This one-skillet spicy chipotle turkey & black beans dish is highly nutritious to eat standalone as chili, or to throw into some tacos.
Simple and speedy, this recipe is great for family dinner or meal prep. It also freezes well for nights you need a quick and satisfying meal. From start to finish, you’ll only need 30 minutes in the kitchen.
All seasonings are important, but the cornerstone of this chipotle turkey & black beans is peppers in adobo sauce. It provides a slight smoked pepper flavor. If you don’t care for black beans, pinto beans would also work well. Drain the canned beans and tomato before adding to the skillet so the mixture does not become watery.
I recommend pairing with soft corn tortillas (heat in the microwave for 30 seconds to make more pliable, or heat directly on the grill for some char).
There are a number of easy ways to modify this dish:
For lower carbs, omit the beans
To increase the fat, use 100% 93/7 ground turkey
For additional veggies, add more green peppers or stir in a bag of riced cauliflower (microwave first and completely squeeze the excess water from the cauliflower)
By swapping the ground turkey for crumbled seitan, this dish is also an excellent vegan choice. Seitan is low in the amino acid lysine, however the black beans contribute some of this essential amino acid (see recipe notes).
Balanced and healthful eating for your performance and physique goals can also include tasty food! Contact me to discuss your goals, and how I can support you as a coach.
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Tomatillo steak & peppers (aka chile verde con carne) is perfect for family taco night or meal prep. Sweet and tangy green tomatillo and spices tenderize the beef over time, so it tastes even better the next day.
The trick to keeping extra lean meat cuts such as eye round steak tender and juicy is to carefully control cooking rate. For this tomatillo steak and peppers, we cook the meat until it’s about 75% done. A good amount of pink should remain. By quickly removing from the heat and placing in a covered bowl, it continues to cook slowly. When we return in to the pan for a final few minutes, it completes cooking and allows the rich flavors of the tomatillo base and spices to soak in.
There are a large variety of salsa verde options on the market, I recommend using the roasted variety for additional smokey flavor alongside the smoked paprika. Hatch chile powder and cumin add a deeper pepper flavor. The red chile powder is optional, for some heat.
This recipe is for a large batch. It scales down linear if you’d like to reduce the size. However, this dish tastes BETTER on subsequent days as the sauce further tenderizes the beef pieces.
I preferred to keep the sauce base thin, however you could thicken it up by boiling the sauce for about 30 minutes to eliminate water.
Pairs great with corn tortillas or rice.
Please let me know if you tried this recipe.
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Skip takeout and stay on track with these easy high protein flatbread pizzas. Simple ingredients with no yeast or rise time. Ready to go in less than 30 minutes.
Left: Chicken + Roasted Poblano w/ Feta Middle: Chicken Sausage and Roasted Red Pepper Right: “Satay” Style with Green Onion, Chicken, Broccoli, Sriracha, and Peanut Butter Sauce
I’m very impatient so it was exciting to discover no-yeast pizza crust recipes that don’t require waiting time for dough to rise. Thishigh protein flatbread pizzas is an experimental merge of the many I’ve found online. The dough has only four ingredients – baking flour, plain nonfat Greek yogurt, baking powder, and Italian seasoning (optional). It takes only a few minutes to prepare. In fact, if you have all of the ingredients, making these pizzas is faster and less expensive than getting delivery.Up front: NO…these do not taste like what you can pick up in the Bronx. However, it is a way to stay on track in a healthier eating plan AND not feel like you need to wash your face and lie down after eating it!
A note about yogurt
IMPORTANT: use PLAIN GREEK YOGURT in this recipe. Regular yogurt is too watery to make proper dough. Roll the dough to an even thickness so that the edges don’t burn. One of the most valuable tools I use for baking is a beveled French Rolling Pin. It’s natural wood and there are no joints to clean so it’s more sanitary.
Don’t skip the step of uniformly spraying both sides of the formed dough with olive oil – this is important for a crispy outside texture. Further, you will be baking the crusts at high temp (500 F) so ensure the parchment paper is rated accordingly. The paper will slightly char regardless – this is expected.
The best part about homemade pizza is topping flexibility and you can make it a family experience where everyone prepares their own. Here I’ve made one large pizza but it’s straightforward to divide the dough into smaller portions for personal pizzas, or scale up to make additional pizzas.
Toppings
Beyond the pies shown here, other healthier topping possibilities include Canadian bacon, onion, jalapenos, turkey pepperoni, ground beef, and veggies. For cheese, I recommend using low-fat. Non-fat does NOT melt and you don’t want to feel like you’re eating little bits of white rubber. A less traditional but as tasty option is fat-free feta cheese – it’s an excellent protein source if the melty-cheesy texture isn’t as important to you. If you decide to add veggies such broccoli, make sure they are pre-cooked or roasted to remove excess moisture so the pizza doesn’t get soggy. Even when you take this precaution, a veggie pie may need additional baking time.
The tomato provides enough sweetness on it’s own so look for a marina sauce that has no sugar added and has about 60-70 calories per 1/2 cup. Swapping directly for tomato paste works great if you want a tangier taste. Stirring oregano or Italian seasoning and/or a bit of minced garlic into the sauce before spreading is great for extra flavor .
In addition to the more traditional pizzas, I played around with a Satay style as well! The sauce was made with peanut butter powder and water. Give it a go if you’re feeling adventurous.
Looking for a sustainable nutrition plan to support your body composition, fitness, and health goals? Contact me.
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This comforting one-pan southwestern chili & pepper dippers recipe is a hearty family dinner and a friendly part of your meal-prep arsenal.
This chili is proof-positive that great tasting comfort food doesn’t need to be loaded down with extra fats. It’s rich in flavor (and protein)!
I love to eat chili with chips but find the empty calories from chips don’t satisfy me. The pepper dippers are higher protein, lower fat, and a lot more robust for chili scooping capability. The red pepper paste (see link in recipe) adds an almost cheesy taste to these chips and with only three ingredients, they are very easy to make. Greek yogurt makes a surprisingly good base for the dough. Note that it does not work with regular yogurt (too much moisture).
We want this chili to be thick and with minimal liquid so look for a fresh pico de gallo salsa or a jarred version where you can drain out extra liquid. Likewise, use of lime powder instead of lime juice helps keep the chili from being watery.
Lean ground beef or chicken are great alternatives for the meat, as is Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP) crumbles for a plant-based option. If you don’t care for black beans, pinto beans are a good substitute, with near-identical macros.
Look forward to getting your feedback on this Southwestern Chili & Pepper Dippers recipe! Please share on socials or with a friend if you enjoyed it.
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Who says veggies can’t be delicious? Simple sweet balsamic roasted broccoli and peppers dish is great side dish for lunch or dinner.
For this balsamic roasted broccoli and peppers, ensure your cut veggies are spread out on your baking sheet and that the pieces aren’t touching. Like most vegetables, raw broccoli has a very high water content so by spreading it out we ensure that moisture can escape during cooking and the broccoli roasts instead of steaming.
Really, you could use a number of different vegetable combinations, cooking time may vary. Other great options that taste amazing roasted is cauliflower, brussels sprouts zucchini, and even kale. Play around with it!
You’ll be surprised how much the veggies shrink after baking. I recommend making multiple batches and storing them in the fridge for eating throughout the week with lunches and dinners.
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