Stuffed Sausage Jalapeno Poppers

Ingredients:
Recipe makes 12 servings
1 ground beef or turkey
1/2 pound ground pork sausage
1/4 onion
1 tomato
6 mushrooms
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 pound large fresh jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 (8 ounce) bottle Ranch dressing (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Place sausage in a skillet over medium heat, and cook until evenly brown. Drain grease.
In a bowl, mix the sausage, cream cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Spoon about 1 tablespoon sausage mixture into each jalapeno half. Arrange stuffed halves in baking dishes.
Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until bubbly and lightly browned. Serve with Ranch dressing.

Tip: 

You can also wrap the jalapeno after it has been filled with bacon. It changes it up a bit for something different. 

You can also use turkey bacon or turkey sausage for lower fat and calories, along with Greek cream cheese for added protein. 

I add vegetables in mine: tomatoes, garlic, onion

Pasta Puttanesca

Just because you're eating healthy doesn't mean you have to forgo your favorites. This pasta dish made with tomatoes, olives, and capers will satisfy your cravings.

Total Time: 23 min.
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cooking Time: 13 min.
Yield: 4 servings, about 1½ cups each

Ingredients:
8 oz. dry whole wheat spaghetti
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 anchovy fillets, drained
1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes, no added salt
¼ cup pitted chopped Spanish (or Greek) olives
2 Tbsp. capers
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:
1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Set aside. Keep warm.
2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.
3. Add garlic, anchovies, and crushed pepper; cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes, or until anchovies melt into oil and completely dissolve and garlic is tender.
4. Add tomatoes, olives, capers, oregano, and parsley. Bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to low; gently boil for 5 to 8 minutes.
5. Add pasta to sauce. Toss gently to coat; cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes, or until heated through.

Nutritional Information (per serving):
Calories: 311
Fat: 9 g
Saturated Fat: 2 g
Cholesterol: 9 mg
Sodium: 618 mg
Carbohydrate: 50 g
Fiber: 2 g
Sugar: 3 g
Protein: 13 g

P90X/P90X2 Portions (per serving)
1 carb/grain
½ protein
½ fat

P90X3 Portions (per serving)
2½ carb/grain
½ protein
1 fat

Body Beast Portions (per serving)
2 starches
1 vegetable
1½ fat
1 protein

21 Day Fix Portions (per serving)
2 yellow containers
½ red container
1 teaspoon

Easy Stuffed Sweet Peppers

Last night I wanted something healthy and my fridge is getting pretty bare, time to go grocery shopping. I decided to just wing it and make up a recipe with what I had. It turned out so good, I wanted to share it

Ingredients:
1 can crushed pineapple
1 jar of Bruschetta (spaghetti sauce)
1 can of Rotel tomatoes
Meat balls
Sweet peppers
Cheese

Preparation:
I took the meat balls and placed them in the pot along with the tomato sauce, pineapple, and spaghetti sauce and cooked them on lo-medium for about 30 minutes (I used meatballs that were already fully cooked). While the meat balls were cooking, I cleaned and cut my sweet peppers in half. I put them on a pan ready to throw into my toaster (is you do not have a toaster the oven will work just as well). After the meatballs and everything were cooked and ready to go, I cut them up and placed them inside the sweet peppers, I added a little sauce from the pot and sprinkled cheese on top. I toasted/broiled the peppers until the cheese was melted.

I served it with a fresh green vegetable salad and vinaigrette dressed.

21 Day Fix Grocery List

I can honestly say that I might be in love with the 21 day fix meal plan!  Well okay I will be totally honest I AM IN LOVE WITH THE ENTIRE PROCESS.  Lets face it, it's easy, its simple, its basically fool proof.  If you stick to the things on the list of approved foods and you keep it basic you can't go wrong.  Plus I really dislike counting calories so the fact that I can tally up my containers and check it off each day is much more my style.  Now 4 rounds into the fix I don't even use the containers anymore.  I can see very clearly what a proper portion size should look like on my plate.  My body really has a much better system of regulating my feelings of fullness and I truly do have energy. 

The thing that I really like is that it perfectly aligns with clean eating!  I still follow the exact same guide of having a protein an a complex carb at each meal. 

So I get asked questions all the time about what a grocery list should look like.  While I can't tell you to go out and buy EVERYTHING on this list, I am going to give you an idea of the general things that you are going to be using on a daily basis for the fix.  The quick reference guide below really helps as well.

Proteins (red)

So when you hit up the store stick to lean proteins like

Fish- Salmon & Tilapia

Fresh Chicken Breast

Turkey Breast

Eggs

Lean Ground Turkey

Pork Tenderloin

Flank Steak

Protein Powder

Veggie Burgers

In all conscience I stay away from red meat, processed lunch meats, turkey bacon and ham slices.  I know it's on the list but when it comes to clean eating and nutritional value the things I have listed above are much better options.  Turkey bacon, lunch meat, and ham all are higher in sodium and can cause you to retain water. 

Fruits (purple)

Apples

Pears

Berries like Strawberries, Blackberries, Raspberries

Oranges

Watermelon

Cantaloupe

Kiwi

I usually stayed away from bananas, mangos and grapes during the fix because they are still a good source of natural sugar but they also tend to be on the higher side.  So if I do have one of those I only do 1 per day.  As you get closer to your weight loss goal this becomes very important to shedding those last few pesky pounds.

Vegetables (green)

Green Beans

Celery

Asparagus

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Spinach

Peppers

Onions

Tomaos

Squash

cucumbers

Lettuce

I also typically do not eat carrots because they are also higher in sugar.  I stay away from corn as a vegetable and if I eat it then it goes into the starch category.

Complex Carbohydrates  (Yellow)

Brown Rice

Quinoa

Oatmeal (not instant in the packet) Rolled Instant Oats

Sweet Potatoes

Red Skin potatoes

Black Beans

Pinto Beans

Couscous

Ezekiel Bread

Whole Grain Tortillas

I know that on the complex carbohydrate list there are bagels, toast, pancakes, waffles and other breads.  But what I can say is this, from a nutritional standpoint even whole grain still turns to sugar in your stomach, it will not keep you full and offers little benefits.  Think of food as fuel.  Quinoa, sweet potatoes, Ezekiel bread are great sources of whole grains that are very natural and will give you fiber, fullness and nutrients where a waffle or piece of toast is more of a filler.  Again, you can pick and choose and yes it is allowed but its up to you to decide how you want your results to play out.

Blue

Healthy Fats and Cheese (blue)

Unsweetened Coconut

Raw Unsalted Almonds

Raw Unsalted Cashews

Hummus

Goat Cheese

Feta Cheese

Avocado

This is definitely a category that I used to go way over!  I used to eat hummus, almonds and cheese all in one day and it was totally killing my progress.  I actually eliminated cheese from my diet and saw that I was less bloated and more lean during that time.

List of other ingredients that I used frequently:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Coconut Oil

All Natural Peanut Butter, only ingredients are peanuts and a little salt.

Almond Butter

Almond Milk if you want that for your Shakeology

Chia Seeds

Sea Salt

Pepper

Chili Powder

Onion Salt

Garlic Powder

Garlic

Seltzer Water- Love the Deer Park and La Croix if you have a hard time drinking water.

Green Tea

Honey

Greek Yogurt

Cinnamon

Slivered Almonds

If you would like more support in your 21 day fix journey or you would like to start your 21 day fix journey please complete the application below to be considered for my next 21 day fix accountability, support/challenge group!