Recipe: Grilled Chicken and Corn Salad with Avocado and Parmesan.

I think it should come as no surprise to you that I'm not much of a healthy eater. I don't eat salads very often, and when I do, it's usually loaded with non-salady things. Like ranch dressing. And pizza.


I came across this recipe in my REAL SIMPLE: Easy, Delicious Home Cooking (Spring / Summer 2012) magazine. Eric and I decided to give it a whirl because it looked fairly uncomplicated and also because it involved Parmesan cheese. I love Parmesan cheese.

GRILLED CHICKEN AND CORN SALAD WITH AVOCADO AND PARMESAN

INGREDIENTS
1/4 fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 6-oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 ears corn, shucked
5 oz. baby spinach
1 avocado, cut into bite-size pieces
2 oz. Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat grill to medium-high. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, rosemary, garlic, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Transfer half of this dressing to a small bowl; set aside. Add the chicken to the remaining dressing and coat.

2. Rub the corn with the remaining olive oil and seasons with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Grill the corn and chicken, covered, turning occasionally, until the corn is tender and charred, 4-6 minutes, and the chicken is cooked through, 8-10 minutes. Cut the kernels off the cobs and slice the chicken.

3. In a large bowl, toss the chicken, corn, spinach, and avocado with the reserved dressing. Top with shaved Parmesan.

NOTE:
We've always pan-grilled both the chicken and the corn, instead of grilling them outside. I'm sure the outside grills gives it a great charred taste, but just know that if you're in a pinch, a frying pan will work just fine. Also, if you're going to pan-grill the corn, try parboiling it for a few minutes first to soften up the kernels.

We've used both corn on the cob and canned corn. Both work fine.

This recipe is pretty much foolproof. Even after a few slip-ups on following directions, it still comes out just as tasty as the time before. I've gotten to the point where I combine all of the oil and herbs together at once, split half for chicken and half for corn, and then don't need any to dress my salad because everything else is already so flavorful. (As you can see in the salad above.) Really, it's foolproof.

This meal is surprisingly easy to make and leaves you satisfied and filled, without feeling heavy. The rosemary and lemon are the stars of the show, so make sure to buy fresh when it comes to those ingredients.

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Have You Heard of "Fresh Dish"...?

The premise behind this company is that healthy, flavorful meals can be made quickly (30 minutes or less) and right in your own kitchen.

Actually, I'm not sure if that's their premise. But based on my experience with them, it seems like it should be.

Based in Los Angeles, Fresh Dish offers an always-changing menu of entrees to choose from. Simply create an account and make your meal selections. Once you've placed your order, the ingredients typically arrive the following Tuesday and are delivered in a temperature controlled package. If you're not planning on cooking your meal that night, just make sure to store your packages in the refrigerator until the "use by" date.

Each package includes up to four servings.

I've made a few Fresh Dish meals and can't say enough good things about them. First, and most importantly, the ingredients are fresh and individually portioned so you know exactly how much of each item you're adding to your meal. Secondly, the recipes are super easy to follow and practically foolproof. Thirdly, the meals were very flavorful and filling and didn't leave us feeling weighed down or heavy. Considering how much of a non-chef I am, it was surprising how "professional" everything turned out. I should also mention that Fresh Dish's customer service is very helpful. I contacted them regarding a question about one of my meals and had no problem getting an answer.

Oven Roasted Salmon

 I may or may not have accidentally overcooked the zucchini.

Gorgonzola & Mushroom Risotto w/ Pear & Pomegranate Salad

If you:

A) Have a New Years resolution to eat healthier
B) Wish you cooked at home more, but don't know what to make
C) Want to impress someone with your home-cooked meal
D) Don't have time to plan a meal and buy groceries

Then Fresh Dish is ideal for you. For a fresh and healthy meal cooked in the comfort of your own home (that cost as little as $8 per meal), it's definitely worth a try. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Make sure to mention this blog when you place your order.

Just kidding. They have no idea who I am.

BUT - enter this promo code for a "buy 1, get 1 free" discount: FRESH4YOU

Fresh Dish is currently offered in most of California and select regions of Arizona and Nevada. Word on the street is, they will be expanding to the east coast in the next few weeks.

(I was not compensated in any way for this post. I just like eating good food and telling everyone about it.)

Boner'ppetite!

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TILTE's Panzanella Salad.

This is a recipe for something healthy I ate.

I figured I should share it with you right away because I'm probably going to fall off the wagon before the week is over (I've already fallen off several times, actually) and I'd like to look back on this glorious moment and feel all nostalgic about that one time I became super healthy and fit.

Important Note: If you omit the chicken from this recipe, it is TOTALLY SUITABLE FOR VEGETARIANS AND VEGANS!!!

TILTE's Panzanella Salad

INGREDIENTS

- Italian Bread
- Italian seasoning
- olive oil
- 20 cherry tomatoes, halved
- red onion, sliced into thin strips (however much you like)
- 8 leaves fresh basil, chiffonade'ed
- 1 avocado, sliced into wedges or cubes
- 1 chicken breast (we cooked extra, but all you need for this recipe is one)
- 3 white potatoes
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- romaine lettuce

Missing from this picture: Italian seasoning, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper

DIRECTIONS

Sprinkle salt, pepper, and onion powder on both sides of chicken breasts. Place in a shallow baking dish that's been coated with olive oil. Cook for roughly 25 minutes at 400- or until juices run clear.



Slice bread into cubes and place on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and Italian seasoning. Throw it in the oven for 15 minutes. Or until they're toasted the way you like it.



Boil whole potatoes until you can easily stick a fork in them.



Once chicken is done cooking, cut into cubes. Throw chicken, tomatoes, onion, basil, potatoes, avocado, croutons, and lettuce into a large bowl.



In a screw-top jar (or one of those "make your own salad dressing" containers), combine vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Shake that shit up. Pour over salad.

Eat it.


This salad is perfect for people who are NOT very "salady". The ingredients are hearty and filling and the dressing is full of flavor. I will definitely keep this on my regular dinner rotation.

Anyone out there willing to try it, let me know what you think!!

Boner'ppetite.

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I'm Going to End Up Eating Kibble When No One's Looking.

I'm sure everyone* (*no one) has been majorly concerned about my whereabouts lately and wondering why my posts have been so few and far between.

So I'm here to tell you all* (*mom) not to worry, everything is going great. And by "great", I mean "fat". And before you embarrass yourself and ask if I'm pregnant, let me say No, I am not pregnant. So when you see me out at happy hour, don't be worried that I'm damaging my unborn baby. There's no baby. It's just waffles.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way.

I have something to share with you today. It's something that I'm pretty fucking excited about, but I realize that you probably won't give a shit about it. That's totally fine. Based on my analytics, I've come to accept the fact that our friendship "honeymoon" may have come to an end.

Alright, so the big topic of discussion is... my diet.

My diet is shit and I'm gaining weight and I'm not looking good.



With that said, I'm taking a stand against my chins and butts, y'all.

And I'm inviting YOU to stand against my chins and butts with me. (I know what I said.)

I created an account on DailyBurn to track everything I eat. With every item I track, my counter updates and lets me know how many calories, grams of fat, grams of protein, and grams of carbs I have left in the day in order to stay within my "lose weight" range.

If you're interested in making a DailyBurn account to track your food, let me know and we can be buddies! We can totally keep each other motivated AND get ideas from each other for healthy meals. And don't worry- nobody can see your private details (weight). And if we become buddies and it turns out you actually CAN see my weight details, you better fucking pretend like you never saw that shit.
Disclaimer: If you're one of those super competitive people and you have no problem going all anorexic and shit, we can't be friends.

And to get the ball rolling on this bitch, I'm even going to share my digits for today:

See that exclamation point in the "Fat" category? That means I did an OUTSTANDING job at overeating fat today. Also- it looks like someone needs to drink more water.

So... Who's in???

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