84 Recipes for Health

One of the biggest challenges to sticking with any health/wellness program is nutrition. Even if you know exactly what you should be eating, the daunting task of planning, shopping for, prepping and cooking multiple healthy meals each day may seem impossible. It's enough to send you to the nearest drive-thru with the excuse that one of those burgers (without the bun, of course) is considered acceptable fare on at least a few diets... if you can resist the super-value fries and sugar-laden soft drink that accompany the burger. Which brings me to my latest project, which involved developing 84 healthy, balanced recipes for employees participating in a company wellness program. Each recipe incorporated balanced portions of carbohydrates and lean protein, it had to be relatively simple to prepare, and, most important, it had to taste good! It was a grueling and rewarding project that required a lot of creativity. We really wanted to help people understand that eating healthy can be easy and taste delicious. The assumption is that "healthy" is a bad word when it comes to taste. It immediately conjures up images of dry and bland chicken breasts, a tiny pile of steamed vegetables and, if you're lucky, a few grains of brown rice. There is nothing farther from the truth. Our recipes include dishes like shrimp scampi and stir fries, meat loaf and steak, french fries (well, they are baked) and hamburgers, burritos and tacos, chili and spaghetti, gyros and quiche... the list goes on, and it's quite delicious. We hope these recipes will help people learn to love good food, as well as give them the tools they need to invent their own meals by experimenting with various spices, types of meats, fish, vegetables, starches, grains and more. 

In the midst of creating these recipes, we came up with a long-time favorite that we had forgotten about until we cooked it again the other night. And here it is...

Turkey/Cottage Cheese/Brown Rice Burrito

Yes, the name might throw you off, but try it... you'll love it. The cottage cheese is like a high-protein (and much healthier version) of sour cream. 

(Serves ~4)

1 pound ground turkey

1 teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 cup salsa

1 cup cooked brown rice

1 cup fat-free cottage cheese

4 whole-wheat tortillas

1 tomato, diced

4 tablespoons shredded, low-fat cheese

Spray a nonstick pan with cooking spray, heat to medium high and cook the ground turkey until no longer pink. Add the cumin, chili powder and salsa as the turkey cooks. To make your burritos, spoon an equal portion of ground turkey on each tortilla. Top with equal portions of brown rice, cottage cheese, tomato and cheese. Feel free to add more salsa. Roll your tortilla, eat and enjoy! You can also try the burrito "bowl" option by skipping the tortilla and using a bowl instead. Leftovers? This dish tastes great for lunch the next day as well.