Ground Turkey Stuffed Zucchini

Zucchini, another abundant summer food. Often, our gardens are overflowing, or a neighbor of family member has oodles of this green vegetable to share. In case you need some ideas of what to do with it, we've got you covered.

Keeping with last week's theme of things to make if it's back to school time at your house, or if you just need something quick to prep for dinner, this recipe is prepped and quick on the fly, has tons of flavor and packs a serious nutritional punch. You can use an oven, a grill or a griddle and the ingredients can be played around with to make different flavor combinations. 

Gather:

4 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise, with innards scooped out. (you may want to cut a bit off the back to make it sit flat instead of rolling)

1 lb ground turkey

1/2 cup chopped onion

3/4 cup pasta sauce

1 egg beaten

1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs (optional!)

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup shredded mozzarella

Additional pasta sauce (optional)

Method:

1. Place zucchini shells in microwave safe dish. Cover and cook for 3 minutes or just until tender but still crisp

2. In a skillet, heat and stir ground turkey and onion until meat is cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in egg, bread crumbs,  salt, pepper and a half cup of cheese.

3. Spoon the mixture into each shell and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. 

4. Place in oven at 350 for 25 minutes. Or alternatively, cook on medium heat grill until cheese has melted. Or, you can also just place the zucchini halves with stuffing back in the microwave for 3-4 minutes longer. 

Meals should be healthy, convenient and tasty. Find the cooking method and ingredients that suit your tastes and nutritional needs. Here's to better, easier, dinners that help you reach your goals!

Omelet On-the-Go Muffins

Whether it's back to school time for you and your family, or perhaps you just need some help with breakfast, this week's recipe has you covered.

Getting up, getting ready, helping kids or pets or spouses with their morning routine can be difficult enough, and squeezing in a nutritionally sound, delicious homemade breakfast can sound almost impossible.

Enter, the omelet muffin. This is a popular recipe because it cab be prepared ahead of time, using a variety of ingredients, and can be suitable for people who are trying to pack in extra protein, people who are trying to get more vegetables in their diet, or people who are just in a hurry and need something quick. 

This recipe is also awesome for road trips or appetizers. You are only limited by your imagination for the ingredient combinations, and it'll save precious snoozing time in the morning. 

Omelet Muffins

Ingredients:

Dozen Eggs (or about one egg per muffin cup)

Muffin Tin

Mix ins of your choice. (spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, pineapple, ham, chicken, cheese, mushrooms, etc)

Salt + Pepper

coconut oil

Optional: Muffin Liners

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350

Beat eggs to your preference, adding salt and pepper to taste. 

Generously grease the side and bottom of muffin tins with coconut oil, unless using liners. 

Beat eggs until mixed to your liking

Fill the individual muffin tins about 1/3 full of your chosen ingredients

Pour a little of the beaten egg mixture over the ingredients, and then stir gently to mix the egg, don't over do it.  (The muffins will puff as they bake, so make sure to leave room at the top of the tin)

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a fork stuck in the center comes out clean (or mostly clean)

Serve immediately or store in the fridge.

To re-heat: pop in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. They also freeze well.

Tips: -Finely chop any vegetables, it will make for better baking. 

-Add a splash of milk to egg mixture

That's it! You have breakfast on the go for the whole week! Some of out favorite flavor combinations are: Pineapple, Spinach, Cheddar and Black Bean, Red Pepper, Yellow Pepper, Kale and Swiss, and Bacon, Mushroom and (cooked) Potato.

Have fun with the flavors and get that breakfast in!

Watermelon + Feta Salad

Does anything say warm weather quite like watermelon? It's juicy and sweet and refreshing, the perfect dessert on its own on a hot summer day (especially down here in Houston!). This week's recipe goes beyond the sweetness of this red summer melon though, by combining it with the tang of feta cheese and the citrus flavors of a homemade, healthy vinaigrette. It's a mix of tastes that is fresh and satisfying; a salty, sweet, bitter, cool concoction that takes any August dinner up a notch. 

For the lettuce, we like arugula for the aforementioned 'bitter' taste, which seems to complement the other aspects of this salad so well. You could also use spinach, romaine, or massaged kale though, if you prefer. 

The interesting thing about meals like this one, is that combination of flavors we mentioned. The best way to be satisfied by food, is to choose something that has complex, varying tastes, because our bodies are programmed to find these foods satiating. So, in theory, you will take in less calories, because you are addressing all of your body's needs and cravings. 

Watermelon and Feta Cheese Salad

for the vinaigrette:

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup minced shallots (1 large should do the trick)

1 tbsp honey or maple syrup

1/3 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

for the salad:

8 cups arugula, washed and dried

4 cups cubed watermelon (seedless preferred)

2 cups feta cheese

1 cup fresh mint

Method:

Mix together the lemon and orange juice, adding the shallots, honey, olive oil and salt and pepper. 

In a bowl, combine the arugula (or lettuce of choice) watermelon, feta and mint. Drizzle with vinaigrette and toss well. Serve immediately.

Keep cool with this warm weather recipe, and eat well! Keep those cravings in check!

Summer Tostadas with Chicken and Vegetables

One of the best things about summer is the abundance and freshness of vegetables. The season is perfect for fresh, local cilantro, corn, zucchini, lettuces and many types of fruit. Creating recipes that use these seasonal ingredients is the perfect way to combine the tastes of summer with the healthy lifestyle we all crave. This week's recipe has all that, and is delicious to boot.

Norton Fitness is based just outside of Houston, Texas, and so we often have a hankering for spicy Tex-Mex flavors. We created this recipe in honor of our Texas heritage, and in homage to the freshness of this hot-weather produce. This recipe only takes about 15 minutes, but can be prepared even more quickly if you don't want to broil the tortillas for the tostada part of the recipe, instead leaving them soft for tacos. Your choice, either way is delicious!

Chicken + Summer Vegetable Tostadas

Ingredients:

1lb chicken breast, cut into strips

1 cup chopped red or sweet onion

1 cup fresh corn kernels (sliced from the cob)

1 cup zucchini, chopped

1/2 cup salsa of choice, (we like a fresh summer mango salsa, or vine ripened tomato salsa)

3 tbsp cilantro (or as much as you want)

4 flour tortillas ( or corn, but they won't crisp the same in the oven)

3 oz Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

2 tsp olive oil

Method:

Preheat Broiler

Add oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. 

Combine cumin, pepper, and salt and then sprinkle spice mixture over chicken. 

Add chicken strips to pan and cook for 3 minutes. Add corn, zucchini and onion to pan, sauté for another 2 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. 

Stir in salsa and 2 tbsp of the cilantro. Cook for an additional 2 minutes, or until all liquid evaporates.

Arrange tortillas onto a single layer on a baking sheet, lightly coat tortillas with a little bit of oil or cooking spray.

Place tortillas in broiler for about 2 minutes, allow to lightly browned.

Pull tortillas out of broiler, and spoon about a cup of the chicken/veggie mixture in the center of each tortilla, and sprinkle with cheese.

Broil an additional 2 minutes, or until cheese melts. 

Serve immediately. 

Enjoy and make sure to relish the flavors of summer, because before you know it...they'll be gone! 

Be well!

recipe inspiration from Cooking Light, 2006.

Crunchy Garbanzos

We've all been there. It's not quite time for lunch, and you've already had breakfast. Your stomach is crying out to you, "feed me! I'm so hungry!" And you reach for your water, thinking it might just be thirst, because you don't want to mess up your careful dieting.

Nope. The water just doesn't quite do it, and those chips in the cupboard, or in the break room are just calling your name.

But, pause. Do you really want those salty, chemical filled potato chips? Do you really want orange covered dust from those Doritos covering your fingers and face all day, MOCKING you? 

Well, this week's recipe is a crunchy, spicy, healthy snack made from just a few ingredients. The prep is minimal and the satisfaction is massive. Basically, you need to make + pack these immediately because they are really, really, good.

Spicy Oven Roasted Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans)

Gather:

2-15oz cans of Chickpeas (rinsed and drained)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp sea salt

Method:

Heat oven to 450 and place a rack in the middle

Add all ingredients to a bowl and toss together until evenly coated

Spread chickpeas on a baking sheet with a rim around the sides

Bake until crisp, 30-45 minutes. Do not let chickpeas blacken.

Allow chickpeas to cool before placing them in an airtight sealable container or bag

They will keep for a few days...but they probably won't last that long!

Arm yourself with the right snacks to keep your hunger in check between meals, or pack these up for a day at the beach, or for a long ride in the car. Feel free to play with the spices used in this recipe, try rosemary and garlic, or tahini and turmeric, make it work for your cravings!

Grilled Chicken with Strawberry Jalapeño Salsa

image pinterest

One of the best things about summer is the abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables. And at this time of year, we all have our pick. What makes all that produce even more special though, is that much of it, at this time of year, can be grown locally.

Sometimes the sheer amount of choices we have inspires us to buy more than we can eat, and we end up wasting perfectly delicious goods because our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. No more!

This week's recipe is perfect combination of sweet, spicy and tangy that just screams summer. Even better, it's a snap to prepare and cook and dishes up a hearty dose of vitamins from the fresh fruits and vegetables, and a protein kick from the grilled chicken. This definitely needs to go on your go-to recipes for summer.

Grilled Chicken with Strawberry & Jalapeño Salsa

Gather:
2 limes, zested and juiced
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
4 thinly sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts, or you can just pound regular breasts thin.
Sea Salt
 Black Pepper


For the Strawberry-Jalapeño Salsa:
2 cups diced strawberries
1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped1½ tbsps finely chopped cilantro (or more to taste)
½ lime, juiced
Sea Salt

Method:

1. In a baking dish, mix the lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, and cilantro with a pinch of salt. Set aside.
2. Set each chicken breast between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Use a rolling pin or tenderizer (or a wine bottle works too), to pound the chicken until about half and inch thick.
3. Place the chicken breasts into the baking dish, and coat with the marinade you prepared earlier. Put into refrigerator to sit at least 25 minutes.
4. While chicken is marinating, place all salsa ingredients into a medium size bowl. Toss the ingredients with a fork, gently, being careful with the fruit, and season with salt to taste. Cover and stick in refrigerator.
5. Heat a grill or grilling pan to medium high and lightly oil. Remove chicken from fridge and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
6. When the grill/grill pan is hot, add the chicken and cook for about 3½ minutes per side until grill marks appear and chicken is just cooked through, making sure there is no pink. 
7. Remove chicken and top with salsa. 

Frozen Fruit Pops

Is it hot enough for you yet? Down here in Houston, it's insanely uncomfortable with the humidity + heat + abundant sunshine. The question is, how to cool down?

Water can be boring, and energy drinks are too sugary...and to be honest, neither of these options are quite cool enough. Ice cream is fattening and popsicles have the same problem as energy drinks...sugar. 

So, how about making your own? Don't worry if you don't have a popsicle mold, because you don't need one. Plastic cups work just as well. The beautiful part is that all you need is a little almond milk or natural (unsweetened) juice, and your choice of fruit. Combine together, freeze with a stick (even a skewer would work) and voíla, delicious frozen pops that cool you down and taste amazing. 

Frozen Fruit Pops

Again, this recipe can be made with whatever fruit you like, but here we give you an idea to start with!

1/3 cup diced kiwi

1/3 cup diced strawberries

1/3 cup diced mangoes

1/3 cup diced pineapples

1/4 cup fresh pineapple or orange juice (or coconut milk if preferring a slightly creamy pop.)

5 oz plastic cups or popsicle molds

Method:

In a bowl, combine all diced fruit. 

Separate mixed fruit into 4 cups. 

Add 1 tbsp of juice and place craft sticks into each cup, they will easily stay put, owing to the amount of fruit.

Place in freezer for a few hours until firm.

To release from cup, run under warm water for a few seconds. 

Enjoy, and stay cool + fit! 

recipe adapted from Skinnytaste.com