Meal Prep: Chicken and Vegetable Soup

This is my first time making a soup, it is very hearty, I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients Needed:

• 1 pack chicken thighs (they were on sale this week, get over it!)
• 1 lb baby carrots (peeled and washed)
• 1 medium yellow onion
• ~1 lb fresh green beans 
• ~3 - 4 medium - small potatoes (washed)
• 2 cans low sodium, fat free chicken broth (you can make your own as well)
• spices (pepper, salt, paprika, red pepper flakes, garlic powder)

Directions:

• Preheat Oven to 375 F
• Put chicken on an oiled and lined pan and cook for 30-45 minutes
• Clean the green beans and snap off the ends (if you really don't know how to clean green beans, I am sure you can find it on Google!)
• Cook the beans in a pot of water and season.  Cook until mostly done.
• While green beans are cooking, chop up potatoes, carrots and onion. (cut the potato in half, and then cut in half again long ways.  Afterwards, cut into less than .5" slices. Cut the carrots in half and dice the onion.)
• In a LARGE pot, add both cans of broth, and 2 cups of water.  Cook on low-medium.
• Add vegetables as they are ready. 
• When chicken is ready, cut into pieces and add to pot.  When green beans are ready, do the same.
• Season with spices to taste. Also add water as needed/to the consistency you desire.  If you want a more broth-based soup, add more water.  If you want a more vegetable/chicken based soup, add less water.
• Cover mixture once all of the ingredients are added and turn to low or warm.  Continue to stir and season as necessary (Can take many hours).
• Once everything is combined and tastes good, let cool on the stove for 30 min - 1 hour.  (I suggest cooking it longer so that vegetables get cooked through and all of the flavors meld).

Finishing the Dish:

• Split into ~6 servings equally.

As always, stay healthy.

Meal Prep: Citrus Baked Chicken with Peppers and Onions and Pasta

Hello all,
This week I am giving you two meal prep meals, both of which can be made separately or together and can give you 6 meals each!  The first one is my citrus baked chicken:

Ingredients Needed:

• 1 family pack chicken thighs (no skin)
• 2 green peppers
• 2 red peppers
• 1 medium red onion
• 2 small-medium oranges
• 2 small-medium lemons
• 1 pack wheat angel hair pasta
• spices (salt, pepper, garlic powder)
• fresh parsley
• garlic
• olive oil

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 F
• In a roasting pan, evenly space all chicken thighs (it is okay if they are touching)
• Season to taste with the spices, fresh parsley and garlic and drizzle with olive oil
• Juice one lemon and one orange into the pan and over the chicken.  Cut the remaining lemon and orange into slices and place over the chicken.
• Put into oven for 30-40 minutes and finish for 5 minutes on broil
• While the chicken is cooking, cook the pasta, and dice the green pepper, red pepper and red onion
• In a large skillet heat some oil (coconut is preferred), and saute the peppers and onions until done.

Finishing the Dish:

• Each container splits the pasta and vegetables evenly (a little more than a serving).
• Each container also gets a chicken thigh, a citrus slice and 1-2 tbsp of the juices left over in the pan.

Voila! That is it. Stay healthy.

Best Ab Exercise

Something I can not stress enough about working out, getting in shape, losing weight, gaining muscle, etc. is that you can't reach your goals when all you eat is junk!  Your body is 30% hard work in the gym and 70% of your diet.  So do your abs a favor and eat clean and healthy.

Team Hercules

Here are the some of the #TeamHercules workouts if you would like to give them a go (will update them as more are available):

Meal Prep: Stuffed Chicken with Rice and Spinach-Filled Meatballs with Pasta.

Hello all, sorry for what seemed like a bit of an absence.  I went on a lake trip with some of my buddies last week and got back just in time to make this for the week.  Enjoy.

Ingredients Needed:

• 2 lbs lean ground beef (I would go for the 96% or 98% lean)
• Family pack chicken thighs or breasts (You want about five 6oz pieces)
• 1 large bag of spinach
• 4 roma tomatoes
• 1 medium red onion
• 1 box of brown rice (enough for five 1 cup portions)
• 2 boxes of whole wheat spinach noodles
• 1 package reduced fat feta cheese

Stuffed Chicken with Rice:

•  Preheat the oven to 375 F
• Take out chicken and butterfly them (remember portion sizes, try to keep them around 6oz)
• In the middle of each piece of chicken, place a handful of spinach, chopped red onion, 2 -3 slices of tomato and 2 tbsp of the feta cheese.  Use toothpicks to keep them closed. Don't forget to season them!
• Place chicken on a baking sheet and cook for 20-40 minutes, make sure it is cooked all the way through.
• For the rice follow box directions.

Finishing the dish:

• Each meal gets one stuffed chicken and 1 cup of cooked brown rice.

Spinach-Filled Meatballs with Pasta:

• Set oven to 405
• Take spinach and chop well until you have 3 cups
• Dice red onion until you have 2 cups
• Put Spinach, meat, onions and seasonings (pepper, salt, garlic, red pepper flakes) into a large bowl and mix well with hands.
• Portion out meatballs evenly so that you have about 3 per meal (you may have one or two extra) 
• Cook for 15-30 minutes or until cooked through.

Finishing the dish:

• Each meal will get about 2oz of spinach pasta, and 3 meatballs.  Feel free to add any leftover spinach, and add 2 -3 slices of roma tomato. Top with 1 tbsp feta cheese.

Viola, that is it! Stay healthy.

Chest Workout #2

Decline Bench Press:
12, 10, 8, 6 (increasing weight with each set)

superset with

Push ups
4 sets to failure

Hammer Strength Flat Bench:
12, 10, 8, 6 (increasing weight with each set)

superset with

Push ups
4 sets to failure

Incline Dumbell Flyes
12, 10, 8, 6 (increasing weight with each set)

superset with

Push ups
4 sets to failure

Decline Cable Flyes:
20, 20, 20, 20 (start light and increase weight with each set)

Make Yourself

You Vs. You

It's just that simple.

Team Hercules

Welp, looks like I found my new training guide.  Make sure you check out Dwayne Johnson's  Facebook and Twitter for more information. #TeamHercules

 http://www.teamhercules.com/

Meal Prep Recipe: Spicy Chicken Chili

So this week I did a classic with my Siracha Chicken and Roasted Veggies, but I also did a Spicy Chicken Chili which I will give the recipe for in this post.  Let's get to it:

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of ground chicken or turkey (low fat of course)
• 1 can reduced sodium black beans
• 1 can reduced sodium corn
• 1 can ROTEL Hot
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1/2 of a red onion (the other half went with the roasted veggies)
• 3-4 jalapenos

Spicy Chicken Chili:

• Clean and chop the jalapenos and half of the red onion.
• Place the ROTEL, tomato paste, beans (drained and washed), corn (drained), onion and jalapenos into a large pot and add ~ 2 ROTEL cans full of water (sorry for the odd measurement, you can add more or less depending on how 'saucy' you want it to be). Bring mixture to a simmer, then cover and put on low heat.
• In a large skillet cook your ground meat until fully cooked. Season with pepper, red pepper flakes and Mrs. Dash.
• Once meat has cooked through, drain any excess fat and add to the pot with the other ingredients.
• Now do the rest of your meal prep while the chili is cooking!  Continue to taste and season to your liking.

Finishing the Dish:

• I split the chili between 6 containers, but you could also do between 5.  Just depends on your taste!

As always, stay healthy!

Don't Be Upset

Focus on the things you can control like effort and hard work with your own two hands.  The work you put in will lead to your success.  Just don't be upset by the results you didn't get with the work you didn't do.  Work hard, push yourself and kill your goals.

30-Day Challenge

Hello all,

I will be doing a 30-Day Challenge here shortly, one that I have been planning for a while.  Some of the general guidelines are as follows:

• No Booze (this one is a killer for me, I love to relax and have a beer after work)
• Healthy Eating
• No Cheat Meals! (yes for 30 Days)
• Weight Lifting 6 Days A Week
• Cardio 3 Days A Week
• One Rest Day A Week

I will be posting the workouts, updating my progress and outlining my days as I do them, so feel free to join!  Also, for any questions, comments, etc.  Feel free to email me at dtwarros03@gmail.com

As always stay healthy!

Push Through.

This is something that can apply to any fitness level and it is something that I believe everyone should take to mind.  Go into the gym with a plan, a workout, a goal and don't stop even if you get tired.  Push through it and don't stop until you achieve it.  Yes it will suck, and you may feel it tomorrow, but you will thank yourself later for it.  Don't stop when you get tired.  Stop when you are done and then do it all over again.

Meal Prep Recipe: Hawaiian BBQ Chicken and Veggies

Hello all,

I am back from the week-long hiatus and here with a meal prep recipe.  This only comes as one since I already have dinner stacked up for the week. Let's get to it:

Ingredients:

• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 orange bell pepper
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 small-medium red onion
• 1 can pineapple chunks
• 1 family pack of chicken drumsticks

(I had leftover BBQ sauce from a previous meal prep, as well as Mrs. Dash already on hand)

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken and Veggies:

• Preheat the oven to 375 F
• Cut the bell peppers and onions into chunks and place in the bottom of a large skillet (heated to medium) with 1 tbsp coconut oil
• Saute the vegetables and season with pepper, garlic and Mrs. Dash.
• Once the veggies are done to your liking add the can of pineapple chunks (with the juice) and turn heat down to low
• On a baking sheet, (aluminum oil and sprayed with oil) place all drumsticks and season to taste. Cook 35 minutes, take out of the oven turn over (remember to season the other side!) and put back in the oven for another 20-30 minutes.
• Take the veggies and with a slotted spoon, split evenly among five containers.
• Put the skillet back on the burner (still on low) and add 3 tbsp of BBQ Sauce of your liking.  I would suggest a spicy BBQ sauce, as the pineapple juice will be sweet.  Stir the sauce well and allow it to mix completely.

Finishing the dish:

• Add to drumsticks to each container and drizzle sauce on the drumsticks and vegetables.

Viola that is it!

Stay healthy!