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.

Setting Up for Success!

Lots of people are trying to eat better,... trim off some extra pounds gained over the holidays, or get beach-ready for a moment in the sun. Eating better is hard, and many people get frustrated, fall short or give up. Here are some key ways to make your eat better stick.

1. Set Goals: It starts by having clear and realistic goals. Write a list of things you want to change about your diet. Also incorporate goals that you may have regarding your body and plan your diet around those goals. I recommend setting present goals, short term, and long term goals. If you try and do everything all at once you can be overwhelmed and want to quit. Take it one goal at a time if need be, and one day at a time, this isn’t a race. You may also want to write reasons why you want to make a change in your eating habits. You might share your goals with others who will help you meet them. You can put your goals where others can see them “on the fridge, at work” to motivate you to work harder. This will also get others behind you and involved in your new routine. As you achieve your goals, check them off. This will give you a sense of accomplishment and add excitement leading to your next goal.

2. Have Realistic expectations- Any diet plan needs to work with you and not against you. You need to be realistic when setting up the parameters of your new diet. Your plan needs to work for you and your situation. It needs to fit your schedule and your budget. If you don’t follow your budget, your cooking costs will get too high and you will have to withdraw from the diet you set up. If you don’t cook for your schedule and your eating times you will find yourself without food and scrambling to find a healthy choice. So be realistic with time, and give yourself extra time to prepare food, or have food pre-packed. Also know that obstacles can and will come into your path from time to time to derail you and your progress, so don’t think that everything will be easy and will just happen. This takes work.

3. Be Proactive - Make a list of healthy foods you enjoy, and what foods you can take with you to work, in the car, school, etc. You can create entire menus revolving around where you will be at what time of the day. Never give yourself an excuse to not have something available for you to eat, no matter where you are when you are supposed to have a meal. Always keep healthy foods on hand. If you don’t you will probably eat whatever is available at the time whether it be fast food, office treats, etc. This can throw off a diet plan and get you in the habit of making bad food choices and eat whatever is fast and convenient. Know where you will be at what time of the day, when you are open to cook, to eat, to shop for groceries, and plan accordingly. When you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

4. Consistency is key - Most people respond well to consistency. Make a plan and stick to it. Try to eat at around the same times daily and keep to the same portion size and caloric intake.. Your body will recognize this pattern and in turn keep your metabolism burning and your energy levels will stay high. You will feel better, and get in a healthy routine. It is easy to sabotage yourself by grabbing nasty snacks to meet uncontrolled cravings. The time you spend on planning and consistency is a true investment that will benefit you for the rest of your life.

5. Be flexible - Of course, even the best plans fall short at times. Life can sometimes get the best of all of us. Sometimes your eating routines need to change. Where you can, try to plan ahead for these events and have items on hand you can take with you when you’re in a rush or are eating out. Example: Bag of almonds, protein bars and shakes, fresh fruit. Also educate yourself on nutrition through the internet, books, and magazines. You can use this knowledge to help you improvise and find foods that are compatible with your diet, for example if you are out with friends or stuck with no time to cook. Find items that are less time consuming that you can take with you in a pinch.

6. Don’t be so hard on yourself -Nobody is perfect all the time. If you mess up, miss a few meals, or even have a bad couple of days, just pick yourself up and get back on track. You’re doing this for you, and the added stress of not living up to your own expectations can lead to a total diet derailment. Being healthy and eating healthy does not mean you can’t enjoy foods not on your meal plan. So don’t be so hard on yourself. YOU CAN DO IT!

7. Stick with your plan - It takes time to develop healthy behaviors. After about a month of eating better consistently, you will have developed a habit. You will find that everything you initially may have had a hard time doing becomes more effortless and be a normal part of your day to day life.

8. Have fun - Eating right takes dedication, commitment and sacrifice. Don’t stress yourself out over small bumps in the road. You have the power to change any negative into a positive, and you have the choice to have a positive outlook regarding any situation you find yourself in. Find fun ways to keep yourself motivated. Get friends and family involved. Set challenges at home, with friends, or at work to start eating healthier. Take the time to cook and try new and interesting recipes. You are making change for the better, so why not make it enjoyable.

9. Give yourself praise - You are not a dog so don’t reward yourself with treats. Realize that changing your eating habits can be a daunting task for anyone. Just think how long you have had your current habits and know that changing those habits will not happen overnight, but with time. Congratulate yourself on any healthy changes you make, you deserve the praise. Praise builds confidence and makes you feel good about the healthy choices you are making, and in turn help keep you on your path to betterment.

10. Don’t rush into this - People always start with the best of intentions and will try and do everything at once. They get overwhelmed and quit before they really even started. Small changes add up and can make a huge difference. Work on one thing at a time and keep adding to it. Before you know it you will have many healthy habits that incorporate together to make a healthy lifestyle and a healthier and happier you.

11. Focus on the journey and not the destination - To live a healthy lifestyle is never easy. In order to enjoy this lifestyle with all the ups and downs, we must enjoy the process and the journey on the way to our destination. Once we hit our destination we immediately look to the next mountain top and we either want more, or worst case scenario we think that we have accomplished all we need to and we relax on all of the things that got us there in the first place. Take pride in small victories along the way, they add up.


12. Measure Success and Set New Goals: Making successful changes means measuring your progress towards your goals and recognizing your accomplishments. As you meet short-term goals, you can plan the next steps with more confidence. Constantly re-strategizing your goals takes long-term visualization. That long-term vision needs to be broken down into doable steps.




Now go out and make a difference in your life today!! Did you enjoy this article? Would you like to receive more support from me on a daily basis?! Ask me about my next challenge group! Together we can set goals and achieve them!!