Honey Chicken with Coconut Brown Rice

This is one the meals that my family will always eat.  It is a “go to” that is easy and ingredients are almost always on hand.  My kids and husband are guaranteed to eat it and it’s healthy!

Honey chicken and coconut brown rice

(Recipe by Ashlee at Making Health Tangible)

Coconut Brown Rice

Replace water with coconut milk and cook according to package instructions

Start this first because it takes longest to cook.  I have started the rice too late in the past and then we are all sitting around waiting for the rice to finish so we can eat!  I always make rice in the rice cooker because I can’t seem to ever cook it perfect otherwise. You can use a pan, or pop the rice and coconut milk into rice cooker with plenty of time to cook.  My rice cooker usually takes around 40 minutes for brown rice.

The coconut milk gives flavor to brown rice that is sweet and so yum!  This rice is good with teriyaki chicken or anything that serves well with a sweet rice

Honey Chicken

2 chicken breasts

1 tsp coconut oil

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp chili powder

½ tsp onion powder

½ cup honey

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Wash, pat dry, and trim visible fat from chicken breasts

Melt coconut oil in microwave (5-10 sec) and rub on chicken breasts to coat

Combine spices and rub onto chicken breasts to coat

Grill up (I use a George Foreman grill or outdoor grill) to cook throughout (4-6 min each side)

Melt honey in microwave (10 sec or so) and add apple cider vinegar to melted honey and mix.

Brush some of the honey/apple cider mixture onto each side of chicken while grilling

Once chicken is cooked throughout, dice up, place on bed of rice, and drizzle honey mixture over top

Serve!

Healthier Chicken Fried Rice

Some may say that I am breaking some unspoken rule that fried rice should always be made with white rice and that it should be “unhealthy”… but one of my favorite things to do is make healthier versions of food…  so here it is!  This version is healthier, and still absolutely delicious!

 

Healthier Chicken Fried Rice

2 cups brown rice

4 cups water

Use rice cooker or follow directions on package to make rice.  I like to cook the rice ahead of time because when making fried rice, it is actually better to work with cold rice since it is less sticky.  So make your rice even a day or 2 ahead of time or in the morning, and pop in the fridge to cool.

 

Place 2 tbsp coconut oil in a large heated pan (use a BIG pan here because you will be adding a lot in it) then add the following over medium heat:

¼ thinly sliced red onion

½ head thinly sliced cabbage

1 cup shredded/diced carrots

½ tbsp minced garlic

Sauté until cabbage, carrots, and onion are softened (about 10 minutes)

 

Whisk up 3 eggs in a bowl.

Spray a separate fry pan with coconut oil or cooking oil of your choice and cook eggs just like you would for scrambled eggs.  Scramble up those eggs without any seasoning.  Once they are cooked throughout, let cool for a minute and use your spatula to cut into smaller bite size pieces

 

Once cabbage, carrots, and onion are softened, add to pan:

Cooked scrambled eggs

1 chicken breast grilled and diced

Cooked (cooled) rice

Mix thoroughly heating the rice.

 

Put the following seasonings in a separate bowl and mix together.  Sprinkle over mixture while stirring until mixed throughout.

½ tbsp dried minced onion

½ tsp garlic powder

¾ tsp pepper

¼ tsp celery salt

 

Then add 4 tbsp soy sauce and mix throughout.

Once rice is heated up and seasoning is thoroughly mixed, serve!

 

Option: You can eliminate the chicken and use this as a side. We love it so much, it is a whole meal for us.

This is also a really good cold dish!  Another easy good healthy lunch option.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Healthier Chicken Fried Rice

Recipe by: Ashlee at Making Health Tangible

 

2 cups brown rice

4 cups water to cook rice

2 tbsp coconut oil

¼ thinly sliced red onion

½ head thinly sliced cabbage

1 cup shredded/diced carrots

½ tbsp minced garlic

Cooking spray or a little more coconut oil

3 eggs

1 chicken breast grilled and diced

 

Seasonings:

½ tbsp dried minced onion

½ tsp garlic powder

¾ tsp pepper

¼ tsp celery salt

4 tbsp soy sauce

 

Use rice cooker or follow directions on package to make rice.  I like to cook the rice ahead of time because when making fried rice, it is actually better to work with cold rice — it is less sticky.  So make your rice even a day or 2 ahead of time or in the morning, and pop in the fridge to cool.

Put coconut oil in a large heated pan (use a BIG pan here because you will be adding a lot in it) then add the red onion, cabbage, carrots, and garlic over medium heat.  Sauté until cabbage, carrots, and onion are softened (about 10 minutes)

Whisk up 3 eggs in a bowl.  Spray a separate fry pan with coconut oil or cooking oil of your choice and pour whisked eggs into heated pan.  Scramble up those eggs.  Once they are cooked throughout, use spatula to cut into smaller bite size pieces.

Once cabbage, carrots, and onion are softened, add cooked chicken, cooked rice, and cooked scrambled eggs to pan. Mix thoroughly heating the rice.

Mix the seasonings in a separate bowl and sprinkle over mixture while stirring until mixed throughout.

Then add soy sauce mixing throughout.

Once rice is heated up and seasoning is thoroughly mixed, serve!

Chicken teriyaki bowl with quinoa (with homemade teriyaki sauce)

My husband really likes chicken teriyaki bowls.  He probably would happily eat a bowl of chicken, rice, and teriyaki sauce everyday of his life if I didn’t need so much variety.  I wanted to make him his chicken teriyaki bowl, but I am working on getting more protein in my diet lately, so I replaced the rice with quinoa.

Quinoa has some growing popularity lately.  The stuff is high in protein and fiber and you can pretty much use it as a replacement for rice in any recipe.  Don’t be intimidated by it.  You can get it at any grocery store in the rice isle and cook in the rice cooker just like rice.

For this recipe, use the ratio of water to quinoa on the back of the package replacing water with coconut milk (usually 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups coconut milk). The coconut milk makes the quinoa sweeter with a light coconut taste I think is perfect for a chicken teriyaki bowl.  Put ingredients in a rice cooker and start it up just as you would with rice.

Grill up some chicken and season with salt and pepper.

Grill up or steam whatever veggies you like. I used steamed zucchini and yellow squash here but broccoli, cabbage, and carrots would be good too!

Like I said, my husband really likes teriyaki bowls, so he is kind of picky with the sauce.  I have yet to find a yummy teriyaki sauce that you can buy from the store, so that leaves me making my own (please share if you have a go-to yummy teriyaki sauce!)  This homemade teriyaki sauce recipe passes his inspection and is great because all of the ingredients are usually on hand.

 

Teriyaki Sauce

Recipe adapted from Our Best Bites

½ C. soy sauce

½ C. honey

¼ C. cider vinegar

1 clove garlic

½ tsp. ground ginger

¼ tsp. black pepper

1 tbsp. cold water

1 tbsp. corn starch

Mix soy sauce, honey, cider vinegar, garlic, ginger, and pepper in a sauce pan and bring to boil.  While heating, mix cold water and corn starch in a small cup.  Once pan mixture is boiling, pour mixed corn starch and water in pan and bring to boil mixing continuously until thickened.  Remove from heat and serve.  If you have leftovers, place in airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alright so once you have your quinoa, chicken, veggies and sauce ready… you know what to do.  Place desired amount of quinoa in a bowl, top with cooked veggies, grilled chicken, and then drizzle teriyaki sauce on top!

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chicken Teriyaki Bowl with Quinoa

Recipe by Ashlee at Making Health Tangible

Makes ~ 2-3 servings

1 c. quinoa

2 c. coconut milk

2 grilled chicken breasts seasoned with salt and pepper

Desired amount of vegetables (1 zucchini and 1 yellow squash is pictured) chopped and steamed until softened

Teriyaki sauce (Homemade recipe above)

Place quinoa and coconut milk in rice cooker and start just like you would rice

Grill your chicken breast and season with salt and pepper

Steam your veggies

Make your teriyaki sauce

Once everything is cooked, place quinoa in a bowl and top with cooked veggies, chicken, and then drizzle with teriyaki sauce.  Serve and eat!

Greek Quinoa Salad

I love making meals that I know are going to last for longer than just that 1 meal. If I know that I will have leftovers… and good leftovers, I am in! This is one of those meals you cook and then you have lunch for the next few days… this is especially good for healthy lunches for your work week!

Quinoa (“Keen-wah”)… a great alternative for rice in any dish. It has more protein and fiber than rice and it’s kind of fun because it’s different.

Did you know that you can cook it in a rice cooker and it turns out PERFECT! One of the turn offs for me with this stuff is that I could never cook it just right… Rice cooker has solved that problem and now we have perfect quinoa every time!

Throw 2 cups chicken broth and 1 cup quinoa in the rice cooker.  Then mix in 1 tsp basil and 1 tsp oregano.  Mix up, put the lid on, and start rice cooker.

**If you don’t have a rice cooker, follow instructions on the bag to prepare replacing water with chicken broth and adding the seasonings.

 

Now start chopping:

1 cucumber, half red onion, and 1/2 C. fresh parsley (tomatoes would be good in this too if you love them)

Throw in a bowl your chopped items with 1/2 C. feta cheese, and about 1/2 C. olives… (halved and pitted Kalamata olives are the best in this… but I used regular ones this time and it was still so good)

Now the put the bowl in the fridge to cool.  This is a great cucumber salad alone with the dressing too if you want 😉

 

Now we make the dressing:

Ok… so fresh lemons and fresh garlic are ideal… but here I am with no fresh garlic and no fresh lemons…. so this will have to do… but if you have it fresh.. use it! 🙂

1/2 C. olive oil

1/4 C. lemon juice

1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

2 garlic cloves minced

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Throw it all in a jar and shake up.  Place that in the fridge.

 

Grill up some chicken with simple spices such as salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

(Here you can use the warm quinoa and warm chicken with the cool cucumber salad and dressing as a meal right now… then mix what’s left together and cool in fridge for the next day )

Cool quinoa and diced chicken to room temp and toss in with cucumber salad and dressing.  Refrigerate ~ 2 hours

Enjoy!

 

 

Here’s the recipe:

Greek Quinoa Salad

Recipe by Making Health Tangible

2 grilled chicken breasts, diced (seasoned with salt,  pepper, and garlic powder)

Quinoa:

2 C. chicken broth

1 C. quinoa

1/2 tsp. oregano

1 tsp. dry basil leaves

Mix together in rice cooker and start, or follow instructions on quinoa package for preparing replacing water for chicken broth and adding oregano and basil

Salad:

1 diced cucumber

1/2 diced red onion

1/2 C. olives (kalamata is ideal… pitted and halved)

1/2 C. feta cheese

1/2 C. chopped parsley

Chop up and throw in bowl together, cool.

Dressing:

1/2 C. olive oil

1/4 C. lemon juice

1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

2 garlic cloves minced

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Place all items in a jar, shake, and cool.

Can serve the warm chicken and quinoa warm and have the cool cucumber salad as a side. Add dressing to cucumber salad to taste.  Can also add dressing to quinoa if desired

Mix cooled diced chicken, cucumber salad, cooled quinoa, and dressing together and chill x 2 hours.