Mar 20, 2019 Recipe: Low-Sodium Turkey Quinoa Stuffed Pepper

From the Do you Know How to Manage Hypertension Blog:

Serves 7

The American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day for adults. For entrees, keep sodium below 700 milligrams, says Elizabeth Hanna, Clinical Nutrition Manager at Clara Maass Medical Center. This recipe has 329 milligrams of sodium per one-pepper serving.

Ingredients:


• 8 ounces tri-color quinoa


• 7 fresh whole peppers—variety of green and red


• 3 teaspoons canola oil


• ¼ ounce minced garlic


• 21/3 ounces chopped yellow onions


• 1 pound ground turkey


• 2 ounces Worcestershire sauce


• ½ teaspoon black ground pepper


• 1 can (131/3 ounces) diced tomatoes, no salt added


• 1 6¾ ounce can tomato paste


• 1 and 2/3 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:


• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.


• Prepare quinoa according to recipe.


• Cut tops off peppers and rough-chop them; set aside for meat mixture.


• Remove seeds from peppers; wash and set aside in a baking dish sprayed with vegetable oil spray.


• In a pot over medium heat, add oil, garlic, onions and chopped peppers. Sauté for 2–3 minutes.


• Add ground turkey, Worcestershire sauce and black pepper. Cook until meat is browned and internal temperature is at least 165 degrees F.


• Add diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir to combine. Cook for 5 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed.


• Add quinoa to the meat mixture. Stir thoroughly.


• Fill each pepper with mixture.


• Cover pan and bake for 30 minutes.


• Uncover dish. Top each pepper with 1 tablespoon mozzarella cheese. Return to oven to melt cheese.