Hi friends!
Today I’ve got a veggie-packed Meatless Monday dinner recipe to share with you…
But before I dive into today’s recipe, I wanted to first invite you guys to subscribe to my health coaching newsletter if you haven’t already! It’s a free newsletter that’ll be delivered straight to your inbox once every month or two, and it contains recipe and workout ideas, healthy living tips, health coaching offers and more. I’ll be sending a new one out later this week, so sign up for it below if you’re interested.
Getting back to food, it’s been awhile since I’ve shared a savory recipe (beginning of August to be exact). I figured it was time for a new dinner recipe, and this is a good one!
When it comes to healthy eating, something that I hear from people a lot is that they “don’t have time” to cook nourishing food. Going from junky convenience food to meal prepping and planning is certainly a big change, but it is so worth it when you think about how much you’re doing for your health.
Food is the way that we fuel our bodies every single day, meal after meal, and just what food you choose on a consistent basis can determine a lot of things: the way you feel, the way you look, your risk for cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and many other illnesses, and much more.
I believe that eating a healthy diet is mostly a matter of 1.) having the knowledge of what you need to do – whether that means finding the right support with a nutritionist or a health coach like me, or just doing your own research, and 2.) shifting your priorities to be able to put in the effort to follow through with making those healthful choices that you know you need to make.
For instance, a lot of people seem to think that I spend hours in the kitchen cooking dinner every night. While I obviously love to cook and bake, the truth is that I’m a busy woman! For the most part, especially on weeknights, my dinners either come together in 20 minutes or less, or I prep things ahead of time either when I have free time or can multi-task.
These twice baked potatoes are a good example of the latter. You first need to cook the potatoes whole for an hour, so to cut down on cooking/waiting time when I’m starving and wanting dinner ASAP, I’ll either bake them the day before, or I’ll cook them while I’m working out at home in the evening. That way when my workout is done, so are my potatoes.
Then I spend a few minutes sautéing my veggies, shredding the cheese, scooping out the potato flesh, combining everything together, and popping them back in the oven for another 20 minutes. Usually that cooking time will be spent doing my post-workout stretching, sending some emails out or emptying my dishwasher.
So while this dinner requires some cooking time, it doesn’t require a ton of hands-on time. Is it as easy as running to the drive-thru? Definitely not. But is it a smarter, healthier meal choice that will nourish your body? Absolutely!
It’s up to you which type of meal you choose.
I’m a big fan of twice baked potatoes and how you can stuff them with whatever you’re in the mood for. Sometimes I’ll make them Mexican style (recipe for those here!); other times I’m feeling more of a combo like this recipe.
You can really use whatever kind of shredded cheese you want, but I prefer the sharpness of either a Monterey Jack (used here) or cheddar. Or you can just leave the cheese out & use Earth Balance butter to make this recipe vegan, up to you!
I like to top these twice baked potato halves with sour cream or Greek yogurt. When I made these last week, my hubby used a leftover potato half for breakfast the next day. He ate them with over easy eggs and gave it a big thumbs up – so that’s an option too!
Cheesy Spinach & Pepper Twice Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3-300 g Russet potatoes
- 2 packed cups baby spinach
- 1 red bell pepper
- 3 oz Monterey Jack or your favorite type of cheese
- 1 1/2 TBSP butter softened
- 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot bulb
- 1/4 TSP salt
- 1/8 TSP ground black pepper
- Sour cream Greek yogurt, or any other toppings of choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash potatoes, place them on a baking sheet and cook for 1 hour. Remove from heat and allow to slightly cool.
- While the potatoes are cooling, heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Chop the bell pepper and spinach and mince the shallot. Add the shallot and cook for 2 minutes. Add the bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add in the spinach and cook just until wilted, then remove from heat and place the mixture in a bowl.
- Slice the potatoes lengthwise, and use a spoon to scoop out the potato flesh - leaving a bit of potato around the skins so that they mostly retain their oval shape. Mash the potatoes until mostly smooth, and place in the veggie bowl.
- Shred your cheese, and add it to the veggie bowl. Add in the butter, salt, and pepper, and mix until evenly combined.
- Spoon the potato mixture back into the potato skins on the same baking sheet. Cook for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the potato are starting to look lightly browned.
- Serve with your favorite potato toppings!
Nutrition
Tell me… Do you usually have a meal prep day of the week, do you find time to prep throughout the week, or do you make your meals as they come each day?
Looking for support in leading a healthier life? Shoot me an email at nicole@foodielovesfitness.com to schedule a free consultation & find out if we’re a good fit to work together!
That is a great idea to do some of the longer prep ahead of time while you are doing something else! It makes everything else seem easier. To make healthy meals fast, I always try to find pre-washed lettuce. In my opinion, that cuts down so much time!
Potatoes have been my total obsession during this pregnancy and I am always looking for new ways to use them. I love stuffing them with bacon at the moment.
I absolutely love twice-baked potatoes…but I never spend the time to make them. You’ve convinced me to make a batch soon, though. You’re right…if you prep it all in advance, then it’s not that hard to have a quick and easy (and healthy!) weeknight meal. Love the spinach and bell peppers in this version. It will be showing up in my kitchen soon! 🙂