Lynbrook | New Hyde Park | NY

nutrition tips

Recipe of the Week: Ground Beef Veggie Skillet

From start to finish, it’s ready in 30 minutes. This recipe is also low-carb and gluten-free.  It’s filling enough to eat on its own, but you can also pair it with whole-grain pasta or cauliflower rice to add more volume!

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes Servings: 4

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 pound grass-fed extra-lean ground beef
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • ½ cup onions diced
  • ½ cup red bell peppers diced
  • 1 medium zucchini quartered
  • ½ pound asparagus cut into three segments each
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • ¼ cup tomato passata or tomato sauce
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ? teaspoon crushed red pepper optional
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon feta cheese crumbled, for garnishing
  • fresh parsley chopped, for garnishing

Instructions:

  1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
  2. Add the ground beef and garlic. Use a wooden spoon to break up the ground beef while it cooks. Stir occasionally, and cook for about 7 minutes until no longer pink. Remove the meat from the skillet, and set aside.
  3. Add the onions and red bell peppers to the same skillet. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the onions are soft.
  4. Add the zucchini and asparagus, and cook for 3-5 minutes.
  5. Return the ground beef to the skillet, and mix everything together.
  6. Add the Dijon, tomato passata, oregano, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper to taste. Cook for 1-2 minutes more.
  7. Garnish with fresh parsley and feta cheese.

Nutrition:

Per Serving: Calories: 261kcal

Carbohydrates: 8.5g, Protein: 29.5g, Fat: 12.8g

Original recipe from Primavera Kitchen can be found here!

Recipe of the Week: Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Easy weeknight dinner on the table in less than an hour? Sign me up! This classic recipe for stuffed peppers uses lean turkey and whole grains to create a healthy meal that will feed the family.

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
  • 1 garlic (minced)
  • 1/4 onion (minced)
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 3 large sweet red bell peppers
  • 1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth (divided)
  • 1/4 cup tomato sauce
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
  • Olive oil spray
  • 6 tbsp  part skim shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

  1. Heat oven to 400°F.
  2. Lightly spray olive oil spray in a medium nonstick skillet and heat on a medium heat.
  3. Add onion, garlic and cilantro and saute about 2 minutes, add ground turkey, salt, garlic powder, cumin and cook meat until it is completely cooked through.
  4. Add 1/4 cup of tomato sauce and 1/2 cup of chicken broth, mix well and simmer on low for about 5 minutes.
  5. Combine cooked rice and meat together.
  6. Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise, and remove all seeds. Spoon 2/3 cup meat mixture into each pepper half and place in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Top each with 1 tbsp cheese.
  7. Pour the remainder of the chicken broth on the bottom of the pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for about 45 minutes.
  8. Carefully remove the foil and serve right away.

Nutrition:

Serving: 1/2 pepper, Calories: 221 calories
Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 18g, Fat: 3g
Original recipe from Skinny Taste can be found here!

Recipe of the Week: Green Paradise Smoothie

This recipe comes from the kitchen of our own Exercise Physiologist, Brandon!
Thanks for sharing!

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup packed spinach
  • 1 cup pineapple chunks
  • 1 cup frozen mango chunks
  • 1 banana
  • 1/2 cup ice
  • 1 1/2 cups coconut water

Directions:

  1. Add all the ingredients to a blender in the order listed above.
  2. Pulse to mix ingredients, then blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Note: If your blender isn’t super powerful, blend the spinach and coconut water first. This helps get rid of spinach clumps. Then add in the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

 

Recipe of the Week: Zucchini Linguine in JETS Sauce

Shout out to Peak Performance Fitness member, Wendie, for sharing her family’s recipe this week! Serve up this zucchini linguine with shrimp for Sunday night dinner. It’s prepared in homemade sauce, appropriately named for some Sunday football – JETS Sauce!

Ingredients:

  • 2 cans crushed tomatoes
  • 5 cloves of garlic (whole)
  • 5 cloves of garlic (minced)
  • ½ minced onion
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 10 basil leaves (fresh)
  • 24 large shrimp (peeled & deveined)
  • 2 large zucchinis (spiralized or shredded)

Directions:

  1. In a large pasta pot, pour in 2 Tbsp of olive oil on low heat. Once the oil is hot, toss in the whole garlic cloves. Cook until lightly browns. Toss in the minced garlic and onions and cook for 5 minutes.
  2. Toss in the crushed tomatoes. Add in 10 basil leaves and cook uncovered for 45 minutes on medium heat mixing occasionally so that the sauce doesn’t burn.
  3. Add in the zucchini and mix together so the sauce covers it all. Place a lid on the pot and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  4. Add in the shrimp, mix together and keep covered for 5 minutes or until pink.
  5. Serve it hot & enjoy!

 

 

Recipe of the Week: Italian Sausage Bean Soup

Peak Performance has some excellent chefs!

Thank you to our gym member, Helen, for sharing her recipe this week.

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 1-1/2 hours
Serves 8

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. bulk Italian chicken or pork sausage
  • 1 medium onion finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves sliced
  • 4 cans chicken broth, 14-1/2 oz reduced sodium
  • 2- 15 oz cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained (14-1/2 oz)
  • 1/2 cup medium pearl barley
  • 1 large carrot sliced
  • 2 celery ribs sliced
  • 1 tsp. minced fresh sage
  • 1/2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary or 1/8 tsp. dried rosemary crushed
  • 6 cups chopped fresh kale or spinach
  • Salt and pepper, if desired

Directions:

  1. In a pot, cook sausage and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink.  Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain.
  2. Stir in the broth, beans, tomatoes, barley, carrot, celery, sage and rosemary. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
  3. Stir in the kale or spinach; return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender and the kale or spinach is wilted.
  4. Small pasta may be substituted for the barley and added during the last 10 minutes of simmering or pasta can be cooked separately and then added before serving.
  5. Enjoy!