Each year, new diet plans emerge that encourage weight loss and/or healthy eating.

I’ve researched many and attempted a few. From tracking calories in a phone app to eating Special K cereal, there are a plethora to choose.

Fortunately, I have maintained a healthy weight throughout my life. It’s not always easy, but I believe it’s worth it.

Some-times, I try these new eating plans just to experiment. Does my stomach get flatter? Can I build more lean muscle? I once embarked on the “ketogenic” diet; after walking around with a massive headache for 2 days, I decided no bodily change was worth how I was feeling, not to mention what the piles of bacon, cheese and eggs were going to do to my cholesterol.

In an effort to shed the last of my baby weight, I recently tried the Beach Body colored container eating plan, where you are allotted a specific number of servings of vegetables, fruit, protein, carbs and healthy fats each day. At first, it required some planning and meal prepping, but to be honest, it’s simply eating whole, real foods for all meals and snacks.

I usually felt satisfied throughout the day and noticed my craving for sweet greatly decreased. During my meal planning, I found a recipe for stuffed peppers and decided to adapt it a bit based on some of my own pantry ingredients.

They are straightforward to make, very filling and tasty, even for my toddler who despises meat. Whether the rainbow serving containers follow me around forever or not, I will certainly be making these stuffed peppers again.

Turkey Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Bake Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4, 2 pepper halves per serving

Ingredients

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

20 ounces lean ground turkey, chicken or beef, 93/7 percent fat ratio

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 cups cooked quinoa or brown rice (cook with chicken stock/broth for added flavor)

15-ounce can fire roasted tomatoes

1 tablespoon hot sauce

1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated and divided

4-5 large bell peppers, any color

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for 3 minutes or until soft. Add ground meat, salt and black pepper and cook until meat is browned, about 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the cumin, paprika, oregano, onion powder and garlic powder. Sprinkle over the meat and stir to coat.

Stir in the cooked quinoa, tomatoes, hot sauce and 1/4 cup cheese. Remove from heat to cool slightly.

Spray a 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray. Cut each pepper in half, remove the top stem and shake out the seeds. Stuff each pepper half with the meat mixture and top with the remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Bake for 30 minutes and serve hot.

Nutritional information: *Based on ground turkey and 4 bell peppers, For 21-Day Fix/Insanity Max 30 portions: 1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow, 1/2 blue and 1 teaspoon: calories, 548; total fat, 20.9 grams; saturated fat, 3.8 grams; sodium, 606.7 milligrams; carbohydrates, 52.4 grams; fiber, 7.2 grams; sugar, 5.8 grams; protein, 39 grams; cholesterol, 100 milligrams.

Lauren Kudlawiec is the author of Cooking with Lauren K, a cookbook featuring healthy and affordable meals. Books are available on her website laurenkcooking.com or at the Altoona Mirror building. She lives in Ebensburg with her husband and son.