Here's a couple of ideas for spicing up chicken breast. If you like Indian food it's worth stocking your store cupboard with a few staple spices. I got an Indian spice tin called a 'Masala Dabba' for Xmas this year..best pressie ever!
Both of these recipes make enough marinade for 4 chicken breasts.
1) Put everything in a food processor except the lemon juice and blend until smooth. 2) Slash the chicken breasts, pour over lemon juice and then the marinade. Make sure all the chicken is well coated and leave to marinate, covered in the fridge, for as long as possible (ideally over night). 3) To cook, transfer chicken and most of the marinade to a baking dish, cover with foil and pop in the oven for 30 mins or so until chicken is cooked through. Towards the end of cooking time, remove the foil to colour the chicken.
Mix everything together and marinade the chicken, covered in the fridge, for 2 to 3 hours. For this I chop the chicken into chunks and thread onto a skewer to make a kebab. To cook, I use a griddle pan (or frying pan) and cook for about 15mins turning the kebabs occasionally.
1) Prepare sprouts by removing outer leaves and putting a cross in the base (this helps the sprout to cook evenly and quickly). 2) Blanch the sprouts in boiling water for about 8 mins, or until just about cooked through. I do this in the wok that I use for the stir fry, why create extra washing up! Drain sprouts, dry the wok and cut sprouts in half. 3) Now for the stir fry....heat the oil and then add garlic and chilli flakes, keep stirring for a min or so and then chuck in the sprouts. 4) As the sprouts are pretty much cooked, give them a couple if mins to warm through and colour and then add orange segments, soy sauce and a squeeze of orange juice from the other half of the orange. 5) Stir, add sesame seeds if using, a handful of fresh herbs and serve.
I found this recipe in 'Protein Power' by Michael Eades and have tweaked it slightly.
Makes: 2 x 3 block 'flans'
Ingredients 2 eggs (2 protein) 1/2 cup / 125g cottage cheese (2 protein) 2oz / 57g low fat cheddar cheese, grated (2 protein) Tbsp chopped fresh coriander Tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley Black pepper Olive oil for greasing tin
I found the easiest way of cooking these is to use a non stick muffin tin.
1) Pre-heat oven to 200c and lightly oil tin. 2) Put all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until combined and smooth. 3) Pour into tin, dividing mixture equally. 4) Bake for 20 mins or until browned and puffed up. 5) Remove from oven and use a knife to loosen around the edges. Serve when ready.
TIP: Your puffed up domes will 'flop' slightly when you remove them from the oven, don't worry it happens to us all!. They still taste good though. I've called this portable protein snack as these are good next day in pack lunches, eaten at room temp.
There's been some chat in the box about food and protein choices, so here's a reminder of what to consider when wandering the supermarket isles.....
Barry Sears defines the quality of a protein source by its fat content, as all protein contains fat
To make it into the Zone Top 100 food list the protein source must contain at least twice as much protein as fat.
Lower fat protein choices will reduce your intake of both saturated fat and also Omega 6 fatty acids, a type of polyunsaturated fat found in all protein sources.
Fish contain another type of fat called long chain Omega 3 fatty acids. These are 'healthy' fats and counteract the damaging effects of Omega 6. So a fish protein choice can be higher in fat and still be considered a good choice if the form of fat is long chain Omega 3 fatty acids.
Zone rankings for protein quality is as follows:
Excellent Source Mackerel Turkey breast Haddock Cod Salmon Tuna Steak Turkey breast, deli Lobster Sea bass Snapper
Very Good Source Chicken breast Freshwater bass Trout Cottage cheese (1%) Chicken breast, deli Tuna, canned in water Soy products Emu
Good Source Pork tenderloin, well trimmed Tofu, extra firm Beef tenderloin, well trimmed Tofu, firm Tempeh Tofu, soft Why not try....Indian Spiced Fish (works well with both Haddock & Cod) Ingredients for Indian spice marinade 2 Tsp chilli powder 2 Tsp ground coriander 1 Tsp ground cumin 1 Tsp ground fennel 2 Tsp Turmeric 1 Tbsp lemon juice Small knob of fresh root ginger, peeled & grated 2 Garlic cloves, peeled & crushed Black pepper 2 Tbsp mild olive oil
Mix everything together and coat the fish well with the paste. Leave to marinate for at least 30 mins and then whack it under the grill, leaving the paste on the fish so it forms a 'crust'.
Thanks for visiting my blog. I’ll share with you recipes that I’ve put together following the Crossfit prescription for nutrition and using the Zone ‘block’ approach to measurement and portion control. Crossfit programming demands variety and I’m going to adopt this approach in the kitchen, keeping meals interesting and varied. There really is no excuse for eating the same lunch every day! Eat well.
Thanks to Miles, coach at Crossfit Hove for his advice on diet and nutrition to improve athletic performance, and to get us through his excellent Crossfit programming! See links below.
Seasonality
Where ever possible I use seasonal ingredients. There are many reasons for eating seasonally, not least because food eaten in its natural season tastes far better and can be cheaper.
June: asparagus, broad beans, carrots, courgettes, cucumber, lettuce, peas, rhubarb, spinach, stawberries, wild garlic
Measurement
I use a set of US measuring ‘cups’, however when converting from cups (volume) to ounces or grams (weight) some margin of error is inevitable. The answer...purchase a set of ‘cups’ for your kitchen!
Here's a couple of ideas for spicing up chicken breast. If you like Indian food it's worth stocking your store cupboard with a few staple spices. I got an Indian spice tin called a 'Masala Dabba' for Xmas this year..best pressie ever! 
