COCONUT CRUSTED CHICKEN WITH MANGO SALSA

 

Serves: 4 (small)

Ingredients:

MANGO SALSA

• 2 fresh mangos diced
• 1 jalapeño finely diced
• 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
• 1/4 cup red onion diced
• juice from half a lime (about 1 tablespoon)
• sprinkle of salt

CHICKEN

• 2 chicken breasts, split horizontally to make four thin filets, total
• 1/4 cup flour mixed with 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg plus 1 tablespoons milk
• 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes plus 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2-3 tablespoons butter

Directions:

MANGO SALSA

1. Toss the mango, jalapeño, cilantro, and red onion together in a small bowl. Squeeze lime juice over the top and sprinkle with salt. Stir to combine, and cover until ready to serve. I like to serve it at room temperature. Refrigerate leftovers.

CHICKEN

1. Place flour and salt in one shallow bowl, the egg and milk in another bowl, and the coconut and flour into yet another shallow bowl.
2. One by one, dip the pieces of chicken into the flour, then egg, then coconut. Press the coconut to the chicken to get as much to stick as you can.
3. In a large nonstick or cast iron skillet on medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and spread around the pan. When the pan is hot, place the chicken into the pan and cook for about 5 minutes on each side, or until the coconut is golden and the inside of the chicken is cooked through. The exact time will depend on the thickness of your chicken. Add a little more butter when turning the chicken if your pan is dry.
4. Plate the chicken and top with mango salsa.

CASHEW COCONUT CRUSTED CHICKEN TENDERS WITH MANGO HONEY DIP

 

PREP TIME

15 mins

COOK TIME

25 mins

TOTAL TIME

40 mins

 

Serves: 4-6

INGREDIENTS

• Cashew Coconut Chicken Tenders
• 12 chicken tenders (just over 2 pounds)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 cup toasted cashews
• ½ cup sweetened coconut flakes
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ - ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 
  Mango Honey Dip
• 2 mangos, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1-2 tablespoons cider vinegar*
• ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 green onions, roughly chopped
• 1-2 teaspoons red chili flakes

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add cashews and coconut flakes to blender or food processor and process until cashews are about the size of the panko crumbs, scraping the sides of the blender as needed. Add cashews/coconut, panko, chicken tender spices and brown sugar to a shallow dish and mix until evenly distributed.
2. Place the flour in another shallow dish. Whisk the egg with the lime juice in another shallow dish. Working with one chicken tender at a time, dredge in flour and then dip in egg, and then finally coat in the coconut/cashew/panko mixture, pressing mixture into chicken with your fingers to make sure the coating sticks.
3. Place chicken tenders on a foil-lined baking sheet (for easy clean up!) with a baking rack on top that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Lightly spray chicken with non-stick cooking spray for extra crispiness (optional). Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until juices run clear. Broil until coconut is nicely golden, and panko crisp, but still light in color.
4. To make the Mango Honey Dip, place all the ingredients in a blender, starting with just 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes and process until smooth. Taste and add additional red pepper flakes as desired.

NOTES

*Use 2 tablespoons for more "tang" which is how I like it :)

Chicken Pad Thai

Yield: About 5 servings

Ingredients

• 10 oz Thai rice noodles
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into small strips
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips and strips halved
• 1 1/2 cups matchstick carrots
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 green onions, whites minced, greens sliced into 1-inch pieces
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
• Red pepper flakes and sesame seeds (optional)

Directions

• Prepare rice noodles according to directions listed on package. In a mixing bowl, whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice and fish sauce, set aside.
• While noodles are cooking, heat oil in a wok or large and deep non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot add chicken and saute until cooked through, about 4 - 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate, leaving oil in pan. Add bell pepper and carrots and saute 1 - 2 minutes then add garlic, green onions and bean sprouts saute 1 minute longer. Push veggies to edges of pan and crack eggs into center. Cook and scramble until eggs have cooked through. Add in chicken, noodles and sauce and toss everything together and cook 1 - 2 minutes.
• Serve warm topped with cilantro, peanuts and optional red pepper flakes and sesame seeds.
• Recipe source: Cooking Classy

Greek Chicken

Ingredients:

3 lbs boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts

1/2 cup of Greek Seasoning (make your own)

2 Tbsp of Coconut Oil

Optional Ingredient: Juice of 1 Lemon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Cube chicken & place in olive oil coated large pyrex dish (we use an olive oil mister)

3. Melt coconut oil in microwave (approx 30 sec) & drizzle over cubed chicken

4. Sprinkle Greek seasoning over cubed chicken & squeeze lemon on top

5. Bake for approx 30-40 min until chicken is fully cooked (we recommend using a meat thermometer)

Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 1/4 cup Greek yogurt

4 Tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 cup celery

1 cup onions

Bunch of organic grapes (approx 2 cups)

Sea Salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

Onion powder (optional)

Pecans or Walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Boil your chicken breasts until cooked through. This is a very important step.  I boiled ours as listed here with organic chicken broth, minced garlic, sea salt, and pepper.  It is very important to not over-cook your chicken!  Boiling instead of baking the chicken for the recipe makes a huge difference!

2. Dice celery and onion. Place aside.  You could also half or quarter your grapes.

3. Let chicken cool to room temperature. Once cooled, shred (I just used my hands) or cut into pieces.

4. Combine Greek yogurt and unsweetened almond milk using a whisk.

5. Add chicken to a large bowl and cover with Greek yogurt/almond milk mixture. Stir.

6. Add grapes, sea salt, black pepper, and onion powder (optional). Stir.

7. Garnish with pecans or walnuts (optional, this will add healthy fats).

8. Refrigerate for 30-45 minutes before serving.

He and She Tip: The longer this stays in the fridge the better it is!  It is really good the next day!

Macros (with grapes/without nuts):
Calories - 169
Protein - 31 g
Carbs - 10 g
Fat - 2 g

Macros (without grapes/without nuts):

Calories - 153

Protein - 30 g

Carbs - 5 g

Fat - 2 g

ANOTHER COACHES: 

4 oz poached chicken 
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (dannon okios triple zero flavors)
1/3 cup diced apples 
1/3 cup celery. 

Put over bed of spinach

Shred chicken, cover in Greek yogurt. Add remaining ingredients! 

Refreshing Green Juice

Ingredients:

1 organic English cucumber, sliced

2 lemons, peeled if not organic

2-3 cups organic spinach and/or kale

2 scoops Kal Pure Stevia Extract

2 cups water

2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Directions (using a Vitamix):

1. Place all ingredients in a Vitamix (in order listed above).

2. Turn Vitamix on variable power, speed 1 and gradually increase until all ingredients are blended. Add more spinach and/or kale if possible. Turn on variable power again. Then, turn Vitamix on high power and let juice for 30-60 seconds until mixture is in juice consistency.

Makes 2 servings. I usually split this up over 2 days. (heandshe)

Healthy and Delicious Broiled Tilapia Tacos {30-Minute Meal}

YIELD: SERVES 4

• What to serve with:
• ~Fresh vegetables and fruit (homemade ranch dressing here + a tasty, healthy fruit dip here)
  ~Mexican Corn Salad
  ~Cottage cheese 
• 
  
• INGREDIENTS
• 
  
• 8 6-inch white or yellow corn tortillas
Quick Slaw:
• 2 cups finely chopped green cabbage or prepackaged angel hair coleslaw mix
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 small radishes, very thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive or avocado oil
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• Pinch of salt, plus more to taste if needed
Avocado Sauce:
• 1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
• 1 avocado
• 1/2 jalapeño, seeded and membranes removed
• Pinch of salt
Tilapia:
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive or avocado oil
• 4 tilapia fillets, about 5 ounces each

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the broiler to high with one rack in the center and another placed about 4-5 inches from the top of the oven or heating element.
2. For the coleslaw, in a medium bowl, toss together all the ingredients. Set aside.
3. For the avocado sauce, blend all the ingredients together until smooth. Set aside.
4. Wrap the tortillas in foil and place them on the center rack of the oven to heat through.
5. For the tilapia, in a small bowl, combine the cumin, garlic powder, oregano and salt. Place the tilapia fillets on a lightly greased baking sheet (you can line with foil and grease the foil to minimize cleanup) and rub lightly on both sides with the oil. Sprinkle both sides of the fish with the spice mixture. Broil on the top rack until the flesh is firm but not overcooked, 5-8 minutes.
6. To serve, use two forks to lightly break apart the tilapia into pieces. Divide the fish between the tortillas and top with slaw and avocado sauce. Serve immediately.

Massaged Kale and Craisin Salad with Feta Cheese

YIELD: SERVES 6

INGREDIENTS

• 1 bunch kale
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt or sea salt
• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries/craisins
• 3/4 cup small-diced apple
• 1/3 cup toasted sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/3 cup crumbled Feta cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Wash the kale and pat it dry. Slice off the stiff stems below the leaves and continue slicing the stem away from the leaf until you have cut a thin v-shape into the kale leaf and removed the tough stem all the way up. Stack the kale leaves two or three at a time, roll them up, and slice the leaves into thin ribbons.
2. Place the kale ribbons in a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and massage it into the kale with your hands for two minutes. You’ll notice the kale start to turn a darker green and the texture of the kale will begin to soften a bit.
3. Toss in the red onions, craisins, apples, and sunflower seeds. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar and sugar. Pour over the salad and toss. Sprinkle feta cheese over the top and serve. The salad can be refrigerated for up to a day before serving (if doing this, I would suggest refrigerating the salted kale separately from the other ingredients and tossing the salad together an hour or two before serving).

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos

YIELD: MAKES ABOUT 6 BURRITOS

INGREDIENTS

• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed small (about 3-4 cups)
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
• 1 red pepper, diced small
• 1 small red onion, diced small (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drain
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (depending on your taste)
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice (from about 1 lime)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 6-8 burrito-size tortillas (whole wheat, white or other favorite variety)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a large bowl, toss together the sweet potatoes, jalapeno, red pepper and red onion with the olive oil, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Dump the coated veggies onto a large rimmed baking sheet and roast for 18-20 minutes, tossing halfway through. The vegetables should be tender but not mushy at the end of cooking time.
2. Let the vegetable mixture cool. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl and toss with the black beans, cilantro and lime juice. Taste the mixture and add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed. Refrigerate the mixture until ready to assemble the burritos or use immediately.
3. Place 3-4 tortillas on a microwave-safe plat and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave for 15-20 seconds until the tortillas are pliable. Place 1/4 cup or so of the vegetable mixture in the center of the tortilla and top with a sprinkle with shredded cheese, a little of each kind.. Fold in the sides of the tortilla and roll up. Place seam-side down on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining tortillas until you have all the burritos you need (the filling can be refrigerated and used for 3-4 days).
4. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for about 10-15 minutes, until heated through and the top of the tortilla is golden brown. Adjust the baking time as needed depending on if the filling has been refrigerated or not. For a softer tortilla, wrap each burrito in tin foil and heat through. Serve immediately.