Typically I don't use a lot of recipes because most of my dinners consist of strictly protein, vegetable, carb. Pretty basic. And pretty boring when eaten over and over to be honest. Seriously, how often can you put fish, broccoli, and rice in front of your family and have them say, "YES! I LOVE when you make this dinner!" Not very often, if ever.
But because of my own selfish aspirations, I continuously choose to "torture" them with healthy food.
Currently, I am trying to "lean down" my legs for summer. I spent most of the fall/winter trying to GAIN weight (muscle) through weight training. Now, I'm trying to shed any extra fat that snuck along for the ride. So I'm eating as clean as possible. Clean meaning no pre-packaged or processed foods. No frozen lasagna. No canned soup. No crackers. Just as close to nature as I can get. And I'm tapering starchy carbs, which means I try not to eat things like rice and potatoes in the evening. (Don't worry, I still feed them to my family)
So, as you might imagine, it gets hard sometimes to come up with stuff that fits into this "diet" or that I haven't had 1000 times before. Once in a while I will get creative and hit on something good. This is what happened last night.
(pardon my lighting, presentation, and general lack of artful composure here - I had no idea I was going to take a picture of this dish until after I tasted it)
This meal is SO simple and SO tasty and SO healthy, I had to share it. There are 3 main ingredients and that's it; zucchini, red bell pepper, chicken.
I cooked some chicken tender pieces (Gold N Plump) in the iron skillet and got a nice golden crust on them. I took out the mandolin and put it on the julienne setting to get the vegetables in small, uniform pieces. I sauteed them in a bit of olive oil. Meanwhile, I cut the chicken into small pieces. Then threw it all in the same pan (and here's what makes the whole thing amazing
I squeezed in some chili peppers and garlic from these glorious tubes. And BAM! Flavorful, wonderful, yummilicious! I've never bought these before because they are kinda spendy, but I've always wanted to. I finally caved and splurged and I'm so glad I did! I could squeeze the garlic in my mouth straight from the tube, I love it that much. The only thing that stops me is the fact that my husband probably wouldn't kiss me anymore if I did ;)
Anyway, I had to go very easy with the chili pepper, just a dab will do you. Or me. It all depends on how spicy you like your food. I like spice but nothing that completely burns my palette. What's the point of that anyway? I've never understood it.
And if you are looking to watch calorie and/or carb intake, this is a great meal for you!
p.s. If you are interested in more health and fitness related posts, check out my fitness blog at
or click on the sidebar picture on the top right side of this blog.
Let's get ready for summer!
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