A Totally Healthy Chicken Recipe

October 2, 2008

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Sometimes the best chicken recipe is not only totally healthy, but it is also fast, easy to make and will have your family coming back for a second helping !

The following chicken recipe is for those people who are health conscientious and watching how much fat they take into their routine diet.

If using frozen chicken breasts: this chicken recipe is best when a frozen skinned chicken breast has been thawed slowly in cold water or even in the refrigerator. The meat seems to stay more firm and keeps in its moisture much better than if you defrost the chicken in a microwave or even at room temperature. Fresh chicken breasts can also be used.

Now onto the rest of the chicken recipe.

- Choose as many chicken breasts as you wish to serve.
- Slice a fresh lemon in half. Rub the lemon all over the breasts. (note: one lemon will be sufficient for about 4 medium-sized breasts)
- Wrap the breasts in tin foil and place them on a baking sheet.
- Bake in a moderate oven until done – depending upon the size of your breasts – it should not be more than 35 to 40 minutes.

Remove from oven, and put the chicken breasts into a baking dish or platter that you would like to serve them on.

Making the sauce for this chicken recipe is fast, easy and flavorful. All you will need is a couple of medium-sized onions, four or five tomatoes, some cilantro and/or oregano, three our four garlic cloves, olive oil, mushrooms if you like, and black olives – also optional.

Just dice it all up, add the oregano or cilantro and garlic to your specific tastes and you are done.

Cover the chicken breasts with your freshly made sauce and serve with a freshly steamed vegetable of your choice.

That is all there is to this chicken recipe if you want completely healthy and no fat or carbs to speak of.

If you would like to add a few carbs, then prepare some angel hair pasta and place the baked chicken breasts and sauce over the angel hair and sprinkle with a bit of parmesan cheese.

As a note, you can alter this chicken recipe in a multitude of ways. The main thing to keep in mind when you do alter it is to focus on keeping the chicken recipe fat free and completely healthy.

Try to avoid making sauces out of dairy products. If you should choose to make a sauce that has dairy products as a part of its ingredients, then to minimize your fat intake, try to avoid butter and sour cream, or minimally go with a light sour cream.

The idea behind this chicken recipe is to help you eat a delicious dinner while still eating healthy.

As a note, there are some excellent chicken soup and fried chicken recipes on the web as well, so if this one doesn’t hit your taste buds tonight, then consider a good chicken soup or fried chicken meal for your family.


Chicken on a Bun provides useful information on
chicken recipe,
fried chicken and
chicken soup.

Healthy Recipes - A Roasted Garlic Recipe With Antiviral Power

April 6, 2008

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Healthy Recipes - A Roasted Garlic Recipe With Antiviral Power
By Melinda Banks

Garlic has been used to treat and prevent illness dating back well over 5000 years. Ancient Egyptians and Greeks used it for heart problems and headache; the Chinese used it for a variety of common ailments and to boost immunity. And modern scientific research confirms its curative powers. National Cancer Institute studies show that a diet rich in garlic may reduce risk of colorectal, stomach and prostate cancer by as much as half. Research also shows that garlic has antiviral properties that protect against infection and inflammation, may destroy certain flu viruses, and help kill intestinal parasites.

How can this little “rose” do so much? It contains a powerhouse of nutrients, including vitamins A and C; the minerals potassium, selenium, phosphorus and zinc; and amino acids. It also has an unusually high concentration of the sulfur compound allicin, which is a potent antibiotic and the compound primarily responsible for its healing properties.

If a little garlic each day keeps the doctor away, what’s the best way to get it? Cooked or raw, all forms have health benefits, but raw garlic has the edge. It’s simple to add it to a variety of dishes; for example:

• Top scrambled eggs with it.

• Add it chopped to cooked tomato sauce just before serving.

• Sprinkle it minced on a baked potato.

• Spread it minced on buttered, crusty bread.

And here’s a classic with taste that’s out of this world:

Roasted Garlic

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

2. Peel away the outer layers of the bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top, exposing the individual cloves.

3. Place the garlic heads in a baking pan; muffin pans work well for this purpose. Drizzle a couple teaspoons of olive oil over each head, using your fingers to make sure the bulb is well coated. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 400°F for 30-35 minutes, or until the cloves feel soft when pressed.

4. Allow the garlic to cool enough so you can touch it without burning yourself. Use a small small knife cut the skin slightly around each clove. Use a cocktail fork or your fingers to pull or squeeze the roasted cloves out of their skins.

You can eat it as is or mash with a fork and use for cooking. It also can be spread over warm French bread, mixed with sour cream for a topping for baked potatoes, or mixed in with Parmesan and pasta. Fresh garlic generally offers the best prevention against disease, but eating more than three raw cloves a day may cause gas or bloating in some people. Additionally, not everyone enjoys the pungent aroma. If you’d rather not eat it, try a nutritional supplement. Research recently has shown that supplements containing an extract often work as effectively as fresh — without the garlic breath.

For a garlic salsa recipe and other delicious healthy recipes, visit Melinda Banks’ blog at MyOnlineHealthArticlesBlog.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Melinda_Banks
http://EzineArticles.com/?Healthy-Recipes—A-Roasted-Garlic-Recipe-With-Antiviral-Power&id=1062098

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Healthy Recipes - A Delicious Pasta Recipe That Will Boost Your Immune System

April 6, 2008

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Healthy Recipes - A Delicious Pasta Recipe That Will Boost Your Immune System
By Melinda Banks

Love tomatoes and pasta? Did you know they can be combined to boost your immune system? This does just that.

Every day, your immune system battles the millions of bacteria, microbes, toxins and viruses that try to invade your body. But this complex and highly interactive network of organs and specialized cells can help keep you healthy only if it’s healthy itself. So how do you make sure your immune system stays strong? Along with getting enough sleep and exercise, and keeping your stress level down, a low-fat, high-fiber, nutrient-rich diet will keep your immune system in top-notch condition. Research suggests that the following vitamins and minerals, in particular, regulate a wide variety of immune system functions:

  • Vitamin A
  • B-complex vitamins
  • Vitamin C
  • Zinc
  • Selenium
  • Magnesium

While it’s a good idea to take a vitamin and mineral supplement to ensure you’re getting the nutrition your body needs, you obviously want to get as many immunity-boosting nutrients as you can from the food you eat. The following recipe, rich in the vitamins and minerals listed above, offers a delicious way to keep your immune system strong:

Mexican Pasta Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/2 lb lean ground beef or ground turkey
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 can (14½ oz) stewed tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
  • 1/3 cup shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • 8 oz package bow- or corkscrew-shaped whole wheat pasta

Directions

  1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well and place in a large bowl.
  2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add green onions and garlic and cook 30 seconds.
  3. Crumble in ground beef. Sprinkle with chili powder and salt. Cook, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes, or until beef is no longer pink.
  4. Add tomatoes and their juices, and jalapeño. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook 5 minutes.
  5. Pour sauce over pasta.
  6. Sprinkle with cheese and cilantro. Toss to mix.

For another immune-system-building pasta recipe and to access a user-friendly herb and supplement encyclopedia, visit Melinda Banks’ blog at MyOnlineHealthArticles.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Melinda_Banks
http://EzineArticles.com/?Healthy-Recipes—A-Delicious-Pasta-Recipe-That-Will-Boost-Your-Immune-System&id=974702

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