Healthy Dirty Rice

We have several Life Group members doing the Advocare challenge, so that was our food theme for Life Group a couple weeks ago! This recipe was great, and I will absolutely make it again!

Adapted from: My Body My Kitchen 

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2- 2 Cups Brown Rice
2 lb 93/7 Ground Turkey
1 Cup Red Bell Peppers, chopped
1 Cup Yellow Bell Pepper, chopped
1 bunch of Green Onions, chopped
1/2 Red Onion, chopped
1/4 Cup Cilantro, chopped
4 Tbsp minced garlic
1/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
2 Tbsp Olive Oil or Coconut Oil
1/4 Tsp Chili Powder
1/4 Tsp Pepper Flakes
2 Tsp Cinnamon
2 Tsp Cumin
Salt & Black Pepper to taste

METHOD
1. Cook rice according to package directions. 
2. While rice is cooking, heat oil in large skillet on medium heat; sautee garlic, green and red onions for about 2 minutes.  Add ground turkey and cook for about 10 minutes until turkey is fully cooked and brown; stir frequently and continuously break large chunks of  turkey into smaller pieces.
3. Stir in bell peppers, pepper flakes, spices and thyme.
4. Add cooked rice and cilantro to turkey mixture and mix well.
5. Add salt pepper to taste.

Taco Zucchini Boats

Copied from: Skinny Taste

Taco Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Skinnytaste.com
Servings: 4  • Size: 2 halves  • Old Points: 6 pts • Weight Watcher Points+: 7 pt
Calories: 286 • Fat: 12 g • Carb: 18 g • Fiber: 5 g • Protein: 28 g • Sugar: 6 g
Cholest: 8 mg

Ingredients:

• 4 medium (32 ounces) zucchinis, cut in half lengthwise
• 1/2 cup mild salsa
• 1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 small onion, minced
• 2 tbsp bell pepper, minced
• 4 oz can tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup reduced fat Mexican blend shredded cheese (Omit for Paleo)
• 1/4 cup chopped scallions or cilantro, for topping

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place 1/4 cup of salsa in the bottom of a large baking dish.

Using a small spoon or melon baller, hollow out the center of the zucchini halves, leaving 1/4-inch thick shell on each half. Chop the scooped out flesh of the zucchini in small pieces and set aside 3/4 of a cup to add to the taco filling, (squeeze excess water with a paper towel) discarding the rest or save to use in another recipe. Drop zucchini halves in boiling water and cook 1 minute. Remove from water.

Brown turkey in a large skillet, breaking up while it cooks. When no longer pink add the spices and mix well. Add the onion, bell pepper, reserved zucchini, tomato sauce and water. Stir and cover, simmer on low for about 20 minutes.

 Using a spoon, fill the hollowed zucchini boats dividing the taco meat equally, about 1/3 cup in each, pressing firmly. Top each with 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese. Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes until cheese is melted and zucchini is cooked through. Top with scallions and serve with salsa on the side.

Turkey Meatloaf with BBQ Sauce

 I can't say enough about this one! Billie and I both loved it, and I'm planning to make it again soon. I served it with a side of steamed broccoli and cauliflower mash.

Recipe copied from: Paleo Newbie (Her pictures are way prettier!) :)

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of ground beef –OR– 2 lbs of ground turkey
• 3 eggs, whisked
• 1/2 cup almond flour (I omitted this to save on calories)
• 1/2 onion, chopped small
• 1 (10 oz) package of frozen spinach, thawed and water drained
• 1/2 of a red bell pepper, chopped small
• 1/2 cup of my Tangy Paleo BBQ Sauce (I use Organicville brand-- so delicious! Also cut the amount to 1/4 cup only)
• 1 tsp of chili powder
• tsp of salt
• 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1 tsp of oregano
• 1 tsp of thyme
• 1/2 tsp of cayenne
• 2 tbs of olive oil (to sauté vegetables)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F
2. Sauté onions and peppers over medium heat in a saucepan with 2 tbs of olive oil just until tender
3. Add spinach, garlic, and spices to the sautéed vegetables in the pan, stir gently
4. Remove saucepan with vegetables from heat, set aside
5. Put uncooked ground beef (or) ground turkey in a large bowl
6. Pour the whisked eggs and almond flour and mix into the ground meat with your hands - no need to overdo it
7. Now take veggies from the saucepan and pour into bowl
8. Once again, mix the vegetables into the meat with your hands
9. Now form mixture into a loaf shape and center in a loaf pan or meatloaf pan – it should be a little smaller than the size of the pan
10. Finally, pour over the BBQ sauce or ketchup to cover top and sides of the meatloaf
11. Cook about 1 hr to 1 hr 15 minutes. (One hour was plenty for mine!) Oven cooking times may vary. If you have a meat thermometer, the internal temperature of the meatloaf should reach 155º F. Avoid overcooking!
12. Remove from oven and allow to set for about 10 minutes before slicing
13. Add extra BBQ or your own sauce as desired
14. Serve hot and enjoy!

Paleo Club Sandwhich Wraps

I've seen this idea before, but when I saw the picture in the Against All Grain cookbook, I decided I had to try it out! My pictures didn't turn out quite as pretty, but it was still delicious!! :) We will make these again really soon!

 You need:
-lettuce (I used iceberg)
-bacon
-thick-sliced deli meat (ham or turkey or chicken)
-tomato slices
-avocado slices
-paleo mayo (I blended in fresh minced garlic and parsley to make it herb-y!)

Stuffed sweet potato

Another recipe from the PaleOmg website. Surprise, surprise huh? :)

We loved this! I will definitely make it again. At first, I was skeptical about using ground turkey. But the seasonings made it SO tasty... onion, garlic, hot sauce, cayenne. Perfect.

Here's the recipe!

Clean it Up Mondays: Turkey and Spinach Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Prep time:  45 mins

Cook time:  10 mins

Total time:  55 mins

Serves: 2 (I double the recipe so we could have left-overs for lunch tomorrow.) 

Ingredients

• 2 sweet potatoes or yam, holes poked throughout with a fork
• 2 tablespoons bacon fat (I used olive oil)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• ½ pound ground turkey (or more, if you would like)
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 5-6 cups fresh spinach
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Poke holes in sweet potatoes and wrap in foil. Place in oven and bake for 45-50 minutes.
3. Once the sweet potatoes have about 10 minutes left to cook, add 2 tablespoons of bacon fat to a large pan over medium-high heat.
4. Add minced garlic cloves to the pan then add the onions.
5. Once onions are translucent, add ground turkey and break up with a wooden spoon.
6. While the turkey is cooking, add hot sauce, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper to the meat and mix.
7. When turkey is pretty much done cooking, add spinach and cover to help the spinach steam, then mix with the meat.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste, then remove from heat.
9. When the sweet potatoes are done cooking, cut open and mash insides up with a fork. Then add the turkey mixture to the inside. (I had two slices of cooked bacon left-over from something, so we threw them on top.)