Yay for Mexican Style Stuffed Peppers

 I guess I should fess-up that I never told you how the sugar detox went.... oh wait it's not fessing-up if you already know that.  Right.  In addition to the things you already know, sorry I suck and don't blog as often as I should (I'm really busy). I'll try to be better... don't give up on me!  Anyways, the sugar detox went quite excellent, I was very pleased with how my body felt and my results.  I'm afraid I can't tell you how many inches or pounds I lost because I didn't track it (ya I suck I know) but my jeans felt looser and my stomach felt flatter.  The next part saddens me- I got back from Chicago and I kind of went on a downward spiral.  It wasn't as epic as my past downward spirals; for instance I did not eat over a dozen cookies in a sitting (Did I just make you feel better about your life? Hey, that's what I'm here for no problem!).  I did do stupid things like overeat on things I shouldn't have and then justify it with conversations in my head like, "it was a really rough day at work" or "I'll work extra hard to burn it off in the wod".  Bad. Bad. Bad. Bad!  It's easy too, because my body felt really good and it was easy not to notice the weight gain, oh ya, until I NOTICED the weight gain.... damn mirrors, I only like you when I'm in shape.

So, yes that's where I'm at.  Yet the good news is, I'm starting fresh.  There's a challenge coming up at the gym that I can't wait to start.  No, seriously.  I'm starting the sugar detox again today, and I'm just going to let my lovely three weeks on it run right in with the challenge for the gym.  I feel so much better already.  Knowing I have a plan makes me more content because even though I'm not fixed yet, I'm working on the solution.  Oh, and the whole not feeling like my stomach would like to crawl back up my throat (or worse the other end) definitely helps as well.  

Thus, please enjoy my absolutely delicious recipe.  Yum.  Yes, yum- you are going to like this recipe.  When you try the stuffing try really hard not to keep trying it until you eat an entire portion of it... I did not do this... I am errr just telling you from my experience there is a high probability this may happen.  What?... it's better than eating the cookies right?

Mexican-Style Stuffed Peppers

1 lb ground turkey

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp chili powder

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp olive oil

1 14.5oz can fire roasted tomatoes

1 6oz can tomato paste (no salt or sugar added)
1 3.8oz can diced black olives (drained)
1 4oz can of diced green chiles

1 large sweet onion diced

1 poblano pepper diced

1 green pepper diced

1 small package baby bella sliced mushrooms diced
6-7 bell peppers (I prefer red but to each their own)

Preheat the oven to 375F.  Take out your glass baking dish, cover with aluminum foil (unless you like dishes) and spray with a little olive oil.  Cut out the tops of your bell pepper and remove the seeds/insides.  Place open side down on your baking dish and throw in the oven for 15-20minutes (you want the skin of the pepper slightly softened and just a bit wrinkly).  While the peppers cook, chop up your veggies and get out your soup pot.  Throw in your olive oil and get it hot over medium-high heat.  Add your onion and cook until softened (about 5 min).  Add your ground turkey and cook until completely browned.  Drain your meat and then return to heat.  Add all your spices to the pan along with 3/4 cup of water...stir.  Allow the water to cook down for a couple minutes and then add all the rest of your ingredients with the exception of the black olives (don't drain any of your canned ingredients either with the exception of the black olives).  Mix it all together and let it simmer for roughly 10 minutes until all of your veggies are cooked and the consistency is that of chunky, very thick, spaghetti sauce or salsa.  Remove from heat, add in your black olives and pack your stuffing into your cooled peppers.  Place back in the oven, at 375F, and cook for an additional 10 minutes.  Let cool and devour!