Oops! I took some lovely pictures of my recipes, but when I tried to transfer the images, I ended up only creating shortcuts and then proceeded to delete the images from the camera, which of course deleted the shortcut so I have no pictures to share. You will just have to trust me that the looked really delicious:)
Here are the recipes:
Chili Lime Chicken Kabobs
3 tbsp Olive Oil
1 1/2 tbsp Balsmaic Vinegar
Juice of 1 Fresh Lime
1 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Paprika
1 Large Onion, chopped into thick pieces
2 Garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tsp Cayene Pepper
sea salt to taste
black pepper to taste
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (2 breasts) cut into chunks
1. In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, vinegar and lime juice. Season with chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pressed garlic.
2. Place the chicken in a shallow baking dish with the sause and stir to coat.
3. Preheat the grill to medium high. Thread the chicken onto the skewers, alternating with chopped onion pieces.
4. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill the skewers for 10-15 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.
Sweet Potato Oven Fries
Cooking Spray
Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary (enough to cover the bottom of a baking sheet)
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 medium sweet potatoes
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Spread resomeary sprigs on sheet in a single layer, making sure the entire surface is covered.
3. Mix together all other ingredients, except sweet potatoes, in a small bowl.
4. Square off potatoes and slice into steak fries. Lay strips of potato on rosemary in single layer. sprinkle generously with seasoning mixture. Bake 20 minutes.
5. Spray again, return to oven for about 25 minutes more or until fries are golen and puffed.
One thing I am not so great at is timing dishes so everything comes out at the same time and these two recipes together make that really easy. I started with the fries. First of all I wasn't exactly sure I had gotten sweet potatoes or yams, not having much experience with either. When I was at the store they literally had these piled together with two signs "sweet potatoes" and "yams" but no indication as to which was which. Embarassed of my ignorance I didn't ask and just went with my instinct, luckily I was right. (Want to know more about the difference between sweet potatoes and yams? Click here)The grocery store I went to also didn't have fresh sprigs of rosemary so I skipped this step but that would have made these even better and will definitely try to find those for next time.
The spices to this dish were wonderfully fragrant. I am a big fan of cumin and that was the strongest smell and taste that emerged. I wasn't sure how to cut the potatoes so I just went for it but later discovered it is important to try to make each fry approximately the same size so the smaller ones don't burn. I popped them in the oven and started work on the chicken kabobs.
This was another easy recipe to prepare. Throw the ingredients in a dish and coat the chicken. I would make some changes to to spices next time though. The cayene was a little strong and over powering. For me if the recipe calls for 1 tsp of cayene, I only use 1/2 tsp, which I did with this recipe but it was still a little much. I would also reccomend sqieezing the juice of another lime on the chicken when they are done to cut some of that hot taste.
Unfortunately my BBQ still doesnt have propoane and I couldnt find my George Foreman so I threw them in the skillet. This worked but the smokey BBQ flavor would have made this recipe even better. I also would use a red onion instead of a yellow onion next time because the onion was sort of pointless and had no taste.
While I had the chicken kabobs cooking I pulled out the fries and sprayed them again. By the way there is a clean cooking spray recipe but thats a little extreme, even for me. They smelled and looked wonderful! If I had the rosemary sprigs, I can't imagine how fantastically fragrant it would have been. I pulled the fries out 20 minutes later and some were burnt and some were still mushy (will definitely cut them the same size next time) but I sampled one while I was finishing up the chicken and it didn't effect the taste. I also bought reduced sugar ketchup which was really tasty and contained less sugar and less calories and carbs then the organic version. The ingredients were all natural, just not organic, so I went with the reduced sugar version.
The chicken finished up and I put a kabob on some arugula and went to town! The fries were freakin fantastic, I will definitely make those again. The chicken kabobs were good but I think with some of the tweaks I mentioned before they could be improved. And as far as serving size goes, if you make this it is perfect for 2 people. I only made one of the potatoes and have chicken left over.
The positives: recipes were easy to prepare, they used similar spices, they didn't use many dishes, they tasted good (especially the fries)
The negatives: It is hard to wait 40 minutes for the fries when they smell so great, chicken spices needed a little tweaking.
Overall Ranking (1=very very bad, 10=unfuckingbelievably good): Fries=9, Chicken=7
I think my first clean recipe experience went rather well. Next time I will actually have pics that I dont erase though:)
Here is the nutritional info:
Sweet Potato Fries
(Makes 6 servings - HA! it Makes 2-3 servings so double the nutritional info)
Calories: 44
Protein: 1g
Carbs: 13g
Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 1 g
Fat: 0g
Chicken Kabobs:
(Makes 4 kabobs, nutritional info is for 1 kabob)
Calories: 186
Protein: 25g
Carbs: 6g
Fiber: 1g
Sugars: 8.5 g
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5 comments:
Cool. I wish there were pictures. I've been looking for a sweet potatoe fries receipe.
I always have to start the potatoes before anything else because they really take a long time to cook but so worth it.
By the way can you have cheese on this clean diet? What about yogurt?
I know I was bummed about the pics as well but I think I am going to make another batch of the fries tonight so I will take another pic.
Yogurt is always acceptable, however you don't want any with fruit on the bottom and any flavored yogurt you should check the ingredients and sugars in particular.
Ideally plain yogurt is the way to go, just add fruit, nuts etc. I have a hard time with this though because I think plain yogurt tastes gross but I find that if you give it a whirl in the food processor, the fruit infuses flavor a lot better. You can also add a bit of honey or agave nectar (I havent tried agave nectar yet but I am looking for some. It is natural and a little sweeter than honey). Oh and I think sprinkling some grape nuts in yogurt is yummy too. Also Greek Yogurt is good too but the same rules apply.
Cheese is ok, always buy the low fat versions though and you don't want to smother things with it.
I love the Fage 2% Greek Yogurt. My favorite thing to do is add berries (I buy the mixed frozen bag at TJs), and granola (my mom has a killer home-made recipe), and a little honey - especially if it's artisan honey or the kind that has a little bit of texture to it. It's also good for making dips (I make one with garlic, lemon, and dijon for steamed artichokes in place of mayo or butter sauce).
Also, TJs reduced fat string cheese is fantastic. So delicious and salty.
Agave nectar is a good sugar substitute. I use both the amber and dark versions. They are low on the glycemic index factor which means they absorb in your bloodstream slower than regular sweetners therefore eliminating the nasty "sugar crash" we've all experienced. I use it in baking and as a tea sweetner.
Carrie-I should try your steamed artichoke dip thing. I dont think I have ever had steamed artichoke because I was anti veggies as a kid but pro veggie now and that sounds good.
Madison-Thanks for the info! I don't know much about agave nectar, but I have really wanted to try it. That is going on the shopping list for sure.
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