Self Employment || Month 2

Happy Halloween!

It's officially been two months since I resigned from my full time job. To be honest, it feels like it's been a lot longer...maybe even a lifetime. This fall has been jam-packed with travel, weddings, events, the highest highs and lowest lows, and my own self-imposed overachieving business, but for the first time I finally feel like I'm starting to settle into a groove! Month 2 has been the hardest but also the best, and my anxiety is starting to shift into confidence. I'm doing this!

I stopped by to visit the zoo earlier this month for the first time since my last day, and it was the strangest feeling ever. Walking on grounds, I felt overwhelmed with this happy sense of "home," but at the same time I didn't belong anymore. The season had shifted and the summer crowds, lush green gardens, and hordes of campers were gone and replaced with golden leaves, a chill in the air, and dead crunchy prairie grass. My office was still the same, the people were the same, but also different. My workspace still has post-it reminders and lists written in my handwriting, and all my old supplies right where I left them, but Valerie has started to make it her own space and has taken on my old responsibilities with energy and grace because it's her job now.

It's weird to belong, but not belong.

Like graduating from school, but if your friends and classmates didn't graduate with you...

One of my main goals for October was to implement more structure and routine into my schedule. It's definitely a work in progress, but I already feel so much better and more calm. It's easy to get trapped in the feeling of "never doing enough!!" but I'm also starting to force myself to reflect, track progress, and give myself props for the things I'm doing. I have a lot going on, and if I don't give myself a gold star, no one else is there to do it for me!

OCTOBER ACHIEVEMENTS!

Personal
-Celebrated our 2 year anniversary
-Applied for and received dual Dutch citizenship with my siblings!
-Celebrated my friend Kate's bachelorette party with a nude painting class (so fun)
-Traveled to central IA to celebrate my college roommate and best friend Christine's wedding! (And was involved in a very scary accident along the way that threw me off for the entire following week)
-Stopped by my grandma's farm to visit on the way home from Iowa
-Had multiple dinners, lunches, meet ups with girlfriends
-We've been attending church every Sunday we're at home

Etsy
My Etsy shop ended up on the backburner this month due to personal events...but I'm ready to focus, create a holiday marketing plan, and ramp things back up!
Stay tuned for new sneak peeks :)

Beachbody
This was an incredible and potentially tipping point month for my health and coaching business.
-I am finishing up two awesome and dynamic online fitness accountability groups
-I'm continuing to host team virtual hangouts every week
-Two of the coaches on my team advanced "rank"
-Ran my first training program for my team
-Hosted my first mini clean eating challenge (stay tuned for November's!)
-I'm starting to figure out how to maximize my productivity so I don't feel sucked into Facebook and email 24/7.
-I now have 46 coaches in my downline team! AKA I am leading a legit organization! It's so exciting and fun and I can't wait for things to keep snowballing
-Earned my highest weekly paycheck to date (more than my old FT salary)

NOVEMBER GOALS

Now that I feel like the crazy, obsessive, unorganized, chaotic, hanging to sanity by a thread, endless weddings, push through and work until something happens phase is over and I'm starting to settle down and come CLOSE to some sort of "balance" (or at least a state where I can keep almost all balls in the air), I'm looking forward to heading into November with a plan. Here are a few of the top action items I want to accomplish!

Personal
-Cook a fancy dinner and have a stay at home date night every Saturday
-Attend church every Sunday
-Clear out our second bedroom (aka the junk room) and turn it into a work space! This is a personal goal because it is going to drastically improve the overall quality of my entire life.
-Get to the gym twice a week (I've been working out at home but need to take advantage of the classes and membership we're paying for)
-Yoga once a week

Business
-Be more consistent with tracking expenses and income so I can gain control of my finances and pursue opening business accounts (scary)
-Improve my existing Beachbody accountability and training group experiences
-Develop an Etsy game plan for the holidays
-Complete this Digital Products e-course and list digital products in my shop
-Enroll and begin this InDesign e-course !! so I can start to officially create and sell wedding invitations
-Establish and follow set working hours and a daily routine
-Start blogging on a regular basis and plan my posts, so they're not as sporadic
-TRACK TIME! Don't get sucked into social media or distracted. Be focused!

And with that last goal, I'm going to close this post so I can head to Starbucks for some focused and productive work before my sister Ella arrives this afternoon! We're hosting a Halloween party tonight and there are costumes to be made and food to be prepared.

Have a wonderful weekend!

xo Anna

chocolate cookie dough oatmeal

Continuing on my "dessert for breakfast" theme...

This morning I decided to try making cookie dough bites from vanilla Shakeology. So delicious! 

Shakeology is a superfood/protein shake that I usually drink every day as a smoothie, but now that it's getting colder I am getting a little more creative with how I make it! It's fun to play with.

Chocolate Cookie Dough Oatmeal
Serves 1

Oatmeal
-1/2 cup old fashioned oats
-cinnamon
-1/2 tsp vanilla
-1/2 tsp almond extract
-1/4 c unsweetened almond milk
-1 T cocoa powder

Cookie Dough
-1 tsp coconut oil, melted
-1 scoop or packet Vanilla Shakeology
-dash of cinnamon
-2-3 tsp unsweetened almond milk

Make your cookie dough bites by melting the coconut oil in a bowl (I microwaved for 30 secs), add the Shakeology, cinnamon, and 1 tsp of almond milk at a time until a thick, dry, dough forms. Chill in the fridge while you make your oatmeal!

Cook the oats on the stove in 1 cup of water with a dash of salt. When the oats are almost finished, stir in the cinnamon, extracts, almond milk, and cocoa powder.

Roll your Shakeology dough into small bites and top your oats!

[21 Day Fix: 2 yellow, 1 red]

double chocolate brownie oatmeal

Do you ever have one of those days where you wish you could just eat chocolate for breakfast? Or even better...a whole pan of brownies? Yeah me too. So I made a healthy superfood packed version!

Double Chocolate BROWNIE OATS!
Serves 1

Ingredients || Oatmeal

-1/3 cup oats
-1/2 tsp vanilla
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-dash salt
-1/4 c unsweetened almond milk
-1T cocoa powder

Ingredients || Brownie Bites

-1 tsp melted coconut oil
-1 scoop chocolate Shakeology
-2 tsp almond milk (add one at a time)

In a small bowl, melt the coconut oil, add Shakeo, and then add almond milk 1 tsp at a time, until the texture is thick and brownie-like. Chill the brownie batter in the fridge while you cook your oatmeal!

Cook the oats in 2/3 cup water with vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. When oats have absorbed all the water, add the almond milk and cocoa powder and stir to combine.

Roll your brownie batter into bites, top your oatmeal, have the best day ever.

[21 Day Fix: 1 yellow, 1 red, 1 tsp]

Butternut and Autumn Stuffing Bake || 21 Day Fix Approved Recipe

Healthy comfort food is the name of the game as the leaves start changing colors and the temperature starts dropping. Fall is my favorite "food season" because what's not to love about cozy soups and chili, rich spices, savory herbs, baked veggies and squash, and anything related to Thanksgiving?

Now that my schedule is finally calming down and I'm able to spend the weekends relaxing at home instead of driving around the Midwest for my grand wedding tour, I'm looking forward to trying more time intensive and adventurous recipes on Saturday nights. This particular casserole was inspired by a twice-baked stuffed butternut squash recipe from The Paleo Kitchen. I was using a small butternut squash from my grandma's vegetable garden, so I decided to combine everything into one dish.

This Butternut and Autumn Stuffing Bake is definitely going to be a regular on my dinner rotation. It's slightly sweet, savory, filling, deceptively healthy, and perfectly captures everything I love about the season!

Butternut and Autumn Stuffing Bake
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 small butternut squash
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 apple, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp curry powder
2 eggs
shredded cheddar (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
coconut oil spray

Slice your butternut in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds (reserve to roast!), place the squash halves cut-side down on a baking sheet, and bake for 30-40 minutes at 400*, or until the squash is soft when you pierce it with a fork.

In the meantime, take the biggest skillet you have, coat it with coconut oil spray (my most recent obsession...it's supposed to be better for you than canola oil), and sauté the apple, onion, and garlic for 3-5 minutes. Add the ground turkey, rosemary, curry, salt and pepper, and sauté until the turkey is cooked through.

Once the squash is baked, take it out of the oven and let it cool for a few minutes, then scoop the squash out of its peel and mix it into the pan of turkey.

In a small bowl, whisk the two eggs together and then stir them into the squash and turkey mixture so everything is combined.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350*, transfer your casserole mixture into an 8x8" glass baking dish coated in coconut oil spray, top with cheese (optional), and bake for 25 minutes.



Sprinkle with roasted seeds, serve with a green salad and enjoy! I drizzled some Cholula hot sauce on mine :)

[Serves 4, each serving: 1 green, 1 red, 1/4 purple on the 21 Day Fix (add 1/2 blue for cheese)]

xo Anna

french toast oatmeal || two ways

Oatmeal is hands down one of my favorite breakfasts. I could eat it every single day and be a happy camper, and if you think you aren't a fan, you just haven't tried Anna-style oats. However, oatmeal on its own is never enough to keep me full for longer than an hour or two so I'm always looking for ways to soup it up and add some extra volume and protein.

Recently I've been adding eggs right into the pot. I know, I know, it sounds weird and kind of disgusting, but hang with me! I started with whisking in two egg whites while the oats were cooking, but now I am adding whole eggs, yolk and all. I swear it makes the oatmeal taste like French toast! And the extra protein and healthy fat will keep you full much longer. It's really important to eat protein at breakfast so your blood sugar doesn't crash from the typical carb-heavy breakfasts we're so fond of.

This recipe is very customizable and you can spin it in any flavor combination that strikes your fancy! Pumpkin French Toast is next on my list...

Here's the basic recipe:

French Toast Oatmeal

serves 1

1/3 cup old fashioned oats

2/3 cup water

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)

2 eggs

Bring the water to boil in a small pot. Add the oats, cinnamon, and any additional spices. Cook the oats for 2-3 minutes, until about 80% of the water is absorbed. Stir in the vanilla, and then whisk in the eggs, breaking the yolks. Continuously stir the oat/egg mixture until eggs have solidified and are incorporated into the oatmeal, and all liquid has been absorbed.

Top with maple syrup and fruit!

Strawberry French Toast Oatmeal
Top with fresh or microwaved frozen strawberries and maple syrup!

Banana Cinnamon French Toast Oatmeal

Top with 1/2 sliced banana and extra cinnamon and nutmeg.

[These recipes count as 1 yellow, 1 red, and 1 purple on the 21 Day Fix!]

Are you an oatmeal person? Let me know if you try these recipes, I'd love to hear what you think!

xo Anna

fighting overwhelm, and filling your cup

Last night my friend Kathleen reminded me that it's only been six weeks since I left my full time job. It was a small but extremely impactful wake-up call because I feel like I've been doing this entrepreneur thing FOR SO LONG but in reality I'm just beginning! I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing, and I need to accept and embrace that newness instead of fighting it and letting it stress me out. The past six weeks have been a complete and utter whirlwind and I feel like I am just now barely starting to get my feet on the ground. Yes, things are going really well so far, but I still fight a daily battle with fear/doubt/anxiety and am overwhelmed by all the things I want to do and "need" to do to establish both my Etsy shop and my health and fitness consulting business. 

I am somewhat of a perfectionist and overachiever, and so I put an incredible amount of pressure on myself to be successful...even though i am still trying to define what "success" actually means to me. I am filling my brain with all sorts of motivating and empowering podcasts and books that tell me to "dare greatly," "lean into joy," "live with intention," "YOU are enough." I know all these things are true but it is so hard to find that balance of self-confidence, motivation, drive, and satisfaction in my small daily achievements. It's hard not to get bogged down in the day to day, and to extract myself from my bubble to look back at how far I've come, how much I have right now in this very moment, and how much time I have stretching out in the future in which to accomplish everything I want. 

On top of figuring out my new life as a legit small business owner, I've been involved with three weddings in the past five weeks for my closest friends and sister in law. Talk about emotional overload! I'm trying to be everything to everyone. Be an amazing friend and bridal party member, support and mentor my coaches and team and my clients, market my shop, promote my fitness groups, keep a steady stream of content pouring into my social media accounts, establish a regular blogging schedule (ha. haha), feel "professional" now that my life is my job, stay on top of my own workouts and nutrition, take care of Ben, remember to call my family on a semi-regular basis, stay organized, track expenses, clean the house, sew new scarves, and on and on and on. It's hard for me to mentally unplug and relax because my brain is constantly churning through my next big idea or to-do list. Needless to say this is not the way to live, and I'm trying really hard to establish a routine including work/life boundaries (ha, again). It is slowly starting to happen, I think? I'll let you know in a couple weeks.

Last Thursday I listened to a mini podcast by one of my favorite entrepreneurs and bloggers, Jess Lively, on what to do when you feel overwhelmed. Hello, perfect timing! My main takeaways were to stop thinking about EVERYTHING that needs to happen, and focus on the very next small action step. Action action action. Another and even more important takeaway is that you can't give yourself to others if your own cup isn't full. You need to take care of yourself first. As an introvert in a people-oriented network-based career now, this was something I needed to hear so badly.

So I spent the weekend getting back out into the world, re-focusing on my true priorities (family, friends, faith), and taking time to breathe and fill my Anna Cup. It was amazing, and I can't say that I am completely refreshed and ready to take on the world because I'm still fighting the urge of "I need to catch up on work I didn't do during the days I didn't do work," but I'm learning how to disconnect and take control of my time. 

Friday morning I met my dad, sister, and brother downtown to visit the Dutch consulate and apply for dual citizenship. Taking the L downtown and immersing myself in the frantic busy crush of people headed off to work was exhilarating because I was physically among the crowd, but I didn't have to share that sense of stress and rush that permeates the Loop on a regular weekday morning. I caught up with my brother who I almost never get to see, we all got our photos taken, had coffee, wandered the city a little bit, filled out 29483294 reams of paperwork, and then finished with celebratory lunch and beers. After the rest of the family hit the road back to central Illinois I decided to take a detour on my own way home and stop by the zoo for the first time since my last day six weeks ago. 

As soon as I walked on grounds I felt this immediate sense of calm. Lincoln Park is truly my happy place here in Chicago, and I need to keep cultivating the relationships I've created there, and remember that it is still a huge part of my life. I'm moving on but the people and places that matter most are still right here with me.

On Saturday Ben and I headed out to the burbs to visit the Morton Arboretum. I hadn't been back there either since my last day of work, which was over one and a half YEARS ago. Unacceptable! The Arb is probably my most favorite happy place in all of northern Illinois. In the forests and prairie, I am at home and at peace. 

And I will follow this man down any path life throws in our way.

For so long I've had to use weekends as time to catch up on everything I wasn't able to accomplish during the actual work week, that I have this ingrained habit of treating Sundays as MEGA PRODUCTIVE days in which I need to tackle hundreds of items on the to do list in order to stay afloat. Lots of anxiety and self imposed pressure.

New Reality: I actually have all week to tackle the list...and need to start using Sundays how they were designed to be. A day of rest and renewal. Focus on the present.

Whenever we're in town, Ben and I are making an effort to go to church on Sunday morning. Even though it's tempting to sleep in and waste the morning relaxing and reading, I know that I need to do this because faith is on my top priorities list. Wouldn't you know, the whole service last Sunday revolved around Psalm 23, which I've always thought of as a Pslam to comfort us in times of struggle or darkness. But now I have a greater appreciation of the verses, because they are also a reminder to stop and give glory to God in all the times when life feels overwhelming, even and especially if the overwhelm stems from opportunity and blessings. We need to stop and recognize what we have IN THIS MOMENT. Especially when we have so much. Instead of letting the scarcity mentality of our society and culture affect our motivation (I need more! On to the next! Never enough time! Busybusybusy! More money more happiness!), we need to reflect on what we have been given. The grass might look greener, but that is merely an illusion.

My cup overflows.

Chicken and White Bean Chili

One of my favorite fall and winter comfort foods is CHILI! There are so many fun and delicious variations you can concoct, and it's such a filling and healthy complete meal in a bowl. Make a big batch every week and you're set for lunch and weeknight dinners. Happiness is having a big batch of leftover chili marinating in the fridge.

This week's version is a little bit non-traditional but crazy delicious! It cooks up in one pot (hello easy clean up), or you can dump everything in the crockpot and let it cook on low all day.

Chicken and White Bean Chili

Makes approx 6 servings

Ingredients

-1 T olive oil
-1 package chicken breasts
-1 yellow onion, chopped
-2 bell peppers, chopped
-4 garlic cloves, minced
-1 14 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles (Rotel)
-1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
-2 cans white beans
-4 c low sodium chicken or veggie broth
-1 tsp curry powder
-1/2 tsp onion powder
-1/2 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp Mrs Dash Chipotle seasoning (or a few sprinkles of red pepper flakes)
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 heaping T corn starch

In a large Dutch oven or pot, heat the olive oil and cook the chicken until almost done, seasoning with salt, pepper, and Mrs. Dash. Add the onion, bell peppers, garlic cloves, and sautee 3-4 minutes, until veggies start to soften. Add the diced tomatoes, beans, broth, and seasonings and simmer until heated through (the longer the better!). Dissolve corn starch in 1/4 c cold water, then slowly whisk into the chili. Stir and simmer until the chili thickens slightly.

Serve with cilantro, lime, and your favorite toppings! Bacon, cheese, and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt or sour cream would also be delicious.

[21 Day Fix: 1 cup serving = 1 yellow, 1/2 red, 1 green]

2 years

Today marks two years since the chilly and gloomy October day Ben and I said our vows in the warm light of the chapel at Augustana. I'll always remember the feeling of being surrounded and enveloped by the love of all our closest friends and family. It was by far the happiest and most emotionally powerful day of my life.

So much has happened since then! We've made it through some challenging times, and are now settled into a pretty awesome phase of life. There are lots of unknowns in the future, but we're making the best out of what we have and I feel so lucky to be able to share life with my soul mate.

We've also been living in Chicago for two years now, so to celebrate our anniversary we decided to book a fancy room downtown at the Palmer House and enjoy a mini stay-cation in our city this past weekend. It was so fun to get out of the house and play tourist!

The Palmer House is an opulent and dark oasis in the middle of the loop. Very Gossip Girl. I highly recommend visiting or staying here if you ever get a chance--we found a pretty good deal on Groupon and it was fun to pretend that we were high society. There were SIX weddings going on at the hotel this past weekend, so I like to think that we were October wedding trendsetters.

Hi, husband!

The Chicago River is one of my favorite spots in the entire city, and River North is one of my favorite neighborhoods to go out and about. The views from the river are unbelievably spectacular. Last weekend was a celebration of the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, so they attempted to set these awesome Victorian mansion floats on fire. Apparently it was a huge to-do and then technical difficulties prevented the floats from actually burning....but we missed it anyway because we were drinking fancy cocktails.

Oh Three Dots and a Dash. Indescribable. This underground Tiki Bar has been on my bucket list all summer and I'm so glad we finally made it! Next time we're making a reservation so we can actually eat. This place is crazy busy but we found spots at the bar and enjoyed the most epic tropical cocktails I have ever seen. If I'm ever having a bad day, I'm coming here and ordering a banana daiquiri--it's literally impossible to be sad when you are holding a fake coconut with a happy banana dolphin leaping out of the top.

After a wonderful dinner at Cafe Spiaggia, we crashed early, woke up to an unbelievably gorgeous Sunday, and spent the morning wandering around Millenium Park.

Obligatory cheesy Bean selfie!

Have I mentioned how much I love this city? It has its fair share of problems and issues, but it's just so dang beautiful. 

We finished off our mini-getaway with an epic brunch at Wildberry Pancakes. Something that the Loop is desperately lacking is a good assortment of brunch restaurants! It seems like everyone downtown and their mother and child wanted to eat here, so prepare for a wait. It's worth it though. 

Two years down, many more to go! I am so happy I get to share my life with you, Ben. You make me into a better person and everything truly gets better and better every day. Being able to celebrate the present moment with joy and look towards the future with excitement is the biggest gift I've ever experienced. 

Self Employment || Month One

It's a dark and rainy Friday morning and I'm sitting in our big oversized comfy chair wrapped in a fluffy blanket with my coffee, wearing my workout clothes because at some point I'm going to muster the motivation to make it to the gym for some endorphins. But for a little while I just want to sit here, soaking in the peace and quiet, and reflect on the crazy whirlwind that has hit me recently.

It's officially been one month since my last day at the zoo.

At the end of the summer I decided to take a huge leap and quit my full time job to be a small business owner/creative entrepreneur/life adventurer. I like to think that this is not the craziest thing I've ever done, because after five years of living in seven different cities, cross country moves, long-distance, and seemingly unending phases of being broke and funemployed, Ben and I are finally starting to slowly settle into a comfortable and stable place, so this decision wasn't actually a huge financial risk. I guess I'm simply unable to stay too comfortable for too long.

Even though I know that this is the right decision for my life and that it will work out for the long term, the last month has been a crazy and tumultuous ride. Being part of two back-to-back weddings definitely added to the emotional chaos, but being able to control my own schedule and work from wherever I am has been amazing.

When I left my job, I didn't expect to feel so vulnerable, unsettled, and thrown off. I assumed that once I could finally spend all my time on my "passion projects" and not have to cram them into early mornings, lunch hours, and late nights, I'd feel amazingly liberated and attain a sense of balance and fulfillment. That hasn't necessarily been the case. When you suddenly leave a job that you've held for over a year, and leave the people with whom you've been spending 40 hours a week of your life to work from home all by yourself and be responsible for your own success without a comfortable system in place telling you what to do, well, it's kind of a shock to the system. I've been lucky to have never experienced a bad break-up, but I almost felt like I broke up with my department. You tell yourself, oh it's ok we'll still be friends and I'll come visit and we'll hang out all the time and see each other more, but in reality life is fast and time moves on. Everyone is engrossed in their own little bubble of busy reality and it takes intentional action to make things happen.

Things I'm learning:

-to trust my intuition
-to believe in myself and the worthiness of my dreams
-that I don't have to have everything figured out all at once
-good things take time
-routine is necessary
-my energy slumps in the early afternoon, so that's a good time to get out for a walk (or watch an episode of Revenge guilt free)
-getting out of the house is the key to happiness
-I need to work harder at establishing work/life boundaries (difficult when I have lots of late night calls and webinars)
-I can't wait until I'm "inspired" to get shit done

The urgent physical feeling of "positive anxiety" is something new that I've discovered and have had to accept as a more or less constant part of my life now. I've been making myself extremely vulnerable by sharing my story, jumping into a marketing and networking-based career as an introvert, and turning my life into my work. I'm trying to channel that anxiety into inspiration and the motivation to keep waking up every morning and making progress on my goals, because fear and excitement give your stomach the exact same butterfly sensation. It's up to your mind to decide if those butterflies are good or bad.

What I'm discovering from my own experiences (and also my friends and peers) is that the "late twenties" is the phase in life to question your path, try new things, and figure out what makes you truly happy, what motivates you to jump out of bed in the morning and tackle each new day with courage and excitement despite the nagging doubts and fear. Don't settle for a certain path just because it's there. If there's anything that you've been wanting to do but have been putting off due to fear, insecurity, or simply because it's not "what people do," I challenge you to just take one baby step towards that ultimate dream, no matter how crazy it seems. Don't use time as an excuse, because we all have the same 24 hours in the day--what you do with them is up to you and your priorities. Time will pass no matter what, so you might as well spend it on creating a reality that you're in love with.

Say "yes" to your heart. Always live on the edge of your comfort zone. Accept the good butterflies, lean into the fear, and throw caution to the wind. If you chase your true authentic self, everything else will start to fall into place and opportunities and people will arise out of thin air to support you. It takes a lot of drive, hard work, persistence and consistency, and you will have moments of doubt that knock you down and bring you to your knees, but it kind of feels like magic when you have a random  moment when things all seem to be falling into place. For me, there is no other path than this one that I'm bushwhacking for myself out of the infinite possibilities of the future.

Here's to month two!

Sirloin Roast with Brussels and Sweet Potatoes

Oh hi October! Where did you come from?

Cooler weather means it's time to turn on the oven and roast ALL THE THINGS! I've been all about the simple, fast, fool proof, healthy weeknight dinners lately. Tonight I whipped up a beef sirloin roast with balsamic-honey glazed Brussels sprouts and caramelized sweet potatoes!

I found this pre-seasoned sirloin roast at Aldi's, you can also do a pork loin roast. I just put it in a small pan and roasted according to the package directions (450* for 30-40 mins).

On the side, I sliced up two sweet potatoes, coated them in olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic salt, and roasted along with the beef. I also dumped a bag of Brussels sprouts into a third pan and coated them with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, garlic salt, balsamic vinaigrette, and a little bit of honey.

Flip the sweet potatoes after 15 minutes, and remove them when they're getting browned. Mine took about 20-25 minutes total. The brussels sprouts and beef took the full 35 minutes.

Let the beef rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Then plate up and enjoy!

(Come visit my Facebook page for more of my simple healthy recipes!)

21 Day Fix: 1 yellow, 1 green, 1 red