Foodie Friday: Chipotle Honey Lime Chicken

I’ve mentioned before that Nathan is a chicken lover, so when I get the seal of approval on a chicken recipe, I know it’s good enough to share.

This chicken is spicy, tangy, and a little sweet; a little bit of everything good. It really hit the mark and we were more than pleased to have leftovers for lunches this week, especially Nathan, as I’m spending my Friday and weekend at FitBloggin’!

Chipotle Honey Lime Chicken

Serves 6

Ingredients
3, 1lb split chicken breasts
*Your favorite creole-type seasoning [I use Todd’s Bayou Dirt]
2 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped
3 tbsp honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Season the chicken liberally with your spice mixture and place on a wire rack on a baking sheet. Place in the oven for about 35 minutes.

While the chicken is in the oven, mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. After about 35 minutes, take the chicken out and baste with the sauce. Put the chicken back in the oven for another 10 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the oven and baste one more time. Return the chicken to the oven for about another 5 minutes, or until cooked completely through.

Take the chicken out of the oven and let rest about 5 minutes before digging in!

Serving Suggestions
I served this with roasted brussel sprouts and broccoli. It would also be great sliced up and served over brown rice or quinoa with other roasted or steamed vegetables.

Nutritional Stats
Per serving

183 Calories  /  5g Fat  /  11g Carbs  /  1g Fiber  /  9g Sugar  /  26g Protein

*If you don’t have a creole-type seasoning, you can combine the following spices to taste: Salt, black pepper, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, chili powder, chipotle powder, oregano, basil, parsley, thyme, sage, and rosemary. If you don’t have all of those spices, don’t fret! Just season with your favorite combo!

Foodie Friday Fun!

Foodie Friday is my way of sharing some of my favorite recipes from the week for those of you that want to try them out over the weekend and I want you to share yours too! Post your favorite recipe that you made this week and share it with me! Click the link below to add yours.

Foodie Friday: Peanut Chili Baked Tofu

Who else is excited for the weekend?! I know I’m ready. Time to kick back, relax, and try some new recipes! And speaking of, here’s a fun one if you’re feeling the vegetarian vibe!

Peanut Chili Baked Tofu

Serves 2

Ingredients
1 package super firm tofu (I use Nasoya Sprouted Tofu)
1/2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp chili garlic paste (Lee Kum Kee is my favorite!)
2 tbsp peanut flour (I use Protein Plus, but you can also use PB2, or 1 tbsp nut butter)
5-6 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Place tofu between paper towels with a light weight on top to press out the water. Let sit for about 10 minutes while you prepare the marinade.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients. After your tofu has been pressed, cut into 1″ cubes and toss in the marinade. Let sit for another 5-10 minutes.

Place a greased baking rack on a sheet pan and lay the tofu out in a flat layer. Toss it in the oven and bake about 20-25 minutes, or until the outside is a little crisp.

Serving Suggestions
I prefer my peanut chili tofu with a large helping of roasted vegetables. This would also be great over soba noodles and sauteed veggies or over a salad. You could even make this into a wrap, but I would suggest cutting the tofu into longer strips rather than cubes if you plan on doing a wrap.

Nutritional Stats
Per serving (1/2 recipe)

308 Calories  /  18g Fat  /  10g Carbs  /  5g Fiber  /  4g Sugar  /  26g Protein

Don’t forget to enter my Premier Protein Giveaway! And if you’re dying to get the peanut flour and are new to iherb.com, use the discount code ZAF482 at checkout for $5 off your first order!

Speak Up!

Have you ever had tofu? If so, what’s your favorite tofu recipe?

What I Ate Wednesday #10 – Out on the Town

Saturday was a rainy, gross, stay inside kinda day. But we just don’t like to do that. It’s the weekend.. gotta have fun!

I started my Saturday with a workout, a hair chop, and a dress purchase. But this wasn’t just any dress purchase. My friend, bridesmaid, and college roommate announced last week that she is getting married. Next month.

Say whaaaaaaattttt?!

I know! And I’m also a bridesmaid! With all of 4 weeks to prep, she asked for the bridesmaids to wear black or silver and she didn’t care what it looked like. And I’m pleased to say that I was successful in a short amount of time! (Thank you very much White House Black Market!)

I wish I could say my night out on the town involved dressing up in my new fun dress, but sadly, it did not. It did, however, involve some delicious eats and drinks!

Breakfast
I’m still way too obsessed with the banana bread protein pancakes from Julie at Peanut Butter Fingers. They’re just my favorite pancakes and I can’t stop wanting them! I also had my Tone It Up Bombshell Spell and since it was the weekend, I topped it off with my favorite coffee. Get this. Chocolate coconut coffee. Seriously, what could be better?!

Snack
Also on my obsession list, cherries. And they were on sale last week! We stocked up.

Lunch – Outing #1
A little while back, I got a LivingSocial deal to Bang Bang Mongolian Grill. If you enjoy cooking and controlling your ingredients, this place is for you! You grab a bowl, load it up with protein, vegetables, sauces, and spices, then give it to the cook and choose your starch. They cook everything on a flat top and hand you a steaming hot bowl of deliciousness! It’s like cooking at home without having to actually cook! And without the mess.

I loaded up on salmon, shrimp, tons of veggies, zesty orange garlic sauce and went for the brown rice. It was delicious and super easy. Definitely going back soon!

Snack
Not pictured, but super delicious. Vanilla greek yogurt with Great Grains Cranberry Almond Crunch. If you’re a cereal or granola lover, this one is for you! But beware, it’s addicting! (Don’t say I didn’t warn you.)

Dinner – Outing #2
Baba’s Mediterranean Kitchen. Oh yes.

If you’re in the Baltimore area, make your way over. We started with a sampler.. hummus, baba ghanoush, spanikopita, and falafel. Nathan said it’s the best falafel he’s had since Israel. It was all amazing though. For my dinner, I got the shrimp ouzo over quinoa with a side greek salad, hummus, and pita. My only complaint is that they don’t make their own bread.. and we’re bread people. Beyond that, I would go back in a heart beat! (And the prices are awesome!)

After Dinner
Since we were with some friends, we headed over to The Wine Market; an adorable little wine shop (duh!) and bistro. The girls got some wonderful assortments of red wines (not pictured) and the boys shared 2 beers. A Tripel Karmeliet to start; an amazingly delicious Belgian tripel that pretty much can’t be topped. But why not try? They followed it up with an Ommegang Hennepin; this one is a Belgian-style Farmhouse Saison. Another winner. And while I was definitely enjoying my wine, I’m clearly much more intrigued by beer. Can you tell? 😉

Fitness
After reviewing that dinner, I’m really quite pleased that I got up for my workout Saturday morning! I hit up my Tone It Up girls for a couple of my toning faves – the Sandcastle workout and the Itty Bitty Bikini workout. Don’t let these names fool you.. it burns! Especially that total ab tone up at the end of Itty Bitty Bikini!

I paired that up with a favorite HIIT elliptical workout from SELF Magazine I was ready to hit the town!

Speak Up!

What’s your favorite type of cuisine? We love Mediterranean! Saturday was our first time trying Baba’s and we’ll definitely be back.

What I Ate Wednesday #9 – Wedding Crashers

Remember when I said I found the best part of wedding planning? Well I think in the last 2 weeks I’ve found 2 more things that rival for the best part—dress shopping and band shopping!

First and foremost, I got a dress! And I love it and I want to wear it all the time and I can’t wait to put it on again! Wanna see pictures?! You got it! On May 12, 2013  😉

After it took 5 months to find the right venue, I was worried that dress shopping was going to be a complete nightmare, but it was so much fun and it only took me 2 trips to say YES to the dress! (I had to.. really, I did.)

Secondly, band shopping has been a bit frustrating to start off. We’ve just been listening to tons of cliche demos all the while, trying not to laugh. Once we picked out a few bands we liked, we were told to go check them out. Sooooo we crashed a wedding! Yes, we were invited by the band management company, but not by the bride and groom. We got dressed up, turned it into a full on date night and had a great time!

Now onto the eats..

Breakfast
Lately, I’ve been in love with protein pancakes. I was on quite a roll for awhile with the Tone It Up pineapple protein pancakes, but decided to switch it up. Julie from Peanut Butter Fingers has a recipe for banana bread protein pancakes that I tried awhile back and absolutely fell in love with! So now, I’m on a banana bread protein pancake kick that I just can’t seem to shake. And I’m totally ok with it! Top it off with my favorite Tone It Up bombshell spell and I’m in heaven!

Lunch
A delicious spicy Asian chicken and vegetable dish with whole wheat couscous. So delicious, that I didn’t get a picture!

Snack
Strawberry yogurt bites. A little something sweet that I whipped up in no time!

Dinner
Since we had to get all dressed up anyway, we figured we might as well head to a new restaurant for an impromptu date night!

Seasons 52 was the restaurant of choice. This restaurant uses seasonally inspired ingredients with a menu that is updated weekly. (Get it? Seasonally updated.. 52 weeks in a year..)

Nathan chose it because he loves me.. aka everything on the menu is 475 calories or less. And it doesn’t hurt that the menu sounded awesome!

I ordered the organic arugula salad with watermelon, grilled golden beets, jicama, toasted pistachios, and a side of lemongrass salmon. The salad was amazingly delicious and the salmon tasted like it was totally indulgent, but it wasn’t! On the side, I enjoyed a wonderful watermelon refresher. I’m a sucker for any kind of watermelon cocktail!

Nathan got the ripe plum tomato flatbread with fresh basil, roasted garlic, and parmesan cheese, and a mixed green salad on the side. The flatbread was everything a flatbread should be. Super thin, crispy crust, not a ton of cheese, and nice and light.

And because our meals were so light and wonderful, we topped it off with their mini indulgences. I had the chocolate peanut butter mousse and Nathan ordered the mocha macchiato. Both fantastic, but I think I won the dessert round! He kept trying to sneak little bites!

My one complaint about Seasons 52 is that the closest one is an hour away. That said, we might have to visit friends in the area more so we can go back 🙂

Fitness

I’m not gonna lie, I totally killed it at the gym the other night. But my favorite part of my workout was the GNC lean leg circuit from Jess at Blonde Ponytail. If you watch the video, she tells you to do 3 rounds of this circuit, but if you’re up for the challenge, you can do it tabata style, or 8 times through.

As I got through the first 3 sets, I thought “alright, this isn’t so bad.. let’s take it to 5!” Got to 5 sets and thought “I’m doing it.. I’m going for all 8 sets!” I finished all 8 sets in 20 minutes and felt awesome! And 2 days later, I’m remembering each and every one of those moves every time I stand up. Hurts so good!

Speak Up!

Have you tried a new restaurant recently? What was the best part of your meal?

Tilapia Stir-Fry with Chili Peanut Sauce

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks over here.. planning a wedding is tough! I’ve been busy with caterer appointments, researching bands, and an engagement party (that wasway too much fun!) Not to mention 4th of July fell in there too, so when I finally had time to cook this past weekend, I was thrilled! I grabbed all of the random veggies left in my fridge and got to work.

Serves 2

Ingredients

Stir-Fry
2 4oz. tilapia filets
1 1/2 cups napa cabbage, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 medium zucchini
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 cup snow peas
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 radishes, sliced
1 large scallion, chopped
2 tbsp sliced almonds
2 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tbsp coconut oil for vegetables, 1/2 tbsp coconut oil for tilapia
Salt
Black pepper
Garlic powder

Sauce
1/4 cup PB2 or peanut butter
1/2 cup coconut water
2 tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp spicy chili sauce
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Black pepper

Directions
Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl and warm in the microwave about 30 seconds.

Heat a pan over medium high heat with 1 tbsp coconut oil. Once preheated, toss in your cabbage and carrots. Saute for about 5 minutes.

At this time, in a separate pan, toast the almonds and coconut over medium low heat until a little brown and put it off to the side.

While the almonds and coconut are toasting, add the bell pepper and zucchini to the cabbage and carrot mixture. Saute another 10 minutes and finally add the snow peas and garlic. Saute until

Preheat a pan over medium high heat and add 1/2 tbsp coconut oil. Season your tilapia with salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Once the pan is preheated, add the tilapia. Saute about 5 minutes, then flip and saute another 5-7 minutes until the fish is completely cooked through.

Add some of the sauteed vegetables into a bowl and top with some sliced radishes. Place a piece of tilapia on top and sprinkle the coconut almond mixture, as well as the chopped green onion. Drizzle some chili peanut sauce on top and enjoy!

Speak Up!

What is your favorite way to use PB2?

5-Minute Chunky Guacamole

Guacamole is one of those condiments that makes just about everything better. It’s definitely a summer staple in my house!

Whether you’re eating it with chips and salsa or as an accompaniment to a protein (a tortilla-less chicken enchilada, maybe?) it just gives everything that little extra bit of flavor and creaminess. And this recipe could not be any easier!

Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients
4 ripe Haas avocados, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced; preferably red, but white or vidalia works too
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
3 tbsp lemon juice
Salt
Pepper

Directions
Dice the avocados, onion, and tomato into 1/2″ chunks. Toss into a bowl with the lemon juice, to prevent the avocado from browning. Add your minced garlic clove and jalapeno, plus salt and pepper to taste, and toss gently. You just want to mix enough to combine all of the ingredients well, but not mash anything up.

Enjoy this as a dip, on top of fish tacos, or any other way you prefer!

Speak Up!

Do you prefer your guacamole chunky or mashed?