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

Healthy Turkey Meatballs

I'm not going to lie, the part of me that's Italian feels a little guilty about taking the meatball and turning it clean, but I got this recipe from when I did 21-Day Fix Extreme, and they are honestly very good.  This is a great way to substitute bread crumbs with oatmeal, and red meat for ground turkey.  Just remember that meatballs do not make an entire meal, so pair it with some whole grain pasta, or some veggies, or both, but make sure you make it a meal! (And Dad, if you read this, don't be upset that I turned the meatball into a health food...please???)

Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 lbs. 93% lean ground turkey
- 1 tsp. Sea salt or Hymalayan salt
- 1 tsp. dry mustard
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 3/4 c. quick-cooking rolled oats
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 12 fresh parsley sprigs, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp. tomato sauce, no sugar added







Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper, or lightly coat with non-stick spray.

3. Combine turkey, salt, mustard, smoke paprika, egg, oats, garlic, parsley and tomato sauce in a large bowl, and mix well.  (I used a Kitchen Aid mixer, but you can mix by hand.)

4. Roll mixture into 30 1-inch meatballs.  Place on prepared baking sheet.

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until no longer pink in the middle.

Makes 6 servings, 5 meatballs each.

The great part about these meatballs is that you can freeze them, and then defrost and reheat them whenever you want, so you're not committed to eating meatballs three days in a row.  Just remember that if you're pairing these with pasta, you should really only be eating about three servings of carbs per day, around 1/2 cup serving, so don't throw them on top of half a box of pasta and think you're eating healthy.  Portion control, and meal planning are the key to success, so make sure you're aware of what you're putting in your mouth, and also try to get your carbs in early in your day so you have time to burn them.

If you have any questions or comments please contact me at:

www.beachbodycoach.com/mlbarclay
or
mariassuperfittraining@gmail.com

EAT CLEAN. TRAIN MEAN.

Maria

3 Bean Turkey Chili

I had a friend ask me on Facebook if I could share this recipe with her, and I automatically sent her here to my blog, and told her to search under 'turkey' or 'chili'.  Well, turns out, despite the fact that I've made this dozens of times, brought it to Chili Cookoffs, family cookouts, and football games, I somehow have never managed to get it blogged.  WEIRD!  Especially since this is one of my favorite dishes to cook, and one of my favorite fall dishes to eat.

Again this recipe was based off of something I came across on The Eat Clean Diet website, however I never truly followed the recipe, and it's definitely changed and evolved almost every single time that I've made a batch.  I always start with this base recipe that I'm providing here, and then depending on the occasion, or who I am feeding, I might spice it up, or change the toppings to suit the crowd.  What I particularly LOVE about this recipe is that it makes about 8 servings, so it's great to batch for a week, and it really only takes about 20 minutes of working prep time.  Super easy, suuuupppeeerrr yummy!

Ingredients:
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 stalk of celery, diced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, diced (with seeds if you want spice)
- 1 habenero, diced (with seeds for EXTRA heat, or leave this out entirely if you don't want it super spice)
- 1 tbsp. extra-virgin Olive oil
- 1 lb. lean ground turkey
- 1 15 oz. can Red Kidney beans
- 1 15 oz. can Pinto beans
- 1 15 oz. can Black bleans
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 1 1/2 cups tomato puree
- 1 tbsp. tomato paste
- Salt and Pepper to taste
-1 tsp. smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. Red Pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup shredded low-fat Cheddar cheese, divided
- 1/2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt, divided

Directions:
FOOD PREP:
1.  Dice yellow onion, celery, jalapeno pepper, habenero pepper, and chop garlic.  Keep all ingredients separate.
2. Rinse Red Kidney, Pinto, and Black beans and let drain until needed.
COOKING:
3. Heat olive oil in 4-quart pot.  Add onion and garlic, and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes.
4. Add celery, jalabeno, and habenero pepper to pot.  Cook additional 4 minutes.
5. Add ground turkey, salt, pepper, smoke Paprika, cumin, and Red Pepper flakes to pot.  Mix spices in, and break up ground turkey.  Cook until almost all pieces are browned through, about 5-7 minutes.
6. Add tomato paste, tomato puree, chicken stock, and all three types of beans to pot. Stir.
7. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and let simmer for 45 minutes.
8.  Top each serving with a tablespoon of Greek yogurt and low-fat Cheddar cheese.

A couple things to discuss in preparing this dish.  If you like it spicy, keep all of your pepper seeds in, but be aware that when you're cutting peppers, the oils will linger on your hands if you don't make sure to wash them very well.  Therefore, every cut, hang nail, or cracked part of your hand will burn for hours if you're not careful with how you prep them.

Also, I put a separate section for 'food prep' because it is getting everything diced up and ready to go that makes this dish feel super easy to execute.  If you're trying to dice while cooking other ingredients, you'll feel like you running around your kitchen like a madman.  Do youself the favor, dice everything first, rinse your beans, and open all your cans.  You'll be shocked at how fast and easy this dish is when all you have to do is keep adding ingredients to the pot, and stirring.

This is an AWESOME fall dish, and no matter where I bring it, people are usually shocked that it's a healthy dish, because it tastes better than the average beef chili, and doesn't sit quite as heavy in your body.  If you're going to pick just one dish to try on this blog, honestly, this would be the one I suggest.  ENJOY!!

 <3 MARIA

What It Means to Eat Clean on a Menu Plan

The reality is, that even when we are clean eaters, we can still over eat in calories.  This is where I found myself a couple of weeks ago.  It's few and far between that I put a ton of crap in my body (minus out my rare visits to Ugly Omelete, where I absolutely must have their Peanut Butter Chip Pancakes), but the reality hit around last Wednesday when I just knew that I had been over eating.  I had been using my extreme workouts as an excuse to eat what ever portion of food that I desired, and so, I found myself making very little progress with my appearance, and great gains with my actual cardio.  TRAGIC!!!  To spend so much time kicking my own butt, and then to over eat so that I see no results on the outside from it.  Well, c'est la vie! It's over, it's in the past...

Monday I started a Les Mills Challenge Group with a group of girls, some who I currently working with, some who I knew from other restaurants.  Going back to a menu plan was indeed some work.  Just setting it up was a mini project, and then teaching others my process was also a learning experience.  The first week of the Eat Right for the Fight Nutrition Guide is a 7-Day Metabolic Jump-Start Program where women are suggested to eat around 1200 calories and men 1500.

1200 calories for me was like food prison.  With P90X I was eating about 1800-2100 calories a day, never mind that I had been over eating for the last week leading up to that Monday, so you can imagine how that caloric deficit made me feel!  But, I went through the meal plan, set up my meals for the week, and made my grocery list based off of that.  Little did I know, this was going to not only introduce me to some awesome new recipes, but it was going to finally catapult me out of the 'snack' rut that I had been in for months.

What follows is just a brief glimpse of what I ate during our 7-Day Metabolic Jump-Start Plan.  In the end, some meals near the end of the week ended up getting swapped around because I did not want anything to go past it's expiration date.

7-Day Metabolic Jump-Start Plan

	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
BREAKFAST	Rainbow Scramble	Eggs with Smoked Turkey	Pro-Oatmeal	Broccoli and Feta Omelet	Rainbow Scramble	Eggs with Smoked Turkey	Pro-Oatmeal
SNACK 1	PB Toast and Cottage Cheese	Chocolate Green Tea Smoothie	Turkey and Cheese on Rice Cake	Chocolate Green Tea Smoothie	PB Toast and Cottage Cheese	Chocolate Green Tea Smoothie	Turkey and Cheese on Rice Cake
LUNCH	Avocado, Tempeh, and Almond Salad	Brown Rice Bowl	Burger and Salad	Greek Pita Sandwich	Avocado, Tempeh, and Almond Salad	Brown Rice Bowl	Burger and Salad
SNACK 2	Citrus Berry Smoothie	Turkey & Cheese of Rice Cake	Citrus Berry Smoothie	Mediterranean Eggs	Citrus Berry Smoothie	Roast Beef Sandwich	Citrus Berry Smoothie
DINNER	Southwestern Chicken Salad	Grilled Tuna over Mixed Greens	Spicy Tomato and Lentil Soup	Grilled Steak and Arugula Salad	Southwestern Chicken Salad	Grilled Tuna over Mixed Greens	Spicy Tomato and Lentil Soup
Calories	1207	1243	1207	1220	1207	1234	1207

Day 1

Proved to be pretty darn delicious.  Convenience definitely went out the window basically because I had to learn new recipes, prep, and remember how to measure ingredients and use correct portion sizes, but it definitely refreshed my memory on how I had been way over eating! 

Day 2

Again, the food was amazing.  I had never really used Shakeology with Greek Yogurt, and truth be told, I didn't love this recipe, but I like that it included the the metabolic boosters of yogurt and green tea, and for that, I'll make sacrifices on my usual recipe.  Also, my original scheduled snack wasn't Turkey and Cheese on Rice Cake with Raspberries, but I wasn't in the mood for what I had originally put on, so I substituted.  The Tuna salad for dinner was amazing, although I could find Tuna Steak in either of the two grocery stores near me, so I ended up having to use canned tuna.  Still, it was an amazing recipe!

Day 3

LUH-UV the Pro-Oatmeal, although I have to say I was a bit shocked to see just how little the portion size was for it.  I mean, I served it with egg whites and fruit, but still, it didn't even fill the 1 cup ramekin that I had it in, and that was just disappointing!  However, the burger was AMAZING, and the tomato and lentil soup was something I couldn't wait to have again.  

Day 4

This was probably one of my favorite days of meal plans.  I loved that I could have Feta Cheese, in fact I love all cheese, so any cheese is better than no cheese.  Also, I cannot believe how much I like the hard boiled egg whites with the hummus in place of the yolk.  It tasted so much like deviled eggs, that I'm pretty sure it tricked my brain into thinking it actually was deviled eggs.  I was bummed when I realized later in the day that I forgot to put Feta Cheese on my pita. It was still pretty delicious, but I was bummed nonetheless!  And steak on my salad, well, I am a red meat lover, so that was a nice little treat.

Day 5 repeated Day 1's meal plan, and Day 7 repeated Day 3's meal plan, so there were no big surprises there.  Day 6 did have a tiny bit of a change up in that I made the Roast Beef Sandwich (I wish I had done that earlier in the week, it was delicious), and the Grilled Tuna over Mixed Greens got a bit of a remix because of what we had left in the fridge.

Day 6

The Roast Beef Sandwich was amazing, and I ended up modifying the Tuna Salad again because I couldn't find tuna steak, and I put an over easy egg on the salad because I didn't have any hard boiled.  I also used the remainder of some canned tomatoes because I didn't have any fresh tomatoes, and I didn't want to waste what I had already opened.  

I do want to briefly touch on how I felt during this 7-Day Metabolic Jump-Start Plan because I think it's important for other people to realize that this journey is not easy, even for someone who has made the clean eating jump already, and knows how to organize and set up a menu plan, and shopping list.

The first couple days of this Challenge we extremely hard.  The workouts weren't nearly as intense as Asylum, which I had just finished, but the lack of calories really did a number on my energy levels.  I know that the second day at work was a real challenge, not only for myself, but for the other girls who were working that night as well.  We were all hungry, we were all tired, and we were all cranky.  When your body is used to a certain number of calories, and you introduce a new and different workout, you're going to see a reaction in how you function and how you sleep.  FACT.  I found that my Coaching really took place during these first few days when we were all getting in the swing of things, and were struggling to adjust our daily caloric intake.  

Just like my workouts, I approached this caloric deficit day-by-day, crossing off each day on my calendar.  Was I hungry the first couple of days?  ABSOLUTELY, but I trucked on until I was feeling amazing by day four.  I had adjusted to the calories that I was taking in, I was in a rhythm with my meal planning, and I was enjoying being introduced to new recipes.  I had totally fallen into a rut with my clean eating where I was eating the same snack all of the time, and preparing the same meals all of the time because I was getting lazy, and not paying attention to what my body needed.

Below you will find a video on how to transition from the 7-Day Metabolic Jump-Start Plan to the day-to-day menu planning for the remainder of the program.  So, if you're someone who is interested in the program, and is curious what the meal plans are like, or you're someone who's currently doing the program, and needs help moving forward, definitely check it out!

Stay tuned throughout the next couple months, as this journey continues for myself, and my Challenge Group girls.  Who knows, maybe I can get one of them to share their experience with changing over to a new clean eating lifestyle!

Until then, KEEP STRONG.  KEEP MOVING. And, KEEP PUSHING PLAY!!!

Maria

Cinco de Mayo Mexi-Burger

I feel like Joey on Friends.  As I'm looking through my pictures, there has recently been a whole lot of burgers and sandwiches.  I'm not sure where this sudden urge to make sandwiches came from, but apparently, I was feeling the burger/sandwich craving the last couple weeks.  

The idea for this burger came from a recipe book, but morphed into my own little creation when I made my own salsa, and mixed it right into my ground turkey meat.  It made for a very light, citrus-flavored meat, as opposed to traditional savory burger.  

Ingredients:
2 Vine ripe tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp. Cilantro, chopped
1/2 Yellow onion, diced
Zest of 1/2 Lime
Juice of 1/2 Lime
Sea salt and fresh ground Black Pepper
1lb. Ground turkey breast
4 Slices of Mexican cheese, your choice
1 Avocado, sliced
1 Vine ripe tomato, sliced
1 c. Baby spinach
4 Multi-grain Sandwich Flats

Take the first seven ingredients and mix them well in a bowl.  Let them marinate in your fridge for up to one hour.  Then, form them into four patties and either grill them, or pan sear them.  Turkey should be cooked through, so depending on the size of your burgers I would say about 5 minutes on each side.  As Bobby Flay would say, any burger should only be turned once, and don't go squishing down on the poor thing, squeezing all of the yummy juices out of it!  Leave the darn thing alone, flip it, and in the last minute, throw your cheese on to melt.  As with any meat, let your burger rest so that all the juices can get nice and comfy inside your burger. 

Set up your burger "bun" (or muti-grain flats) with your avocado slices, tomato slices, and spinach.  Top it with your Mexi-Burger, and voila, a nice light, refreshing turkey burger, that tastes more like spring, than the weighed-down, greasy BBQ burger you're used to.

On a side note, because there is lime juice, and tomato in the burger, you'll find that they do release a fair amount of juices while you're eating them, so make sure you keep your napkin close by, and don't attempt to make this your lunch while you're driving down 495 in your car.

Turkey Burrito with Avocado Salsa

This is, hands down, my husbands favorite dish that I make.  Yesterday we were on our way to the grocery store, and he was talking about how the fridge had nothing in it.  I replied that it just felt that way because it wasn't jammed full of tupperware.  He replied that there was so much stuff we needed that was missing .  I laughed and asked what was missing.  He then replied, "Well, I know it's missing turkey burritos!" 

And that it was.  The funny thing is, the turkey burrito was born much out of happenstance, where I had all the ingredients, and husband wanted to feel like he was eating "real food."  It pretty much evolved from a turkey scramble (ground turkey mixed with a bunch of different vegetables and rice) to what is now a staple in our household: The Epic Turkey Burrito

Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Wraps
1 lb. Ground Turkey
1 Onion, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
Cajun seasoning and red pepper flakes to taste
I can Black Beans, rinsed
1 c. Quinoa, cooked
1 Roma Tomato, diced
1/2 Avocado, diced
1/4 c. Corn
1 tbsp. Lemon juice
1 Jalapeno, diced
Non-fat cheddar cheese
Non-fat Greek yogurt
1/2 c. Romaine lettuce

I saute the onions first to make sure that they are nice and carmalized.  I then add the ground turkey and cook through, seasoning with salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning and red pepper flakes to taste.  In the meantime I prepare my quinoa to package directions.  When the turkey is cooked through, I add the black beans, and quinoa to the pan and heat until everything is warmed through.

Ahead of time I prepare the Avocado salsa by taking the Roma tomato, avocado, corn, lemon juice, and jalapeno and mixing in a small bowl.  I also add salt and pepper to this to taste. 

To prepare the burrito, I warm the tortilla or wrap in the microwave for 15 seconds, and start to top first with Fat-free Greek yogurt in place of sour cream, lettuce, Non-fat Cheddar cheese, the avocado salsa, and then the turkey mixture.  After this, you just do your best to fit it all in the wrap, and keep a paper towel close by to sop up the mess that result from eating.  

I also love this dish because it makes left overs for at least a day or two, and if you run out of wraps, or just don't feel like adding the extra carbs to the dish, you can always do what husband and I do, which is turn it into, what we like to call, Turkey Burrito Bowl.