{Healthy} Chicken Piccata with Artichokes and Mushrooms

Chicken Piccata is an absolute favorite of mine!  Lemony sauce and crispy chicken;  just darn good! Part of what it makes traditional piccata so good, however, is that the chicken is heavily breaded and then fried to a golden brown in vegetable oil (blech).  Because it's just not that great of an idea to fry food in oil, I decided to give this dish a healthy makeover and it has become a staple dish to serve to company or any occasion. In fact, it's strange that I have gone so long without blogging the recipe. 

I've changed the dish by adding artichokes and mushrooms as they are fantastic for digestion and amp up the nutrition. Capers are a delicious add too.  I am pretty positive you'll love this winner winner of a chicken dinner and add it to your staple list too. 

Healthy Chicken Piccata

Serves 4

2 split (1 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat and sliced in ½ in strips (about 20 oz)

1 can whole artichokes in brine, quartered + 2 T brine (You are more than welcome to steam fresh artichokes, but they are not super fresh this time of year, and can be hit or miss, so I use canned).

4 oz white or portobello mushrooms, sliced thinly

2 cloves garlic, minced

Juice of ½ lemon (2-4 T)

2 T chopped parsley

2 T organic butter, separated

1/2T olive oil

Pepper

In a large skillet, heat 1 T butter and the olive oil on medium. When butter just starts to sizzle, toss in chicken & brown for about 5 min/side. Add garlic, mushroom and cook another 5 minutes, until mushrooms soften. Add the whole can of quartered artichokes, 2 T brine, 2T lemon juice, 1 T butter. Stir well and simmer for about 10-15 min. Sprinkle in parsley and more lemon juice if you like it lemony and stir.

Serve hot and with some other green veggies (broccoli today).  I love to serve this dish over smashed (skin-on) redskin potatoes, like in the picture.  The resistant starch in the potato skins is a great prebiotic source, making this a great digestive dish, with the artichokes and fiber.  It's also SUPER delicious with rice or wheat pasta  I like to cook the pasta separately, then drain and throw right into the chicken & sauce, adding another drizzle of olive oil as I toss.

Nutrition Facts:

251 Calories

34 g protein

9 g fat

7 g carbs

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Lemony Crushed Lentil Soup

 ALMOST as good as La Shish ;)


Lemony Crushed Lentil Soup {VEGAN}

2 c red lentils
1 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp coriander
pinch Cayenne pepper (to taste)
1 handful fresh cilantro (chopped) and more to garnish
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp black pepper
Juice of 1.5 lemon (more to garnish)
10 c water (sub and/or mix with veggie or chicken stock if you'd like)

**Disclaimer: this soup is very spicy, just how I like it. If you aren't the biggest fan of heat, reduce the coriander and black pepper by half to start and see how you like it. :)

Dice your onions and garlic.  Heat a large soup pot over medium and add olive oil. Sautee garlic and onions until soft & smelling delicious.  Stir in the lentils (make sure to wash them in a strainer) and pour in about 10 cups of water.  You may need more depending on the consistency you like (I happen to like mine thick).  Get the lentils and onions up to a boil for about 20 min. Reduce heat to medium low and stir in the rest of the ingredients except lemon juice. Simmer for a few minutes and then either use an immersion blender or puree in a blender to blend until smooth.  Add more water if needed.  Pour back into pot and stir in lemon.  Add more salt, pepper and/or spices to taste. Let simmer for an additional 10 minutes.  Serve hot and garnish with lemon and cilantro.  Serve with a crusty baguette or if you're carb-conscious, a side of greens! YUM.

Sidenote: ARGH this soup is so easy. This is the kind of soup that makes me want to scream when people say they can't afford to eat healthy foods.  YES YOU CAN! You can feed a whole family with this soup for a couple of dollars. Beans & greens...cheap as can be!  Anyway, enjoy!