Healthy Stuffed Bell Peppers

Here's another recipe we've tried a million versions of but haven't gotten it quite right...until now! The secret for us was baking them instead of the Crock Pot. Keeps the peppers crunchy instead of soggy and falling apart.

Ingredients:

• 5 bell peppers (I use green b/c they are cheaper but we've found the tri-color packs to be just as cheap!)
• 1 lb. ground beef (or turkey)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tbs chili powder
• 1 tbs olive oil 
• salt, pepper
• 1 can Rotel with juice
• 1 c shredded cheese (mexican/pepper jack) 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place onion, chili powder, and olive oil in microwave safe bowl and heat for 5 minutes. 
3. Brown ground beef in large pan over medium-high heat.
4. Chop tops off bell peppers, discard stem piece, chop remainder of tops and add to ground beef in pan. Place peppers in baking pan where they will remain upright during baking. (9x13 worked fine)
5. Add can of Rotel to pan and stir. Season with salt/pepper. 
6. Add 3/4 shredded cheese and onion mixture and stir to combine. 
7. Remove from heat and scoop mixture into peppers. 
8. Sprinkle tops with remainder 1/4 c of cheese. 
9. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. 
10. Serve with side salad and enjoy!

Our Best (yet) Broccoli-Cauliflower Pizza Crust

So by now you know that I'm all about cauliflower substitutes and we found a decent cauliflower crust recipe a few months ago. This is a huge upgrade. It's thicker, has more flavor, and spreads out to fill the whole pan. With just cauliflower, it's tough to make a pizza big enough to have leftovers for lunch the next day! Top with your favorites and enjoy - guilt-free feeling included.  

Crust Ingredients:

• 1 bag frozen cauliflower crumbles (TRADER JOES!) 
• 1 bunch broccoli
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbs Italian seasonings
• 1 c Parmesan 

• toppings of choice (we used Classico pizza sauce, Classico pesto, sun dried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni with a sprinkle of garlic powder) 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a small pan over medium heat, thaw frozen cauliflower crumbles. Stir often.
3. While thawing cauliflower, place broccoli florets in a food processor and finely chop. 
4. Add broccoli bits to the pan on the stove, stirring to evaporate the moisture in the vegetables (this is a crucial step and this is THE BEST way we've found to do this). Pay close attention so they don't burn! 
5. Remove from heat and add remainder of ingredients in the pot and stir to combine.
6. Roll out crust on pizza stone. *I use a smidgen of wheat flour so the crust doesn't stick to the stone (learned that the hard way). 
7. Place in the oven for 20 minutes without toppings. 
8. Remove, add desired toppings and cheese, and place back in the oven until everything's melted (about 5-10 minutes).
9. EAT UP! We add a side salad for a complete meal! 

Home Workouts!

OK folks, so I've already admitted that I like working out at the gym as much as I like Brussels sprouts; however, I am really starting to enjoy Brussels sprouts. We had them in Ohio last week while visiting our friends Aaron and Regina and I actually bought some this week to cook! SHOCKING. I'll post how they are later this week. Anyways, I've really started to get into working out in my home gym in the garage. In an earlier post, I mentioned we have an elliptical and bowflex purchased off Craigslist (great finds) and I bought a 10 lb. kettle bell from TJMaxx for $12. Best $12 spent.  This workout excitement comes at a great time - grad school will be finished in two weeks! I can't wait to tone up and get stronger.

So the last few workouts I've done have involved 30 mins on the elliptical and some form of kettle bell workout - a.k.a. me scrolling through my Pinterest page to find the billions of workouts I've saved.  I found I was wasting so much time but I couldn't remember a good sequence to all the kettle bell "moves" I was trying out. Since I'm a teacher, of course I had chart paper and chart markers in the garage...so I stopped and wrote out a sequence of moves compiled from a bunch of workouts. Y'all. This kicked my butt. I am still sore and I did it on Sunday afternoon but it feels so good!

I hope this motivates you to get up and MOVE!

Home Workout

• Warm-up/stretch
• 30 mins cardio (elliptical, jogging, running, run/walk, brisk walk, any combination - use what you have)
• Kettle bell series of moves (see chart and explanations in the photo below) 
• Crunches after every set of kettle bell moves 
• Drink lots of water and stretch when you finish. My dad said stretch like Cal Ripken - he never suffered any serious injuries b/c he stretched before and after playing baseball.

Before anyone starts throwing tomatoes and writing slanderous statements in the comments, YES...I spelled kettle bell wrong and YES I'm a teacher. I never claimed to be the Scripps National Spelling Bee champion.  I was excited to write it all down - my bad. 

10/10 means 10 on each side 

• 10/10 Single arm row: in lunge position, raise kettle bell up to shoulder level and back down
• 20 Single arm swings: regular kettle bell swing but with one hand, switching at the lowest point
• Triangle tippers: legs more than shoulder-width apart, right arm straight up with kettle bell (triangle). Slowly reach left hand down to left ankle, coming up to triangle position each time. 10 each side. 
• 15 squat thrusters: Holding kettle bell, squat all the way to the ground and raise back up with the kettle bell straight over your head (like a pencil). Repeat.15.times.and.feel.the.burn.
• 10/10 around body pass: swing kettle bell around your body, switching hands. 10 in each direction.
• 10/10 split lunges: 10 with each leg in front while holding kettle bell
• 20 regular swings (my fave) 
• 8 sets of 8 crunches (or more) I do sets of 8 b/c it matches the timing in my workout music. Use yoga mats if you're on concrete. 

Again, best $12 I've spent. I love this thing! 

Old Standby: Greek Sloppy Joes with Cauliflower Rice

This recipe has been one of our favorites for years. Before we got married in 2011, we started the South Beach Diet and I signed up for every bootcamp I could find to get my tush in shape! My parents bought us the South Beach Diet Super Quick cookbook (I recommend getting) and this is one that we immediately loved! Seriously - the page has almost ripped out we've made it so many times! 

It's a Phase 2 recipe but we subbed out the whole wheat orzo for cauliflower rice recently (once I became obsessed with finding cauliflower substitutes!) Even if you used the orzo, it's still a healthy and delicious meal and only takes about 30 minutes! 

Servings: 4        Prep time: 20 mins      Total time: 30 minutes

Greek Sloppy Joes Ingredients:

• riced cauliflower (we found it in the frozen section of Trader Joes, or you can make your own by chopping a head and putting it in the food processor. "Rice" it and then steam it in the microwave for 6 minutes.)

• 4 tsp olive or coconut oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with juice (we use the ones with peppers)
• 3 tbsp tomato paste (I use about 1/2 those tiny cans)
• 1/4 cup water
• reduced-fat crumbled feta cheese, sprinkled

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion and garlic to cook. Stir occasionally until the onion is soft. 
2. Add the turkey and break up with a spoon. Sprinkle with oregano, cayenne, and cinnamon. Cook until turkey is white the whole way through. 
3. Stir in diced tomatoes and juice, tomato paste, and 1/4 cup water. Simmer until the sauce is think - about 10 minutes.
4. Spoon cauliflower rice (or orzo cooked by package directions) into serving dish and place the turkey mixture on top. Sprinkle with feta. YUM!

TOP MEAL ALERT: Spicy Shrimp, Kale, and Cauliflower Mash!

Get ready for this one - it's a keeper for sure and is SO incredibly easy and healthy! It takes very little prep and is finished within 30 minutes. This recipe was found on Pinterest from Lindsay over at Pinch of Yum.  Maybe one day my blog will look like her's but for now this is what you get! 

So here's the skinny: I followed her directions for the shrimp and used a different cauliflower mash recipe from KITCHme and sautéed/steamed the kale. EASY PEASY. 

Shrimp Ingredients: 

• 1 tbsp olive oil (or coconut)
• 1 lb shrimp (we use peeled & deveined, frozen or fresh - whatever's on sale!) 
• generous shakes of cayenne pepper, garlic salt, chili powder, and black pepper 

Cauli Mash Ingredients:

• 1 head medium cauliflower (or frozen riced cauliflower, thawed/warmed)
• 1 tbsp cream cheese, softened 
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• few generous shakes of salt and pepper

Sautéed/Steamed Kale Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil (or coconut)
• minced garlic (however much you like)
• 3 cups chopped kale (we use the whole bunch)
• water (as needed to "steam") 

Directions:

1.  FOR THE CAULI MASH: Heat a large pot of water to boiling. Chop the cauliflower into florets and drop in boiling water until they get soft (about 8-10 mins). Drain and return to pot. Add remaining ingredients and use an immersion blender to get desired consistency.
2. FOR THE KALE: While cauliflower is boiling, heat oil in another pan on medium to medium high heat and add about 1/2 cup water, kale, and garlic. Place lid on pan and let steam, adding water and stirring as needed. Place aside and use the same pan for shrimp.
3. FOR THE SHRIMP: Add oil over medium heat. Pat the shrimp dry and add to the pan. Sprinkle seasonings to your liking and cook for a few minutes on each side (until pink).
4. Serve shrimp over the cauliflower mash and add kale as a side. MMMM. So good.