Just before Tony left for his deployment last time (back when it seemed we were only eating grilled tacos with nopalitos or just wilted spinach with garlic and tomato), we made a healthy life-style change with P90x2. The program whipped our behinds for the first 3 weeks, but then we noticed it was also whipping us into shape! Wow, a program that has great tasting food, and gives the promised results as long as we were willing to put in the work. We stuck it out for the whole 90 days ~ and even use parts of it in our workout and eating now ~ hence the life-style change. One of the better, more versatile items in the food plan was the turkey, egg and brown rice muffins. These are easily made with a variety of veg from the market or garden. Today I added some ground flax and a little cheese and shredded zucchini ~ yum!  This is a great use of leftover rice, barley or quinoa.

Brown rice, turkey & egg muffins

• 2 pounds ground turkey
• 1 1/2 c brown rice, cooked and cooled
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 T ground flax
• 1 small zucchini, shredded
• 6 eggs, beaten
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• non-stick spray

Preheat oven to 350; spray two 12-count muffin tins with non-stick spray.

Heat 1 T olive oil in a large skillet; sauté onion and garlic 4 minutes over medium heat. Add crumbled ground turkey, stir occasionally, cooking until no pink remains; season with s & p, oregano and crushed red pepper. Remove from heat to cool slightly. In a medium bowl or 4 cup measuring cup with spout (this makes it SO much easier to pour into muffin tins!) beat the eggs with a pinch of salt & a twist from a pepper mill. Now comes the fun part!  Toss the cooled rice into the turkey mixture; add zucchini, flax and cheese; stir to combine. Using a spring loaded ice-cream scoop, place 1 scoop of turkey mixture into each prepared muffin tin. Pour a scant 1-2 T of egg mixture over top; Top with additional cheese if you like. Bake for 22-25 minutes; Remove from heat and watch them disappear! If you would like, freeze part of the muffins to have an easy, on-the-go snack!

Here’s to your health! Enjoy ~ v