Weekly Lunch: Stuffed Taters

Since my life isn't overly exciting and nothing too noteworthy to report, I figured I would post about something I've gotten sort of excited about in the last few weeks. You may or may not know, but I spend one day of the weekend (mostly Sundays) fixing food for my week. I'm always in a hurry in the mornings because I love sleep, so I get everything together in the fridge that needs to be taken each day to work. I fix 5 breakfasts, 3-4 lunches, and 5 snacks. I allow myself either to grab something out once a week and/or take a leftover from dinner for lunch. Without boring you with the details, I wanted to share something that I have started to fix each week for lunch.

Training has started back up and now that fall is on the horizon (officially 16 days from this post) I will mostly be running in the afternoons. So, I need to fuel up at lunch with a nice blend of protein and carbs without putting myself into a coma for the afternoon. I got this recipe idea from Clean Eating magazine. They had published a Blue Cheese and Chicken Stuffed Potato. I'm not too wild about Blue cheese, but I do like Gorgonzola. So, I opted to try it and sub Gorgonzola to see what happens. What happens is a very filling lunch for minimal calories and a template for many variations.

Here's the skinny:

I bake 3 taters in the oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. To make it sort of "fancy", I spray the outside of the taters with cooking spray and sprinkle a little sea salt on the skins and place them in a baking dish. This makes the skin really yummy since you need to eat the whole tater. While the potatoes are cooking, I chop up 1 chicken breast in small 1 inch cubes and sprinkle with S&P (Salt and Pepper). I saute those pieces up until no longer pink and then remove them from the pan. Then I throw in half a red onion, sliced and half a bag of baby spinach. Let the red onion cook a little prior to adding the spinach and once the onions are soft and the spinach is wilted, take it off the heat.

Now the potatoes should be ready. Pull them out of the oven and let them cool for about 15 minutes. Then it is time to mix the "stuffing". Scoop out the potatoes leaving the skin for the shell of your meal. I try to keep the skin about 1/4 inch thick so it doesn't fall apart. In a big bowl mash the potatoes, 1 oz. cream cheese, and 1/4 cup gorgonzola cheese. You can add more S&P if you like. Once that is all mixed together, throw in your chicken and veggies. Now all you do is stuff the potatoes with your mixture and cook another 15 minutes.

After they cool, I place 2 stuffed halves in a portable dish and they are ready to tote to work for lunch. All you have to do is nuke it at lunchtime.

This week I decided to change it up a bit. I added a bag of broccoli florets, chopped, and swapped the gorgonzola for a cheddar blend. The added broccoli made them super stuffed, but it's broccoli. So, I don't feel at all guilty! The beauty of this dish is the versatility of it. You can get your protein and carbs and add all the veggies you can handle. And think of the various cheeses and veggies you can add to it all not to mention any spice you like. I added garlic powder this week to the chicken.

I'm pretty excited about the potatoes this week.