Hey, guys! I am really sorry that I have been slacking so hard in the blogging department. I am usually pretty busy with work, the gym, cooking, and trying to spend time with my friends before school starts back up and I have to move at the end of the month. Anyway, I am going to try to be more active on here. I want to start posting more recipes since it is easier to type them out here than to constantly be typing them out on instagram.
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.
I also had attempted another little experiment that I ended up loving!
Pistachio "Froyo"
- 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.
Another little experimental success. I needed a post-workout snack one day, so I conjured up a lovely Vanilla Protein Mug Cake.
-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
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 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
Hey guys! I hope where ever you are and what time it is that you are having a great day! Yesterday was a blast. I allowed myself to cheat because honestly, I wanted to. I have been working hard and had a killer workout yesterday morning. I worked on glutes, abs, and did 10 minutes of HIIT cardio. I burned a little over 550 calories. I went a bit overboard at the reception, but now as of today, I am joining in on Josie on Instagram's challenge of no cheats for 2 weeks! I think after how awesome yesterday was and how horrible my stomach felt this morning, this challenge shouldn't be an issue! I really have not had an appetite for most of the day. I think my body is trying to cleanse itself or something. Anyway, some of the cheats I had yesterday were: BBQ pulled pork sandwich on white roll, fish and pork taco, some alcoholic drinks, grilled cheese and tomato soup appetizers, mac and cheese, cupcakes, cookies, a couple other treats. My body was not happy by the end of the night and this morning. I felt a bit guilty about it, and my body felt bloated, but I felt like I deserved it. Now, no cheats for the next 2 weeks!
