KPxKitchen Healthy Stuffed Peppers

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KPxKitchen

Welcome to KPxKitchen, a new feature where I share the absolute best recipes for your enjoyment.
Today we’re going to talk about how to “sneak” more vegetables into your diet with this twist on a classic comfort food dish. One of the hardest parts of eating healthy is getting enough vegetables into your diet – especially if you aren’t particularly fond of many veggies. There are plenty of ways to get around this by “sneaking” vegetables into your favorite dishes, like this healthified stuffed pepper variation.
You know what’s normally in stuffed peppers? There’s ground beef, rice, maybe some garlic and onions, and pasta sauce. Not too bad from a nutrition perspective, but we can do better.

You know what’s in my sneaky vegetable-stuffed peppers? 
Like a bajillion vegetables:

  • Cauliflower
  • Sauteed mushrooms
  • Sauteed onion
  • Peppers (duh)
  • Garden vegetable pasta sauce (tomatoes, zucchini, carrots, spinach, herbs, spices)

 

Sneaky Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

  • 1-2 lbs lean ground meat (85-90% beef, bison, turkey, or chicken)
  • 1 whole onion, diced
  • 1 package whole or sliced mushrooms
  • 1 bag frozen “riced” cauliflower
  • 1 jar Muir’s Glen garden vegetable pasta sauce (or similar)
  • 4 bell peppers (I used orange and red)
  • Optional: 1-2 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation

  1. Brown ground meat in a lightly greased pan (I used ghee, but butter or coconut oil work, too)
  2. Season the meat with salt, pepper, garlic, and Italian herbs to taste. Stir occasionally until meat is browned.
  3. Add a bag of frozen cauliflower “rice” and dice up those shrooms and onions while the “rice” cooks.
  4. Add shrooms and onions to the pan. Continue to stir until veggies soften (about 5-8 minutes).
  5. Add more seasonings if you want (I recommend more garlic at this point because… garlic).
  6. Empty about three-quarters of the jar of pasta sauce into the pan, stirring to coat the meat/veggies.
  7. Turn off the heat, decapitate your bell peppers, and spoon the meat/veggie mix into the peps. Top with the remaining pasta sauce and (optional) mozzarella cheese.
  8. Bake the stuffed peppers for 20 minutes on 350* until the peppers are soft and lightly charred, and the cheese (if you used it) is gooey and delicious-looking.

I actually ended up with enough of the ground meat/veggies to reheat and serve alongside some pasta or zoodles (zucchini noodles, but “zoodles” is oodles more fun to say). This recipe makes a TON of food, and since most of the ingredients are vegetables, it’s highly nutritious and low-ish in calories compared to traditional stuffed peppers. Bon appetit!