Food

Taco Stuffed Peppers

I am so sick of ground turkey, not gonna lie. Turkey sometimes tastes way too much, like, well TURKEY. And it gets old....

I will still eat turkey on Thanksgiving....that is a totally different concept. 

I had made taco stuffed peppers before but not with this exact recipe or with beef and if I do say so myself, this one is way tastier! ;) 

What You Need (Serves 2 people): 

1 lb lean ground beef (96/4)
2 red (or green) bell peppers
1 c cooked brown rice
1 can of rotel (not drained) 
1 tbsp southwest seasoning
4 tbsp shredded cheese

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Slice the tops off of the bell peppers, then cut them in 1/2 (see pic) and remove seeds.
3. Place them in a baking dish with a tiny bit of water in the bottom. Cover them with foil and place into the oven for about 15 minutes. 
4. While those are baking, dice up the tops of the peppers.
5. Place diced peppers and ground beef in a skillet until meat is browned. 
6. While meat is cooking, heat up your rice (if you are lazy like me and use the precooked microwaved kind).
7. Once meat is cooked, add in 1 tbsp southwest seasoning and can of rotel. Simmer for 5 minutes. 
8. Combine 1/2 cup rice and 3/4 cup meat mixture, 2 times. I keep the 2 combined mixture in two different bowls because if you do the Fix, those are your portions for each person.  

You will also have extra taco meat, I used that for leftovers for myself or quesadillas for the kids! 

9. Stuff each pepper with the mixture, then set aside the extra for each person.
10. Once peppers are stuffed, cover the dish with foil and place back into oven at 350 degrees for another 15 minutes.
11. Take peppers out, top each 1/2 with 1tbsp cheese and place back into the oven, uncovered until cheese is melted.
12. Serve with extra meat and rice mixture. Enjoy! 
 

For my Fix Family: 1.5 Green, 1 Red, 1 Yellow, 1/2 Blue


Southwest Seasoning
2 tbsp chili powder
4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp sea salt

Mix all the seasonings together and put in a sealed container, it should make enough to have some left for other recipes! It is really great on anything, I use it in my burgers too! 

Healthier BBQ Chicken Pizza (CPK Style)

One of the amazing things about each new program is that there are new recipes to try out! 

Of course, I always end up modifying recipes to: 
1) use products I love that can easily replace something I don't want to use, i.e. pita vs my favorite pizza crust
2) make it easier! The original recipe is from Core De Force, it uses whole wheat pita as the crust and they make their own BBQ sauce...ain't nobody got time for that! My Trader Joe's sauce is perfect for a BBQ Chicken Pizza! 

PS - I love when people are all like, "I am on this diet and I am SO HUNGRY all the time! I can't eat anything good! I have to eat some bar for breakfast that doesn't fill me up, then for lunch, I have a shake filled with artificial ingredients and it cost me like $300+"....and I am over here like, oh poor you, this pizza is eff'n amazing, I will eat some for you. ;) 

What You Need (1 Serving):

1 whole grain crust (or whole wheat pita)
2 Tbsp. bbq sauce (try to find one without a bunch of extra "junk" in it)
2 Tbsp. cheddar (recipe calls for mozzarella, but I prefer cheddar) 
1/3 chopped cooked chicken breast
2 Tbsp. chopped red onion (I only use 1 Tbsp...onions aren't my friend)
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro (or the amazing freeze dried stuff you can find near the veggies/salads in the grocery store, love those)

Preparation: 

1. Preheat oven to 350 (one of these days I will figure out how to do the whole fahrenheit thing on my blog).
2. Place crust on a baking sheet, top with bbq sauce, cheese, chicken & onion.
3. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
4. Sprinkle w/ cilantro, slice & ENJOY! 

 

I could eat this right now...For my Fix family:  2 yellow, 1/2 red 1/2 blue 1/2 purple

I could eat this right now...

For my Fix family:  2 yellow, 1/2 red 1/2 blue 1/2 purple

Caprese Chicken

What do you do when you have leftover basil and fresh mozzarella from your Margherita Pizza? You make Fix approved Caprese Chicken, of course!

This is one of my favorites and it is beyond simple but taste like it took hours to prepare...sometimes literally depending on if you are good at cooking chicken or not, mine sometimes tastes a little chewy and overcooked but I don't mind. ;) 

What you need for the top:
Pesto (2 tsp per chicken breast)
Tomato (I use 1 roma per chicken breast & eat any extra that doesn't fit) 
Basil Leaves (about 4 leaves per piece of chicken breast)
Fresh Mozzarella (1oz per chicken breast)
Salt & Pepper, just a dash will do

What you need for the chicken: 
Chicken Breast (4oz piece per person)
Dash of pepper
Olive Oil Spray

1. Spray a pan with olive oil spray and turn on medium heat. 
2. Season your chicken with some pepper and add to the pan. 
3. Cook your chicken about 4 minutes per side or until no longer pink in the middle (I use thinly sliced chicken breast so they cook quicker).
4. Place 2 tsp of pesto on top of your chicken breast, then layer it with 1oz mozzarella and 1 small roma tomato, alternating between the two.  
5. Cover and cook on low for about 2 minutes or until cheese starts to melt and tomatoes are soft. 
6. Take out of pan, place on a plate and top with fresh basil!   

I ate mine with a side of leftover tomatoes and broccoli with leftover cheese from my blue container melted on it...I mean, everything is better with cheese, right?! 

For my Fix Family (including my sides): 2 Greens, 1 Red, 1 Blue

Recipe modified from the Fixate cookbook. 

My New Addiction

I ate this snack 4 times this past week...no lie. 4 times.  And I could eat it 4 more times...right now.

It is SOOOO good! I am on a specific meal plan for my workout program that uses color coded portion controlled containers based on different types of food. Earlier this week I had some random containers left for the day which led me to this concoction. 

We shall call it "Hawaiian" Peanut Butter Oatmeal 

We shall call it "Hawaiian" Peanut Butter Oatmeal 

Recipe:

1 packet instant oatmeal (I use plain Quaker) cooked
1/2 tsp pure maple syrup
2 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes
1 small sliced banana
2 tsp natural peanut butter (almond butter would be good too) 

Put all the ingredients together, stir and enjoy! 

For my Fix family: 1 yellow, 1 purple, 1 orange, 2 tsp

Healthy-ish Turkey Sausage Gravy!

We like to use our "fine china" for a lot of our meals.

Breakfast food.  It is a total downfall of mine. Everything I want to eat for breakfast or brunch ends up being centered around bread. Biscuits & gravy, french toast, pancakes...my mouth is watering just writing this post, which I probably shouldn't be writing when I am doing a program that doesn't allow biscuits & gravy! Ha!

Anyways, so if you know me, you know I am always trying to find way to make healthier versions of my favorites foods.  So here it is folks..."healthy-ish" turkey sausage gravy! 

What you need: 

Breakfast Turkey Sausage
1/3 whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 cups skim milk

I like to use my dutch oven for this recipe but a large skillet or large pot will do.  Crumble sausage into dutch oven.  Cook over med-high heat until the turkey sausage is browned and no longer pink, be sure to stir frequently. 

Grab a wire whisk, stir in flour, salt and pepper, then gradually stir in milk.  Continue to cook until mixture thickens, be sure to stir constantly. 

Serve over your favorite biscuits and enjoy!  I love to buy Trader Joe's biscuits, they are flaky and delicious.