Southwest Turkey Quinoa Casserole

Hi chickadees =) Hope your weekend was FANTABULOUS....  << thats one of my most favorite made up words... its fantastic + fabulous

Mine consisted of the World Cup, working out, the beach, working a little and coming up with new recipes <3

I know.. catchy.

Anyway, I was browsing Instagram a few nights ago looking at some #FOODPORN...

*which is actually a REALLY bad idea because anytime I lay in bed and look at food at 11pm it makes me want to snack, so I try to avoid this

when I stumbled across a turkey casserole dish. I totally forgot to double tap (like that ish) and screen shot it so I could do it.

So I decided to just wing it. A casserole can't be THAT hard. And it wasn't! SCORE.

What You Need:

• Lean ground turkey 
• Shredded Fiesta Blend Cheese
• Taco seasoning
• Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy seasoning
• Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle seasoning
• Paprika 
• 1/2 onion
• 1 can of corn
• 2 cans of black beans
• 2 cups of cooked quinoa
• 1 diced fresh jalapeño
• minced garlic
• 2tbsp olive oil
• avocado for topping
• sour cream and salsa optional (and so good with it)

Directions:

*Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Dice up onion, jalapeño and garlic. Sautee with olive oil on low heat. 
2. Prepare/cook quinoa if not done yet before doing the next step (the quinoa and turkey will finish at the same time)
3. In a bowl, empty the ground turkey and add spices -- mix well and add 2tbsp of olive oil
4. Ground up turkey in the pan and cook through
5. While turkey is cooking, check quinoa (it should only take about 15 mins to cook both)
6. Drain beans and corn, and empty into a casserole dish
7. Add the cooked quinoa and cooked turkey into the casserole dish and mix well with the beans and corn. 
8. Add the shredded cheese and either mix in or leave on top
9. Place casserole dish in oven and cook for 10 minutes
10. Let cool, add avocado and enjoy!

You'll see.. SO good! 

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How did I do it? My Personal Story from Flab to Fab!

So I've been getting asked a LOT what I've done exactly to get where I am now from where I was... and I'm totally 100% flattered by all the questions and comments I've received.

From THAT ^^^      
to THIS....

Looking back at my first before photos, I can't help but ask myself, 'Abby... what the heck. When did you lose self control and stop caring?" And it wasn't just for vanity reasons, but how did I let my diet get out of control?! I've always loved fitness -- but I KNEW BETTER.

The year before I started as a Beachbody Coach I literally made pancakes and brownies way too often, we're talking like at least once a month. But back then, at age 20-- I guess I thought I was invincible? It's not like I had a crazy fast metabolism all my life, quite the opposite. It felt like if I ate a few bad things, I would gain 5 lbs instantly! #instafat

*To get an idea of my very basic meal plan when I'm trying to be stricter GO HERE.

Not only that, but I LOVE a good burger -- and don't get me started on pizza. So obviously it's not that I became this super food nazi in order to lose weight and tone up. I just got realistic and focused. I still enjoy a cheat meal, and I still love brownies, burgers, pancakes and pizza-- but now I love my results more.

Once you see progress, you don't really want to turn back. Like EVER.

So from where I was then, to where I am now is a HUGE jump. Thank goodness I got my head in the game and my ass in gear or else starting now would be so much harder.

See, that's the thing.. so many people wait to start and then it's 10x harder then it would have been if you had started when you said you were. If you want results, you have to start giving it your all and stop giving up. Quitting doesn't make a winner.

So let's get onto the goods. JUST HOW did I DO it?!


Watch my video: Part 1


Part II:





Please leave feedback, love to hear from my followers! Remember, not one size fits all. This has been my PERSONAL experience... we all find our way somehow!

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My Daily Meal Plan

I posted this earlier on my Facebook this week (Facebook.com/abbymaried) and wanted to share with my bloggers as well ;-)

To give a quick idea of what I eat on the daily:

16oz of water then, 
***T25 for quick morning cardio*** 

Breakfast: ((OPTIONS))

• Shakeology and oatmeal with 1tbsp of PB (tastes like a friggin PB oatmeal cookie, #nom) 
• 1-2 servings of Fruit (I follow the portion size from the 21DF), a slice of ezekiel bread toast, and 2 eggs scrambled

Snack: Two eggs, spinach, and a slice of Ezekiel toast

Lunch: 

• Chicken, veggies, brown rice, avocado
• Healthy tuna avocado sandwich or salad (on a bed of spinach) with fresh fruit 

Snack: Cliff bar  or Luna Bar (before a workout usually) OR greek yogurt with an apple

Workout -- usually lifting (depending on the day of the week) following most of the Body Beast schedule (hello #ladybeast)

***Post workout protein shake and amino acids***

Dinner: Fish, sweet potatoes, veggies < something of that variation

TA DA... nothing crazy or complicated, but my week usually revolves around 5-6 meals a day focusing on using the 21 Day Fix meal plan guidelines (what would I do without that?!) and I try to drink as much water as I can...

Oh and I sneak in a cucumber smoothie from Robeks once a week.#ijustcanthelpmyself

But I do try to avoid doing this UNLESS its my designated cheat meal, then pass those chips over! I'll take another side of guac too. 

* I limit fruit, but do have cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries, apples because they are lower on the GI scale and lower in sugars! I will do fruit for breakfast if I have it and it's in season 

OH, and I do NOT have fruit at night (if I can avoid it, but if I need something sweet, Ill sprinkle it with lemon and Tajin seasoning) and if I do eat bananas (which is rare) it's usually BEFORE a workout and/or 1/2 a banana!

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Protein Banana Bread (Chocolate Chips Optional)

Surprisingly I'm not a HUGE banana fan-- but that's just by themselves. I blame it on banana overdosing for about 10 years of my life. IF I have a banana its usually in Shakeology ;-)

But since I had several bananas starting to go brown, I figured now is a good time to put them to use. I'm sick of throwing food away!

So here goes nothin'

What you will Need:

• 1/2 cup of protein powder
• 1 1/2 cups of old fashioned oats
• 1tsp of baking soda
• 1tsp of baking powder
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup of coconut oil/butter (melted)
• 1/2 cup of egg whites
• 1/4 cup of milk
• about 12 packets or 1/4 cup of Stevia 

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Coat bread pan 
3. Combine all ingredients in a blender (except the chocolate chips if you put them on)
4. blend until smooth
5. Pour into bread pan 
6. Bake for 35-40 minutes

Bon Appetite!

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