Don’t be afraid to cook out of the box when you’re trying to lose weight. Choose ingredients that you don’t normally cook with and do something new and interesting to avoid falling prey to the comfort food cravings you normally eat.
Make It Hot – Chili Turkey Dish
If you don’t have a lot of time available to stand around a hot stove, using a slow cooker or crock pot can work wonders for creating a great healthy chili dish. This is what you will need:
1 pound ground turkey
1 green pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 large Spanish onion
4 stalks of celery
2 cloves of garlic
1 half tablespoon of cumin
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of pepper
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 cans of crushed tomatoes
2 habanero peppers without seeds (use a milder bell pepper if you’re not a fan of spices)
1 can of chickpeas
Brown the ground turkey in a skillet over medium heat, crumbling it in the skillet for the best color. don’t overcook the protein, you want to contain the natural juices, rather than losing them entirely. Now you can drain any excess oil that has come off the ground and put the meat in your slow cooker. Cut the onions, bell peppers, bell peppers, and celery stalks into equal-sized pieces instead of small pieces that will get lost in the food, and place them in the pot along with the cumin, chili powder, salt, and Pepper. Rinse the chickpeas before placing them in the pot along with the tomatoes, to which you can add juice and all. Garlic can be peeled and thinly sliced or crushed, and habaneros, if you choose to use them, should be diced very thinly. In a slow cooker, use low heat for 5 hours or high for 4 and enjoy. This should serve 6-8 people depending on the serving size.
Lose the Bun: Lean Ground Beef and Turkey Dish
Another way to lose excess calories from meals is to cut out non-essential simple carbohydrates. Although you should keep complex carbohydrates in your meals, you can swap out barbecue staples like buns for a different container.
Half a pound of lean ground beef
1/2 pound ground turkey
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
1 pinch of cayenne
1 small onion
1 cup quinoa
2 cups of water
1 lemon wedge
1 tomato
1 head of iceberg lettuce
Peel and dice the onion into small cubes, then combine the lean meat and ground turkey in a bowl. Add salt, pepper, cayenne and onion until well blended and form patties from the contents of the bowl. The thickness is up to you, but remember the thicker the burger the longer it will take to cook in the middle and raw ground turkey is a serious no-no. Place them in the fridge and turn on the barbecue to warm up while you start with your garnish. Add the quinoa and water to a pot, cover and bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for 20 minutes; When the quinoa approaches the middle mark, place the patties on the grill. While everything is heating up, you can cool things down by preparing lettuce and tomato. Lettuce leaves should be left as whole as possible, while tomato can be sliced; Place one lettuce leaf per burger on each plate. When the quinoa is finished it should be tender and translucent, squeeze a little lemon and serve. Tomato-topped lettuce burgers can be served with a dollop of salsa instead of the usual accessories.
