Healthy dinner recipe Archives

Sweet Maple BBQ Grilled Sweet Potato Wedges

December 2, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Sweet Maple BBQ Grilled Sweet Potato Wedges

This post is sponsored by Mizkan’s Nakano. I was compensated and all opinions are my own.

Since I couldn’t be with my dad this Father’s Day, I thought I would post a little something something that reminds me of him…BBQ SAUCE!

When my dad was young, his family owned a chicken and ribs restaurant in Chicago. When I was young, my dad grilled ALL THE TIME! So, it only makes sense that I celebrate my dad with some homemade BBQ!

Sweet Maple BBQ Grilled Sweet Potato Wedges made with homemade BBQ sauce!

Before we talk wedges, let’s talk sauce.

YOU GUYS.

Homemade BBQ sauce is so easy to make! The best part is, you only need a few ingredients!

strained tomatoes (or ketchup)
maple syrup
molasses
spices

Lightened Up Sweet Maple BBQ Sauce #glutenfree

So sweet and tangy and ABSOLUTELY DELISH!

Ingredients for Sweet Maple BBQ Grilled Sweet Potato Wedges

tomatoes
Nakano Roasted Garlic Seasoned Rice Vinegar
maple syrup
molasses
onion powder
garlic powder
ground mustard seed
salt
arrowroot starch
sweet potatoes
Sweet Maple BBQ Sauce
olive oil
Coconut Oil Spray

The featured ingredient in this BBQ Sauce is Nakano’s Roasted Garlic Seasoned Rice Vinegar. Nakano has tons of different flavored rice vinegar flavors and I adore this one. It’s sweet, garlicky, and tangy all at the same time. It’s actually quite delicious on it’s own on top of a salad or grilled veggies….just my two sense.

Sweet Maple BBQ Sauce + Sweet Potato Wedges.

Hot damn.

Ladies. No men are needed to get these grill marks. I promise you.

The secret to grill marks is a hot grill (about 400-450 degrees F), a piece of tin foil, and coconut oil spray.

Oh….and PATIENCE! You really need to just let em cook!

So, Happy Father’s Day Dad! Even though I’m not with you today, I’m thinking of you and so proud of who you are!

Thank you so much for your support as I continue to do sponsored posts.

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Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts

November 30, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts

Thanksgiving is hands down my favorite holiday and always has been! Love me the combination of food and family. #theresnothingbetter My lovely blogger friends and I are back with a Thanksgiving recipe collaboration. This month we focused on whole foods, sans gluten-dairy-grains-sugar.

I got assigned the appetizer and my recipe includes bacon. Because why not. Scroll all the way down for that recipe. For now, let’s take a lookski at what everyone else made.

Davida from The Healthy Maven made Paleo Pumpkin Pie with Pumpkin Seed Crust.

Paleo Pumpkin Pie + more Healthy Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas- paleo recipes made with no refined sugar, gluten, dairy, or grains!

Lexi from Lexi’s Clean Kitchen made Paleo Biscuits.

Paleo Biscuits + more Healthy Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas- paleo recipes made with no refined sugar, gluten, dairy, or grains!

Taylor from Food, Faith, Fitness made Maple Curry Roasted Sweet Potatoes.

Maple Curry Roasted Sweet Potatoes + more Healthy Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas- paleo recipes made with no refined sugar, gluten, dairy, or grains!

Ingredients for Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts

bacon
brussels sprouts
pepper, to taste

I went crazy with my recipe and used 2 whole ingredients (plus salt and pepper). It can’t get much tastier and easier than this one, guy! Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts for the win!

Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts + Healthy Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas- paleo, gluten free, sugar free, grain free, dairy free

Side note: apparently Davida just started liking bacon. What thaaaaaaa.

Now she eats it like twice a day.

You could use any flavor of bacon you desire…like an Apple Maple Smoked Bacon, man that would have been delish!

I prepared myself for a giant greasy mess, but the bacon didn’t actually produce as much grease as pan frying. Few.

If I were a piece of girl bacon, I’d totally hit on this boy bacon.

Yah, I didn’t get that joke either but I just went with it, okay.

What Thanksgiving dish are you most excited to eat?

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Bacon Wrapped Brussels Sprouts

Author: Lee Hersh
Total Time: 50 minutes

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Ingredients

Scale

12 strips of bacon
12 medium/large brussels sprouts
pepper, to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375ºF and line a baking sheet with tin foil.
Then, prep brussels sprouts by washing and patting dry with a paper towl.
To make bacon wrapped brussels sprouts. Place a brussels sprouts at the top of a piece of bacon. Then roll it up, your bacon inside the brussels sprout and place on baking sheet. Season with pepper, to taste.
Bake at 375ºF for 30-35 minutes depending on how crispy you like your bacon.
To serve, insert a toothpick into each brussels sprout.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 bacon wrapped brussels sprout

Apple Chicken Sausage Quinoa Bake with Shredded Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potatoes

November 30, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Apple Chicken Sausage Quinoa Bake with Shredded Brussels Sprouts and Sweet Potatoes

Take ten minute to prepare this Apple Chicken Sausage Quinoa Bake. It’s a healthy, one-pot meal made with root vegetables, apple chicken sausage, and quinoa!

Long time no talk, friends! I am finally home safe and sound in Minneapolis. Blake and I had a fabulous holiday in Kansas with his family. We ate tons of yummy food (including some of the BEST Mexican), spent some quality time with the fam, and even got in 2 yoga classes and a run! Woot for us!

We arrived back in Minneapolis Friday at 5PM, and 10 minutes (literally) later my parents got to our house. They drove up from Cleveland to spend the rest of the holiday weekend with us. Yesterday started off with an early morning spin class at Surge, followed by doing returns at the mall. I think I could have legitimately spent 5 hours at the mall, but we had the boys with us, which really sped things up

So this recipe…

It’s all my favorite things in one dish and that’s the truth!

You really can’t beat a brussels sprouts + sweet potato combo, and the addition of quinoa and chicken sausage is ga ga ga genius. Lately, I’ve been adding a little rice vinegar to my quinoa bakes to really bring the flavors out.

Nakano Natural Rice Vinegar is my go-to.

As I was making and photographing this dish, I realized I SHOULD (…a woulda coulda) have seasoned the veggies first, to make sure everything was 100% coated with EVOO and spices. I added in the directions that I “would” have placed them into a gallon-sized bag, added in the EVOO and spices and coated them that way.

Ingredients for Apple Chicken Sausage Quinoa Bake with Shredded Brussels Sprouts

quinoa
chicken
red onion
Apple Chicken Sausages
shredded brussels sprouts
sweet potatoes
Nakano Rice Vinegar
EVOO
garlic
Italian spices
salt and pepper, to taste

Instead I had to make shift stir everything together.

I’ve made quinoa bakes in the past with chicken sausage, and usually I use precooked sausage. This time, I used uncooked and it turned out just great! So for those that are wondering…either works! Fit Foodie tested and approved.

Any kind of chicken sausage would work, but my fav is apple

Such a great meal for busy people. You could even have everything prepped the night before (or morning) and pop it in when you get home from work. I’d say this serves around 4…so if you are a single lady this would be a perfect meal to make at the beginning of the week.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Mizkan’s Nakano Rice Vinegar. I was compensated and all opinions are 100% my own. Thank you so much for supporting Fit Foodie Finds and making my dreams a reality!

Check out more of FFF’s most popular quinoa casseroles…

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Bacon-Wrapped Honey Sriracha Chicken Bites

November 29, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Bacon-Wrapped Honey Sriracha Chicken Bites

Serve these Bacon-Wrapped Honey Sriracha Chicken Bites on a piece of apple for the most delicious, paleo-friendly appetizer that only takes 30 minutes to make!

Bacon. Sriracha. Chicken.

Nuff said.

This is one of those recipes that I had not planned on shooting (I usually plan out my content calendar weeks in advanced <—crazy, but it’s what works for me), but that I thought of making after having some leftover chicken breasts and chicken in the fridge. Turns out my lovely lady Lexi from Lexi’s Clean Kitchen has a very similar recipe. I think my mind secretly memorizes all of Lexi’s paleo goodness 😉

So these bites…WOULD BE PERFECT FOR Da Soops Bowl (apparently we aren’t aloud to say the actual words because it’s trademarked…fun fact Friday).

These little bites of heaven are SO EASY TO MAKE!

All you have to do is marinade your chicken pieces for a few minutes in your sriracha honey concoction and then roll them up in bacon pieces. Then, you pop the whole thing in the oven for just under 25 minutes.

Boom chicka pow.

Ingredients for Bacon-Wrapped Honey Sriracha Chicken Bites

bacon
chicken breast
sriracha
lemon
honey
salt and pepper to taste
apple

You can use any kind of bacon you want. I used a paleo-friendly, center-cut bacon that doesn’t have all those gross hormones and added nasties in it. Originally I thought an apple smoked bacon would have been perfect, then I decided to throw a piece of actual apple on there.

Gold star.

Bacon-Wrapped Honey Sriracha Chicken Bites

Author: Lee Hersh
Total Time: 30 minutes

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Instructions

First, preheat oven to 400ºF. Then, line a baking sheet with tin-foil and set aside.
Next, prep marinade by mixing together sriracha, lemon juice, honey, and salt and pepper. Then, slice chicken breast up into bite-size pieces, making sure all of the pieces are relatively the same size. I got about 30 pieces out of the two breasts. Then, place the chicken pieces in the marinade and mix.
Prep bacon by slicing into thirds. You should have a total of 30 mini strips to match the 30 chicken pieces. Then, place a piece of chicken in the center of a piece of bacon and roll. Place on tin foil seam down. Repeat.
Bake at 400ºF for 20-25 minutes or until the bacon is at desired texture.
Serve with a thin slice of apple and a toothpick.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Nutrition

Serving Size: 3 servings

This weekend is going to be pretty laid back, which is really nice. On Saturday night Blake and I are going to our friends house for dinner, and that’s pretty much all we have planned. Honestly, I probably won’t watch the Soops Bowl…I haven’t seen a single game all season (oops).

I think what I am going to do is explore a few more ClassPass studios. I just renewed my contract for another month! WHOOP.

What’s your BEST/FAVORITE appetizer recipe?

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Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers

November 28, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers

It’s time to spice up your appetizers with these paleo-friendly bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers! All you need are a few ingredients and 30 minutes!

If you follow me on snapchat —> fitfoodiefinds <— you know that I have a hard time handling the heat

You know when something spicy tastes SO GOOD that you can’t stop eating it…and then 3 seconds after you swallow it your mouth is on fire, but you keep eating more because it’s so good?

Yes. That’s these Jalapeño Poppers.

These little bites of heaven are actually kind of dangerous. Story time.

So Linley was over last week helping develop this recipe. While I was prepping the ground beef filling, she was prepping the jalapeños for stuffing. We know not to touch jalapeños and then rub your eyes, because we’ve all done that. We didn’t know that jalapeños can actually cause a burning sensation on your hands if you aren’t careful when you seed over 12 of them. Neither of us have actually seeded that many jalapeños at once so we didn’t think twice about it. WELLLLL Lin’s hands were burning for like 4 hours after that. RICE VINEGAR TO THE RESCUE. According to Google if you wash your hands with it…it will help take the pain away.

So all I’m saying, is if you make this recipe…be careful! Too much jalapeño juice on you bare hands is lethal! Hashtag I warned you.

We kept the filling simple. Ground beef + onion + spices.

We didn’t want to take away from the bacon. Because…everyone loves bacon.

Ingredients for Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers

jalapeños
bacon
ground beef
yellow onion
garlic powder
cumin
salt and pepper, to taste

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Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers

Author: Lee Hersh

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Ingredients

Scale

12 jalapeños, seeded
6 pieces of thick-cut bacon, sliced in half
½ pound grass-fed ground beef
½ cup yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

First, preheat oven to 400ºF and spray a baking sheet with coconut oil cooking spray.
Next, slice the tops off of your jalapeños and remove seeds. Give the inside of the jalapeños a rinse to remove any and all seeds. **DO NOT TOUCH EYES! Set aside.
Place ground beef, onion, garlic powder, and cumin into a large skillet and brown. Saute for about 5 minutes, or until the beef is cooked all the way through. Take off of heat and use a paper towel to remove some of the excess grease.
Using a teaspoon, spoon ground beef mixture into the inside of the jalapeños. Use your fingers to push beef all the way down to the bottom of the jalapeño. Repeat until all are filled.
Wrap the jalapeños with ½ slice of thick-cut bacon and place on baking sheet. Season with ground pepper.
Bake at 400ºF for about 30 minutes.

CASHEW CHICKEN QUINOA BAKE

November 28, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

CASHEW CHICKEN QUINOA BAKE

Create this Cashew Quinoa Chicken Bake to make a protein-rich, single-serving meal your entire family will be able to enjoy! Food prep in the best way!

In light of the fact we’re in “late August” I took the initiative to hop into the bandwagon of casseroles and one pots just a bit earlier. The school year starts and quick meals are necessary! I am a huge fan of quinoa bakes, and I’m sure you’ll are too, since they’re among FFF’s most requested recipes. Why shouldn’t they be? You can get lots of protein and only a dirty dish and they taste delicious.

Asian is my food culture preference (Mexican is also a top choice) in addition, Cashew Chicken is a dish that was a favorite of one of my high school closest classmates (HEY Carly!) and I ordered often. It’s a great taste and cashews add a wonderful crunch. MMMMMMMMMYYYYYY. The meal we used receive didn’t contain a lot of vegetables in it, and it came with rice that was white which is why I decided to bring an Fit Foodie twist to things.

A better diet and more vegetables. grain (errrr seeds!)

What a beautiful red peppers? You probably have several in your backyard currently that must be utilized. If you’re not a fan of or don’t have red peppers consider using the green variety or broccoli!

To make this recipe, simply put everything into the casserole dish, uncooked (even the quinoa and chicken) and then bake into the oven for about 60 minutes. Yes I’m a genius. I did this test with the traditional white quinoa from Ancient Harvest as well as Inca red quinoa. It was apparent that the red quinoa required to cook for a little longer than the white quinoa, therefore, be aware of this if you’ve only got the red variety in your pantry!

Ingredients for CASHEW CHICKEN QUINOA BAKE

quinoa
yellow onion
medium-sized red peppers
breasts of chicken
hoisen sauce
minced garlic
soy sauce
fresh ginger
water
cashews roasted
Green onion to garnish

Be sure to use lightly salted and roasted cashews for most taste! I added mine to the to the dish at around 45 minutes mark, and then let it simmer for an additional 10 minutes. This is just enough time to allow the cashews and nuts to absorb the delicious sauce.

The bake was finished with a few sliced green onions that provide a stunning color and flavor.

If you were able to choose your favorite food (breakfast or lunch dinner) and make it bake or casserole What would you choose? !

This blog post was supported by Ancient Harvest. I received compensation for this post, however my opinions are entirely mine. Thank you for supporting Fit Foodie Finds!

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