Chicken Kale Quinoa Bowl
Not only will this contain a recipe, it’ll have tips and tricks for cooking in general. If you want the quick and dirty version, you can scroll to the bottom.
This is a great recipe because there are so many combinations you can create. You can add avocado, lemon juice & parmesan cheese for whichever macro you’re trying to fulfill.
Let's start with something basic, cooking chicken. If you’re cooking chicken for your meal prep, the grill is a great option. Cooking at higher temperatures sears in the juices of your chicken, allowing the chicken to be reheated later without drying out. My favorite way to cook chicken is in the oven. It has taken me tries and tries to perfect it, but here is my tip : These big juicy breasts, so big and juicy you almost want to do a boudoir shoot with them. The problem is, you can’t cook these all together at the same time because they’ll cook unevenly.
Here's what I suggest - cut the breasts in half, place them on a cookie sheet, and bake at 400ºF for 20 minutes. Once the timer goes off, slice one open to make sure it's cooked all the way through. If you can easily cut the breast and the breast is soft, you’ve done it! Be sure to only cut into one, let the others ‘rest’ for 15 minutes before you cut them up. That’ll help maintain the juiciness if and or when you reheat later.
While the boobies are cooking, throw your quinoa in the instant pot, you can cook quinoa as fast as 5 mins if it's something you have. If you have a rice cooker, put it to use. Cooking quinoa is similar to cooking rice, for every 1 cup of dry quinoa, add 2 cups of water. I like to eat quinoa quite often, so I cooked 2 cups of dry quinoa which yield 6 cups cooked. If you’re using the instant pot, use the manual mode and set the timer for 5 minutes. If you’re using a rice cooker, set a timer for 30 minutes and be sure to check throughout. You’ll know the quinoa is done when it’s fluffy, soft, and it has taken on a yellowish hue, kinda like rice without the yellow.
Wash your kale. When picking out your kale, make sure it isn’t wilting. If it’s already wilting that means it’s already on its way out. I will often buy in bulk and I’ll cut it up into small pieces, put it in a gallon sized bag and use throughout the week. When trying to maintain freshness with any bagged leafy greens, add a paper towel to soak up moisture.
You can use any dressing as long as it fits in your macros. Brianna’s is my favorite when it comes to caesar and balsamic dressing. Their caesar dressing is made with asiago cheese, rather than most caesars that are made with anchovies. I personally don’t like the taste of eating out of a pond.
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Chicken Kale Quinoa Bowl
1 Cup Quinoa cooked
4 oz Chicken breast
1 Cup Kale
¼ Cup Crumbled Feta
1 tbsp Balsamic dressing
Preheat oven to 400ºF, cut chicken breasts in half, lengthwise. Cook chicken for 20 mins.
Cook quinoa in the instant pot (5 mins) or rice cooker (30 mins), by adding 1 cup dry quinoa to yield 3 cups cooked quinoa and a ratio of 1:2 of quinoa to water.
Assemble quinoa, chicken breast (after resting for 15 mins), kale, crumbled feta and balsamic dressing.
Macros
Carbs : 50 grams
Protein : 42 grams
Fat : 20
