Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie {Gluten Free}

My Irish ancestors might curse me for swapping out traditional mashed potatoes for sweet potatoes in this shepherd's pie, but it is sooo yummy and healthy I couldn't resist. Plus, Matt and I are going to Ireland this June with my family, so we will be getting all the traditional shepherd's pie our hearts desire!

This is a great meal to cook up on a Sunday and take for lunch all week. I love sweet potatoes so I could not get enough of this. Lucky for me, Matt is not a fan, so he was on his own :)

Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa Casserole

KEEEN-WAHHH. yum. I am loving my 5lb bag of Quinoa from BJs - so worth the money and I like it better with most dishes than brown rice. This recipe is a winner in my book and so so sooo easy. My favorite way to cook... healthy, delicious, and easy.

Cheese makes everything better.

Veggie & Turkey Sausage Crust-less Quiche Cups

I know how important it is to never skip a meal, especially breakfast, so I wanted to make some grab and go quiche cups to make hectic mornings that much easier.

These are so easy to make! Just choose your favorite veggies, some low fat cheese, and combine! I opted to add some turkey sausage since I had some I needed to use up and I used a 5:1 ratio for egg whites to whole eggs.

Life has been so busy lately with work, keeping up with my daily workouts, and I am studying to take the CPA exam this year (bring on the $$$!), so having healthy meals ready to go is a must. I will not eat Dunkin Donuts. New rule since that has always been my go-to for last minute breakfast :) As TLS coaches like to say, "You weren't born with a bagel in your mouth"

Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps

Lettuce wraps are my new obsession. You can take a usually fatty meal {beef tacos} and turn it into something light, healthy, and amazingly delicious.

Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps

I love being able make comfort foods healthy. Yes, tacos are a comfort food for me - much love to my Mexican family on my Mom's side :)

In Mexico, it is a sin to put sour cream on your taco. However, I LOVE IT. But, I no longer use sour cream...ever. I have switched to Greek yogurt and I find that it gives the same creamy, tangy flavor without raining on your healthy eating parade. Check out this article from LiveStrong.com that gives all the details on the nutritional differences between Greek yogurt and sour cream. It is a deal breaker.

TLS Weeks 5 & 6 + Italian Spinach Pie

Weeks 5 & 6 on TLS are pretty similar to 3 & 4 only now introducing exercise is extremely important. YAY I CAN RUN!!! I started running again after detox week, but I hadn't gotten back into my normal weekly routine yet because I really wanted to see how the low glycemic diet alone would effect my body. And boy did it! I finally broke through that stubborn plateau and dropped another 10 lbs! I bought my first size 6 EVER. S-I-X! HOLLER!! I was never in single digit sizes let alone a 6! I have never felt better in my life and I am so excited to get back on track with training for a half marathon. I should note my first race won't be until the fall now since I had knee issues and then started TLS and had to break from my training and I DO NOT want to run my first race in the hot summer months. I want to come out alive, thank you.

I am usually drinking one TLS shake per day and I found a flavorless fiber supplement from GNC that I add to it so it really keeps me full for a long time. I drink my shake around 8:30 AM, have some fruit around 11:30/noon, then won't be hungry for lunch until 1 or 2 PM. The timing is great because most days I can't bring myself out of bed early enough before work to run, so my workouts are done after work and no one likes to run (especially distance) completely famished.

Naked Southwestern Burgers

I recently had dinner at the Met Bar & Grille and I must admit I had a small anxiety attack on the way there. What am I going to eat at a steakhouse known for their burgers?!? Little did I know, the Met offers a custom burger bar menu! You can go bunless, topless, white or whole grain - turkey, kobe, salmon, veggie...the list goes on. Since we are only on week 2 of the 12 week TLS program, I obviously opted for the bunless option. The perfect combo for me was a turkey Grecian burger - tzaziki, hummus, pickled cucumbers and tomatoes with a side salad. Amazing. It is so awesome to be able to eat out and be healthy!

Naturally, I had to make my own version of the said bunless burger....