FTR Community Meal Prep

Fit to Recover Members gathered again to combine chopping skills, mixing madness, and seasoning specialities to create healthy and delicious meals for the week!

This week, we focused on these star ingredients:

Cauliflower:  Loaded with fiber, Vitamin C, B vitamins, and a hefty amount of plant protein, cauliflower is an incredibly versatile and tasty ingredient! It's affordable and even available in frozen "rice" form!

Lentils: Another powerhouse of plant protein, lentils steal the show for high iron and protein, plus Vitamin B-6 and Magnesium-- both important nutrients for muscle and cell function!

Turkey: Purchased in it's ground form for ease of preparation, turkey is a lean protein that is especially high in tryptophan- an amino acid that naturally converts to serotonin in our bodies to help us feel calm and happy. It's an inexpensive source of iron, zinc, phosphorus and potassium. 

We chose recipes that allowed us to overlap these ingredients with different sauces, spins, and flavors. We all left with balanced, healthy, and delicious meals that helped us to all nourish happy!

                                     

Check out the recipes we made:

                                                                       GROUP 1

                             Turkey and/or Lentil Tacos with Mexican Cauliflower Rice

30 Minutes; Serves 5

                                                                        Ingredients:
                                                    

                                                     Lentil and turkey tacos:
                                                       Homemade taco seasoning:

1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
1.5 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp oregano (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh black pepper
1 tsp corn starch (optional)
·       2 cups brown lentils, cooked
·       2lbs ground turkey (can be dark and light meat)
·       1 onion, chopped
·       3 cloves garlic, minced
·       1 cups vegetable broth or water
·       1 tbsp tomato paste

Simple Guacamole:
2 avocados, mashed
1/2 tomato
        1/2  red onion, diced
1.5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1 lime, juiced
1 handful cilantro

Mexican cauliflower rice:
10 minutes, serves 5

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 white onion
2 clove garlic
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 lb cauliflower rice (about 1 very large heads)- or buy 1 bag frozen Cauliflower rice
1/2 jalapeno, de-seeded and diced
1 (14.5 oz) can crushed or diced tomatoes, drained
Salt, to taste ~1 tsp
Chopped cilantro

*Adapted from Budgetbytes, and skinnytaste recipes

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Measure out and mix together the taco seasoning. Dice 2 onions and place in bowl to be divided between recipes. Mix together the simple guacamole in a large bowl.
2. Mince cloves of garlic, enough for both recipes. Heat oil in pan, and add onion and garlic.3. Sauté for 5 minutes or so, until onions begin to turn translucent. Add ground turkey and cook 3-4 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and taco seasoning.

4. Add broth (as needed) and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid becomes thick and clings to meat. Remove the meat and place in a bowl. Use same pan for cauliflower rice.
 
5. To make the cauliflower rice: trim off the greens and stems of the cauliflower and cut into sizes that will fit into your food processor. Pulse until it resembles a rice-like texture. In a large skillet heat the oil over medium high heat. Add in the onion, garlic, and jalapeno. Sauté for 2 minutes until soft. Sprinkle in the chili powder and cumin and salt. Stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in the cauliflower and stir letting it crisp up and any moisture evaporate. About 5 minutes. Add in the tomatoes and stir to combine. Sprinkle with cilantro and a squeeze of lime.
 
 
 
GROUP 2
 
Turkey, Lentil, Barley Mediterranean Bowls
30 minutes; makes 5 servings
 
1 tbsp oil
1 lbs turkey
1 lemon, sliced
1 tsp each: rosemary, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1/2 white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cups lentils
1 zucchinis, spiralized
1 bags (12 oz) baby spinach
1 cup hulled barley
3 cups vegetable broth
1 cucumbers, diced
1 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup artichokes (optional)
1/2 cup kalamata olives (optional)
1 cups feta cheese
 
Simple yogurt dill sauce:
1 1/2 cup plain yogurt
4 teaspoons olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
2 clove garlic, minced
3 teaspoon chopped fresh dill leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
 
Avocado Mouse:
 
3 avocados
1/2 cup almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3 tbsp honey (may add more)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
 
INSTRUCTIONS: 
1. Place vegetable broth in pan and heat until it boils. Add 1 cups barley, reduce to a simmer, and cover to allow to cook, about 50 minutes. Stir occasionally. Meanwhile, halve the grape tomatoes and dice the cucumbers.
 
2. Dice onion and mince garlic. Heat oil in medium-large pan and add ground turkey. Sprinkle in rosemary, thyme, oregano, salt, pepper and red wine vinegar. Cook until turkey is no longer pink. Remove from heat. Spiralize the zucchini for the Mediterranean bowls.
 
3. Make dill yogurt sauce: Mix all sauce ingredients in a medium bowl.
 
4. Prepare the avocado mouse. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
 
Build the bowl: Place spinach on the bottom, top with lentils and barley. Place turkey on top, and add cucumbers, tomato, artichoke, feta and olives, if desired.
 
GROUP 3
 
Turkey Burgers /Lentil Burgers with Roasted Cauliflower
30 minutes, 5 servings
 
Turkey Burgers
1 white onion, chopped
1 tbsp oil
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1.5 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp ground mustard (optional)
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound lean ground turkey
 
Roasted Cauliflower:
1 heads cauliflower
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
 
Lentil Burgers*
1 carrot, peeled
1/2 medium yellow or white onion
3 garlic cloves, or 1.5 tsp minced
2 cups cooked green or brown lentils
1 can chickpeas
2 eggs
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, made into oat flour in a blender
Handful fresh cilantro 
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon  hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon  sea salt
1/2 teaspoon  black pepper
 extra-virgin olive oil for cooking
 
Mango Salsa
2 ripe mangos, diced (see photos)
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
1-2  limes, juiced (about ¼ cup lime juice)
⅛ to ¼ teaspoon salt, to taste
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp coriander

*Adapted from Cookie and Kate
 
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 425. Make the roasted Cauliflower: Cut cauliflower into small pieces for roasting. Place in large bowl, drizzle olive oil, salt, pepper, over cauliflower and stir. Spread on baking sheet and place in oven for about 40 minutes, or until browned and soft.
 
2. Make the Turkey Burgers: Heat oil in pan. Place onion and oil in a small skillet; cover and cook for 3-4 minutes or until very soft, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and place in bowl.
In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, mustard, pepper, salt and onion. Crumble turkey over mixture and mix just until combined. Shape into two patties. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes. Then, in a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook patties over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side and until middle is no longer pink. Serve on buns.

Lentil Burgers- YUM!

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3. Make the lentil burgers. Blend up the 1 cup oats in your food processor. Blend until the oats have a fine, flour-like texture. Transfer the oats to a bowl for later.
2. Grate the carrot by hand or in the food processor and remove to a bowl. Cut the onion into a few slices before adding the onion and garlic cloves to the food processor. Pulse until the onions are roughly chopped, but no more.
3. Add to the food processor: lentils and chickpeas, eggs, oats (save some for dusting), handful of cilantro, all of the spices, salt and black pepper. Process only until the mixture has the consistency of a chunky hummus. Stir in the grated carrot.
4. Form into 1 inch patties, and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Dust with oat flour on the outside, and cook in pan with 1 tbsp oil. On medium heat, cook about 4.5-5 minutes per side.

5. Make mango salsa. In a serving bowl, combine the prepared mango, bell pepper, onion, cilantro and jalapeño. Drizzle with the juice of one lime and mix well. Season to taste with salt. For best flavor, let the salsa rest for 10 minutes or longer.

  

Thanks for a great evening full of delicious, real, and healthy food! And, as always, we all added the secret ingredient: love!

Happy nourishing!!

Look for the next Community Meal Prep on Thursday, April 20th 5:30-7!