A Healthy Alternative to Tator Tot Hotdish - Cauliflower tots

Yesterday I was CRAVING Tator Tot Hot dish. It's one of my favorite meals. So, I decided to make my own version of this meal, but instead with a cheeseburger twist, and a WAY healthier version.

Today starts day one of my #Fit4Feb Challenge group. I would love to have you join me with an at home workout program, a meal guide to follow, and some superfood shakes! Send me an email at melissanielsen99@gmail.com if you are interested in joining the challenge! It is completely free to join, and you get to have ME as your FREE coach walking you through every step of your fitness program, but you do need to purchase a fitness program in order to participate and join the challenge.

The reason I LOVE the 21 day fix is because you can literally eat anything! There is no depriving yourself of the foods you love. Wine, Approved, Sushi, approved. And you even are able to replace any yellow container a couple times a week with any treat you are craving! Anyways, here is the recipe and video for the Cauliflower Tator Tot Hotdish.


Meat Mixture:
1.5 lb ground turkey
1 medium onion
1 can diced tomatoes
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus a little extra to sprinkle on top
1 table spoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup chopped pickles
1 Tablespoon pickle juice
2 tablespoons Dijon Mustard
Sea Salt to Taste
Black Pepper to Taste

Brown ground beef and onion in a pan. Add all of the remaining ingredients. Heat until warm. Add to the bottom of a baking dish. Top with Cauliflower tots and sprinkle with Cheese.

Cauliflower Tot Recipe:
2 cups Brocolli Florets
1 large egg
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1/4 cup parmesean
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup cilantro
Sea Salt to Taste
Black Pepper to Taste

 Steam cauliflower in a pan until soft. Add to food processor to make a fine consistency. Combine all remaining ingredients, and add cauliflower mixture. Spoon onto a sprayed baking dish and back @ 375 for 20 mins turning halfway through.

COCONUT OIL - The answer to EVERYTHING!

I don't know about you, but I recently just discovered the amazingness of coconut oil. It literally can be used for SO MUCH. Cooking, Skin, Hair. I use it as a makeup remover at night, and also as a deep conditioner for my hair. I keep one jar in my bathroom at all times!

I also have another jar in my kitchen for cooking. I use this instead of butter for all of my cooking. And, it can even be used in coffee and is great!

Lately I have been on a kick with coconut oil. Another thing I am in LOVE with as a replacement is sweet potatoes. I have been using this to replace regular potatoes and bread. I just recently made this breakfast, and instead of using bread I decided to slice up a sweet potato, and cook it in some coconut oil to use as a "bun" for my sandwich. This was probably THE best breakfast I have ever made or eaten in my own life! Not to mention, probably also one of the healthiest!

Here's the Recipe for my Sweet Potato Egg Sandwich:

Sweet potato slices (Cooked until soft on stove top in coconut oil)
Egg (Also cooked in coconut oil)
Wasabi Hummus
Pico De Gao
Cilantro


So Amazing! I also love making sweet potato buns for burgers!

If you are a fellow 21 day fixer, you know that sweet potatoes are at the top of the list for our yellow containers too! So its an over all WIN!

CAULIFLOWER is literally one of my favorite replacement foods. It can replace rice, bread, potatoes, and SO many other things. For some reason I was craving loaded potatoes but didn't want all the carbs. Plus, as an avid 21 day fixer,  finding ways to get in greens is always a win!

So, here's the recipe!! Makes 4 servings -- 286 calories each.

-1 head of cabbage 💚
-10 slices turkey bacon ❤
-1 cup Greek yogurt ❤
-1/2 cup green onions. 💚
-1 1/2 cups shredded cheese 💙
- olive oil cooking spray
-sea salt
-pepper


Chop cauliflower
Boil in water 2/3 mins
Strain
Spray baking dish
Cook bacon. Crumble
Combine cauliflower, turkey bacon, Greek yogurt, green onions, half of the cheese, sea salt, and pepper.
Top with remaining cheese.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 mins!
EAT your heart out!

Give it a try and let me know what you think!!  What's your favorite cauliflower recipe?? I also recently made cauliflower fried rice and it was amazing!! I'll post that recipe next!!

I also want to know what you guys want to see? Or who wants to challenge me to make a healthy version of their favorite food?? Ready... go!

Healthy Holiday Challenge - Select Spots open for December!

It's that time of year for family gatherings and occasions. That usually means the CAMERAS and PHONES get pulled out for photos! Are you usually the one planning your escape as soon as someone pulls out a camera? Yep, I have been there! This year I refuse to let that be me. I want to feel comfortable in my own skin, and you can too!

 I have already started the Healthy Holidays Challenge group for November, but I am opening this up to a select few who are willing to work on themselves throughout December. Everyone deserves to do something for themselves. YOU are the best investment you can make. Give yourself the gift of feeling good in your own skin, looking nice in that little black dress for your husband's Christmas party, or whatever goals you have this holiday season, let's start NOW!

XOXO Melissa

Fill out my online form.

Use Wufoo templates to make your own HTML forms.

10 Tips to Stay on Track with Your Health and Fitness over the Holidays.

Typically the holiday season is the time of year where we all fall off of our health and fitness routines and more than likely over indulge in everything. Did you know the typical person gains around 7-10 pounds from Thanksgiving to New years?! Yikes! This year I want to do everything to have a Happy and Healthy Holiday season, without gaining. Enjoying your holiday season is okay, and actually I encourage you to enjoy it! Life is far too short to not enjoy it. Just enjoy in moderation of course. As most of you know, I have become an avid 21 day fixer, and now portion control is just a regular part of my life. So, here are some tips I have come up with for enjoying the holidays AND staying on track at the same time.  

1. SCHEDULE your workouts each day. Preferably in the morning. When I say schedule them, I mean physically write them in your planner or put them in your calendar. When you do this, it's like making an important appointment you can't miss. Your workout is an important appointment that you should do everything in your power not to miss. Successful people are not people who do miraculous things everyday. Successful people are the people who do easy things everyday to benefit their lives. They take small steps in the right direction consistently everyday. Working out for 30 minutes is so easy to do. BUT, it is also SO EASY NOT TO DO. Schedule it, and get it done! No excuses!  

2. Set aside a specific time each week to make a weekly menu, grocery list and get your grocery shopping done. I do this every Sunday. Then I prep as much as I can on Sunday to make my work week go smoothly.  

3. Portion out HEALTHY snacks that are easy to grab. The snack baggies are my absolute favorite way to do this. I usually spend Sunday chopping veggies and fruits, boiling some hard boiled eggs, and throwing them all into snack baggies in what I call my healthy snack drawer in my fridge. This has helped me to stay on track more than I can even begin to tell you. It also makes packing my sons lunch so simple, and he eats healthy too! No one wants to cut up some celery when they are hungry for a snack. They want to grab something easy and convenient. Usually people will opt for the junk because of the convenience. Fix your fridge/cupboards so that the easiest things to grab are HEALTHY.

4. When going to a party, wait 30 minutes before having seconds. It takes a while for us to realize we are full. If we wait 30 minutes before dishing up again, we will more than likely realize we are not hungry for seconds.

5. DRINK WATER. You should be drinking half of your body weight in ounces of water. For example, if you weigh 200 pounds, you should be drinking a minimum of 100 ounces of water a day!  
6. Be the person who BRINGS a healthy dish to the party. There are so many amazing recipes on Pinterest for the holidays that include HEALTHY food. Find one, and bring it! Everyone will appreciate a healthy recipe, and if they don't oh well, that means you will have a healthy recipe left over to eat at home! ;)

7. Tell your friends and family about your GOALS to be healthy over the holidays. This will hold you accountable.

8. If you are going to indulge in drinks or food one day, PLAN out your meals the next day. There are days when I indulge in far too many drinks, and don't make the best food decisions. Where I really spiral downwards is not the day I indulge. It is usually the day AFTER I indulge, AKA the hangover day. I am lazy, and don't want to cook or make healthy food, I usually don't even want to get out of bed. I also crave junk when I am hungover. Best way to prevent this is to actually make your meals for the next day and have them prepped and in the fridge. This will leave you with ZERO excuses to  it eat healthy the next day. Don't let a cheat day turn into a cheat weekend, or a cheat week!  

9. DO NOT SKIP MEALS. If you know you are going to indulge, one of the biggest mistakes people will make is to skip meals so they feel they can justify eating more later on. DO NOT DO THIS.  

10. FILL up on veggies before anything else. If you are at a holiday party, make sure more than half of your plate is veggies before filing up on all of the other stuff.



XOXO

Melissa

Create the life YOU want!

I am looking for some like minded people to join my team. I will monitor and help you become successful in this business. All while getting in the best shape of you life! We are a part of the #2 team in ALL of Beachbody. You do not need to be at your ideal body or weight to become a coach. You do not need any nutritional background, and don't need to be a personal trainer. You just have to be willing to work on yourself! Actually people will relate to you MORE if you are NOT perfect. Life is a journey, and we are in this together! A couple things to remember: 1. I will go at the pace you want to go. If you want to walk, and just start out slow, I will walk with you in this business. Or, if you want to run, I'll run with you and we can take things at whatever pace you are comfortable with. However, I do ask that you are committed and opened to changing and growing. Change is NOT easy, if you want something different, you need to DO something different. This business is all about sharing your healthier lifestyle with others on social media. You must be open and willing to share or no one will know what your doing and therefor won't ask questions. Don't worry, I will walk you through this step by step and HELP you do these things to feel comfortable doing them! 2. This business will give you back exactly what you put into it. If you only put in a little effort, you will only get back a little. If you put in A LOT, you will get that back ALOT! This business can change your life in so many ways! It has changed my life in so many levels and I want to share that with you too! * Financially *Positive Community of people I can go to when I need support *Friends *Help getting in the best shape of my life * The Ability to help others * Time freedom *Life by design *Doing something for ME. This business is about Learning to live a better life, teaching others to do the same, and repeating. It's that simple. Help yourself. Help others. Repeat. If this sounds like something you need or want, please fill out the application below! I can't wait to hear from you! XOXO- Melissa

Fill out my online form.

Use Wufoo integrations and get your data to your favorite apps.

Spinach, Feta, and Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken