Hummus Crusted Chicken

Hummus. It's delicious, right? But it's not just for dipping pita chips, carrots and celery sticks. No, this protein-packed, flavorful side-dish can be used as a delicious coating for chicken (basically upping the protein content to ridiculous heights!).

This is one of those dinner options that you make when you want it to look like you spent a long time preparing a meal, but you really only had time to slap the chicken in the oven and wait for it to cook. It's easy, it's fast, the flavors are not boring, and  this is definitely not to be mistaken for your regular chicken recipe. It happens often, when trying to eat healthy, that we get stuck in a rut of the same recipes, day in and day out. So, having quick "recipe hacks" for some of your staple meals makes it much more enjoyable to stick with your healthy diet.

This recipe pairs well with grilled or roasted vegetables, a healthy rice pilaf, or a traditional Middle-Eastern tabbouleh salad. (Lucky for you, all of those things are simple to make too!)

Gather:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup hummus of your choice (play around with different flavors. Sundried tomato, olive, original, garlic, etc)
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp red chili powder
1 lemon

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F. Spray a medium baking dish with nonstick cooking spray or coat with coconut oil
2. Place the chicken breasts in the dish. Using a spoon, scoop the ½ cup hummus into a measuring cup to avoid contaminating the rest of the hummus from the raw chicken. Put the remaining hummus away, and spoon hummus from the measuring cup on the chicken. Spread it around until the breasts are evenly coated.
3. Sprinkle the minced garlic, smoked paprika, and red chili powder on top of the chicken. Squeeze a half of a lemon over each breast.
4. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the hummus has crisped. Serve immediately.

with different flavors of hummus really switches up the taste of this dish, so don't let your diet get boring! This recipe also works with fish, so try it out if you're feeling daring. (Or just hungry)

Warmer-Weather Avocado Salad

Houston is heating up, and with this new heat, pool parties, get-togethers with friends and summer flavors are on everyone's mind. For Houston, these next two months or so are going to be the best weather we get until September when temperatures drop back to a comfortable (livable) level.

If you're not in Houston, then the idea alone of warm temperatures is almost too tempting to resist. What you need in either case, Houstonite or not, is a delicious, healthy, go-to recipe to make for a day at the pool, out on the lake, or to bring over to family's/friend's house for cook outs.

This week's recipe features all of the best colors + flavors of the season, and also packs a nutritional punch. (and it's delicious. Like, REALLY delicious.) It easily can be modified into a main dish by mixing in cold grilled chicken or cooked shrimp...use your imagination!

Last week's recipe discussed a way to integrate more vegetables into your diet, and this week kind of carries on with that theme. It is way too easy to associate warmer weather with JUST meat on the grill or high calorie potato salad. This recipe introduces more vegetables but, again in a way that makes you even forget you are eating them. Whip up a batch this weekend and test it out... we promise it will be gone before you can even store it in the fridge.


Gather together:
2 diced avocados
Cubed jicama or radishes
Mango
Pineapple
Cilantro
Shallots
Olive Oil 
Orange Juice
Salt 
Opional: cooked chicken or shrimp

The Method:
-Whisk 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon each fresh lime juice and orange juice, 1 minced shallot and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl.
-Add 2 diced avocados, 1 1/2 cups cubed jicama or radishes, 1/2 cup each cubed mango and pineapple and 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- Gently toss. Season with salt

Enjoy the complementary flavors of salty, sweet, crispy and soft. 
Be well.

Sneaky Veggies Soup

For some reason, people associate soup only with the winter. But, in reality, soup is a great meal option year round. It is hearty, filling and the liquid content in good for digestion... kind of like drinking a bottle of water, but with taste and chewing. Plus, when the soup is as colorful as this one, it basically yells "Spring!"

This week's recipe is excellent for people who have trouble getting in all of their veggies... and it's also great for people who "don't like soup", because it is really, really hearty.  It's cheap, fast, easy  and will last for a few nights in a row. (I promise I'm talking about soup here.)

The key to the soup is that it is made from whole vegetables which are puréed in a blender until smooth, so you are getting all of the vegetable kick, without having to look at them with disgust.

Roasted Broccoli Cauliflower Soup with Chicken
Gather:
2 heads of broccoli
1 head of cauliflower
2 tbsps olive oil
1 48 oz container vegetable or chicken broth
1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
Optional: rotisserie chicken pieces, or baked chicken breasts.

Method:
-Break up cauliflower and broccoli into small pieces and lay on baking sheet, dusting with oil, salt and pepper. You may need more than one sheet.

-Roast all vegetables at 375F for 15 minutes or so, or until beginning to soften
-Place vegetables into blender and add broth, pulse until smooth. You will need to do several batches of vegetables and broth.
-Pour all broccoli/cauliflower soup into a large pot and just bring to a soft simmer, adding juice from the lemon to taste.
-Before serving, add chicken pieces if desired.
Optional: if you save some of the broccoli pieces, you can add them to your soup instead of pureeing all of them. See picture above.

There you have it. Roast, blend, stir, eat. A simple 4 step process to get more vegetables into your system to improve your health!

Super Snack: Baked Parsnip Fries

French fries are really delicious. It's true. They're salty, and hot and perfect for grabbing with your fingers and plunging directly into your open mouth.

But they're really bad for you. They're greasy, fatty little weight gaining sticks that hate you. I'm sorry, but that's also true.

Cue: parsnips. Parsnips are those weird beigey-carrot looking things that you see bashfully hanging out in the produce section of your grocery store. They look like sad, unwanted thin potatoes. Newsflash...they're really good for you. AND BONUS: they make excellent "fries".

Parsnips are high in dietary fiber, folate and potassium and are lower in starch than potatoes...making them a better bet than baked potato fries.  Whip a batch up tonight, it takes almost zero culinary skill, and you will be enjoying the fruit (or vegetable?) of your labors in no time flat. (Or in the 15-25 minutes it takes to bake them).

This recipe can be adjusted to fit your needs. Feel free to add whatever spices you think would be tasty, and use as many or as few parsnips as you can eat (or bear to share with others).

Baked Parsnip Fries

Gather:
parsnips
olive oil
sea salt
optional seasoning ideas: rosemary, red pepper flakes, garlic,

Method:
-Preheat oven to 375*
-Scrub parsnips and get them REALLY clean. Like, CLEAN.
-Slice into thin strips, or chips if you prefer
-toss with a drizzle of olive oil and a few good pinches of salt and any other seasonings that strike your fancy
-Bake until golden, flipping midway through baking to cook evenly. (About 15-25 mins. total cooking time depending on thickness of fries)
-Remove from oven and eat immediately (fries are tastiest when hot, duh!)
-Serve with ketchup, (mayo..if you must) or eat plain.

Finding ways to eat your favorite "unhealthy foods" is an important part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Enjoy!