I have been making a lot of amazing foods lately that I have been happy about. It is so great that even while eating clean you can eat fantastic foods and not feel guilty or have it set you back. I have been trying to gain some weight with a lot of frustration. It's terribly difficult. Now, I know there are people who will say "What?! I wish I could lose weight, not put on weight!" Well, honestly, when you are trying to gain it is pretty much just as difficult. I don't want to look bony, I want healthy, happy, and fit.
These are my latest progress shots. I feel like I look healthier, which is the most important. I love that I can go to the gym and am starting to lift heavier and see results. I know a lot of ladies think that lifting will make you look masculine and bulky, but it won't! If you are worried about that, try low weight and more reps. Now, on to some food! I have made a few foods that I have really liked over the last few weeks, but since I had been slacking so horrible on here I may have forgotten some things, but I promise to try and get you all the yummy goodness I come across and make.
Tasty Turkey Bell Peppers
A package of extra lean (99%) ground turkey
6 green bell peppers (on the larger side)
2/3 of a large red onion
2 jalapeno pepper (optional, I like the spice)
2 15-16 oz jars low sodium/sugar spaghetti sauce
optional/add-ins:
black beans
corn
spinach
other veggies
cheese (low-fat/skim)
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and cut the tops off of your 6 green peppers, takeout the core and seeds and wash. Don't throw away the tops! Brown the ground turkey on a non-stick skillet. Cut up your red onion, other veggies, and take the tops of your green pepper and dice them up and toss them in the party as well. Take a second skillet and cook the veggies. This process took me about 15 minutes. The veggies need to be pre-cooked so they are not really crunchy, but I like a little crunch to my veggies sometimes.
Put the hollow bases of the green peppers you cleaned into a baking dish. Pour one jar of tomato sauce into the baking dish. Once your turkey is browned, throw in the second jar or tomato sauce and the softened veggies. Let it cook for another 5 minutes and then spoon the mixture into the hollow peppers. Fill 'em up! Then, cover the peppers with tinfoil and cook them for an hour. They are so delicious and will definitely be making them again.
- 1/2 a cup of plain Chobani greek yogurt,
- 1/2 a scoop vanilla whey protein
- vanilla extract
- a packet of raw stevia
- 1/4 a cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl/Tupperware container. Mix in some crushed up pistachios. Freeze for a couple hours. After I thawed it, I topped the foyo with some melted whipped peanut butter and some whole pistachios. It was so lovely.
-1/2 a large banana, mushed up in a coffee mug.
- tablespoons of vanilla whey protein,
- 1 tablespoon whipped peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- a couple drips of vanilla cream all natural liquid stevia (you can also use regular stevia/natural sweeteners)
- 3 tablespoons of liquid egg whites
Mix very well and microwave for 2 1/2-3 minutes, keep an eye on it. I topped mine with a little vanilla protein frosting and some wf no cal chocolate syrup. It would be amazing with chia jam, berries, peanut butter, coconut oil, chocolate, greek yogurt, or cottage cheese.
One day I had a pair of very sad, almost ready to meet the trash can, bananas. I decided to try a little something and ended up making this amazing Chocolate Protein Oat Cake.
I mashed the 2 large ripe bananas in a bowl with
- 1 scoop chocolate whey protein
- 1 tsp of baking powder
- 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp of organic powdered peanut butter (pb2)
- 1/3 cup of whole grain rolled oats.
Mix well, preheat oven to 375 and I poured the mixture on to parchment paper in a large pie baking dish. Baked for 25-30 minutes, make sure tooth pic comes out clean.
The whole thing is 558 calories, but cut in 3 you can have it for 186 calories a slice with 2 grams of fat, 35 g carbs, 5 g dietary fiber, 12 g sugar, 12.7 g of protein. I had a piece for breakfast, it would also be great pre/post workout! Keep refrigerated and eat cold or microwave. Both are awesome.
I think I solved the dry coconut flour pancakes issue yesterday! I wanted lower carb vanilla protein pancakes as my pre-workout, so I made them! Vanilla Coconut Flour Pancakes
- 1/4 (probably about a tablespoon) of vanilla whey protein
- 6 tablespoons liquid egg whites (2 regular egg whites should work)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons low fat cottage cheese
- 5 drops of vanilla creme liquid stevia (or your choice of sweetener)
* You may need to add a bit of water to the batter if it is too dry. Just do a small amount at a time to make it a bit thinner
Mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients in separate bowls well before combining. Cooked on a non-stick pan with non-stick spray or coconut oil. Cook on low heat. Coconut flour can be fussy so be sure to give it time. They can be hard to flip, so let them cook for a while before flipping and you will have much more success. Oh my gosh. These are amazing. So perfect, fluffy, and moist. I topped it with wf calorie free syrup. Simple and seriously perfect.
Finally! We have another lovely chocolatey high protein dessert. Mint Chocolate Yogurt
- 1/2 a cup plain non fat greek yogurt
- 1/2 a scoop of chocolate whey protein
Mix well with sweetener if needed
topped it with shredded organic 85% dark chocolate, unsweetened coconut flakes, and fresh mint leaves. I am so glad I decided to buy mint leaves. They are rather cheap and very nice to have around for some unique flavors.
That's all the recipes I have for today, but I did want to share one last thing that I have been living on for the last several days since I bought it: All Natural Vanilla Creme Liquid Stevia from SweetLeaf. This stuff is like liquid gold (much like Sriracha!). I have been drinking so much water thanks to this little gem. I have always been obsessed with the scent and taste of vanilla. It has always been my favorite. It makes even plain water taste like a dream. I have stopped drinking all diet soda now because of this. It is no calorie, delicious, and worth the price. I was buying packets of Raw Stevia and spending $3-$4 for 50 packets, I bought this for $11.00 and I use it like crazy. Definitely getting this again and I urge you to look it up online or see if your local grocer has it in the organic/natural section. I know they have other flavors online, like Toffee. There you are guys! Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think of any of these recipes.
xo Meg
That's a lot of recipes!! I'll have to try that mug cake...love those! I have seen that stevia but didn't want to spend the money if it sucked..I'll have to try it!
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