh or frozen (I use fresh spinach, baby kale, or a blend. Can use powder, just reduce amount.)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 mixed berries, fresh or frozen (I use frozen berry blend, but can use whatever berries on hand.)
• 1 scoop whey protein (I use chocolate from Optimum Nutrition in Gold Standard Whey.)
• 1 tbsp PB2 (or peanut powder of choice) plus water (You can omit and use regular pb here too.)
• 1 tbsp peanut butter

Directions:

Place uncooked oats into large bowl. Blend greens with oat water, and pour over. Place berries on top. Microwave for 2:30 or until oats are cooked. Stir in whey protein. Mix PB2 with water as directed, then stir in regular peanut butter (saves cals). Spread over oats and enjoy!

Nutritional Facts per serving:

Enjoy! X-Liss