Healthy dinner recipe Archives

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.

I loaded these guys up with cilantro, which BTW Blake HATES cilantro with a passion.

Had to do it for the photo.

Sorry bud

Ingredients for Lemon Lime Asian Shrimp Kebabs

jumbo shrimp
soy sauce
sriracha
hoisen sauce
orange peel, dried
ginger
garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
lemons, thinly sliced
limes, thinly sliced
fresh cilantro, to taste
wood or medal skewers

I brushed on a little bit more hoisen sauce once I took the shrimpies off the grill.

Sauce = good.

Are there any herbs that you despise?

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Maple Tamari Glazed Pork Roast

March 12, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Maple Tamari Glazed Pork Roast

This tender pork roast is marinaded in a maple tamari glaze and baked to perfection (gluten-free, too!). It’s a perfect family meal and features Fit Foodie Finds partner, Nakano Rice Vinegar.

This was one of those meals where Blake came home from work and the entire house smelled like dinner. The first words out of his mouth were…WHAT IS IN THE OVEN?!

I picked up a gorgeous-looking pork roast from the grocery store and could hardly wait to eat it! I got a steal too…3.5 lb. roast for like $13 bucks. That much meat = dinner for 3 nights!

I started off by making a Tamari Maple Glaze for the marinade featuring Nakano Rice Vinegar. <—-that stuff makes all marinades taste better, I swear! This time I used the roasted garlic variation. Garlic + Love.

It’s a mixture of tamari (gluten-free soy sauce), 100% maple syrup, rice vinegar, teriyaki sauce, garlic, and spices. I poked a few holes in the roast, plopped it in a gallon-sized bag and poured the marinade on top. I let it sit for about an hour in the refrigerator.

The roast took about 90 minutes to fully cook.

When it comes to dinner, I’m usually all about 15 minute meals. This 90+ minute meal is TOTALLY worth it. The meat comes out so tender and delicious.

Ingredients for Maple Tamari Glazed Pork Roast

pork roast
maple syrup
tamari
teriyaki sauce
Nakano Garlic Roasted Rice Vinegar
garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

The nice thing about pork roasts, is that it’s pretty low maintenance. All you need to do is marinade it, stick it in a pan, and bake it.

It also only requires minimal ingredients for a whole lotta flavor!

One thing I recommend doing is lining your baking dish with tin foil. Maple = sugar and sugar + heat = caramelization.

Well, let’s just say I learned the hard way

This post is sponsored by Mizkan’s Nakano Rice Vinegar. Thank you for your continued support as I run my business!

What’s your all time favorite meat marinade?

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Maple Tamari Glazed Pork Roast

Author: Sandra
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

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Ingredients

-3.5 lb. center cut pork roast
-1/4 cup 100% pure maple syrup
-1/4 cup tamari
-1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
-2 tablespoons Nakano Garlic Roasted Rice Vinegar
-2 tablespoons garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

Prepare marinade by mixing all ingredients together other than pork roast. Next, pierce roast with a fork, then place in a gallon size bag. Pour marinade on top and massage pork roast so that everything is evenly coated. Let sit in refrigerator for about an hour.
Next, preheat oven to 400ºF. Then, line a casserole or baking pan with tin foil. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Then, transfer roast onto dish. Brush with a thin coating of additional marinade, but set aside leftover marinade for later use.
Cook for about 90 minutes, uncovered, or until your meat thermometer reads 145ºF.
Once the roast has about 20 minutes left to cook, prepare glaze. Place leftover marinade in a small sauce pan and add in about a teaspoon of starch. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for about 5 minutes to let thicken.
Use a meat brush, to brush glaze over roast. Slice and serve!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hours 30 minutes

Healthy Chicken Burrito Bowl Casserole

March 12, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Healthy Chicken Burrito Bowl Casserole

This post is sponsored by Gold’n Plump Chicken. I was compensated, but, as always, all opinions are 100% my own!

This healthy chicken burrito bowl casserole is made with sponsor, Gold’n Plump Ground Chicken, beans, rice, Mexican spices, and all the topping for a delicious one-pot dinner the entire family will enjoy!

Healthy Chicken Burrito Bowl Casserole- an easy, one-pot meal!

While I am sad that summer is over and fall is in full swing…I am definitely glad that one-pot meals are back in my life. For some reason, I don’t make them during the warmer months, but totally crave them in the colder months. I’ve made at least one a week since late August.

Raise your hand if you LOVE Chipotle and their burrito bowls?

You are in luck because this is a homemade, EASY version of just that! All the nummy burrito bowl flavors jam-packed into one casserole. Best part is, you just mix everything together, throw it in your casserole dish and call it a go. This recipe features Gold’n Plump Lean Ground Chicken, which can be found in your local grocer’s fresh meat or freezer section, packaged in a tray or in round chub package, like my photo. I prefer using ground chicken over chicken breasts because it cooks much more evenly.

I used a mixture of pinto and black beans…because that’s usually what I do when ordering a bowl.

On the bottom of the casserole dish is rice. I used quick cooking white rice, but I am sure it would work with quick cooking brown rice as well. *Note: I have not tried this with regular white/brown rice, only the quick cooking kind!

On top of the rice is a mixture of beans, ground chicken, and lots of spices!

Ingredients for Healthy Chicken Burrito Bowl Casserole

Gold’n Plump Ground Chicken
cooking white (or brown!) rice
water
diced tomatoes
pinto beans, rinsed
black beans, rinsed
jalapeños, diced
minced garlic
chili powder
cumin
paprika
salt and pepper, to taste
shredded cheese (I used colby jack)

For toppings, I went with the classics: fresh diced tomatoes, avocado, and some corn kernels. As clean as you can get! A delicious pico de gallo would have been heavenly and/or homemade guacamole.

I am a huge fan of ground chicken because it’s so lean! There’s less fat than beef and TONS of protein. It’s easy to cook/bake with and SO versatile. I literally had like 14 ideas for this recipe post and narrowed it down to a casserole.

The best part about this whole dish is that you can prep it in the morning, and when you get home from work just pop it right into the oven. If you’ve got burrito lovers (tortilla included) in your house…wrap up some of the casserole in a tortilla and you can make everyone happy!

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Ingredients

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Ingredients

Instructions

You will needs for Super Tasty Asian Salmon:

Ingredients

Instructions

Ingredients for Lemon Lime Asian Shrimp Kebabs

Ingredients

Instructions

Nutrition

Ingredients for Maple Tamari Glazed Pork Roast

Ingredients

Instructions

Ingredients for Healthy Chicken Burrito Bowl Casserole

Ingredients

Instructions

Nutrition