Lauren Rae: 3 Quick, Healthy Pepper Recipes

When pepper prices drop, stock up! We pay a premium for organic vegetables so it’s nice to have a plan to utilize any fresh produce you can get on sale. Recently, I stopped at the store for peppers and made these three fast and healthy recipes. You can easily try them when you find a pepper sale of your own!

Chicken Fajita Sweet Potato Boats

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts
2 sweet potato, cut into strips
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 onion
1 packet Fajita seasoning
1 c. cheddar cheese (I used Daiya Cheddar Shreds)
Salt and Pepper

Directions

1. Place the chicken, sweet potatoes and peppers on a sheet pan and into a 350°F oven for 45-50 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes feel soft.
2. Take out the pan and turn the oven heat up to 450°F.
3. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out most of the inside of your potato, leaving about ½ inch of flesh inside of the skin. (Save what you scoop out for mashed sweet potatoes at your next meal!) Brush the inside with olive oil and dust with salt and pepper.
4. Toss the peppers and chicken together with the Fajita seasoning.
5. Fill the potato skins with the mixture and a generous amount of cheddar cheese and pop them back in the oven for 5 minutes or until all of the cheese has melted.
6. Top with chopped cilantro and serve immediately.

Mini Pepper Pizzas (low carb)

Ingredients

1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 yellow pepper
2 c. marinara sauce
1 c. mozzarella cheese (I used Daiya Veggie Mozzarella shreds)
A variety of your favorite pizza toppings (I used ground beef, Italian sausage, black olives and dried oregano.)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F.
2. Cut the peppers in half and take the seeds out but leave the stem. Place them upside down on a baking sheet and drizzle the bottoms with olive oil and a light sprinkle of salt. Bake for 15 minutes.
3. Take the peppers out of the oven and turn them over with a set of tongs. Careful: they will be hot!
4. Fill the empty peppers with your pizza accoutrement! Add a few spoonfuls of marinara, toppings and cheese.
5. Bake for 30 minutes.

Tri-Color Pepper Shrimp Ceviche

Ingredients

2 c. boiled shrimp, lightly chopped
1 red pepper, small dice
1 yellow pepper, small dice
½ cucumber, seeded and diced
1 shallot, minced
1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
Juice from 1 lime
Juice from ½ orange
2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
1 avocado
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Chop the vegetables to a ¼ inch pieces.
2. Add the veggies and shrimp to a large bowl, add the orange and lime juice, cilantro and salt and pepper to taste and lightly toss together to combine the ingredients.
3. Serve with the avocado diced on top with a sprig of cilantro and a lime wedge.

Lauren Rae
Dallas Fitness and Nutrition Coach
laurenraelife.com