Prep your way to weight loss success!

Every Saturday, I plan my meals for the week. I create a grocery list.  I hit the store armed with my grocery list. On my list, I have changes I'm willing to make (based on what may or may not be on sale). I gather my goods.  I head home, with all my yummy stuff and get ready to prep for my weekly success.

A lot of people I encounter tell me they don't have time to do this.  I disagree.  We are an on-the-go style family.  Weekends are generally spent doing the kids things or Get Thin With Jenn activities. We are busy during the week too.  Softball practice takes up our Wednesday night, as does my grad school class.  And basketball season, along with practices, is fast approaching. 

I also try to meet with clients at least twice a week and my team at least once.  I don't want to find myself going through the drive-thru grabbing a burger because I failed to plan my meals.  My attention to meal planning has paid off.  I haven't been really sick in over two years!  I've maintained my 60 pound weight loss for  4 years. And I'm at my healthiest now than I was before I discovered FFN.  I'm NOT going back to that sad, miserable, unhealthy place I was before I lost my weight. 

So as with any week, I've made my plan. I always try to keep it simple. Lunch for this week is a Swiss chard, kale & spinach salad topped with veggies and baked chicken & quinoa. 

Tomorrows is topped with guacamole. Not really sure what I will add to the others. 

How do you plan for success in meeting (or exceeding) your goals?!

GetThinWithJenn Apple Cobbler

Apple Cobbler 

By

GetThinWithJenn

Would you like a delicious treat without the guilt? Try my FFN friendly Apple Cobbler. 

You'll need-

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

For the filling, heat the following ingredients together in a saucepan while the oven pre-heats. 

1 chopped apple

1 tsp stevia

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp caramel extract

For the cobbler, whisk together:

1 scoop BodyFX tropical Creme

1 egg (or egg white)

1 tsp vanilla

Pour the Apple mixture into a small baking dish. Spoon the cobbler mix on top of the apples. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon. Pop into the oven for 20-25 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Ramblings and other stuff

This week is going to be super tough! It's Cinco de Mayo & we are having a potluck at work. You know what that means...either eat to stay on track or eat to avoid offending  your co-workers. I'm probably going to wind up offending some people because I just started a 30 day challenge! But a girl has to stay on track...

For my 30 day FFN Ultimate Body Challenge, I decided to do Alexa Jean Brown's Sore-To-The-Core 30 day Ab Challenge and her 30 day Butt/Leg Challenge. This should be fun. You can find her on Instagram by looking for @alexajeanfitness.  Depending on how this goes, Kayla Itsine's 12 week challenge is next on my agenda. However, I'm not so sure about this working out at home business. I kind of like the group fitness thing. 

This week, my meals are super easy. For lunch, I will be having dinner leftovers. So it goes like this:

Monday-fajitas (without the tortilla), salad and baby bell peppers. 

Tuesday-grilled chicken, side salad and veggies

Wednesday-grilled chicken, brown rice and a side salad loaded with veggies

Thursday-Chicken Salad on Wasa crackers, sweet bell peppers with guacamole and a side salad

Friday-Leftovers from Thursday

Saturday-traveling

Speaking of traveling...I'm super excited about this weekend! I have a few new dustributors attending Super Saturday in Dallas with me. I can't wait for them to see our corporate head quarters! We would love to have you join us!

 

Make Your Own Almond Butter

I love almonds. I love them raw. I love them roasted. I love them with cinnamon, cocoa, smoked. I just love almonds. 

Up until the last couple of weeks, when I've wanted a nut butter, I've always bought almond butter. I pay close attention to the labels & make sure they only use almonds in my almond butter, but sometimes it just doesn't taste good, ya know?   Two weeks ago, during one of our winter storms, I embarked on a mission to make my own. My first experience was okay, but I really wasn't satisfied.  I used already roasted almonds, purchased from a store. And it still didn't taste super fresh. So this week, I bought some raw almonds.

I measured out 1 cup.

And roasted my own!

   

All you have to do is spread almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in a cold oven. Turn oven on to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake almonds, stirring occasionally, until light tan and fragrant, 12 to 15 minutes. Be careful! The nuts will continue to cook after removing from oven.

I let them cool while I ate my breakfast this morning. And then popped them into my food processor. 

You'll go through several phases as they're processing. 

  

First, you'll get chopped up almonds. Then, it will look a little like almond "meal", basically a little gritty looking. After that, the oils will begin to release and it will start to stick to the sides of the food processor.  But...keep going. It's not ready yet!

  

It will kind of get thick & you'll notice heat coming off your food processor. No worries (unless the quality of your food processor isn't very good). The almonds are starting to break down, release their natural oils and make almond butter. (Mine started to ball up & I had to stop and break it apart.) At that point, I went about 5 more minutes, alternating between slow & fast. 

Finally, it started getting smoother. And the smell was positively divine!

And then...it was finished!!! I grabbed my scales & some 2 oz portion cups & divided it out 1 oz per cup. 

 

I now have six 1 oz servings of freshly ground almond butter! Make yours and let me know what you think!

Remember, when following the FirstFitness Nutrition program, you can enjoy 1/2 cup of almonds for a snack. Have some with a little celery! Yum!

2. 
   

New 100 pound club member!

Congratulations go out to Elizabeth Garvin of Georgia! What an amazing story you have! 

SLiMBALM is here!!!

I can NOT describe how excited I am to introduce you to...

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The synergistic complex of natural essential oils and their active components in SlimBalm reprograms your sensory perceptions of smell and taste to curb appetite and stop cravings for sweets.

Molecular actions of desensitizing gustatory (tasting) and olfactory (smelling) nerves reduce the appeal and emotional satisfaction of food and create a feeling of satiety.

SlimBalm targets specialized regions of the hypothalamus known as the “Feeding Center,” which signals you to eat, and the “Satiety Center,” which signals you not to eat. The “Satiety Center” reads nerve signals from the essential oil molecules in SlimBalm as it signals that you are full.

KEY BENEFITS:
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• Decreases desire for food
• Soothes the lips
• Eat less and lose weight

The Results:
• Control your appetite between meals
• Decrease over-eating and excessive food cravings
• Change the way you think and feel about food
• Experience less hunger and more satisfaction

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

INGREDIENTS: Helianthus Annus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil, Eugenia Caryophyllus (Clove) Oil, Cinnamomum Camphora (Camphor) Oil, Cinnmomum Zeylanicum (Cinnamon) Leaf Oil, Piper Nigrum (Black Pepper) Essential Oil, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Essential Oil, Citrus Bergamia (Bergamot) Essential Oil, and Menthol.

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