Sweet Potato, Broccoli Chicken Bake

September 11, 2016July 10, 2017 / peanutbutterandbicycles / Leave a comment

(Gluten Free, Dairy Free | Whole30 & Paleo-Friendly) This dish is awesome for a lot of reasons. First, it is YUM-MY! I was really surprised what a fantastic flavour combo came out of the oven with this gem. Also, it is so, so simple. Chop everything and throw it into a baking dish?! Yes. It’s a one-dish wonder! Finally, because the dish has a healthy source of protein (chicken), carbs (sweet potato and veggies) and fat (olive oil and nuts), it means you really don’t need a side dish. Now that is a recipe I can get on-board with!

Ingredients

450-500g (1 lb.) boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs, cubed
1 large head of broccoli (stems and florets), chopped
1 large sweet potato or yam, cubed in small pieces
½ of a red onion, chopped (I actually had just run out of onions in my pantry so I skipped this, but I imagine it would add even more goodness!)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp raisins (I’m not a huge raisin fan so I don’t normally have them around, I diced up about 5 dates instead)
2 tbsp chopped walnuts (or nuts of choice- I used walnuts)
75 ml (⅓ cup) olive oil
1 ½ tsp Italian seasoning, dried
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ cup soft goat or feta cheese (optional- I skipped this to keep it dairy free)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 °F.
Grease a large casserole dish with olive oil.
Place cubed chicken on the bottom of casserole dish. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
In a bowl combine broccoli, sweet potatoes, red onion, garlic, raisins, chopped walnuts, olive oil and herbs. Toss to coat.
Top chicken with herb and vegetable mixture.
Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and sweet potatoes are soft. Top with optional cheese just before serving

Source | The Real Food Dieticians

Tip: I put the leftovers on a bed of greens for my lunch the next day, and it was a tasty treat! See!

Roasted Honey Balsamic Cabbage Chips

August 28, 2016July 10, 2017 / peanutbutterandbicycles / 1 Comment

(Gluten Free, Meat Free, Dairy Free | Paleo-Friendly) This week a savoy cabbage popped up in my Nature’s Window Veggie Box, which was a fantastic surprise since I don’t normally buy it in my weekly food shop. Although I had visions of making it into some elaborate dish, my week slipped away, and I needed a quick, tasty side. Savoy cabbage to the rescue! This dish is fast, easy and tastes more like you’re eating yummy crisps (chips) than getting a healthy serving of vegetables. Winning all around!

Ingredients

1 small head savoy cabbage or green cabbage, chopped into chunky pieces
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tsp honey
¾ tsp coarse salt
½ tsp ground white (or black) pepper
1 sprig fresh thyme (or, I just used a tbsp of dried thyme)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 200°F (400°C).
Throw chopped cabbage into a baking dish and add olive oil, balsamic and honey.
Toss cabbage in baking dish to spread balsamic, honey and olive oil mixture evenly.
Season with coarse salt, ground pepper and fresh (or dried) thyme.
Roast until cabbage chunks are tender and edges are golden, 25-30 minutes. They should come out of the oven looking something like this:

Tip: Try this side with my Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie.

Note | This recipe is a small twist on Balsamic, Honey Roasted Cabbage Steaks by Eatwell 101

Veggie Nachos with Kale

August 26, 2016July 23, 2017 / peanutbutterandbicycles / Leave a comment

(Gluten Free, Meat Free) It’s the weekend, and I have a real hankering for some nachos. Even though I try not to eat too much dairy, I sometimes just have to treat myself! So, here’s the recipe I made up, which sneaks vegetables into a notorious ‘junk food.’ Spoiler alert – kale is one of the sneaky vegetables that found it’s way into this treat! No surprise there I’m sure -what with the recipe’s name and all 😉 Enjoy!

Ingredients

1-2 tbsp coconut oil or butter
1 onion, chopped (I used red onion)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 green pepper, chopped (or whatever pepper you might have)
100 g (1 cup) roasted vegetables (I had roasted onion, broccoli and potatoes in my fridge leftover but use whatever you have around)
1 can of black beans
1 pack of taco seasoning (Yes, I cheated and used a pre-made pack of taco seasoning, but if you want to be less of a cheat, I’ve added a recipe for taco seasoning below)
3 handfuls of tortilla chips (or, I treated myself and used M&S Montery Jack Refried Bean Chips– YUM)
Grated hard cheese (use however much is best for you. I used about 50g of mature cheddar)
2 handfuls of kale rubbed with a little bit of olive oil and salt
Salsa (to top with -optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 170C (350F).
Saute onion, garlic and pepper for 3-5 minutes.
Throw in roasted vegetables (if you have some) and black beans until hot.
Add in taco seasoning (homemade recipe below) with a few tablespoons of water. Cook for another 5 minutes until sauce is thickened and vegetables are cooked. FYI- You’ll only use about half of this vegetable mixture so throw the rest on some greens with salsa for lunch the next day!
Put one layer of chips on baking tray and layer with 1/4 of vegetable mixture and cheese. Add another layer of chips, 1/4 vegetable mixture and cheese. Top with olive oil-rubbed kale.
Bake for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and kale is a little crispy.
Top nachos with some salsa, pop on a flick and bask in the glory of the nachos and the weekend!

Just look these beauties…nom nom nom.