New Year, New Look, and "My Kitchen Monday"

It seemed fitting with the start of the new year that I should change things up a bit!

It's also been awhile since I shared a recipe with you fine folks! So I'm going to make an attempt (at least every other Monday) to share something I've made. These will be recipes with healthy twists or perhaps something I enjoy in moderation! If you look at my Instagram, it quickly becomes clear that I love playing around in the kitchen. 

Today? Tomato-less turkey lasagna! Use a tomato base if you truly wish, but I have just come off a stretch of venison chili. I had made so much that I ended up freezing most of it. Needing a break from tomato for awhile, I tried this recipe and modified it a bit. Here we go...

Collect your ingredients!

• 1/2 lb ground turkey
• 1 container baby bella mushrooms
• 2 small cooking onions
• 1 package chopped frozen spinach
• 1 TB minced garlic
• 2 TB olive oil
• -1/2 container small curd cottage cheese
• 1/2 bag shredded mozzarella
• 1 box no-boil lasagna noodles
• salt and pepper to taste

Cut up mushrooms and onions. Begin sauteing onions with olive oil and garlic on the stove until soft. While cooking, make sure spinach is thawed and excess water has been squeezed out.  

Add mushrooms and spinach! Cover and cook for ~5 minutes on medium.

My pan wasn't quite big enough, so I took the veggies out so I could cook my ground turkey meat. If you so desire, add tomato after the turkey is browned, and cook down to thicken!

While that's going I combine half the container of cottage cheese with half a bag of mozzarella. Ricotta cheese is typically used instead of cottage, but I'm on the budget of a graduate student - and really there's not that much of a taste difference. If you want, you can also add one well-beaten egg here. It helps the cheese bind together when cooking, but is not crucial to the process.

Once the turkey is cooked, mix it all together!

Start layering in your pan with the turkey-veggie mix! Many people start with a layer of noodles on the bottom, but I spared myself the extra noodle-age and calories.

 Layer your noodles, cracking them for coverage as needed. Then a thin layer of your cheese mixture. Mmm, cheese! Then noodles, and turkey-veggies, noodles, and cheese! 

Bake at 350 for ~40 minutes, or until nice and brown on the top! If you didn't use an egg, let the lasagna sit for about 15 minutes to give time for the cheese to set, or else it will just ooze out all over the place like a grilled cheese you just cut into.

Enjoy!

Happy Monday folks, and happy cooking! 

It's okay to take a break, but feels great to be back in the game.

Hey all! After a long (and much needed) break over the holidays, I'm back!

I took this holiday season as an opportunity to focus more on friends, family, and food than getting into the gym. Sometimes it's not all about working out, but more about moderation and priorities - and that's okay!

I have no more dearly-loved holidays than Thanksgiving and Christmas. I. Love. Food. I love holiday food! It's one of those times of the year where I get to enjoy things that are typically not part of my diet.
Oven roasted turkey, super creamy mashed potatoes, spinach dip, clam dip, buffalo dip, so many dips it's unreal! Love me a good dip.

When I first started my journey, I was strictly counting calories. I needed to! At that point, I was wholly uneducated in accurate caloric intake and what my body needed. It's okay to calorie count in the beginning. It gives you an idea of your ideal portion sizes, meals per day, etc. Once you get the hang of things, it's easier (and faster) to eyeball things. Everything in moderation! That was the idea this holiday season.

After each holiday meal I noticed something. I didn't have as much on my plate as years past. I wasn't going back for seconds...or thirds...or fourths (oh yeahhh). I knew what my body needed, and that consisted of delicious home-cooked meals from grandma's secret recipes, surrounded by family and great conversation. I was happy, I was full, and I didn't feel restricted. My moderation was becoming my norm.

Except for clam dip. That sh*t's like crack. Don't even try to make me limit my clam dip intake. I only make it once a year, and all rules are off once I have a bag of kettle cooked potato chips in my hand.

Long story short. I made it through the holidays without feeling like I've lost all the progress I made. Sure, I didn't make it to the gym, but the gym's not going anywhere. I didn't dedicate myself to exercise like I have in months past, but that's okay. I spent time with loved ones, they were my priority. Instead of counting reps or calories, I loosely moderated what was going on my plate without thinking about it to much.

And guess what? Going back to the gym this month wasn't as scary as it once was. In fact, I now feel more in charge of myself than ever. KT and I are back in the swing of things in the weight room...weather permitting. Currently covered in snow and the roads are crap! Michigan winter is upon us.

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season!