Turkey Meatloaf Muffins

I made these and they are awesome!! Making them again soon.

Jamie Eason's Turkey Meatloaf Muffins
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
2 tsp. dry yellow mustard
2 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. McCormick’s Chipotle Pepper Spice (spicy, but key to the recipe)
1 tsp. salt
1 cup quick cooking oats
2 cloves garlic, minced (or 2 tbsp of garlic powder)
1 small onion, finely chopped (I get the pre chopped version or even the frozen - thawed)
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 egg whites
1 1/2 - 2 lbs. ground turkey (or ground chicken)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, add cumin, thyme, yellow mustard, black pepper, McCormick’s Chipotle Pepper Spice, salt, oats, garlic, onions and celery. Mix until well combined. Next add the ground chicken and egg whites and mix with your hands until evenly distributed. Make racquetball size portions and place in muffin tins, sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for 40 minutes. Yields about18 muffins

Nutrition:
1 muffin
78 calories
2 g fat
4 g carbs
11 g protein

Servings are usually 2 for women and 4 for men.

Basic healthy lifestyle tips

These are compiled from some of my favoriter fitness gurus on twitter.

• Consistency is key. Don't skip workouts by assuming, “one day won't hurt”


• Cut down on your portion sizes gradually - it is not a punishment, just a slight change will make a big difference over time


• Food is fuel not the "enemy". Eat every 2-3 hours.


• Muscle burns Fat. You burn more calories and fat if you do cardio and weight training in your weekly program!


• People who exercise regularly lose more weight and keep it off longer than non-exercisers!
  
• Get your body moving and take care of YOUR HEALTH before you take care of everyone else!
• Don't say, "I can't eat that because I'm on a diet". Say "I choose not to eat that because I know it's bad for me


• If you eat poor quality food you will have a poor quality body!
  
• The cells that make up your skin, hair, internal organs, hormones, brain & connective tissues come from the food you eat!


• Fill your body with Quality Nutrients and your body will run like an Elite Super Machine!
• You will burn more calories throughout the day if you eat small meals every 2 to 3 hours. Feed the furnace.

ASK THE TRAINER

Q: What kinds of food should I eat to lose weight?

A: What a loaded question. I can’t tell you specifically every little bite you should eat, but there are a couple of keys things you should know about nutrition as far as weight loss goes.

1. It’s really all about portion control. You can eat anything (within reason) as long as you are eating the proper portions. There’s the whole thing that brown rice is better for you than white rice, and yes it’s true. But if you must, a ½ cup of white rice every now and then cannot do any harm. It is when you pile 3-4 servings on a plate and eat it nearly every day where problems occurs.


2. Moderation, which is nearly the same as number one. But with moderation, portion control is not the only thing you are watching, it’s how often are you eating something. If pizza is your absolute must have, have 1-2 small slices of cheese pizza every other week, or even less often. You don’t have to give pizza up FOREVER, just learn some moderation.


3. Fill up on the fruits and veggies. Fruits are a great alternative to sugary desserts and candy. Have an apple or banana whenever you have the munchies. It’s so satisfying! Try and eat 1-2 servings of veggies with every meal. Per serving (most ½ cup) the calories are pretty low which means you can have more. The key is to fill half your plate with veggies, ¼ with a protein, and ¼ with a carb.


4. Watch out for low-fat, fat-free products, sugar-free, low-calorie, because they simply add more sugar, salt or other artificial flavoring to modify it. Stick to food in its natural state.


5. Shop from the outer ring at the grocery. The food is less processed, more in its natural state like veggies and fresh meat. If it comes in a box, bag, frozen, canned or otherwise packaged it’s been processed.


6. Read the labels! Most people don’t realize what exactly a portion of pasta, rice or meat is. Labels also include calories, fat, carb, fiber and sodium content, all things to watch when starting a healthy lifestyle. But really, if the food has a label, you’ve strayed out of the outer ring! But that’s okay, just remember portion and moderation.


7. Pack all your meals. This is key when you spend most of your day away from home. This way there will be no temptations to stop for fast food, or hitting the vending machine for a snack. Packs meals, snacks and extra water if needed.


8. Plan all your meals in advance. Shop for the week on one day and pre-cook everything over 1-2 days and put them into serving size containers. This way there is no fretting over what to eat; everything has been taken care of in advance. Always keep some handy standbys on hand like pre-cut veggies, protein bars, and fixins for sandwiches.

I'm sure there are more things I could say here. Nutrition being 80% of the weight loss equation, this is nothing to take lightly. I recommend the Eat Clean book by Tosca Reno because she explains very clearly how to eat the best foods to maximize weight loss.

Eating Rules and Regulations

One can never have too many list of tips! I found this list in my continuing education course Athletic Abs.

• Undereating and undersleeping can cause overtraining.
• Schedule meals in advance
• Become sensitive to your energy needs.
• Don’t skip meals.
• Eat two servings of carbs and one serving of protein at each meal*
• Eating and training speeds your metabolism.
• Consumer most of your calories early in the day.
• Eat slowly to avoid over eating.

*.77 grams of protein per pound of body weight separated into several meals throughout the day for anybody who does cardio and weight training.

20 TIPS TO HELP YOU LOSE THE WEIGHT

1. Track everything you eat & keep within your calorie range.

2. Drink 8-10 glasses of water each day.

3. Veggies should always be the most abundant food on your dinner plate!

4. Use smaller plates at dinner time. Simple, but it works!

5. Measure & weigh everything & adhere to serving sizes for portion control.

6. Use spray butter instead of margarine.

7. Forgo the coffee creamer & drink the coffee black.

8. No sodas of any kind, including diet.

9. Exercise at least 30-60 minutes daily-7 days a week

10. Use a pedometer & walk a minimum of 10,000 steps daily!

11. Eat some type of fish twice a week & limit beef to 1-2 times a month.

12. Veggies, veggies, & more veggies! Raw, steamed, grilled, & sautéed!

13. Pack your lunch w/portable foods when you're out & about even on weekends!

14. Plan ahead when eating out...& take home 1/2 of your entrée.

15. Find a fitness buddy!

16. Keep bowls of fruits & vegetables on the counter & in frig. for easy access

17. Switch to turkey products for your burgers & sausages!

18. Use dabs of olive oil to sauté with & drizzle on veggies for grilling.

19. Focus on getting as many super foods into your diet as possible!

20. Use an all veggie soup to ward off hunger (no meat, legumes, or grains).

Healthy Recipe: Vegetarian Sausages

Okay, maybe they don't taste like sausages, but they taste super yummy, trust me!

Vegetarian Sausages

1 cup water
2 T soy sauce
1 cup quick cook oats
1 t honey
1 t onion powder
1/2 t sage
1 T nutritional yeast
1/2 t garlic powder
1/8 t Italian seasoning

Combine water and seasoning in a two quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Add oats and cook for 5-10 minutes. Cool slightly and form into sausage patties. bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes on each side on an oiled cookie sheet.

Makes 10 patties.

Calories: 52
Fat: 2.0
Carbs: 7
Fiber: 1


I have tried it with egg white and toasted bread as a sandwich, or with protein waffles drizzled with syrup. This could be tweaked according to your taste buds. I have yet to vary it up.

Weight Loss Journey in Numbers

I get so many people asking how much did I lose a week or how long did it take. I found my weight charts from years ago. Each month I would print out a chart, weigh daily (yes, not advised but so what), and jot it down. I would also make notes as to why the weight fluctuated (i.e., high sodium day, fast food day, TOM, feeling sick, or anything that may have factored a big change). By doing this, I could basically predict my weight after awhile.

I started in January 2008, but either I didn’t chart it or threw it away, but the first chart I found starts 9/27/08. I started at 161 in January and by September I was at 130. Here’s a weekly look at my numbers

9/27/08 130.0
10/4/08 130.0
10/11/08 129.0
10/18/08 131.2
10/25/08 127.6
11/01/08 128.2
11/08/08 127.2
11/15/08 124.0
11/22/08 125.6
11/29/08 125.2
12/06/08 125.0
12/13/08 124.2
12/20/08 127.2
12/27/08 126.4
01/03/09 126.0
01/10/09 123.2
01/17/09 124.2
01/24/09 123.4
01/31/09 122.0
02/07/09 123.8
02/14/09 122.8
02/21/09 123.6
02/28/09 120.0
03/07/09 118.8
03/14/09 118.8
03/21/09 119.0
03/28/09 117.6

So as you can see, lots of fluctuation. Lots of up and down. But look at the start and look at the end. From 130 to 117, but look how long it took to lose 12.4 pounds!! Imagine what the whole 43 looked like. I bolded the first weigh-in of the month just so you can see total monthly weight loss. Very small amounts.

But that’s just me and how I lose. But I got it DONE!! 10 pound losses a month are great, aim for that…but be realistic about it too. Don’t ever give up, because there is no finish line!