Tomato Basil Chicken

4 plum or roma tomatoes (fresh or canned)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
4 tsp dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

Cut tomatoes into quarters and place in a food processor. Add the vinegar, basil, oil, garlic and salt; cover and process until blended.

Pour dressing into a large resealable plastic bag; add chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for up to 4 hours. (or longer )

Drain and discard marinade. Grill chicken until done, when a meat thermometer reads 170°.

Soy Flank Stank

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs flank steak, sliced thin
• 1 1/2 cups reduced sodium soy sauce (Use Tamari for Gluten Free)
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tsp fresh ginger
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 lime, juice of

Soak wooden skewers in water about 30 minutes to prevent burning. Marinate the steak in all the ingredients for about 1 hour or more. 

Discard marinade and thread the sliced steak onto the skewers.

Heat your grill or grill pan to high heat; when hot grill a few minutes on each side until browned and cooked though.

Ingredients:

• 7 medium (32 oz) russet potatoes, washed and dried*

For the filling:

• 1/2 lb 99% lean ground turkey
• 1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1 hot pickled serrano pepper, chopped (or jalepeño)
• 1 large diced tomato
• 1 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp chopped onion
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish 
• 1 tsp cumin
• kosher salt to taste

Directions:

Pierce potato with a fork a few times all around. Place in microwave and cook on high about 5 minutes per potato. When finished, allow to cool enough to handle. Cutpotatoes in half horizontally. Scoop out potatoes (I save the extra potato to makeskinny garlic mashed potatoes the next day) leaving about 1/4 inch thick wall, skins will weigh about 1 oz each.

In a large skillet brown the turkey and season with salt. When the turkey is browned,add onion, garlic, black beans, cilantro, serrano pepper, diced tomatoes, and cumin.Mix well and simmer on low, covered for 20 minutes.  

Remove lid, add corn and simmer an additional 5-10 minutes or until all the liquid reduces.

Heat oven to 450°. Lightly spray potato skins on both sides with oil and place a foil lined baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and bake skins for 10 minutes

Remove from the oven, add 1/4 cup meat filling into each potato skin, top with 1 tbsp shredded cheese and bake 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Crispy Chicken Fingers Recipe

Ingredients 
12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken-breast halves
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
2 cups cornflakes, finely crushed
Dash of black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Cut chicken into 3-by-3/4-inch strips. In a shallow dish, combine egg, honey, and mustard. In another dish, stir together cornflake crumbs and pepper.

2. Dip chicken strips into the egg mixture; roll in crumb mixture to coat. Arrange chicken strips on an ungreased baking sheet.

3. Bake about 12 minutes, or until outsides are golden and chicken is no longer pink.

Nutrition facts per serving: 212 calories, 23g protein, 23g carbohydrate, 3g fat (1g saturated), 0g fiber

Healthy Dipping Sauces

Ditch the standard ranch dressing and stir up one of these low-cal sauces.

1/4 cup Dijon mustard + 1 teaspoon honey = Homemade Honey Mustard

Salmon with Pepita-Lime Butter

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup fresh blackberries or raspberries, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 pound chicken tenders, cut in half crosswise (see Tip)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

PREPARATION

1. Toast pepitas (see Tip). Place in a small bowl with butter, lime zest, lime juice and chili powder.
2. Generously coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper, add to the pan and cook until browned and just cooked through in the center, 2 to 4 minutes per side. Remove the pan from the heat. Transfer the salmon to a plate. Add the butter-lime mixture to the hot pan; stir until the butter is melted. Serve the salmon topped with the sauce.

TIPS & NOTES

• Tips: Pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds) can be found in the bulk-foods section of natural-foods stores or Mexican groceries.
• Place a salmon fillet on a clean cutting board, skin side down. Starting at the tail end, slip the blade of a long, sharp knife between the fish flesh and the skin, holding the skin down firmly with your other hand. Gently push the blade along at a 30° angle, separating the fillet from the skin without cutting through either.
• Place pepitas in a small dry skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 259 calories; 17 g fat ( 5 g sat , 5 g mono ); 74 mg cholesterol; 2 g carbohydrates; 24 g protein;0 g fiber; 360 mg sodium; 458 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Excellent source of omega-3s.

Exchanges: 3 lean meat, 1 fat

Cornmeal-Crusted Chicken Nuggets with Blackberry Mustard

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup fresh blackberries or raspberries, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 pound chicken tenders, cut in half crosswise (see Tip)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

PREPARATION

1. Mash blackberries (or raspberries), mustard and honey in a small bowl until it looks like a chunky sauce.
2. Sprinkle chicken tenders with salt and pepper. Place cornmeal in a medium bowl, add the chicken and toss to coat (discard any leftover cornmeal).
3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook the chicken, turning once or twice, until browned and just cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes total (thinner nuggets will cook faster than thicker ones). Serve the chicken nuggets with the berry mustard.

TIPS & NOTES

• Chicken tenders are the lean strips of rib meat typically found attached to the underside of chicken breasts. They can also be purchased separately. Four 1-ounce tenders will yield a 3-ounce cooked portion. Tenders are perfect for quick stir-fries, chicken satay or kid-friendly breaded “chicken nuggets.”

NUTRITION

Per serving: 184 calories; 5 g fat ( 1 g sat , 3 g mono ); 67 mg cholesterol; 9 g carbohydrates; 3 g added sugars; 26 g protein; 2 g fiber; 452 mg sodium; 70 mg potassium.

Carbohydrate Servings: 1

Exchanges: 1 starch, 4 lean meat, 1 fat

Honey Glazed Chicken and Bacon Bites

1 pound boneless chicken breasts
20 thin bacon slices
3 tbsp honey
2 tsp coarse mustard
fresh lemon juice

Optional: salt

Directions:

Cut the chicken breasts—or fillets, as we call them here—in thin strips. Not too thin, the bacon has to brown and if the chicken is too thin it’ll get dry before the bacon gets crispy. That would be a sin.

Grab a bowl and combine 3 tbsp honey with 2 tsp coarse mustard.

Squeeze in some lemon juice. Not too much, about a tbsp or so. I think orange juice will be great, too.

I asked my favorite pair of extra hands to wrap the bacon around the chicken strips.

Place them in a roasting tray or on a cookie sheet. If you’re afraid of cleaning up, line the tray or sheet with some tin-foil first. I’m hard-core (And own a dish washing machine. It helps).

Bake them in a preheated oven at 425F (225C) for 10 to 13 minutes. Until the bacon is crispy.

As soon as one side is done, take the tray out of the oven. Does this look good or what? I could never be a vegetarian simply because I cannot forsake bacon. I absolutely love it, in an artery clogging kind of way!

Flip them over and brush them with the remaining marinade.

Put them back in the oven for another 10 to 13 minutes, until the other side is crispy as well. Keep an eye on them.



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