edible sound bites

When I'm meal planning for the week ahead I always try to incorporate as much variety as I can. Chicken is usually on the menu, vegetables are always front and centre, and sometimes we take a break from meat altogether... meatless Mondays anyone?

Food can get boring pretty easily with repetition, especially when lean chicken breast is a mainstay in our house. Unless you know how to spice things up from time to time. Know what I mean?

Enter the world of spices & herbs and a little out of the box thinking. 

That's where this recipe for healthy faux-fried/ chicken comes in. If you recall that lunch salad I made a while ago topped with baked chicken; this is the recipe for the chicken.

Crisped to perfection in the oven using homemade whole grain breadcrumbs and fresh grated Parmesan cheese. A hint of fresh thyme also adds flavour that's reminiscent of Spring.

My go to lunch is almost always a leafy green salad with protein (chicken, hard-boiled egg, lean pork tenderloin, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, nuts etc.). When it comes to salad dressing I will either make my own or opt for lemon juice or balsamic vinegar (sometimes with a bit of olive oil). I've recently discovered how amazing fresh minced ginger root is added to my salads. It practically acts like a salad dressing. It adds a nice zing and it's super good for you too.

The leftovers are really good too. So far I've tried it in my lunch salads and in a wrap all nice and toasty with spinach, mustard, leaf lettuce, and shredded carrots.

Crispy Baked Chicken (serves 4)

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Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breast halves
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1 tsp Sriracha
• 1 cup whole grain bread crumbs *(I like to make my own)* See Note
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
• a pinch of smoked paprika (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375*F. Place an ovenproof wire-rack on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, and Sriracha. In a separate medium sized mixing bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, thyme, cheese, and paprika.
3. Dip each piece of chicken in egg mixture, shake off excess liquid, then roll in breadcrumb mixture to coat. Arrange on prepared pan/ wire rack.
4. Bake without turning for 50 minutes to 1 hour until internal temperature registers 180*F on an instant read thermometer.

 *Note* 

To make your own breadcrumbs, take a few slices of day old whole grain bread and chop into small (1 inch) cubes. Place them on a baking sheet in the oven on 350*F for 5-10 minutes or until they are nice and toasty. Watch they don't burn! Transfer them to your food processor and give them a quick whir until they resemble breadcrumbs. You can give them a drizzle of olive oil before toasting, but it isn't necessary. 

Chocolate!!!

Sorry for yelling but these are one of the most moist fudgy style brownies you'll ever make. Please do me one really big favour and make these for dessert this weekend. I promise, fingers crossed, you will not be disappointed.

Every kitchen repertoire needs to have a solid recipe for scratch brownies and this is mine. You know those special treat nights when you've just got to have something chocolatey for dessert? One of these will certainly do the trick. And don't forget the vanilla bean ice cream. Mmm, Brownie a la mode.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Until recently I've only ever made these delights with none other than all-purpose flour. Albeit unbleached but still refined and white. Yes it has it's place in the kitchen for certain occasional purposes, but I wanted to see if I could make a change for a slightly healthier perspective. Hey a brownie is a brownie and it's still dessert. Anyway, taking a leap of faith that it would work, I swapped the super refined all-purpose flour out for one of my favourites, whole grain red fife. Locally from Peterborough Ontario, it's Canada's oldest wheat discovered by David Fife. It's quite nutritious too.

Time for a mini history lesson!

When I was younger we got to visit my family often in Peterborough since my dad grew up there. There was this one time when we took a trip to the historic Lang Grist Mill; the site where David Fife first started grinding red fife wheat into flour. The mill is part of the Lang Pioneer Village from the early 1800's that's still grinding red fife wheat into flour to this day.

I'm going to have to get back here one of these days.

A rich decadent chocolate treat that is quick and easy to get in the oven in no time flat. The best part is I couldn't even tell that I used red fife flour instead of all-purpose. 

Your family will go crazy for these.

Best Ever Chocolate Brownies (makes 16, 2-inch squares)

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Ingredients:

• 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
• 1/4 cup salted butter, softened
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 tsp pure vanilla
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup red fife flour (you may also use all-purpose if you prefer it or can't find red fife)
• 1 tsp baking powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease and flour an 8x8 inch baking pan.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter using a bain marie (place the chocolate + butter in a heat-proof bowl and place over a snug fitting saucepan of simmering water, but don't let the bowl touch the water). Stir consistently until melted. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
3. Add the brown sugar and vanilla to the chocolate mix and stir to combine. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
4. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder, add to the chocolate batter, and mix well.
5. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the center is almost firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Let cool in the pan. Cut and serve.

**Note** To bring your eggs to room temperature just gently place them in a bowl and cover with hot tap water. Let them sit in the water for 2 minutes and remove.

Good morning everyone!

TGIF!!! Don't you just love that feeling when the weekend is right around the corner? I do.

I start thinking about those fabulous lazy mornings that I don't have to wake up early. I love mornings when I don't have to rush around. You also have more time to make things like this...

A warm slice of banana bread is a great way to change up your breakfast routine. The same old thing day-in and day-out gets dreary after awhile. Sort of like the weather. I saw a glimpse of sunshine today, the first in a week and that was between the persistent snow squalls. If you're Canadian then you know what I'm talking about. One minute the sun is shining brightly and the next thing you know there's a blizzard outside your window. Yeesh! It doesn't make for a fun drive, but does make for some pretty sweet snowboarding conditions, which is what I really wish I could be doing this weekend.

I have to say as much as I love winter and being Canadian, I still love warm temperatures more. It's only January and I think I'm already in need of a break from this weather. So I'm glad to say that instead of letting it drive me to drink..eek!.. it drove me to the kitchen.

This is a reasonably healthy quick bread that I slightly adapted from the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook. It's got heart healthy flaxseed (nearly a whole cup), and only half a cup of sucanat, which is an unrefined dark brown sugar that retains it's molasses content and is basically pure dried sugar cane juice. It's also sourced from Costa Rica quite possibly one of my favourite places in the world right now. Le sigh.

It's also partly sweetend with the help of apple butter and is full of fibre.

Spread some pure Canadian maple butter on a slice for your breakfast, make a fresh pot of tea or coffee, sit back and watch the snow fly because it ain't going nowhere to soon.

Banana Breakfast Bread (makes 1 loaf)

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 medium-sized bananas)
• 1/2 cup sucanat or other unrefined sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup apple butter
• 3 egg whites
• 1 whole egg
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour or red fife flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.
2. Grease a loaf pan and if desired line with parchment paper so that it hangs over the two long sides.
3. In a large bowl, combine banana, sucanat, vanilla, and apple butter. Add eggs one at a time and beat together until smooth.
4. In a separate large bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda and powder, ground flaxseed, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sea salt.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and fold together with a spatula until completely incorporated.
6. Pour batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick or knife inserted into middle of the bread comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

One thing is for sure: breakfast will not stand to be dull and dreary.