Sweet Potato Fries

SIMPLE Sweet Potato Fries

I’ve been on a sweet potato kick lately… I’ve made muffins, brownies, and more with these things (recipes forthcoming in the future for those)... Today, I’m sharing a super simple sweet potato fries recipe, both clean-eating and 21-day fix approved.

Yield: 2-3 servings

Fix Portions (per serving): 1 yellow

Ingredients

• 2 medium sweet potatoes (look for the long skinny ones, they are easiest to make into fries in my opinion)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• ½ tbsp cumin

Directions

1. Peel potatoes and slice into wedges
2. In a large bowl, pour the coconut oil over the wedges, add the cinnamon and cumin, and then toss to coat evenly
3. Spread onto a baking sheet
4. Bake at 400 for 30-40 minutes, turning the fries over halfway through the cooking time
5. Enjoy with your favorite meal (like a burger- check out my favorite burger recipe here!)

Baked Fajitas

Baked Fajitas

Yield: 4 fajitas

Fix Portions (per fajita): 1 yellow, ½ red, 1 green, ½ blue (optional)

Ingredients

• 4 whole wheat tortillas
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I poach them in water, so they shred super easy. You could also use leftover rotisserie chicken for this too)
• 1½ green container bell peppers, sliced
• 1½ green container onions, sliced
• 1 green container salsa (I recommend Pace restaurant style or the fresh Chipotle Garlic salsa available in the produce section at Target)
• 2 blue containers shredded mexican or cheddar jack cheese (optional)
• 1 tbsp each ground cumin, garlic powder, and black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. In a skillet, saute onions and bell peppers. Season with garlic powder and black pepper.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine shredded chicken, salsa, and cumin and stir well
4. Fill tortillas one at a time with vegetables and chicken. Sprinkle with ½ blue container cheese (optional).
5. Roll/fold the tortillas so that the ends are tucked in and place them in a 13x9 baking dish
6. Bake for 20 minutes and enjoy!

Bonus Ideas

• Try substituting steak or ground turkey instead of the chicken
• Make a seafood version of this dish: use a mild fish (like tilipia) or baby shrimp and mix with mango salsa for a fresh twist!
• Feel free to serve with some extra salsa, avocado/guac, shredded lettuce, and greek yogurt (sour cream substitute) on the side!

No Bake Granola

I love granola bars- but now that I’ve started reading nutrition labels and eating clean, I don’t really love what they are made out of.

So, I began testing out some different homemade granola recipes and after some good ol’ trial and error, I am pretty pleased with this concoction. Very minimal ingredients, very minimal effort, maximum taste and snacking satisfaction.

Here’s what I like most about them: I think the level of sweetness is balanced. The texture is good- not too sticky, not too hard, not too soft.  You can eat them as granola bars or crumble into pieces to top your yogurt. You can also swap out the fruit and nuts as desired, and maybe even add a few chocolate chips on top (because a girl’s gotta have chocolate, right?)

Yield: About 8 bars

Fix Portions per bar: 1 yellow, ¼ purple (if made with raisins or cranberries added), ¼ blue (if made with nuts added), 1 tsp (PB serving)

Ingredients:

• 1⁄4 cup dates
• 1 ½ cups old fashioned oats (I recommend toasting them for about 10 minutes on 350 to bring out the best flavor, but this is optional)
• ¼ cup honey or agave
• ¼ cup natural peanut butter or almond butter

Directions:

1. MIx dates with a few tablespoons of water and soak about 5-10 minutes, then drain
2. Meanwhile, melt honey and peanut butter together on the stovetop or in the microwave
3. Using a food processor, grind dates into a paste
4. Combine dates in a large bowl with all other ingredients and mix well
5. Press into an 8x8 pan lined with wax paper. NOTE: If you want to add toppings like almonds, raisins, or chocolate chips, press them on top of the granola here
6. Freeze for 1 hour before cutting into squares or crumbling into pieces

Bacon-Wrapped Rosemary Garlic Chicken with Lemon

Bacon-Wrapped Rosemary Garlic Chicken with Lemon

Chicken breasts are a staple of healthy eating, but plain chicken is just boring. I am always looking for new ways to jazz up chicken.

I really like this one I discovered in an edition of Rachael Ray’s magazine a few months back. I’ve modified it a little, but still preserved the savory flavor of the rosemary with the bright punch of citrus. This is a great light dish for summer dinners, but equally delicious all year round.

Yield: 2 servings

Fix portions per serving: 1 red

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast
• 4 slices turkey bacon (or thinly sliced deli ham will work too)
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• ⅓ cup white wine (I personally think its best with wine, but you can use water or low sodium chicken broth as an alternative)

Directions

1. Slice chicken breast lengthwise so you create 2 cutlets
2. Cover each piece of chicken with a sheet of cling wrap and pound with a mallet until very thin (the cling wrap prevents chicken junk from flying everywhere and tearing up the chicken meat itself- basically less mess all around)
3. In a small bowl, combine lemon zest, rosemary, and grated garlic (this will be sort of pasty because the grate garlic makes things sticky)
4. On one side of each chicken cutlet, spread ½ the rosemary, garlic, lemon paste
5. Roll up each cutlet and wrap with 2 pieces of turkey bacon or ham. Secure with toothpicks
6. Season outside of chicken roll up with black pepper (and ½ tsp salt, optional, just to bring out chicken flavor a little)
7. Heat 1 tsp EVOO in a skillet over medium heat. Brown chicken on each side
8. Once browned, add wine to pan. Shake the pan a little while you are adding the wine and for about 30 seconds afterward.
9. Allow to simmer about 10 minutes until chicken is cooked through
10. Serve alongside your favorite steamed vegetables

Philly Cheesesteak Quesadillas

Philly Cheesesteak Quesadillas

Combining two of my favorites- philly cheesesteaks and quesadillas- into one yummy, healthy dish!

Yield: 1 quesadilla

Fix Portions, per quesadilla: ½ red, 1 blue, 1 green, 1 yellow

Ingredients

• 3 slices low sodium deli roast beef
• 2 slices provolone cheese (can substitute another cheese or 1 blue container shredded cheese, if you prefer)
• 1 green container mixed green peppers, onion, mushrooms, chopped
• 1 whole wheat tortilla
• 2 tsp horseradish mustard
• Garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a skillet, sauteed chopped veggies in 1 tsp olive oil until tender. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper, to taste
2. Chop roasf beef and add to skillet. Mix with vegetables to heat beef a little.
3. Cut the tortilla in half. Spread 1 tsp of mustard on either side of the tortilla
4. Layer ½ the cheese on one side of the tortilla. Add meat and veggie mixture, then layer the remaining cheese, and place the other side of the tortilla on top
5. Cook on both sides in skillet (or in an oven with broiler set to high)

Sausage & Kale Pasta

Clean and Creamy Sausage and Kale Pasta

I literally threw this meal together late one night after coming home from church. I had overcome the temptation to swing through the McDonalds drive-thru and instead make a healthy, clean dinner with whatever ingredients I happen to have in the fridge and pantry. This turned out better than I expected and will be a keeper in our household.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Fix Portions: 1 yellow, 1 green, ½ red, ⅓ blue

Ingredients:

• ½ box whole wheat or whole grain pasta (I recommend a thicker noodle. I used ziti becuse thatst what I had in my fridge)
• 2 links lean turkey or chicken sausage (I prefer hot, but you can use sweet sausage too. I recommend Target "Simply Balanced" brand hot Italian chicken sausage)
• 1½ green containers baby portobella mushrooms
• ½ green container sundried tomatoes (tip: buy the ones that come in the zipper bag, not the kind in a jar soaking in oil...I found these in the produce section)
• 1½  green containers kale
• 1½ green container spinach leaves
• ½ cup shredded italian blend cheese (I used sargento; kraft has a nice one too; or you could grate your own parmesan and mozzarella alternatively)
• 1 tbsp whole wheat flour
• ⅓ cup organic milk (I used 2% because that's what I had in the fridge for my daughter)

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions (Important: right before draining the noodles, save a ladel-full of hot, starchy cooking water-you will need that later for the sauce!)
2. In a skillet, saute all vegetables. Season with pepper, garlic and onion powder, and italian seasoning. Once tender, remove from pan, and cover with foil to keep warm.
3. Remove the sausage from its casings and brown the meat in the skillet. Once cooked, remove from pan and drain any excess grease from the meat
4. In the same skillet, add the flour to the pan drippings and whisk to form a roux. Note: you may need to add a teaspoon or so of EVOO depending on how much pan drippings you have
5. Gradually stir in milk and followed by the reserved starchy cooking water
6. Reduce heat, stirring slowly, and allow sauce to thicken.
7. Stir in shredded cheese using a figure-8 motion until the cheese dissolves into the sauce
8. Adjust sauce seasonings to taste, adding in garlic and onion powder and pepper to taste. Also, if the sauce gets too thick and pasty, add more milk or cooking water- you want this to have an nice creamy consistency
9. Add the noodles, sausage, and vegetables to the sauce and stir to coat evenly.
10. Use your green container (or 1 cup measuring cup) to portion out each serving. Enjoy!

BONUS:

• If you’re not a fan of sausage, try this with diced chicken breast or even lean ground turkey (seasoned with garlic and onion powder, italian seasoning, and a little red pepper flake)

Ginger-Citrus Chicken Stir Fry with Sriracha

Ginger-Citrus Chicken Stir Fry with Sriracha

Yield: 3-4 servings

Fix Portions (Per serving): 1 yellow, 1 green, 1 red

Ingredients

•  1 cup whole grain brown rice
• 2 chicken breasts, diced
• 1 green container broccili florets (I like them steamed first before adding them to this recipe- so its a good use for leftover cooked broccili)
• 1 green container zucchini, diced
• ½  green container onions, diced
• ½ green container carrots, finely diced
• 2 tsp coconut oil
• 2 tbsp 100% orange juice
• 1 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp sriracha
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 tbsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• Garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Make chicken marinade: combine orange juice, soy sauce, vinegar, honey, 1 tbsp ginger, 1 tbsp garlic powder, and ½ tbsp sriracha in mixing bowl. Place (raw) diced chicken in a ziploc bag, pour in mariande, and shake to coat. Allow chickent to mariande for at least 1 hour (the longer, the more flavor, so marianding overnight is best)
2. Cook rice according to package directions
3. In a skillet or wok, heat 1 tsp coconut oil until melted.
4. Add diced chicken and cook until cooked through. Remove from skillet and cover with foil to keep warm
5. Add another tsp of coconut oil to the pan or wok. Saute vegetables until tender, seasoning with garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, ginger, and red pepper flake.
6. To portion your plate, use the yellow container to scoop out your serving of rice. Then use the green container for the vegetables, and the red container for the chicken. Once on your plate you can mix it all up as desired.
7. Drizzle with about ½ tbsp sriracha for an added kick

Bonus

• You can always substitue the vegetables in this dish for any veggies you prefer. Just remember that peas and snap peas are considered “yellows” for 21-day fix, so this would alter the portion count list above