My Fit Habit

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Once upon a time, I went to dinner with Chris and my friend, Dana. We ended up at Brio Tuscan Grille and I had the most amazing grilled salmon with veggies (their Grilled Salmon Fresca). I'm not typically a huge fan of chain restaurants, but this meal haunted me (in a good way) for the next week.

In an effort to be more adventurous in the kitchen, I decided to try my hand at recreating this meal, and the results are below. I was SUPER happy with how it turned out and can't wait to make it again!

I ended up googling multiple recipes for the pesto vinaigrette and balsamic glaze, and the below recipes are clean/lower fat and sugar adaptations that were still delicious, but MUCH healthier.

There are a lot of moving parts to this meal, but it comes together pretty quickly, especially if you have someone else doing the grilling! This can easily be cut in half or doubled for company.

Grilled Salmon Fresca

Servings: 2

Ingredients

2 3-4oz salmon filets
1 bunch of asparagus
1 large sweet potato
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes (I used heirloom tomatoes from Trader Joe's)
2 Tbs. crumbled low fat feta cheese
2 servings pesto vinaigrette (recipe below)
2 servings balsamic glaze (recipe below)

Start by making the pesto vinaigrette and balsamic glaze, since those can sit ready while you prep everything else.

Sweet potato: Cube and roast for 20-30 minutes at 375. WATCH it closely the last 10 minutes or so, sweet potatoes burn quickly.

Tomatoes: Cut in quarters or halves, set aside.

Salmon and Asparagus: Heat grill to 500 degrees. Wash salmon filets and pat dry, brush lightly with olive oil. Grill skin side down 5 minutes, or until the fish easily comes up from the grill, and flip. Grill another 3-5 minutes, until the fish is opaque and flakes easily. While this is going on, grill the asparagus 8-10 minutes until they've reached your desired level of grilled (we like them pretty well done).

Assemble as you see fit (I'm trying to learn to 'plate' food better), top with crumbled feta, and enjoy! And tell me if you like it :)

Pesto Vinaigrette

Servings: 10

1 1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Parmesan
3 Tbs. red- or white-wine vinegar
2 Tbs. lemon juice
2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Blend all ingredients until smooth. This isn't really enough to put in the food processor, I used a stick blender but a normal blender will also work.

Balsamic Glaze

Servings: 2

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. dijon mustard

Bring all ingredients to a boil in a small pot, then reduce heat and simmer until thick, about 10 minutes.

I'm not even sure I can call this a recipe, it's almost more like a method to me. I call it a hash because I can't think of anything better :)

Turkey Spinach Sweet Potato Hash

serves 4

1 lb ground meat (I usually use turkey, but chicken, pork, bison, etc would work)
Leafy greens (spinach is my favorite)
2 sweet potatoes, cubed

I cube the sweet potatoes and either roast them (375 for 20 minutes, but WATCH those suckers they burn easily) or sauté them (steam for a few minutes until soft, then sauté in olive or coconut oil with seasoning).

While the potatoes are cooking, brown the ground meat in a pan and cook through. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and whatever else sounds good. When it's almost cooked through, add in the greens and cook until wilted.

Layer sweet potatoes and meat/spinach mixture and top as you like.

That's it! See what I mean? It's a method not a recipe, infinitely adaptable and nutritious.

My favorite combinations:

Mexican

- season meat with cumin and chili powder, add in chopped bell peppers. Top with greek yogurt and salsa

My Standard

- season meat with salt, pepper, garlic powder and red pepper flakes. Top with greek yogurt and a little ketchup or sriracha.

Breakfast Version

- Season meat with salt and pepper only, scramble a couple eggs in with it. Saute the sweet potatoes with a dash of cinnamon. Top with greek yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup (trust me). I haven't tried it but I have a hunch diced apples cooked with the sweet potatoes would be amazing.

Mushroom

- add in mushrooms while meat is cooking (they will take longer to cook than the greens). Top with diced swiss if you're feeling cheesy.

BBQ

- season meat with salt, pepper, paprika, and add in one diced onion before the greens. Top with greek yogurt mixed with BBQ sauce and green onions.

The possibilities are pretty much endless. As you can see, greek yogurt is essentially my personal Franks (I put that sh*t on everything!) because it's a great replacement for sour cream (my second favorite condiment) and it's packed with protein.

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Recipe: Pumpkin Pie Shakeology

Recipe Re-creation: Grilled Salmon Fresca

Mango Morning Shakeology Bowl

Turkey Spinach Sweet Potato Hash

Easy Chicken Fajitas

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