Since moving to Ann Arbor, Nichole and I have had the chance to try out some new recipes, some of which we are very proud of and enjoy sharing. With my job working in healthy weight loss through education and healthy food choices and Nichole’s upbringing in healthful (lactose-free) foods, we have a wonderful repertoire of recipes for those with their good health in mind.
We picked up a stuffed peppers recipe from Meijer one day because it looked interesting, had lots of vegetables, and decided to make healthier with our own additions. We added more corn and quinoa. Quinoa was considered sacred by the Inca people, calling it chisaya mama or ‘mother of all grains.’
Ingredients:
- 2 Bell Peppers (of any color preference) (30 cal./pepper)
- (1) 16 oz Jar of Corn & Bean Salsa (from Meijer) (260 cal.)
- (1) 8oz Can of Whole Kernel Corn (120 cal.)
- 1 Can of Black Beans (rinse before using) (330 cal.)
- 1 Garlic Clove (4 cal.)
- 1/4th of an Onion (1-2 cal.)
- 1/2th Cup of Quinoa (Brown Rice can be substituted) (344 cal.)
- 1/2 lb. of Ground Turkey (425 cal.)
- Pam Cooking Spray with Olive Oil (0 cal.)
Steps:
- Spray a good sized pan to cook the ground turkey.
- Add finely diced the garlic and onion to the pan along with the ground turkey, cook until browned.
- Add 1/2th cup of quinoa & 1 cup of water to a pot. Set to boil until water is gone.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine: browned ground turkey, cooked quinoa, kernel corn, 1/2 – 1/3 can of rinsed black beans, and the jar of salsa.
- Cut 2 bell peppers in half and clear out the insides.
- Place the pepper halves in a glass pan or on a cookie sheet and fill the pepper halves with the stuffing mixture.
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.
One (1) stuffed pepper made with this recipe has about 325 Calories with lots of fiber, protein, and other nutrients to help you feel full for a long time.
Average cost for the meal, making 4 stuffed pepper halves: $17
Alex B. Hill 