Sweet Potato + Spinach Quesadilla

Alright, Christmas is over. The holidays are coming to a close. Regret may be starting to set in, vows and resolutions to eat better, work out more, clean up your lifestyle.

As ever, we are here to help. But let's not go crazy. You can't go from sugar & carbohydrate overload to cold turkey. (Literally, just straight turkey isn't going to do it for you after a season of indulgence.) A steady diet of salads and steamed vegetables sounds like a good idea, and is definitely nutritionally what your body probably needs right now, but starving yourself or denying yourself will lead more surely toward diet destruction and 'giving up' all of your grand plans. 

Today's recipe is a few important steps in the right-eating direction, while still being delicious, satisfying and best of all-nutrient dense. The new year is a great time to make changes in your health, but take baby steps. Too much all at once can be self-defeating, and the most important thing about any diet or exercise plan is that it succeeds long term.

Sweet Potato and Spinach Quesadillas

Gather

2 medium sweet potatoes, baked + soft (1 pound total)
1 cup red-wine vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
4 black peppercorns
1 large red onion, sliced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
5 cups fresh baby spinach (4 oz)
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella
4 teaspoons olive oil

Method:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, and peppercorns; bring to a boil and stir to dissolve sugar. Place onion slices in a medium heatproof bowl; pour hot vinegar mixture over onion and let stand 10 minutes. Drain onion slices and transfer to a plate to cool.

3. Split cooked potatoes open with a knife; remove orange flesh and transfer to a bowl--there should be about 1 cup. Use a fork to mash potato with salt and pepper; divide potato filling among 4 tortillas. Top each with 1 cup spinach, 1/4 cups of cheese, and second tortilla.

4. Set a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, heat 1 teaspoon oil and transfer 1 quesadilla to skillet; cook until quesadilla is crisp and cheese is melted (about 3 minutes per side). Transfer cooked quesadilla to serving plate. Repeat with remaining oil and quesadillas. Cut quesadillas in quarters and serve each with 1/4 cup pickled onions.

Enjoy and remember, start slow and gain momentum. Let's make 2015 your best year yet! 

Glazed Pork and Fresh Plums

Mid-June already? Where has the time gone?! But with this warm weather, we have a lot of fresh fruit in season that is perfect for some summer cooking. Not the least of which is today's delicious recipe, Pork and Plums.

This recipe could also be made with chicken, but if you're bored of chicken and beef, pork can be a nice alternative and in this recipe, easy to prepare. 

Make this for dinner or bring this to your next summer get-together. It's a guaranteed hit, as pork is lovely when paired with fruit, and plums are so IN this season. 

Glazed Pork and Plums

Ingredients:

1 lb pork tenderloin, pounded thin

1 tbsp Coarse Salt

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp coconut oil

4 plums, cut into wedges

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Method:

Slice pork tenderloin, and season with salt. Brown pork in olive oil and butter over medium-high heat, and remove. Saute plums and red onion over medium heat. Add vinegar, and stir until bubbling. Return pork to pan, and toss. 

Serve warm over rice blend.

Everything-in-the-Pantry Dinner

Sometimes we just have days where we need something tasty, something healthy...and we just have a bunch of weird ingredients laying around. This was the birth of this recipe.

This recipe is gluten free, paleo, dairy free.... and FULL of protein. It takes about 15 minutes from pan to plate, and it's delicious, the perfect post-workout dinner.  It's nice to spend a little time making and cooking a recipe that has pizzazz, but sometimes, we just need to eat, and eat quick. So instead of  calling for pizza or digging into some microwave burritos, throw this together (literally) and you'll have a dinner that satisfies and doesn't waste your time (and that uses up that can of diced tomatoes that has been sitting in your cupboard for a year).

Everything in the Pantry Dinner
Gather:
1lb. lean ground turkey or lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 15oz can of diced tomatoes
3 tbsps Tabasco, Frank's Red Hot, or Hot sauce of choice (you can add more or less, up to you!)
Salt and pepper to taste
1tbsp oil
Avocado, mashed

Method:
1. Heat ground meat, onion salt and pepper and oil in a pan until meat is cooked through and onion is soft.
2. Add hot sauce and tomatoes and allow mixture to simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt/pepper/hot sauce if desired
3. Mix in mashed avocado when serving, mix well.

The avocados give this a creamy, dreamy texture that will make you forget all about cheese and sour cream! This can be made ahead for the week, (although avocados should be cut just before eating) or just made when needed for a quick dinner. If you're not keen on a paleo diet, and you want to add more protein, try adding half a can of black beans, or serve mixture in warm corn tortillas.

Eating healthy isn't hard, just make sure to be prepared!

See you back here next week for another delicious, healthy recipe to help you reach your fitness goals.