Healthy lunch Archives

Healthy Fiesta Lime Rice

March 17, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Healthy Fiesta Lime Rice

Haha. just kidding. But really, it’s true. I’m sure all you poor college students can vouch for me. When you’re home, there is just an irresistible amount of food, EVERYWHERE! I am devoting this post to a weekend of eats spent at home!

Ingredients for Brownie Batter Oats

3T rolled oats
2T oat bran
1/4C almond milk
1/2 banana
1/2T Penzey’s Cocoa
1/2T chia seeds

Toppings: 1/2 banana, raisins, 1T Peanut Butter (I popped it in the micro for about 30 seconds to melt it a little bit)

Okay, this tasted EXACTLY like brownie batter. Mmm. I think I’ve met my new bff. I’m envisioning a lot more of this in the near future…

Ingredients for Baked Blueberry Oat Bran

1/3C Oat Bran
3T vanilla almond milk
1/2 mashed banana
1/4t baking soda
1/4C fresh blueberries
1T egg white substitute
3 shakes of cinnamon (or more if you’re feelin’ it)

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium sized bowl, mash 1/2 banana and mix in almond milk and egg white. Add the rest of your ingredients. The consistency should be a little thicker than cooked oatmeal. Spray a personal sized dish with nonstick cooking spray and poor in your mixture. I used a 6×6 ceramic dish that is about 3/4 of an inch deep. Even out your batter and pop it in the oven for 20-23 minutes depending on how deep your dish is. Top with sliced banana, raisins, and nut butter!

Ingredients for Baked Sweet Potato Boat

1 sweet potato, washed
1/3C nonfat cottage cheese
raisins
balsamic vinegar

Directions: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. With a fork, poke a few holes in your tater (this prevents it from bursting in the oven). Bake the potato for about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how soft you like your potato. Next, slice your potato down the center and place on a plate. Top it with cottage cheese, raisins, and balsamic vinegar.

The mixture of sweet/salty was perfect; as was the cold/hot ratio. This meal is packed with protein and beta carotene…and not to mention, super cost efficient!

Ingredients Healthy Fiesta Lime Rice (Serves 2)

1C cooked brown rice
1/2C black beans
4T fresh pico de gallo (I used store bought)
juice from 1 lime
fresh cilantro

Directions: Mix together all ingredients. Serve cold and with a dollop of plain greek yogurt. Garnish with fresh cilantro. *Note: I made a bit batch of brown rice earlier in the week, but if you are making it from scratch, the ratio of rice to water is 1 to 2. Directions: Bring rice and water to a rolling boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer for an additional 45-50 minutes or until all of the water is soaked up. Let sit for 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork to serve.

This would be perfect paired with tortilla chips or served along side fajitas! I thoroughly enjoy beans and rice and I love cilantro so I decided to make a meal out of it

Ingredients for Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 stick of butter/margarine
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 oz white chocolate chips
2 large eggs
1t vanilla
pinch of salt
1t baking powder
1/2C cocoa (I used Penzey’s)
1 1/2C sugar
1 1/4C flour

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Begin by melting butter and 1/2C semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave. (I microwaved in 20 second increments until melted). Then, let butter/choco mixture sit for 5 minutes before mixing in the rest of your ingredients. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray and use a medium sized cookie scoop to form your cookies. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until your cookies begin to crack on the top. Let cool for about 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

I have concluded…I am a mad woman in the kitchen. I finish one recipe and I’m on to the next.

It’s nice because my family LOVES to eat! My sister and mama are my guinea pigs and my brother is a growing boy and always willing to give a test.

Time to spend ANOTHER night in Milwaukee. Oh yah, BTW. My flight got cancelled AGAIN. I am now rebooked for tomorrow tonight. Seriously, cross your fingers. I need all the luck I can get!

What have you been cookin’ lately?

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Healthy Mango Brown Rice Salad

March 17, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Healthy Mango Brown Rice Salad

I just wanted to start off by saying that- I think I’d be a millionaire if I published a smoothie recipe book with all of the amazing recipes you guys shared! It’s official, my Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie recipe was a little puny compared to some of yours! Operation: Add nut butter to my next smoothie!

I made an amazing Mango Brown Rice Salad last night for part of my dinner. I forgot how versatile a grain could be. Remember when I made my Healthy Fiesta Lime Rice? Same grain, same awesome health benefits, but a WAYYY different flavor.

Really this salad was everything I had ever hoped for! The mango really did it. I am so glad they were on sale for a buck this week! Look what else was on sale…

Ingredients for Healthy Mango Brown Rice Salad

Brown Rice
edamame
mango
small apple
fresh cilantro (to taste)

Heck yes, I am THE master of shopping the sale It keeps me creative in the kitchen. I get in weird ruts of consistently eating the same foods over and over again. Hey, when you’re on a budge and you know what keeps you full…gotta do whatcha gotta do! Really though, it is nice to have some variety in your diet every once in a while.

Time to do more studying…6 days and I’m home free!

What was your “deal of the week?”
What is the most obscure fruit you’ve ever eaten?

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Healthy Mango Brown Rice Salad

Author: Lee Hersh

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Ingredients

Scale

1C Brown Rice
1/2C edamame (I used frozen, but fresh works too!)
1/2 fresh mango, chopped
1 small apple, chopped
fresh cilantro (to taste)
dressing: 1T EVOO, 2T honey, squeeze of lime, pinch of salt, and a pinch of pepper

Instructions

Cook brown rice by bringing 1C rice and 2C water to a rolling boil. Then turn to low and let simmer for 35-40 minute or until all of the water is completely soaked.In
N a small bowl, mix together ingredients for the dressing. You could also add a tablespoon or so of sugar or stevia if you want to boost the sweetness.
In a large bowl, mix together edamame, chopped mango, chopped apple, fresh cilantro, and cooked rice. Toss salad in your dressing.
Refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving. I recommend serving it chilled, but room temperature is delicious as well!

Vegan Sweet Potato Quesadillas

March 12, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Vegan Sweet Potato Quesadillas

Make these cheese-free vegan sweet potato quesadillas that are packed with protein and flavor and topped with a delicious cilantro avocado spread!

You guys.

I officially love the city of Toronto and the country of Canada.

I legit had the best week ever with Davida. We got SO MUCH work done and I can’t wait to share with you all our latest project! One thing that I realized after spending a week with Davida is that we have the same exact eating habits.

We eat when we are hungry and we eat what we are craving.

And yes, that means lots and lots of popcorn. Because who doesn’t crave popcorn for every meal?

I wasn’t sure what to call this because these don’t have cheese in them or have an ingredient that resembles cheese. They look and pretty much are a form of quesadillas without the cheese.

I got the most amazing whole wheat spinach tortillas from Trader Joe’s and that’s what I used as my shell. Green is my jam lately.

Speaking of green. I topped them with my Cilantro Lime Avocado Spread. Which, BTW. Is the most legit recipe I’ve ever made. Thing is you guys. It’s guacamole, but I called it something else to see if it would get more traction. It TOTALLY worked. AND- only one person has ever called me out on the fact that the recipe is actually guacamole

Sorrynotsorry.

So this week is actually bat sh*z crazy for me. I found out last week that I am going on a cruise with 10 other food bloggers and I leave on Sunday morning! Nothing like traveling back to back. I am so excited for this trip because I get to bring Blake with me and I get to go to countries I’ve never been before! We will be going on a Princess Cruise through the Caribbean visiting The Princess Cays, St. Thomas, and The Bahamas.

3 days after we get back form the cruise, we head to Cleveland to visit my parents (this trip was planned first).

If I had a real job I would be half way through my PTO already!

Are you going on any upcoming vacations?

Basic Ingredients

For the Sweet Potatoes

2 large sweet potatoes
1 small red onion
2 tablespoons EVOO
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper

For the Quinoa & Black Beans

½ cup quinoa, uncooked
1 cup vegetable broth (I used low sodium)
1 15 oz can black beans
½ jalapeño, diced
⅓ cup salsa

Additional Ingredients Needed

Cilantro Lime Avocado Spread
coconut oil cooking spray
~8 tortillas

How to make Vegan Sweet Potato Quesadillas

For the Sweet Potatoes First, preheat oven to 400ºF, then line a baking sheet with tin foil.
Prep sweet potatoes by washing and patting dry. Then, chop into bite size pieces. Mince onion. Spread vegetables onto baking sheet and drizzle with EVOO.
Then, sprinkle on garlic, chili powder, paprika, and salt and pepper and toss with your hands.
Bake at 400ºF for 25-30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes have reached desired texture.

For the Quinoa & Black Beans Place quinoa, vegetable broth, and diced jalapeño in a medium size pot. Then, bring to a boil. Cover and turn down to low. Let simmer for about 15 minutes or until all the liquid has absorbed.
Add in black beans and salsa and mix.

Additional Ingredients Needed First, spread on some Cilantro Lime Avocado Spread. Then, place ~ ⅓ cup of vegetables and ~1/3 cup quinoa/black bean mixture on top of a tortilla shell. Then, place another tortilla on top of that.
Heat a large sauce pan to medium heat and spray with coconut oil spray. Cook both sides for 1-2 minutes or until they begin to brown. Serve with more Cilantro Lime Avocado Spread and a sprinkle of paprika.

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Quinoa Salad

March 11, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Quinoa Salad

If someone gave me the reigns to plan an entire Thanksgiving meal, I have no doubt that at least half of the recipes would have quinoa in it. It’s not my fault. It goes so well with everything. It adds such great texture and color too!

I Get this photo a few weeks ago and it got a lot of interest. Ya either love or hate brussels sprouts and I have a feeling that a lot of FFF readers LOVE EM. I actually did this recipe as part of the 2nd annual Anytime Fitness e-book. Last year the Anytime Fitness writers did a holiday cookie book, and this year it’s theme is Thanksgiving.

I am very excited with how the ebook turned out. Props to my friend and- co-worker Amanda for doing the design and layout of it! It looks fab.

Back to the quinoa. I am such a nerd when it comes to grocery stores. I could wander and wander and never get bored. One thing that I always do is seek out the quinoa in both the bulk section and prepackaged section to compare prices. This may sound contradicting, but the cheapest quinoa I can find is at Whole Foods. Plus- they have an array of different kinds: normal, tri, black, and red.

That’s where I got the black quinoa for this recipe….from the Whole Foods Bulk Section. Black quinoa is more expensive than regular, so I only got what I need. Great way to save money!

Ingredients for Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Quinoa Salad

brussels sprouts
red onion
minced garlic
extra virgin
olive oil
salt
pepper
garbanzo beans,
canned and rinsed
quinoa, dry
water
red pepper
flakes (optional)

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Thanksgiving Side: Maple Apple Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

March 11, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Maple Apple Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

Remember that one time.

Just last week.

When I caramelized 2 beautiful pieces of salmon? Well- I may or may not have also caramelized the brussels sprouts that went along with that meal in the same exact glaze.

These are too good not to share and just in time for T-giving.

Maple Apple Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

A few Friday’s back when I made this recipe, I actually had a full day of baking in preparation for a series I am doing in December with my mentee, Rachel, from the University of Minnesota. Rachel is in the college of Nutrition and asked me to be her mentor (heck to the yes!) because she is interested in food styling and recipe creation. Mentors have been a huge part of Fit Foodie Find’s success and I couldn’t imagine a day without having strong women (and men) to help me conquer business, blogging, entrepreneurship, etc. As part of the program, the mentees are suppose to shadow their mentor for an entire day…so I made sure we’d have an action filled one!

Rachel and I made this meal during our baking extravaganza, and I do have to give her some credit for this combo. And for letting me use her hands in the photography

We started off by chopping the brussels sprouts in half drizzling with EVOO, salt, and pepper and roasting them at about 400 for 20ish minutes.

Once they got their beautiful golden brown color, into a frying pan they went along with some of that delicious maple apple glaze we put on the fish.

Ingredients Maple Apple Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

brussels sprouts
EVOO
minced garlic
salt
pepper
maple syrup
apple butter
sugar

Check out the size of these brussles. This one was like a size of a newborn’s head (almost)!

Happy Moooonday.

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Thanksgiving Side: Maple Apple Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

Author: Lee Hersh
Total Time: 35 minutes

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Instructions

First, preheat oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with foil.
Next, prepare vegetables. Wash Brussels sprouts and pat dry. Then, cut them in half hot dog style and place on baking sheet. Drizzle on about 1.5 tablespoons of EVOO and toss with fingers.
Season veggies with ½ tablespoon of minced garlic (or more if you’re a garlic lover), salt, and pepper.
Place brussels sprouts into oven at 400°F for 20-25 minutes or until the Brussels sprouts begin to brown.
While brussels are cooking, make your glaze. Mix maple syrup, apple butter, and turbinado sugar.
Once the brussels are done, transfer them into a frying pan and pour on glaze. Sautee on medium heat for about 3-5 minutes.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Thanksgiving Appetizer Recipe: Itty Bitty Sweet Potato Stacks

March 11, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Itty Bitty Sweet Potato Stacks

Sweet mother of potatoes.

Did you know: as a kid my Dad used to call me spud? Ever once in a while my family would go out for dinner at our favorite Family Restaurant (and I kid you not) I would order a baked potato, hash browns, and fries.

Not sure why my parents let them happen Thankfully I’ve grown to love sweet potatoes, a much healthier and tastier option.

This recipe only calls for 2 main ingredients: sweet potatoes and cheese. What could you not love about it! I cooked them in my cupcake pan, which makes for easier clean up.

My original plan was to make normal sized sweet potato stacks, but I could only find a few big ones. The rest were skinny with a small diameter. If you do find honkin’ sweet potatoes, use them! Just make sure you bake them in a baking dish because they won’t fit in a cupcake tin.

Thanksgiving Appetizer Recipe: Itty Bitty Sweet Potato Stacks

Author: Lee Hersh
Total Time: 35 minutes

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Ingredients

Scale

4 skinny, large sweet potatoes
1 pound of cranberry cheddar cheese (you probably won’t use it all)
nonstick cooking spray (I used nonstick coconut oil spray- it gave it a great flavor!)
salt, to taste
-pepper, to taste
*Cheese grader
*Muffin Tin

Instructions

First, begin by preheating your oven to 400F and spray a 16 cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Next, finely grate your cheese. Start off by doing half and if you need more, come back to it! Set aside.
Slice your sweet potatoes as thin as you can.
To make stacks, place on sweet potato sliver onto the bottom of your muffin tin and layer with cheese. Repeat 3-5 times per stack. *Do not sprinkle cheese on top, we will do this later.
Lightly spray each stack with more nonstick cooking spray and season with salt and pepper.
Place in oven at 400 for 20 minutes. Remove cheese from oven and sprinkle cheese on top. Place back in oven for about 5 minutes or just enough to melt the cheese on top.
Before serving clean up the bottom of your stacks. Some of the cheese may have burned a little or become a darker cover, so just use a knife to cut all of the excess cheese off.
If you are using bigger sweet potatoes, you may want to cook them a little longer to ensure they are cooked all the way through!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

The ooey gooey cheese I used on top was from Byerly’s (a local Minnesota grocery chain). They source a lot of their products local, and I am happy to say that the Cranberry Cheddar cheese I purchase was made in Edina…the town over from me!

If you can’t find cranberry cheddar in your local grocery story, I’d recommend brie…something that will bring out the sweetness of the potatoes.

On top of the stacks you can really add whatever your heart desires. My original plan was apple smoked bacon, but I thought it would be fun to make an easy cranberry relish sweetened with honey and a splash of OJ.