Tag Archives: herbs

Rolled Chicken Breast

June 19, 2015 holisticwellnessforlife Leave a comment

A delicious herb and nut filling compliments the tenderness of the chicken breast to form the base of the meal. Served hot or cold, each rolled chicken breast serves three people if you have a portion as in the pictures below which highlights the importance of balancing the meal out with an abundance of healthy raw and cooked vegetables.

2015-06-20 08.05.09 — Serve cold with salad or vegetables.

2015-06-20 08.16.08 — Served hot out of the pan with honey and sesame pumpkin, steamed brussel sprouts and baked swede chips.

You can use as many chicken breasts as you like but l buy the free-range breasts in a pack of two. Give them a good wash with filtered water and pat dry.

2014-09-09 16.44.16 — Place the chicken breast in between two pieces of cling wrap. Put a tea towel under the chopping board in preparation for the flattening of the chicken as this will make the noise less and stop the board moving on the bench.

2014-09-09 16.46.51 — Flatten the chicken so that it is a nice shape by gently pounding it with a wooden rolling pin.

Make the filling by combining all of the ingredients in a food processor, or alternatively cut and chop them by hand and mix in a bowl. Change any of the ingredients if you don’t like the flavour combination or add in some more spices. The ingredients below don’t have to be exact as long as there are a good mix of flavours.

Ingredients for the filling:

4 brussel sprouts

2 spring onion green tops

1/2 cup raw activated walnuts

1/4 cup raw activated pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Pink rock salt and ground black pepper

1 tablespoon organic coconut oil

1/2 cup fresh parsley and mint (or any other herbs you have)

A few leaves of silverbeet (use spinach, kale or bok choy as an alternative)

2014-09-09 16.39.53 — A food processor is convenient here but not essential.

Spread the filling on top of the chicken breasts.

2014-06-14 18.45.43 — The free range chicken breasts flattened and topped with the filling.

2014-09-09 16.53.41 — Roll the breast around the filling

Use kitchen string to gently hold the breast in place. Tie the string at each end and push in any filling that has come out. Gently lift onto a lined baking tray and drizzle with your favourite oil, pink rock salt and black pepper.

2014-06-14 18.51.38 — The rolled and tied chicken breast drizzled with extra virgin olive oil, pink rock salt and black pepper.

Cover with foil and place in the oven. Cook until the chicken is golden and then take the foil off and let it brown or place under the grill ensuring it doesn’t dry out.

Another option is to pan fry the rolled chicken which will give a more golden appearance.

2014-09-09 18.24.52 — Cook on a very low heat with the lid on.

2014-09-09 18.24.46 — Both the oven and fry pan methods work well.

Carefully cut the string along the length of the chicken and remove. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before serving.

2015-06-20 08.04.13 — Golden and delicious

There are so many fillings that would be delicious with this recipe. I am going to try a pumpkin or sweet potato filling next, but the combinations are really endless.

2014-09-09 18.48.28 — Have one for dinner and the second one cold the next day. A great way to add variety to the same dish and the flavours are quite different between the warm and cold versions.

2015-06-12 19.17.47 — If rolling the chicken is a challenge just slice the breast down the middle and stuff with the filling. This filling in this meal was just silverbeet, spring onion green tops, coconut oil, walnuts and seasoning.

If you have enjoyed this post please share it with a friend. I also post my recipes and wellness tips daily on Instagram at holistic_paleo and Facebook at Holistic Wellness For Life or Primal Living Melbourne

Wellness

Spicy Chicken and Sweet Potato Casserole

April 10, 2014 holisticwellnessforlife Leave a comment

A very warming and tasty casserole which will stimulate your taste buds.

I surprised myself by making such a spicy dish. I was originally going to make apricot chicken but the apricots have vanished from the shops so l had to make some adjustments to my thinking. I also didn’t have time to use the hot pot so just used a saucepan on the stove top. The result was really warm with the mix of spices just right. Of course, spiciness is very personal so feel free to add more or less of the spices depending on your tastes. I served this casserole with some lovely brown rice that l put in a ramekin to get the nice shape. The kids think it is funny when l serve the rice this way rather than just spooning it on to the plate.

Ingredients:

A pack of free range or organic chicken thighs (approximately 6) chopped into small pieces

1 medium sweet potato peeled and diced

1 tablespoon of Millet flour (or any other flour you like)

1 tablespoon organic tomato paste

Herbs- I used chives, parsley and mint because that is what l had in the garden. Just a small amount of each.

Spices- 1/2 teaspoon curry powder and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, a generous 1/4 teaspoon each of ginger, cumin, turmeric and a pinch of paprika

Juice of half a lemon

1 tablespoon black chia seeds

Sea salt and ground black pepper to season

1.5 cups approximately of stock or filtered water. Use your judgement here. Add a cup and see if you think it needs more. The chia seeds will soak up some of the water but you don’t want it to be too runny.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

In to a saucepan place some Olive Oil, the diced chicken, sweet potato and flour. Place on the heat and lightly brown. Give it a good mix as it is cooking so the flour coats all of the surfaces. Now add the tomato paste and let it cook for a minute. Add all of the spices, lemon juice and smell the aroma. Mix well. Add the stock, herbs, chia seeds, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil then let simmer for several hours. Mine simmered for around 6 hours and this was a good amount of time for the flavours to really develop. Serve with steamed vegetables or rice. You can freeze the left overs or take it to work for lunch the next day.

If you have enjoyed this post please share it with a friend. I am also on Facebook at Holistic Wellness For Life and Twitter at Holistic Wellness@carolynlgray. Thanks Carolyn

Wellness

Walnut and herb bread

February 4, 2014 holisticwellnessforlife 1 Comment

The aroma of this delicious bread will have you coming back for more. This is a lovely addition to your meal with its light texture and warming taste of fresh herbs. I actually saw the recipe on fastpaleo.com, although they called it a different name, and thought it looked so delicious that l made it the same day to accompany dinner. It was really easy and quick to make but took longer in the oven than was recommended in the original recipe. I was surprised at the very positive reaction from my husband and children when they tasted this bread and will definately be making it again.

Grease (with organic coconut oil) and line a glass loaf dish (or similar).

Ingredients:

2 cups of activated walnuts (or raw walnuts) -blend these in the food processor until finely chopped.

2 tablespoons coconut flour

2 tablespoons almond meal

2 tablespoons fresh Rosemary and Thyme finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda ( I used Bob’s Aluminium free)

5 free range eggs

1/4 cup coconut oil (if solid melt then let cool, but in warmer climates use at room temperature)

1 tablespoon organic apple cider vinegar (Bragg brand is very good)

Mix together the dry ingredients. In a seperate bowl whisk the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into the baking dish and smooth the top until the mix is level. Place into a pre-heated oven 160 degrees celsius for around 40 minutes or until golden and firmish to touch. Remove from the oven and cut around the edges with a knife to separate the bread from the baking dish. Turn onto a cooling rack. I was able to slice this bread straight away while warm and a quick taste test confirmed how delicious it is. The smell in your kitchen while this dish is cooking will be divine.

If you have enjoyed this post please share it with your friends. Thank you. Carolyn

Recipes, Wellness

Zingy tomato salad

January 10, 2014 holisticwellnessforlife 2 Comments

This is a very simple but tasty salad that is a wonderful side dish to a meal. I have had it for lunch the last two days with my home made seed bread and eggs, and it was really wonderful. I used baby Roma tomatoes that had been grown on the vine and they were so delicious and sweet. My own tomatoes are coming along nicely but need a few more weeks of the hot Australian sunshine to be ready to pick.

Place the following ingredients in a nice bowl and mix:

8 small truss baby Roma tomatoes (or a smaller quantity of larger ones) diced

1 Lebanese cucumber diced (wash well and leave the skin on)

2 spring onions. I only use the green tops which l chopped finely

The juice of a small lemon

Some herbs chopped up. I had mint and basil in the garden and the taste was nice. If l had some flat leaf parsley l would have put that in also.

Sea salt and ground black pepper to taste.

Cover with some cling wrap and store in the fridge until required.

Holistic Wellness for Life