Mexican Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Stew

If you live in Canada you'll know the price of fresh vegetables has sky-rocketed! I bought a butternut squash for $15 the other day! Then I found diced butternut squash in the frozen vegetable section for $3 per bag! Not only did the frozen squash save me $12 but it also saved me the hassle of peeling and dicing the squash! From now on if I can't source a locally grown butternut squash I'll be buying the frozen variety!  I like the President's Choice brand (from Loblaws) because their frozen vegetables come in handy resealable bags - isn't that kind of genius? Why aren't all frozen vegetable bags resealable!

This stew uses both canned and frozen vegetables to make it extremely convenient and really cheap! Just combine the ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning and have dinner ready when you get home! I've included protein, fibre, healthy carbs and vegetables packed with Vitamin A to make sure you'll stay full throughout the day without an energy crash. You can serve it on top of brown rice or in a whole-wheat tortilla for more of a burrito experience.

This recipe is 21-Day Fix friendly and gluten-free. To make it easier with the 21 Day Fix containers don't mix the chicken back into the crock pot then portion the chicken into the red container (protein), put the veggies from the crock pot and brown rice in your yellow container. Add in some spinach (green container) to get more greens in!

Mexican Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Stew           Makes about 8 hearty servings Ingredients  4 Chicken Breasts (boneless, skinless) 2 Cups Vegetable Broth (1 Bouillon cube with 2 Cups of boiling water) 1 Onion, Chopped 3 Cloves Garlic, Diced 1 Cup Frozen Corn 2 Cups Cubed Frozen Butternut Squash 1 Can Black Beans (drained) 1 Can Diced tomatoes (or salsa) 1 Tbsp Chili Powder 1 Tbsp Cumin 1 Tbsp Chipotle Spice 1 Tsp Cayenne Pepper 1/2 Cup Chopped Cilantro 2 Cups Brown Rice 4 to 5 Cups Water Directions Combine all ingredients except the cilantro, rice and water in a slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.  Cook the Rice according to the directions. After chicken has cooked remove it from the slow cooker and pull it apart on a large cutting board. Add the chicken back into the slow cooker and add the cilatro and combine everything. Serve over brown rice for a meal balanced with healthy carbs, vegetables and protein.

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Vegan Superfood Mocha Latte Recipe

Guys, I have to admit to you I used to have a bad Starbucks addiction. I worked at Chapters and my treat for every shift was a latte or London Fog. I willfully ignored the nutrition information but when I finally checked it I was shocked. Back then they were still making their lattes with whole milk and with the whipped cream on top drinking a latte was more like eating a Big Mac but without the protein! 

Because a latte is so high in calories but provides very little nutritional value I would put it in the "empty calorie" category along with pop! Empty calories are calories that provide no vitamins or protein - things that keep your body going - along with the calories. Empty calories may provide a spike in your energy from sugar but you'll soon experience a "crash" and feel more tired and hungry than you started leading you to eat more and crave more empty calories. This is why you should avoid empty calories in the first place! 

The Starbucks website uses some sly tactics like making their list of small treats in the biggest font which leads the reader to go their first and assumes their treats are healthy. When you see the "mini scone" they advertise in person though it's flippin tiny! I would never just eat one single mini scone. They also list the smallest drinks first on the menu and make the large drinks hard to read in a giant chart. They also don't include the whipped cream in their calorie calculations. 

Nowadays, the odd time I'll go to a Starbucks, I'll order an Americano and add my own milk. I've also sworn off any sweetener in my coffee. It was hard at first - I used to take double sugar in my coffee but now I can't stand the taste of a double double. It's amazing how our taste buds adjust. I first switched to stevia to replace the sugar and then slowly reduced the stevia until I was used to no sweetener! Why did I remove the stevia too? Studies show that even artificial sweeteners like stevia cause people to crave more sweet things and therefore people don't lose weight when they switch to artificial sweeteners. 

Instead of a latte filled with empty calories I have concocted this latte filled with a balance of protein, healthy carbs, vitamins and even hormone-balancing maca root. This is a perfect drink in the morning because the variety of plant-based protein (eg. rice, quinoa and amaranth) in the Shakeology provides long-lasting energy throughout the day unlike other protein powder that are whey-based. I also find whey-based protein powder bothers my stomach - especially early in the morning. You can drink it in the place of breakfast which is what I do if I'm in a rush and what my dad does every day! 

When you're feeling full and energized you'll be more likely to stick to your healthy diet and feel more energized for your workouts! 

Vegan Superfood Mocha Latte Recipe           Makes 1 Serving Ingredients  1 Scoop Chocolate Vegan Shakeology 1 Cup Almond Milk 1 Cup Freshly Brewed Coffee 1 Tsp Vanilla 1/2 Banana Directions Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend on high until the ingredients are combined and the almond milk is frothy. Drink warm!

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Paleo Asian Naked Potsticker Mini Meatloaves Recipe

I love asian gyoza but I dread tasks that require monotony like folding all those wonton wrappers! I save that for chefs at Japanese restaurants and always order gyoza when I go out for sushi.

 I wanted to make gyoza at home without the wrapper so I came up with this recipe. Instead of wrapping the gyoza just pop about a third of a cup into a muffin tin hole (not sure what else to call the spot where a muffin goes) and bake it! This takes all the monotony out of the process and also turns the recipe into a paleo diet recipe because it excludes the wrapper! These are also perfect for make-ahead meals and meal planning because each meatloaf is a perfect portable meal to take to work or portion for the upcoming week.

I also made this recipe gluten free by using almond flour. If you don't have almond flour on hand you can leave it out or use regular flour. Almond flour can be found at Costco or the Bulk Barn. You could also try skipping the cabbage draining if you wanted to speed things along but the meatloaves were crumbly enough so I would drain the cabbage the best you can.

 I had some chipotle yogurt dip left over from the Best Turkey Burgers Ever so I tried it on these and it actually went perfectly! It's even better than the soy sauce dip that's intended for the gyoza. Next time with this recipe I'm going to try adding grated carrot or sweet potato. If you try adding other veggies let me know how it turns out in the comments!

Paleo Asian Potsticker (Gyoza) Mini Meatloaves Recipe  Makes about 20 hearty servings Ingredients         For the Meatloaves 2 Cups Grated Cabbage 1 Tbsp Salt 1 Chopped Onion 2 Cloves Diced Garlic 1 Pound (500gr) Ground Pork 1 Can Water Chestnuts 1 Cup Diced Cilantro (fresh) 3 Spring Onions 2 Tbsp Minced Ginger 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce 1 Egg 1/3 Cup Almond Flour 1 Tbsp sesame oil For the dipping sauce 6 Tbsp Soy Sauce 3 Tbsp Rice Vinegar 1 Tsp Sesame Oil 1 Tsp Cayenne Pepper 1 Tbsp Diced Garlic Directions Grate the cabbage using a box grater or pop into a food processor or Vitamix until finely grated. Transfer to a mesh colander and add the salt. Let the cabbage sit for 15 minutes to drain and then put it in a tea towel and squeeze out as much water as possible (this will help the meatloaves stick together). Combine all of the ingredients for the meatloaves (except the oil) in a large bowl and mix with your hands. Oil a muffin tin using the sesame oil then using an ice cream scoop transfer one scoop to one muffin hole. Bake for 30 minutes at 350F While the meatloaves are baking mix together the ingredients for the dipping sauce and let the flavours infuse while you wait Remove the meatloaves from the oven and serve with salad or sweet potato fries and the dipping sauce.   The meatloaves also go great served with the yogurt sauce from  The Best Turkey Burgers Ever Recipe

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