The other day I was scrolling through my Fitness & Feta facebook page‘s news feed, when a link from Self Magazine caught my eye:  “A SELF facebook fan asked us to suggest some healthy chicken recipes. Here are some of our favorites!”  Self then shared this link.

Tim and I decided to give one of these recipes a go for a post-bootcamp dinner last night.  Naturally, I wanted to try the Feta Chicken with Vegetables.  While we were preparing dinner, I enjoyed a glass of Black Swan Riesling.  Much needed after my busy week!  And I “accidentally” ate half of an apple cider donut, whoops.  Tim had a Shipyard Pumpkin and sampled one of Slesh’s margaritas, the next drink she plans on writing about in A Twist and a Shake.

But back to the feta chicken.

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and peeled <–I’m not really sure what peeling asparagus entails?  Can anyone tell me?  We just trimmed them like we normally do
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 whole bone-in, skinless chicken breasts (about 12 oz each), split crosswise
  • 1 medium Spanish onion, thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 8 plum tomatoes, quartered <— We substituted regular tomatoes
  • 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 cups fresh spinach
  • 1/4 cup crumbled lowfat feta
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
  • 4 whole-wheat pitas, warmed
Can you see Slesh blogging away in the corner amongst our mess?
Directions
  1. Heat oven to 375°.
  2. Blanch asparagus in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain stalks and plunge in a bowl of ice water. Drain again and pat dry; set aside.
  3. Heat oil in a 6 to 8 qt heavy-bottomed ovenproof pot over medium-high heat.
  4. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to pot. Cover and cook, turning once, until slightly brown, 5 to 8 minutes.
  5. Stir in onion and garlic; replace lid and cook until soft, 4 minutes.
  6. Stir in tomatoes and eggplant. Replace lid, place pot in oven and cook until eggplant is tender, about 18 minutes.
  7. Remove pot from oven and stir in asparagus and spinach; sprinkle with feta. Replace lid and let rest 15 minutes.
  8. Stir in oregano and season with salt and pepper. Serve with pitas.
One thing I need to get better at is planning my recipes ahead of time and preparing the ingredients ahead of time.  Last night after bootcamp ended at 7, I still had to go to the grocery store for some of these ingredients, and chop them all up.  By the time we ate dinner it was late!  So I think that will be a goal of mine over the next couple of weeks.
This dinner was worth it though!  Tasted so good.  All that juice from cooking the veggies in the oven gave everything so much flavor.
This recipe served 4, so I’m pumped because I have a ton of chicken and veggies left over for today.
Some nutritional information from the website:  497 calories per serving, 7.9 g fat (1.3 g saturated), 67.5 g carbs, 16.1 g fiber, 47.1 g protein.
Yum!!
Question of the Day:  Do you have any tips or advice on how to plan ahead for meals?  What works for you?