Clean Eating Slow-Cooker Stuffed Peppers

This one turned out really yummy.  I will definitely make this again.

Ingredients

2 cans of diced tomatoes (I like to use the one with the chili peppers already in there)
1 cup of chopped yellow onion
3 cloves of minced garlic
3 tsp of chili powder
3 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of oregano
Garlic powder to taste
1 cup of fresh cilantro
1 lb of lean ground turkey
1 yellow zucchini chopped
1 jalapeno pepper seeded and sliced
1 can of black beans
4 bell peppers (I used green)

Directions

1) In a food processor blend diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 of the zucchini, 1 tsp of chili powder, 1 tsp of cumin, oregano, and 1/2 of the cilantro until smooth.  Pour half of the mixture into the slow cooker and set the other half aside.

2) In a food processor mix 2 tsp of chili powder, 2 tsp of cumin, the rest of the zucchini, 1 clove of garlic, the rest of the onion, and the rest of the cilantro with a 1/2 cup of water until blended.  Transfer this mixture to a bowl and add the turkey and black beans.  Add garlic powder to taste and mix together.  (If you want to make this recipe slightly less "clean" you can add 2 cups of shredded pepper jack cheese to the mixture also).

3) Cut the tops off the bell peppers and remove the seeds  Place the bell peppers in the slow cooker on top of the tomato mixture.

4) Fill each bell pepper to the top with the turkey mixture.  Top each with a slice of jalapeno and pour the rest of the tomato mixture on top of the stuffed peppers.

5) Cover and cook for 6 hours.

Enjoy!

Healthy Comfort Food...Chili Bake!

Ingredients

1 Tbs olive oil
1 large sweet onion, diced
1 large green or red bell pepper, seeded and diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 tsp salt
1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 14.5 oz cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 6 oz can black olives, drained and chopped
2 cups frozen corn
2 Tbs chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup corn meal
1/2 cup shredded cheese of your choice

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray 9x13 baking dish with olive oil spray and set aside.

2) Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and bell pepper and saute for 4 minutes until soft.  Add garlic, turkey and salt and saute until no pink remains in the meat.

3) Drain meat if necessary and add beans, tomatoes, olives, corn, chili powder, cumin, chili pepper and corn meal and stir gently to mix.  Transfer to baking dish.

4) Cover with cheese and bake uncovered for 40 minutes.

Makes 8 servings at about 286 Calories per serving.

February Slump

It's February and for many people this is the time of the year they lose motivation.  The second week of the month is traditionally the one where the highest percentage of people give up on their New Years resolutions.  It's cold, there is nothing exciting happening and beer and pizza pretty much sound like the best thing in the whole world.  So how do we stop the winter blahs from killing our motivation?  One thing you can do is switch up your workout.  Take that new class that you have been eyeing up or hire a Personal Trainer (my personal favorite ;)) to mix up your workouts and add new challenges.  Even if you know what you're doing and have been working out forever, a Personal Trainer might have some exercises you haven't found in Fitness Magazine or Men's Health.
Another option is to start making goals for the summer.  Decide to do a 5K, half marathon or a century bike ride.  This will give you something to work toward.  If you sign up for a race in May or early June, you should be starting to train for it now.  You can hire a coach or there are many references online to help you train.  If you have never done a race and want to start with a 5K, the Couch Potato to 5K training program might be perfect for you.  Hal Higdon has some wonderful novice to advance running programs and bicycling.com can help you with a cycling training schedule.
Don't forget to keep a close watch on your nutrition too.  It is easy, especially in the winter, to make heavier and more fattening choices when it's dark and freezing out.  These fattier foods tend to increase our serotonin levels which give us a sense of well-being and happiness.  A way to avoid this is to increase your vitamin D levels since we can't get if from the sun in the winter.  The sun is to far away from us and its rays are too weak to penetrate our skin and produce vitamin D.  Light therapy can also help with this.  Another thing you can do is to bundle up and get outside for a walk.  The fresh air and nature with do you good.  
Remember beach bodies are made in the winter!  Avoid the May panic of putting on a swim suit and stick to your goals.