Bell Pepper Nachos

A healthy twist on a classic appetizer, Bell Pepper Nachos. We skipped the chips and used bell peppers for a low carb recipe made with lean ground turkey, veggies and cheese

Nachos, typically loaded with ground beef, cheese, chives, guacamole and sour cream, can bother the digestion of some when they are served on a bed of fried corn or whole wheat tortilla chips, and can be high in saturated fat.

When cardiovascular health is a top priority for midlife women and men, we must limit inflammatory oils, excess sodium and unhealthy saturated fats from prepared, packaged foods, and fatty meats.

So, after pondering all of this, I was inspired to make my own nachos at home with a few healthier ingredient swaps that significantly reduced saturated fat, sodium, inflammatory oils that you would find in restaurant food, and unhealthy carbs.

The healthier nachos are loaded with the good stuff, like:

• lean ground chicken
• more fibre
• no corn or gluten
• protein-rich
• free from inflammatory oils
• less sodium

How to make bell pepper nachos

1. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 400F
2. Slice bell peppers lengthwise in half,, or quarter them, and remove the seeds. Lay them hollow side up on the baking sheet and set aside
3. In the meantime, sautéed lean ground chicken or Turkey in a frying pan, along with diced onion and homemade taco seasoning
4. Remove the bell peppers from the oven and keep the heat on. Spoon some ground chicken mixture into each of the peppers, top with cheese and put back in the oven for 10 minutes to melt the cheese
5. Optional: garnish with chives, jalapeno peppers, and serve with easy homemade guacamole and sour cream

Other ingredients to swap or try on nachos

• make them vegetarian with black beans instead of ground chicken
• jalapeños for garnish
• diced tomatoes
• cilantro
• plain yogurt with chives
• refried beans