Quick and Easy Skinny Taco Salad

 This flavorful meal is a favorite at the Smith house.  It  is easy to prepare, so it's great for a school night, busy days, or when you are driving kids to and from sports practice and you have no time.  We eat it a lot, so Jenna is not always thrilled to see it on the menu, but she does manage to clean her plate!

1 pound ground turkey (not turkey breast)
1 can beans, I prefer white beans, Greg likes black beans
1 tsp. Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Chipotle Chili powder or regular Chili powder (use more if you like it spicier)
1/2 to 1 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp celery salt
salt and pepper
1 tomato or a handful of cherry tomatoes per serving
Organic Greens Mix or whatever lettuce mix you like
1 Tbsp low fat Mexican Mix shredded cheese per serving
1 diced red pepper
Olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar for dressing

Brown ground turkey in the olive oil in a fry pan.  Add beans when almost turkey is almost cooked.  Add chili powder, cumin, celery salt, and salt and pepper and cook until done (beans will be a little more tender then they started out).  Use 2-3 handfuls of greens for each plate, top with meat mix, add a handful of tomatoes and a handful peppers per plate. Drizzle with Olive Oil and then Balsamic vinegar, top with 1 Tbsp of cheese per plate.

Tip:   I keep the cut up meat mix, peppers and tomatoes in separate containers in the fridge so that I can throw together a salad in the morning to take for lunch. I put the lettuce mix topped with cheese, tomatoes and peppers in one container, and the meat mix in a separate microwaveable container.  The dressing I have premixed in a container that I keep at work.  Voila'! Easy dinner and then lunch the next day.  Try it and let me know what you think.

Greg Smith's Lean Chili Recipe

1 lb. ground turkey 
olive oil
3 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes

½ onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
8 oz. can black beans, drained
2-8 oz. cans pinto, chili, or kidney beans, drained
1 package chili seasoning
4 oz. low-fat shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions. Saute onion and garlic in a teaspoon of olive oil. Add turkey to pan and brown. Drain and discard any fat. Place 2 cans of tomatoes in the blender and blend. Place all ingredients except cheese into a slow cooker. Cook for 4 hours on low or 2 hours on high. Top with 1 oz cheese if desired.
Note: we often adjust spices by adding chipotle chili powder, about 1/2 teaspoon or adding smoked paprika, about a dash, because we love the smoky southwest flavor  that these spices add. These spices can be found at most grocery stores.

What is Eating Clean? Is it a diet?

I have been getting lots of questions about eating clean versus dieting.  Eating clean is a lifestyle choice, and I don't feel like I am dieting.  I eat a lot of food, but it is the choices in food that make a difference.  Some tips for eating clean are:

• make choices that are unprocessed and as close to their natural source as possible, ie, fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats.  This means, if it comes in a package ready to eat, do some research as to what the ingredients are. 
• stick to the outer aisles in the grocery store.  They put all the junky food in the middle right at eye level.  
• clean eating takes a conscious choice and some effort on your part.  I take one day a week, usually Sunday,  to make a batch of chili (recipe to follow in my next blog post), cook chicken for my salads and to wash and/or cut up and prepare the ingredients for my salads for the week.
• take a cooler with you to work. If you have to go in the field for work or in your daily life take a cooler full of healthy snacks.  DO NOT LET YOURSELF GET STUCK WITHOUT A SNACK! I keep almonds in my cooler in case I have to run out of the office, I take them with me in my purse.  Snacks that I like are apples and peanut butter, red peppers and hummus, rice cakes and cheese sticks, Shakeology, bananas and peanut butter on a rice cake. 
• eat 6 small meals a day.  A good rule of thumb is to eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. 

Tomorrow's post will be Turbofire Lean Chili.  I live on this stuff.