Ring My Bell

Get it? Ring my bell el el, ring my bell! Anyone? Ok I tried.  Disco may be over but how full I am from this amazing stuffed pepper recipe is not.  Before I go into any detail, let me just say, when buying the peppers for this recipe, buy small peppers, for the love buy small peppers. I obviously went for the biggest most dramatic peppers in the store and I could barely freakin' eat one (although the BF had no problem demolishing the entire thing, I'm not sure if that's a salute to my tremendous cooking or that he was just famished. I'll take it either way).

So here's the deal. I'm trying to make less trips to Whole Foods so I can pay off some of my credit card (my organic, free range, cage free, grass fed, local food issue has gotten quite out of hand). I can get ALMOST as good produce at a regular grocery store even if I don't feel as cool.  That being said, I'm trying to make healthy recipes on a budget and found a cheap, very delicious Stuffed Bell Pepper recipe. I clearly made some skinny modifications but I think it came out pretty damn awesome. Here's the Betty Crocker original recipe.

SP Stuffed Bell Peppers:
- 4 Green Bell Peppers
- 1 lb of the most lean ground beef you can get (prolly could use turkey too)
- 1 cup Homemade Brown Spanish Rice (See this first step in this recipe for the recipe - ha)
- 2 finely grated carrots
- 1 onion
- 1 can of tomato sauce (NOT pasta sauce)
- some sprinkles of your favorite cheese

Directions:

- Pre-heat oven to 350.
- Cut the tops off of each bell pepper (a thin cut) and gut and rinse them.

What's up Action Shot!?!?!?

- boil water in a big ass pot and make sure the water is JUST above the peppers. boil those bad boys for two minutes. (make sure the water is boiled first before you put the pepps in).

- Brown beef with onions. Once cooked add all the other ingredients and 1/2 the can of tomato sauce.

- Stuff peppers with the goodies. Pour the rest of the tomato sauce on them. Cover with some foil and cook for 8 minutes. Take the foil off, sprinkle some cheese then cook for another 15-18.

These bitches are hot so be careful taking them out and eating them.

xo,
zo

Summertime (almost) and the Grillin' is Easy

Truth: I'm not the one actually doing the grilling BUT I am definitely preparing everything.  Ok, that's a lie too - my skinny grilling efforts have been shared but I think that makes it less stressful for all parties and you both can relax a little and spend some QT together.  Awwwww.

Grilling is the perfect way to get great tasting and very healthy dishes.  Plus, sitting outside with a cocktail is pretty spectacular this time of year.  Here’s a recipe that is SUPER simple, low-calorie and pretty damn tasty.  For a side, just grab one of those bagged salads from the store, I added some nuts, avocado and light feta and it was the perfect side to a spring(ish) night. I also got a new Braggs ACV Ginger-Sesame salad dressing and it was AWESOME. Oh, and if you have extra shrimp you can eat it for lunch on a salad the next day! Look at that - healthy recipes AND saving you some dough. 

Grilled Shrimp Skewers:

- ½ teaspoon of cinnamon

- ¼ teaspoon of paprika

- teaspoon of chopped cilantro

- 2 tablespoons lemon and lime juice (each)

- 2 tablespoons of tequila

- 3 tablespoons of EVOO

- 1 red and 1 green bell pepper

- 1 yellow and 1 green zucchini

- ½ Red Onion

- 1 LB of peeled shrimp

Basically, mix all of this together (minus the shrimp and veggies).  Cut the veggies into big slices.  Chuck all the goodies (veggies and shrimp) into a big ass bowl and mix together.  Put your stuff onto skewers, salt and pepper and throw those bad boys onto the grill (3 minutes-ish on each side).

Photo Credit: JG Photography :)

Pair with a nice glass of wine or prosecco. Or even a Skinny Peach!

Xo,

zo

Workday Breakfast III

I've been starting to get up earlier so I can get to work a little earlier and get stuff done while it's still quiet and no one is bothering me.  With that, I need a quicker breakfast that's still nutritious. So, if you need a change from Workday Breakfast I and Workday Breakfast II, here's something new.
What you will need:
- 1/2 Cup Fat-Free Greek Yogurt
- Fruit. I used 1/2 cup of organic blueberries
- Chopped Nuts. I like using almonds or walnuts.
- A little squirt of organic honey (less than a teaspoon, don't get crazy)

You will feel full until your morning snack with this protein packed breakfast.  Yum! I'm hungry just writing about it.

xo,
zo

Workday Breakfast II

As "they" say, "breakfast is the most important meal" and I agree with "them."  If you skip breakfast because you think it will help you shed some lbs, you done made the wrong decision. 

By skipping breakfast you are more likely to over eat over the course of the day. Your body isn't sure when you will get your next meal so it stores more fat AND your metabolism doesn't get started until later and you really don't want that, trust me.

That's why eating a healthy and nutritious breakfast is so important.  If you haven't heard of steel cut oats, you're welcome for the info. Steel cut oats are better than instant oats for two main reasons, they have more cholesterol lowering fiber and they take longer to digest so you stay full for longer.  Usually these oats take around 20-30 minutes to make which is pretty far fetched for a workday. But Trader Joe's makes it way easier by introducing already made, frozen steel cut oats. Pop 'em in the microwave and 4 minutes later you have an amazing breakfast. For even more healthy goodness add a pinch of cinnamon, a teaspoon of all natural peanut butter and blueberries!

I own too many coffee mugs.

Nutrition Facts: 150 cal, 2.5g fat, 7g sugar, 5g protein

xo,
zo

Healthy Hangover Helper

So you're hungover. Headache, little queasy and majorly dehydrated.  What's next? Many people just head straight for grease hoping that it will soak everything up. Although a greasy hashbrown and a bacon, egg and cheese biscuit does taste mighty good, it's not the most nutritious option to help your body heal.

Here are a few healthy hangover tips that will get you on the road to recovery:

1. Hydrating Liquids - I go with Powerade Zero to replenish electrolytes.  It has zero calories which I obviously love and vitamins B3, B6 and B12.  I also drink a small serving of coconut water. Zico tastes good and so does Vita Coco (I like the one with pineapple, it tastes kinda like a Pina Colada). You can pick up a pack at Publix or WholeFoods.  The cool thing about coconut water is it has tons of potassium, zero grams of fat, is usually all natural and has tons of essential electrolytes like sodium, magnesium, calcium, potassium and phosphorous. 
2. Caffeine - This always just helps my headache a little.  Make sure you are not drinking this alone though because caffeine can make you dehydrated so it's best to combine hydrating liquids with this.
3. A nutritious breakfast that's not going to make you barf.  I usually choose Rocky Mountain Toast on low sodium Ezekial bread.  One piece of bread with just the whites and the other the entire egg. Just poke a hole in the bread drop the egg in and cook on both sides.  Ezekial bread is great because it contains no flour but has 4 grains and 4 beans. The eggs provide protein, amino acids and the yolks contain choline which helps regulate the brain, nervous and cardiovascular system.

Take a shower and get some sleep. Cheers to feeling better you party animal!

xo,
zo

HomeSICK

I have a pretty big camping/climbing/hiking trip coming up on Wednesday and after 3 days of

that we are driving to see my fam in the metropolis known as Williamsburg, VA.  In light of this trip I've been taking all of the necessary precautions to NOT get sick (washing my hands, sleeping a lot, eating healthy, getting exercise) but I woke up today and didn't feel super awesome.  I think my body is telling me it's been too long since I've been home. Time to call in the troops.

See below for my go-to list of things to ingest to ward off the sick monster.

- Ardens Garden Grand Slams. The benefits of this little drink are huge. These little shots detoxify, fight illness and boost your immune system. A grand slam is a shot of Wheatgrass Juice, Ginger, Lemon Juice and Cranberry Juice.  Each of the 1oz shots have their own awesome qualities filled with vitamins to keep you healthy. Note: I ask for a pineapple juice chaser for after.

 

- Green Tea, Green Tea and more Green Tea.  Major antioxidants.
- Odwalla Mo'Beta (Antioxidants, Beta Carotene, Vitamins C & E)

- Water (tons of it)
- I've also heard that chewing on raw garlic helps.  Maybe I'll try that tonight.
- Mom's chicken & matzoh ball soup (hopefully I will be better by the time I'm  home but this marvelous concoction works EVERY time).

Wish me luck.

xo,
zo

Workday Breakfast

As much as I would like to cook a full breakfast during the work week, 80% of the time it doesn't happen.  What can I say, I like sleep more than I like scrambled eggs.

So this breakfast isn't some grand concoction or Top Chef recipe.  BUT it's super easy, takes about 5 minutes to make and provides some healthy goodies that will keep you satisfied throughout the morning.  It is packed with fiber (that will keep you from getting hungry later), tons of antioxidants, protein and doesn't taste like cardboard (yessss)!  Ok, so it's a fancy cereal recipe and I thought twice about putting a cereal suggestion up as my first recipe, but really, who doesn't love cereal!?!?  Also, every book I've read gives me all of these delicious but super time consuming breakfast recipes so I figured I'd give you guys what I really eat.  That's what this is all about right?

What you'll need:
- 3/4 cup of Kashi GoLean Crunch (190 calories, 3g fat, 9g protein, 8g fiber)
- 1 cup Almond Breeze unsweetened vanilla almond milk. Less than 1/3 the calories of skim milk. (40 calories, 3.5g fat, 1g protein)
- 1/4 cup of washed organic blueberries
- 3 washed and quartered organic strawberries
Optional: If you would like more protein, just sprinkle some whey protein on top!

Probably should have washed my counters but how good does all of that fruit look!

Like I said, I'm no Emeril, but BAM this breakfast is Yum-ee. Plus, when I eat healthy breakfasts it helps me make smarter decisions throughout the day!

xo,
zo