Mmmmm, Time to Eat!

I've shared a few of my favorite things to eat and recipes with a few of my fans and friends. I decided to share some more of my favorites with everyone this week, along with a couple inexpensive, easy meal and snack ideas!

I've shared a few of my favorite things to eat and recipes with a few of my fans and friends. I decided to share some more of my favorites with everyone this week, along with a couple inexpensive, easy meal and snack ideas!

Jen's Baked Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients

2 medium to large zucchinis cut length wise in half

1 large can of low- or no-sodium crushed or diced tomato

1 lb ground turkey breast

1-2 large onions

1-2 large peppers red or green

2-4 cloves of garlic

Italian seasoning (no sodium) to taste

Black and or red pepper to taste

Low-fat mozzarella cheese

Directions

In a large skillet, cook up the ground turkey breast. Add the onions and peppers and cook until soft. Then add garlic, tomato, seasoning, black and or red pepper.

Scoop out the middle of the 4 halved zucchinis and fill them with the mixture you just made. Top them with the low fat mozzarella cheese and bake at 375 ° for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on size of zucchini - the smaller the zucchini, the less cooking time is needed! Enjoy!

Now a couple inexpensive, easy healthy things to eat:

Jen's Banana wrap

Buy a jar of all-natural peanut butter, with no sugar or salt added! Spread it on a whole grain wrap, slice up some bananas and place them on top of the peanut butter, roll it up and enjoy! If you roll it up and then slice it up, the kids will eat it up!

Jen's Banana Ice Cream Pops

Peel up a bunch of ripe bananas. Wrap them individually and freeze them! After they're frozen, take them out and enjoy them. This is an awesome treat and kids love it!

Jen's Rosemary Potatoes

Cut up about 6-8 medium sized potatoes. Spray baking pan with olive oil. Add potatoes and lightly coat them with extra-virgin olive oil. Sprinkle rosemary (to taste) on top of them, add some black and or red pepper if desired. Bake at 425 ° for about 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the cut up potatoes.

Jen's Roasted Veggies

Spray a baking pan with olive oil, cut up as many different veggies as you like (my favorites are broccoli, cauliflower, red onion and fresh green beans). Again, very lightly coat the veggies with extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkle with a sodium-free Italian seasoning. Bake at 375 ° for 45-60 minutes. Sometimes I make my own Italian salad dressing and I will sprinkle a little of this on them to for an extra kick! Also add black and or red pepper to taste!

Jen's Red Bon Bons

Freeze up some red grapes and serve. They are so yummy frozen and so good for you!

With fall knocking on our door, I'll have plenty of new recipes for you all to look forward to! Being healthy can be inexpensive and yummy too! I hope you enjoy these snacks as much as I have and still do!

4 Steps to Shedding Your Pandemic Pounds

Forgive yourself, and start walking toward a healthier you.

For those of you who have put on the Pandemic Pounds or added several new COVID Curves, you are not alone. Alarmingly, the American Psychological Association has recently published that almost half of all adults in their survey now have a larger physique. In fact, 42% of people reported gaining roughly 15 pounds (the average published was surprisingly 29 pounds but that included outliers) over the past year. Interestingly, 20% of adults in this survey lost about 12 pounds (I am surely not in this group). Clearly, there is a relationship between stress and weight change. In addition, one in four adults disclosed an increase in alcohol consumption, and 67% of participants distressingly revealed that they have new sleeping patterns.

This past year has brought about what has been called the 'new normal.' Social isolation and inactivity due to quarantining and remote working have sadly contributed to the decline in many people's mental and physical health, as demonstrated by the widespread changes in people's weight, alcohol consumption, and sleeping patterns. Gym closures, frequent ordering of unhealthy takeout, and increased time at home cooking and devouring comfort foods have had a perceptible impact. In addition, many people have delayed routine medical care and screening tests over fear of contracting Covid-19 during these visits. Unfortunately, the 'new normal' has now placed too many people at risk for serious health consequences, including heart attacks and strokes.

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