Turkey, not just a holiday meal.

Any time I see turkey being prepared it is always around the fall holidays. I find that somewhat odd because turkey is a great meat source of protein. Just like chicken, turkey serves an import part in diet as well. I typically buy the ground turkey breast meat because the meat from the breast is white meat and we all know white meat is the best meat to put into our bodies. I buy the ground meat because I find it easier to cook and integrate into other recipes other than a whole turkey breast. Like I said, turkey is very simple so I encourage everyone of you to try a non-holiday dish incorporating some turkey.

The turkey dish I decided to make was a sautéed ground turkey with veggies. It was very filling and the recipe made enough for two plates. I thought it turned out delicious and now turkey is my meat of choice.

The recipe:

1/2 lb of ground turkey breast
1/2 of a small pumpkin (skinned and cubed)
1 cup of kale leaves
1 cup of mushrooms
1/2 cup of broccoli and cauliflower
1/2 cup of celery
Onion powder (to taste)
Cayenne peper (to taste)
Topped with pine nuts

Hope you all enjoy this recipe and try incorporating some turkey in your non-festive meals till the holidays.

Week Three in a Nut Shell.

Wow, I cannot believe it is the last part of October. This month has truly flown by especially this last week. I wish I had a better reason as to why I have not posted in lately but I was just tremendously busy with family and school. It was my boyfriend's twenty-second birthday yesterday and I took him to an awesome Italian Steakhouse called Iavarone's. The food is to die for and the atmosphere is perfect plus it is not that expensive if you want to go out to have a nice dinner. For my meal choice I stuck with a salad, chicken with sautéed spinach, we had bruschetta for our appetizer (I only had 2 out of the 6 on the plate), and I also had a glass of wine. We were stuffed so there was no birthday dessert, ironically my boyfriend does not really care for desserts or sweets so avoid that kind of stuff is super easy when I am out with him. Dinner was moderately healthy but I almost considered that a cheat meal because I had more carbs than I planned on eating. I did not beat myself up about it since we had tickets for Howl O'Scream  at Busch Gardens. It ended up being so packed since it is getting closer to Halloween and it was a Saturday so we ended up just walking the whole park and did all the scare zones and road a few rides. By the end of the night we were both so beat because not only did we walk the whole park twice but we also walked back to our car since the line for the tram was way too long. Boy were we tired once we got home, I am pretty sure all those carbs I had at dinner were put to good use while we were at Busch Gardens. The other four days went great as well, I have had no slip ups and I am going to kick it into high gear for this last week. I plan to make sure that at least 90 minutes of exercise is done everyday, the only carbs that I will be consuming is the carbs from fruit or vegetables. I will also make sure that I am juicing daily to keep my cravings at bay. I cannot wait for this fourth week and I cannot believe that I have almost completed this challenge. Only 10 more days until the before and after picture, and I have a few interesting blog posts that will be posted this week so be on the lookout.

Days Fourteen, Fifteen and Sixteen.

"To know what has to be done, then to do it, compromises the whole philosophy of practical life." - Sir William Osler

Week three is off to a great start, I have been juicing quite a bit and I am incorporating a few superfoods that I am currently reading up on. For this post I want to focus on how to eat smart when you're eating out. This week is my boyfriend's birthday so that means I have quite a few birthday dinners to attend and more than likely they will all be at restaurants. Always keep a positive outlook when planning on going to dinner because it is not the end of the world, you just have to keep yourself focused and you'll be fine. Keep reassuring yourself of your ultimate goals while you are waiting to be seated. Once the menu gets placed in front of you, make sure you look for clues on the menu like hearts or stars indicating if the meal is heart healthy or low calories. Once you found the few select items narrow it down to the choice that sounds the most filling with mostly vegetables as the ingredients. Also, most restaurants will modify a meal for you and even if they won't just say your allergic to said ingredient(s) then it should not be a problem. I have done this a few times during this challenge so I could still go out with my friends and family for dinner and still stick with the challenge.

Here are some of the meals I have opted for while going out to restaurants during this challenge.
Taco Bus:

Poblanos Mexican Grill:

As previously posted, Oxford Exchange:

Eating healthy and smart while eating out is solely a personal disciplined choice but I promise you will not regret the switch once you stick to it.

On the other hand here is a picture of my juicer:

I adore it and I am so glad I made the purchase because it has made a huge difference with my cravings. My cravings are basically nonexistent now and if I do get a craving I just pour myself a glass of juice, so simple! My recent juicing recipe is 1 to 2 carrots, a pear, 2 to 3 apples, and a handful of kale leaves. This recipe makes enough juice for one day and the juice is deliciously sweet, great for the sweet tooth cravers out there. I have also played around with many other recipes and found some that I can't stand and others that I can't seem to get enough of. Let me know if you would like to see a post covering some juicing recipes and the benefits; stay healthy and take care everyone.