Tag: chicken

Keto Recipes, Recipes

Keto Chicken Salad

Jamie

Happy New Year’s Eve!

After the holidays many folks look to refocus their nutrition and clean up their diet. The Keto diet is booming right now, everywhere I turn I see another ad in my feed about Keto. If you are looking to try Keto, my biggest advice is to do your research and listen to your body. Keto doesn’t work for everyone, but it’s my belief that if done properly it can help many folks. I’ve certainly experienced many improvements personally. If you choose to embark on Keto, I’ll be posting a number of recipes in the coming weeks along with a 3 day free meal plan! This will be rolled out when me and my friend Andie over at  Our Radiant Life embark on a new podcast! On the podcast we will be discussing a number of health topics, but initially we will focus on women and Keto! SO excited! More details to come…

I’m always looking for a quick and easy lunch meal that I don’t have to spend a lot of time prepping. This one is just that!

Here is meal planning at its easiest: Get yourself a rotisserie chicken for dinner, serve it up with some low carb veggies – my go-to is sauteed kale or Swiss chard with garlic and a large dollop of tahini at the very end to create a “creamy” green with lots of good fats. The greens pair great with the roasted chicken.

THEN, this is where the quick lunch comes in – take some of the extra chicken meat (I usually eat one of the thighs/leg for dinner and grab the other for this meal) and turn it into chicken salad. One thigh/leg combo usually amounts to 4oz of skin and chicken meat. Throw this chicken salad together, divide up the portion and you have 2 lunches for the week! You could of course use the breast meat as well; you will just have a little lower fat quotient in that case. But you could compensate by adding more mayo and making it extra creamy!

I usually serve this up on romaine lettuce leaves, but you could definitely use a low carb wrap of any kind – butter lettuce, collard green leaf, coconut wraps or my personal favorite, if not doing lettuce, is the almond flour wraps by Siete.

Serve the wraps with a side of cucumbers and/or carrots – maybe even a side of some guacamole for dipping?! Yes please!

Keto Chicken Salad

Print Recipe Card:  KETO CHICKEN SALAD_recipe card

Clean Eats, Recipes

Southwestern Style Burgers

Jamie

Who doesn’t love a good grilled burger in the summer? Today I want to share a healthier ground chicken burger, but I want to give you one that will still satisfy that burger craving!

The ingredients are simple pantry staples so these burgers are quick and easy to throw together. I added a bonus recipe of a quick slaw that you can optionally make as well. And, for those leftover black beans and corn, I have a great corn and bean salsa recipe (aka Mexican Caviar) that Ill share in an upcoming post. But if you want to keep it extra simple, just throw some of the extra beans and corn into your rice bowl.

I served my burgers over rice (I’m kinda hooked on burger bowls lately), but these burgers can obviously be served on a traditional bun as well (I recommend a whole grain bun). I would recommend topping with some guacamole and a dab of salsa. Serve the slaw on the side, or as an additional burger topping. Yum!

Please share any other ideas you have for enjoying these burgers in the comment section. I love to hear new ideas!

SW style burger ingredients

THE WHAT:
1 cup cooked brown rice

BURGERS
1 lb ground chicken meat (or turkey works great too) 
1/4 cup ground flax seed  
1/2 cup black beans (If using canned, drain and rinse first)
1/3 cup corn (If using canned, drain & rinse first)
1 large minced garlic clove
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
3 Tablespoons salsa of choice
1 avocado (Optional)

Quick Lime Slaw
Juice of 1 lime 
3 Tablespoons avocado oil (or EVOO) 
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro (optional)
1/2 head of small green cabbage finely sliced
 

THE HOW:

  1. Cook brown rice according to package directions. Use bone broth instead of water if you have any on hand.
  2. In a medium bowl add all of the burger ingredients and ‘squish’ together by hand to blend well.
  3. Press into 4-5 patties and set on plate. If you have time to let them marinate, stick the patties back in the fridge for 30 minutes (or as long as overnight). It really helps make them more flavorful, but they are good even if you throw them right on the grill.
  4. drizzle a little EVOO on each side so they do not stick to the grill.
  5. Place burger patties on a hot grill.
  6. Cook the burgers 7 minutes the first side and approximately 6 minutes the second side.  Check the internal temperature of the burgers if you are unsure, but do your best not to overcook as this will dry them out.
  7. While the burgers are grilling, add all slaw ingredients to a small bowl and toss thoroughly to fully coat the cabbage. Set aside.
  8. Once peppers cool a bit, you can peal the skin (if you like) and slice them long ways.
  9. Slice or cube your avocado.
  10. Once burgers are done, let them rest approx. 5 minutes.
  11. Assemble your burger bowl:
    • Place a 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice in the bottom of a bowl
    • Add a burger
    • Top the burger with some Quick Lime Slaw
    • Add the Mexican Caviar (if you opted to make it), or just sprinkle some of the extra beans and corn into the bowl
    • Add some avocado slices and drizzle with some salsa

Serves 4-5
ENJOY!

SW style burger bowl w salsa

Clean Eats, Recipes

Crock Pot Whole Roasted Chicken

Jamie

In my previous post, I promised a simple crock pot roasted whole chicken. I had made a Costco run and grabbed two organic whole chickens (you have to buy two at Costco). So, I froze one, and used one to make the recipe below. It doesn’t get any easier than this. I always set it all up in the crock pot the night before, put the lid on and throw it in the fridge. In the morning, there is always just too much to do to get out the door on time. I like just pulling it out of the fridge, sitting the crock in the basin and turning it on low before leaving for work. Of course, this is also a great way to cut down dinner prep on a busy weekend. Sorry I forgot to take a photo of this one. It was a super busy weeknight. Ill add one later when I make this again, which will be soon!

INGREDIENTS: 
 1 whole chicken (I prefer organic)
 1/2 cup water
 2 teaspoons dried French thyme
 1 teaspoon dried garlic powder (or 2 cloves minced garlic)
 2-3 teaspoons ground sea salt
 1 teaspoon ground pepper
  1. Unwrap the chicken and remove any giblets from the cavity (freeze or refrigerate these  these to make bone broth)
  2. Rinse off the chicken and place breast-side down in the crock pot.
  3. Add the 1/2 cup of water to the crock pot
  4. Sprinkle the thyme, garlic powder, salt, and pepper over the chicken
  5.  Put on the lid and cook on low for 10-12 hours (Im sure it would be done in 8 hours, but I just let mine go until I get home from work)

When ready, carefully pull the cooked bird out of crock and place on large plate or platter. Clean all of the meat off the bone and save the carcass for bone broth.

There are so many options on how to serve this! One of my favorites is over a salad. I love making a “kitchen sink” salad with whatever I have on hand. Throw some roasted chicken over it and dinner is served!

If you are single or have a small family, this chicken would freeze well to save for another time.

ENJOY!
Serves 6-8