Fiesta Chicken

 

This chicken dish is very easy to make.  It is a great weekday meal that you can make in about 30min or prep all the ingredients in advance.  The recipe makes 2 generous portions and can easily be doubled or split into 3 or 4 servings if you choose to serve it over a bed of crisp green lettuce (which I have done many times for lunch the next day with the leftovers).  This meal, truly has it all, lean protein from the chicken, healthy fats from the avocado, and fiber from the beans.  It is heart healthy and diabetic friendly.  With all organic ingredients you have a wonderful anti-inflammatory nutritious meal.

 

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (seasoned to taste with chipolte, sea salt, pepper, and garlic powder)

1  14oz can organic black beans

1 avocado

1/2 fresh jalapeno (seeded and diced)

1/2 pint grape tomatoes

1/2 medium onion (red, white or yellow)

1/3 cup fresh chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

2 cloves of garlic

To prepare:  Season and wrap chicken in foil. Bake chicken in oven at 350 for approx 25 min or until juices run clear.  Or feel free to pop onto the grill.  It works either way.  Just make sure that it is cooked through.  While the chicken is cooking, empty can of black beans (do not rinse or drain), 1 clove of chopped garlic and 1/4 jalapeno (seeded for mild or add with the seeds for a kick!) Let simmer until the chicken is cooked.

Now that everything that needs to be hot is in the process of cooking, its time to get the fresh ingredients together.  Dice in thick chunks avocado.  Halve or quarter grape tomatoes.  Dice onion, 1/4 jalapeno, 1 clove garlic.  Toss all together with lime juice and sea salt to taste.

Once the chicken is ready and the beans are heated through, use a slotted spoon to serve beans.  Add chicken on top and then add the chunky avocado mixture.  Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.  Again, feel free to add all ingredients onto a bed of crisp greens for added benefit or to jazz up the leftovers the next day. 

Enjoy

Baked Sweet Potato with Roasted Grapes

Baked Sweet Potato with Roasted Grapes

Okay, I know the combination may sound weird but I am telling you that it is AMAZING.  It is so good in fact, you may want to consider it a desert.  It makes a wonderful unexpected fall side dish full of great stuff for you.

Benefits of Sweet Potatoes:
1. Fiber.  Sweet Potatoes have twice the amount of other potatoes at almost 7g of fiber per serving.  So yes, even though they do contain carbohydrates the amount of fiber helps create a “slow burn” process so it doesn’t dump insulin into your system to fast.

2. Heart Healthy.  Sweet Potatoes also contain high amounts of B6 which is beneficial in breaking down a substance called homocysteine that can lead to the hardening of veins and arteries.  They also contain Potassium which helps in fluid regulation and heart muscle regulation.

3.  Rich in vitamins A, C, and E.  These are important antioxidants.  Antioxidants help prevent cell death and damage. Antioxidant rich foods have been known to help prevent the risk of cancer and boost the immune system.  Think of the sweet potato as a “beauty food” that can help repair tissues including the skin and eyes.

4. Manganese.  What the heck is that?  It is a trace mineral that does lots of great things for your body including metabolism of carbohydrates which helps support and maintain blood sugar levels.  It can also act as a co-factor for enzymes that help produce energy, aid in antioxidant use, decrease anemia, and relieve PMS symptoms in women.

The health benefits of grapes are also amazing!  Grapes have the ability to treat constipation, fatigue, kidney disorders, asthma, macular degeneration, heart disease and high cholesterol levels.  Honey has been used for centuries to help decrease inflammation, aid in fighting infection and helps decrease gastrointestinal discomfort such as constipation, diarrhea and indigestion.

So now on to how to make this:
4 medium organic sweet potatoes (or yams)

3 cups organic seedless red grapes

4 oz plain goat cheese

1 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

2 Tbsp organic raw honey

Bake sweet potatoes at 350 degrees for about 1hr 15 min or until cooked through.  Once cooked set out to cool so that you can handle them.  While potatoes are cooling place 3 cups washed grapes into a bowl and toss with olive oil, salt and black pepper.  Place in oven at 275 degrees for about 15 min in a 9×11 pain with sides.  These suckers do splash when roasting, but I promise you it is worth the mess.  When the grapes are cooking make a slit down each sweet potato and empty warm potato contents in with the 3 oz of goat cheese.  Mix until creamy.  (A friend of mine added a dash of cinnamon in her mixture at this point, but it is optional). Place mixture back into sweet potato skins.  By this time the grapes should be done.  Spoon roasted grapes over potatoes and add the last 1 oz of cheese to crumble over the top.  Drizzle with honey.

I promise you, that it is worth a try.  The first time I made this was for a friend of mine who indulged me in my culinary experiments.  I think it literally took him less then 5 min to eat the entire thing.  So the next time you make sweet potatoes, skip the usual butter and cinnamon sugar and try this!

Black Bean and Chickpea Salad

This is one of my favorite go-to recipes and not just because it is easy and tastes good.  It can be eaten right away, but gets better a day later. It also holds up very well for outdoor eating.  It is full of good stuff!  Not just fiber and protein from beans.  It uses parsley and mint, 2 herbs that aid in digestion and are full of antioxidants.  It also has  unfiltered apple cider vinegar which is great for digestion, but can also help maintain a healthy blood sugar for diabetics, reduce cholesterol, and help reduce appetite by creating a sense of fullness.  Fresh crushed garlic is a natural antibiotic and has been shown to help reduce cholesterol and blood pressure.  And olive oil… do I really have to go there?  Just think “Good Fat”.

Black Bean and Chickpea Salad

2 cans organic black beans (14oz each)

2 cans organic chickpeas (14oz each)

1/4 cup Olive oil

1/4 cup Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 cloves raw garlic (crushed and diced)

1/2 large organic onion (red, yellow, or white)

1/2 jalapeno pepper (seeded)

1 cup chopped organic parsley

1/2 cup chopped organic mint

1 pint organic tomatoes (cherry, grape, or small heirloom as shown)

sea salt and pepper to taste

Rinse and drain beans and place in large bowl.  Chop onion and tomato and add to beans.  Whisk (or place in blender or food processor) together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, jalapeno, garlic, and lemon juice.  Pour onto the bean mixture.  Add the chopped herbs and mix together.  That’s it, you’re done! And if there are leftovers (which I don’t think will happen) just keep it in the refrigerator.
A couple of hints, sometimes the herbs (especially the mint) can turn brown in the recipe if its made a couple of days in advance.  I tend to add the herbs the day I plan on eating or serving it.  If making in advanced, toss the salad to assure adequate dressing coverage.