Don’t be afraid to cook outside the box when you’re trying to lose weight. Choose ingredients you don’t normally cook with and make something new and interesting to avoid falling prey to the comfort food cravings you normally eat.

Make It Hot – Turkey Chili Plate

If you don’t have a lot of free time to stand around a hot stove, then using a slow cooker or crock pot can do wonders for creating a great healthy chili dish. This is what you will need:

1 pound ground turkey
1 green pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 large Spanish onion
4 stalks of celery
2 garlic cloves
1 half tablespoon of cumin
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon pepper
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 cans of crushed tomatoes
2 seeded habanero chiles (use a milder pepper if you don’t like spice)
1 Can Chickpeas

Brown the ground turkey in a skillet over medium heat by breaking it up in the pan for the best overall color; don’t overcook your protein, you want to contain the natural juices, rather than lose them completely. Now you can drain any excess oil that has come out of the ground and put the meat in your slow cooker. Cut the onions, bell peppers, and celery stalks into even-sized pieces instead of small pieces that will get lost in the meal, and place them in the pot along with the cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. . Rinse the chickpeas before placing them in the pot along with the tomatoes, which you can add juice to and all. The garlic can be peeled and thinly sliced ​​or crushed, and the habaneros, if you choose to use them, should be diced very finely. In a slow cooker, use low heat for 5 hours or high for 4, and enjoy. This should serve 6-8 people depending on the serving size.

Miss the Bun: Lean Ground Beef and Turkey Plate

Another way to lose excess calories at meals is to eliminate simple, nonessential carbohydrates. Although you should keep complex carbs in your meals, you can swap out barbecue staples like buns with a different container.

Half a pound of lean ground beef
Half a pound of ground turkey
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 pinch of cayenne
1 small onion
1 cup of quinoa
2 cups of water
1 slice of lemon
1 tomato
1 head of iceberg lettuce

Peel and dice the onion small, then combine the lean beef and ground turkey in a bowl. Add salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and onion until well blended and form patties from the contents of the bowl. The thickness is up to you, but remember that the thicker the burger, the longer it will take to cook in the middle and raw ground turkey is a serious no-no. Place them in the fridge and fire up the BBQ to heat up while you start on your garnish. Add the quinoa and water to a pot, cover and bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for 20 minutes; when the quinoa is about half done, place the patties on the grill. While everything is heating up, you can cool things down by preparing lettuce and tomato. The lettuce leaves should be left as whole as possible, while the tomato can be cut into slices; place one lettuce leaf per burger on each plate. When the quinoa is ready it should be tender and transparent, squeeze a little lemon and serve. Burgers on tomato-topped lettuce leaves can be served with a dollop of sauce instead of the usual toppings.