Healthy Eats: Sweet Potato Fries

Is it possible to actually enjoy Sweet Potato Fries more than regular fries? We think so! Part of the enjoyment is knowing you are making a healthy choice and the other part is that these Sweet Potato Fries taste pretty darn good!

Here’s how to make them:Sweet Potato Fries

  1. Clean your sweet potatoes to remove any dirt from the outside (you can peel them if you want to but I like to leave the skin on for texture)
  2. Slice length wise then into individual fries
  3. Place in a single layer on a tinfoil or parchment paper lined baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray
  4. Season the fries with chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, cumin and dried crushed rosemary
  5. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes then flip the fries over and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes
  6. Serve these tasty Sweet Potato Fries with Carolina Style Pulled Pork and enjoy!

We are constantly creating other healthy recipes to keep our meal plans interesting. Check back often for new inspiration!

*The exact portions will vary per person. Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day! There is no need to guess at how you should eat – let us help you eat right for your body type and goals!

Healthy Eats: Coconut Acorn Squash

Acorn squash is incredibly flavorful, filling and nutritious. It is low in calories and carbohydrates and is full of potassium and fiber. A six ounce portion of the Coconut Acorn Squash only has 15 grams of carbs! Here’s how to make it:coconut_acorn_squash

Cut acorn squash in half lengthwise, then in half again so you are left with 4 quarters. When cooked, each quarter is roughly 5-6 oz.

Season with paprika, rosemary, garlic powder, pepper, light salt and light cinnamon.

Roast at 400 degrees for 45-55 minutes or until the acorn squash is fork tender.

Serve with your allotted fat portion of coconut oil to complete the Coconut Acorn Squash.

This recipe pairs nicely with grilled vegetable skewers and turkey burgers!

We are always cooking up something new! For more healthy inspiration, try our other Healthy Eats recipes.

*The exact portions will vary per person. Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day!

Healthy Eats: Avocado Mash

If you enjoy Taco Tuesday or a night out at your local Mexican restaurant, then this Healthy Eats is a must make. Of course it’s not chips and salsa, but for GOOD FOR YOU, it’s pretty tasty. Creating the Avocado Mash is simple and it pairs great with your favorite protein and veg for a complete, Check Total Health meal plan approved lunch or dinner!avocado mash

To assemble (as I wouldn’t even call it cooking):

  1. Measure out your portion of white or brown long grain rice (prepared according to package instructions)
  2. Warm your rice
  3. Take 1/2 of an avocado (ripe is best) and mash it into the rice
  4. Squeeze a bit of fresh lime juice and sprinkle fresh or dried cilantro onto the mash
  5. Mash a bit longer until lime juice and cilantro are incorporated

The Avocado Mash is so easy to put together and is truly a tasty addition to your healthy meals! The rice counts as your carb portion and the avocado counts as your fat so make sure you are sticking to your allotted portions for both before assembling!

For more healthy inspiration, try some of our other recipes.

*The exact portions will vary per person. Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day!

Healthy Eats: Cold Couscous

When you eat on the go, with no microwave, finding options that are healthy and taste great can be challenging. This Cold Couscous salad will certainly fit the bill for healthy eating and tasty flavors.Cold Couscous

I had some leftover cooked quinoa blend that I mixed in with 2 cups of cooked couscous. Use the wheat variety, not Israeli when it comes to couscous. Chill your grains in the refrigerator while you prepare the herb and lemon sauce to mix with the cold couscous.

In a blender, combine a small bunch of cilantro with a large bunch of flat leaf parsley. Add the juice of 1-1.5 lemons, Penzey’s Mural of Flavor, and a little garlic salt to taste. Chop some green onions, add to the chilled couscous and toss in the herb sauce. Serve cold and measure your portions; this cold couscous salad counts as a carbohydrate on your meal plan! It pairs nicely with some grilled vegetables and chicken.

We have so many tasty recipes that you will love! Try our other healthy EATS.

*The exact portions will vary per person. Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day!

 

Healthy Eats: Crockpot Shredded Chicken

crockpot shredded chickenWe all love a dish that can be made in the crockpot! It’s easy to put together, clean up, and you really can’t mess it up. Low temperature and slow cooking makes for delicious Crockpot Shredded Chicken!

Here’s how to do it:

Clean the fat and any skin or bones from your chicken breasts.

Place 4-8 chicken breasts in a greased (with non-stick cooking spray) crockpot.

Poor 1/2 cup hot sauce on top of chicken.

Cook on low for 6 hours.

Remove breasts and discard liquid that has cooked out of them.

Shred chicken in a large bowl and add more hot sauce if you like a little zing. This Crockpot Shredded Chicken is amazing with homemade salsa or in a wrap!

We have so many healthy EATS that you can make right in your own kitchen!

*The exact portions will vary per person. Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day!

 

Healthy Eats: Chicken Salad Wrap

chicken-salad-wrapLet’s kick healthy eating up a notch! This Chicken Salad Wrap is a complete meal in one convenient tinfoil wrapped package! You don’t need a microwave or utensils to eat it which makes it ideal for lunch/snack-time while at work or in the car!

Here’s how to assemble the Chicken Salad Wrap:

Take grilled (baked, broiled or boiled will work too) chicken breasts and dice into small cubes. Measure your appropriate portion of chicken and place in a mixing bowl. Add 1-2 TBSP Greek yogurt, the juice of 1/2 lemon, and some seasonings to taste (a little salt is just fine)! Stir until combined then lay atop lettuce and whole grain wrap. Tuck, fold and roll to create the “burrito shape”, then secure tightly in the tinfoil. Read the wrap labels at the store to find one with appropriate carbohydrate portion. I like a lower carb wrap and an apple on the side!

The Chicken Salad Wrap is that simple and tastes so good!

Eat clean and train mean with our other healthy recipes.

*The exact portions will vary per person. Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day! There is no need to guess at how you should eat – let us help you eat right for your body type and goals!

Healthy Eats: Egg & Rice Bake

egg-rice-bakeFast and easy breakfasts are crucial for busy folks trying to eat right! But they usually consist of protein shakes, protein pancakes, or overnight oats.  All of these are sweet and can quickly grow old if you eat them every morning. So how about something savory that’s easy to make ahead of time? Meet our newest healthy breakfast: Egg & Rice Bake!

As always, portions will vary depending on your specific needs and goals. The following measurements will make one large Egg & Rice Bake loaf which can be divided into an appropriate portion for you!

To form the Egg & Rice Bake, take 1 cup of cooked white or brown rice and add two whole eggs and 1/4 cup of brown rice flour to it. Mix thoroughly and spread evenly into the bottom of a greased loaf pan. Next, whisk 1 1/4 cups of egg whites until frothy. Add in 1/2 – 1 TBSP of hot sauce. Pour on top of rice mixture and sprinkle with 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until eggs no longer have any wiggle when pan is gently shook. After cooling, remove the Egg & Rice Bake from the loaf pan and wrap in tinfoil to store in the refrigerator overnight. Cut into appropriate portion and microwave before eating!

If you like our Egg & Rice Bake, you’ll love our index of healthy eats created and taste approved by us. Try our other healthy recipes here.

*The exact portions will vary per person. Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day! There is no need to guess at how you should eat – let us help you eat right for your body type and goals!

Healthy Eats: Zucchini Bread

With this healthy homemade zucchini bread there is no reason to sweat the sweet stuff! It’s made from wholesome ingredients and is a perfect post-workout or breakfast carbohydrate. Each slice of this zucchini bread has 183 calories, 28 grams of carbs, and 4 grams of protein!

Ingredients and Quantities:zuchinni-bread

3 cups shredded raw zucchini

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup coconut sugar

1/2 cup Truvia baking blend

3 large eggs

1 cups Brown or White Rice Flour or Regular Flour

1 cup Old Fashioned Oats

1 cup almond flour

1 TBSP cinnamon

1 TBSP vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup crushed walnuts

Here’s how to make our healthy zucchini bread:

Combine applesauce, sugars and eggs in a large bowl using a whisk. Add zucchini, vanilla and cinnamon. Then switch to a spatula and fold in the flour, oats, soda and powder. Fold in walnuts. Divide batter among two loaf pans that have been generously sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes depending on your oven. Toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean when the zucchini bread is finished.

Try our other healthy recipes here.

*The exact portions will vary per person. Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day! There is no need to guess at how you should eat – let us help you eat right for your body type and goals!

Healthy Eats: Cran-Raspberry Overnight Oats

Cran-Raspberry Overnight OatsOne of the greatest qualities of the overnight oat is that you can pretty much mix any fruit and liquid in a mason jar and have a delicious concoction. I had leftover cranberries and cranberry juice from our fall festivities so voila, Cran-Raspberry Overnight Oats!

The same concept applies as with my other overnight oat recipes. Use a mason jar to mix everything up and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator. Then top with your crushed nuts (macronutrient: fat) for texture and enjoy!

Recipe:

Place one scoop of vanilla protein powder (whey isolate is preferred) in the mason jar. Add 1/4 cup uncooked oats, a handful of fresh cranberries, approximately 8 raspberries and 1 scoop fiber powder. Top with enough cranberry juice to stir smooth but it will still be thick. Let set overnight in the fridge. Top with 1/4 cup crushed walnuts or almonds and enjoy!

All of the Check Total Health “Healthy Eats” are created and tested by us! Try our other recipes here.

*The exact portions will vary per person. Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day! There is no need to guess at how you should eat – let us help you eat right for your body type and goals!

Healthy Eats: Salsa Saves Frozen Cod

Do you ever get on a kick of one particular food and feel like you stay on that kick for a while? We’ve been buying frozen fish, particularly frozen cod and frozen tuna, because they are easy, fast, and quite affordable. There are a few ways to make the cod taste pretty good too…you might even call it FRESH tasting instead of frozen! I call this recipe, “Salsa Saves Frozen Cod”. See my lemon cod recipe for a second option!photo-nov-14-7-29-55-pmphoto-nov-14-7-29-55-pm

In this particular recipe, you can either take the time to make a homemade salsa or just buy a fresh salsa from the refrigerated section at your grocery store (usually near the produce). When I made it this week I used the store-bought salsa so we are literally talking 2 minutes to get the fish ready and 12-13 minutes to cook it — easy!

So take your defrosted cod (you could also do this on chicken if you don’t care for fish) and pat it dry. Place the defrosted cod on a tinfoil lined baking sheet that has a mist of non-stick cooking spray. Use a spoon to apply a generous portion of salsa to each piece of fish (1-2 TBSP depending on size of fish). Top with fresh chopped cilantro and bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes.

We served this with jasmine rice, fresh baked veggies and half an avocado. The fish was so good you would never know it was frozen! And there you have it, “Salsa Saves Frozen Cod”!

Try our other tasty healthy EATS by clicking here.

*The exact portions will vary per person. Contact us for more details on your portions and macronutrient breakdown per meal/per day!