Quinoa with Caramelized Butternut Squash and Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:
1/2 cup dry quinoa
9oz brussels sprouts, halved
1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
Dash of garlic salt & pepper
2 TBSP coconut oil
2 cups butternut squash (about 1 medium squash), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1­ 1/2 TBSP pure maple syrup
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup pepitas

 Directions:
1. Prepare quinoa according to package directions.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees then line a baking sheet with foil. Add brussels sprouts, oil, garlic salt, and pepper to baking sheet then toss to evenly coat. Roast for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Melt coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-­high heat. Add maple syrup and butternut squash then saute, stirring occasionally,­ about 15 minutes or until squash is tender. 
4. Combine quinoa, brussels sprouts, butternut squash, parmesan cheese, and pepitas in a large bowl then toss and serve with extra parmesan cheese, if desired.
Makes 4 servings

*Recipe adapted from iowagirleats.com

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No Bake Shakeology Bites

Try these out for an easy, healthy and delicious snack!

Ingredients:
● 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
● 1 scoop or package of Chocolate or Vanilla Shakeology
● 1/4 tsp cinnamon
● 1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter (or any nut butter)
● 2 Tbsp raw honey
● 1 tsp vanilla extract
● 2­-4 Tbsp almond milk

Add oats, Shakeology, and cinnamon to a large bowl.

Add in peanut butter, honey and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.

Slowly add in liquid 1 tablespoon at a time and combine until it comes
together in a sticky ball that holds together. If mixture is too dry, add in more liquid but not so much that it won't hold shape.

Place in a container to set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Store in fridge until ready to eat.

*Recipe adapted from The Healthy Maven

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Be Happy. Be You. Just Love Yourself.

Today’s #TransformationTuesday isn’t a physical transformation. Maybe you’ve noticed, but most of my transformation posts aren’t physical. Don’t get me wrong, I love how strong, healthy, and confident I feel, but my fitness journey has transformed my life in much more profound ways. One of my favorites – the community of women. Not just any women, but amazing, inspiring women who want to see each other succeed. We aren’t competing. We aren’t hoping to see someone else fail in hopes that we can succeed. Nope, this group of women realizes that there’s enough success to go around. Through coaching, blogging and working with women every day, I get to be part of a community that is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Happy, positive, driven ladies working towards our dreams TOGETHER.

I don’t know if it’s our culture, or if it’s hardwired in our brains, but I think it’s safe to say most women struggle to love themselves at some point. But it’s so, so  important, and it’s so freeing! You have to recognize the beauty within yourself and accept that YOU ARE ENOUGH. You have something inside of you that the world needs, you just need to have the courage to share it. And you MUST surround yourself with other like-minded women. Women who look for the best in themselves and will help you see the best in you. Here’s my Transformation Tuesday shout-out to all the women working on becoming the best version of themselves!

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Faith vs. Fear

I had the weirdest feeling all day last Friday and I couldn’t figure out what it was. It was just there in the back of my mind, making me feel “off.” Finally, when I got home and was able to talk to my husband, and I could barely hold back the tears, I realized it was fear!! This crazy, overwhelming, "what are we going to do?!" kind of fear. 

My husband and I both made HUGE changes in our careers in the last few months, and while it’s exciting and we couldn’t be happier about it, it’s also scary. Kind of terrifying actually. He moved into an entirely new field. I cut my hours from full-time to half-time in order to have a day shift schedule, spend more time with my son and devote myself to building my coaching business. We knew this was absolutely the best decision for our family, but that doesn't mean the process is easy.

Change is hard. Uncertainty is scary. BUT, I have faith in him, faith in myself, and faith that everything will work out . After all, no great accomplishment is achieved by playing it safe and staying inside your comfort zone!! There’s no doubt in my mind that we are exactly where we need to be. We’ve got this.

What about you? Is your faith bigger than your fear??

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New Chili Recipe!

I love chili. It's so easy to mix it up and change the ingredients depending on how I'm feeling. This is a Sweet Potato Turkey Chili and it does NOT disappoint!

 Ingredients (makes 4 servings)

•1 pound ground turkey or beef

•3 medium sweet potatoes, diced

•1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes

•1 can tomato sauce

•1/4 cup diced sweet onion

•1/4 cup chopped celery

•1/4 cup water

•2 diced jalapeno peppers

•1 tablespoon chili powder

•1 teaspoon ground cumin

•2 shakes of salt

•2 shakes of ground black pepper

•3 shakes of cayenne pepper

•1 tablespoon garlic powder

•1 teaspoon onion powder

•1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

• Optional: avocado

Directions:

1. Chop the vegetables.

2. Place sweet potatoes, tomatoes, tomato sauce, onion, celery, water, chili powder, cumin, jalapenos, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder in a slow cooker. Cook on high, stirring occasionally, for 5 hours.

3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown ground turkey.

4. Add cooked ground turkey or beef and beans to sweet potato mixture in the slow cooker; cook until flavors have blended, 1 to 2 more hours.

5. Top with sliced avocado.

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Welcome to Eat Sweat Sparkle!!

Hi! I’m so glad you stopped by! My name is Christine, and I’m here to share my journey with fitness, clean-eating, being a mom and running an at-home business. I’m mom to an awesome 3-year-old boy, wife to an amazing husband, I work full-time as a Medical Lab Scientist in Microbiology, and I’m building an incredible business helping people get healthy!!

I found Beachbody a little over a year ago when I ordered the program Focus T25. I fell in love right away! It was the only fitness program I’ve EVER loved, and it made it so easy to stick with it until the end. While I was doing T25 I was so impressed with the nutrition program: it was all based on clean eating which is a huge passion of mine! I also started researching Shakeology, and the more I learned the more I was blown away. Being an absolute nutrition nerd, I can say without a doubt this stuff is the real deal!! I was so impressed with this company who was on a mission to help people lose weight and get healthy the REAL way... through hard work and a healthy diet. I signed up as an Independent Beachbody Coach so I could help others start to make healthy changes in their lives, and I’ve never looked back. It’s been an incredible ride so far, and I’m happy to have you on this journey with me!!

Follow me on Facebook at Eat Sweat Sparkle!

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