"Not Your Normal Chicken & Rice" Recipe

Greek Chicken Bowl

I love Mediterranean food! There something so delicious about simple ingredients working together to make a nutritious and filling meal.When it comes to meal prepping, I have a tendency to get stuck in the familiar and make the same thing every week, e.g. sweet potatoes, chicken, broccoli, rice and brussels sprouts.  To break the routine one week, I decided I would go Greek!

Okay, maybe I didn’t branch out THAT much, but it was simple way to fancy up a simple staple. So, here’s what you will need to make you feel like you’re on the coast of Santorini:Shopping List:

• 2 lbs of chicken breast (skinless, boneless)
• Olive Oil
• Garlic
• Lemon Juice
• Red Wine Vinegar
• Dried Oregano
• Greek Yogurt
• 2 English cucumbers
• Dill weed
• Mint (If you’re feeling fancy)
• Brown Rice
• 1 ½ pounds cherry tomatoes
• Red Onion- medium

Step one is to marinate your chicken. The recipe calls for ¼ cup of olive oil, but you are more than welcome to adjust that to fit your macros!Marinade:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 Tbs garlic, minced (Note, adjust to preference)
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbs dried oregano
• 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

-Combine all ingredients in a gallon ziplock bag, and forget about it for 30 minutes or up to 12 hours. -If you’re good at multitasking,I suggest cooking your rice and making the cucumber salad and tzatziki while the chicken is marinating. -Prepare rice according to package or your rice cooker.Prepare cucumber salad by slicing and dicing your cucumbers, adding some vinegar, oil, spices and throwing it in a bowl.. Easy!Cucumber Salad:

• 2 English cucumbers, peeled and sliced
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 Tbs red wine vinegar
• 1/2 Tbs minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

Next, make your tzatziki! I love this sauce because it makes me feel like I am eating something unhealthy for me and really, I am topping off my meal with a little more protein and some healthy fats! Fun fact: I also use plain 0% yogurt as a replacement in meals… ALL THE TIME. The tart creaminess can mimic that of sour cream, and when added to Ms. Dash Garlic Herb season it can pass as a ranch dressing. Make this sauce by combining the below ingredients, store in the fridge until you are ready to assemble your bowls.Tzatziki Sauce:

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 English cucumber, finely diced
• 1 tsp minced garlic (adjust to garlic preference)
• 1/2 Tbs dill weed, or 1 Tbs fresh dill, chopped fine
• 1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp chopped fresh mint (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

The last step is to half your cherry tomatoes and cut your red onion. These are additional flavor boosters to top off your bowl. This is really a garnish so onion and tomato are optional but they really do make your bowl look quite fancy!

I split this recipe into 6 servings or  6 bowls. Depending on your macronutrient needs for that day feel free to adjust the amount and serving sizes. If you are going to have bowls that vary in amounts of rice, chicken or tzatziki sauce, I would manually enter each item separately into MyFitnessPal. The nutrition facts below are based off all the ingredients together.

Nutrition Facts for 1 Serving:

490 calories

39g Protein

45g Carbohyrdrate

19g Fat

I love having these for lunch in the summer. They're tasty warmed up or cold! It is a great way to liven up your standard staple of chicken and rice!

Eat up and Enjoy!

Stay Happy, Stay Healthy, Coach Dani