Chocolate Peanut Butter Shakeology Mug Cake

I can't believe that its taken me THIS long to finally give this recipe a try! 

Seriously, this is by far an amazing way to satisfy your sweet tooth and keep you from falling off the wagon and blowing your clean eating plan.




Ingredients:

• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 scoop chocolate Shakeology (I like vegan, but either will do!)
• 1 Tbs sweetener of your choice (honey or agave) OPTIONAL
• Dash of salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp natural almond butter

Directions

• Lightly greasy a mug with coconut oil
• In the mug, mix in 1 scoop of Shakeology, baking powder, salt and sweetner.
• Mix in 1 egg and enough water to make mix moist.
• Add 1 tsp of almond butter and push it into the center.

I didn't use any sweetener in mine and it tasted just fine!

Microwave for 55-90 seconds depending on how moist you like your cake. If you like if more like a lava cake less time does the trick. For more cake like consistency microwave for longer.

This is so chocolatey and rich that one serving is MORE than enough!

21 Day Fix conversion:
1 red 1 tsp

#SummerStrong!

Like it or not the weather has begun to HEAT up! And if its not warm where you are yet, don't worry. It WILL be! In LESS than 57 days Memorial Day will be upon us. How crazy is THAT? And pretty soon we'll be digging out the shorts, the tanks, the flip flops and of course the bathing suits!

 I can recall a time not so long ago that I used to DRED digging out those summer clothes. Some years the ONLY things that fit me comfortably and confidently were my FLIP FLOPS! But I have fortunately changed ALL of that and no longer worry about wearing my favorite summer outfits and I am on a MISSION to help others get ready for summer too!

 I am on a mission to help other busy MOMS of young kids to transform their bodies and their nutrition so that YOU too can begin to feel more confident, have a positive self body image, and of course energy so you can keep up with the demands of a busy life!!!

Throw away the "I'm too busy" excuse. There are TONS of programs that 30 or minutes or less. Including 21 Day Fix, 21 Day Fix Extreme, Hammer and Chisel and 22 Minute Hard Corps. And each program comes with an amazing nutrition piece that includes portion controlled containers and meal plans and recipes that are fool proof.

When I started my journey I:

• worked out for 30 minutes a day in my garage
•  I had a 2 year old and a 4 year old
• I was (and still am) a full time stay at home mom and the primary care giver
• We lived on a limited budget so we didn't have a TON to spend on groceries and exercise programs

But I wanted to feel amazing and keep up with my kids! I was willing to make a small sacrifice of getting up an hour early everyday to workout at home.

Don't wait until May to start working out and working towards those health and fitness goals! Start now! It takes 4-6 weeks to really begin to see the effects of eating right and exercise.

So what I am going to do for you is this:

1.  I want to help you with meal planning, healthy recipes, motivation and tips.  

2.  I am going to share with you what I did to lose 20 lbs in 63 days, to create a healthier lifestyle not just for myself but for our family too.

3.  Give you tools to make your workouts a lifestyle change vs a crash diet.

4.  Help you with quick easy, on the go meals and snacks for your lifestyle.

5.  Give you sample meal plans to help with the planning.

6.  A place to stay accountable with daily check ins and tips specific to the things that come up in every day life.  How to handle eating out at restaurants, late night cravings, parties, and vacations.

Starting on the 18th of April I am launching the #SUMMERSTRONG support and accountability group.  This group will take place on the newest challenge tracker app which you join through me as your coach.  I will match you up with a fitness program and nutrition plan that meets your needs.  We will set realistic and achievable goals and together we will set out to take it 1 day at a time and change your old habits into newer and healthier ones!!!

So if this sounds like something you would like to do the next step is to complete the application below.  This will help me to make personalized recommendations based on your needs and wants.

**Note if you already work actively with a coach please do not apply. This is for my new and current customers only.

My goal is to give you the tools and the support you need to have an awesome, confident and energized summer!  

Are you in??  Lets do this together!  I want to help you take control of YOU and live life to the fullest.

  Fill out my online form HERE to reserve your spot in my NEXT group!

Use Wufoo integrations and get your data to your favorite apps.

Ahhh... Back to School!!

Happy September!

I don’t know about you but once the kids are back in school, I’m really ready for fall! Hope everyone had a terrific summer and you’re ready for Fall too because it’s coming....

And with the start of the new month come some great NEW promos from Beachbody!

PiYo Challenge Pack -

 Want to carve an intensely defined physique—without weights, without jumps, and without straining your joints? Then you'll love PiYo, created by superstar trainer Chalene Johnson. It's low impact, yet high intensity. No weights. No jumps. Just hardcore results. Also included 30 days of Shakeology! $140.00 (reg price $160.00)

3 Day Refresh Challenge Pack- 

In just 3 short days, you can get your health, energy, and vitality back on track—all without starving. You'll conquer your cravings. Get a flatter belly. Feel lighter and more energized. And your clothes will fit better. The Complete Kit comes with 3 packets of Shakeology®—your choice of 6 flavors (we recommend Chocolate Vegan or Tropical Strawberry Vegan because plant-based proteins are often easier for the body to digest), 6 packets of Vanilla Fresh (high-protein shake), 3 packets of Fiber Sweep (digestive health drink), and 1 Program Guide. Also included 30 days of Shakeology! $140.00 (reg price $160.00)

Looking to get the BEST of both worlds? 

Beachbody is also offering the PiYo Kickstart Challenge Pack- This includes your PiYo program, 3 Day Refresh AND Shakeology all for $180.00 (regularly priced at $205.00)

And as you may know, when you purchase a Challenge Pack with me as your coach you get EXCLUSIVE access to my private Facebook Challenge group! This is where you will get all the amazing support, motivation and inspiration you need to stay on track with your new program. You also get great recipes, help with meal planning and menu planning, grocery shopping lists and tips.

LOCAL CHALLENGERS and FRIENDS! Some great news about a few Beachbody LIVE classes being offered in our area.

On October 3^rd at 8:30 a.m. I will be hosting a FREE sampler class at Nampa Fit Studio. We’ll do 15 minute samples of 3 amazing Beachbody Live workouts!

Insanity, P90X LIVE and CiZE. If you’ve been wanting to check out these live formats this is a great opportunity to do it. And the sampler class is completely FREE!

If you want more details email or message me for more details. I hope to see you there!

  

And finally as the days get shorter and cooler, I’d like to share a great crockpot/slow cooker recipe that I’m sure your whole family will love.

Pineapple Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients

•1 lb of pork tenderloin

•1 bag of frozen pineapple chunks

•1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks

Place the pork tenderloin in the bottom of the crockpot then add the pineapple and the peppers on top of it.  Set it to low and let it cook until the pork is no longer pink and it should start to actually pull apart a little bit.

That’s it – it’s easy!  You can easily add other veggies to this if you want.  The pineapple and the juice from the pork tenderloin is all I needed.  21 Day Fix Conversion: This is a red container and part of a purple and a green.  That’s it!  I served it with brown rice and sautéed red and green peppers.

If you have any questions or are interested in ANY of the awesome programs Beachbody has to offer, let me know. You can go over to my like page Inspire Fitness and message me, email me at melindabutkus@gmail.com or hit me up on Facebook, Melinda Davidson Butkus.

Summer Sale!

Have you heard about Beachbody’s Summer Sale? This sale starts today (6/10) and will run until 6/17. 

But since these prices are so low, they WILL run out and once they're gone, they're gone! So don’t wait. 

This is a great opportunity to try out a new program or give the gift of a new fitness program.

What's on sale:

•10 Minute Trainer 43% off

•Brazil Butt Lift + the Green Band 16% off

•Hip Hop Abs & Dance Party Series DVD 68% off

•Hip Hop Abs Dance Party Series DVD and weighted gloves 57%

•Insanity Deluxe Workouts 49% off

•Insanity The Asylum Volume 1+ Equipment Buddy Kit 53% off

•Les Miss Combat + Combat Gloves (Medium and Large Only) 55% off

•Les Mills Combat Gloves (Medium and Large only) 84% off

•Les Mills Pump 32% off

•Les Mills Pump with no weights or barbells

•Les Mills Pump Deluxe DVDs 66% off

•P90X Free P90X Plus 53%

•P90X Plus 62% off

•P90X2 and Stability Ball 53% off

•Slim in 6 29% off

•Tai Cheng 43% off

Equipment

 •Squishy Ball 59% off

•Stability Ball +Medicine Ball combo 62% off

•Team Beachbody Apparel Up to 65% off

•Rumbleroller is 16% off

•Ankle Weights 45% off

•The Black Resistance band with the over the door attachment 56% off

•Jump Mat 44% off

Click on my link here to take a look for yourself.

It's time to kick off Summer In Style!  So stock up and get yours TODAY.

If you want something more customized hit me up and I would be happy to help you find the right fit for you!

3 Day Shakeology Cleanse

So as many of you may know, last week I did the 3 Day Shakeology Cleanse. I had mentioned before on Facebook that I had attempted to do this 3 or 4 times before but would always get hungry and quit about 1/2 way through the first day.

Well last week I was finally able to successfully complete the ENTIRE 3 days! My motivation was a wedding I was attending and wanted to feel great for it. So this time I was determined and focused and ready to get it done! Since I was drinking Shakeology 3 times a day with this cleanse I wasn't at all worried about not getting enough nutrients for my body or starving myself. I love my Shakeology and I drink it every single day. I know there's nothing out there that can supply me with all the nutrients, vitamins, proteins, and minerals in these amounts the way Shakeology can.

Photo booth fun at the reception!

I started on a Monday only because its easier for me to avoid the temptations of eating out or cheating during the work week. Basically on this plan you do the following:

3 Day Shakeology Cleanse

Wake up: Green Tea
Breakfast: Shakeology, 8 ounces of water, ice and 1/2 cup of fruit blended
Mid-morning: 1 piece of fruit
Lunch: Shakeology blended with water and ice only, followed by 1 cup of green tea
*PM Snack: HERE or AFTER DINNER- Shakeology blended with water and ice only
Dinner: 3 servings of greens with 4 ounces of protein (grilled chicken breast or white fish) with 2 Tbsp of non dairy dressing
Water: 64-128 ounces daily. No dairy!

Day 1

Day 1 was pretty good. I got in my Total Body Cardio Fix 21 Day Fix workout and followed it up with a cup of green tea. On day 1 I decided to have my afternoon snack mid afternoon simply because I was HUNGRY. Big mistake! By 8:00 p.m. I was pretty much ready to chew my arm off and was starting to get a headache so I called it a night early and went to bed before I blew my entire day.

Day 2

 I was starting to feel fatigued on day 2. Got up and did Upper Fix from my 21 Day Fix workout and it wasn't my best day by any means. I didn't struggle too bad, I just couldn't lift my heaviest weights. So I kicked it down a notch and got it done. I actually felt better after my workout and wasn't quite as tired feeling as when I initially woke up.

I decided that I would save my afternoon snack for after dinner so I wouldn't get quite as hungry in the evenings and this worked out really well for me. However, I was tired during the day and was more than ready to move on to day 3.

Day 3

I was starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel and I was feeling REALLY good! I skipped my Lower Fix workout on this day  because I didn't want to fatigue myself. Not really that hungry throughout the day on day 3 but by dinner I was starving! I did feel a little tired but it felt like I had been up most of the night with a sick kiddo. So it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.

I drank at least 80 ounces of water each day. This didn't include the water in my tea or my Shakeology.

Feeling great in my dress!

Day 4

DONE! I stepped on the scale after my workout and was down 7 lbs! I knew that some of was water weight but I was good with that. That meant I wouldn't look bloated or feel uncomfortable in my dress. Water weight can really leave you feeling miserable! I have since kept off 4 of the 7 lbs.



I would definitely do this again but if you're not comfortable with being hungry or feel like feeling hungry would trigger a major cheat, I would stick with the 3 Day Refresh. The Refresh uses a product called Vanilla Fresh which is made with potato protein. Potato protein has been clinically proven to help fight hunger and make you feel full. This will keep you from feeling too hungry. In addition, 3 Day Refresh also incorporates Fiber Sweep, which helps with regularity if you're body isn't used to consuming a lot of fiber in foods. Another advantage to the 3 Day Refresh is that you wont blow through your Shakeology stash. If you drink Shakeology everyday, you wont get 30 days of servings from one bag because you're drinking 9 servings in 3 days. However, if you have a stash (like we do) then its not a problem!



If you're interested in doing your own 3 Day Shakeology Cleanse click here.

Curious and want to give the 3 Day Refresh a try? Check it out here.


And as always, my Challenge Groups offer all of the support motivation and tools you need to be successful on your journey to better health! Message me for more challenge group information and details on when my next group starts.

Ice Cream and a Cookbook?

So here we are in the beginning stages of summer! Our next few weeks are pretty busy. But that's only because this mama is volunteering for our church Vacation Bible School which kicks off June 15th. And there is SOOO much to do beforehand!

And with summer comes my family's fascination with ice cream. My family (yes, this does include me) could eat ice cream pretty much everyday. And not just once a day either. So while my husband and the kids get their ice cream fill I opt for a healthier alternative made with Shakeology.

VANILLA PEANUT BUTTER BANANA ICE CREAM

•  1 cup nonfat milk (or unsweetened almond milk) 
•  2 scoops Vanilla Shakeology 
•  2 medium frozen bananas (cut into chunks before freezing) 
•  2 Tbsp. all-natural smooth peanut butter 

Optional add ins: 2 Tbsp chocolate chips, mint extract, unsweetened coconut

 Preparation: 

 1. Place milk, Shakeology, bananas, and peanut butter in high-powered blender (such as a Vita-Mix); cover. 

 2. Blend on low for 5 seconds; increase power to high and continue blending for 30 seconds until smooth. 

 3. Pour mixture in a large glass bowl; cover. 

 4. Freeze for 4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes, before serving.

21 Day Fix conversion: 1 Red and 1 Purple

(recipe credit: Team Beachbody Blog)

My own results after ONLY 18 days of 21 Day Fix!

And I just got the deets on some pretty amazing news! As you may know, my go to nutrition program is the 21 Day Fix eating guide. Regardless of whatever workout I'm doing my eating is guided by the 21 Day Fix program. If I am doing a more intense workout such a P90X3 or Insanity I just adjust my calories and add a few more containers so I'm not going hungry but STILL getting great results.

I've also done a lot of work tweaking family favorites to make them 21 Day Fix friendly and then figuring out the container conversions to make sure I stick to my portions. But now there's an ENTIRE cookbook that Autumn has created that does ALL of this for you!

Her cookbook has over 100 recipes that are 21 Day Fix and 21 DAy Fix Extreme friendly! What does that mean? That means she has recipes in her cookbook that include the container conversions for YOU! Soups, stews, snacks, on the go breakfasts, lunches and dinners. She even included "cheats" and cocktails! Because this program is NOT about elimination, it's all about moderation!

And did you know that Autumn's brother is a chef? Yup, he sure is! So she worked closely with her brother to come up with simple and great tasting recipes. Have you ever looked at a great looking recipe, only to look at the ingredients list and think "what the heck is THAT?  and where do I have to go to find it?". Well not with these. All of the recipes require ingredients that you can easily find in your local grocery store.  Each recipe comes with detailed instructions, nutritional info and they indicate if they are paleo, gluten free, vegan or vegetarian!



You can get a sneak peak of 5 recipes here on the Team Beachbody blog! 








This cookbook will not be released until July 14th. But here's the BEST NEWS ever!!! I'll be leaving for Summit on July 15th and you'd better believe that I plan on getting my hands on a copy or two as soon as I check in to the hotel.

And if you purchase one of the following Challenge Pack programs from me during the month of June, I will bring you back a copy of the cookbook for FREE! And did you also know that I'm offering $10.00 cash back to any NEW challenger that purchases a challenge pack from during the month of June as well? Yup, it's true! And last but not least ALL 21 Day Fix and Fix Extreme Challenge packs are on sale this month! Talk about DEEP discounts! But you can only get these offers from me. As well as access to my June 15th Challenge Group.

21 Day Fix Challenge Pack
21 Day Fix Extreme Challenge Pack

21 Day Fix Kickstart Challenge Pack
21 Day Fix Extreme Kickstart Challenge Pack

Sign up as coach with ANY Challenge Pack





Make me your FREE coach HERE so you can get all the details on this cookbook as well as my monthly e-news newsletter. Be the first to know about my exclusive online private challenge groups, monthly promos specials, recipes, and tips.  I look forward to helping you reach your health and fitness goals.

Our Do Nothing, Do Everything Summer

Time is beginning to fly.

When my oldest was born it almost seemed as if time was standing still. She was never a good sleeper and is just now at 5 years old consistently sleeping peacefully through the night.  Those long nights of getting sleep in 2-3 hour blocks seem to last a lifetime. It felt like she was an infant forever. Then baby #2 came along. A great sleeper! His first few years seemed to fly by.

Now my oldest is registered for kindergarten and my youngest will be attending preschool 2 days a week. How in the world did we get here? I remember the days of longing for things to do with the 2 of them. Going to the playground, my youngest in the Baby Bjorn while my oldest traversed the playground with her friends. Summers ran into fall, winter and spring. The only thing changing was the weather. There was no real crunch for time. Vacations were scheduled when we felt like the crowds would be low, weather at home miserable and when my husband could get away from work.

All of that is about to change. We will soon be shuttling one child to kindergarten, scurrying across town to drop off the other. Slaves to the school schedule. Homework, all of the homework. Vacations will be dictated by when the best time it is for the kids to get away. Add on top of that any extra curricular activities the children might want to do. Gymnastics, soccer, music, golf, the list goes on. Our days will be busy. Very busy.

As I was thinking about our plans for the upcoming summer I suddenly became a little sad over the fact that Kindergarten would start around the second week of August.  Both kids want to take swim lessons (those are two week blocks everyday).What in the world are we going to do the rest of the summer? Nothing. And I think that's the way I want it.

Before I know it both of the kids will be in elementary school. Summers will soon be filled with summer camp, going to friends houses to play, sports camps. Those days will quickly turn into the years my kids spend their summers babysitting, mowing lawns or having a paper route to earn a little money, riding their bikes through the neighborhood with their "gang" of friends. Those days will  morph into "real" summer jobs, first cars, going out in the evenings with friends. Before I know it they will ONLY be home in the summer. Off to college, working full time all day and then meeting up with friends for parties, concerts and fun at night. Their only existence in our house will be to sleep and if not for the extra dirty dishes you probably wouldn't even know they were here.

So THIS is the summer that we will blissfully do absolutely nothing. We will spend our days playing in our pool and hanging out in our backyard. Eating ice cream for dinner and staying up way too late to play outside. Climbing up the slide on the backyard play set. Lying on our backs in the cool summer grass to watch the clouds, letting sticky Popsicle's drip down their legs all over the patio, leaving red and purple puddles for ants to find that we can watch "work".  We will spend our days blowing bubbles and watching them float over the fence to the neighbors yard seeing which one makes it the farthest. Setting up the sprinkler over the slide to make our homemade water park. Picking dandelions and letting them wilt in a plastic cup on the kitchen counter.

I plan to cherish every moment of the squeals of delight as they jump through the sprinklers, the smell of sunscreen on their skin and when my youngest tries to run away from me when I go to spray it on him. We will wake up most days with no plan. No time schedule. No where to go, no place to be. I want my kids to become bored. To try and find something to do with a box of scrap paper, crayons, glue and leftover scraps of material. To use their imaginations to create something wonderful.

I want to remember this day, this time, this summer. Because as every parent knows tomorrow they will be a little bit older...