Paleo Chicken Breasts

I'm a newbie when it comes to cooking. A child of the 70s from a working class home in Western New York, my culinary experiences were limited to stuffed peppers, Sloppy Joes and tuna noodle casserole (with peas!). Then the 90s hit and it was all about "fat free" so I grazed my way through sugar-laden, pre-packaged foods that claimed to be "healthy", but that served only to wreck my metabolism and insulin response. 

As I stair stepped my way into a more whole-foods, Paleo approach to cooking and eating, the extra weight came off, my blood glucose stabilized and I began to practice cooking as a way of nurturing myself. But don't get me wrong.  I don't spend hours in the kitchen; I'm all about quick and simple. Like this nutritious chicken dish: fast and easy and oh-so-yummy!

Ingredients:

• 2 organic chicken breasts
• 1 medium sweet potato
• 8 ounces of spiral-style zucchini
• Black pepper and Himalania pink salt (to taste)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp organic coconut oil
• 2 Tbsp organic ghee
• 1/4 cup bone broth

How to prepare:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Slice sweet potatoes into 1/4 inch rounds and bake for 40 min (flip sides halfway through)
• Heat coconut oil in skillet on medium heat
• Rinse chicken breasts, salt & pepper both sides, then add to skillet.
• Cook until brown on both sides
• Add spiral zucchini, ghee and cover for 10 - 12 minutes
• Once the potatoes are finished, toss them with some salt and ghee or serve them plain
• If you don't add the potatoes, the chicken will be ready in under 20 minutes

Options:

• Any veggie works well with this chicken. I've used spiralized butternut squash, cauliflower rice, broccoli rice...the options are endless!
• I love adding sauerkraut or kimchi to most of my dinners. Fermented vegetables are a terrific addition to support gut health, your immune system, for their antioxidant boost and so much more. There are lots of flavors and choices out there. Farmhouse Sauerkraut is one of my personal favorites: the jalapeno flavor is to die for!

Quick Tip:

• Notice the use of sweet potatoes in this recipe and not plain white potatoes. For some people, the glycemic load of plain white potatoes is a bit much. There are SO many types of sweet potatoes out there, it's fun to try them all: Jewel, Garnet, Purple, Hannah, Japanese. Some are a bit sweeter than others, but all are nutrient dense, have super important prebiotic starches that are crucial to gut health. Simply salt or toss in ghee. You'll never go back to plain potatoes again.