Tag Archives: Healthy Dinner

Baked Orange Rosemary Chicken with Sweet Potatos // Paleo and Whole30

Ok, so….I may or may not have forgotten to write the recipe down after I made this, but it really was so easy that I’m fairly certain this is it haha. :}

The Huz introduced me to bone in chicken. I mean, I’d had it before, but I think I thought it was harder or not as good-what was I thinking?? When you cook things with the bone in, they are so much moister and more delicious!! I personally don’t eat the skin, but I was told it pretty darn tasty too! AND…because it’s so moist and delicious all on it’s own, you really don’t have to do much to it-WIN!Ingredients

4 bone in chicken breasts
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
1 Tsp garlic
6 clementines or mandarin oranges
1 medium sized onion
2 sweet potatoes (there is some debate on whether sweet potatoes are “paleo”, but since some websites say they are, I’m going with them 🙂 )
4 sprigs of rosemary
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste.

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Peel and cube the sweet potatoes. ( I asked the Huz to get them, and he came back with the “white” ones. I always get confused on what the orange ones are (yams), and I do believe it’s different depending on what part of the country you live in… Anywho, the ones in the picture look like regular potatoes, but they are sweet 😉 )
Dice the onion
Melt the coconut oil
Peel 3 of the oranges, and squeeze the juice from them into the melted oil
Add garlic to the above liquid
Toss the potatoes and onions in the above liquid.
Place the chicken breasts in a 9×13 baking pan and spread potatoes and onions around them, letting them get coated with the oil/garlic/orange juice liquid.
Grind a little salt and pepper over the entire dish-I don’t use much.
Peel the last 3 oranges and place pieces as well as the rosemary sprigs around the dish.
Bake uncovered for an hour, or until potatoes and chicken are fully cooked (time will vary depending on the size of the breasts you get).

Enjoy!!

Grilled Chicken Salad on a Portobello Mushroom // Paleo // Whole30

Salmon Salad with Avocado Dressing

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I’ll reiterate that I am in no way consistent with the Paleo diet, but the idea totally intrigues me. Even more so since Esther eats mostly Paleo. If you have questions about Paleo eating, for sure check out her other blog post here. I don’t have any health issues, but I do love the idea of eating clean and obviously healthy. That said…with teenage boys that split their time between households…paleo eating is not going to happen full time. I’m already too healthy for their tastes 🙂Ingredients

Salmon (amount depends on how many people you have to feed) I may have cheated and used leftover salmon that my dad smoked, but I’m including a marinade and instructions for what I would have done had I not had that 😉
Tomatos (I used Costcos cherry variety pack-so colorful and delicious)
Yellow, Red, and Orange Bell Peppers
1 shallot or half a red onion
1 Large Avocado (if small use two, use half/one for the salad, half/the other one for the dressing)
I do a mix of organic greens and Costco’s Kale, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts Salad (hold the dressing, craisins, and seeds for this)

Salmon Marinade

2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Pure Organic Maple Syrup (some debate if this is Paleo, but could use raw honey too)
1 lemon sliced
grind sea salt/pepper over

Salad Dressing

1/2 large avocado (or one small)
1 Tablespoon Pure Organic Maple Syrup (some debate if this is Paleo, but could use raw honey too)
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Aged Balsamic Vinegar (also some debate if this is Paleo-can skip and still be tasty!)
1/3 Cup Water
Freshed cracked pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 450
Marinate Salmon for at least 30 minutes, skin side down, and place sliced lemons on top.
Bake at 450
Cut all the veggies/avocado (I usually precut 3 peppers and keep them to toss in salads throughout the week)
Dump all the ingredients for the dressing in a blender and mix (the consistency will be thick, but it coats the salad pretty well)
Toss salad and dressing and then top with shredded bits of salmon.
We added Sriracha for some added heat, but not for Maya 😉

Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken, Sweet Pototato, and Onion with Basil Guacamole // Paleo // Whole30

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Here’s another super simple healthy Paleo and Whole30 recipe for you. I don’t know why, but I always feel so bada$$ when I grill on my own! Am I the only female that feels that way? Sounds totally sexist, but usually it’s such a nice ~~excuse not to cook~~ break to have the Huz do the grilling. It’s so easy, less dishes to cook, and I swear everything tastes better off the grill… This dinner was no exception!Ingredients (Would serve 4)

For the Guacamole

10 grape tomatoes (cut in half)
1 large avocados
1 inch cut of red onion
Salt and pepper to to taste
5 Fresh Basil Leaves // Honestly, I didn’t have any cilantro, so I used basil (I had it) and LOVE the change of flavor from the usual guacamole!
Sea salt and Pepper to taste

Pulse all this in a Cuisinart or blender until chunky.

For the BBQ

1 large sweet onion
4 chicken breasts
2 Sweet Potatoes cut in half
Olive Oil
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
Dried Rosemary

Directions

Light your grill to medium heat
Cut the sweet potato in half and pierce with a fork, lightly coat with Olive Oil, S&P, and dried rosemary.
Once preheated, Place Sweet Potatoes on the grill first, because they take longer to cook. Make sure they cook for 15 minutes before you add other items to grill. I placed them directly on the grill-no tinfoil.
Lightly coat chicken in olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, and rosemary. Set aside.
Peel and cut the onion into 4ths (about 3/4″ slices), then lightly coat with olive oil, S&P, and rosemary
Once sweet potato has cooked for 15, add chicken and onion. Cook both of those for 8-10 on each side (depending on size of the chicken)
Layer sweet potato, guacamole, chicken, a little more quacamole, with onion on the side.

ENJOY!

Chicken, Avocado, Egg Salad in a Bell Pepper Cup // Paleo // Whole30

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I’ve been totally inspired by some Paleo and Whole30 recipes on Instagram (mostly @jennaskitchen and @the_clean_wife). Doing Whole30 would not be an option with our teenage boys (I tried cooking separate meals before, but let’s be honest, ONE meal feels like too much work sometimes!) I am all about making healthy meals that taste good though!! The boys and Huz were all gone the other night, so it was just me and Maya. She eats just about anything, so I figured it would be the perfect time to try something I’d been thinking of making. Basically a mix of a few things I’ve seen around, plus what I had in our fridge already 🙂

It was DELICIOUS! So light, yet filling, and unbelievably healthy!Ingredients (Would serve 4)

10 grape tomatoes (cut in half)
5 eggs (soft boiled)
1 and a half large avocados
1.5-2 cups shredded chicken breast (one or two large bone in breast depending on size) I like to BBQ bone in chicken breasts and make extra just to have on hand for a follow up meal like this! Super easy. I usually just dust with olive oil and a tiny bit of sea salt and pepper. Can even just throw it on the BBG plain though, since you peel the skin off!
1/2 and inch slice red onion diced
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
4 Bell Peppers (I like the orange and yellow ones :))

Directions

You can do almost all of it in the Cuisinart. One dish-easy clean up-WIN!!

Boil water and cook eggs for 7 minutes. Take off burner and add cold water and ice until they are cool. Very important to have them fully cool, in order to peel properly. Set aside while you make everything else.
Toss onions and tomatoes into a Cuisinart (or blender if you don’t have a Cuisinart) Pulse a few times until chopped.
Add in Avocado (salt and pepper to taste. I barely used any)
Add in chicken, and eggs
Pulse a few more times just to mix.
Slice the top off the peppers, deseed, and fill with mixture
Pick it up, get MESSY, and ENJOY! 🙂
Since it was just me and Maya for dinner, we had plenty left over. So, we took some over to my parents 🙂

Healthy Chicken and Dumplings // Slowcooker

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I bet you wouldn’t normally think “healthy” when hearing “Chicken and Dumplings”. I bet you’d also never think to make it in the spring. This recipe is healthy, light, delicious, and filling! Yet, it still hits that “comfort food” spot. Teenage boys and toddler approved-WIN!Ingredients:

 6 c. low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp crushed garlic
 4-6 skinless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks (I use 6 to make it more hearty)
 2 tbsp. olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and diced
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced (or half a bag baby carrots cut)
 4 stalks celery, cleaned and sliced

For the dumplings:

 2 c. whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tbsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
 3 tbsp. olive oil
 1 c. milk (any milk is fine. I actually used almond milk when Maya was dairy/soy intollerant)

Directions:

Pour the broth into your crock pot (or into a large soup pot if cooking on a stove top). Add all the ingredients to the broth and turn the crock pot to high (stove top, bring to a slow boil). The original recipe called for sauteing the vegetables in a separate pan, but I like them a little crunchier, so I didn’t do that. Plus, it’s one less step/pan to clean 🙂

For the dumplings:

While the broth is heating up, make the dumplings. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to blend well. Pour in the oil and milk and mix with a wooden spoon. (Be sure the broth is hot before adding the dumplings to the pot.) Using two teaspoons (dumplings should be about 1 inch round). I set them all on a lightly floured plate, so I can add them all at the same time.

If using stove top, boil until the dumplings and chicken are cooked. If using crock pot, cook on high for about 3-1/2 hours. If you need to cook it longer because you are leaving for the day (or cooking overnight), turn the crock pot to low and cook until the dumplings and chicken are cooked through. (about 6-8 hours).

The dumplings will look a little odd after they have been cooking at the top of the stew all day. They create a sort of “crust-like” cover. Just break them up with a wooden spoon and stir them into the stew to finish cooking. Simply break one open to be sure it’s cooked all the way through.

Original recipe is from Shape, and can be found here. I only made a few changes.

Marionberry Baked Salmon with Truffle Cheese Garlic Bread and Raspberry Almond Salad

Pork and Beans // Crockpot

Baked Salmon

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I don’t know why I used to be scared to cook fish. I guess it was the fear of the unknown. Ok, and kind of the smell haha 🙂

Living in the NW, we are SO lucky to have access to amazing fresh fish, so I decided to get over my fear. What I found out? It’s EASY!

Honestly, I change up the marinade depending on what’s in my fridge, but usually I do something sweet + something salty + a little kick. It’s Here’s what I did this last time…

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoons real maple syrup
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (I cheat and use this)
2 Tablespoons chopped chives (happened to have some left over from a previous dinner 🙂
A little sea salt and Pepper
3-4 salmon filets

Directions

Preheat oven to 450
Line a baking pan with tin foil (makes the clean up SO easy!) and lay salmon skin side down.
Mix all the ingredients in bowl and pour over the salmon
Bake for 12-14 minutes (depends on the size of your filets)
Serve with a side salad and some crusty bread (<–not paleo), and you’re done!

In case you were wondering if it’s child friendly, Maya CHOWED this down.

Easy Southwest Black Bean and Chicken Crockpot Soup

1 Reply

Lately, I’ve just been throwing stuff in the crockpot and hoping it turns out. There are so many other things to worry about/spend time doing. Cooking just isn’t one of them right now. Don’t get me wrong. I actually do like to cook. When I have time… I haven’t had a surplus of that lately though, so the crockpot has been my helper. This is was so ridiculously easy and delicious. Healthy too-TRIFECTA! 🙂

Ingredients

6 Chicken Breasts (I only had time to partially thaw the frozen ones I had and it was fine)
1 Cup Pico de Gallo (or any salsa you have on hand/like)
2 Cans of black beans with the liquid
1 Onion diced
1 1/2 Cups Chicken Stock
1 Tsp Chili Powder
1 Cup Quinoa (could also use rice)
1 Adobo Chili finely diced
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions

Throw it all in the crockpot on low for 5 hours (more wouldn’t hurt it, I don’t think). Shred the chicken with fork and enjoy!!

Below is a picture I took with my phone after I dumped it all in the pot. I often wonder what things look like before they cook, just to make sure I’m doing it right 🙂

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