Breakfast

Here is a typical breakfast in our house - 

two eggs with a variety of veggies, sea salt, and black pepper

turkey sausage

Turkey Lettuce Wraps

I found a recipe for Turkey Lettuce Wraps on skinnytaste.com and changed it a bit to work as an appropriate meal on the 24 day challenge.  

Ingredients: 

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1.3 lbs extra lean ground turkey
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp bell pepper, chopped
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• 8 large lettuce leaves from Iceberg lettuce

Directions: 

Brown turkey in a large skillet with extra virgin olive oil. When no longer pink add dry seasoning and mix well.  Add onion, pepper, and tomato.  Mix and cover. Simmer on low for about 20 minutes.

Wash and dry the lettuce. Place meat in the center of leaf.

Texas Caviar

Thanks for this recipe, Heather!

2 avocados, diced
1 tomato, diced
4 gr onions, chopped
cilantro, to taste
1 can of corn (drained)
1 can of black eyed peas (drained)
1 Clove of garlic or 1 tsp pre-minced garlic
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs lemon juice
1/2 tbs red wine vinegar
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients

Let sit in fridge for about 3 hrs to let the flavors set 

Sweet Potato Wedges

Love fries?  Here's a healthy, tasty alternative.  

We had these with bun-less guacamole burgers tonight!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

 Cut 2-3 sweet potatoes into wedges

Put in large ziploc bag

Add 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Chop fresh rosemary (to taste) and add to bag

Close bag and shake so all wedges are covered 

Cover a baking sheet with nonstick tin foil (saves in clean up later)

Spread wedges on baking sheet and bake about 30 minutes

Flip wedges 1/2 way through cooking time.

Spicy Speedy Stuffed Peppers

Recipe from Everyday Paleo
by Sarah Fragoso

While this recipe is AMAZING, I didn't find anything "speedy" about it.

Ingredients:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

3 celery stalks, finely chopped

3 carrots, finely chopped

1 1/2 pounds italian pork sausage

1 pound lean ground beef

2 tbs dried oregano

1 tbs garlic powder

sea salt and black pepper to taste

1 yellow crookneck squash, finely chopped

3 cups fresh basil, chopped

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes

5-6 bell peppers

1 tbs hot sauce (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Fill large pot with water and bring to a boil.

3. While waiting for water to boil, put 4 tbs extra virgin olive oil in another large pan.  Saute the onion, celery, and carrots until the onions become translucent.

4. Crumble in the sausage and ground beef and add the dried seasonings and the hot sauce if desired to the meat before its entirely cooked.

5. Add the yellow crookneck, basil, and tomatoes, mix well, and let the meat and veggies cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for another 10-15 minutes.

6. In the meantime, remove just the tops of the bell peppers and rinse well to remove all the seeds. 

7. By now the water should be boiling.  Place the bell peppers gently into the boiling water and submerge them for 5-6 minutes or until the bell peppers are just a little soft but not falling apart. 

8.  Pull the bell peppers out of the water with tongs and arrange in a large glass baking dish.  Fill each bell pepper with the meat mixture (don't be shy, stuff em good!) and bake in your preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Grilled Chicken Spinach Salad

Grill or bake a large package of chicken early in the week.  Refrigerate it to have protein ready to go.  This meal came together in under 5 minutes since we already had grilled chicken prepared in the fridge!

We had baby spinach, raw carrots and cucumber, sunflower seed kernals, grilled chicken, fresh black pepper and a light balsamic vinaigrette dressing

Grilled Kabobs with Asparagus

Kabobs are one of our favorite things to grill and are 24 day challenge meal approved!  

Make kabobs using chicken (add steak if desired) and a varienty of vegetables.  We used green peppers and unions, but you could easily add cherry tomatoes and mushrooms.  You could even add pineapple for a delicious twist!  

Salt free Mrs.Dash seasons are a good option for seasoning.  You could also use items like lemon pepper, sea salt, black pepper, etc.  

 If you are short on time around dinner, these can be prepared the day prior or earlier in the day.  

 Asparagus is an easy side dish.  We lightly brushed with olive oil and added a little black pepper and garlic salt.

 Tip: Throw leftover chicken/steak on the grill to refrigerate for use on salads later in the week!

Dinner is served!

Butternut Squash Soup

It's a cold, rainy day in Upstate NY - the perfect weather for soup…

Recipe adapted from Everyday Paleo by Sarah Fragoso

 Ingredients:

2 Butternut squash

2 garlic cloves (or 2 tsp preprepared minced garlic)

1 white onion

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

black pepper to taste

 Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Cut butternut squash in half and scoop out seeds

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes-1 hr 

(I flipped them over 1/2 way though)

Remove from oven and scoop squash out of skin

 Add garlic and onion in a food processor (I don't have one so I used my blender) with the squash and process until completely smooth.  (I had a hard time getting mine smooth without any liquid, so I added about a 1/2 cup of the chicken broth to the blender to help).

 Transfer to a large soup pot and add the remaining ingredients.  Mix well and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Turn down to low and let the soup simmer, stirring often for 10-15 minutes.

Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

 

Enjoy!

Dinner Recipe: "Spaghetti"

Make a family favorite with spaghetti squash instead of pasta!

For our family of 4, plus lunch leftovers, we used the following recipe:  

Noodles:

Cut two small spaghetti squash in half, scoop out the seeds, and baked them at 375 degrees for 1 hour.  I put about a 1/2 cup of water in the pan and set the squash upside down.  When they are done you just put a fork in it and twist. It magically comes out just like spaghetti noodles! 

Sauce:

1 cup onion, diced

1/4 cup bell pepper, diced

1 pound lean ground beef (we used 93% lean)
1 jar of marinara sauce (option: get a flavored variety of sauce to your liking)
1 clove garlic, diced (or 1 tsp pre diced garlic from the jar)
Oregano seasoning to taste (we used about a teaspoon)
Salt (we used sea salt) and pepper to taste. 


Heat pan with a splash of extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil.  Add everything but the marinara sauce and cook until meat is browned and veggies are cooked.  Drain off any fat.  Add marinara sauce.  Simmer until squash is ready, stirring occasionally.


Delish! Got the idea from a Savannah friend.