I think I'm doing this...plus, RP's Turkey Enchiladas with Quinoa

It seems like there's a lot of interest in Meg's Meals (do I need to come up with a different name?) and I'm working out the kinks on making it a reality. I'm trying to put together complete meals and using some my friends from my box to test them out. So far, so good! One of the meals that I made was from the Renaissance Periodization Cookbook and got really good reviews.  I added a few extra spices, but basically stayed true to the original recipe. They would prefer that you go to their link if you would like the details. ;-) I also made up a side of quinoa, which I haven't used much of, so I'm glad that it was well received (even Harper ate it!). 

Mexican QuinoaMakes 8 servings: 104 cal/5P/21C(18net)/1F

184 grams whole grain quinoa60 grams chopped onions60 grams chopped bell pepper2 TBS lime juice1 TBS chili powder1TBS cumin powder1 tsp salt1 tsp ground black pepper

Make quinoa according to package directions. Meanwhile, saute peppers and onions in a large sauce pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray until tender. Add quinoa and spices and combine.

Meg's Meals...plus Stuffed Peppers, RP Style

I've always been a big advocate of meal prep (going back to way before I started this blog however many years ago). It's not that difficult, it just takes some planning and a chunk of time to devote to it. An added challenge when doing RP is being able to keep track of your macros and tweaking things to make it "fit". I'm working on trying to figure out how to offer my services (Meg's Meals?) for meal prep in a way that a) I won't go crazy and still enjoy doing it for my own family b) it makes it worth my time and c) is streamlined and simplified. In doing so, I've enlisted the help of a few guinea pigs at my box to test out recipes. Today's meal is an updated version of the Stuffed Peppers I used to do while we were deep into Paleo.  Let me know how you like it!

Stuffed Peppers, RP Style

Makes 8
Each pepper: 404 calories/34P/56C (46net)/9F

8 green bell peppers, tops cut off and de-seeded
1.5 lbs 93% lean ground beef
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
4 oz yellow onion, chopped
4 oz celery, chopped
4 oz can mushrooms, drained
2 cups riced cauliflower
16 oz sweet potato, peeled, boiled and mashed (helps to bind mixture)
1.25 cups reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese

Cut tops off of bell peppers and de-seed (I chop up the tops and save them for other uses). Fill a large pot with about 1 inch of water and place peppers in (cut side up). Bring to a boil and steam for about 5 minutes. Remove from pot and slice each pepper in half (you might need to let it cool first) and place in casserole dish.

Meanwhile, brown ground beef in a large saucepan. Season with spices and add onions, celery, mushrooms, and cauliflower. Saute until soft and then add mashed sweet potato.

Fill each pepper half with 3 oz of filling and top with 18g of cheese (if you're not counting macros, then you don't have to be so exact). At this point you can cover and refrigerate until you're ready to eat 'em. Back at 350 for about 20 minutes, until filling is heated through and cheese is melted (probably longer if they've been refrigerated, but keep an eye on the cheese).

I served mine with roasted red onions and broccoli (lightly mist with coconut cooking spray, S&P, garlic powder). If you need to add fats, guacamole would be really good added to them!

So....It's been a while.....and Meg's Muffins.

I didn't realize that it's been so long since my last post. Over a year. No real reason other than the fact that I haven't been very creative in the kitchen and because, well, life.
Over the last few months I've made a lot of changes to my nutrition and fitness program. I joined a new CrossFit box (Arkaios CrossFit holla!) and have started using Renaissance Periodization's auto templates for my diet, as well as adding in one of their physique templates (bro lifting, lol). I finally feel well fed, my performance is improving, my body seems to be changing for the better, and most importantly, I'm having fun. In doing so, I'm still eating mostly whole foods, but concentrating more on macros and timing. I'm going to attempt to write more regularly here, especially as I go into a maintenance phase of the program.
One of the things that I make regularly are these little muffins. They're from Kodiak Cakes, but I tweaked the recipe a bit to make it a little more macro-friendly.

Meg's Muffins (makes 18)

2 Cups, Kodiak Pancake and Waffle Mix
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (could use regular milk, but macros would be different)
10 oz ripe banana, mashed (about 2 bananas)
2 eggwhites
1/4 c coconut oil
1/2 c raw coconut crystals
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life)

Mix everything up in a large bowl. Line muffin cups with liners (the foil ones work the best) and fill. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. That's it!

Per muffin: 158 cal/ 20g carb/ 6g protein/ 8g fat