One of the things I remember from my childhood is Hamburger Helper. And a lot of it. My dad made it often (and if he still does, I don't want to know about it)....it was his go to dinner when he was in charge of cooking.

It is like a comfort food to me but now I know the amount of sodium and other random ingredients that go into it, so it makes me a little uneasy to feed it to my kids! But that is ok, we can improvise and make our own "healthified" version!

Now, I am not saying this is a Fix approved meal because I am not a nutritionist & I can't tell you the exact containers, but I personally counted it as 1.5 yellow, 1 red & 1 blue. There are so few tomatoes in there that I can't really justify counting those! BUT either way, when you are craving something comforting but don't want the guilt, this will do the trick!

What You Need:
Annie's Organic Mac (now I suggest the whole wheat version but the store I was at tonight did not have it)
1 small can of corn (no salt added preferably) or even 1 cup frozen corn thawed will work
1 can of Rotel (I use the Original & it has a kick, if you don't like spicy, get the Mild)
1 lb ground turkey (93/7)
1 tbsp Southwest Seasoning (recipe below)

Preparation:
1. Prepare mac as directed on the box.
2. While mac is cooking, get out a pan & cook ground turkey until no longer pink.
3. Add in Rotel (do not drain), 1 tbsp of southwest seasoning & corn, mix well, let simmer.
4. Once mac is done, add it to the mix!

Bam. Super simple. Super tasty. You can even "prep" this meal for the kids when you prep your own food incase you are making something for the week you know they won't touch...then you have dinner ready for them in the fridge, ready to reheat!

This feeds about 5 people, we did 1.5 cup servings for the adults. :) The key is to not over eat it!

Southwest Seasoning:

2 TBSP chili powder
4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregno
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp sea salt

Mix seasonings together and put in a container, there should be some left after you season the chicken! I use this seasoning for taco meat, chicken, anything really!

Alright friends, it is time for one of my favorite fall/winter recipes!

I have NO idea where this recipe was found on the internet, if I did, I would give credit where credit is due but a friend found it & shared it with me last year...it quickly became one of our favorites! So kudos to whoever came up with this amazing concoction.

It is so filling, even using the portion control container system...I actually think if I ate more than what I am allowed in my containers, I would be so full, it would be miserable!

What you need:
2 T chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
5-6 small unpeeled red potatoes, quartered
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 med onion cut into 3/4 inch wedges
1-2 lb pork tenderloin (I use roughly 2 lbs & it makes about 6 servings)
2 T olive oil
1 8oz can tomato sauce (NO SUGAR ADDED!)
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes, undrained (I use no salt added & organic)
Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, use 2 peppers finely chopped (I bag the rest & freeze & use the next time)

Prep:
1) In large bowl mix chili powder, cumin, salt & garlic powder. Add red potatoes, sweet potatoes & onions & toss until coated. Place veggies in slow cooker, leaving the rest of spice mixture in bowl.
2) Rub oil all over pork, roll in spices to cover & place on top of veggies. Pour tomato sauce & diced tomatoes over pork & veggies, sprinkle the chopped chipotle pepper on top.
3) Cover & cook on low for 6 hours.

For my Fix family, I can't guarantee this is accurate because I am not one of our amazing in house nutritionist, but when I eat this, this is how I count my containers:
1/2 green (no sugar added tomato sauce is key for it to be a green, not a purple), 1 red, 1 yellow & 1 tsp

I serve it with a side of veggies, broccoli is good with it! Really anything you want!

I hope you try this and love it as much as we do!

Healthy Taco "Hamburger Helper"

Slow Cooker Chipotle Pork Tenderloin & Potatoes