Earth Day, Randomness, & Chicken Thighs

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Good evening, friends! Is anyone else still recovering from Marathon Monday? And no, I'm not referring to those who should actually be recovering. I'm talking about us by-standers/cheerleaders... woof. AM workouts have been no joke for the last two days. 

Moving on, it's Earth Day! Even if you missed out on giving back to Mother Nature today, it's not too late to do something for our planet. I'm excited because my little spinach and kale seedlings started to sprout this week. If you're interested in growing a little herb garden this year... check out these past posts (here, here, and here) about my "City Gardens". There's nothing better (and easier/cheaper) than fresh herbs from the garden!

Next, random but, any local people signed up for some 6k-9k races in the nearish future? I have the running bug (like I do every Spring), however, this year I'm not running the Run to Remember Half Marathon like I usually do so I'm itching to run another fun race. I'd love to run Falmouth but, that's not until August. Please share!

Tonight, I made grilled chicken thighs with roasted asparagus and spiralized sweet potato 'chips'. The real star of the meal, however, was the sauce. The other day I mentioned that I made a spicy mayo to go with fish tacos. I made the same sauce tonight except I reduced the mayo portion and increased the sriracha/dijon portion. It was a very nice compliment to the chicken thighs that were marinated in turmeric, coriander, and paprika.

Sweets: Tossed in evoo, garlic powder, salt, and rosemary and baked at 410 for 15
Asparagus: Tossed in evoo, salt, crushed red pepper and baked at 410 for 10
Thighs: Marinated quickly in tbs paprika and turmeric and 1/2 tbs for coriander and grilled on cast iron pan (covered and uncovered) until cooked through.
Sauce: Tbs organic mayo, 1.5 Tbs sriracha, Tbs Dijon - mix and adjust as needed

Yum, Yum, Yum! Hope you're all having a fiiinnee week! xo

QUESTIONS:
Do you plant a garden?
What are your favorite herbs?
Are you running any races in the next month or so?
Chicken thighs or chicken breasts?

Chicken Thighs & Summer Salad

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How was everyone's 4th of July weekend!? Mine was fantastic - sooo relaxing and fun. Exactly what I wanted. The rain didn't bother me one bit. Plus, I've been nursing this dang neck injury and have been fighting a mild cold so keeping it mellow was perfect! We did everything from go out here in Boston to beach to pool. Lots of variety and fun!

Moving on to tonight's meal.... I often find myself getting sick of chicken... pretty sure I've mentioned this before.  Boring white chicken breast. I can't remember the last time I cooked any other part of the chicken so today at Whole Foods, I picked up some chicken thighs. Dark meat got a bad rap back when 'fat free' food came into style so I'm making a decision to add it back into my diet since its fat is what makes it healthy. It has more nutrients than its white counterpart - it is higher in iron, zinc and selenium, as well as vitamins A, K and the B's — B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin) B6, B9 (folate) and B12 (cobalamin). You might think it has a lot more calories than white meat, but, in actuality, it only has a few more. There are about 46 calories for an average sized breast and about 50 calories for an average thigh. Not too shabby. Plus, as you add it back into your diet - you'll remember what you've been missing all these years - FLAVOR!

For the marinade I mixed the following ingredients:

-4 organic chicken thighs
-quarter cup of extra virgin o/o
-couple tablespoons of rice vinegar
-tablespoon of organic low sodium soy sauce
-a few pieces of chopped Italian flat leaf parsley from my garden
-tablespoon or so of whole grain mustard
-1 clove of garlic
-tsp or so of salt

Put the chicken on a grill pan (or grill) over medium heat and flip them when they are cooked halfway through. Don't play with them or press them or move them (that goes for all meat grilling ok?!)

While the chicken is grilling, chop the following:

-organic heirloom tomato
-avocado
-smoosh up a couple pieces of buffalo mozzarella
-a few basil leaves
- and throw some zucchini on the grill then take it off and add it to the salad
- drizzle w/ extra virgin and salt

Once the chicken is cooked through and has rested for a few minutes - plate it all and serve! Easy peasy!

A nice, light, summer meal idea for these hot days when the oven is too hot to put on! I really enjoyed this tonight. Chicken thighs have soooo much more flavor than the breast so I didn't even make a dipping sauce - didn't need it! Enjoy and have an awesome week! xo