Spicy turkey vegetable quinoa

 

That’s right.

This looks so good that I figured it was more beneficial to start this post with a picture rather than words.

If I had to use words to describe this, I think I’d go with “filling but light.” Or “absolutely delicious.” Wouldn’t you agree?

 

This is a super easy meal that comes together in a flash and combines a healthy amount of veggies and protein. Enjoy!

Spicy turkey vegetable quinoa
Serves 4

• 1 lb. ground turkey, cooked
• 3/4 c. quinoa, cooked
• 2 cups peppers (color of choice)
• 1/2 c. corn (I used frozen)
• 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1/2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. paprika

1. Spray a large saucepan with cooking spray. Crumble in your ground turkey and cook until no longer pink.
2. Meanwhile, boil 1 1/2 c. water with 3/4 c. quinoa, stirring frequently until all water is absorbed.
3. Once turkey is almost cooked, add in peppers and corns. Cook for about five minutes until vegetables begin to brown.
4. Add in can of fire-roasted tomatoes and cooked quinoa. Stir in spices.
5. Simmer for about five minutes, until all vegetables are heated through.
6. Enjoy!

How to level up this recipe:

• To make this vegetarian, add 1 can of black beans instead of ground turkey.
• Top with some avocado for a bit of healthy fats.

 

How to level down this recipe:

• Use brown rice instead of quinoa.
• For added flavor, top with salsa and/or a dollop of plain greek yogurt or low-fat sour cream!

A perfect Saturday morning!

My Saturday started off by “sleeping in” (yes, I consider 7:03 sleeping in now…), putting on my running shoes, and setting out for a leisurely Saturday morning run. The weather was absolutely beautiful, so I decided to go sans-iPod which ended being an awesome choice! Four miles = done before 8 a.m.!

 

I showered, whipped up some apple pie pancakes, and then headed out with my friend Leslie for a morning of food shopping! We started off at Whole Foods and then made our way to a local Farmer’s Market, which I was really excited for but it ended up being a big fail in the produce world. (Everything ended up being super expensive — no good!) We finished with a trip to Trader Joe’s where I stocked up on a lot of my typical favorites.

I got home around 12:30, made a quick lunch, and then did some major food prep for the rest of the day — and I have some exciting new recipes to share with you later next week! However, first I want to share a recipe that I’ve been holding on to for a while, and it is a good one…

…and as good as it is, it’s quite difficult to photograph well!

 

Remember when I did some major food prep and promised you the recipe for vegetable crab soup? Well I’m making good on that promise!

Healthy vegetable crab soup
Serves 8

• 1 qt. tomato juice
• 1 can beef broth
• 1 can creamed corn
• 1 can cream of mushroom (OR 1 cup chopped mushrooms + 2 Tbsp. plain greek yogurt)
• 1 large bag soup vegetables
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Old Bay to taste
• 1 can crab (I used Phillips)
• 1 8 oz. package flaked crab

1. Combine all ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours. Enjoy! (Alternatively, you can combine all ingredients in a large pot and cook on stove until heated through.)

I love this recipe because it’s simple, packed with veggies, and makes a ton! I actually froze half of it to enjoy at another time.

How to level up this recipe:

• Add additional vegetables (I often throw in a bag and a half of vegetables instead of just a single bag.)
• This can pack a lot of sodium though, so use as many no salt added or reduced sodium ingredients as possible.

How to level down this recipe:

• If you don’t like certain soup vegetables, feel free to add in whatever vegetables you do like.

 

 

A very berry WIAW!

What’s the best part of summer? The berries!

Okay, well, I”m sure there’s many other things as well, but as a foodie, I’m all about the berries, and today’s What I Ate Wednesday is a testament to that. Not part of the WIAW trend yet? Head over to Peas & Crayons to see what it’s all about! This week’s eats come from yesterday…

Breakfast: (You saw this yesterday!) 1/2 c. oats, 1 Tbsp. chia seeds, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1/3 scoop vanilla protein powder, natural crunchy PB, strawberries and blueberries

Morning snack: Pink lady apple

Lunch: 1/4 c. quinoa with chicken and bean crockpot “chili” + baby carrots on the side

Afternoon snack: 3 oz. plain greek yogurt + 3 oz. black cherry CHO with puffed wheat and oats mixed in (I am loving these mason jars for my yogurt!)

And, then came dinner…

I was planning on photographing a yummy pasta dish that came together fairly quickly yesterday, but it just so happened that my side dish stole the show. I mean, if you put this together, would you be able to resist photographing this plate of summery, clean eating deliciousness?

 

Fresh spinach, sweet strawberries, crunchy walnuts, a dusting of feta…

 

 

I’d love to share the “recipe” per say, but does anyone really measure salad ingredients? Here’s what was in the mix:

• 2 handfuls spinach
• Chopped strawberries
• Small handful of walnuts
• Sprinkle of feta
• Trader Joe’s fat-free balsamic vinaigrette dressing

What’s your favorite part of summer? What’s your favorite “summer” food?

Food preppin’ + a sidenote

After my whirlwind of a weekend, I spent my Sunday night doing some serious food prep…

 

What you see:

• Sliced strawberries for Healthy PB & (Strawberry) J Bowls
• Roasted sweet potatoes
• Pre-packaged baby carrots
• (Slightly burnt) banana egg pancakes (I followed this idea from Detoxinista and baked them…it was a great idea; I just left mine in too long!)
• Vegetable crab soup

This certainly made meals today a snap! I had some vegetable crab soup and baby carrots for lunch, followed by a big salad + roasted sweet potatoes + a healthy PB & J bowl for dinner. Delicious!

Best of all, I made the food while I still had some good lighting, so be on the lookout soon for my vegetable crab soup recipe. It’s full of vegetables, healthy seafood, and can be made within ten minutes. Best of all, I’m only eating for one over here, so it’ll last me all week + another full week of leftovers that I freeze!

Still need some of your own food prep inspiration? Head over to the Lean Green Blog for your daily dose!

—

Sidenote: This week, I am making a conscious effort to really limit refined sugars in my diet. I often don’t blog about that side of my diet, but I’ll often pick at a few chocolate chips, a small piece of leftover cake that I made for the hubby, an extra scoop (or two) of nut butter…you get the idea.

When I was marathon training, it didn’t seem to matter much, but now that I’m a month out, I’ve definitely noticed a difference in my body (and on the scale, too). I certainly don’t want to get fixated on that, but I do know that I want to add some lean muscle and focus on re-toning my body for the summer. I’ll keep you all updated on my progress in this area because I love the accountability that it provides! It’s only Monday, but I’ve successfully gone without any added sugars all day…and I even avoided enjoying a small slice of the double layer chocolate chip peppermint patty cake that I made the hubby last week. (P.S. If you are ready to “splurge,” go make this for yourself now. It’s absolutely phenomenal!)

A WIAW-less Wednesday

This is officially my second Wednesday without doing a WIAW — crazy, I know. I can hardly believe it either.

I’m not sure what my problem is…I recorded a full day of eats both this week and last, but for some reason, really wasn’t feeling like they were WIAW-worthy. In addition, this week has just been so busy so far that blogging was put on the back burner.

I know I’ve been MIA for a few days (and things don’t look like they’re going to slow down at all this weekend), but I did want to check in quickly while I had the chance! (P.S. Now, I am so glad I did all that food prep over last weekend!)

Since I no longer have to adhere to a strict training plan, I spent some time this week mixing it up at the gym! I started off Monday morning with a 20-minute interval workout on the elliptical, followed by a version of my “Feelin’ the burn” leg circuit workout. I added 30 jumping jacks to each round & then did some sprints at the end. It definitely got my heart rate up!

Yesterday morning, I did 5.5 miles before 6:45 a.m. at a local park — and it was daylight the entire time! I. love. summer. weather.

After work yesterday, I headed straight home to PA. I was asked to speak at my high school’s scholarship foundation banquet, which was really exciting! Not quite sure why I have the weirdest look on my face in every single photo though…

 

I was grateful for the opportunity to speak and loved speaking to all of the students afterwards — what I wouldn’t give to be their age and be ready to do college again! Luckily, I had my mom as my date last night…

 

I ended up sleeping in PA last night and getting up early this morning to get back to Delaware by 8:15 for work! (It was a two-hour drive…I am so tired right now. Boo.)

However, today is the hubby’s birthday so once I got home, we headed off to the mall to get him some new clothes as a birthday gift. We eventually decided we were hungry and stopped at a Chic-fil-a on our way home. As far as fast food goes, Chic-fil-a is by far my favorite (I actually don’t eat any other fast food anyways), but I was surprised how great their newest salad was! I had the Market Creation Salad which was made with a mix of romaine and spinach, apples, strawberries, blueberries, carrots, and grilled chicken with a zesty apple vinegrette, which was awesome…

 

I highly recommend it for a fresh option on-the-go!

The rest of this week/weekend is jam packed as well, but I know I’ll be making a few new recipes for Memorial Day Weekend, so I’ll definitely be back to check in with those. And even though I’m slacking on the WIAW front, there’s a ton of great bloggers who aren’t so head over to Peas & Crayons to check out their yummy eats!

Staying healthy in a crazy busy week

Wow…what an incredibly busy weekend!

After a short run of Friday afternoon, Andy and I went to a birthday party Friday night and then spent most of yesterday and today at church for various commitments. However, I had a short break yesterday afternoon and was able to go visit my best friend from home on her graduation day!

Although I missed her actual graduation, I was able to join her and her family for a party back at her house afterwards. Congrats, Michelle — I’m so proud of you!

After a crazy busy weekend, this week likely isn’t going to slow down at all…I have commitments tomorrow until 9:30 and then am speaking at a banquet on Tuesday night back in my hometown, which is about a two hour drive. I plan on staying at home and getting up super early Wednesday morning to drive back for work and then celebrate Andy’s birthday with him!

So, in light of a super busy week, I wanted to do some serious healthy food prep…

 

I made apple almond butter pancakes from Detoxinista, cut up fresh pineapple & strawberries (you better bet I’m having some PB & Strawberry J Bowls this week!),  roasted asparagus, and balsamic glazed white pizza.

Need some of your own inspiration to do some food prep? Head over to the Lean Green Bean Blog…I love reading about what everyone whips up; it inspires me to get creative myself!

 

Food prep Sunday!

How’s your day going? After a pretty busy weekend, I finally had a chance to relax and get some stuff done around the house, including some serious food prep! But first, let’s do a quick weekend recap…

After work on Friday, I headed home and started cooking since Andy’s mom and aunt were heading down for the weekend. I made some turkey burgers with homemade chipotle dressing, roasted asparagus, and fresh strawberries. It was a win all around! We ended the night by making some homemade almond pecan cashew clusters that were a-mazing. Be on the lookout for a step-by-step recipe later this week!

 

Saturday morning, I woke up and had one thing on my mind: running!

I promised myself that I’d take a whole week off after my marathon to rest and recuperate before diving back into any type of activity. Although I walked a few times last week, I did nothing else — no running, no gym, no nothing! I figured I made it six days, so that was good enough for a full rest period! I went out yesterday morning for an “easy” three mile run. I started out at a comfortable pace (8:24 first mile) and ended around 7:56. It felt awesome!

I was back before 8 a.m. so I whipped up some breakfast (egg whites, homemade blueberry banana bread, and strawberries for me), and then took Andy’s mom and aunt up to one of my favorite walking spots. We did two more miles together before heading to our local natural foods store to pick up some stuff.

 

After a quick shower, we went back out for lunch with Andy’s mom, aunt, and other family who joined us. Since it was Mother’s Day Weekend and we figured most restaurants would be super busy, we just hit up our local TGI Friday’s and I decided to have the same thing I had last time I was there — the Sedona Black Bean burger, which is amazing! I need to find a recipe for that…

 

The rest of the afternoon flew by, as I was at church all evening for our service and then a small group leader training.

Today, it was back to church for the morning to help out with a few things…I finally left around 4 p.m. and was able to spend the rest of the night cleaning and doing some major food prep for the week. Check it out!

 

Meals for the week:

• Avocado Black Bean Burgers with roasted sweet potatoes
• Balsamic Chicken Pasta Salad (I followed this recipe for Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad but used TJ’s balsamic vinaigrette dressing instead of Caesar.)
• Banana almond butter bars (I cut them individually and froze most of them for easy, pre-workout snacks.)
• Yogurt “toppings” –> I put together some puffed wheat, sliced almonds, and raw oats to use on Greek yogurt throughout the week

For more food prep ideas, check out the Lean Green Bean Sunday Food Prep Inspiration!

Oh, and happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms and moms-to-be out there!

It exists!

 

 

 

 

 

Bigfoot. The Bermuda Triangle. Healthy and delicious eggplant parmesan. Do these things really exist?

Before I made this recipe, I’d say no way. Okay, well let’s be honest, I don’t know anything about Bigfoot or the Bermuda Triangle, but I know a thing or two about eggplant parm. I mostly know that I love it. And that it’s probably one of the heaviest, greasiest, most unhealthy meals around.

However, it turns out that healthy and delicious eggplant parm really does exist. I promise you…

 

Seriously, people. This stuff is amazing. It even freezes well! I had a whole pan of it to myself since the hubs doesn’t eat eggplant, and although I definitely could have killed the whole pan myself, I figured I probably shouldn’t. Therefore, I wrapped a few servings in aluminum foil and have been able to grab one for a quick meal. Three minutes in the microwave and I get these cheesy, saucy goodness all over again!

I’ll warn you — the ingredient list is pretty long. But, it is so, so worth it! I took a Saturday afternoon to prep and then was able to enjoy it throughout the week.

 

Healthy Eggplant Parmesan
Serves 9
Adapted from Cooking Light 

Eggplant

• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tbsp. water
• 1 1/2 c. whole wheat breadcrumbs
• 1/2 c. Panko
• 1/4 c. fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 large eggplant (or two small eggplants), sliced crosswise into 1/2 in. slices

Filling

• 1/2 c. torn fresh basil (don’t skimp on this — use fresh!) 
• 1/4 c. Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 1/2 tsp. garlic
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 16 oz. container part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 c. sliced mushrooms (optional)

Additional

• 1 24 oz. jar pasta sauce (or tomato sauce with spices added)
• 1 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese (or 8 oz. fresh mozz + 1/2 c. fontina if you prefer)

1. Preheat oven to 375 and spray 13 x 9 glass pan and two baking sheets with cooking spray. 
2. For the eggplant — In one bowl, beat eggs and water. In a separate bowl, pour your Panko and breadcrumbs. Dip eggplant slices into egg mixture, then coat with breadcrumb mixture and lay on a baking sheet. Place approximately one inch apart and bake at 375 for 30 minutes, flipping once.
3. Meanwhile, make your filling by adding together six filling ingredients listed above.
4. When eggplant is finished roasted, place 1/2 c. sauce in bottom of glass pan. Layer half of eggplant slices over sauce and sprinkle with salt. Top with an additional layer of sauce and then half of the cheese filling mixture. Top with about 1/2 c. of mozzarella cheese.
5. Repeat layers once. Top with sauce (to prevent drying out), cover with foil, and place in oven for 35 minutes. Remove, and add remaining cheese to top. Return to oven for about ten minutes or until cheese is melted. Slice and enjoy!

To level up this recipe: 

• I added in mushrooms because I love them, but you could easily add in some sauteed spinach to get in some greens! 

To level down this recipe:

• You could easily use regular breadcrumbs instead of the whole wheat. 

 

It’s a Pinterest Party!

If you head over to The Lean Green Bean today, you’ll see a fun blogger link-up — a Pinterest Party! I’m pumped to participate 🙂

Here’s the deal: Lindsay over at LBG asked us all to put together a post of our five favorite recipes we’d like to see pinned and visit other blogs to pin some of theirs in return. So, let’s get moving! Here are my five favorite pin-able recipes from Levels…

(P.S. Share the love! Pin your favorites and then visit Lindsay’s blog and check out the other blogger pin parties!)

Avocado Cobb Salad with homemade Chipotle Dressing

Chicken and Bean Crockpot Chili 

Slow Cooker Chicken Cheesesteak

Sweet Potato Vegetable Chili

Honey almond flax pancakes

And, a bonus one! (Can I do that? I’m going for it!)

25 Healthy Snacks!

Scenes from this weekend

My very first Larabar…to say I loved it was an understatement! I already bought a few more to enjoy this week.

A wonderfully large summery salad in honor of a warm spring day! In the mix: romaine lettuce, spinach, apple, walnuts, almonds, parmesan cheese, and cucumbers

What a text to wake up to! Come on, Pittsburgh Mother Nature, don’t let me down..

It was Baptism Weekend at my church…which is my very favorite weekend of the year! It’s a big party, and we had over 30 people baptized — that never gets old!

A lovely afternoon run with a friend! My final eight miles…done!

Delicious white pizza…olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette glaze with roma tomatoes, red onion, spinach, and mozzarella.

And finally, this happened…

Rock ‘n’ Roll in Philly with a few friends this fall! 🙂