Hey Chicks, At FIT CHICKS Academy we love seeing the creativity and hard work of our Fitness & Nutrition Expert Program (FNE) students and grads. Today we are pumped to share this recipe for you from recently Certified Fitness & Nutrition Expert  Leona Harter! Leona created this recipe for one of the assignments in the Nutrition Module of the FNE program, and excited to introduce Leona and her creation!

 

My name is Leona Harter. I graduated from the FNE program February 2019. I am an acupuncturist, massage therapist, yoga teacher, and fitness instructor. I believe health is as much a state of mind as a physical state of being and want to empower women to be the best versions of themselves mentally, physically, and spiritually. I combine my training in Chinese Medicine, Integrative Health Coaching, and fitness to help women who want to improve their health and feel better mentally and physically. I’m here to inspire all women to take back control of their health and transform their life. I am passionate about helping women reclaim their voice and love to educate about health prevention and self—care. I believe in the power of food as medicine and the importance of the mind-body connection. When not engrossed in the world of medicine, teaching classes, or inspiring women to be their best, i am an avid yoga practitioner. A few of my guilty pleasures include weekend getaways, binge reading a good book, watching movie classics, or enjoying anything that’s salted chocolate caramel.

 

I did the Fitness & Nutrition Expert  program as a refresher. I think every instructor should be certified and stay up to date on trainings in order to be able to offer the most effective plans to their clients. I chose FIT CHICKS Academy for my certification because I love how FIT CHICKS empowers women to be their best as that is what i’m looking to do in my own practice.

 

I loved the resources and the availability of the FNE staff to answer questions and offer support. To anyone looking to take the program I would say: Do it! Even if you already have a fitness background, it will add layers to your knowledge and provide a ground work for future trainings.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

I’ve always been a picky eater. Even as a kid, my parents had a hard time getting me to eat a lot of meat. So my mom would always fix stuff  with rice or veggies in it to try to get me to eat it. Stuffed bell peppers was one of my favorites and my mom would fix it a variety of ways in order to get me to eat something the rest of the family would eat as well. Over the years, i’ve refined it a little, substituting the premade spaghetti sauce she used with a healthier option and often omitting the meat or substituting rice options. The basic recipe is written below with several options and variations so that  it can be enjoyed grain free, reduced carbs, and even veggie version suggestions if you have eating restrictions. Feel free to experiment! Whichever version you choose, this is great served with avocado slices or a nice mixed green salad drizzled with a wee bit of oil and vinegar. This makes a great complete in 3 meal containing containing healthy fats, carbs, and protein. I’ve included the nutrient break down for several versions. Enjoy!

TOTAL SERVINGS: 4

TOTAL CALORIES PER SERVING: 345

MACRONUTRIENT BREAKDOWN PER SERVING (INCL FIBRE GRAMS!):

Fat: 8.2 g

Carbs: 38.4 g (5.6 g fiber, 7.6 g sugar)

Protein: 27.3 g

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 15 oz can basic tomato sauce or diced tomatoes
  • 1 lb lean ground beef
  • 2 cups cooked jasmine rice, no salt
  • 4 large bell peppers
  • ½ onion, thinly sliced
  • ½ onion, diced
  • ½  tsp ground black pepper, divided
  • 1 ½ tsp salt, or to taste (1 tsp + ½ tsp)
  • 1 tsp garlic powder, divided
  • 1  tsp Italian seasoning

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Pour the tomato sauce in a 9×13 baking dish. Add ¼ tsp pepper, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, sliced onion, and ½ cup water. Mix and spread evenly over the bottom of the pan.
  3. Combine ground beef, cooked rice, diced onion, 1 tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, ½ tsp garlic, and 4 Tbsp of the tomato mixture.
  4. Cut the tops off the bell peppers. Remove core and seeds. You may need to slice a thin piece off the bottom, so they will stand up but leave the bottom closed.
  5. Divide meat mixture among the peppers and lightly stuff. Add stuffed peppers to the baking dish. Spoon about a Tbsp of the sauce mix over each pepper. Cover lightly with foil.
  6. Bake in oven about 40 minutes. Peppers should be starting to soften. Remove foil. Continue to bake until meat filling is cooked through and the peppers are tender, approximately another 20 minutes. Drizzle with pan sauce before serving.  

TIPS TO ALTER IN LIEU OF A DIETARY RESTRICTION

If you are trying to cut grains, lower your carb intake or just want more veggies, you can substitute 2 cups of cauliflower rice for the jasmine rice.

TIPS TO SUB AN INGREDIENT TO ALTER THE RECIPE

Want something different, omit the jasmine rice and substitute wild rice with ¼ cup of finely chopped walnuts.

Want a veggie version? Omit the meat. Stuff the peppers with wild rice (or half wild rice, half cauliflower rice), chopped walnuts, and a bit of goat cheese for a yummy variation.

Thanks for sharing Leona! You can find out more about Leona at vibrantliving4life.com and on Facebook at facebook.com/vibrantliving4life

PS Do you want get CERTIFIED as a Fitness & Nutrition Expert?  Download our program brochure here and learn how you start to create your dream life, health & career!