Chicken W Sauteed Asian Veggies- Post Gym Meal

After a hectic start to the year (with little time for following through on New Year's Resolutions) I've decided that as life has started to settle down, now is the perfect time for a mid-March "resolution". My resolutions: post more recipes and get back to a 5 day a week gym schedule.

In keeping with this, below is an awesome post-gym Chicken w/ Sautéed Asian Veggies recipe to replenish you and get you fueled up to get after it again tomorrow. Why is this so good post workout?

1. Protein: Your muscles get torn up while you're working out (don't worry it's tiny, little tears) eating a protein rich food (I recommend chicken with this dish) post workout helps repair the damage and fuel you up for tomorrow's workout.


2. Carbs: Glycogen, a form of carbohydrate, essentially acts as fuel for your muscles while you workout. You literally need to replenish your glycogen levels to aid proteins in the rebuilding process. I like to include carb rich veggies like carrots and also add a little brown rice or quinoa (which offers both carbs and about 5 g protein per serving).
   

Chicken W/ Sauteed Asian Veggies:

2 Chicken Breasts (Cooked fully per chef's taste, I recommend this marinade recipe)
1 1/2 Tbsp Peanut Oil (Can use Olive Oil)
1 Tbsp Minced Ginger
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
1 Extra Large Carrot (peeled into thin strips)
1 Zucchini (thinly sliced)
1/2 Vadalia Onion (thinly sliced
Handful Snow Peas
1/4 c Reduced-Sodium Soy Sauce (or more to taste)
Red Pepper Flakes to taste

Coat non-stick pan w/ oil and bring to med-high heat. Add ginger and garlic and sauté for 1-2 mins. Add onion and continue to sauté for approx 5 mins. Add carrots, and zucchini and splash with soy sauce and continue to sauté until onions are transparent and zucchini and carrots are fork-tender. (Cook longer for softer veggies). Pour the remaining soy sauce and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes on and toss to coat. Plate alongside chicken and rice and enjoy :)

This Recipe is very much cook to taste so have fun with it and play-up the flavors you love and play-down what you can live without. Feel free to post comments below on what did and didn't work for you :

http://www.ihavenet.com/recipes/3-Perfect-Post-workout-Recipes-RCG.html

Awesome Korean Chicken with Cucumbers

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes. It's a total crowd pleaser and the ingredients are super simple and light. I love making this for dinner then keeping extras on hand as an energizing lunch that pumps me up for the rest of the day.

Cucmbers: Cucumbers are packed with nutrients and vitamins including Vitamins C & A, Potassium, Folate, Manganese, Fiber & Magnesium. They help keep your skin looking radient. How so? Vitamin C & caffeic acid help soothe skin irritations and reduce swelling. On top of this, cucumbers contain silica which is a necessary component for healthy connective tissue.

More so, cucumbers are a natural diuretic. Point blank, that means they help you eliminate toxins through urination. I dont care if you think that's gross- free radicals and toxins are gross and are going to build up in your body no matter how healthy a lifestyle you lead. Your liver works hard to process and eliminate these, so help your body out and try the below recipe.


Korean Chicken with Cucumbers:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I like thinly sliced)
1/2 cup soy sauce
4 tablespoons dark sesame oil
2 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves thinly sliced
Cooking spray (for pan)
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
4 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted

Whisk soy sauce and next five ingredients together in a bowl. Place the chicken inside a heavy duty plastic bag then pour half the soy mixture over, making sure to coat the chicken, and seal bag.

Refrigerate and let marinate for the next 30 mins (or longer for a bigger flavor punch). While chicken marinates cut cucumbers into thin slices and pour 1/2 the remaining marinade over these (You'll save the other half to pour over the chicken once it's cooked, if desired.)

After 30 mins, take chicken out and saute till desired degree of doneness. Place cooked chicken and cucumbers on a plate and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and enjoy!

Source: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=42

Chicken w/ Balsamic Peppers

Cooking Light comes through again with this absolutely stellar Chicken & Balsamic Peppers recipe!



The key players here are Chicken, Bell Peppers, Shallots, Balsamic, & Chicken Broth. They come together so nicely so the flavor is awesome and the calorie count is low!

Bell Peppers: I think it's starting to become clear that this ingrediant is a favorite of mine and something that I consume a lot of. Well, there's a reason for that! Bell Peppers (grab any color you want) are loaded with well over 100% of your RDA for Vitamins A & C. Vitamin A is essential for keeping your eyes, skin, & mucous membranes moist (Fight that winter dehydration!). Vitamin C not only acts an anti-oxidant in the body, protecting your cells from free-radical damage, but also assists in the production of collagen which is needed to help recover after injuries and surgery.
On top of all this Vitamin C also aids in iron absorption. If you're someone who bruises like a peach you might want to check that iron level!

Bell peppers are also a great source of Folate, Vitamin E, Potassium, & B Vitamins! Really this veggie is PACKED with nutrients :)



Chicken & Balsamic Peppers

4 Chicken Breasts
Garlic Powder (Really any chicken rub you have lying around will do to season this!)
Salt & Pepper to taste
Cooking Spray
2 cups Red Bell Pepper Julianned
2 cups Yellow Bell Pepper Julianned
1/2 cup Thinly sliced Shallots
1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh Rosemary
1 cup low sodium Chicken Broth
1-2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

Season chicken w garlic power/rub/salt & pepper. Saute up in your favorite saute pan to desired degree of doneness (When I made this, we cut the chicken into thin strips so it cooked faster!). When done place on a plate and put to the side while the Pepper mixture finishes cooking.

In a separate skillet pour 1-2 tbsp into the pan and add Peppers, Shallots, & Rosemary. Saute for 4-5 mins. Stir in broth, scraping pan to release any browned bits. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 mins. Then increase heat back up to med-high and add in balsamic, salt & pepper to taste, and stir freqently for 3 mins. Top chicken with Pepper Mixture and Enjoy!! We paired this with Quinoa because that's what was available but it would go well with rice or even some aspargus on the side!



http://www.whfoods.com/

Crunchy Asian Salad

Today I'm posting an absolutely amazing Asian Cabbage Salad with Chicken. This salad offers a nice balance of veggies and protein with a splash of a truly out of this world salad dressing!
Cabbage is the key player here. It's got a crunchy sweet and almost peppery taste that compliments the salad dressing perfectly, and seriously I cannot get over how healthful this veggie is!

Cabbage contains: Vitamin C, Folic Acid, Fiber, Potassium, Vitamin B6, Vitamin K, Calcium, Biotin, Manganese, and Magnesium. Seriously, just reading that makes me want to include it into my diet.

However, cabbage becomes even more fun to eat when you take into account the phytonutrients it contains! Plain and simple: phytonutrients have cancer fighting properties in that they both help cells function and help protect cells from free-radicals & carcinogens.
Glucosinolates are the phytonutrient most prominent in cabbage. Different phytonutrients have different functions- makes sense. So, Glucosinolates are compounds that aid the liver in detoxification. This is pretty cool actually: these compounds signal the genes to increase their production of the enzymes involved in the detox process. Cabbage also contains another kind of phytonutrient called isothiocyanates. These stimulate Phase II of liver detoxification. Your liver works super hard to eliminate toxins in the body, why not give it a hand with such a liver-friendly food :)

Crunchy Asian Salad

Dressing:

1/4 c. soy sauce

3 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar

1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil

3 tbsp canola oil

1 tbsp minced ginger

2 cloves garlic minced

3/4 low sodium chix broth

Salad:

1/2 head of cabbage shredded

1 c. carrots- match stick size

1/2 c scallions for garnish

4 chicken breasts sauteed and cut into strips

Whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, & sesame oil in a bowl. In a sauce pan, over med-high heat ad ginger and garlic. Cook/Stir until fragrant (approx 1-2 mins). Add soy mixture to pan and bring to a simmer. Add broth. Let simmer for approx 8 mins.

In a big bowl combine cabbage, carrots, & chicken. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Place in bowls and garnish with a handful of scallions and enjoy!

Really this is one of my favorite dishes. The first time I made it my little brother asked me for the recipe and he NEVER does that!

Asian Chicken Packets w Veggies

I love, love, love the below recipe! Got it from South Beach Living, made it for my family & there was not a single bite left over it was soo good! Another great thing about this recipe is if you're having a date night, you can just cut everything in half and have a super impressive, colorful meal for 2 with very little effort- Super impressive :)

Health overview:

Red & Green Bell Peppers- 1 cup of Bell Peppers has over 100% of your Recommended Daily Intake for both Vitamins C & A! These vitamins contain powerful antioxidants (i.e.- beta-carotene) which effectively neutralize free-radicals that slowly breakdown cells in the body. Free radicals also contribute to the buildup of cholesterol in the arteries- Gross! The antioxidants found in Vit A & C also help reduce risk of heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, & even cataracts
For another Vit A rich recipe check out my Sweet Potato Fries Recipe :)

Garlic- No surprise here, garlic is a very impressive food.
Garlic, a member of the Allium family (think Onions), is sulfur rich. Why is consumption of sulfur rich food important? Because every cell in the body contains sulfur but the body does not produce it, therefore you gotta get it from foods like garlic! Sulfur is especially found in cartilage and the keratin of skin and hair. Want healthy skin, hair, & nails... eat foods from the Allium family. Sulfuric compounds also help maintain oxygen balance for proper brain function.
Sulfur rich foods also aid in liver detoxification. This food sounds magical I'm not going to lie- so cook the below recipe and do your body some good!!

Asian Chicken Packets w Veggies

3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil1/4 cup copped scallions1 tsp grated ginger1 tsp chopped garlic4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts cut into cubes

1 red bell pepper

1 green pepper

1 package (10 oz) snow peas

1/2 can water chestnuts

Preheat oven to 450 F mix soy sauce, oil, onions, ginger, & garlic in a bowl. Add chix, peppers, peas & water chestnuts. Toss to coat evenly

Center chicken mixture on 4 12''x18'' sheets of aluminum foil. Bring up foil sides, double fold the tops and ends to seal packets. Bake 15-18 mins on baking sheet.

Pair w/ 1/4 c. quinoa per serving. This recipe was so great my family ate every bite!

Chix w/ Apple, Onion &Brussels Sprouts

I invited a good friend over to cook dinner the other night and using mostly what we found already in the kitchen we were able to put together this great & simple recipe!... Why is it so healthy? Here's a quick over view

Brussels Sprouts- See below recipe for health benefits of this amazing cruciferous veggie!

Apples- Granny Smith apples are packed with anti-oxidants (disease fighting compounds). They are rich in flavonols which can help reduce your risk of pancreatic cancer. Even better apples are packed with fiber (both soluble & insoluble)! This helps keep your digestive system regular and who doesn't love that. Foods high in fiber also help fill you up faster in fewer calories.

Red Onion- Onions belong to the Allium family. They are sulfur-rich and therefore aid in liver detoxification. The liver is one of my favorite organs just given it's hugely important function of processing and eliminating toxins. Eating sulfur rich foods (onions, garlic, cabbage, daikon radish...) helps the liver perform its job more efficiently. Between the fiber in apples & sulfur-rich benefits of Onions this recipe can definitely help your body function maximally :)

Chix w/ Apple, Onion, & Brussels Sprouts:

Olive Oil
1 tbsp chopped garlic, divided
1 tbsp fresh chopped ginger, divided
1 granny smith apple (Jullienned)
1/2 red onion (Julienned)
1/2 cup thinly sliced b. sprouts
2 chicken breasts

Season chicken breasts w/ salt & pepper. Take 1/2 tbsp garlic & 1/2 tbsp ginger and rub evenly into chicken breasts. Cover w/ plastic wrap and let sit in fridge for 20-30 mins

Place brussels sprouts in sauce pan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook until water evaporates & sprouts are soft. On another burner heat approximately 2 tbsp olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Add 1/2 tbsp garlic & saute 1 minute. Add 1/2 tbsp ginger and saute another minute. Add red onions and saute until soft. Add apples & cook another 10 minutes (Until apples soften). Combine Apple/Onion mixture with cooked brussels sprouts and place to the side.

Take chicken out of fridge. Add 2 more tbsp olive oil to saute pan and bring to med heat. Add chicken breast and cook thoroughly.

Plate chicken w/ Apple, Onion, Sprouts mixture and whatever grain you'd like to pair with (Recommend brown rice or quinoa) and ENJOY!