Let's Get Healthy Together!

Melissa and I have been a part of monthly weight loss challenges for a year now. We have seen some great successes and we have both had failures. We have both fallen off the wagon and we have both educated ourselves and learned to lose weight the right way, eating right and working out. 
Since the weight loss challenges have ended, Melissa and I have created our own group on Facebook to help support, motivate, inspire and educate anyone looking to lead a healthy life. 

If you're on a journey to healthy living, feel free to join us here!

We wish you health and happiness!
Rachael and Melissa 
-SisterSpeak

The Secret to Weight Loss (Part 2)

Check out Part 1 here!

There are several things you need in order to lose weight. Part 2 will touch on the two that I consider the most important: dedication and education.

Anyone can want to lose weight. Anyone can feel fluffy, fat, overweight, chunky, etc. Anyone can lose weight. I truly believe that. I do not believe anyone NEEDS weight loss surgery, to take diet pills, to do anything extreme in order to lose weight. (*disclaimer - I do not judge those that do have surgeries, take pills, etc.) 

The Secret to Weight Loss (Part 1)

Some things have been on my mind and I'll be writing a blog soon about it all. For now, let this sink in :-)

- Rachael

Meal Prep 2/22/14

Meal preppin!!! 

I got all this at the local HEB for less than $45! It's enough for 8 lunch servings, 6 breakfast servings and about 20 snacks! 

Turkey and Veggie "Meatloaf" Muffins

I. HATE. MEATLOAF. 

For real. So when a friend introduced me to "skinny meatloaf muffins", I was skeptic. But now I've been making them for years. I've made a few adjustments and this is what I have found works (and tastes!) the best. :) 

Sausage & Veggie Casserole

I've been doing a lot of meal prepping lately. I make egg muffins almost weekly and this just seemed much easier. I was able to bake it all together, then just slice pieces out (more like a quiche) and not have to worry about washing a nasty muffin pan! 

Meal Prep - 2/9/14

Hey Guys and Gals! We're starting a new blog post series here. Rachael and I have both been busy meal prepping on a weekly basis and it's working so well to keep us on track with our nutrition and calorie intake. :) Hopefully this will help you with some ideas if you're meal prepping or maybe we'll inspire you to start.

If you have any questions or need suggestions, please let us know. We're pretty passionate about our meal prepping, so we would love to help you!

Rachael's Meal Prep this week:

Snack: Carrots and Olive Hummus

17 Baby Carrots

2 Tbsp 3 Olive Hummus

119 calories, 15 carbs, 6 fat, 3 protein, 206 sodium, 35 sugars

Breakfast: Egg Muffins

3 servings:

3 egg whites, 3 whole eggs, 1/2 scallion, chpd, 1/4 C mushrooms, chpd, 1 c Turkey Sausage crumbles

3 servings:

3 egg whites, 3 whole eggs, 1/2 scallion, chpd, 1/4 C mushrooms, chpd, 1 C Turkey Lunchmeat, diced

Layer all non-egg ingredients in muffin tin. Beat eggs and whites, divide evenly over ingredients.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.

113 calories, 1 carb, 6 fat, 14 protein, 286 sodium, 1 sugar

Lunch: Sausage, Quinoa and Veggies

5 servings:

14 oz Turkey Smoked Sausage, 1 1/4 Cup Dry Quinoa (cooked according to pkg), 1 med zucchini,

12 oz frozen steamable California Medley veggies, 1/4 cup mushrooms, 1/2 cup spinach

Cut sausage into chunks and pan sear. Shred zucchini. Saute mushrooms and spinach.

Divide into 5 containers. Quinoa, sausage, shredded zucchini, frozen veggies, mushrooms and spinach.

341 calories, 44 carb, 10 fat, 18 protein, 837 sodium, 7 sugar

 Snack: Emerald Natural Almonds

100 Calorie Packs

Melissa's Meal Prep this week:

Snack: Carrots and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

6 Baby Carrots

2 Tbsp Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

88 calories, 8 carbs, 5 fat, 3 protein, 3 fiber, 3 sugar

Snack: Cubed Fresh Mango

1/2 cup serving size

45 calories, 13 carbs, 1 fiber, 12 sugars

Breakfast: Apple/Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats

6 servings

Bring 2 1/2 Cups water & 3 cups unsweetened almond milk to a boil. Add 1 3/4 cups steel cut oats, pinch of salt, 1 cup unsweetened applesauce, 1/4 cup ground flax seed, 2 Tbsp whole flax seeds & 1/2 cup dried apples. Reduce to low. Simmer UNcovered for 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. When creamy & tender, remove from heat & stir in 1 Tbsp cinnamon, 1 Tbsp vanilla, sweetener of your choice (I used 2 scoops NuNaturals Stevia and 2 squirts of Skinny Girl Liquid Stevia) & 2 scps vanilla whey protein powder.

292 calories, 44 carbs, 7 fat, 14 protein, 8 fiber, 8 sugars

Lunch: Spaghetti Squash with Ground Turkey, Baby Bella Spaghetti Sauce

5 servings

Cook spaghetti squash in crockpot. I used this method from Stacy Makes Cents. I put mine in when I got up and it was ready to be taken out of the crockpot to cool when I got home from church. I got exactly 5 cups of spaghetti squash from mine. Made perfect 1 cup servings for my week's lunches. Brown 1 pound ground turkey, pour 1 jar of sugar free spaghetti sauce into pot, add 8 ozs baby bellas and 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning. Pour 1 cup spaghetti sauce over 1 cup spaghetti squash.

221 calories, 19 carbs, 7 fat, 22 protein, 5 fiber, 10 sugars

We hope you enjoyed our meal prepping pictures and info. We really LOVE meal prepping and hope we can help you get started or give you the boost to love it. :)

God Bless,

Melissa

(hashtag) I'm a Runner Ya'll

I was in the hospital a couple weeks ago. I had a surgery, blah blah blah. Maybe one day I'll post about what really happened, but for now, just believe what you've been told (wink wink!) 

 This photo screams "share on a public site" doesn't it?! ;) 

Healthy-er Chocolate Walnut Pancakes

Here's the honest-to-God truth, they are delicious. But, they are a "healthy delicious." I use that term to describe something that would taste better if it were made "regularly." These DO taste healthy, but they are SO SO good! 

I'm Proud Enough to Do THIS:

From the time I started forming memories until I was 20 years old, I was SKINNY.

Confessions of a Former Addict: The Scale No Longer Defines Me

How much do you obsess about the number on the scale? Does it consume your every thought? Does every bite of food make you wonder if it's the reason you're not losing enough weight? Do you skip meals or limit calories to crazy-low amounts? Have you considered or acted upon skipping all meals for days, throwing up after you "cheat" or taken laxatives to lose weight?

Dill Chicken

I made this not too long ago and got A LOT of questions on how to make it. So ... here goes! 

Perfect Chicken

Last night, I made chicken. I stuffed 4 large chicken breasts with sauteed onions, mushrooms, garlic, spinach and scallions. It was AWFUL. The flavors should have been good, but the chicken was SO dry! It was so awful that I threw my leftovers, meant for lunch, away. I never throw out food. So, for redemption, today I made perfect chicken.

Baked Chicken Fajitas with Cilantro Lime "Sour Cream"

EnjoyGOODNESS.... THIS WAS THE MOST AMAZING THING I'VE MADE IN A LONG TIME!!!

Easier than grilling, healthier than pan frying. And don't bother telling anyone you substituted their sour cream for Greek Yogurt. They'll love it, then you can drop the bomb ;)