Turkey muffins

With less than 8% fat, about 22g of protein in a serving of 100g, for my macros, turkey muffins were a perfect lunch idea.

When I made them yesterday I can’t begin to tell you how amazing the aroma was steaming out of the oven. I ate this over spinach and with roasted sweet potato.

Ingredients:

500g (1 package) extra lean ground turkey
1 red bell pepper chopped into tiny squares
1/2 red onion also chopped into tiny squares
1 egg
2 teaspoons sweet chili sauce for chicken
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Maille Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon garlic pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° before preparation
2. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl
3. Drop turkey mixture into silicone molds
4. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn oven off and let muffins set for an additional 20 minutes in warm oven.
5. Serve with steamed vegetables, spinach, sweet potato or rice.

I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed these muffins! Finally, delicious turkey that was moist, flavorful  and a great lean protein that goes with other healthy options.

I will definitely be making these many more times again this year! How do you cook with ground turkey or chicken?

Half marathon? Unrelated: does love make you fat?

In my quest to keep running, perhaps to gain more time? To get my physique back? To maintain health and a positive mood? To live longer? Not sure but what I do know is that being in love has made me fat. Since falling in love with the love of my life I’ve gained over ten pounds and even though I’m still skinny, I’m skinny FAT and I’m less bouncy and my brain gets foggy and tired. I miss the days when I used to feel the muscles work through my clothes, when I could flex muscles just to feel them breathing, ALIVE.

In an article for the Daily Mail in 2013, research does suggest that falling in love makes people fat, especially women!

So I began running November 11. That week I ran 12 miles and on November 30, after about 3 weeks of running (proving it to myself) I joined a running group (a WINTER running group at that) on November 30 and I’ve run about 14 times now.

There’s a half marathon on Feb 11. It’s called the HYPO 1/2 and it takes place in Canada and a bit in the USA.

Am I ready?

I read the most inspiring article today about a great runner!

If I sign up for the half marathon I’ll only have about 6 weeks to train. I’ve been running the past 8 weeks, in a 10K training clinic. Is this possible? The only person I spoke to about it said she doesn’t think that’s enough time to train properly for a half marathon.

What do you all think?

 

What is the Glycemic Index?

I’ve been thinking of how to decrease my body fat, and increase my muscle. As always! And as always there were multiple factors that motivated me to do this. Number one, watching the NYC marathon, for the first time in my life, as a spectator at mile 9, cheering on random athletes and screaming out their names (as written on the front of their shirts)!

Watching a marathon is totally motivating. At least it was for me.

Second was the US election. Motivated me to get up and get stronger, get my frustrations out on the pavement and start training. It made me think, as a woman and minority, I have to work harder, be stronger and be disciplined to achieve what I need. Won’t get into details but it was something like this:

The caption is:
“I can’t even begin to workout until I find the right news…”

Fuel for the fire that you need to maintain a workout or run!

So I began researching food, exercise and lifestyle. I joined a running club. I bought running clothes so I could run in the cold and I started teaching new and improved ViPR exercises. More on those later. But today, I thought of meal prep. And when thinking of how I was going to prep meals I had a little studying to do and I found a helpful chart I thought would be interesting to share!

It’s an interesting reminder on low glycemic foods, foods that slowly release their carbohydrate fuel as opposed to quickly, which diabetics know raises the blood sugar quickly and consequently can lead to crashes. So choosing low GI foods is a good idea when you want to provide a good solid fuel, when you’re working out and want to lose fat, feel satisfied and gain muscle!

Here you go:

I got this from the WHFoods website online.

 

Low GI	Medium GI	High GI
0-55	56-69	70 or greater

 

WHFoods Glycemic Index Rating System

	Very Low GI	Low GI	Medium GI	High GI
Criteria for Classification	No established GI value and an available carbohydrate (avCHO) of less than 5 grams OR an established GI of less than 20 and an avCHO of less than 7 grams	Either an established GI value of 55 or less OR an available carbohydrate (avCHO) value greater or more than 5 grams but less than or equal to 12 grams OR a beneficial impact on blood sugar in a preponderance of research studies	An established GI vale of 56-69	An established GI value of 70 or greater

 

Food Group	Very Low GI	Low GI	Medium GI	High GI
World’s Healthiest Foods
Vegetables	asparagus	carrots	beets	potatoes
	avocados	eggplant	corn
	beet greens	garlic	leeks
	bell peppers	green peas	sweet potatoes
	bok choy	onions
	broccoli	sea vegetables
	Brussels sprouts	winter squash
	cabbage
	cauliflower
	celery
	collard greens
	cucumbers
	fennel (bulb)
	green beans
	kale
	mushrooms, crimini
	mustard greens
	olives
	olive oil
	Romaine and other lettuce
	spinach
	summer squash
	Swiss chard
	tomatoes
	turnip greens
Fruits		apples	apricots
		bananas	cantaloupe
		blueberries	figs
		cranberries	papaya
		grapefruit	pineapple
		grapes	watermelon
		kiwifruit
		lemons/limes
		oranges
		pears
		plums & prunes
		raspberries
		strawberries
Nuts & Seeds	flaxseeds	almonds
	sesame seeds	cashews
		peanuts
		pumpkin seeds
		sunflower seeds
		walnuts
Beans & Legumes	soybeans	black beans
	tofu	dried peas
	tempeh	garbanzo beans
		kidney beans
		lentils
		lima beans
		navy beans
		pinto beans
Seafood	cod	scallops
	salmon
	sardines
	shrimp
	tuna
Meats	beef, grass-fed
	chicken-pasture-raised
	lamb, grass-fed
	turkey, pasture-raised
Dairy		cheese, grass-fed
		eggs, pasture-raised
		cow’s milk, grass-fed
		yogurt, grass-fed
Grains		barley	millet
		brown rice
		buckwheat
		oats
		quinoa
		rye
		whole wheat
World’s Healthiest Spices and Herbs	black pepper
	chili pepper
	cilantro & coriander seeds
	cinnamon
	cloves
	cumin seeds
	dill
	ginger
	mustard seeds
	oregano
	parsley
	peppermint
	rosemary
	sage
	thyme
	turmeric