Why did I make this decision after 6 years of pescetarianism? A few reasons really. Since I have started lifting heavier weights I knew I was going to have to rethink my diet. I have to get serious about protein so that I can supply my body with a sufficient amount to promote muscle growth and repair. I can't break down my muscles like that and then neglect giving them what they need to recover. I felt that I was doing well without the meat for some time, but I don't eat fish as much as I would like because it is expensive and my soy products were already equally, if not more, expensive. Eating some soy is fine when bodybuilding but it isn't recommended to be getting the majority of your protein from soy. Soy is not the best for optimal anabolic muscle growth (i.e bulking up). A lot of soy is also quite processed. As I mentioned before I would like to cut down on such things and I feel that adding good old fashioned chicken breast to my diet to replace some of the soy will be in my best interest. I admit I'm kind of excited! My grocery bill is going to be a lot easier on the eyes and I now have a kaleidoscope of new recipes to try! *happy dance*
To commemorate the replacement of my ever-handy vegan patties I decided to make my first chicken experiment healthy chicken patties. I found a great recipe on bodyrock.tv which has few ingredients and promised to be a yummy replacement for my old frozen standbys.
The ingredients are:
1 large portabella mushroom cap
1 leek
1 tsp olive oil
12 oz chicken breast
4 cloves of garlic
4 leaves of fresh basil
2 tbsp lite coconut milk
2 egg whites
Salt and pepper to taste
Equipment needed:
A cookie sheet
A food processor
A skillet
Now for preparation:
-Preheat oven to 350.
-Chop the mushroom and the white and pale green part of the leek. Make sure that you really wash your leek properly because dirt gets all the way down in there sometimes.
-Heat the olive oil in a skillet and saute the mushroom and leek until the it begins to brown. Stick it in the fridge to cool.
-Chop the chicken and basil and crush the garlic cloves.
-Grab your food processor and throw in the chicken, egg whites, coconut milk, garlic, basil and salt and pepper to taste (I didn't use any salt). Process until the chicken is fully ground into a thick paste.
-Stir in the mushroom and leeks evenly into the paste. Don't be too rough or you'll smush the mushrooms.
-Now you can pretend you're baking cookies! Grab your non-stick cookie sheet and mold the chicken into palm sized patties. Don't make them too thick though. Don't let the patties touch on the baking sheet.
-Stick the tray in the oven and bake until done. You can start checking them after about 25-30 minutes. When they are ready the patties are firm to the touch and the leeks may burn just along the edges.
Let them cool and eat them in a whole wheat bun or with a salad.
They were actually really delicious. Even my father who won't touch anything I cook because its 'healthy' and has 'green bits' in it polished his off. When I first saw the recipe I found the patties looked a little unappetizing due to the pale colour but I was more than surprised by the taste. You really get the flavour of garlic as well which I love!
Not a bad start to bird munching!
I think that I need to eat them one at a time because my stomach isn't used to processing meat anymore. I ate two for dinner last night and I felt really heavy and it was like it sat in my stomach all night! Haha! It was worth it though. Yummy and good for you too. Made a nice light lunch today as well!
So there is my new major diet change. The next thing that I am going to look into is coconut oil. I've noticed that a lot of people are making the switch and I want to find out what the fuss is about! I'll update you with my findings. ;)
Happy holidays!
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