Saturday, September 10, 2011

chicken grilling packets with lime and cilantro marinade

My friend Lauren sent me this awesome recipe containing my favorite lime and cilantro! Everyone at my house thought it was great!
rice or quinoa
3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
2.5 Tbsp fresh lime juice (I juiced a lime and then added a bunch of zest as well)
1.5 Tbsp olive oil
a tsp of chil powder
tsp of cumin in the marinade1/4 tsp salt
Toppings of choice: black beans, salsa, lettuce, sour cream, cheese, avocado, etc
Pound out chicken to tenderize. Slice or cube chicken. Make marinade in ziploc and add chicken. Marinate from 30 min to a few hours...I did like 4 hrs. Empty bag onto foil, wrap it up and throw it on the grill!!

We ate it over soaked brown rice with black beans, salsa, lettuce, s.cream and cheese! YUM! If you want extra limey taste squeeze another lime on top of the chicken before serving.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Our Favorite Breakfasts!

I've mentioned before that our family does not eat store-bought cereal at all. The simplified explanation is that store-bought cereals are processed at such a high heat that it destroys all the nutrients. Sure, they are "fortified" with "vitamins" but they are artificial ones and not easily utilized by our bodies. So we might as well be eating cardboard. (I must admit that I was a cereal-a-holic for the first 25 years of my life and would happily eat cereal for any given meal, so refusing to buy them is quite a step for me!) Anyways, I thought I'd give you a list of what we eat for breakfast instead.

But one quick note first: EGGS!!! I've written before about how much I love eggs and how I hate that they have gotten such a bad rap, so I won't go there today. I just wanted to say that my girls LOVE eggs and it is the one meal of the day that I can be sure they will get lots of protein and healthy fat (plus, I usually smother them with butter from grass-fed cows! :) They may be feeling too picky to eat the meat I fix for dinner, but that is ok because I know they have eaten eggs for breakfast :) Our family eats about 6 eggs a day (2 each for Mark an I, and one each for the girls) so we easily eat 3 dozen eggs a week!

And now, our favorite breakfasts:

1. Apple-Cinnamon Omelet -- this is our family's absolute favorite breakfast!! Every single person in my house loves it and never refuses it. It sounds like a funny combination, but you have to try it :)

2. Scrambled eggs with "chicken-apple-sausage or turkey bacon from Trader Joes -- if you have a Trader Joe's in your area then you have to try this chicken apple sausage! It is not the least bit spicy, ever so sweet, and so much better for you than normal sausage. My super-picky toddler begs for more of it and my baby eats it, too. And I can't describe to you how much my husband loves it!


3. Cinnamon Raison Quinoa Pancakes -- lots of protein and delicious! You have to play with the recipe to get the texture you desire.

4. Egg and bacon/sausage muffins -- I've found that these warm up nicely in the toaster oven, so it is my go-to grain free healthy breakfast to make ahead of time.

5. Homemade granola -- my girls would eat this for every meal of the day if I let them!

6. Farmer's Hash -- lots of filling and healthy potatoes, eggs, meat, and veggies!

7. Bacon Apple Cheese Frittata -- easy, sweet and savory

All of our other "mostly-healthy" breakfasts in no particular order:
Oatmeal bake
Fried Apples on toast or with eggs
Pumpkin Muffins
Blueberry Pancakes: Coconut Flour or Whole Grain
Crustlass Quiche
Chocolate Breakfast Cake
Dutch Pancake
Oatmeal Cranberry Muffins
Healthy Breakfast "cake"
Home-made Granola
Home-made Cereal (kinda like Grape nuts, only sweeter :)
French Toast Bites (made from pieces of my bread)
Breakfast Cookies
Strawberry or Peach Bread
Pumpkin Pancakes
Pumpkin waffles


Our more unhealthy Breakfasts that we have every now and then :)
Nina's yummy pumpkin muffins
Baked Oatmeal
Smoky Bacon Wraps
Toffee-Apple French Toast Bake
Awesome Zuchinni Bread
Harvest Loaf Cake
Sausage Hashbrown Casserole
The Most Delicious French Toast Casserole Ever!
Overnight Egg and Sausage Casserole
Hashbrown Casserole