Lee Hersh

Quinoa Meatball Sliders

March 13, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Quinoa Meatball Sliders

I got a reader suggestion a few months back to create a gluten free meatball that was made with quinoa. So dun dun dunnnnn here she is! Quinoa meatball sliders made with lean ground turkey, quinoa, delicious fresh spices, and my secret gluten free meatball ingredient:

OATMEAL.

I’m sure you are wondering if these mini buns are gluten free. They are not. I bought whole wheat buns, but I know that Udi’s makes a gluten free dinner roll if you are gluten sensitive or celiac.

How cute are these?!

They are super duper simple to make because I decided to ditch my pan and bake them instead. That way, I wont risk burning the crap out of them like I’ve done in the past

Ingredients for Quinoa Meatball Sliders

ground turkey
quinoa, cooked
egg
fresh parsley, minced
onion powder
garlic powder
quick cooking oats
-salt and pepper to taste
marinara sauce
grated parmesan cheese,

If you are a beef lover or cooking for a beef lover (:D), feel free to use ground beef. I personally prefer ground turkey or chicken, but Blake on the other hand…is all about the beef!

Once the meatballs have cooked all the way through, all you have to do is heat up your favorite store bought or homemade marinara sauce and give your meatballs a nice warm bath..smothering them in goodness.

My intent was to have this post go live sayyyyyyy 3 days ago, so you could be preparing for the Super Bowl. Better late than never right? I can see it now- half time rolls around and boom, a big tray of little Quinoa Meatball Sliders topped with fresh mozzarella appears.

NOM NOM NOM.

And for the bread haters out there…EAT EM PLAIN!

I enjoyed them this way too

Are you watching the Superbowl?

2. If so what’s on your menu?

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Super Simple Almond Encrusted Tilapia + a workout!

March 13, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Super Simple Almond Encrusted Tilapia

TILAPIA!!!!!

Is one of the foods Blake and I always have on hand. in bulk. and frozen. Along with Kansas beef- which we get every year from Blake’s dad.

Because winter here in Minnesota is cruel and doesn’t allow us to use our grill, we’ve pretty much turned to baking, crock-potting, and pan frying all of our meat. Because a meal without meat is not a meal (according to Mr. B!). You guys are going to love the simplicity and ease of this dish!

Super Simple Almond Encrusted Tilapia #dinner #cleaneats

Super simple ingredients and a whole lotta texture and flavor! The lemon squeeze at the end really takes this to perfection.

I remember as a kid eating fish sticks. Yerp. The kind that you can buy pre-packaged. These are WAY better.

I blame my fish sticks eating on my sister- who was THE PICKIEST eater as a child. Her diet consisted of fish sticks, peanut butter sandwiches (probably without the jelly), chicken fingers, bananas, and that’s about it. I remember when she ate her first hamburger in high school.

Ingredients for Super Simple Almond Encrusted Tilapia

filets
crushed almonds
salt (to-taste)
pepper (to-taste)
lemon wedge
EVOO

Served along side my homemade fish sticks is some simple marinara sauce I got from Target. You could even make homemade marinara if you’re diggin it!

And because I haven’t shared a workout in a while — check it out. Total Body Tabata- Combining cardio tabatas and a body weight circuit. I did this post a few weeks ago again for Anytime Fitness. ENJOY, kids!

Fish Sticks- do or don’t in your current diet?

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Super Simple Almond Encrusted Tilapia + a workout!

Author: Sandra
Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients

Scale

4 servings of Tilapia (4-4oz. filets), thawed
½ cup of coarsely crushed almonds
½ cup of finely crushed almonds or almond meal
salt (to-taste)
pepper (to-taste)
½ lemon wedge
1.5 tablespoons + .5 tablespoons EVOO

Instructions

First, prep the the almond topping by placing ½ cup of whole or slivered almonds in a food processor. Process the almonds until they become flour-like and are finely ground. Add ½ cup more of almonds and coarsely chop, enough so that the larger pieces will stick to the fish. Add in salt and pepper to taste and give it one last spin. Transfer onto a large plate.
Next, preheat a large skillet with about 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil to medium heat. Then, prep tilapia by slicing each fillet in half or thirds. The tilapia might already have a natural cut in it, so feel free to follow that line.
Rub each slice with olive oil on both sides. This will help the almond crust stick to the fish. Then, coat the the fish in the almond topping on both sides.
Transfer fish onto skillet. Sprinkle with additional salt and let cook for about 5 or 6 minutes or until the almonds begin to brown. Then flip and cook for an additional 5 or 6 minutes.
Once fully cooked, transfer tilapia onto a large plate and garnish with a squeeze of fresh lemon.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Nutrition

Calories: 248
Sugar: 1g
Fat: 15g
Carbohydrates: 4g
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 25g

Mexican Quinoa and Sweet Potato Casserole with Chipotle Yogurt Sauce

March 12, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Mexican Quinoa and Sweet Potato Casserole with Chipotle Yogurt Sauce

One Pot Sunday is BACK. This time it’s with a Mexican flare- spice included.

And a cha cha cha on the side. I mean CHA CHA CHA.

Mexican Quinoa and Sweet Potato Casserole

I even made a homemade chipotle sauce that only calls for 3 ingredients!

Even though this dish is technically “vegan,” (minus the the yogurt sauce, of course) it’s filling, carby, and filled with delicious flavor. It is spicy, but the sweet potatoes do a nice job of balancing flavors and they add some sweetness, too.

I love that you literally throw everything into a baking dish, stir, and you’re pretty much done. Prep time is less than 10 minutes. So if you’re a busy mom or work from home like me…this is really nice and easy!

This Mexican Quinoa and Sweet Potato Casserole with Chipotle Yogurt Sauce ingredient list is simple: quinoa, sweet potatoes, back beans, diced tomatoes, your favorite salsa, vegetable stock, and some spices. I guarantee you have most or all of these ingredients in your kitchen!

You can also gauge the spiciness, too. Do you want to clear ya’ sinuses? Or do you like your food a bit blander? You can manipulate this when you are seasoning things before baking. So just beware that if you use my EXACT recipe, your mouth may be on fire. #sizzle

The chipotle sauce was a great addition. You know my obsession with mixing hot and cold things together. This does just that! I used a base of Greek yogurt and then added chipotle pepper seasoning (which I got from Penzey’s) and some sriracha. Again- you can totally gauge the heat with your sauce by adding less of the spices.

The avocados I got were from a local grocery store chain here in Minneapolis called Cub Foods. They weren’t kidding when they said they were “jumbo avocados.” Seriously- they are the size of a softball, I KID YOU NOT! Not sure what’s in the soil, these days.

So awesome that you don’t have to precook your quinoa! Saves so much time and mess. Confession- almost every single time I cook quinoa, it overflows An easy fix would be using a bigger pot.

How spicy do you like your food?

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Jerk Fish Tacos with Asian Slaw and Avocado Lime Sauce

March 12, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Jerk Fish Tacos with Asian Slaw and Avocado Lime Sauce

This post is sponsored by Dole. All opinions are my own (always!).

I love foods that can be dunked and I loveeeee March Madness (Go Gophers)! I was challenged by DOLE to use one of their new Chopped Salad Products with a “dunking” twist. I chose to explore a recipe with the Chopped Asian Blend, which includes (drum roll please…)

Green Cabbage
Red Cabbage
Kale
Broccoli Slaw
Snapped Peas
Carrots

Jerk Fish Tacos with Asian Slaw and Avocado Lime Sauce

It’s time to get creative my friends! I knew I didn’t want to make something typical and I also knew I wanted to mix lots of flavors. Operation jerk + thai = Jerk Fish Tacos with Asian Slaw and Avocado Lime Sauce. It’s gluten free, fresh, and healthy, too!

How could I forget, I made coconut rice too because I’ve been a little obsessed lately.

The avocado lime sauce is incredibly creamy and only calls for a few simple ingredients. I seriously think I’m going to start keeping this on hand at all times. Would be delish spread onto a piece of toast or in place of mayo on a sammie.

I used one of my favorite rubs from Penzey’s Spices for the fish- Jerk Seasoning.

You are more than welcome to cook your fish any way you prefer. If it was nicer, I definitely would have pulled the grill out and given Blake full reigns. Instead, I baked the fish (and still gave Blake full reins). He’s the meat man in this household!

The Asian Slaw- All I can say is I am pumped I have leftovers! I will be eating this straight out of the tupperware

I love that the Asian Blend includes kale! Such a healthy, surprising twist! I have a few more bags to use up, so I am going to sauté some in EVOO and add in some bacon for breakfast

Chopped Salad Blends are genius, if you ask me. All of the things you need in one bag #winning Here are two more Dole Chopped Salad Blend Recipes to inspire you to make one of your own!

My question for you is- What flavors do you like to mix? Inspire me!

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Super Tasty Asian Salmon

March 12, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Super Tasty Asian Salmon

I finally finished re-categorizing every single recipe on the blog so that they show up organized and pretty in my recipe section. This required me to categorize them (because these didn’t transfer over form Blogger), set a featured image, and reformat the post because the spacing got wacked! While going through all 500+ posts, I came to the conclusion that I have lost a lot of personality along the way. Let me explain.

When FFF started, it was purely for fun. I wanted to share healthy recipes with other college students showing them how easy and inexpensive it could be to live a healthy lifestyle during a time in life when beer, little exercise, and late night pizza is the norm. I not only shared recipes (with terrible photos), but I shared workouts, quirky stories, and lots of personal information about myself. I didn’t use proper grammar, I spelled out sounds, and I was sarcastic (ie: see vlog circa 2011 below). FFF has completely changed since then. Things blossom over time and that’s the way life is. I couldn’t be happier that I chose to explore food photography and recipe creation for FFF because it has allowed me to quit my full-time job and be my own boss.

However- looking back at my old posts I miss that quirky, sometimes vulgar little shit I used to be on FFF. I’m not saying that I have 0 personality on the blog these days, but I definitely hold back on personal stories, inappropriate jokes, and non-food related content. I had a really long skype date with Davida yesterday, who reminded me that it is OKAY to be yourself and have an opinion online. She’s been reading FFF for almost 3 years…that’s almost longer than I’ve been writing! Anyways- she reminded me that she fell in love with FFF because of my openness, relateability (apparently this isn’t a word, but I don’t believe it) and variety of content I posted.

So my conclusion. Be yoself, people…on and offline.

This salmon though!

Got a big ol’ thumbs up from Mr. Blake. And you know what it means when that happens….A+ recipe comin’ atcha.

I’ve been slightly obsessed with sticky white rice. As much as I LOVEEEE brown rice, sticky white rice is just the best ever.

This baked salmon turned out super moist and flakey! It’s got an asian zing that’s more savory than sweet.

You will needs for Super Tasty Asian Salmon:

fresh salmon
EVOO
White Rice Vinegar
Soy Sauce
garlic, minced
hoisen sauce
Asia Sweet Ginger Garlic Seasoning
turbinido sugar

I like to get my salmon directly from the butcher. The fresher the better! I got a little over a pound and sliced into 2 pieces + 1 that that wasn’t so pretty. I asked the butcher to keep the skin on because that’s how we’ve always done it in this house!

Super Tasty Asian Salmon via FitFoodieFinds.com

Mix together the marinade, brush it on, let it sit, and bake! Salmon is actually one of the simplest meats to prep and cook, especially if you are baking it.

I paired it with partially steamed broccoli (because over-steamed brocc is gross) and white sticky rice sprinkled with some black sesame seeds.

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Super Tasty Asian Salmon

Author: Sandra
Total Time: 57 minutes

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Ingredients

Scale

1 lb. fresh salmon (skin on)
1 Tablespoon EVOO
1 Tablespoon White Rice Vinegar
1/2 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon hoisen sauce
1.5 teaspoon Simply Asia Sweet Ginger Garlic Seasoning
1 teaspoon turbinido sugar

Instructions

First, preheat oven to 350. Then, spray a medium size baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Prepare your marinade, by mixing together all ingredients in a medium size bowl. Place salmon (whole or pre-sliced into single servings) onto baking dish and pour marinade on top. Place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Before baking, use a brush to re-rub some marinade on top of fish. Leave excess marinade in baking dish. It will thicken as the fish cooks.
Place in oven at 350 for 22 minutes.

Prep Time: 35 minutes
Cook Time: 22 minutes

Lemon Lime Asian Shrimp Kebabs

March 12, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Lemon Lime Asian Shrimp Kebabs

These Lemon Lime Asian Shrimp Kebabs are the perfect appetizer for a summer BBQ!

Shrimp is one of my favorite things to make on the grill. Not only are they yummicious, but they only take a few minutes to cook! You know when you’re hangry and you really can’t wait 20 minutes for your dinner to be done because 20 minutes feels like a lifetime. MAKE SHRIMP!

Lemon Lime Asian Shrimp Kebabs- the perfect summer app!

I used my favorite grill technique….

Tin Foil
Coconut Oil Cooking Spray

That way…your food won’t get stuck to your grill I learned that one from Blakester.

Have you tried coconut oil cooking spray yet? LOVE IT. Love love love it! I get mine from Trader Joe’s, but I’ve seen a few other brands at the normal grocery store. It’s pretty much just coconut oil spray and can be used interchangeably with nonstick cooking spray.

I also really like metal skewers as opposed to the wood ones. I’m always afraid I’m accidentally going to light the wood ones on fire and ignite my dinner into flames. I’m sure there is a wax coating that prevents stuff like this from happening…safety first, people!

Next time I do this, I’m totally going for the jumbo-sized shrimps. When I was at the store I could only find uncooked large shrimp. The bigger the better….am I right or am I right

PS: If you knew me in real life, I am probably one of the most vulgar human beings you’ll ever meet. I really try an keep it PG on FFF. Ask Alex or Davida.