Southwest Stuffed Peppers

I am not a huge fan of the traditional stuffed peppers, with onions, rice and ground beef. So I was hesitant to make stuffed peppers the other night. So I searched Pinterest, and found a recipe that sparked my interest. Basically it's a taco in a pepper. And since I could eat tacos every single night for the rest of my life, I was sold! Here is the recipe, I tweaked it a bit from Pinterest.

1 lb of ground turkey, lean ground beef, or ground chicken.
3/4 cup of frozen corn
1 can of black beans, rinsed
1 medium yellow onion
1/2 can of diced tomatoes, unseasoned
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon of chili powder
2 tsp of cumin
Himalayan salt and pepper to taste
4 large green peppers
Chicken broth, low sodium
6 oz of shredded cheddar cheese
Greek yogurt
1 avocado

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Saute the ground meat until it's no longer pink. Add in chopped onions and garlic and seasonings, saute for another 5-8 minute until onion is soft. Add corn, black beans and diced tomatoes.
Chop off top of green peppers and clean out seeds and white pulp. Stuff with ground meat mixture. Place in a deep baking dish, fill bottom of dish with about an inch or so of chicken broth. Cover or place foil on top. Bake for 35 minutes. Take out and add cheese. Bake for another 5 minutes. Garnish with a dollop of plain greek yogurt (or sour cream) and a few slices of avocado. ENJOY!

For those following the 21 day fix, just measure out 1/2 blue container for the cheese. And measure out that dollop of greek yogurt to be about 1/2 red. If you eat one large stuffed pepper it would be: 1 yellow, 1 1/2 red, 1 1/2 green, 1 blue.

80/20

I am NOT one of those people who likes to work out. I do HATE it less now though, and that's a good thing? Right? So, when I learned losing weight is 70-80% nutrition, I was thrilled! Exercise, is just plain good for you though. I know that, so I do push myself to do it about 5 days a week, at least 30 minutes per day. That's my goal anyway! Sometimes, I have these pesky excuses however, that rear their ugly heads back into my life. And it's so hard to decipher an actual excuse, from a reason, like I am legitimately tired and need a rest day! Tuesday, I really could tell it was an excuse, because it was "I don't feel like washing my hair again." Yeah, lame. That's where my accountability group comes in. These ladies check in on me daily, and I check in on them. 5 days a week, we push each other to fight through our excuses, dig deep if we need to, and "push play." For some reason, if that still doesn't work, a pep talk the next day may be in order! We never try to miss more than a day or two, because once you lose that momentum, it's hard to start back. Accountability was the missing piece to my puzzle. It's one of the main reasons I never stuck with any new lifestyle change, I was trying to incorporate into my life. I see these ladies staying motivated every single day, no matter how busy they are with their daily life, and it inspires me to do the same. If you aren't a part of an accountability group, I encourage you to get one! A buddy is great, but an entire group is even better!!

NOM NOM

Spaghetti squash is one of my favorite side dishes. Sometimes, however, it's hard to get it to come out right. The strings are all short and choppy! So this time I followed a recipe I stumbled upon on Pinterest and it yielded much better results! I cut the squash, instead of lengthwise, into rings. And then I baked them for about 30-40 minutes on 400 degrees. Then the squash just felt right out, into long stringy, pasta like pieces! I paired it with lean hamburger meat, 93% lean and roasted sweet potatoes for the buns. I sometimes have to modify the meal for my kids, so they got some buns, and some real pasta for their side, along with snap peas. So good!

pump up your yogurt!

Oatmeal is one of the healthiest foods to lower your cholesterol!  But since it's 100 degrees right now, that's really low on the list of things I want to eat in the morning. However,  I just add a half a cup or so to my plain greek yogurt, and then I add some blueberries/blackberries/raspberries and a drizzle of honey. It keeps me full all morning, and tastes delicious!

Cowboy Caviar

Cowboy Caviar:
One of my favorite summer time recipes!! I put this on my eggs in the morning, serve it with grilled chicken or white fish, or put on a bed of lettuce and just add a dollop of plain Greek yogurt! If I bring to a party I will bring it with some tortilla chips! 
Cowboy caviar:
1 15 oz can of black beans
1 cup of frozen corn, thawed
1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes chopped
1 bunch of green onions chopped
1/2 bunch of cilantro chopped
1 avocado diced
Pepper and a pinch of Himalayan salt
2 tspn of cumin
And a drizzle of balsamic vingegar (optional, sometimes I do lime juice instead.)
Mix all together, actually tastes better after about 6 hours sitting in fridge because all the flavors really come together. Keeps for a few days in the fridge!
For those following the 21 day fix with me, if you eat 1/8 of this (it does make a lot!) it's 1/2💙 1/4-1/2 💚 1/2 💛.
‪#‎21dfx‬
It's SOOO delicious!!!

Baked Ziti

So anyone who knows my kids, knows they aren't the best eaters in the world. But this dish, was AMAZING! Doesn't taste healthy, tastes like a cheat meal! Evan had 3 helpings, Drew had 3 helpings and Lila had 2! Paired it with some spinach for my littles, and sweet peppers for me. Now I love me some garlic bread with pasta, but this time I roasted portobello mushrooms, put a little garlic powder and pink Himalayan salt and dash of EVOO. SOO good. Didn't even miss the garlic bread.

Ingredients

• 1/2 box Whole Wheat Pasta
• 1 red container Part-Skim Ricotta Cheese
• 1 jar natural/clean Tomato Sauce
• 1/2 lb Lean Ground Turkey
• 1/2 c Italian Cheese, shredded
• 1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 tsp Honey
• 1 tbsp each: Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Italian Seasoning, Oregano, Basil, Parsley, and Black Pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the noodles until al-dente. While pasta is cooking, brown the ground turkey. Drain turkey of excess fat renderings after cooking. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, pasta sauce, honey, seasonings, cooked ground turkey, and the cooked and drained noodles. Stir until well combined.

Pour mixture into a 13×9 pan. Sprinkle Italian cheese and parsley on top.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and bubbly.

1 red, 1 yellow, 1 purple, 1 blue for my 21 day fixers

Shrimp Scampi on the Skinny

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 pound jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1/4 cup white wine (omit if you are on the 21 day fix, you won't really miss it!)
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 medium zucchini, cut into noodles
Chopped parsley, for garnish

Place a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and heat it for 1 minute. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and cook them for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Be careful not to burn the garlic, I do that like half the time I saute garlic. Yeah, you would think I would learn. Nope. 

Add the shrimp to the pan and cook them, stirring as needed, until they are cooked throughout and pink on all sides, about 3 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and then using a slotted spoon, transfer them to a bowl, leaving any liquid in the pan.

Increase the heat to medium. Add the white wine and lemon juice to the pan. Using a wooden spoon, scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, cooking the wine and lemon juice for 2 minutes. Add the zucchini noodles and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Return the shrimp to the pan and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper, garish with parsley and serve immediately.

To cut zucchini into noodles, use a mandoline or a spiralizer. I am obsessed with my zoodle maker! OBSESSED!