Modification is Key

Skillet Tomato Asparagus Chicken with Goat Cheese

This is best served with a side of whole grain pasta, or fluffy brown rice.  I always add a little olive oil or butter to my brown rice while it's cooking. 2 parts water to 1 part rice.  It usually takes about 45 min to prepare nice soft brown rice.  I love to add a little of good quality cheese to a meal as an accent, rather than to take a lower quality cheese and make a meal out of it.  Dairy products are one of those things to be used more lightly, and the higher quality cheeses are usually healthier too.  I can afford that once in a while!  Again, use meats and cheeses that are hormone and nitrate free if possible.
 
4-6 Strips of Turkey Bacon, or Pork Bacon, De-fatted
3 Cloves of Garlic, Minced
8 Chicken Tenderloins
1 Bundle of Asparagus, Woody Ends Removed
4 Roma Tomatoes, Thickly Sliced, then Halved
1Tbs. Fresh Lemon Juice
3 Tbs. Fresh Basil, Thinly Sliced
Redmond Real Salt and Ground Black Pepper, to Taste
1-2 oz. Soft Goat Cheese, Sliced

Over medium heat, in a large skillet, spread out the minced garlic in the bottom of the pan.  Layer the strips of bacon over the garlic.  Cook for about 2 minutes, then flip the bacon over.  Place the chicken tenders over the top of the bacon.  Allow the meat to cook for another 3-4 minutes, then flip the chicken over so the bacon ends up on top.  Make sure the bacon gets fully cooked.  Spread out the asparagus over the top of the chicken, Add the tomatoes over the  top of the asparagus.  Cover the skillet and cook for about 4 minutes.  If things start to stick to the pan, or brown too much, add a little water to steam the ingredients (rather than create carcinogens by overcooking.)  We do love the taste of "browning" meats, but it's really not the healthy way to cook our fats.  Next, add the basil, salt, and pepper, and a splash of olive oil.  It's great to add these healthy fats after the food has been removed from the heat.    The basil will wilt with the heat as you take the skillet off the stove to serve at the table.  Slice fresh goat cheese over the top, or serve the cheese as a side on individual plates.  Savor the flavors.

Modifications are Key~

Most of my recipes are simply adaptations of family favorites, or my own favorites, modified to accommodate nutritional needs.  There are just some foods that I simply can't live without!  Change just a few things, and many times, a meal evolves into something beautifully different.  Other times, it would seem a sin to change one of my mother's already amazingly delicious recipes, so I'll leave it like it is.  I'm not really looking to create totally new ideas.  There are plenty of recipes out there, and they just seem to be getting increasingly more complicated and expensive, or on the other hand, so simple and easy that they come out of a box, or a can.  I can thank my mother for having a garden, and cooking from scratch.  I honestly didn't even know what a "box cake" was until I got married!  I was blessed.  (And yet, I just bought a box cake as a back up for my son's birthday tomorrow just in case my cake from scratch doesn't turn out...)   So, with that said, you'll probably begin to notice certain ingredients I love to use frequently in the place of others.  I don't need to keep that a secret, because it's useful information. If you'll refer back to my modified food pyramid, (found in my June 11th 2012 blog post,) you will see what foods I'm trying to have less of, and which foods I'm trying to get more of.  My recipes are a collection of the modifications I have wanted to write down so that I don't forget the changes I made.  I look forward to having these as a personal future reference, but somehow I think there will always be something new!

Modification Guide      
Just as we use modifications during yoga practice to cater to our individual needs, we can modify the foods we consume as well.  The idea is simple.  Real food is always better than fake food.  Variety is what will not only give you more nutrition, but you will avoid food allergies, and your taste buds will never get bored!