Zucchini Pepper Turkey Casserole

Zucchini Pepper Turkey Casserole

(to make it vegetarian, just leave out the ground turkey! A perfect Veggie casserole!)

I made this a few days ago, and it was SO good, I made it again tonight. I didn't follow any recipe, I kind of made it up as I went along, but it's basically the recipe for Zucchini Casserole, just made my way, and with meat :)

So...

Here's what you need:

*1lb ground Turkey

*1 small can of tomato sauce

*1 large zucchini 

*Peppers: red, green, orange, whatever you prefer

*1 Tomato (I only had a few tiny ones today, but it's ok because I don't like tomatoes anyway)

*mozzarella cheese - as much or as little as you want, but mostly a LOT because it helps hold everything together ;)

*Onion (optional - I don't like onions so I don't add them. IF you do like onions and want to add, I suggest adding to the ground turkey when you cook that, otherwise the casserole takes much longer to cook). 

*Whatever else you want to add!

I only pictured these, because the other pictures are boring and not as pretty

Ready...set...COOK

Brown your ground turkey. Season as you like. I add minced onion so I have a little onion flavor without an actual big giant nasty onion. No offense to onions, I just can't. I also add a little Italian seasoning because, why not.

Once the turkey is cooked, add your can of tomato sauce and let simmer while you head over to that cutting board to slice up those veggies. (I also add a touch of marinara sauce that I had leftover in the fridge, I think the little extra juice was a good touch because I didn't have tomatoes)

Now slice up those veggies!

Zucchini!! Slice 'em thin!

You can cut your peppers however you prefer, slices, rings, or little nugget pieces, it's your casserole, you make it the casserole of your dreams.

Now start your layers in a large casserole dish (11x9)

Veggies down first (but only about half as you need the rest for your top layer)

Don't forget to save some for your top layer!

Now sprinkle this first layer with some cheese.

about that much, but more if you'd prefer

Next Up, the meat. Pour the meat evenly over the veggies. All of it.

Now for the rest of the veggies, load 'em up!

In retrospect, it's easier to add the zucchini as the top most layer, over the peppers, the cheese sits better, FYI

Now...

CHEESE

Then pop that bad boy in the oven for about 40-45 minutes at 350 degrees.

And then...

Enjoy!!

It's a cheesy vegetable explosion in your mouth

If you do make it vegetarian, make sure you add those tomatoes, as that's where most of the juicy goodness comes from. With my version, the tomato sauce in the meat is just the right amount of juiciness. 

It's really good, if you ask me. And mostly healthy too! Hope you enjoy! 

*emilyk8

What ONE week as a Beachbody coach has taught me...

We all sign up for different reasons, but mostly the same reasons. We want to help people, we want to help ourselves, we want to earn money, we want to be a part of something big, we want to be challenged, but maybe not too much... 
We all read the testimonials, see the transformation pictures, think to ourselves "wow this is amazing!"...
Then we jump in, head first, not knowing exactly what we are doing but we are going to try our darnedest to figure it out and do what we need to do. The first week is hard, and I'd say it gets easier but it's only been just over a week for me, so I can't say that, but I have been told that it does. Day one was the hardest, day two much better, now 11 days later...all I can say is that, it's amazing... and it's only been 11 days. 

I started my first challenge group as I was encouraged to do. Luckily I'm studying to become a personal trainer and know a LOT about nutrition, as I've been living the lifestyle for a year now. So the Clean Eating Challenge Group I started felt like home to me and a great place to start.
People joined like crazy, more and more each day. My  goal of "a few people", turned into a group of 30 in just a matter of days. People were interested, people were into it, people were ready, and I was ready to help them.  

What happened over those next 5 days was not what I was expecting. It was SO much more. People opened up and shared their lives with me, and with everyone else in the group. We shared recipes and workouts and stories. People not only interacted with me, but with each other, helping each other out, being there for each other, encouraging each other. People that don't even know each other. It was amazing and perfect. It felt like a fun family gathering. I looked forward each day to everyone's posts and pictures. They went above and beyond each and every day. And the best part was that it was all healthy and good for us! Not only was it fun, but over those 5 days, pounds were lost, inches were lost, people gained energy, started sleeping better, feeling better, living better... Even me! I stuck right with it, ate better than I probably ever have, even in my year of starting a healthy life. I even lost weight, felt leaner, slept better than I can ever remember sleeping, and I just overall feel happy! 
Friday came and it was bittersweet! I didn't want it to end. And so it won't. I'm going to leave my group open and everyone is free to continue to share their meals, pictures, workouts, and lives. It's such a great platform for health and fitness and I just wish more people would take advantage of it! All it cost everyone was the cost of their food, and what they gained, I hope, is a new life of clean healthy living. And I'll be there for them each and every day to keep encouraging them, challenging them, making them move.

Knowing that this is my "job" now is like the coolest thing ever. I can't even WAIT to start my next challenge group. I can't wait to see the transformations, and the lives that I'll help change. As cheesy as it sounds, it's better than any paycheck. Just changing people for the better, helping them any way I can, it makes me SO stinkin' happy. 
It doesn't even have to be about losing weight. It's just about becoming an overall better YOU. Just hearing how much better people were FEELING was amazing. Isn't it crazy how much your body can love you when you put good fuel into it?! 

So how has my life changed from these five days?
Well, now I can't stop taking pictures of my food... eek. But it's so pretty and yummy and HEALTHY and I want to share it with the world! 

See...here's my breakfast today:

Egg White Omelet with Green peppers and DRY Wheat Toast

My drive to help people has also like quadrupled... like it's almost impossible for me NOT to help you, IF you want the help. I won't bug you about clean eating and working out if you don't want to hear it. Oh wait, Yes, I totally will. 

I do it for you, because I LOVE to see positive results, and that makes me SO happy, so really I'm doing it for me... but really it's for you. but also me. 

I don't want to stop. So I won't stop. 

And that, my friends, is what I learned in one week as a Beachbody coach.

The End.

*A special shout out to my 5 Day Clean Eating Challenge Group because they were ROCKSTARS this week. They inspired the crap out of me. From the birthday push-up challenge videos, to the squats... they killed it. We live all across the country, but I'm pretty sure if we had a party at my house, we'd have the best party EVER, and leave a few hours later with 10lbs less fat and 14lbs more muscle. cuz we are THAT awesome. 

Tip #234 - Getting those extra steps in ;)

Tip # 234

To help you be the best that you can be

My tips are not going to apply to everyone, and might not be possible ALL the time, but I'm going to throw them out there anyway. They are small tips that when added up, can be big changes. 

Here's today tip. Use the farthest bathroom. 

I shouldn't have to put the exceptions on here, you are big enough to figure them out. If you are in a mall on the second floor, I'm not always saying to find the bathroom on the first floor in the farthest away corner. If you go to the bathroom like my 4 year old and prefer to wait until the very absolute last second before you explode, then this isn't for you. If you have the extra time to take the extra steps, then keep reading...

What my toilet looks like

It's simple really. For those that have more that one bathroom in their house, just use the one that is the farthest away. I use my bedroom bathroom 99% of the time at my house. This means, if I'm in the kitchen, I have to go down the hall, up the stairs, down that hall, into my room, down the last hall and into the bathroom (it sounds like my house is a mansion but it is Not a mansion, sadly). 

That's approximately 50 steps each way (yes I counted). That's 100 steps total. So 10 trips to the bathroom is an extra 1,000 steps in my day (I drink a lot of water!). That's almost half a mile. That's 30,000 EXTRA steps a month. That's 362,000 extra steps a year. You get it?

So that's it. Try it. Get those extra steps in. Be active. Make everything count. Take the extra steps. Go the extra mile. Take over the world with your awesomeness. 

And if you don't pee enough then you don't DRINK enough!! Drink that water! It makes all good things happen inside of you, and who doesn't want that?!

Drink. Walk. Pee. Repeat. 

Your friend

emilyk8motivate

COACH EmilyK8Motivate!

Are you ready for me to change your life?! Well the bad news is, I can't change your life. But the GOOD news is, I can help YOU change YOUR life! Seriously though, I can't make you workout. I can try really hard, but I wont' be physically lifting your lifeless body up to make you dance and squat and flex. I won't. I can't make you eat good food. I can try really hard and I can supply you with all the tools you need and shopping lists and recipes, but I won't physically come to your house and feed you like you are my 2 year old daughter. I won't. You can do these things however, and you CAN have my help. So what are you waiting for?!?!

I now have a facebook page: emilyk8motivate and you can head on over there for lots of good info. 

I'll be starting a Clean Eating challenge group on MONDAY. It's all free and all for you. Advice, recipes, shopping lists, etc. Everything you need for ONE WEEK of clean eating. Always wanted to attempt to eat clean but never knew where to start or what to buy? Now you will know. It's the perfect way to try something you that you probably wouldn't do on your own. The best part is that I'll be there every day, checking in, answering questions, keeping you motivated. It's only for 5 days... FIVE days! It's possible, and it's going to rock your world. Sounds amazing right?! ;-)

 So don't be scared. I'll be there holding your hand, just remember, I won't actually come over and feed you, so you're still going to need to do this yourself. Ok?! Cool.

Oh, and remember that abs are made in the kitchen...

They seriously and truly are

I'm not saying I have the best abs ever, I'm just saying that eating better has made a HUGE difference in my middle section there. Can't even wait to see what a week of clean eating will do! Look out world, I'll probably poke an eye out with how chiseled my abs will be. Seriously, it's going to be dangerous ;-)

So check out my page if you haven't already, and LIKE it! This is where I'll offer my personal training services, and be starting lots of fitness groups (private groups so the whole world doesn't have to see what you are up too, unless you want them too). 

I want to cater to every niche, so expect to see a group that should work perfectly for you. There may even be more than one for ya!

Want to be in a mommy workout group? Boom. We'll do it. 

Are you older and feeling discouraged by the slightly younger crowd jumping and dancing and flexing all over? Boom. I'll have a group for just you. 

Are you ready to take your workout to the next level and need that extra push? Boom. I'll push you right off that cliff...in a good way. A very good way. (Think of it as a little cliff, and you are falling into a bucket of clouds, soft wonderful clouds - see, doesn't that sound nice?!)

Excited to see you over there ;-)

I'm waiting!

-EmK8

Need a little MOtivation for your MOnday?

MOtivational MOnday

You are ALREADY Great...but you're going to be greater...so don't stop! Maybe you ate a few bad things this weekend or skipped workouts...don't let that define you, just KEEP GOING!! Keep.Going.

So here's what went down this weekend over in EmilyK8Motivate Land...

Saturday morning I went for a run (Please note I was still sore from Piyo, awesome!). I decided it was "Run In All Courts Saturday". So this is only really possible if you live in a neighborhood with a lot of courts, otherwise it's a little difficult to play this game. If you find yourself court-less, please feel free to make up your own running game. I challenge you to make one up as exciting as "Run in All Courts Saturday"!

 So the rules are simple, on whatever path you take, make sure you run in all the courts! May seem silly, but you could be adding a lot of distance on to your run without "Feeling" like you are running far. So find those courts, big or small, and pay them a visit. They don't get enough attention as it is, so it's a nice thing to do...

I've made nice little arrows marking the courts, and yes, I managed to skip two courts but both were on the opposite side of the street and I wasn't in the mood to cross...No excuse though, I did not get an A+ at my own game. I'd give myself a B+ though ;) Next time, I'll take them all down...

Then I had a wedding shower to go too so I got to actually take off the workout clothes and put on a dress! 

Boom

Later in the day I decided to work on some core. I was watching football and decided to do this during all the commercial breaks. 

Start with your hands on the ground, trying not to bend your legs (great for working on flexibility!). Walk your hands out in front of you as far as you can into a plank (we call this version a hollow hold in the gymnastics world). Hold. Walk hands in just a bit. Push-Up (to the ground!). Walk hands all the way back in. Repeat. Just do as many as you can! You will feel this and shouldn't stop until your body is shaking violently. Seriously, when you are holding your plank you will start shaking like crazy. Ahhh, that's how you know it's working ;-)

Here's it is again...this time with music for your listening pleasure. Oh, and if you can, add a kid to your push-up, DO IT! You are only doing one push-up anyway, so make it count! That extra weight (30+lbs in my case) makes a BIG difference! Also, please feel free to do more push-ups if you want! One is Fun but Eight is Great, and Twenty is Plenty. Look out world...I'm super poetic today...

You can also have said child underneath you while you're in your plank...kind of hard to cheat when you have to worry about crushing a dear loved one...

I didn't even ask her to do this, she did it on her own. Thanks kiddo!

*Sidenote: I made the above videos on Sunday to show what I did on Saturday, so I technically did this stuff 2 days in a row. That's why you'll see the same outfit in the videos below which were also done on Sunday. I didn't want you to be confused and concerned. Ok Carry on.

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Sunday I made a little trip to the gym for leg day. Here's what escalated...

I started with a 7 minute warm up on the treadmill. Why 7 minutes? Because sometimes 5 feels too short, and 10 just seems way too long...I have legs to burn and don't have those 3 extra minutes to dink around! ;-)

So I walked for 7 minutes at an 8% incline...this really got my legs buttered up. I've told you before to walk on in incline...have you?? I'm telling you again! Do it! It's so great for those legs! Try it! ;-)

I won't tell you what speed to walk, but will say this is your warm up, so WARM IT UP! It should be a good pace, you want to get your heart rate up. It's not a leisurely stroll. I'm short, so I walk at 3.6 mph. Any faster and I'm almost running. Thanks little legs. For a tall person, this is probably a stroll through the park. Do the speed that works for you and gets you ready :)

So here are my workout notes below, I won't go into detail, so if you have questions, just ask!

Legs!

Legs!

My legs were happypants when I left the gym. 

Later in the evening I did the icing on the cake, or as I prefer to say, the butter on the broccoli (cuz that's healthier ya know, as long as it's not too much butter, moderation is key my friends!). 

My mom scored a mini trampoline in perfect shape (and it folds!) at a garage sale for $10! Just made my life so much more exciting!

So I did 10 straight minutes of jumping and squatting on the mini tramp. No joke that was not fun. I mean, it was fun, in a good kind of burning bad good. 

I know not everyone has a mini tramp hanging around their house... you can do this on a big trampoline too! And I know like 84% of families these days seem to have a big trampoline, so get on out there before it snows!!

"Do Squats on me!!"

When I was putting the kids to bed, I figured it would be a good time to do some handstand push-ups against the wall...nothing like getting the kids all wired before they need to be asleep :-o 

I've made some progress with how low I get, so that was exciting. Please enjoy the video my 4 year old took...sorry if you get sea sick

So that about sums it up. Did some things at home, did some things at the gym, did some running... Feeling good!

Today is Monday and it's usually my rest day. Sorry Pinterest post that says "never miss a Monday workout". I do my big workouts over the weekend so by Monday I'm ready for that rest. 

I did however take a nice 2 mile walk with little #2 after dropping off little #1 at school. 

Not only was it a lovely little walk, it also validated that I worked my legs hard the day before. Sore city. Feels Sore good ;-)

So what did you do this weekend?! What are you doing today?! Try the core workout! It's really a good time, I promise! Let me know how it goes! 

Happy Monday!!

-EmilyK8

Keep moving. Keep eating. Keep drinking (water). Be healthy. Be happy.

and as always, thanks for reading!

*Flex* Friday and Piyo

Rise and Flex Ya'll!

Today is Friday, and we flex. So just make sure you flex at some point today. It's good for the soul. I promise. 

I feel magical.

So the other day I tried myself some Piyo. People are raving about it, and I wanted to be able to rave too. I was feeling a little left out. So I busted out the iPad and got on good old YouTube and found myself a nice 25 minute long Piyo workout. #1 and I did it together. Seemed ok. I could hang.

Here's the nice thing about taking a video of what you are doing...you can see if you have good form or not. Also the benefit of working out in front of a mirror, but I don't have a mirror in my family room...yet... So I swear I was a lot lower in my lunge than this, but I guess not. Now to do it again and GET EVEN LOWER! 

So I had a nice sweat going, and it felt good. All was right in the world. Then I woke up the next day and DAMN! Sore city! I felt sore good! ;) Seriously, people say they hurt in places they didn't know could hurt and it's really oddly true. Even with all the working out I do...there were some muscles that definitely got woken up. I think I'm hooked. It's also a nice change from jumping all over the damn place. Slow and strong works just as good! 

So a recap of today's lesson... Piyo is awesome, and flexing is vital to one's health and fitness ;)

"It isn't about BEING famous, it's about FEELING famous"

And in case you missed it, here I am on the FTYF Instagram page last Friday. The day that made my year ;)

BooYa

I'm feeling pretty famous right about now :)

Enjoy your weekend, and don't forget to be active! 

Coming soon: More workout videos! (applause and cheering)

EmK8

here I am "working" hard being awesome

"A Year from now...." - Motivational Monday!!

Today is my "a year from now". Today. A year ago was the day I decided to change how I was living. Change how I was eating. Change how I was feeling. Change how I was looking. A year ago. 

I've seen this quote, and thought, "yeah, wish I would have started a year ago". Well today it's finally here. I can't tell you how awesome that makes me feel.

It was Labor Day, we were heading out for the evening and I had to put jeans on as it was going to be a little cooler... I hadn't worn jeans like all summer. So I put on my "normal" jeans... I could barely get them up. It wasn't happening. Hmm, that was a little alarming. So I tried the other pair... the bigger pair, the pair that had ALWAYS been a little big, but good to have around. They.were.skin.tight. Skin tight all the way down to my knees. It hurt to even button them. Shit. How?! How did I get here? How did this happen? Are you kidding me right now? Ok, Ok. ok. 

This is NOT ok. This is not going to work for me...

I was so in shock I actually took a picture. Wasn't quite convinced I was seeing what I was seeing. Oh, Yup...I was. Please see disclaimer at end of this blog.

So I made my step one that day. You can read about that HERE. I talk about it in my first blog post. (Please note the exact date was September 2, and today is September 1, but the day was also Labor Day, and today is Labor Day, so I'm saying today is my day, but tomorrow can also be my day...so there). The point is...I started, and sometimes that's the HARDEST part. Start when you are ready to start, or better yet, start when you aren't ready. If you wait until you are ready, you will never be ready. If you start when you aren't ready, when things are shitty and tough and not right, it will be THAT much easier to keep going when things are shitty and tough and not right. Cuz guess what, things can be shitty and tough and not right a LOT. So Start. Do it ;-)

So here I am today, in the same jeans,  a year later. I held on to them because sometimes it's the best motivation. When I'm feeling fluffy and not good, I put them on and it amazes me how far I've come. I don't even need to unbutton them to put them on. They literally fall right off now. Excuse the low rise, but they don't stay on. That's right jeans... in. your. fat. face.

As I've shared before, I was 138 on this day last year. I'm 5'1". I'm short, and I was "husky". I'm now between 110 and 112, depending on the day. I wanted to rock 108 to say I lost 30lbs, but it's not exactly about the number on the scale. It's about how you feel and look. I'm SO much healthier than I was a year ago, and that was my #1 goal. Yes, I wanted those jeans to not be so skin tight as well, but with health, comes weight loss. When you focus on eating right and being active, the weight takes care of itself. I promise. I promise. 

I wish I would have taken more pics on day 1, but I was SO self conscious that it was the last thing on my mind. A few weeks later though, after I'd lost 6lbs, I did take pics and these are my "before"'s. Take pictures people!! It's a wonderful way to see how you are progressing. You don't have to share them with the world. Share them with yourself. It's all about YOU anyway!

So that's my story. That's my year. Almost 30lbs down, and feeling awesome. Feeling fit, feeling full of energy and life and LOVE!

So start today (if you haven't already!) I'd love to be there cheering you on in a year  from now. And if you've already started, I hope you have an awesome "year from now" !

*Disclaimer: I might not have seemed "big" to some people. Some people might look at this and shake their head. I am not comparing myself to anyone else, just as you should not compare yourself to me or anyone else. The only competition I have is ME. The only competition you should have is YOU. You will do so much better if you don't compare and only focus on being a better version of you. This was big for me. I wanted to be a better, fitter, leaner, toner ME. Do it for you, and do it for only you. Amen and God Bless :)

Thanks for stopping by!! 

and Happy Motivational Monday!!

EmK8