It’s a balancing act!

I’m not a fan of depriving myself of things (especially food)… I once tried to go Vegan for a week and gave up with only 6 hours left (lame), when I opted to swear off sweets for Lent I inhaled a dessert that night, and the worst is when I go into a birthday party with the mindset that I will not have a piece of cake with ice cream to always end up going back for seconds!

Recently I’ve learned that telling myself NO to a certain food is just not going to work in my daily balance routine. I don’t follow rules, I’m such a rebel! 😉 I workout 5-6 times a week and eat clean foods 90% of the time so why shouldn’t I be able to treat myself every once in a while day? For me this is what works… For you? Maybe not. You have to find your own balance.

However, there are a few foods I CANNOT buy Sam’s Club sized because I know I will be testing my will power to not polish them off in one day/sitting. (No judging 🙂 ) These are my Trigger Foods in no particular order

1. Lucky Charms – When I buy these now I go for the 1 serving size. I love cereal and have/could eat an endless amount.

2. Ice Cream – Thank goodness for single serving cups of these. I’ve been known to take down a pint or two of Ben and Jerry’s when having a rough day!

3. Utz Sour Cream & Onion Rippled Chips – When I was in High School I ate an entire bag (we’re talking family sized) of these DAILY. They are just SO good.

4. Peanut Butter M&M’s – Peanut Butter + Chocolate… If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you know this is my ultimate weakness

5. Iced Animal Crackers – I think it’s the sprinkles that really win my heart over

Though I’m not perfect…and never will be I’ve learned that it’s OK to have that cookie when a craving strikes. Now, instead of calling my entire day a failure after enjoying a cookie and continue to eat bad just because I’ve already “ruined my healthy eating” I stop and realize – those cookies will be there tomorrow when another craving hits.

Julia Child said it best “Everything in moderation…including moderation!”

I have two recipes for you today. One healthy dinner and of course, a dessert. Duh, Moderation 🙂

Cara from Chic Meets Healthy recently posted a Turkey Meatloaf in a Pepper recipe that I’ve been wanting to try. I finally had time to make my version last night and they were TO DIE for. I’ve already polished off the leftovers for lunch!

Stuffed Turkey Meatloaf in Sliced Peppers (adapted from Chic Meets Healthy)

Ingredients

• 2 green peppers
• 1 pound 99% fat-free ground turkey
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 2 Tbsp Organic Marinara Sauce (I used trader joe’s)
• 1 Tbsp Worcester sauce
• 1/2 cup whole wheat panko
• 2 egg whites
• Olive Oil Cooking Spray
• 2/3 cup of chopped onion
• Worcester Pepper

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
• Slice your peppers into thirds so they resemble rings. Use the bottom and/or tops of your peppers to chop up for your meatloaf mixture.

 

biggest pepper ever

 

• Combine all ingredients for your meatloaf in a bowl and incorporate together.
• Stuff your pepper rings.

• Brown each side of the meatloaf peppers in a pan with cooking spray for 3 minutes on each side.

• Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes

I ate two of these slices! Cara said she could only finish one – I must’ve been hungry!

Now, onto the dessert…My favorite part of the day!

We decided to make two different types of cookies today – We’re crazy like that. We used the same base for both.

My grandma’s sugar cookies (the recipe is here)

For the first ones you can just roll out the dough (from recipe above) and cut your favorite designs. We did an Easter theme – butterflies, eggs, flowers & bunnies!

For the second round we have

Peach Thumb Print Cookies drizzled with Milk Chocolate.

Ingredients:

• Sugar Cookie Dough (from above)
• Peach Jam
• Milk Chocolate (melted) – I used Ghiradelli
• Sanding Sugar

Directions:

• Roll your dough into 3/4 inch balls.
• Then press your thumb into each cookie.
• Fill each center with 1/4 tsp of Peach Jam and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
• Remove from oven.
• Cool for 10 minutes.
• Drizzle milk chocolate and sprinkle sanding sugar over top of cookies.

The second ones were my favorite! That actually surprises me because I am a HUGE icing fan. Do I dare say these might be my new favorite cookies!? I think my taste buds are changing…

I’m off to watch Bethenny and most likely spit out my dinner from laughing so hard. What? Not what you wanted to picture?

Enjoy your Tuesday night! I’m thinking of doing a What I ate Wednesday post tomorrow if I have time?!

QUESTIONS: What are some of your trigger foods? Have you found your balance?

Tags: baking, balance, cereal, cookies, dinner, ground turkey breast, iced animal crackers, lucky charms, milk chocolate, peach, recipe, recipes, thumb print, trigger foods, utz sour cream and onion chips