Super loaded nachos? Sign me up! Who doesn’t like nachos? Gooey cheese and spicy, crunchy toppings piled on top of crispy tortilla chips? The trouble is that nachos can derail healthy eating plans pretty fast. Guess what? They don’t have to — and all you have to do is make a few modifications.

Welcome to the second Good and Good for You newsletter. (To read more about the changes please check out the inaugural post.)

Good and Good for You offers the tools, encouragement, and support to empower folks (including me!) to live a better life: healthful recipes, best-life living tips, self-care techniques, and ideas and inspiration from reliable sources and experts across the health and wellness space.

Read on for all this plus a surprising addition that takes nachos from an indulgent treat to a good and good-for-you recipe that you can feel great about enjoying.

Eat Your Colors

Peppers on nachos is not a revelation, but what about peppers AS nachos? Now, that’s another story!

Using peppers as the base along with baked chips is an awesome way to add more vegetables to your day. Sweet peppers are bright and colorful, and the sweet, crispy texture is fantastic with topped with all the nacho goodness. I augment the chips with a handful of sweet peppers to up the veg intake and replace some of the tortilla chips. These small, sweet bell peppers are a good source of vitamin C, vitamin A, and fiber.

According to Harvard Health colorful fruits and vegetables contain phytonutrients, compounds that give plants their rich colors as well as their distinctive tastes and aromas. Try to include as many plant-based colors in your meals and snacks as possible. Each color provides various health benefits and no one color is superior to another, which is why a balance of all colors is most important.

Best-Life Living Tips

Living your best life means becoming the best version of yourself, mentally and physically. Our mental and physical health go hand in hand and taking time to love and care for both of those elements of you is crucial to living a happy life.

When someone is “living their best life” it’s a statement of positivity, an assessment of their personal, professional, or emotional state. Of course, it’s hard to be in sync with areas at once, but positivity feeds into more positivity!

The Good and Good for You tip of the week for living your best life is to avoid a news overdose. This is not to suggest being uninformed, but limiting exposure can be good for your mental health.

Health gain is about moderating all kinds of consumption.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the nonstop stories of suffering on the news can skew your view of the world. Nonstop gloom and doom cause you to focus on your worst fears instead of recognizing the good that surrounds you. The American Psychological Association reports that slightly more than half of U.S. adults report that they get their news through social media “often” or “sometimes,” according to a Pew Research Center survey. To drive “clickbait,” news coverage and social media postings also tend to highlight the more negative or dramatic news.

Steps to live your best life and stay informed include monitoring your consumption and getting involved in solving the issues. Instead of doom-scrolling on Twitter, do something about what is bothering you.

It’s like the old saying, “If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

Self Care Technique

Pick up a can of tennis balls. A tennis ball is just an inexpensive handy, and portable self-massage tool that you can use on suspected “knots” in your muscles. Tennis balls act like foam rollers and can be useful in relieving muscle pain. Massaging the lower back with tennis balls can help loosen soft tissues. Rolling a tennis ball under your feet allows you to reach the deep tissues and stretch the plantar fascia. The massage loosens any tension in the feet and reduces the risk of irritation. I travel with one! Give it a try.

Info and Inspiration

There’s a ton of nutritional misinformation online – it’s truly frightening. While I am a trained chef and have my own experience with weight loss and nutrition, I am not a dietician or nutritionist. I look to trained and educated experts — not the random chick on TikTok with 4 billion followers  – for information and inspiration.

Ellie Krieger is always on my radar for great recipes, good food, and solid, accessible nutritional advice. Ellie is a New York Times bestselling author and and two-time James Beard Foundation award-winner. She is also a weekly columnist for The Washington Post and has been a columnist for Fine Cooking, Food Network magazine, and USA Today. Her substack is fantastic, too.

Ellie’s podcast, One Real Good Thing is a great listen. It’s built on the idea that you don’t have to turn your life upside down to transform it for the better. I’m thrilled to have been a guest and able to chat about my wellness guardrails.  For more info, please check out her website, EllieKrieger.com

Healthy Nacho Recipe

Check out these Super Loaded Turkey, Black Bean, and Sweet Pepper Nachos on Instagram. Thanks for reading. My goal is to succinctly hit these marks each week — best life-living tips, self-care techniques, ideas and inspiration from trusted experts, and a healthful recipe, giving you news you can use to make a better life.

The response and support from everyone has been great and the revised paperback of Lighten Up, Y’all is doing well, too. I am so honored and excited to share Good and Good for You with YOU! Thanks so much for reading.

Bon Appétit Y’all!

Virginia Willis

Print Recipe

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Super Loaded Turkey, Black Bean, and Sweet Pepper Nachos

Serves 4

Servings: 4

Calories: 581kcal

Author: Virginia Willis

Ingredients

• Pure olive oil nonstick cooking spray
• 1 pound 99% fat free ground turkey
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon coriander
• 1 15- ounce can low sodium black beans rinsed and drained
• ½ 6.25 ounce bag baked tortilla chips
• 8 sweet peppers cored, seeded, and halved
• 4 ounces skim mozzarella cheese
• 1 head Romaine thinly sliced
• 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
• 1 jalapeno thinly sliced, or to taste
• ½ cup cilantro leaves
• Quartered limes for serving
• Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Heat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or a non-stick silicone baking mat. Set aside.
• Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Spray with nonstick spray. Add the turkey. Season with cumin and coriander. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, breaking up the meat until mostly white and cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the black beans and stir to combine.
• Place the chips on the prepared baking sheet. Scatter pepper halves around. Top with turkey-black bean combination. Scatter cheese on top. Transfer to the oven and bake until cheese is melted, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and top with lettuce, tomatoes, jalapenos, and cilantro. Squeeze lime over and serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 581kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 49g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 81mg | Sodium: 914mg | Potassium: 1507mg | Fiber: 17g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 8783IU | Vitamin C: 318mg | Calcium: 388mg | Iron: 6mg

Good and Good for You with Virginia Willis is a lifestyle brand that shares food, fun, and fitness through digital channels and online community; events, seminars, and speeches; and print media. For more information visit virginiawillis.com 

Let’s cook something up! If you are interested in hosting me for a speaking engagement, event, cooking class, or book signing, let me know! Send an email to jona@virginiawillis.com and we’ll be back in touch as soon as possible.

I am not a doctor, RD, or health professional. I am simply sharing what works for me. My blog is for informational or educational purposes only and does not substitute professional medical advice or consultations with healthcare professionals.

Note that this post may contain affiliate links and I may make a commission if you use my affiliate link to buy the product.

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