After work today I headed to my gym… but not for a workout.
I saw a sign on the whiteboard near the front desk this morning informing members about a free nutrition seminar with a registered dietitian today at 5:30 p.m.
Sign me up!
The seminar was called “To Eat or Not to Eat” and was essentially an “Eat This, Not That” lecture that compared two dining options. Class participants were then asked to choose the healthier option.
I guessed correctly on almost all of the comparisons except for the one comparing the sugar content between one Pop-Tart and a small cup of original apple sauce.
vs. 
The cup of apple sauce (original, not natural or unsweetened) had 22 – 23 grams of sugar, while one Pop-Tart had 20 grams. Yikes!
During the seminar, the dietitian answered a lot of different questions, including how to drink more water throughout the day, as many of us in attendance struggle to consume the recommended eight glasses a day. Her suggestions included:
- Add citrus fruits to cold water, like orange or lemon wedges for added flavor
- Add cucumber slices to water for a refreshing taste
- Try sparkling water, as it can satisfy carbonation desires that many soda-lovers crave
- Buy a 16 oz. water bottle and make it a point to fill it up and drink the whole thing four times daily
I recently began buying sparkling water and must agree that it helps me down more water daily. I get sick of sipping plain water and find that a little extra fizz can make it easier to drink adequate amounts.
Dinner
Once the seminar was over, I headed home and hung out with Ryan and his cousin for a bit while preparing dinner.
On the menu this evening was stuffed peppers!
I’ve never made stuffed peppers before and after seeing a recipe for stoplight stuffed peppers on Janetha’s blog, I knew I had to give ‘em a go!
I followed her recipe for the most part, but omitted some ingredients and changed the amounts of others.
Luckily with all of my changes they still turned out delicious!
Though the stuffed peppers looked all fancy sitting up straight, I cut into mine before digging in to make sure the chicken filling was cooked all the way through. It was a good thing I did because the meat wasn’t fully cooked.
After another 8 minutes in the oven, the peppers were ready for eatin’.
The end result was really, really tasty!
Plus, we have lots of chicken filling that I cooked in a loaf pan along with the peppers leftover to enjoy in the upcoming days.
And now it’s time to enjoy the lovely company of Ryan and Sadie for the rest of the evening.
See ya in the morning. Let’s hope tomorrow starts off a little chilly again!
Chicken ‘n’ Veggie Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. ground chicken
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 c chopped mushrooms
- 1 packet Knorr vegetable soup mix
- 1/2 c. marinara sauce
- 3 egg whites
- 3/4 c. salsa
- 2 – 4 large bell peppers
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Mix chicken through salsa in a bowl
- Cut off tops of peppers and remove the insides
- Fill peppers with chicken mixture and bake for 40 minutes to an hour, until chicken mixture is fully cooked
- Enjoy as is, or top with ketchup or hot sauce
*Note: You may cook any leftover chicken filling in a loaf pan and enjoy it as a chicken meatloaf.
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i love the idae of stuffed peppers because you can eat EVERYTHING!
thats awesome that you took advantage of the nutriton seminar! we do games like that at work for our members “eat this not that’ and it suprises them the foods that they think are healthier its crazy!
All fruits have a ton of natural sugars. You can by applesauce wo the added sugars….still a lot healthier than a poptart..
.lol
that’s crazy applesauce has that much sugar!! peppers look great:)
YUM! Looks Good! Who would have guessed that the apple sauce had more sugar than the pop tart. I actually haven’t had either in years. I like the addition of cucumber to water. It’s very spa ish
We’ve got some peppers that need to be used up so this just gave me the idea of what to use them for! Except I have to make them vegetarian since half of the people I live with don’t eat meat. Thanks for the idea!
You can cook them in a crockpot…There are a lot of great recipes on pinterest for crockpot green peppers. I use the crock pot liners, and tie the tops to hold in the moisture…easy cleanup and smells wonderful!
Ooops- I actually meant to reply to Anna wh said she had no oven…
Yummy looks great! I wish I had an oven so I could make this!
The peppers look delicious!! Definitely going to try this recipe soon.
Wow-I never would have guessed about the applesauce holy moly!
Your peppers look very tasty, as with all your recipes.
whoa. that’s pretty shocking about the applesauce/pop tart comparison!!!
i definitely need to drink a lot more water, thanks for those tips! 🙂
the peppers look yummy!
It amazes me that I haven’t tried stuffed peppers yet. I have to soon!
I definitely need to recreate those peppers! YUM!!!
Those look so good! I love the crispy edges!
Who would have thought the the seemingly “healthier” applesauce would have more sugar than pop tarts! Yikes!
I’ve never made it myself but I stayed at a hotel once with 3 different flavored waters in the lobby and I never failed to grab a cup as I walked through. They did the cucumber thing and one with melon and strawberries. It adds a nice, light flavor.
Oh those peppers look good. And that recipe is just my type–simple!
Agreed on the sparkling water. I am still a diet soda addict (mostly because my boyfriend is diabetic and is also a diet soda addict), but sparkling water has helped me when I tried to kick my habit in the past!
I used to eat Mott’s Original, until I really looked at the nutrition label and it really freaked me out! Not only does it have tons of sugar, it contains high fructose corn syrup. EEK. I only have the natural unsweetened ones now.
I actually meant to make stuffed peppers this week, but didn’t get around to it. Mine use rice and ground meat, but those look pretty tasty too!
To make sure I get enough water, I got one of the big BPA-free Nalgene (sp?) bottles… I have no problem getting enough each day! I just fill it twice and I get 64oz 🙂 PS – Peppers looked yummers!
That sounds SO GOOD! I looove stuffed peppers!
When I make stuffed peppers, I cut them in half to begin with to keep ’em lookin’ pretty and they are easy to cut and get all of the filling in every bite. I have a diff take on my recipe page 😉
And ditto on the sparkling water — love drinking it in a wine glass to make it more fun!
Julie those looks great!! I wouldn’t have guessed egg but sounds amazing!
I love the idea of them, they tend to look tasty, but I’ve never made stuffed peppers because they just take too long for me!
Are the grams of sugar in the applesauce all added sugar? Because don’t apples have a lot of natural sugar? I actually love love love poptarts but I never ever buy them because I would eat the whole box in one sitting! But if they have less sugar then applesauce…
hey i just thought i would let you know, your blog had inspired me to make my own! check it out!!
and that bell pepper looks really good! ( at least the filling does;)
I love the “Eat This, Not That” series! Some of the comparisons are so shocking and totally unexpected. I also like how the books are bright, colourful and full of images rather than a boring black and white diet book. Much easier to read when there are lots of pictures! 😉
I am the WORST at staying hydrated. If it were socially acceptable, I would walk around with a Camelbak on 24/7.
that’s interesting about the applesauce vs poptarts, but if the nutritionist was advocating eating poptarts instead of applesauce, i’m not sure i would go to anymore of her seminars.
no, no she definitely wasn’t… she was just saying that if you’re going to eat applesauce, look for the natural, unsweetened variety.
Hi Julie, I was wondering what type of sparkling water you drink. I’m looking for ways to down more water daily, and I think plain old water gets really boring really fast! Thank you!
i love la croix sparkling water. they make different flavors (grapefruit & lemon are great) & i buy it at my local grocery store by the bottled water.
Peppers look terrific. I often add a little lemon slice to my water to change it up. Gives a nice hint of flavor without adding any sugar or calories to it.
As for the applesauce that”s crazy. Good thing I buy the unsweetened kind.
The leftover filling is the best part of making stuffed peppers!
That Eat This Not That class sounds like fun! I have a few of the ETNT books and I love finding out what food is the better choice! 🙂
I think the idea of Eat This, Not That is fun, but really the “healthy” option is always just a lesser of two evils. Still, I do like seeing how many calories and fat some of those meals have.
looks easy and delicious.
I would have never guessed that either. I love pop tarts 🙂 but never ever eat them because they are so bad for you
That’s very interesting sugar info on the poptart vs applesauce. I’m always reading sugar content on nutrition labels but since I don’t eat either food, I didn’t know. Thanks for the information Julie.
I like making stuffed peppers too. They freeze well and I have leftovers for a week.
Those peppers look divine!
i didn’t know that about the poptart vs applesauce…. but that’s why i always buy unsweetened applesauce or just make my own. so i would have suspected that but didn’t know for sure. 🙂 and those stuffed peppers look AMAZING!
I purchased a really cool water bottle and it has made all the difference in the amount of water I drink.
You have to bit and suck, which is fun for some reason, so I drink about 3 or so/day.
http://www.camelbak.com/sports-recreation/bottles/better-bottle-75L.aspx
Bite and suck that is.
And it’s no-spill as well, so it can roll around the truck or drop in my purse, very convenient.
The apple sauce probably has more sugar because it has natural sugars from the apples. I prefer unsweetened applesauce though, it’s sweet enough for me! 🙂
Your dinner looks really tasty, yum!
totally agree. natural applesauce is delish!
Funny, stuffed peppers must be on the brain lately because I just made some for the first time the other night too.
http://haphazardinspiration.blogspot.com/2010/09/peppered-burrito.html
Thanks for the recipe. I will try it next week. Green peppers are on sale! Seems like a great way to get my husband to eat more veggies.
i love this recipe…although i gotta do red or orange peppers…the green are just a tad too bitter! i love the chicken filling idea though!
oh my gosh, this is like the twilight zone.. i bought all the ingredients on monday to make my peppers tonight! i haven’t made them in ages and just decided to throw them on the menu, and now here they are. isn’t is so weird when that sort of thing happens?! now i am even more excited to eat them, haha.
that seminar sounds cool, i love that sort of thing! i have all the eat this not that books.
xo
What helps me drink more water is mixing 1 cup of cold green tea with 1 liter of water or 1 cup of cold peppermint tea with 1 liter of water, sometimes I add a couple drops of liquid stevia to the mixture.
I make a similar stuffed pepper too, with a chicken parmesan filling.
http://michaelbeyer.wordpress.com/2010/09/17/michaels-stuffed-bell-peppers-with-chicken-parmesan-filling/
All fruits have a ton of natural sugars. You can by applesauce wo the added sugars….still a lot healthier than a poptart…lol
These are so pretty. I put them in my weekly rays of sunshine. http://www.tumbleweedcontessa.com/blog/weekly-rays-of-sunshine-12-and-13/ Good stuff!