Recipe post! I have a little obsession with Mexican style spicy foods, (even though they wreak havoc on my digestive system) it’s just my go-to taste when it comes to food. So, I decided to make a lean and green dinner using ground turkey meat, my own ‘taco seasoning’ (because the pre-packaged ones all contain MSG) and mixed greens.

Lean and Green Turkey Taco Salad: (individual serving)

Ingredients:

• 5 oz extra lean ground turkey
• 1 tbs of water
• 2 tbs Greek yogurt
• 3 tbs Pico de gallo
• 1/4 cup Cannellini beans or bean of choice
• Taco Seasoning: chili powder, cayenne, paprika, garlic powder and cumin
• Salt & Pepper
• 1/2 an Avocado

I took 5 oz of meat and a tbs of water and let it cook over medium heat until it turned a little white. Then I added the taco seasoning (which happened to be way too spicy because I used too much chili powder for a single serving)

Next, add in the pico and Greek yogurt ( in this case it’s a substitute for sour cream – you really can’t even taste the difference)

Lastly, add in the beans for a few more minutes so they can heat up

Finishing touches: in a bowl add in your mixed greens of choice, a little more pico, add in the taco meat and top off with avocado slices!

Such a quick, easy and delicious meal! You don’t even need dressing because the pico does a fine job.  Lean clean and green dinner coming right up!

PS: I managed to crank out a 40 minute low intensity elliptical workout, thanks to my friend Nina who motivated me to meet up with her! Workout buddies really do come in handy

Despite feeling exhausted last night I knew I needed to do some cooking for the week. I went grocery shopping on Sunday and stocked up on all my favorite goodies to better prepare since last week was an epic fail.

Stuffed Green Peppers:

• 1 lb organic lean ground beef
• 1 package sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 a bag of baby spinach
• 1/2 a small white onion
• 1 cup of black beans
• 3 medium sized green peppers
• 1 clove of garlic
• EVOO
• Spices: S&P, cayenne, chili powder, garlic salt

Sautee your mushrooms and spinach over medium heat with some salt and pepper once those are done move them aside. In the same skillet drizzle some EVOO, the ground beef and spices of choice. Once the meat has browned a little throw in the onion and garlic.

After it is almost fully cooked ( I don’t really measure time I just look at it) add in the sauteed spinach and mushrooms and beans (can also substitute beans with quinoa or brown rice). Keep heat at medium and reduce to simmer.

While this is still cooking grab your peppers, slice off the top and clean out the inside. Also, be sure to have your oven pre-heating at 350°

When the mixture is done cooking, fill each pepper and top with some organic reduced fat shredded cheese (optional.)

Then place the tops on the pepper and throw them in the oven for 15-20 minutes depending on if you want your pepper crunchy or soft. I only used three peppers and I had about 2 cups leftover of mixture which you can just wrap up in lettuce or whole grain tortilla!

Voila! Dinner is served.

While I was preparing this meal for the week I also grabbed two bags of frozen brussel sprouts and roasted them in the oven with a little EVOO, Parm and 2 strips of Boar’s Head Bacon. I ended up slicing them in half and let them roast a little more because I like them crispier. I’m all about efficiency here

Now there’s no excuse to not eat home cooked meals this week!

Free at last! In honor of this fabulous day I’d like to share another recipe that I found from the same blog I cited yesterday.

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes – Paleo Style

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 tbsp coconut milk
• 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• Cinnamon to taste
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• Earth Balance

Nutrition Facts: (Makes 4 pancakes)

Pumpkin Season

Fall is – by far- my favorite season of all and it’s right around the corner!  I can’t help but think of warm pumpkin spice lattes – thank you, Starbucks. Just about anything pumpkin, really. Everything – from the weather, to the color of the leaves, to the food, to the fashion – and dare not forget, HALLOWEEN!!! Fall – is - just – fabulous!

This fall, I want to set some goals for myself- but before I go into those, I want to talk more about fall and how we can make it the most fabulous one yet! I don’t know about you, but this Summer felt like one big BBQ. I love-love bbq’s, but my scale… not so much! The time is now. The time to kick into high gear because before you know it, it’s Thanksgiving dinner and you’re wearing sweats at your aunt’s house because you have muffin top in every other pair of pants that you own! T-N-O.

One of the dietary theories I learned about in school, was Ayuverda. According to Ayuverda, there are three seasons: Fall-Winter, Spring and Summer. So, the basic principle is to eat what’s in season. Sounds obvious, right? Well, it’s so incredibly easy now-a-days to do just the opposite. When you go into a grocery store, you will find products from all over the world and that’s why you see some fruits and vegetables available all year round. Let’s think about this logically. Why do we eat watermelon in the summer and not in the winter? You’re thinking – easy… because watermelon is cooling and refreshing, so it wouldn’t make sense to eat it in the winter when you want to stay warm. Well, you’re exactly right. (You guys are so brilliant)! That my friends is, essentially, all there is to it. Eat in season. Simple. Mother earth has created a system and every single fruit and vegetable grows in a specific season for a reason! (rhyme was not on purpose- cute though).

One of my goals- and should be yours too- this fall, is to eat more seasonal foods. Unprocessed, of course. Here is a site that lists the top ten autumn comfort foods (thanks for sharing, Renata) along with a brief nutritional description. This list is just the “comfort foods,” but there are other in-season veggies too, like one of my personal fav’s: squash! (I make squash fries all the time – slice, spice, and bake. done). Here is a link to a printable grocery list.

Below are the comfort foods listed out:

1. Apples (Green have the lowest GI)

2. Cranberries

3. Pumpkin (mix it into your oatmeal- quick and easy!)

4. Garlic (pick the right time and place for this one, peeps)

5. Ginger

6. Parsnips (Link takes you to a great parsnip fries recipe – from a blog I love)

7. Kale (Basic Kale chips recipe- amaze)

8. Sweet Potato (Make sweet potato fries- notice the fries theme)

9. Cinnamon (Amazing spice. Helps speed up metabolism too! Use in everything.)

10. Pepper

My next goal this fall, is to register for my first 5k race! That’s the other great thing about fall – there are so many races coming up (or maybe I’m just more aware of them now.) Fortunately for me, my fabulous friends agreed to join me, which makes it that much more fun and exciting! Plus, you’re giving back - always wonderful Now, I’ve been pretty active this summer because I do sit behind a computer for 8 hours, and it’s super easy to pack on the lbs, but in order to get into this whole race thing, I plan to kick up my workout routine to 6 days a week and adding more runs.  I know, I know… working out isn’t that pleasant for most people- including myself, but when you want something you need to work for it. Period. So do what you gotta do… brainwash yourself and go into – what my friend Lea likes to call- ”robo-mode” (it works.) Another great trick is positive reinforcement (thank you, my psychologist friend, Nina.) I put a sticker on my calendar for every day that I workout and it really helps! Try it if you don’t believe me

My ultimate goal is to run 3 miles in 30 minutes, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves now. I’ll be updating you all on my workouts and seasonal foods that I incorporate into my health kick this fall. Doing that also keeps me accountable because I can be quite the cheater – but at least I’m not quite the liar  My final “goal”, is to come up with a fantastic halloween costume!

What are some of your favorite fall foods? What do you plan to do this fall to kick into high gear? And most importantly, what are you going to be for halloween?!  Let me know!

PS: I didn’t forget about fall fashion. Lets be serious- that gets it’s own post!

*Vicky