Green Egg Skillet Bake

Can you say yum?????

Green Egg Skillet Bake

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 white onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 tsp plus pinch sea salt
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• 4 cups roughly chopped collard greens
• 3 cloves garlic, minced, divided
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 4 cups roughly chopped spinach
• Olive oil cooking spray
• 5 white mushrooms with stems, sliced
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tbsp Greek yogurt (NONDAIRY ALTERNATIVE: vegan cream cheese)
• 1 tbsp milk 1% milk (NONDAIRY ALTERNATIVE: light coconut milk)
• 2 tsp red chile paste

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat oil on medium-high. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until tender and lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Add salt, pepper and collard greens and cook, stirring, until vibrant green, about 3 minutes. Add 2 cloves garlic, cumin, oregano and pepper flakes and stir to combine. Add spinach and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Turn off heat.
3. Mist a cast iron skillet with cooking spray. With tongs, remove spinach mixture from pot and transfer to skillet, leaving excess liquid in pot. Scatter mushrooms over top. Make 4 wells in spinach mixture and gently crack eggs into wells. Bake until eggs are set, 7 to 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk yogurt, milk, remaining 1 clove garlic and chile paste until combined. Distribute mixture in dollops over top of spinach mixture. If desired, serve with multigrain bread to soak up the egg yolks.

Nutrients per serving (1/4 of Green Egg Skillet Bake): Calories: 150, Total Fat: 9 g, Sat. Fat: 2 g, Carbs: 8 g, Fiber: 3 g, Sugars: 3 g, Protein: 10 g, Sodium: 281 mg, Cholesterol: 212 mg

My Top 4 Personal Development Books

The Compound Effect

"Wherever you are in life right now is your own doing - good or bad" - Darren Hardy

The Compound Effect is based on the principle that decisions shape your destiny. Little, everyday decisions will either take you to the life you desire or to disaster by default. If you’re serious about living an extraordinary life, use the power of this book  to create the success you want. I've read this book several times and each time I walk away with more inspiration and motivation!  Great read, highly recommend!

The Power of Now

"Drop the negativity that your mind has created about the situation and that serves no purpose whatsoever except to strengthen a false sense of self." - Eckhart Tolle

This book was written with the intention to give us daily help and guidance in our day to day life.  Mr. Tolle emphasizes the importance of living in the present moment and not focusing on the past or future. This my go to reading material when life feels overwhelming. It truly brings you back to the present moment and allows the stresses of the past or future to melt away!




Failing Forward

“In life, the question is not if you will have problems, but how you are going to deal with your problems. If the possibility of failure were erased, what would you attempt to achieve?" - John Maxwell


This book talks about how people fail in their lives, and turn that around to and have a lifetime of success. It shows how people prepare for failure when it happens. The thing I liked most about this book was that it provides examples of real people in life. It showed that sometimes when people fail, they find success in life after their failure. When you fail you just have to remember that there is always another plan that God has for people. He explains how failure can result in good things. The only thing that matters when you fail is that you learn from your mistakes and try to better yourself. If you have never failed in life, then you haven’t tried to do anything outside your comfort zone. I could relate on so many levels, I have failed over and over again in my life.  In my life the word failure was connected to negativity...a bad word! I learned from Mr. Maxwell that failure goes hand in hand with success. If you don't ever fail, you've never truly lived and reached for your dreams! Don't be afraid to fail and fly, with practice, determination and persistence, you will achieve great success. I definitely recommend reading this book!!!

Manifest Your Destiny

"Conflict cannot survive without your participation." - Dr. Wayne Dyer

This book shows how living in love and faith will attract all good things to you. Dr. Dyer in a very simplistic way gives you a road map to achieve the life you were destined to live.  I find ALL his books bring such peace to my heart. A MUST read!!

Vegan Chocolate Shakeo vs Regular

Take a look at my first impression of Vegan Chocolate Shakeology!

FORGIVENESS!!

Every week I try to focus on one aspect of my life to work on in my personal development.  This week is forgiveness. As long as we hold onto the hurt and resentment from the past will remain a hostage in our life.  It isn't until we learn the art of forgiveness that our heart and soul will be free!

Skinny Tropical Muffins

Oh my you have to try these tropical muffins.  A healthy spin on a super yummy treat!!

Ingredients:

• 2 and 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour (or mix of whole wheat and all-purpose)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup honey (or maple syrup)
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, loosely packed (or dark brown sugar)
• 1 cup mashed very ripe banana (about 2 large very ripe bananas)
• 1/4 cup nonfat vanilla greek yogurt (or any yogurt)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 3/4 cup milk (almond milk, soymilk, cow's milk, rice milk)
• zest from 1 orange
• 1 and 1/4 cup fresh pineapple, diced
• 1 thinly sliced banana for topping
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Spray 15 muffin tins with nonstick spray.* Set aside.

In a large bowl, gently toss the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together until combined. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix the honey and brown sugar together - it will be thick and lumpy. Try to get out as many lumps as you can - a fork works well to break it up. Add the mashed banana, yogurt, and beaten egg. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Gently begin to fold it all together. It will be very thick. Add the milk slowly and continue to gently mix the ingredients together. The milk will thin everything out, but the batter will still remain thick. Fold in the orange zest and pineapple. Do not overmix the batter, which will lend tough, dense-textured muffins.

Divide the batter between 15 muffin tins. Fill all the way to the top. Top with 2-3 thin slices of the sliced banana and a sprinkle of coconut. Bake the first 12, then the last three in another batch. Fill the empty muffin tins halfway with water in the 2nd batch to ensure even baking. Bake for 17-18 minutes until very lightly browned on the edges. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. Allow the muffins to cool completely.

Makes 15 muffins. Muffins taste best the next day, like most banana bread recipes.  Muffins remain fresh and moist stored at room temperature for up to 5 days.  Muffins freeze well, up to 3 months.

SIMPLE ways to stay on budget!

If you are like me, I have a pretty strict budget that I must adhere to.  This can sometimes be quite challenging especially when you have a large family and frankly more bills than I care to admit. I have been working on eliminating the monthly struggle and setting myself up for financial success, which means I have had to take a look at my weakness and habits.  Doing this has allowed me to create new habits that make me more mindful about my spending and shopping routines.

After taking a deeper look at what has worked for many others, I have created a list of a couple simple things I (we) can do to stay on budget.

1. Shop with a list

Shopping with a list is something that I have always done when grocery shopping, but never copied that habit when it came to shopping for household items, clothes for the kids, gas, etc. I know that it may seem like making a list for the smaller things is very insignificant, but what it does for me is makes me very aware of ALL the money I am spending. This allows me to prioritize what and when I make purchases so I can manage more efficiently my cash flow. Also making a list even for a convenience store trip will help to ward off the temptation to buy things you don't really need!

2. Use a budget app

This is something I NEVER did!  I eventually started doing this on my computer and it really helped!  The problem is it's on the computer and not readily available when you are out and about.  This led me to finding a budget app I could use on my smartphone as well, now I had no excuse for not knowing where my budget stood on a minute by minute basis. From anywhere this allows me to track my budget and goals and maintain an awareness of my spending in real time.

3. Record expenses daily

In the past I would wait until the end of the week or even month sometimes to log my expenses. It became a nightmare, trying to remember purchases, frantically searching for receipts!  At the end of every day I log all my expenses including small purchases like a pack of gum.  It's also important to ALWAYS ask for a receipt! That's documentation that is necessary to track your money. Doing this helps you to become aware of your daily spending habits, so that you can make positive changes.

4. Share

I found that sharing my financial goals with others, like a friend or family member, made me more inclined to be accountable for my spending. It's always easier do achieve a goal when you have someone on your side holding you accountable for your actions!  This also opens up a window to receiving advice or plan that has worked for them! Share regularly!

5. Only spend what you can see

Shopping with cash creates a visual of what's readily available to you! I know it seems crazy and a pain!  Before I go grocery shopping I go to the ATM and pull out what I need before I even enter the store.  If I don't I know I will come out with more than I intended to!  Just try this for a couple of weeks and see what a difference it makes in your awareness of your finances and budget!

6. Refurbish and recycle

I have become a jack of all trades and wear many hats within my household! Instead of constantly planning out my budget for new items or to replace items that are in relatively good condition, I try to fix or refurbish those items.  It sometimes can be as simple as adding a fresh coat of paint to a piece of furniture to give it new life or replacing a part in my dishwasher after watching a diy video on how to do so!  This not only helps the budget, but it also gives a new level of self confidence in doing things you never thought you could! Try to update your house without having to go out and buy new stuff.  It's incredibly rewarding!

7. Reward yourself without spending money

I use to treat myself to a purse or workout outfit when I would reach a goal.  This habit also spilled down to my children.  If they did well in school they were rewarded with some financial gain or item they've really wanted. Today I now try and reward myself and my family in ways that don't involve spending money. Spending an afternoon with my family at a local FREE event, trying a new recipe, enjoying a quiet bath with candles, or making time to spend with a friend or a loved one I haven't seen in awhile, is time soooo well spent! The reward is so much greater...the memories created last a lifetime! Try to make goal setting a positive experience!  This will reinforce new and better habits and get rid of the habits that have been holding you back!

I hope you found this helpful!

FREE 5 Day Clean Eating Challenge

Join me for a FREE Clean Eating Challenge beginning Monday, June 8.  I will provide you with a 5 day meal plan with delicious recipes, an organized grocery list and support throughout the week. We will have a private Facebook group where we can share healthy recipes, pictures, ask questions and offer each other motivation and support.  Healthy eating made easy.  Are you in? Scoot over to my Facebook page and send me a personal message, so I can add you to the group :-)  facebook.com/teamfitnessroyalty