Healthy snacks Archives

Crunchy Cashew Butter

December 20, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Crunchy Cashew Butter

Make your own crunchy cashew butter with just a few simple ingredients, a food processor, and 10 minutes! No added sugar or additives involved!

Two of my most favorite people in the whole wide world have birthdays this week. Davida’s was yesterday (Happy 26th Miss Mave!) and today is my Mama’s (Happy birthday Mama Mia!). If you follow me in Snapchat (—> fitfoodiefinds <—), you know that I am actually in Toronto right now visiting Davida. The Mave and I have a total 21st century bestie relationship. We talk multiple times a day on Skpe, but only see each other in real life about every 3 months. We flip flop back and forth spending a week in each other’s town and luckily I’m up this time! I’ve only been to Toronto one other time during the dead of winter and all I have to say is summer here is AMAZE BALLS. I could most definitely see myself living in the TO.

One thing that Davida and I share is a strong love for all things nuts. I wish TSA didn’t consider nut butter a liquid, or I would have brought her some of this amazingness to try first hand! I even asked the TSA doode this time around if I could sneak some through and he looked at me with confusion. #whyyousoconfusedboy?

Make your own crunchy cashew butter with just a few simple ingredients, a food processor, and 10 minutes! No added sugar or additives involved!

With a spoon, spread on a piece of bread, smother on banana….this crunchy cashew butter is everything. I decided to leave out any sort of sweetener, but you are more than welcome to add in some honey or maple syrup.

I’m usually a smooth nut butter kind of girl, but this crunch was a nice change up.

I made this thing twice in one week because I devoured it that quickly.

I got issues.

#helpme

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Crunchy Cashew Butter

Author: Lee Hersh
Total Time: 10 minutes

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Ingredients

Scale

2 cups cashews, roasted and lightly salted
2 tablespoons coconut oil
½ cup chopped cashews, roasted and lightly salted

Instructions

Place 2 cups of cashews in a food processor and process for about 5-7 minutes stopping to scrape the sides every so often. Then, add in about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and blend for 1 to 2 more minutes, or until you get a drippy consistency. Finally, add in ½ cup of chopped cashews and pulse a few times.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

SNICKERS ENERGY BALLS

December 20, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

SNICKERS ENERGY BALLS

Need a break? Grab a Snickers Energy Ball! These little morsels of heaven are made with real ingredients and free of gluten, grains, and dairy!

I’m sure you thought to yourself – “how on Earth is this girl going to talk about balls for a whole week straight?”

I asked myself that too, then I realized I’m so obsessed with them that it’s just natural for me to be talking about balls at all times. Balls come up in random conversations with strangers and are actually a great conversation starter. So, if you’re every out of something to talk about on a first date or bored in an elevator…when in doubt talk about balls.

Ingredients for SNICKERS ENERGY BALLS

peanuts, roasted and unsalted
medjool dates, pitted
vanilla
salt
whole peanuts

These Snickers balls in particular are legit legit. They have a crunchy peanut center whic is surrounded by a caramel layer and then a chocolate layer. We’re talkin’ MULTIPLE layers, people.

Need a break? Grab a Snickers Energy Ball! These little morsels of heaven are made with real ingredients and free of gluten, grains, and dairy!

Halloween is coming up and I do have to say that a Snickers bar is one of my favorite chocolate Halloween candies. I honestly can’t remember the last time I ate a Snickers bar, but I do know that on Halloween, my sister and I used to dump our pillow case full of candy out in the living room and sort through everything. We’d make piles of each candy and then organize them by chocolate and fruity. We’d use the candy like money and trade or bargain for things.

Speaking of Halloween. Linley and I did a brainstorm of our favorite Halloween candies. In no specific order:

Starbursts (specifically the yellow ones)
Reese’s Cups
Dots (RED ONES)
York Peppermint Patties
Tootsie Rolls – all flavors

There’s also a handful of Halloween candy that we don’t LOVE. Now, we aren’t saying we HATE these candies, they just aren’t on the top of our list…

Milk Duds
100 Grand Bars
Almond Joys
Hershey Bars (because they’re boring)
Nerds

So long story short. You need to make these Snickers Balls.

Need a break? Grab a Snickers Energy Ball! These little morsels of heaven are made with real ingredients and free of gluten, grains, and dairy! 700

Davida followed my Halloween theme by making some delicious Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Energy Balls for her 5th ball recipe of Energy Ball Week. You’d be missing out if you didn’t check that recipe out!

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Pomegranate Green Smoothie Bowl

December 19, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Pomegranate Green Smoothie Bowl

Get fancy with your smoothie and make this delicious pomegranate green smoothie bowl topped with pomegranate arils, pistachios, hemp seeds, and dark chocolate!

it really the Sunday before Thanksgiving right now? I know I say this time and time again, but where the hell has 2015 gone?! It feel like we were just celebrating Sister and Sister Boy’s wedding and that was almost 4 months ago.

I’ve got a crazy 2 weeks of travel coming up, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. On Tuesday, I’m off to Chicago to celebrate Thanksgiving with the family. Oh Thanksgiving, you are my favorite holiday. This year I am celebrating at my grandparent’s house (mom’s side). They live on the south side on the city. Friday will be spent with my dad’s side, who is from the north side. WOOT!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, I leave for Tulum, Mexico for Sam’s wedding! This will mark the 3rd time in 2015 that I’ve gotten to see Sam. RECORD. I am super excited to celebrate with Sam and Jake in paradise. We are staying at the Grand Oasis, an all-inclusive in Tulum. The wedding is on Tuesday and why the hell not!? If I ever have a destination wedding, I’m totally doing a mid-week wedding. I am actually SUPER PUMPED for the wedding itself because it’s black tie. Sam has always wanted to have an intimate wedding that’s super classy and that’s exactly what she did. I’m 1 of 24 invited. I can’t wait to show you my dress; it’s from Anthropologie

On Thursday of of that week I fly into Milwaukee to spend the weekend visiting friends from high school. Now that my parents no longer live in the town I grew up in, it’s hard for me to get back there. Can’t wait to see my people! I think this brings us to Sunday December 5th, which is why I return home to Minneapolis.

So the next 2 weeks. They’re going to be cray.

I thought I would do a little digging and bring back all of the Thanksgiving posts I’ve ever written on FFF and then I realized I was too lazy to do recaps the past 2 years. I was however, able to scrounge 2012 and 2011 and 2010 <— OMG one of the first posts I ever wrote. LOLOLOL.

Hooolyyyy shit. This is FFF’s 6th Thanksgiving. NUTS.

Nuff about that.

Time to talk smoothie bowl!

I LOVE POMEGRANATES. They make everything better…especially smoothie bowl photos. Who’s with me? This smoothie bowl is made with tons of yummy ingredients: frozen fruit, kale, pomegranate juice, and protein powder.

If you ask me, the only that really matters about a smoothie bowl is what’s on top. DO NOT SKIMP ON THE TOPPINGS.

pomegranate arils
hemp seeds
pistachio nuts
dark chocolate
love

I realize that this smoothie isn’t even green, but that’s besides the point. THERE’S KALE IN THERE! Don’t let the pinkness fool you.

Pomegranate Green Smoothie Bowl + Upcoming Travels

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Pomegranate Green Smoothie Bowl

Author: Lee Hersh

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Ingredients

Scale

½ cup frozen strawberries
1 frozen banana, medium
1 cup fresh kale, packed
½ cup Greek yogurt
½ cup pomegranate juice
½ cup water
1 scoop vanilla protein powder (any kind!)
toppings: hemp seeds, pomegranate arils, pistachio nuts, and dark chocolate

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a high speed food processor and mix until smooth. You may need to add a bit more pomegranate juice depending on how thick you like your smoothies.

I’ve got one more post this week scheduled (for tomorrow!) and then I’m taking the rest of the week off. PEACE!

Classic Guacamole

December 18, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Classic Guacamole

When in doubt make guacamole. With only a few whole ingredients you can whip together the most delicious guac recipe on the planet!

The last time I was in Milwaukee I got together with one of my favorites —> Erin from Well Plated to do a little recipe collaboration. Since we both constantly snack all day long we decided to share a few of our signature dip recipes. Dips are the perfect thing to bring to a party or to just have on hand at all times because heaven for bid my stomach starts growling. I always joke around that I’m constantly eating for the sake of hunger prevention. Feeling hungry is THE WORST FEELING, so if I have little snacks throughout he day I can prevent that from ever happening.

It’s been fun to be back in Milwaukee more often. My hometown in the burbs hasn’t changed that much, but it’s been awesome to explore the evolving downtown as an adult. I lived in the MKE area from 3rd grade to 12th grade and we pretty much stayed out in the burbs and didn’t venture downtown unless we were going to Summerfest. The Milwaukee waterfront is beautiful and I love the foodie scene. The Public Market is my jam and I’ve been able to find some great coffee shops as well!

Check out what my Milwaukee girl Erin made…Edamame Avocado Hummus. I tried this stuff first hand an hubba hubba.

So it’s interesting that I am posting this guac recipe just 2 days after returning home from Mexico. I know I haven’t posted my recap post yet on my Mexico trip, but the first part of the trip was in partner with Avocados from Mexico Canada (thanks Vids) and can I just say that WE ATE A LOT OF GUAC.

My signature guac recipe that I make every single week only requires a few simple ingredients. The funny part is…there’s one ingredient in my recipe that the locals in Mexico were actually appalled that I Juse. Can you guess?

avocado
cilantro
garlic
lime
sea salt
red onion

THEY DON’T USE GARLIC ER MER GERD.

Speaking of being appalled…Lin, Davida, and I were appalled that they DON’T use garlic! Their rational to us was that it takes away from the fresh avocado taste (they get theirs right of the trees, so I get it).

The one thing that I did really like about their guac situation was that they always serve it with toastada rounds. Basically they’re like GIANT chips.

YAS PLEASE.

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Classic Guacamole

Author: Lee Hersh
Total Time: 10 minutes

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Ingredients

Scale

3 ripe avocados, medium
3 cloves garlic, minced (~1.5 tablespoons)
½ large red onion, finely diced
1 lime, juiced
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons cilantro, freshly chopped
optional: 1 large jalapeno, finely diced

Instructions

Remove the flesh of the avocados and place in a medium size bowl. Use a fork to mash until smooth. Then, add in minced garlic, finely diced onion, lime juice, sea salt, and cilantro, and mix until combined.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Nutrition

Serving Size: 6 servings
Calories: 167
Sugar: 1
Fat: 15
Protein: 2

Choco Raspberry Banana Protein Smoothie

May 9, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Choco Raspberry Banana Protein Smoothie

Good morning! I am so excited to be featured on Designer Whey’s facebook and recipe page today! I wanted to post a proper review on Designer Whey before I posted a recipe…but they beat me to it!

A few weeks ago I was asked to create 2 recipes using Designer Whey Protein Powder through a Fitfluential Campaign. I absolutely said yes because Designer Whey was already product I have used before and really enjoyed.

Today one of my recipes went up on Designer Whey’s end! I wanted to share this the second I took the photos, but knew I had to wait

I used a yummy mixture of frozen fruit and Designer Whey’s Classic Chocolate Protein Powder. What’s nice about their protein powder…is it’s low calorie, but high protein so you really get the bang for your buck.

You can add more milk (I used almond), but I am a fan of thick smoothies….the kind you can eat with a spoon.

I also almost always have to put something on top of my smoothie…like fresh fruite or granola. It’s something about that extra crunch 🙂

So tell me, do you like your smoothies thick or thin? Drinkable with a straw or eatable with a spoon?

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Top recipes

Berry SIAB

May 9, 2023 by Lee Hersh Leave a Comment

Berry SIAB

98 degrees. I love that band. Or maybe I just love Nick Lachey. in a turtle neck…

Weather-wise, 98 degrees is a bit extreme for me. Today in the Cities, there is an excessive heat advisory. I tell yah, Minneapolis gets it all. Snow storms, ice storms, excessive wind chills, tornadoes, and HEAT! When in doubt- make something cold and refreshing.

I don’t make smoothies very often because to be honest, I’d rather eat a piece of fruit and some yogurt and call it a go. It’s something about the act of chewing that satisfies my hunger more than slurping down a smoothie. With this extreme heat, today is definitely an exception. Meet: SIAB.

I’ve been following KathEats for almost 3 years now, and she loves her SIAB (Smoothie is a Bowl). She was my insertion for this recipe. Thick, cold, and delish. Here is my version:

Ingredients for Berry SIAB

1/3C fresh blueberries
-1/2C fresh strawberries
-1/4C nonfat vanilla yogurt
-handful of ice
-1/4C liquid
-Toppings: raw oatmeal and bloobs

Instructions

Mix all ingredients into a blender and give it a whirl. I like my smoothies thick so I can eat it with a spoon, so I added an additional handful of ice cubes.

Well that was scarfed down in t-30 seconds.

I just wanted to prove to you how hot it was outside today. Because the natural lighting is so much better than artificial, I figured I’d utilize the sun and take photos of my SIAB outside.It was like insta-fog-er-ama on my camera lens.

Moving on to today’s workout. One word pretty much sums it up: Pathetic. I had plans to bike and run in preparation for my tri, but the 110 degree heat index nixed that plan. Extreme temperatures and humidity make me feel lethargic to the max, so I ended up procrastinating my workout until later today. I finally made it to the gym around 2. After attempting to run on the tred I decided it was a strength training kind of day. Blahhhhh. All around- it was difficult to breath even though I was in an air conditioned room. I think I should have just taken a day off!

Anywho- I’m about to make an early dinner. And when I say early, I mean early. It’s not even 5! This girl’s hangryyyy.

What is your favorite boy band?

How do you stay motivated to exercise during extreme temperatures (cold or hot)?

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LUNCH

Paleo-Friendly Pineapple Coleslaw + BBQ Sides

Honey Balsamic Roasted Veggies

Easy Salmon Salad with Greek Yogurt Dill Dressing

Quinoa Pasta Salad with Chicken Sausage

Copy Cat: Cilantro Lime Brown Rice

Spiralized Tzatziki Cucumber Salad

Healthy dinner

SALMON BEAN BURGERS

Black Bean Quinoa Veggie Burgers

Lemon Grass Ginger Soy Pork Chops

lemon pepper salmon

Shrimp Stir Fry + BUTI

homemade beef broccoli fried rice

Crunchy Cashew Butter

Crunchy Cashew Butter

Ingredients

Instructions

SNICKERS ENERGY BALLS

Ingredients for SNICKERS ENERGY BALLS

SNICKERS ENERGY BALLS

Ingredients

Instructions

Nutrition

Pomegranate Green Smoothie Bowl

Pomegranate Green Smoothie Bowl

Ingredients

Instructions

Classic Guacamole

Classic Guacamole

Ingredients

Instructions

Nutrition

Choco Raspberry Banana Protein Smoothie

Berry SIAB

Ingredients for Berry SIAB

Instructions