It’s hard to get vegetables into this body of mine. I do my best, but a disguised vegetable is my favorite vegetable. That’s why I drink Shakeology religiously, and that’s also why I was super intrigued by this recipe from my favorite blogger, Juli Bauer at PaleOMG. The recipe for Juli’s PaleOMG’s Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Soup  caught my attention because I love any and everything “buffalo,” but the soup base consisted of nearly all vegetables pureed into a smooth, velvety soup. To make it even better, it came with Instant Pot directions.  After a long drive back from a very short trip to Charleston this weekend, this easy soup fit the bill. Stay tuned for a post on what to do with one day in Charleston. I was in foodie heaven in that gorgeous town!

Check out the ingredients below direct from Juli’s recipe and head over to her blog for the full recipe and instructions. Juli also has three incredible cookbooks with tasty Paleo recipes.

• 2 tablespoons ghee (I used butter)
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced celery
• ½ white onion, minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups cauliflower florets
• 32 ounces chicken bone broth
• ⅔ cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (or less, to taste)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 rotisserie chicken, pulled and shredded
• fresh cilantro, for garnish
• chopped green onions, for garnish
• Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil Ranch, for garnish

I counted this as 1.5 green and 1/2 red per serving. Great way to get those green containers in!

Happy food prepping!

xo Jaime

This post may contain affiliate links which directly support this blog. Thank you for supporting Modern Day Fox!

This has nothing to do with stir fry, but don’t you agree that Trolls is the cutest movie ever? I’ve watched it at least 20 times with my boys and I’m still not sick of it. I love the cloud character that makes a cameo! “Little slappy, make Daddy happy?” Laughter across the household ensues every time we see that part. That movie just makes me feel good, and we have the best dance parties every time we watch it.

This post isn’t about the Trolls. This post is about stir-fry. Not the kind with loads of rice though! In fact, there are no grains in this recipe at all. Just tasty vegetables and chicken, and one unexpected ingredient that takes the flavor over the top! This is a perfect meal to prep on Sunday and portion out between four containers for lunches all week long!

PALEO STIR-FRY

(Serves 4)

INGREDIENTS

1 Riced Cauliflower Head or (2) bags Steamed Riced Cauliflower bags

1 TBSP Coconut Oil (or cooking oil of your choice)

2 cups cooked and chopped chicken (great use for your rotisserie chicken)

1/2 cup Shredded Carrots

1 Red Bell Pepper, julienned

1 Green Bell Pepper, julienned

2 cups Frozen Broccoli

1 8oz can of Water Chestnuts

1/2 cup Sliced Mild Pepperoncinis

1-2 TBSP Modern Day Fox Kitchen Sink Seasoning, or the seasonings of your choice (salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder are a great start!), season to your own taste preferences

DIRECTIONS:

If you are using the frozen steam bags of cauliflower, follow the directions to steam in the microwave. Open the bag and drain the water. If you are using raw cauliflower, here is a great link from the Minimalist Baker with concise instructions. Prepare and set to the side. NOTE: It’s important to try to get all the water out of the cooked cauliflower rice before adding to your stir-fry.

Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok.

Add julienned peppers and carrots to hot oil and saute until softened.

Add frozen broccoli and saute until defrosted and warmed. You may need to put a lid of your pan to help the frozen broccoli cook. (NOTE: When I am preparing this dish for a weekly food prep, I don’t worry about cooking the broccoli all the way through. When I reheat later in the week, it will cook in the microwave.)

Add water chestnuts and saute until warmed.

Add in cooked chicken and seasoning. Mix well until chicken is hot.

The steamed cauliflower only needs a minute or two of saute since it is already cooked. Add the steamed cauliflower after the other vegetables are cooked as shown in my photos below. The raw riced cauliflower will need a bit more time to saute and cook.

Finally, add in the pepperoncinis. This ingredient adds a lot of flavor and zest to this dish.

Serve immediately, or portion out in four meal prep containers to reheat and enjoy throughout the week.

OPTIONAL – Add Soy Sauce (not Paleo) or Coconut Aminos if you wish. If you do not have allergies to nuts, this stir fry is off the hook topped with roasted cashew pieces on top.

Enjoy!

xo Jaime

Please welcome one of my rock star 21 Day Fix challengers, Alley, who is sharing her food prep for the week!

Hello Modern Day Fox Readers!

I am excited to share the meal prep I did for my husband and myself for the next four days using the 21 Day Fix Nutrition Plan. This week, I tried some new recipes from the Beachbody website: Chicken piccata and Greek chicken pitas. (Click here to learn more about Beachbody All-Access and join our challenge!)

The Chicken piccata is served with with organic rainbow carrots and a whole wheat pasta.

Chicken Piccata

The Greek chicken pitas are served with broccoli. The recipe calls for lettuce but I couldn’t seem to get it to all fit into the pita. Because of this, I’m planning to have a little side salad with this as well to make sure I get in my full green containers. Also, my husband likes steamed broccoli and I like roasted broccoli so I prepared both.

Greek Chicken Pita

I also made the chicken for the Greek chicken pitas in my Instant Pot. I followed this simple recipe and added garlic.

I use these containers: https://www.amazon.com/Freshware-15-Piece-3-Compartments-Bento-Lunch/dp/B01GH5KQLO/ref=as_sl_pc_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=mode054-20&linkCode=w00&linkId=2fd7dd11c6c7c4e5e9e1d8f02f27787c&creativeASIN=B01GH5KQLO

Check out a video of this prep here!

(Some links on this post are affiliate posts and when you use these, you are directly supporting Modern Day Fox!)

Since clients are always asking me what accessories they need for meal prep, I decided to dedicate a post to help my followers have an all-in-one reference guide to which they can refer. This will also help me to be able to post a single link to this blog post instead of looking up the products every time! All of these links are Amazon Affiliate links and if you use them then you are helping to support my blog! I assure you that at the time of writing this post, I have no sponsorships and all of these products have come from my own research and subsequent purchases. I love these items, and I just want to share my finds with you! I will also be making a similar post with Instant Pot accessories, so stay tuned for that!

Here are my top ten kitchen essentials for meal prepping:

#1 For prepping egg muffins, you absolutely MUST get a silicone muffin pan. It is life changing! I used to dread making egg muffins because it took me forever to get my pans clean. With the silicone pan, the muffins slide right out and your clean-up is a snap.
Zenware 24 Cup Non-Stick Silicone Baking Mold for Muffins, Cupcakes and Mini Cakes

#2 A friend just introduced me to this manual food chopped. What a lifesaver! I HATE chopping onions. With this, you pull a cord a few times and your onions are diced. No tears, no stinky hands, no effort!

Brieftons Manual Food Chopper: Compact & Powerful Hand Held Vegetable Chopper / Mincer / Blender to Chop Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts, Herbs, Onions, Garlics for Salsa, Salad, Pesto, Coleslaw, Puree

#3 Every meal prepper needs to invest in BPA free, freezer and microwave-safe sturdy containers. I’m loving these by Freshware!

Freshware 15-Pack 2 Compartment Bento Lunch Boxes with Lids – Stackable, Reusable, Microwave, Dishwasher & Freezer Safe – Meal Prep, Portion Control, 21 Day Fix & Food Storage Containers (25oz)

#4 An apple corer is another handy-dandy device that will save you time and energy. I use this for preparing apple slices for my kids almost on a daily basis. It can also be used to help quickly slice potatoes.

Calphalon Easy Grip Apple Corer Slicer

#5 There is a reason why “zoodles” are all the rage! They are a delicious low carb alternative to pasta. But, you need to have the right tools which is why I invested in this spiralizer several months ago. It hasn’t failed me yet!

Paderno World Cuisine A4982799 Tri-Blade Vegetable Spiral Slicer

If you aren’t ready to spend $22 on a spiralizer, the Veggeti is another great option which I also own. This requires slightly more effort (not much) and is better if you are only prepping for one.

Veggetti Spiral Vegetable Slicer, Makes Veggie Pasta

#6 If you are going to impress your co-workers with your gorgeous mason jar salads, you’d better buy some jars!

Kerr 0519 wide mouth jar quart, 32oz (case of 12)

For your overnight oats, it’s best to use the pint size:

Ball Jar 1pt Ball Mason Jars, Case of 12

#7 I use my cutting board on a daily basis. I like this one because it is very easy to clean and it stays put on the counter.

OXO Good Grips Utility Cutting Board

#8 If you are prepping food, do yourself a favor and invest in a quality knife set. Full disclosure, I need to buy one. This is the one I have my eye on it because it is a great value and five star reviews.

Rada Cutlery S05 Meal Prep Knife Gift Set

#9 You should also have measuring tools not only for use in recipes, but also for portion control! For general cooking, I use the glass Pyrex measuring cups:

Pyrex 3-Piece Glass Measuring Cup Set

For portion control containers,I recommend looking into the 21 Day Fix program. The Fix nutrition plan is incredibly effective and the program comes with a set of color coded container which represent one servings of each of the food groups in the plan. It takes all the guess work of how much to eat of what foods each day.

And, finally, #10! You didn’t think I’d leave out the Instant Pot, did you? This appliance has changed everything for me when it comes to food prep. I use it to cook whole chickens each week, to make hard boiled eggs, steamed rice and homemade yogurt, and countless other recipes. This is the one I have:

Instant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Pressure Cooker, 6Qt/1000W

This arsenal of kitchen essential will make you a champion meal prepper in no time!

So, what did I leave out? Are there any kitchen tools that have helped you in your meal prep efforts. I’d love to know, and am always looking for a reason to buy new stuff! Hook me up in the comments!

xo Jaime

#1 Use a simple weekly planner and grocery list to plan out your meals the day before. Click these links for nice templates I found online for a weekly meal plan schedule and a grocery list. Once you do this type of planning for 4-5 weeks, you can reuse your schedules from month to month, or from season to season. No reason to cook the same tired thing every single week!

#2 Use what you’ve got. Every weekend, review what’s in your fridge. Have spinach that is about to turn? Throw it into a risotto. Have some chicken that you need to cook? Make soup!

#3 Be prepared with the right tools. Sturdy, BPA-free, microwave and freezer-safe containers like these will do you a world of good when reheating or storing your meals.

#4 You are more apt to make a green smoothie if you have prepped the ingredients in advance. Here is a video I put together on how to prep “smoothie packs.” I throw these into my Shakeology to give it an extra kick. For my kids, I use one frozen baggie along with one container of low sugar fruit yogurt and almond milk. They love them, and have no idea how much extra nutrition I’ve packed into their yummy drink! (Note: Freezing the produce improves the texture of your shake, and is also a great way to utilize produce that is close to turning bad.)

#5 Don’t eyeball your portions. Use these color-coded containers (contact me for more info on these) or basic measuring cups to make sure you are getting the appropriate amount of each food group. It’s so easy to put in twice the serving size of rice if you are just spooning it into the container.

#6 Everybody loves snacks, right? There is nothing worse than bring stuck in a meeting or in a traffic jam with no healthy options available. Your head is hurting, your energy level is falling, and your “bathroom break” really consists of you running with a dollar in your hand to the nearest vending machine and then inhaling peanut M&Ms and pork rinds. Don’t go there. Portion out almonds, rice crackers, or sunflower seeds and put them in your laptop bag. Grab an apple, or a Lara Bar and stick it in your purse or glove box. Just make sure you choose something that won’t spoil quickly. I can’t tell you how many times I have found a bag of nuts in the bottom of my briefcase and practically cried tears of joy.

#7 Don’t do too much right off the bat. You are sure to become overwhelmed and burn yourself out almost immediately if you try to do too much too soon. I advise my clients to start with baking a whole chicken, hard boiling some eggs, and cooking a batch of rice and broccoli. Those simple items are a great way to get started. The following week you can throw in some mason jar salads and change up your vegetable to cooked carrots. The week after that, throw in a batch of soup. Soon it will be become like clockwork and you will have a manageable meal prep that takes around two hours, but saves you at least ten hours throughout the week!

What other tips do you have for our readers for a successful meal prep! Share in the comments, along with any questions you may have.

Happy Prepping!

xo Jaime

This post contains some affiliate links for products I use and love. When you purchase off these links, you are helping to directly support this blog! I thank you for that!

I’m on Day 5 of the 21 Day Fix and my sweet tooth is still recovering from the holidays. I can’t abandon it all together! My husband and I sit together and look longingly into our kitchen each night wishing for bowls of brownies and ice cream. If weight gain was not a consequence, there is no question we would eat ourselves into an oblivion of sugary treats.

But, alas, we are trying to be healthy. I’ve been wanting to make up some of my own recipes for the Instant Pot, so I pursued the web for some apple crisp recipes. They were all full of brown sugar and butter, so I made my own adjustments and came up with something very tasty! I made this gluten-free, but I feel sure you could use whole wheat or regular flour and it would be fine. If you omit the flour altogether you lose the “topping” so I’d keep it in if that is important to you.

The hubby said the only thing missing was ice cream! Maybe another time, honey!

Here is a very bad cell phone photo – I didn’t have my pro camera out because this was supposed to just be an experiment!

Ingredients:
2 Apples – (I left on the peel, but make that your own preference)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Topping:
2 teaspoon melted coconut oil

1 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon maple syrup

1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 tablespoon gluten free flour

8-10 crushed pecans

Directions:

Core and chop apples.

Toss apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg in stainless steel bowl that can fit in IP (or any kind of bowl that can withstand the IP) until well coated.
Mix all ingredients for topping in a separate bowl. Spoon over apples.
Place bowl on trivet inside instant pot. Add one cup water to the bottom of the pot.
Cook Manual HP 8 minutes with an 8 minute NP. Release remaining pressure.

If you prefer a crunchier topping, broil 4-5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

21 Day Fix container counts per serving:
1 Purple, 1/2 yellow, 2 teaspoons

Here is a video tutorial!

The holidays have finally come to an end! Shewwwww! Don’t get me wrong, I loved the last month and a half. I put a special focus on reconnecting with more old friends than I could count. It was just what my soul needed. And, my kids had a blast! My six year old son exudes the holiday spirit more than anyone I’ve ever met. Both of my sons were full speed ahead soaking in every bit of Christmas joy they could muster. But, all of that – woah. It is a LOT. I am whipped. I’m ready to get back to routines and healthy eating. While I did manage to get through the holidays without gaining any substantial amount of weight, my jeans are starting to get a little tight from the endless amounts of party foods I shoved in my mouth over the last couple weeks. Time to make it stop!

I kicked off a Beachbody fitness challenge in my private accountability group on Facebook, and I have around 15 women who are committed to finishing a program this month. The majority, myself included, are doing the 21 Day Fix. I’ve done the Fix three times, but it’s been nearly a year since I last completed a round. It seemed like the perfect program to kick the year off for me. Today I spent my time food prepping for the week. I find that if I have some meals ready to grab and reheat, I’m much more apt to stay on track. I’ve been scouring the internet for clean eating recipes for my Instant Pot and stumbled around two that were perfect for this week.

The first was from Nom Nom Paleo – Pork and Napa Cabbage Soup. Check out the recipe here!

The second was from This Old Gal – Salsa Lime Chicken and Rice. Check out the recipe here!

I made a video of the prep and even included my “fail” when I tried to do a pot-in-pot preparation of the chicken and rice. I should have known better not to try to swap out brown rice for white without adjusting the cooking time. My rice was undercooked and required another 8 minutes of cooking time. Both dishes turned out fantastic, and I’m looking forward to enjoying them throughout the week.

Here is the video:

I also figured out container counts for these meals:

Pork and Napa Cabbage Soup – I made the serving size 1.5 green. Container counts would be: 1.5 green, .5 red, .5 (if that) yellow, and 1 teaspoon as I didn’t drain the pork fat. I’m not scared of fat! Fat makes you feel satisfied.

Salsa Lime Chicken and Rice – 1 Red, 1 Yellow, and 1 Green if you add the arugula like I did.

Happy prepping!

xo Jaime

You guys really inspired me after your response to my last meal prep post on social media! Apparently, there is demand for this type of content so I happily made another post.
Here is a link to a video I created documenting the whole process:

Here are the instructions for cooking:

Hardboiled Eggs (using This Old Gal recipe)

1 cup water, eggs in steamer basket 2 min High Pressure, NPR, and Done!

Whole Chicken (modified from Healing Gourmet recipe)

Remove gizzards and season well on both sides.

Using Sauté setting on Normal, place breast side down and brown in 1 TBPN coconut oil for 6 minutes.

Flip chicken and add one cup chicken stock to the pot.

Manual High Pressure for 25 min (although I might do 24 min next time) with NPR

(Reserve your broth!)

Yukon Gold Potatoes

Pour 1 cup broth from your chicken into pot.

Add Potatoes in your mesh steam pot (or on trivet) inside pot.

Manual High Pressure 10 min with NPR
Cooked Carrots

1 cup broth from your chicken

1 bag of carrots in your mesh steam pot

3 min Manual High Pressure with QR

Divide into your Tupperware using your color-coded portion containers!

1 Red (chicken), 1 Yellow (potato), 1 Green (carrots) and 1 teaspoon if you add butter or oil to your potato

I used the hard boiled egg for a snack. One egg is half a Red and I will eat it with a piece of fruit which is one Purple!

What’s in your pot??

As always, hit me up if you want to know more about 21 Day Fix! Let’s get in shape together!

xo Jaime

My Instant Pot is my newest obsession. It is a pressure cooker, a slow cooker, a yogurt maker and more. It cuts a lot of time off prepping meals. I put this post together for all you of you fellow dieters out there who meal prep (and need to balance out all those delicious Instant Pot cheesecakes)! Easy meal prep in the Instant Pot that actually tastes good! 
This makes four meals and when portioned out to the 21 Day Fix meal plan, each meal equals the following: 1 Red, 1 Yellow, 1 Green and one orange if you use the barbecue sauce.

Brown Basmati Rice – 1 cup brown basmati rice, 1 1/4 cup water, teaspoon butter, big pinch of sea salt

Manual, High Pressure, 22 min with QR

Chicken Breast – 2 cup chicken stock, three chicken breast with seasonings of your choice, put the chicken in the broth, Manual High Pressure 12 min with QR

Fresh Steamed Broccoli – Use chicken stock that’s in the pot from the chicken, 3 cups of fresh broccoli in your steam basket, Manual Low Pressure 0 min, QR

**I still haven’t completely mastered steaming fresh broccoli. My first batch overcooked so I made cream of broccoli soup with it. My second batch was better (user error first time around) but it was still a little more done than I’d prefer. Any suggestions welcome! ***

Here is a photo of my cream of broccoli soup that ended up being a happy mistake! I just used two cups milk, two cups chicken stock, a couple tablespoons flour and a tablespoon butter. Seasoned it up well and mixed it in my Vitamix. Added some cheddar cheese at my husband’s request! Not clean eating, but great for a winter’s evening!

Back to the meal prep:

Portion out into four containers, brush on some BBQ sauce if you want. There you go… four healthy meals in your fridge to help you stick to your diet goals!

I also made a video on my Modern Day Fox YouTube channel. Check it out here:

Happy prepping in your IP!

Have prepping ideas? Share them in the comments!

xo Jaime

In the past year and a half, I have really made my fitness a priority. For me to try to inspire people to be their best without committing to being my own best is just dishonest. I jumped on the Beachbody band wagon after a best friend had fabulous results from 21 Day Fix. Seeing her transformation of both mind and body got my attention. Since that time, I have done three rounds of the 21 Day Fix, two rounds of Hard Corp 22, and just recently one round of Beachbody’s newest program, Core De Force. Four months ago, I even decided that I loved Beachbody so much I would become a “coach.” My decision had little to do with money (although being able to pay for my  monthly shakes was definitely motivating), but more so my desire to share these totally awesome, manageable programs with my friends! I didn’t want to keep that a secret!

I was hyped about the release of the MMA inspired program, Core De Force. I had tried Combat which was similar in that it included boxing. But, between the over-excited trainers and the choreographed almost dance-like moves, I didn’t last long. (I had friends who absolutely loved it, but it wasn’t for me.) Core De Force seems to have a less formal feel, and trainers that I find calm and inspiring. The nutrition plan was very similar to that of 21 Day Fix, albeit a little more strict. You are still sent the color coded containers which make portioning out food groups a breeze. It comes with a sample meal plan, and there is a host of meal plans online available for free. I also made one for Week One which you can try out:

Now, let me warn you about the workouts. Some of them are freaking hard. The first day you start out with MMA Speed and it is 27 minutes long and you think to yourself, “Oh hell yeah, I’m gonna own this.” And then, day two rolls around with Dynamic Strength and you’re like, “Whaaaaaa???” Push-ups in formations I have never even considered and it is 47 minutes long. It is a beast! As the workouts went on, I enjoyed the pace and found myself getting less clumsy with the combinations. Just about every other day, the workouts alternated between combination and conditioning. I’m not gonna lie – I enjoyed the combination workouts way more, but I did build a lot of strength as a result of the conditioning. My favorite combo workouts were MMA Power and MMA Plyo. You really can’t help but feel like a bad-ass when you are kicking, punching, and jumping across the room. It was a great release of aggression. In addition to the combos and conditioning, there were active recovery workouts and core-focused workouts like 5 Minute Core on the Floor.

Later in program, the required workouts start doubling up. This is where things got tricky for me. I admit that I’ve been spoiled by the thirty minute 21 Day Fix workouts and especially by the 22 Minute Hard Corp. Anything over 30 minutes for me feels like a lifetime, and actually is hard for me to fit into my current schedule. If there is one thing I’d change, it would be just to make the workouts each day no longer than 45 minutes. But, that’s just my preference!

Now, on to what everyone wants to know! What were my results? I did this program at a tough time during the month of November. I thought the only thing I would have to deal with was Thanksgiving, but then sadly I had a cousin pass away and made an unexpected trip to Florida for his funeral. I also ended up having to work in Maryland, so my whole family decided to travel up with me and spend Thanksgiving with my family. While I did 30 days of workouts in Core De Force, I have to be honest and say that I did not stay on track everyday. I still lost a couple inches off my waist and lost about 4 lbs. At this time of year, that is great!  Check out my before and afters here:

And here are my before and afters from when I started 22 Minute Hard Corp in April, until now. I am so happy with my transformation in 7 months!

I will be starting a Beachbody Challenge Group on Facebook on January 4th. Hit me up if you are interested in transforming your health in 2017. I will help you find a program that fits your needs, and I will support you through it!

xo Jaime