I had a request for a healthy lunch idea, preferably not a salad, and coincidentally I kept seeing Jack in the Box commercials for their new Teriyaki Bowls. If you’re not familiar with Jack, it’s a fast food joint here in the States, definitely not known for their healthy meals, though their ads are quite funny.

Too bad you can’t eat an ad though it would probably be better for you than these. Packed with more than 1/2 your days worth of salt and 25 grams of sugar, these bowls may look like a healthy option but….well you get the idea. So I started thinking, why not make your own teriyaki bowl for lunch?

Of course you could take the easy route here with bottled teriyaki sauce but read the ingredients the next time you’re at the store. I just counted 15 ingredients from one, a couple of which I can’t even pronounce, which isn’t good. My version has just 5 ingredients and I swear it doesn’t take long to make. The beauty is that you can make a batch of it and keep it in the fridge for quick use, making this a perfect weekend culinary project.

RECIPE:

Serves 2

2 x 4 oz organic chicken breasts – boneless, skinless

Teriyaki Sauce:
1/2 cup soy sauce (I like San-J’s organic wheat free tamari)
1/2 cup sake
1/2 cup mirin
1 tbsp + 1 tsp agave
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest
Yields approx 1 cup

DIRECTIONS:
Add all teriyaki ingredients in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Simmer over low heat for 20-25 mins approx to reduce the liquid.  It’s not going to be as thick as the bottled stuff but if you take it off the heat and let it sit for about 30 mins it will thicken up a tad more. You could use arrowroot or cornstarch to thicken it up but I prefer to let it go au natural. That’s all there is to making homemade teriyaki folks!

Next, preheat large grill/saute pan on medium-low heat for 1 minute.

Brush both sides of chicken with the teriyaki sauce then saute for 3-4 minutes on each side or until cooked through with an internal temp of 165F.
Because of the agave, the chicken will caramelize when grilled and therefore get dark. Don’t panic, it’s not burned unless, of course you burn it!

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Carrot, Sugar Snap Combo
1 large carrot – peeled, sliced on diagonal 1/8″
8 oz sugar snap peas (Don’t forget to watch my unbelievably informative quick video on prepping these little guys)
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp fresh ginger – grated

Add the broth, ginger and carrot in a saute pan with lid and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes. Once carrots are almost cooked through add peas and return the lid. Turn up heat and cook for 2 minutes until peas have turned bright and vibrant green.
NOTE: Add 1/4 cup additional broth when adding sugar snaps if needed.

To assemble:

Thinly slice the chicken and serve with 1/2 cup brown rice and vegetables. Can use this recipe with beef or even tofu. Suck on that, Jack. Viva la healthy teriyaki bowl!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

Aw man, if you’re a regular follower you know that I steamed mussels is one of my favorite dishes. In fact, I’m becoming quite the worldly connoisseur of mussels. Most recently moules frittes in Paris, mussels in Ireland, and both the east & west coasts of the U.S. and it has all been heavenly. Come to think of it, I love any and all fresh seafood, probably due to my upbringing on Ireland’s west coast where everything was fresh off the boat.

Fennel

Depending on where you live, fennel season runs from Summer to Autumn, or from Fall to Spring. I see fennel sporadically all year round at our farmers’ markets and I think it’s because I live in a coastal climate. I love fennel because the entire plant is edible and nutritionally it’s high in vitamin C, fiber and antioxidants. It tastes like licorice and anise yet it’s a tad sweeter and it’s crunchy like celery. You’ve probably seen fennel most notably in  Mediterranean & Italian cuisines. I happen to love fennel with seafood and did I mention it’s a renowned as a digestive herb?

Star Anise

We go from the Med to China and Vietnam, where star anise is a regular staple. It’s one of the spices in Chinese five-spice powder and like fennel, it has a distinctive licorice taste. In China, star anise is prescribed as a digestive aid. Not to be confused with plain anise, though since they’re pretty similar, they can be substituted for one another.

This is a great example of taking two regional staples and creating one harmonious dish. So without further ado, I give you sweet licorice mussels that are good for the tum:

RECIPE:

Serves 2

2 lbs mussels (25-30 approx) – washed and cleaned
1/2 fennel bulb – core cut out, very thinly sliced
2 star anise – whole
1 cup white wine (whatever you’re drinking will work)
1 Roma tomato  – small dice
2 black peppercorns
1 tbsp olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
Begin by rinsing the mussels and clams in cold water. Search through them to make sure the shells are all closed. Discard all opened or cracked shells.

TIP: For slightly opened shells, tap lightly on your work surface and if your shells close, they’re good to use.  My motto here: When in doubt, throw it out.

Preheat deep sauté pan on medium heat for 2 minutes.
 Add olive oil and sauté fennel and star anise for 1 minute.  Add shellfish, wine and tomatoes.
Cover with lid and steam for 4-5 minutes or until all the shells have opened.

NOTE: Discard any unopened shells after cooking as well as the star anise.

Using a slotted spoon, divide the shellfish between 2 dishes.
Ladle the tomato broth over the mussels.
Finish dish with some freshly chopped parsley and crusty bread. Oh yeah!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

As I did my morning check on Twitter I spotted Jaden from Steamy Kitchen talking about Summer Fest 2009. I wasn’t sure if she was talking  about a music festival or a tomato festival but as it turns out I was on the right track thinking tomatoes–

“Summer Fest is a cross-blog event every Tuesday for the next four weeks, which will be a celebration of fresh-from-the-garden food: recipes, growing tips, even tricks for storing and preserving summer’s best.”

Count me in. So how does it work?

The four main players, A Way to Garden, Mattbites, Steamy Kitchen & White on Rice, have picked a different theme for each week beginning with HERBS. Starting today (and every Tuesday thereafter) they’ll each post a new recipe/tip using the chosen special ingredient on their own sites where we (fellow bloggers) are encouraged to leave our own recipes & such using the same ingredient creating cross-blogging for food enthusiasts. It’s a great way to introduce yourself to other bloggers, not to mention pick up a few new recipes and tips. What a brilliant idea!

So what did I contribute? Well since I used herbs from my own garden in my Mango-Jalapeno Crabcake recipe, I decided that would be spot on. Want to join in on the fun? Leave your recipe or favourite links, whether to your own blog or someone else’s, at all the host blogs. That way, they are likely to be seen by the widest audience. Everyone benefits, and some pretty great dialog starts simmering.
Let me know if you join! Cheers!

FIG Restaurant at The Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, is the latest star shining brightly on Los Angeles’ westside. Having read their review in the LA Times, I was delighted to see another organic restaurant close to home that not only got a good review but also seemed to have integrity in their concept:

“At FIG, we put ingredients first. Our menu is built around what’s in peak season and we are always seeking out the region’s best growers and producers. We serve simple, bistro-inspired dishes that bring out the best of what nature has already put in – nothing experimental or overworked; just pure, flavorful ingredients delivered to your table.”

Simple, seasonal & organic locally sourced food is right up my alley so we added it to our To Do list for the weekend. We ended up popping in for a nightcap (or three!) after we had dinner just to check the place out. The place had great ambiance and as luck would have it, three seats at the bar with our names on them. The bar staff was attentive, knowledgeable and a pretty cool bunch, a definite plus for any bar-dining experience. We hadn’t expected to eat anything but funnily enough our dinner left us still hungry (never a good sign). We each got a complementary fresh baked loaf of bread accompanied by arugula infused butter, then split the farmers’ market salad and tuna niçoise salad, which were both delicious. I don’t normally go for niçoise salads but this one, with its perfectly seared tuna, was brilliant. From only two salads and one baguette (paired with delicious wine), I was one happy camper.

This excerpt from the LA Times hit the nail on the head:

Green is the new gold, and so chefs and restaurateurs are busy trying to position themselves as being sustainable, organic, local or all three. At Fig, I do sense a real commitment to buying what’s fresh and local.  The Santa Monica farmers market is just up the street so no excuses really not to shop there. The bottom of the menu lists what has “just arrived,” what is “in peak season” and what is “coming soon.” It’s a small thing, but it functions like a compass to orient diners to the season.

If that wasn’t good enough, the big winner for me is Sunday’s ‘Kegs and Eggs’, their version of the Champagne brunch. For $39 you get an organic fresh egg dish and, wait for it, all you can handle draft beer. Huh? As in unlimited draft beer included. Holy shit. I asked them if they’d had any Irish in yet for it and they hadn’t but loved the idea. Not sure they know what they’re in for but I see an opportunity to make a mark on this kegs n’ eggs soiree. Could be fun so who’s in?

For dessert we had a little celeb spotting with Barbara Streisand and co. having dinner. I guess FIG is getting a name for itself, good on them. I’ll definitely head back for dinner, sooner rather than later and of course I’ll have to hit up Sunday brunch. After all, I do love me some kegs I mean eggs!

Like any true Irishman, I love me some fishcakes. So much so that I’ve nearly an arsenal of fishcake recipes! In my days, crab in Ireland was pretty much served as a ’salad’ mixed with mayo and Mary Rose Sauce or in a casserole. My first experience with a crab cake was on my first trip stateside, in Martha’s Vineyard and I’ve been hooked ever since. Traditionally they’re made with mayo and sometimes even butter but you know me, that’s not my bag (unless you make homemade mayo–click Mary Rose link above). But really, there’s nothing worse than ordering a crab cake that’s full of mayo and not so much crab, right? You won’t have to worry about that with this recipe!
Also good to note, Dungeness crab meat is rated an Eco-Best choice.

RECIPE:
Serves 4

1 lb fresh Dungeness crab meat (crab meat usually comes ready in a can but pick through it to make sure all the bones have been removed)
2 tbsp Jalapeno pepper – seeded and fine chopped (or more if you can handle it)
1/4 cup red bell pepper – fine dice
1 cup bread crumbs (I used Ener-G gluten free bread crumbs)
3 tbsp fresh cilantro – chopped
2 tbsp chives – finely chopped
1 cup mango – fine dice
1 whole egg
2 egg whites
1 1/2 lemons – zested
1 tbsp olive oil – for sauteing peppers
S&P
olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat small saute pan on medium-low heat for 1 minute. Add olive oil and saute diced red pepper for 3 minutes or until soft. Remove from heat and let cool.
Add all remaining ingredients into a large mixing bowl (except olive oil, S&P). WITH CLEAN HANDS, mix together. Once peppers have cooled, add to crab mixture.
To Test Flavor: In same small saute pan as used for saute peppers, add 1 tbsp olive oil. Roll crab cake into golf ball size and brown both sides for 1 1/2 minutes each side. Taste and add more seasoning if required.

Once satisfied, line an oven tray with waxed paper and using a 1/4 cup measure, make individual crabcakes.
Preheat large saute or grill pan for 1 minute on medium. Add 2 tbsp olive oil and sear each cake for 3-4 minutes each side until golden.

Serve with Jicama Mint Slaw.

RECIPE:
2 cups Jicama – peeled, sliced, julienned (thin strips)
1 tbsp fresh mint – chopped
1/2 lemon – zested
squeeze lemon juice
Pinch salt

If you want to prep the Jicama ahead, do so and keep in a bowl of iced water with juice of 1/2 a lemon.
To finish, drain the Jicama and gently shake excess water. Add all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
Taste and season. This is a refreshing side to the succulent crabcakes.

Fresh, homemade, healthy and easy—Brilliant idea for a hot summer’s day!

Want to see more seafood cake options? Try these: Crab & Shrimp Cakes & Academy Award Winning Salmon Cakes

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

I have to give credit where credit is due. This was totally the Missus’ idea! She found this recipe on Daily Unadventures in Cooking and was dying to give it a go. I’m beginning to think she’s addicted to hummus actually–it’s her favourite afternoon snack–so you can imagine her excitement. Just so happens we had all the ingredients (or close enough) in stock so I suppose it was meant to be. Here’s our version, which got two big thumbs up from our house.

RECIPE:
Makes about 2 cups

1 can white beans (original recipe called for Cannelini, we had northern white which worked great)
1 7.5 oz jar of artichoke hearts
100 grams soft goat’s cheese (Chevre)
1/4 – 1/2 a lemon, juiced
1 tsp fresh lemon zest
1-2 large handfuls of fresh basil leaves
4 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
1/4 tsp. white pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Place beans and artichokes in a food processor and pulse for 10 secs. Scrape down sides and add in goat’s cheese, lemon juice, basil, S&P.
NOTE: Both the lemon and artichokes make for a tangy punch so start out with a 1/4 of a lemon, juiced and add in more per your taste.
Process until well combined, scraping down the sides. While mixing, slowly add in the olive oil until completely incorporated into the hummus. Add lemon zest. Taste for seasoning. Pair with your favorite chips, whole wheat pita, crackers or fresh veg and you’ve got a great snack indeed–creamy, delicious and healthy!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

I was out n about the other day getting some things in the supermarket when my missus called and asked me to grab some chips for her. I’m not a big chip guy unless I find something a bit different than the usual brands. I’m always on the lookout for something new and improved and of course it has to fit into the healthy category. As I wandered down the chip aisle where, btw, there seems to be endless amounts of chips available, I was hoping to something that would catch my eye.

I know health food stores carry a nice selection of organic and ‘healthy’ chips but I was curious to see if the regular grocery was catching on. To my delight my neighborhood Pavillions had these,
R.W. Garcia chips, although they were on the outskirts of all the other chips and on the bottom shelves but hey–it’s a start, right? Initial reaction; I thought the name ‘Veggie’ stood out loud and clear, mainly because herself’s a veggie. This bag had: Spinach & Garlic, Red Beet & Onion, Carrot, Tomato & Sesame. Pretty interesting combos for chips! They have a bunch of different types as well like Thai, Spicy Flaxseed and Multi grain. So far so good.

Of course then, I turned over the bag to check out the nutrition facts and more importantly, the ingredients (remember my lesson on how to read labels?) Made with Organic ingredients (I like), no trans fats (I like), Wheat & Gluten free (an unexpected bonus), Always Non-GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms, a super bonus especially after seeing FOOD, Inc.) I was well happy with what I saw so I decided to give them a go.

A couple days later we made an Artichoke, Goat’s cheese and Basil Hummus, which these chips were meant to dive right into. As for their taste, they were actually really good, very flavourful without the greasy fingers. Not sure I could taste each respective flavour in this mix and maybe that’s because they’ve taken on each others flavours but they were good nonetheless. What would have made them above good for me would be if they were baked instead of fried. As I said, they weren’t oily or greasy but I think the word ‘baked’ written on the front label would definitely hit the non-fried sector like me.  Just my opinion!

Other than that my missus loves them and that’s good enough for me. Be sure to check out their website as they’ve got some great things going on with their company. Good on ‘em! The Healthy Irishman approves.

Cheers!

I saw this idea in a recent Cooking Light magazine and I must admit, it intrigued me. What?–Chefs can’t get inspired by another’s recipe? Bollix!
I loved the fact that it used ingredients perfect for this time of year and it used something I don’t usually cook with, blackberries. This is seasonal cooking at its best guys.
The original recipe was Grilled Pork with Blackberry Sage Sauce but I decided to take it a step further, transforming the fresh blackberries into a marinade instead. I’m telling you, I was bang on!

As you know, pork has had some bad raps in the past but you can easily work it into your healthy diet with out worrying. The tenderloin is the leanest cut of pork. A 3-ounce serving contains 120 calories and 2.98 grams of total fat, which is as lean as a skinless chicken breast. I will stress that buying organic or grass-fed meat is the way to go here. (More of my research on this to come.) Don’t be afraid of this recipe. It probably looks complicated but it really is super easy.

RECIPE:
Serves 4

1 lb Organic or grass fed pork loin
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth (for roasting)

PORK MARINADE:
1 lb blackberries
2 shallots – minced
1 tbsp fresh sage – chopped
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp agave (vary this amount depending on how sweet or tart the blackberries are)
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat medium saute pan on medium heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and saute shallots for 1 minute, stirring. Add everything except broth and simmer for 2/3 minutes until berries start to break down.

Add broth and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Pass the marinade through a sieve retaining the liquid. Discard the contents of the sieve. Let liquid cool completely before adding pork loin to marinate.

Marinate pork from 2 to 6 hours, refrigerated. You could marinade it over night if you wish.

Remove pork from fridge 1 hour before cooking.

Preheat oven to 420F.

To cook: either sear on a hot grill or in a hot saute pan. I used the grill to get some added flavor from the charcoal and brilliant grill marks. Sear all sides until nicely browned, 4 min. each side approx. Place seared pork on a foiled oven tray. Add the chicken broth to the tray and pop in the oven for 20 minutes approx or until internal temp. of 165F. (You probably know this is one on my favourite tricks to keep lean meat moist.) Once cooked, remove and let rest for 10 minutes loosely foiled before carving. This will let the meat relax and the juices redistribute back into the meat.

NOTE: Resting meat after roasting is an important technique and ensures the meat stays juicy.

TIP: I add the broth to the pork while roasting to create some steam in the oven and helps keep the meat moist. I use this technique when cooking lean proteins like pork, chicken or turkey.

SERVE WITH
I paired my berried pork with glazed baby carrots. DID YOU KNOW? For the best anti-cancer boost you should cook carrots whole? A new study from scientists at Newcastle University found that the anti-cancer properties of carrots are enhanced 25 percent if they are cooked whole rather than chopped up beforehand AND they taste better when cooked this way. It happens to be my favourite way to cook (and eat) carrots so this is great news.

GLAZED BABY CARROTS:

8-10 oz baby carrots
Trim the green tips from the carrots. Place them in a mixing bowl with 1 tsp agave/honey, 1 tsp ground cumin, S&P, drizzle olive oil. Toss together and lay in a single layer on foiled oven tray. Lay a sheet of foil over and pop in oven for about 10 minutes. Easy and delicious.

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.

I posted a video a few days ago of the trailer for the movie FOOD, Inc.,which basically outlines where our food comes from. The movie’s been out for a month or so but I only just got around to seeing it last night. Man, this is an eye opener.

A lot of people might assume that our food comes from actual farms but unfortunately the fact of the matter is that a lot of it is mass produced in factories by under paid illegal immigrants. Myself and the missus went to see it and she, being a veggie, well you can imagine her delight when they started showing chickens and cattle being abused. They’re not the only ones–the workers are also being abused. It was an ugly truth. There was so much info in this movie that it would be hard to relay all of it to you guys but to give you just a taste here’s what resonated with me:

• There’s an average of 47,000 items in any supermarket and the entire lot is controlled/produced by just 4 or 5 companies. Imagine having that much control over what we, the consumer, can buy. Now, just picture all those different brands and selection of products available in your local and just know that 4 or 5 companies control ALL those items. Even ‘green brands’ have gone big corporate: Tom’s of Maine? Now owned by Colgate-Palmolive. Naked Juice is Pepsi. Odwalla is Coca-Cola. Kashi is Kellogg’s. You get the picture.

• The common ingredient and most farmed product here (which is in a lot of these items) is corn. These food companies have been very clever in utilizing corn in a number of supermarket items from Twinkies to sweets (candy) to ketchup to batteries to diapers. It’s obviously a very versatile crop and has made these companies a bucket load of cash. Money is the name of the game.

• They are now growing chickens in a third of the time they used to take and twice as big. The conditions under which these chickens are farmed are deplorable and the TYSON brand is a huge culprit, forcing farmers to raise chickens in complete darkness and with the coops filled to the gills. They are also engineering chickens with bigger breasts because people prefer more white meat. Those chicks sound like they could be from LA! (Sorry there lads, just a bit of humour.) But seriously, you wouldn’t believe how scientific our food has become.

• On to beef.  There are so many problems with the beef industry I don’t know where to begin. Think about it, how is it possible that say McDonald’s can offer a dollar menu with a ‘juicy burger’ on its list but we can’t even by broccoli for a buck? Think that’s proper and safe meat they’re selling? Think again. E-Coli is a huge thing these days, mostly in part due to the way the animals are mistreated (think feces) and the fact that they’re serving them CORN for food = parasites. So to remedy this FOOD, Inc. spoke with a company called IBP (have a look and see who just happens to own IBP) that has found a solution. They make a meat filler for the burger meat and in order to eliminate any chance of contracting E-coli they rinse the filler in………..ammonia. So the next time you order your burger and fries from a fast food chain be confident in the fact that you may not get E-Coli but you have just eaten a mouthful of ammonia. Umm tasty!

• Then there’s soybeans and diabetes….I’m telling you, so much info was covered in this documentary.

I don’t want to come off all preachy about this movie but people really need to become more aware and more informed about what they’re eating and to get everyone talking about how we can create change for our food. The first thing the Missus and I talked about after the movie was, “Now What?–What more can we do?”  First off, we’ll be researching these large companies and will boycotting them (will keep you posted) and of course we’ll continue to support our local farmers. Here are some other tips from the FOOD, Inc. site to help people change how we eat (and think). The Eat Well Guide is a handy resource which lists local farmers markets, farms, restaurants and Community Supported Agricultural programs in your area (US and Canada), all of which offer organic and sustainable foods, including meats. For Ireland I found this map for fresh food.

I’d really like people to make up their own minds and go see it. If you’ve already seen it I’d like to hear from you guys and/or if you’ve seen any of the other movies that also discuss this topic.

Keep me posted.

Cheers!

Suferrin’ Succotash! Remember that saying from Sylvester the Cat in the Looney Tunes cartoon? That was pretty much the only time I had heard the word succotash and as a kid I had no idea what it was or meant. Come to find out succotash is food (no wonder why I liked the saying!) The Missus had me believing this dish originated in the South, which would make sense why I had never heard of it, apart from the cartoon. But during my research on what the name means I found out it all began in the Rhode Island area, if you can believe that. The name is taken from the Naragansett Indian word msickquatash, “boiled whole kernels of corn,” from the Narragansett language once spoken on Narragansett Bay, which is present-day Rhode Island.

How ’bout that for research!

Succotash is a dish consisting primarily of corn and Lima beans, though now it’s been adapted all over the states. In the South any mixture of vegetables prepared with Lima beans and mixed with butter is considered a succotash. In Indiana, according to our Hoosier buddies (Indiana people), succotash is made with green beans and corn instead of Lima beans. Bet you didn’t know succotash was so interesting did you?

I happen to really like this succotash idea because I’m a big fan of all the components that are in the dish. Lima beans are a very good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber and have good significant amounts of folate and magnesium, all of which are beneficial for your digestive system and your heart. Corn is chock-a-block full of nutrients including fiber & vitamin C. Speaking of C, the peppers are loaded with it and the red pepper is also a great source of vitamin A. Basically you’re nourishing your body naturally, with a brilliant dinner to boot.

RECIPE:
Serves 4

3 x 8 oz Organic chicken breasts with skin (skin to be removed after cooking if desired)
1 cup chicken broth

1 red bell pepper – diced
1 yellow bell pepper – diced
1/2 red onion – diced
2 garlic cloves – minced
2 fresh corn on the cob – kernels removed  or  1 x 15 1/4 oz can corn (go fresh since corn is in season!)
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
2 cups Lima beans (butter or Madagascar beans)
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tbsp fresh cilantro – chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
S&P
olive oil spray

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 420F.
Begin by preheating your barbecue grill on high heat until up to appropriate temperature. You can saute the chicken indoors on your stove if you don’t want to hook up your grill or use a grill pan.
Season chicken breasts with S&P on both sides.

TIP: Double the amount of salt you would normally use simply because when you grill (or saute for that matter) some of the salt will fall off and the meat will actually end up being under seasoned.

Spray your grill liberally with olive oil spray and sear the chicken for 3-4 minutes, skin side down or until golden brown. By keeping the skin on the breast it will protect the flesh from charring and becoming tough when cooking.

Once chicken is seared on skin side, flip over and sear for 1 minute. Once seared,  place on foiled oven tray to finish in oven. My favorite tip for this is to add broth to the roasting tray and pop in oven for 5 minutes or until internal temp of 165F. Since chicken breast is very lean it has a tendency to dry out so this method will create steam in the oven while the chicken is roasting, keeping it nice ‘n juicy. Once cooked let rest for 2 minutes before cutting. This will help the meat to relax and redistribute the juices back into the meat.
Meanwhile (or while the chicken is in the oven), heat a large saute pan on medium high for one min. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil then add in the peppers and onions and cook for about a minute, stirring. Stir in garlic, corn, chili flakes and tomatoes, saute together for 4-5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium then add in the lima beans and saute along with the other ingredients for 2 more minutes.
Taste and season with S&P. Add chopped cilantro to finish.

Serve family style with the grilled chicken on top. How ’bout that for a quick healthy family dinner!

All recipes are made with the finest quality farmers market whole foods, natural and non-processed ingredients as much as possible.