Stuffed Peppers – Halloween Style!

I love stuffed peppers! They are filling, relatively easy to put together and they freeze well (a must in my house!)

AS many of you know I am a coach with Team Beachbody and they are always testing and coming up with great recipes that follow a variety of food/clean eating plans.  The following recipe takes stuffed peppers up a notch by adding a halloween twist!

Here’s an excerpt from the blog post at TeamBeachbody.com

“What I love about this jack-o’-lantern stuffed peppers recipe is that it’s a festive twist on a savory dish that lets my family enjoy the holiday with a little less sugar. They’re a fun Halloween treat to prepare for your kids and something you can feel great about them digging into! The fun part is in carving the bell peppers, which act as edible jack-o’-lanterns. You’ll want a sharp knife for this, and ideally one that’s small enough to make tiny cuts (a paring knife works well). Then you’ll simply carve out little eyes, a nose, and a smile. And ta-da, the hard part is over!”

Here is a link to the full article 

The original recipe contains meat, If you are looking for a lighter version or vegan version this Quinoa Stuffing is a great option.  It has a Tex Mex flavor to it and is basically a chop it, dump it, mix it recipe.  I also have another vegan stuffing recipe that has a balsamic base to it you can find that here.

Quinoa Stuffing
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 27 minutes
Total Time 37 minutes
Servings 16 servings, ⅔ cup each

Ingredients
2 Tbsp . olive oil
1 medium onion , chopped
2 cloves garlic , finely chopped
8 medium celery stalks , chopped (about 4 cups)
2 medium green apples , with peel (about 2 cups)
4 cups low-sodium organic vegetable broth
2 cups dry quinoa , rinsed
1 tsp . sea salt
1 tsp . ground cumin
½ tsp . ground black pepper
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
½ cup pine nuts

Instructions
Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes, or until fragrant.
Add celery and apple; cook, stirring frequently, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until tender.
Add broth, quinoa, salt, cumin, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, covered, for 15 minutes, or until most of liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat.
Add cranberries. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
Add cilantro and pine nuts; fluff with fork and serve.

Nutritional Information (per serving):
Calories: 156
Total Fat: 6 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 196 mg
Carbohydrates: 22 g
Fiber: 3 g
Sugars: 6 g
Protein: 4 g

If you follow any of the Team Beachbody workouts with meals plans here is a breakdown of how the quinoa recipe will fit into your day.

P90X/P90X2 Portions
½ Carb
½ Single Serving Snack

P90X3 Portions
½ Protein
1 Carb
½ Fat

Body Beast Portions
½ Protein
1 Starch
½ Fat

21 Day Fix/Extreme/Fixate Containers
1 Yellow
½ Blue

 

Photo Credit goes to Photographs by Anguel Dimov Who photographed for the original blog post

AS always, I’ll see you on the other side!!

Roasted Bell Peppers

So I promised this recipe yesterday, failing to remember the schedule that I keep 🙄!  So here goes, and this is one of those recipes where substitutions are completely acceptable and almost a must!😉 So do what you want with with the ingredient list, add and subtract as your families needs require, also if you make extra filing I’ll give you a couple tips at the end on other ways you can use them!

So here’s what I use in mine:

6-10 Large Bell Peppers – tops removed and finely chopped, seeded

1 Cup Cooked Quinoa

1 – 15oz Can of Rinsed and Drained Black Beans

4 celery Stalks, finely chopped

1 Cup Corn Kernels, can be frozen or canned – I prefer frozen

1/2 Cup chopped Cilantro

1/3 Cup chopped Green Onions

2 cloves Garlic minced

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tbsp Sea Salt

2 tsp Black Pepper

Coconut oil for greasing the baking dish

That is where I stop, but you can add some extras!

1/2 tsp Cumin

1/8-1/4 Tsp Cayenne Pepper

2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon juice

2-3 seeded and Chopped Tomatoes 

Also if you would prefer stuffed tomatoes, just switch the Bell Pepper and Tomato quantities. This is how I originally found the recipe from Vegan Celebrity Chef Jason Wrobel.

1. Preheat you oven to 375, I have a gas stove that tends to run hot, if yours runs true crank it to 400!

2. Grease a baking dish (or 2) depending on how many peppers you are filling and stand your de-topped peppers in them.  I like to fit them in tightly, this keeps them from falling over in the oven once they are filled

3. In a large mixing bowl combine all other ingredients and mix well.

4. Stuff those Peppers! Don’t over fill though, the filling just dribbles out of the peppers and burns in the pan.  Don’t worry if you have extra filling, we’ll get to that!😉 

  5. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top edges of the peppers start to wilt and the top of the filling starts to brown. 

Don’t mind my dirty stove in the background! I’m Human😉

The best thing about this meal is it is completely vegan, but contains a ton of protein with the black beans and quinoa and lots of nutrients with all the vegetables.  This is a great meal for athletes who need to get food in, but don’t want anything heavy sitting in their stomachs while they train.

So now for that left over filling!  Here are a few ways you could use them:

1. Mix it with rotini noodles, could be served hot or cold
2. Top some salad greens
3. Mix it with a couple tablespoons of your favorite salsa and use it as a dip for corn chips
4. Just eat it as is, hot or cold! Always an “in a hurry” option.

Apple Cider Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Squash

1 ½ lb Butternut Squash – peeled, seeded & cubed

2 large Sweet Potatoes – peeled and cubed