Ground Turkey with Marinara Sauce and Vegetables

Happy belated New Year! I can’t believe it’s now 2020. Sometimes I feel like 2000 was just yesterday.

It’s also still January. January always seems to be the longest month.

So, now that the new year is here, what resolutions did you set? The fresh slate of a new year can motivate us to make changes and accomplish goals. It’s keeping them that can pose challenging. If you set resolutions, I hope you’re sticking to them and you’re seeing the change you desired.

I didn’t intentionally set any New Years’ resolutions. Right before I had Matty, I got weighed at the doctor’s office to learn that I put on 60 pounds. Holy moly! I was overweight before my pregnancy and seeing that I gained 60 more pounds was disappointing. Right then and there I made it my goal to lose weight and get in shape, after Matty was born. I knew I needed time to adjust to my new role as a mom, so I decided that once I returned to work I’d start my new diet.

Matty’s now almost four months old and we’ve developed somewhat of a schedule. I’m back at work and Matty goes to a nanny every day. Although I miss spending the days with him, he loves being around other kids.

To lose weight and eat better, I joined WW (Weight Watchers). I successfully lost weight on Weight Watchers back in 2007, so I joined again. The new plan is different – better. What I love about WW is you aren’t restricted from any foods. It’s more so about how much you eat (you measure, portion and weigh food). You also learn how to replace unhealthy foods with healthy options. The bar code scanner makes it easy to find out how many points an item is and you have access to recipes that you can customize. I’ve been on WW for three weeks now and have lost a total of 10.2 pounds! 

Since I love to cook, I was excited to get started on coming up with healthy and tasty dishes. A friend shared a picture on Facebook of this ground turkey dish she made that caught my eye.

Ground turkey is a healthy and tasty alternative to red meat that can be used in a variety of dishes. Some may say that ground turkey is boring or bland. But adding in the right ingredients can make all the difference.

Here is my (slightly altered) ground turkey with marinara sauce and vegetables recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1.5 cup marinara sauce
• 1 zucchini
• 1 white onion
• 1 red pepper
• 1 cup baby spinach 
• 1 teaspoon basil 
• Salt and pepper (optional)

Directions: 

• Cut up all vegetables and set aside
• Apply cooking spray to a pan and cook the ground turkey
• When the ground turkey is about halfway cooked, add all the vegetables
• Allow it to cook for 3-5 minutes
• Stir in the marinara sauce 
• Mix well on high heat until it bubbles
• Turn down the heat to let it cool and enjoy

You can enjoy this dish by itself or for a more filling meal, add cooked pasta or rice. Have you made this dish or a similar one before? What would you add? Tell me in the comments!