Diaita Vlog #5 - Healthy Lifestyle Updates: Weight Loss, Tasting More La Croix, Cats

Time for another diaita update vlog!! :D

Recipe: Stuffed Peppers w/Farro

Stuffed Peppers w/Ground Turkey & Farro
makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:
4-6 bell peppers
2 cups water
1 cup pearled farro
2 Tbsp oil
1 lb ground turkey
29 oz can tomato sauce (or two 15 oz cans)
1 Tbsp Mrs. Dash Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp dried minced onion
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1 cup shredded cheese

Directions:
[1] Prepare farro according to package instructions. For the brand I used, bring 2 cups water to a boil, add 1 tsp salt, add farro, reduce heat and simmer 20-25 minutes or until water is absorbed.
[2] In a large pot over medium-high, heat oil for a couple of minutes. Add ground turkey and cook until browned.
[3] To the turkey pot, add tomato sauce and all spices, including the other 1 tsp salt. Let simmer until farro is done.
[4] Add cooked farro to meat sauce mixture and stir to combine.
[5] Arrange peppers in a 9x13 baking dish (either 6 peppers standing upright with tops removed and insides cleaned out, or 4 peppers using the horizontal "boat" method as I did in our video) and fill with meat sauce, letting the extra flow over into the dish.
[6] Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes, top peppers with 1 cup shredded cheese, then bake 10-15 minutes more.
[7] Eat!!

Nutrition Info Per Serving (based on 8 servings):
304 calories, 13.5g fat (5.5g saturated), 4.5g fiber, 18g protein.

Recipe Cost: $1.25 per serving.

Enjoy!! ~Jay :D

Foodie Friday: Stuffed Peppers w/Ground Turkey & Farro

Time for another dose of Foodie Friday! Today, Jay takes on a comfort food classic... stuffed peppers... Let's do this!!

Diaita Vlog #4 - Random Updates: Healthy Lifestyle Reboot, Tasting La Croix, Busch Gardens

We're back at it again with the lifestyle update vlogs... these have become less about specifically eating healthy, and more of a general update... huzzah!! :D

Recipe: Split Pea Soup

Split Pea Soup
makes 6 servings, about 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups each

Ingredients:
1 lb split green peas, rinsed
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4-6 medium carrots
4-6 stalks celery
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
1 Tbsp dried minced onion
1 tsp dried thyme
3 bay leaves
1 Tbsp salt

Directions:
[1] Dice carrots and celery; soften on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes in a pan with oil.
[2] Add all remaining ingredients; raise heat to high and bring to boil.
[3] Once bubblage has been obtained, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 1 hour.
[4] Insert soup into bowl; spoon into soup; then spoon into mouth.

Nutrition Info Per Serving:
250 calories, 0g fat (0g saturated), 12.5g fiber, 21g protein.

Recipe Cost: $3.77 total recipe; $0.63 per serving.

Enjoy!! ~Jay :D

Foodie Friday: Split Pea Soup With No Meat?!

It's time for another episode of Foodie Friday! This week, we're making Split Pea Soup with no meat! A lot of folks use meat or bones as seasoning, but this flavorful recipe gets by just fine without! I used chicken broth as my base, but this recipe could be made completely vegetarian by substituting vegetable broth. Let's do this!!

Recipe: Shepherd's Pie / Cottage Pie

Shepherd's Pie / Cottage Pie
makes 6-8 servings, depending on how you work dat knife

Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey (or meat of your choice)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 medium carrots
4 stalks celery
1 cup chicken broth
1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp dried minced onion
2 lbs cauliflower
15oz can pinto beans
1 cup cheese
2 tsp seasoned salt (one for the meat, one for the cauliflower)

Directions:
[1] Cauliflower: rinse and cut into manageable sized pieces; boil for 10 minutes; drain; add 1 Tbsp salt; mash or puree until smooth (adding about 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid back in if needed).
[2] Meat & Veg Mix: dice carrots and celery; soften on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes in a pan with oil; add meat (raise temp to medium-high) and cook until brown; add broth, worcestershire, onion, and 1 Tbsp salt; simmer 10 more minutes.
[3] Assembly: In 9x13 baking dish, layer meat & veg mix; then beans (rinse & drained); then smashed cauliflower; then top with cheese.
[4] Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes until cheese has browned (broil at the end if needed).

Nutrition Info:
- If cutting into 6 pieces: 390 calories, 18g fat (7.5 saturated), 10.5g fiber, 27g protein.
- If cutting into 8 pieces: 292.5 calories, 13.5g fat (5.5 saturated), 8g fiber, 20g protein

Recipe Cost: $9.15 total recipe; $1.53 per piece for 6 pieces; $1.14 per piece for 8 pieces.

Enjoy!! ~Jay :D

Foodie Friday: Shepherd's Pie / Cottage Pie Using Mashed Cauliflower?!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!! It's time for another Foodie Friday video, as Jay plays around with cauliflower in the kitchen in an effort to healthy-ize another classic dish... With both Pi Day and St. Pat's this week, it seemed a perfect fit!

Foodie Friday: Black Bean Turkey Chili (Using Dry Beans)

Here's a reboot of our Black Bean Chili recipe, using dry beans!!

Playlist: Carnival Pride - January 2017 - ParoDeeJay

Hey gang! Here's the nifty YouTube playlist for our Carnival Pride cruise out of Tampa in January 2017... woohoo!! :D

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbURfqJTql-za30FQwAZM4OOUE8mi_8rZ

Remember, you can click on the word "playlist" in the labels section of this blog post to see ALL our playlists!