Cleaner Shepherd's Pie

A traditional shepherd's pie is made with lamb or beef, as well as corn and potatoes, with additional ingredients depending on what recipe you consider a "real" shepherd's pie. When I look over those traditional recipes, they often lack enough veggies and are pumped full of carbohydrates. In order to reach the right sized portion, with the appropriate amount of macronutrients, I took the traditional recipes, limited the carbs, and increased the vegetables. This cleaner shepherd's pie may be quite different from the recipe that your mother made, however I know that once you give this a try you will understand eliminating the extra fat and carbohydrates, doesn't mean you also eliminate the flavor. And, if you're someone who is looking for new recipes to add to your 21-Day Fix meal preparation rotation, I list your servings and macronutrient counts so you can easily track your meal.

Shepherd’s Pie

1 Protein, 1 Veggie, 1 Carb

(Makes 6 servings)

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups Sweet Potatoes, peeled, cubed and steamed
• 1 tsp. Garlic, minced
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 tsp. EV Olive Oil
• 1 ½ lbs. Lean Ground Turkey
• 1 medium Yellow Onion, diced
• 1 cup Peas, frozen – defrosted
• ½ Summer Squash, sliced into ¼ slices
• ½ Zucchini, sliced into ¼ inch slices
• ½ cup Mushrooms, sliced
• ½ cup Carrots, sliced
• 1 rib Celery, sliced
• ½ tsp. Garlic Powder
• ½ tsp. Onion Powder

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Steam sweet potatoes until soft, or a fork pierces through easily and place in food processor. Add garlic powder, onion powder, pepper to taste, and puree until smooth. Put aside. 

2. Heat 1 tsp. EVOO in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground turkey, salt and pepper to taste, and stir often to break up meat. Cook until no pink remains, about 8 minutes. Drain and discard fat; set turkey aside.

3. In same pan, heat remaining 1 tsp. EVOO on medium-high heat. Add onion, summer squash, zucchini, mushrooms, carrots, celery, salt and pepper to taste, and cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are soft; about 8 minutes.

4. Add turkey back to pan, and stir into vegetables. Add peas. Transfer mixture into a 13 x 9 in. baking dish and cover with whipped sweet potato, spreading out over entire mixture. Bake in oven for 30 minutes.

You may find that this is a bit different in texture from your traditional recipes, but the flavor is great.  It's also packed full of veggies, proteins, and the proper amount of carbohydrates per serving.  I hope you enjoy your cleaner version, and always remember that you can substitute different veggies per your preference. If you don't like mushrooms, substitute a veggie you do like.  There's no sense in eating foods that you don't enjoy!

Maria

Mixed Berry Baked Breakfast Cobbler with Greek Yogurt Topping

The Mixed Berry Baked Breakfast Cobbler is one of my all time favorite breakfast bulk recipes because in a lot of ways it's almost like dessert for breakfast.  Over the last year I have coordinated a lot of Challenge Groups around Clean Eating in combination with the 21-Day Fix portion control macronutrient counts in mind.  This has led to a lot of research on Clean Eating recipes, and how to modify their ingredients to appropriately meet particular macro counts with each serving.  I came across the idea for this recipe from The Eat Clean Diet Cookbook, but totally revamped it so it could be applied to the 21-Day Fix portion control plan.

This meal is a great way to start breakfast, for several different reasons. First off, it has carbs, fruits, and proteins, which means that your going to feel satiated longer, have sustained energy over time, and you'll reach a large amount of marcros in one swoop. Secondly, this recipe is on the sweet side, so if you're someone who misses sweets while you're trying to eat clean, this recipe will help you satisfy some of those cravings.

Mixed Berry Baked Breakfast Cobbler

1 Protein, 1 Fruit, 1 Carb, 1 Seed

(Makes 4 Servings)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup Old Fashioned Oats
• 1 cup 1% Milk
• ½ tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 cup Slivered Almonds
• 1 ½ cup Fresh Strawberries, sliced
• 1 ½ cup Fresh Blueberries
• 1 large MacIntosh Apple, unpeeled, grated
• 4 packets Stevia

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 9 x 9 baking dish with non-stick spray.

2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. If you are preparing this the night before, don’t add the liquid ingredients such as milk and grated apple until the morning.

3. Place mixture in baking dish and bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

GREEK YOGURT TOPPING

(1 Serving)

• ¾ cup Plain Fat-Free Greek Yogurt
• ½ tsp. Cinnamon
• 1 packet Stevia

Mix all ingredients together and top cobbler with your yogurt mix.

A few things to note about this recipe; if you're someone who prefers to use agave, maple syrup, or cane sugar, you're more than welcome to.  I would suggest using about 2 tablespoons of any of those in place of the Stevia. Also, you can control how sweet you want the recipe.  I'm someone who really enjoys sweet food, so I put 1 Stevia per serving of oatmeal, as well as the yogurt topping, but feel free to decrease the sweetener to your taste.  Lastly, the Greek Yogurt Topping recipe is for one serving, so if you want to bulk it in order to have enough for each serving, you need to quadruple the recipe.  I prefer to make it fresh every time I heat up the oatmeal bake, but if you're more successful being totally prepped, you should just plan on making enough for each serving of oatmeal bake. I feel like this is an amazing recipe, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Maria