Sunday Prep Day

GUYS.

I did it.

I finally did it.

This is just a week of firsts.

I've always known the best way to prepare for a week of healthy eating would be to do a Sunday Prep Day. Cooking and meal planning, those are the building blocks of weight loss success. But they take time, and effort, and I hate having to put in time, and effort.

BUT TODAY.

Oh, today.

I woke up later than usual, so it's not like I just had ample amounts of extra time or anything. I said bye to the boy, and contemplated the groceries I bought yesterday eve. I thought about having a basic, easy breakfast.

And decided to make me a recipe instead.

This recipe, to be exact.

Meat crust quiche? Oh, hell yeah. The crust. Is meat.

It. Was. BOMB.

And while it was baking, I turned the rest of the dozen eggs I bought into hard boiled ones. And now I am set for snacks, and meals, for the week!

LOOK AT ME GO.

After yoga tonight, I might get really wild and cook up a batch of ground turkey for stuffed sweet potatoes, then I'd even have VARIETY. Who knows?

Things I Learned At The Grocery Store Today + A RECIPE!

Deep thoughts from Taylorville.

1. Everything has soy. 
2. And if doesn't have soy, it has sugar. A craving for breakfast sausage could not be sated by anything at Ralph's. Merde.
3. It's expensive to eat healthy.
4. But I already knew that, today just reaffirmed it.
5. And in order to eat Whole30 you have to like...make everything.

So, I made lunch! A late lunch, but lunch. I used this recipe as inspiration and a starting point, but veered off slightly from the ingredients and instructions. I KNOW RIGHT?! I'm like...brave.

And it was delicious.

Here's my very first recipe for you all. If you try it, let me know what you think!

Turkey and Spinach Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

*4 sweet potatoes or yams
*1 pound ground turkey (I used Jennie-0 93% Lean)

*Bag of baby spinach

*2 tablespoons coconut oil

*1 cup red onion

*2 cloves garlic

*1 teaspoons onion powder

*1 teaspoons garlic powder

*Trader Joe's smoked sea salt

*salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Heat up your coconut oil on the stove on medium high heat.
2. Add the garlic and onions to the pan.
3. When the onions start to smell delicious, add the turkey and break it up with a wooden spoon.
4. Microwave your sweet potato according to these instructions. (Or do it in the oven according to these, if you have foil and time, which I didn't.)
5. Once the turkey starts to crumble and cook, add the onion powder, garlic powder and a generous amount of smoked sea salt.
6. When the meat is close to finished cooking, add the spinach, I did half the bag at a time.
7. Take the sweet potato out of the microwave, cut it open and mash up the insides, add meat, et voila!

Sausage and Pumpkin Pasta

I have raved on this blog before about the culinary delights on Emily Bites. Basically, anything you attempt to make from her site will be an amazing joy explosion in your mouth, and she is a beautiful, kind-hearted creature whose brain I would not mind stealing. Or borrowing. Permanently.

Anywho.

Now that fall is finally upon us, it's time to start eating everything and anything pumpkin flavored. Last night I whipped a batch of her sausage and pumpkin pasta, which has been touted as one of her very best concoctions.

I do declare, it was pretty damn tasty.

Only took one terrible picture before it all went IN MY MOUTH.

I did expect it to taste more pumpkiny, but it was definitely delicious and flavorful. Also VERY filling. I used the recommended brand of turkey sausage and it was super tasty...and by the way, removing sausage from a casing feels a bit like playing with a condom. Or a flaccid penis. Not that I've ever done that...

And now you're ravenous, aren't you?

Magical Couscous Delight

I have not been cooking much.

Cooking is hard. And it makes a mess of my kitchen.

A few weeks ago, I made Emily Bites' Cheesy Chicken Cups, which were pretty tasty but not a repeat. Totally forgot to take pictures. And I made her Taco Wrap Deluxes again. Yummmm. Then there was my Dark Period of not eating good at all...let's forget about that. Since then, I've been subsisting on salads and Lean Cuisines, needing the structure and regularity of easy meals.

But today, I decided to branch out.

And I made a recipe.

And it was FUCKING DELICIOUS.

Emily Bites, of course. We love her. Couscous with prosciutto, asparagus and mushrooms...aka, three of my very favorite things. I definitely recommend this recipe. Flavorful, decadent, and good for you!

Spinach, Mushroom and Sausage Quiche

Y'all, I cooked.

Spinach, Mushroom and Sausage Quiche

From Trader Joe's Recipes

Modifications: 

• Sweet Basil and Pesto Sausage
• 5 whole eggs

WW Point Total: 4pts for one piece, 7pts for two.

Notes:

I took it out too early, despite calling and getting advice from my ever-so-wise mother about what to do when it started to brown on top. I should have just put a little foil over it so the crust could finish cooking, but it smelled amazing and I was hungry. And I am not known for patience. Aside from the slightly soft crust, it was totally delicious, and easy to make. The polenta was really flavorful and filling. I'm going to try it again next week with a different kind of sausage, and a full 45-50 minutes in the oven. 

Rehab for the Domestically Disinclined

Y'all, I'm turning into one hell of a kitchen queen. No lie.

I've never been much of a cook. You give me a box of brownie mix with three step instructions and I will inevitably miss a step, spill all over myself, and forget to pre-heat the oven. When I do finally slide my delicious treats into it, I'm so goshdarn proud, I pour myself a glass of wine in celebration and forget about them until they end up a charred brick of broken chocolate dreams.

It's a little pathetic.

Since I started living alone, I've mostly subsisted on Trader Joe's delights, scrambled eggs, frozen dinners and take-out---not exactly the diet of champions. Overall, cooking has always been annoying, stressful, and time consuming. Why make something myself if I can go out and BUY it? My quest to eat healthier started in January, and I upped my game (Oooh stir-frys! Oooh salads!), but I was starting to get really bored.

So, I tried a recipe. Emily Bites Lasagna "Cupcakes", to be exact. And they were amaaazing. And tasted like real grown-up food, who woulda thought? Then I tried her Cheesy Taco Pasta. Indulgent and incredible. Then, for a week straight, I ate a Taco Wrap Deluxe every single day. Hello, guilt-free Taco Bell? I AM ALL OVER IT.

I had a little baby epiphany---if I follow recipes and you know, pay attention, I can make delicious healthy things for CHEAP?! Simple math that has eluded me for years.

Today, I feasted on her Banana Pancake Bites, which were so damn good I ate every single one over the course of the day. (Yeah, I still have moderation issues.) This week I also tried her Zucchini Squares, which, zomg, soooo good for breakfast or dinner!

(Clearly, this post should just be titled "An Ode To Emily Bites".)

I'm actually starting to enjoy cooking, believe it or not. It can still be a little tedious to me, but I just turn on a dinner-themed playlist and get my cook on, often awkwardly dancing around the kitchen with food in my hair. I have a whole Pinterest board full of things I'm stoked to try, and I have fashioned a new fantasy future myself:

Domestic Goddess. High heels, sexy apron, plate full of joy.

I am going to bake the shit out of life, and you will all fall in love with me via your bellies.