Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

My boyfriend is obsessed with buffalo anything.  He literally puts hot sauce on EVERYTHING! I was trying to find recipes to make this week for our meal plan and I thought of buffalo chicken wraps.  I am always trying to find ways to save my yellow containers though so I thought maybe we could use lettuce wraps instead.  He is pretty tolerate of my "clean eating" ways but some things he just won't do and usually having lettuce instead of buns or wraps is on the no list.  I found this container of romaine leaves at Walmart and they are PERFECT because they are ready to go.  I used to try and buy the romaine bunches but some were too small or they were ripped, etc so they didn't work well.  These are designed to be used this way!  

This was a very easy set it and forget it meal.  It was also hubby approved and boot-camp approved so that's a HUGE win in my book.  It definitely is getting added to the regular rotation.  Plus there are so many different ways you could mix it up.   

It almost isn't even a recipe.  I just threw one pound of chicken breast into a crock-pot with about a cup of hot sauce and 1/4 cup of OPA Greek Yogurt Ranch.  Then I cooked it on low for 6-8 hours until I could shred it with a fork.  Remove the chicken and shred with 2 forks or a mixer, draining hot sauce liquid from crock-pot and then add chicken back in.  Add more hot sauce to coat and add a little "sauce"(about 1/4 cup).  Then we just filled some romaine lettuce leaves with the chicken, topped it with shredded pepper-jack cheese and a drizzle of the OPA Greek Yogurt dressing and ENJOY! 

If you are following the 21 Day Fix Meal plan for one lettuce wrap the containers are

1 green (probably is really only 1/2 green for 1 leaf)

1 red (chicken)

1/2 blue (cheese)

1/2 orange (dressing) (accounts for topping and added during cooking)

*I did use the containers to measure the cheese and the chicken.  

    

Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli with Spaghetti Squash

My love for spaghetti squash is very strong.  It's so easy to make and I prefer the taste to regular spaghetti now.  But since we have had squash and red sauce like once a week for the last few weeks I was long overdue for a new recipe.

I found this recipe and tweaked it to make it fit into my Core De Force meal plan.  It was still delicious and made a ton of leftovers.  It was hubby approved and because you can make the filling while the squash cooks it doesn't take much longer than the cooking time for the squash!

Ingredients

• 1 large spaghetti squash
• 1 lb chicken breast or chicken tenders (I had tenders in the freezer so that's what I used.)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, depending on how spicy you like things
• 2 cups broccoli florets or 1 bag of frozen florets, thawed
• 1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 5oz. container of plain Green Yogurt (or 1/3 cup)
• Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Spaghetti Squash
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with foil.
2. Cut the spaghetti squash in half and scoop out the seeds.
3. Rub or spray the interior with oil and season with kosher salt and black pepper.
4. Place the halves cut side down on the baking sheet and roast in the oven for approximately 45 minutes or until a knife can be inserted in the flesh easily.
5. Remove from the oven and let the squash cool until it can be handled.
6. Using a fork scoop out the flesh in long strands and put them in a bowl.
7. Place the skin/shell back on the baking sheet and set aside.
Chicken and Broccoli Filling
8. While spaghetti squash is cooking...
9. Spray a large non-stick skillet with oil and heat over medium high heat.
10. When the skillet is hot add in the chicken, season with salt and pepper and sauté until cooked through.
11. Remove the chicken from the skillet onto a plate.
12. Turn the heat down to medium and add a couple teaspoons of olive oil to the skillet.
13. Swirl the oil to coat the bottom of the skillet then add in the onion, garlic and red pepper flakes.
14. Sauté for about a minute then add in the broccoli florets.
15. Season with salt and pepper then add in a couple tablespoons of water (if you are using broccoli that was frozen and it still has some ice on it you don't need to add extra water) and cover with a lid.
16. Let the broccoli steam for about 2 minutes, then uncover and add the chicken back in.
17. Add in the chicken broth and stir everything until smooth and a sauce starts to form.
18. Add in half of the shredded cheese and stir until melted.
19. Remove from the heat and stir in the Greek yogurt until combined.
20. Add in spaghetti squash and combine with mixture.
21. Taste for seasoning then put the filling back into the spaghetti squash shells and top with the remaining shredded cheese.
22. Broil in the oven until the cheese is melted then serve.

Mine made 5 servings:

Each serving I counted as

1.5 Green (squash and broccoli)

1.5  (chicken and yogurt) - the yogurt probably doesn't even count since it's such a small amount per serving but I would rather estimate higher than lower. 

1  (Cheese)

My struggle with food

I finished up Country Heat on Tuesday.  I LOVED it, it was so much fun.  I was really skeptical that I would enjoy just dancing for 30 days and not lifting weights but the workouts were fast, and still really worked your legs. I nailed the workouts and was consistent ALL 30 days of the program, but where I bombed was the eating.  That has been a struggle for me since I was a teenager.  The only time I ever really stuck to the meal plans and all the containers was my first round of the 21 Day Fix.

I know I can't be alone in this! I do really good the first week but then I will cave into temptation and overdo my yellow or blue containers and then it seems like I just plunge into a big spiral of bad eating.  This round the last week was a real struggle for me, I feel like I am letting all of my challengers down and most importantly myself.   I am the person who can workout everyday and not lose a pound but I can eat healthy for a week and lost 5 so it makes me even madder at myself that I can't stick to it when it's such a crucial part of my results.

On Monday I am starting the 30 Chisel Program from The Masters Hammer & Chisel.  I am COMMITTING to finish the program from start to finish and successfully follow the meal plan.  I am tired of being mad at myself for cheat days. Do you want to do it with me??  I could use all the support and accountability I can get.

Wanna be my accountability buddy : http://bit.ly/dm87fit