Happy & Healthy Monday! Round 5: Santa Fe Turkey Stuffed Peppers

How do you conquer a chilly, cloudy Monday?  

SPICE IT UP with track intervals and a delicious, nutritious supper!

Workout:

24 squats, 24 push-ups, 24 walking lunges, run 400m (sprinting) x 6 rounds

Recipe:

Santa Fe Turkey Stuffed Peppers
Original recipe can be found at: Skinnytaste.com 
Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 1/2 pepper • Calories: 160 • Fat: 3 g • Carbs: 19 g • Fiber: 4 g • Protein: 15.5 g • Sugar: 1 g Sodium: 119 (without salt)

Ingredients:
For the filling:

• 1/2 lb 99% lean ground turkey
• 3/4 cups canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cups frozen corn
• 1 hot pickled serrano pepper, chopped (or jalepeño) more to taste
• 1 large diced tomato
• 1 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp chopped onion
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
• 1 tsp cumin
• kosher salt to taste

For the peppers:

• 3 red bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise
• 1/3 cup reduced sodium, fat free chicken broth
• 9 tbsp shredded reduced-fat Sargento Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 tbsp chopped scallions, for garnish

Directions:
In a large skillet brown the turkey and season with salt. When the turkey is browned, add onion, garlic, black beans, cilantro, serrano pepper, diced tomatoes, and cumin.  Mix well and simmer on low, covered for 20 minutes. Remove lid, add corn and simmer an additional 5 minutes or until all the liquid reduces.

Preheat oven to 350°. Cut peppers in half lengthwise, removing seeds and stem.  

Place peppers, cut side up in an oven-proof dish. Fill each pepper with 1/2-cup turkey mixture. Pour about 1/3 cup water or chicken broth on the bottom of the dish. Cover tight with foil. Bake 45-50 minutes, or until the peppers become soft.  

Remove foil, top each with 1 1/2 tbsp of cheese and bake uncovered an additional 5 minutes.  Top with scallions and serve with reduced-fat sour cream if desired (optional).

Makes 6 servings.

ENJOY Y'ALl!

I’m nothing if not themed.

I absolutely love holidays, I don’t need a reason to celebrate, but I sure do enjoy having one!

Frist allow me to educate you on the origins of St. Patrick's Day...

Who: St Patrick 

Where: Britain, Ireland, Gaul 

What: St. Patrick is recognized for bringing Christianity to Ireland

When: March 17^th is the day we honor Saint Patrick, but March 17^th is neither the date of his birth nor his death.  

Say what?: Patrick's first encounter with Ireland was at the age of sixteen when he was kidnapped and sold into slavery.  As a slave he worked as a shepherd and developed a deep faith in God.  Patrick escaped slavery and fled back to Britain.  He left Britain for Gaul (present day France, Belgium, Italy, and Switzerland) where he studied under bishops.  Patrick felt called to return as a missionary to Ireland where he lived for 30 years converting, baptizing, and founding monasteries.

Why the shamrock: St. Patrick worked as a shepherd and made the correlation between the three leaves of the shamrock representing the holy Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

How about the snakes: He is credited with driving the snakes out of Ireland, but this is considered to be symbolic, the snakes represent pagan beliefs and the conversion to Christianity.

How to celebrate in style...

Retrieve every article of green clothing from your closet.

Bake sugar cookies and dye the dough green.

Make frosting and dye it green.

Dust cookies green sprinkles.

Dye milk green and enjoy with a green cookie.

Dye white wine green…can’t lie, green food dye is magic.

Make green eggs and ham.  

Sautee green pepper, spinach, and broccoli and mix into scrambled green eggs.

Have a side of green apple, green grapes, kiwi, and honeydew melon.

Dye orange juice green (seriously).

Paint your nails green.

Drink a green margarita with extra lime.

Go dancing with your girlfriends!

Cheers y'all!

A sincere thank you to appendicitis and Craigslist

Friends from Duke med school and PT school

Sunday before finals week of my first year of graduate school I sat in Perkins library attempting to study, but stomach cramps and nausea inhibited my ability to concentrate.  I popped a couple Midol because Midol is my "cure-all", zero relief.  I left the library to meet a study group and could only muster the strength to lay on the floor in the fetal position.  I eventually gave up and went home to take a nap.  Pain kept me from sleeping.  I opted for a hot bubble bath, but the bath didn’t cure the pain, it only intensified my lightheadedness.  I was supposed to meet another study group back at the library, but I my bedroom floor was as far as I got.  I called my parents in California, “we can’t do much from 3,000 miles away,” and they instructed me to go to the emergency room.

I underwent blood draws, a CT scan, and a pelvic exam and was diagnosed with appendicitis; last I checked the appendix wasn't in the pelvis, just sayin... 

The surgeon informed me that it was necessary to undergo an appendectomy and therefore would miss my Monday finals.  I didn't just miss Monday, I missed the entire finals week with an extended hospital stay.  The day my classmates started their one-month clinical internships was the day I started 1 of 8 finals and was informed that I would not be allowed to go on my internship to Wilmington (the beach!) due to surgical restrictions.  I would have to make up my internship hours during the two-week summer vacation by working 10-hour days in the hospital and on weekends once class resumed, and thus my wakeboarding trip to Tahoe would be cancelled.  I was not a happy camper; in fact, I threw a pity party and cried.

In the moment when something you desperately want is taken away or you encounter adversity, don’t we all react in a similar manner? (Fingers crossed, I'm not the only one who throws a pity party!)  My tears blurred my vision and I wasn’t able to focus on the blessings of the situation…I was able to make up my finals and was provided with a new option to complete my internship in order to move on to my second year, my appendix didn’t burst, insurance covered all procedures, supportive parents flew out to care for me, friends brought joy and cheer with daily hospital visits, classmates helped me study, and my best guy friend promised me he’d plan a new wakeboarding trip.

My amazing small group girls

Duke curriculum clearly states that you are not able to repeat internship location sites, so I was very excited when I received news that my first five-month internship would be in Wilmington (the beach!).  God upgraded my one-month stay to five-months and He did it by taking the one thing I don’t need – my appendix.  Five months in Wilmington provided me with overwhelming blessings and incredible adventures.  The blessings started with my roommate Holly; I found Holly on Craigslist.  I would not have met Holly during the one-month internship because I had already secured free housing at the hospital.  If I didn’t meet Holly I wouldn’t have met her amazing family (who seem like my 2^nd family), her incredible friends from Raeford and college, her awesome boyfriend (now husband) and the most wonderful and encouraging small group girls.

I must admit I'm embarrassed by the pity party I threw in the hospital, I lost sight of God's goodness and I clung to the plan I thought was best.  Now, I am able to reflect and see God's hand at work.  He is faithful to provide.  He is sovereignly good.  He is always in control, I am called to trust and obey.  He closed one door and opened another, a door that blessed me and forever changed my life.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things (even appendicitis) God words for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”