On a Health Kick

I joined a new gym recently that's more boot-camp oriented and smaller, which is awesome because the staff knows everyone by name. I attend classes there four times a week if I'm able to, and I love the high intensity boot camp circuits they make us do (although I usually dread going to classes because they are so hard, I feel a sense of accomplishment after).

Now that my fitness is back in check, I've started cooking healthier dishes, specifically ones that are higher in protein (I never seem to get enough protein in my diet, for some reason). I'm usually a happy camper just munching on veggies, salads, and fruits, so I've started incorporating more protein in my diet.  I especially love getting my protein in by drinking a shake (see this post for a delicious protein shake recipe I did a while ago), but sometime it's best to consume it the natural way through lean meats.

Last week, I cooked a huge batch of chicken breast tenders, which was great because I had them throughout the week for various meals (I made wraps, salads, ate them with potatoes and veggies, etc).

Below is my homemade recipe that I used (it has some Middle Eastern spices, which I love). I also ended up using the chicken for a southwest salad, which turned out really good (recipe also below). What ways do you cook chicken? I find that chicken sometimes gets boring, so I'd love to know how you marinate it, cook it, eat it, etc. Please comment below.

Chicken Breast Tenders
Note:  I don't really measure anything when I cook, I just sprinkle everything so the spices coat one side of the chicken, and then I flip the chicken over and do the same to the other side.  To last me the week, I cooked roughly 2 lbs of chicken.

Ingredients:
  • Olive oil
  • Red wine vinegar
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic powder
  • All spice
  • 7 spices (a Middle Eastern spice)
  • Cinnamon (go easy on this, or it will be all you taste)
  • Ketchup (about one teaspoon per breast, spread)
I coated a Pyrex pan with Pam and cooked these in the oven at around 375 degrees F for about a half hour or so.  Here is the finished product:


Southwest Chicken Salad
This salad was super easy to prepare, because I had already cooked the chicken the day before.

Ingredients:
  • Chicken from the recipe above, cut into cubes
  • Romaine lettuce
  • Bell pepper
  • Cucumber
  • Tomato
  • Corn
  • Black Beans
  • Avocado
  • Tortilla strips (optional; I didn't add this to keep it healthy)
  • Shredded cheese (optional; I didn't add this to keep it healthy)
Chop all the veggies and mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.  You can use whatever dressing you like, but a low-fat ranch probably goes best with this.  I had my salad with Trader Joe's Organic Sriracha Ranch Dressing, which is a new product they have.  Although it's not low-fat (my bad), it's really good, but spicy.  Go easy on the dressing, or your mouth will be on fire.  Bon appetit!


Jasmin

1 comment

  1. We usually make chicken on Sunday's to use in meals during the week too! We've been slacking these past couple weeks though. It's hard to stay on track around birthdays and the holiday seasons!

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