Healthy Changes Day 1, Part 2: Hummus Crusted Chicken

Day 1 Overview:
Weight:  217 lbs
Exercise: 2.5 mile walk & 30 min of stretching & Wii.
Recipe:  Hummus Crusted Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon
 

So far, so good!  Two delicious new recipes added to our favorites file and I only missed cheese and pasta a little bit.  For breakfast, I had an apple and some tea before going on a walk.  Thanks to the tea I had to cut the walk short - I had already passed the bathroom in the park and was closer to home.  I love tea but it doesn't always love me back and often kicks me in the bladder.  Coffee never did that to me, but alas I am cutting out coffee on this plan.  Lesson learned - I will only have water to drink until I get back from my walk each day.

Hummus Ingredients

The Clean Program that I'm doing has a bunch of recipes, but I know there are a handful that Henry won't eat (containing mushrooms, beets, or other, more strange, ingredients) and many that I'm leery of as well.  So I rifled through the stack and pulled out two that sounded really good so that he would eat both meals with me since he wasn't working today.  I made hummus for the first time from scratch and it was really good!  I've often wondered why a container of hummus was $5.00 and now I know it isn't about what is in it, but more about the headache of getting a consistent texture.  My blender is going to be getting quite a workout between the hummus and the smoothies on this program.  The only change to the hummus recipe was that I didn't have tahini, so I put in some sesame oil and a few sesame seeds instead.  Lunch was such a hit that Henry took the leftovers for his meal at work on Saturday, too.  We were both pleasantly surprised by this dish and are optimistic about the meals to come.  I made the Fish Tacos for dinner but will put them on tomorrow's post since I'm eating those leftovers then.  Also a really excellent meal!

Served on top of mixed baby greens with an olive oil and balsamic vinegar drizzle.

Hummus Crusted Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon
2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts (local and free-range)
2 lemons, (1 sliced into rounds and 1 juiced)
1/2 cup hummus (you can buy it or use the quick and delicious recipe below)
4 fresh rosemary sprigs or 2 tablespoons dried
Generous drizzle of balsamic vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Preheat to 450
Place the chicken breasts in a small roasting pan, covering all exposed meat with the hummus (use a spoon or your hands, just make sure it’s layered quite thick, about 1/4”).
Scrunch each lemon half in your hand and then loosely arrange them over the chicken with the rosemary sprigs, broken into smaller pieces, so the flavor comes out more.
Generously drizzle the entire mix with lemon juice and then a quick drizzle of balsamic vinegar.
Bake until the hummus is golden brown and the meat is juicy and tender (checking with a knife to make sure it’s cooked all the way through), about 30 minutes.
Finish with another quick drizzle of lemon juice and an optional pinch of sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Make the hummus in a food processor by blending the following ingredients:
1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
2 cloves garlic, peeled
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons tahini
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Serves 2
Recipe from the Clean Program website recipes pdf file: http://www.cleanprogram.com/files/goop-recipes.pdf