If you have been following me for awhile, you know that there are two dinners that I could eat on repeat - salsa verde chicken and NACHOS! Honestly, this recipe is not new, but it's sort of like any other Mexican restaurant food...it's all the same stuff, just presented in different ways, HA!

As a reminder, here's how to make Salsa Verde Chicken:
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 jar of salsa verde 
salt and cumin

Put chicken in the slow cooker and season well with salt and cumin. Pour salsa verde on top and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. When it's finished, shred with a fork and serve.

This chicken is great in everything! Tacos, tostadas, bowls, salads... But for some reason, I have never tried it in NACHOS!

Here's a healthy and delicious (and guilt-free) way to make crispy air fried corn tortilla chips:
Cut corn tortillas into triangles, spray with avocado oil spray and season with sea salt. Air fry at 400 degrees for 5 minutes (maybe a little shorter/longer depending on your air fryer - keep an eye on them!).

Then just layer it all up! Start with the chips, then add the chicken, and then top with whatever you have on hand - beans, salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, jalapenos, etc. Make it your own! 

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. They will be a regular in my rotation for sure! XO

Inspired by one of my favorite FASTer Way influencers, @seersuckerandsaddles - I caught a version of this in her stories one day, and WOWZA!  It's a real low carb winner!

Buffalo Chicken Kale Salad
You'll need some shredded kale.  I bought a bag at Trader Joe's!

For the chicken...
Chicken breast tenders
Buffalo sauce
Panko bread crumbs
Everything but the Bagel seasoning

Mix 1/2 cup bread crumbs with a few shakes of EBTB seasoning.  Dip chicken in buffalo sauce and then coat with bread crumb mixture.  I air-fried for 15 minutes at 350, but you could cook on the skillet in a little avocado oil.

For the dressing...
Avocado oil
Apple cider vinegar
EBTB seasoning

Mix whatever proportions of oil and vinegar you'd like - I did 2 Tbls of each, plus a few shakes of EBTB.

Massage kale with dressing.  Yes, massage.  It's weird, but it makes the kale a little easier to eat!

Top salad with chicken tenders. Optional - dress with some additional Primal Kitchen ranch!  ENJOY!  XO

I swear these are better than the fish tacos we get at the beach club every summer!⁣
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Air fry, bake or grill fish that has been seasoned with taco seasoning. I recommend either tilapia, cod or grouper, seasoned with Trader Joe's taco seasoning!  There are no funky ingredients - just a perfect mix of spices.  It does have quite the kick, so use sparingly!

When fish is cooked, make tacos, using your favorite tortillas.  Trader Joe’s corn tortillas are a fave of ours - only a few ingredients! I added some guacamole + shredded cabbage + pico de gallo and they were ⁣PERFECT!

When the weather finally starts to feel like summer here in STL, we love to fire up the grill!  We tend to make chicken most often, but these ribs make their way into the rotation every once in awhile.  Ribs always seem like a special occasion dinner, but this recipe is so easy, you can make it on a weeknight!

Start with a rack of pork baby back ribs.  I get ours at Trader Joe's.

This part is a little gross, but you gotta do it, or else you and your family will have a tough time chewing your ribs!  Remove the membrane from the bone side.

Rub the rack of ribs with your favorite spice mix.  This one from Trader Joe's is great!

Next, wrap it tightly in a few pieces of foil.  Bake at 350 for 2 hours.

When ribs are about ready to take out of the oven, heat your grill to medium heat.  

Remove ribs from the oven and unwrap.  Resist the temptation to pick, HA!

Grill the ribs for about five minutes on each side, and brush with your favorite BBQ sauce.  If you are keeping it low carb, try a low/no sugar sauce, such as Primal Kitchen.  Since the ribs are already cooked, you just want to get a good char on both sides.  

Remove from the grill, slice between the rib bones and ENJOY!!  You will feel like you're at a summer BBQ, even though it's a Monday night :)  XO

Need a new idea for a casual family dinner?  Try a Burrito Bowl Bar!

We have an affinity for Mexican food in our house, and while we love tacos and burritos, sometimes it's also fun to throw it all together in a big bowl to enjoy.  Also, everyone can choose their favorite ingredients to create their own burrito bowl masterpieces!

We recently hosted some family for dinner, and served up burrito bowls.  They were a big hit!  I picked up most of our ingredients at Trader Joe's, but you can definitely set up a great spread with everything from your local grocery store.

First, you'll need some good, wide bowls.  Our everyday bowls are a bit more tall than wide, so I picked these up at Target for $2 each.  If you are serving a larger crowd, paper bowls are certainly acceptable!  Try some like these, pictured below.

Next, consider the base for your bowl.  You can go with rice, quinoa, shredded lettuce, whatever you like!  We went with two options - brown rice and jasmine rice.  These are easy, you just pop in the microwave and get perfect rice every time!  And no chemicals or additives!

Now consider your protein.  We did both chicken and steak (pre-marinated from Trader Joe's to make it extra easy!), but you can also do crumbled tofu or plant-based meat if you have vegetarians or vegans in attendance.  

The sky's the limit for toppings!  Trader Joe's has plenty of prepared salsas and guacamole...

You could also roast some peppers and onions for fajita veggies!  I added a corn salad, similar to Chipotle's recipe.  This roasted corn from Trader Joe's adds a delicious grilled flavor!  Add a couple of chopped jalapenos, a chopped roasted poblano pepper, red onion, cilantro, and toss in some fresh lemon and lime juice.  Salt to your taste.

You can serve the black beans as is, just rinse and serve!  Or, I like to drain (but not rinse) and put them in a pot to warm them up.  Add some salt, cumin and chili powder and give them a good mash!  

Set up your burrito bowl bar with all of the fixings and let your guests use their creativity to create their favorite (healthy!) meal.

Who doesn't love nachos?  We eat these quite a bit when we need a nacho fix.  This version is dairy free and gluten free, and it DOES. NOT. DISAPPOINT! 

Layers of seasoned baked (or air-fried) sweet potato chips and shredded salsa chicken make up the base, and you can top with your favorite nacho toppings!  And trust me, you won't even miss the cheese on these!  (Thank you, avo.)  

Sweet potatoes are a great source of fiber, vitamins and minerals.  The orange color (beta carotene) helps support the immune system and may improve eye health and prevent vision loss.  Sweet potatoes also have anti-cancer properties!

Here's how we make the nachos:

For the chicken, add the following to your crockpot and cook on high for at least a few hours:

3 chicken breasts
jar of salsa verde
cumin
salt

For the sweet potato "chips," thinly slice sweet potatoes, and either layer on a sheet pan or toss in your air fryer.  Season with more salt and cumin.  Roast in the oven at 425 until done, or in the air fryer until somewhat crispy.  (They never really get as crispy as the real deal, but you won't even care!)

When ready to assemble, layer sweet potato chips on a plate and top with salsa verde chicken.  Then add your favorite toppings!  We like:

black beans
chopped tomatoes
avocado
green onions
Trader Joe's Hot & Sweet Jalapenos (do yourself a favor and pick these up next time you're at TJ)

You can easily make these vegan by omitting the chicken and adding more black beans.
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I hope you ENJOY!  XO

I have been waiting for the Jicama Wraps to arrive at my at Trader Joe's for months and I finally found them this week!  A perfect excuse to make some shrimp tacos!

Jicama is a root vegetable that is kind of like a cross between an apple and a water chestnut.  It's has a delicious and cool crunch!  It's also packed with antioxidants to prevent cell damage, boost heart health, improve digestion, and more.  

These tacos were quick and easy to throw together.  Here's how I did it:

1 bag Trader Joe's Argentinian Shrimp
Trader Joe's Chili Lime seasoning
Shredded cabbage
Trader Joe's Jicama Wraps
FASTer Way to Fat Loss Chipotle Lime Dressing, optional (could also choose your favorite salsa!) - see below for recipe

Season shrimp with LOTS of chili lime.  I popped in our air fryer for about 10 minutes, but you can saute in a bit of olive oil or avocado oil if you prefer.  Once cooked through, assemble tacos and ENJOY!!

FASTer Way to Fat Loss Chili Lime Dressing

We have been doing an "Epic Salad Challenge" in the FASTer Way to Fat Loss VIP group this month, and the dressings have been amazing.  I had some leftover Chipotle Lime Dressing in the fridge and ​it was perfect for these tacos!  Here is the recipe if you'd like to try it:

1 cup cilantro, stems removed and roughly chopped
1/2 avocado (could sub 1/2 cup plain vegan yogurt)
2 Tbls. fresh lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. white wine vinegar
1/8 tsp. salt
Add agave and cumin to taste

Blend together and ENJOY!!  XO

Is it weird that salad is my favorite food?  Always has been, apparently, from what my mom tells me.  (Guess I didn't pass that gene on to my own three, ha!)

I prefer the big salads from a restaurant because, let's face it, it always tastes better when someone else does all of the work.  But this one, you all....  WOW.  Amazing flavors, and not a lot of effort!

The Px4 Salad was born on our summer trip to Florida this year.  We had delicious meals all week, and in an effort to clear out the leftovers on the last night, we made a big salad bar with all of the grilled meats, roasted veggies, fruits and whatever else was left in the kitchen.

I piled my plate with greens, then added some pork tenderloin, then peaches, then pistachios, and finally poppyseed dressing!  And voila...the Px4 arrived and will forever live on repeat in my meal plan.  

You can do any portion size of the ingredients that you like, especially if you are a macro tracker.  But, here's how I made this one:

Mixed greens
4oz grilled pork tenderloin (I seasoned this one with a little bit of brown sugar, cloves and salt, but use your favorite marinade and/or seasoning!)
1 peach, chopped
1/2 cup pistachios
4 Tbls Skinny Girl poppyseed dressing (use your favorite!)

Give this one a try and ENJOY!  XO