Category: Healthy Meals

Healthy Meal Ideas

Grilled Salmon Salad with Mango Salsa

- littleadaptsbyjax@gmail.com

I was always hit or miss with salmon until I got pregnant! It’s one of the foods I consistently crave, which makes sense as my body requires a lot of omega-3 fatty acids (DHA) to support my growing baby. I also think it really makes a difference if that fish is super fresh and of course wild caught. We made this salmon on the grill and it totally hit the spot in every way. It’s perfect for the summer and super easy to throw together!

Grilled Salmon Salad with Mango Salsa
 
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Serves: 2 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 lb wild caught salmon steak seasoned with EBTB, black pepper, paprika + cajun seasoning to taste
  • 2 cups baby spinach, shredded
  • 1 cup shredded Brussel sprout and kale mix
  • ¼ cucumber, diced
  • ⅓ tomato, diced
  • ½ avocado, diced
  • 4 tbsp mango salsa
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp roasted cashews
Instructions
  1. Heat grill to 500 degrees.
  2. Place salmon on tin foil and season with EBTB, black pepper, paprika + cajun seasoning to taste. Then transport foil directly to grill and cook for 6 - 8 minutes with the grill top down.
  3. While the salmon is cooking, dice all salad ingredients and place on a plate in the order listed above except for mango salsa, olive oil, and cashews.
  4. Once salmon is cooked through, take off the grill and slice. Then put half on each salad.
  5. Top with 2 tbsp of mango salsa on each salad and drizzle each salad with ½ tbsp of olive each.
  6. Top each salad with 1 tbsp roasted cashews and enjoy!
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Happy grilling!

With Health + Happiness Always,
Jax

PS – Want to stay consistent with your summer workout routine? Check out the Little Adapts By Jax App for all the workouts you need PLUS healthy recipes, tip + tricks on maintaining a healthy eating routine and ways to manage stress!

Veggie Quesadilla (GF, DF, V)

- littleadaptsbyjax@gmail.com

Happy Monday! When I gave up dairy, I also gave up quesadillas as there weren’t many dairy-free options available at the time. In addition, many of the dairy-free cheese didn’t melt so that made it extremely difficult for the quesadilla to stay together. But ever since I learned how to make this dairy-free queso cheese – quesadillas are back baby and healthier than ever! This recipe is super easy to throw together for a quick lunch or dinner option and you can use the leftover cheese for vegan mac n cheese, cheesy broccoli or vegan nachos. Hope you enjoy this healthy comfort food as much as I do 🙂

Veggie Quesadilla (GF, DF, V)
 
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Serves: 1 serving
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Heat a pan on medium heat and add 1 tbsp avocado oil.
  2. Sauté onions + peppers for about 5 to 10 minutes until they are browned.
  3. While the they are cooking, add all ingredients for the vegan queso cheese into a blender and mix on high until you have a creamy sauce. Pour queso dip into a container.
  4. Take the onions + peppers off the pan and add 1 tbsp avocado oil.
  5. Once the oil is heated, add a tortilla and add the mashed beans (keep enough room on the ends for the cheese to go). Then layer on the greens followed by the onions + peppers. Finally, top off the quesadilla by drizzling the cheese over the other ingredients and making sure to add more cheese towards the ends of the tortilla so the quesadilla melts together. Cover with the other tortilla and put a pot lid on top to press down. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes.
  6. While the quesadilla is cooking, rinse out the blender and make the vegan sour cream.
  7. Flip the quesadilla carefully with a spatula and place on the lid back on top and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
  8. Slice into 4, drizzle with sour cream and serve with guacamole. Enjoy!
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Happy eating!

With Health + Happiness Always,
Jax

PS – If you’re looking for more healthy comfort foods, check out my app where you can access my “Clean Comfort Cookbook”!

Easy Baked Pasta (V, DF, GF)

- littleadaptsbyjax@gmail.com

While I LOVE my baked rigatoni recipe and it makes so much food (the recipe is on my Clean Comfort Cookbook on my app), it can be a lot of veggie chopping! This is why I’ve created a simpler version of the recipe to make it a go to recipe on any day of the week with whatever veggies you have on hand. The best part is that it can be baked in a Pyrex or in a cast iron pan and it always hits the spot! It’s also vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free.

Easy Baked Pasta (V, DF, GF)
 
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Serves: 6 servins
Ingredients
Vegan “Meat” Sauce
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 32 oz jar marinara or tomato sauce
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ onion, diced
  • 1 bell pepper, diced
  • 1 cup of diced veggies of choice
  • Black pepper + sea salt to taste
  • ½ tsp red pepper flakes
Vegan Mozzarella
Additional Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F and heat a large skillet on the stove. Add olive oil to the pan once it's heated.
  2. Add garlic + onions to the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes until onions have softened. Then add in peppers and veggies and cook for another 5 minutes.
  3. Add tomato sauce + spices. Mix and cover and reduce to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes while you make everything else.
  4. While the sauce is simmering, bring water in a pot to a boil and cook pasta for only 5 minutes as it will continue to cook while baking in the oven. Rinse + drain once it’s done and throw into a big mixing bowl.
  5. Throw all of the vegan mozzarella ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until it is a liquid. Don’t worry if it’s runny as it will thicken in the oven when it bakes!
  6. Add the tomato sauce + raw spinach to the large mixing bowl with the pasta and toss until well combined.
  7. Add half the pasta mixture to a medium/large Pyrex dish or cast iron pan. Then pour half of the vegan mozzarella sauce over the pasta mixture. Add the rest of the pasta and then top of the rest of the vegan mozzarella sauce on top.
  8. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Broil for a maximum of 2 minutes if you want it extra crispy!
  9. Let it cool for about 5-10 minutes and you can eat it solo or serve with a side salad for extra veggies. Store covered in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and you can freeze half for a few months. Enjoy!
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Enjoy!

With Health + Happiness Always,
Jax

PS – Want to take your health to the next level? Join the Little Adapts By Jax App for all your nutrition, fitness, stress management + sleep needs to finally have the healthy + happy lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of 🙂

Plant Based Cauliflower Parm

- littleadaptsbyjax@gmail.com

The real question is: What can’t you make cauliflower into these days?! It’s insane that cauliflower has the perfect texture and minimal flavoring to make any comfort food into a healthier, plant based version. I have to admit that this recipe was inspired by one of my 6 Week Nutrition 101 clients and I’m so happy she did. It was so easy + really delicious. It’s a spin on my cauliflower steaks and only takes 30 minutes to make!

 

Plant Based Cauliflower Parm
 
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Serves: 3 servings
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
  2. Cut off stems and leaves of the head of cauliflower and then rinse with water + pat dry. Make sure you don't cut too much of the stem/core off the cauliflower or the "cutlets" will fall apart!
  3. Slice the cauliflower in half down the middle and then cut 1 to 1.5 inch "cutlets". You will get about 4 cutlets give or take. Don't worry if small florets fall off as you can still throw them on the baking tray anyways.
  4. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and place cauliflower "cutlets" on the tray. Spray both sides lightly with avocado or olive oil.
  5. Cover the baking tray tightly with foil, and place in the oven on the bottom rack. Bake with the foil on for about 15 minutes to steam the cauliflower.
  6. Take the tray out of the oven and remove the foil. Carefully flip the cauliflower cutlets to make sure each side gets nice and brown. Place back in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.
  7. Take the tray out of the oven and flip cauliflower back over. Top each "cutlet" and extra florets with marinara sauce + mozzarella and place back in the oven to broil for 5 minutes until cheese looks melted and lightly browned.
  8. Serve with a side of Palmini pasta with the rest of the marinara sauce over spinach and enjoy!
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Don’t forget to tag me if you make it! Plus, check out my Amazon Page for all of my favorite kitchen and home staple.

With Health + Happiness Always,
Jax

Hummus Tuna Melt Wrap

- littleadaptsbyjax@gmail.com

Lately, I’ve been craving wraps and more specifically, tuna wraps and I think it has a little something to do with my pregnancy! Back when I was a freshman at Boston College, I loved getting their tuna melts and I wanted to recreate that comforting taste + feeling with this healthy version. Regardless, this might be one of the best wraps I’ve ever made.

In addition, I didn’t want to buy mayo since we’re away and barely use it so decided to sub with hummus and I don’t think I’ll ever use mayo again. It gave the tuna salad a creamy texture while also taking away some of “fishy-ness” smell you can get with tuna. This wrap will make your day – PROMISE!

Hummus Tuna Melt Wrap
 
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Serves: 1 serving
Ingredients
Tuna Salad
Wrap
Instructions
  1. Place tuna in a medium sized bowl and use a fork to mash it up.
  2. Add in hummus, mustard, salt + pepper and mix.
  3. Add in onion + celery and mix again. Taste test to see if you need to add a little more of anything to get the right taste + consistency.
  4. Heat a pan on medium-low with a drop of oil. Steam both sides of the tortilla to make it warm + pliable. Keep the heat on the pan as you’ll use it again in a few minutes to seal and turn the wrap into a melt.
  5. Place on the wrap on a plate and fill the center of it in the following order: spinach, drizzle of honey mustard, ⅓ cup of tuna salad, tomatoes + sliced vegan mozzarella.
  6. Roll wrap into a burrito and add a drop of oil again to the pan. Place the wrap flap side down to seal and melt the cheese. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side.
  7. Slice in half and serve with a pickle and a handful of siete tortilla chips. Enjoy!
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Don’t forget to tag me as I love seeing you guys make my recipes 🙂  @littleadaptsbyjax

With Health + Happiness Always,
Jax

PS – Focusing on your nutrition and want to learn how to create a sustainable lifestyle versus a diet? Sign up for my 6 Week Nutrition 101 Group Program starting on Monday, February 15th!

Healthy Dairy-free Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

- littleadaptsbyjax@gmail.com

One of my favorite holiday dishes was twice baked potatoes! They were creamy, warm + so delicious. As always, I wanted to find a way to enjoy the dishes I once loved without all of the negative, physical side effects and guilt. These twice baked sweet potatoes are still creamy and packed with so much more flavor and texture than the original ones (bc obviously there’s a ton of additional veggies in there!) Highly recommend you add them to your Thanksgiving menu ASAP 🙂


Healthy Dairy-free Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
 
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Serves: 4 (full potato) or 8 (1/2 potato)
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Wash + dry your potatoes, spray with coconut oil and sprinkle sea salt. Lastly, poke each potato with a fork or knife a few times to release steam.
  2. Bake potatoes for 1 hour or until soft on the inside.
  3. When there are 15 minutes left on the potatoes, sauté the veggies. Add avocado oil to a heated pan and cook onions + garlic for about 10 minutes on medium low heat until browned and soft.
  4. Add in peppers and mix. Turn down the heat and cook for another 5-7 minutes with the pan covered. Stir occasionally.
  5. Add in the chopped spinach and mix. Cook for another 3 to 5 minutes until wilted.
  6. Once potatoes have baked and are cool enough to handle, cut each one in half lengthwise and carefully scoop out the inside using a spoon. Make sure to leave a thin layer of potato to avoid breaking the skin.
  7. Place sweet potato insides in a mixing bowl and mash. Then add in the coconut milk, nutritional yeast, dijon mustard, garlic powder, paprika + black pepper until smooth. Add in the sautéed veggies and mix again until well combined.
  8. Spoon the mixture back into the potato skins and sprinkle with healthy bread crumbs. Bake again (at 400 degrees) for another 15-20 minutes until toasty.
  9. Serves 8 as a side dish or 4 as a meal. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to a week and reheat in the oven. Enjoy!
Notes
Little Adapted from https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/twice-baked-sweet-potatoes-paleo/
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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

With Health + Happiness Always,
Jax

PS – Stay tuned for my Black Friday Sale for the 12 Day Real Food Reboot – only Reboot sale of the year!

Curry Chickpea Salad

- littleadaptsbyjax@gmail.com

I’ve always been a huge fan of creamy salads you can prep quickly and have for an easy lunch like tuna, egg, and now chickpea. This summer in Asheville I had an amazing curry chickpea salad that I knew I needed to recreate at some point. This recipe really hits the spot because it’s packed with a lot of flavor, nutrients + fiber. The creaminess in this salad comes from a combination of tahini, hummus, water, apple cider vinegar and spices. I love how versatile this salad is so here are 3 ways you can enjoy it:


Curry Chickpea Salad
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
Chickpea Salad
Curry Dressing
  • ½ cup tahini
  • 1 tbsp hummus
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp curry powder
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • Black pepper to taste
  • *Note: You can sub hummus or mayo for tahini but may need to add more or less water depending upon the base.
Instructions
  1. Add curry dressing ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until everything is well combined and you have a creamy texture. Set to the side.
  2. Add chickpeas to a large bowl and mash with the back of a fork or potato masher to get about half of the chickpeas mashed.
  3. Add in carrots, onion, raisins + cashews to a bowl and mix. Add in lemon juice and mix again.
  4. Finally add the curry dressing to the bowl and toss until you have a creamy salad. You can eat this with crackers, on lettuce wraps or over a bed of greens. Stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy!
Notes
Inspired by this recipe: https://simple-veganista.com/curried-chickpea-salad/
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Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

With Health + Happiness Always,
Jax

PS – Want to learn how to add “little adapts” to your lifestyle? Click here to sign up for a FREE 7 day trial to my online membership!

Spicy Almond Butter Veggie Pad Thai

- littleadaptsbyjax@gmail.com

Happy Monday! Fun fact: I love pad thai but I rarely order it b/c I feel so much better when I make it myself. I find that it can be pretty heavy and even greasy at times, which is why I opt to spend the 20 minutes making it at home. I also haven’t found a healthy pad thai place that I can order from so if you have any recs – let me know!

I’ve made it plenty of times with peanut butter but decided to go the almond butter route and it was AMAZING. Remember: My recipes are curated from the things I have on hand so don’t be afraid to get creative and use whatever you have b/c it will still be delicious – promise!

Lastly, this is why I always say you can still have the foods you love without feeling guilty, heavy or like you’ve ruined your health goals for the day. Everything can be “little adapted” so keep the requests coming 🙂

Spicy Almond Butter Veggie Pad Thai
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
Veggie Pad Thai Base:
Spicy Almond Butter Pad Thai Sauce:
Instructions
  1. Heat a large pan on medium-low heat + once heated, add in sesame oil.
  2. Add in peppers, zucchinis, and mushrooms. Stir ingredients and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes. Make sure to stir periodically and turn down heat to low after it's cooked down.
  3. Add in collard greens and season everything with ginger and black pepper. Mix and then continue to cook for another 10 minutes or so on low heat.
  4. While the stir fry is cooking, add all ingredients for the almond butter sauce to a blender or food processor and blend on high until it's well combined. Taste test to see if you need to add more of anything. If you like your sauce thinner, add 1 tbsp of water at a time.
  5. Cook the brown rice noodles according to the package or sauté the zoodles. Make sure to drain the zoodles as they release a lot of water.
  6. In large pan, toss stir fry veggies, noodles or zoodles, and all of the almond butter sauce. Serve with diced almonds + sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Notes
If you have a nut allergy, you can sub with sunflower butter instead!
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If you make it, don’t forget to tag me 🙂

With Health + Happiness Always,
Jax

PS – The 6 Week Nutrition 101 Group Program is launching on Monday, October 19th and there are only 3 spots left! Reach out if you want to make the most out of the rest of the year and start 2021 feeling the BEST!

Summer Thai Salad

- littleadaptsbyjax@gmail.com

I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but it is actually a “Will Smith” special! He did adapt it from my veggie slaw and I inspired him to add peanut butter to give the dressing a little more “sweetness”, haha. Needless to say, I guess it was a joint effort and the results are AMAZING! With only a few weeks left of summer, I recommend adding this to your list of “little adapts” recipes to try before it’s over! PS – If you love pad thai, this summer salad is for you!

 

Summer Thai Salad
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
Salad:
  • 1 honey crisp apple, thinly sliced
  • 2 carrots, thinly sliced
  • ¼ red cabbage, thinly sliced
  • 1 zucchini, thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup unsalted, roasted peanuts
Dressing:
Instructions
  1. Slice all fruit + veggies and place into a bowl.
  2. In a small bowl, add all ingredients for dressing + whisk until well combined.
  3. Pour dressing over the the veggies and mix. Let the salad sit in the fridge for about 10-15 minutes and then serve with crushed peanuts as a side to any summer meal!
Notes
*Each veggie slice should be pretty thin like a "stick" and about 2-3 inches long.
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Enjoy!

With Health + Happiness Always,

Jax

Plant Based Mezzo Bowl

- littleadaptsbyjax@gmail.com

Happy Monday! You’ve probably noticed that I’ve been having plant based “little adapts” bowls on repeat this summer because I find them to be:

  1. Convenient
  2. Completely satisfying

If you watched the my live testimonial with my client Emma last week, she noted how the “little adapts” bowls are her absolute favorite recipe (and many of my clients!) The key to being able to throw these bowls together on the fly is to have some veggies pre-chopped in your fridge (or leftovers), nuts/seeds/beans in the pantry, and of course GREENS! Lastly since I’m making lunch for Dubs + I, we throw everything in one big bowl together to save ourselves time and dishes. I like to call these “big bowl salads”. Since I’ve been making them on pretty often, I’ve come up with a lot of creative recipes and this recent one literally hit the spot, especially if you like Mediterranean style bowls. Feel free to adjust the recipe with what you have on hand and I promise it will still be super tasty!

Plant Based Mezzo Bowl
 
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Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • 1 handful of micro greens or greens of choice
  • 1 handful of spinach
  • 5 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • ¼ cucumber, diced
  • 1 pickle sphere, diced
  • ¼ avocado, diced
  • ¼ cup baked chickpeas
  • 1 tbsp hummus
  • ¼ cup of Spanish RightRice or gluten-free grain of choice
  • Juice of 1 lemon wedge
  • Black pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Dice all vegetables and throw over greens in a bowl.
  2. Add in grains, chickpeas, hummus, lemon juice + black pepper and mix until well combined.
  3. Enjoy but don't forget to eat mindfully 🙂
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As always please tag me if you make it 🙂 @littladaptsbyjax

With Health + Happiness Always,
Jax