What to Eat? How about Mediterranean!

I am having this horrible dilemma. What the hell to eat?!! Trying to eat healthy is quite difficult. And what is it with this portion control thing anyway. You can only have 5 portions of protein and 3 portions of vegetables and 2 portions of this and 0 portions of that....sheesh. Yes I said sheesh. It may sound very easy but it isn't. At breakfast you had an egg (white hopefully) and bacon on wheat toast, right? Turns out you just had two portions of protein and its only breakfast people, we still have lunch and dinner to go..smh. Is anyone else out  there having this problem or is it only me?

I can't keep that up and I really didn't even start in the first place. So yesterday I decided to eat what the hell I wanted to eat. For breakfast of course I had coffee and eggs, go figure; lunch was pan roasted bacon wrapped chicken breast and a Mediterranean salad

Breakfast:

Poached Eggs w/Roasted Red Pepper Hummus on whole wheat English Muffin

(Recipe to follow)

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

2 cans chick peas (Garbanzos), rinsed and drained

1 tbsp of tahini (sesame paste)

1/4 cup of roasted red peppers, fresh or packed in oil

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

4 med cloves of garlic, grated or finely minced

2 tbsp of water

1 tsp lemon zest

2 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed

1 tsp salt

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

Put all the ingredients, except the water and oil, in a food processor and process until smooth, drizzle in the water and oil. Scrape down sides of bowl and pulse a few more times, should be a spreadable consistency.

Poach your eggs by boiling water in a pan, drop the heat to barely a simmer and add a tsp of vinegar and a pinch of salt to the water. Crack your eggs one a time into a small ramekin (those Glad disposable rounds work well) slowly lower the container's rim into the water and slide the egg in, there should be very little separation of the white from the yolk. Cook eggs until your desired doneness, but I suggest you leave the yolk soft it works great with the hummus and toasted muffin....amazing!!

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Now for lunch....

Mediterranean Salad with Pan roasted Bacon wrapped Chicken Breast



Salad:

1 Roma tomato (plum tomato)

3 cups of Baby arugula mixed greens, loosely packed

1 tbsp chopped cilantro (coriander leaves)

1 tbsp chopped Italian parsley (flat leaf)

3 tbsp red wine vinegar ( I used Colavita, best I could get in my neighborhood)

1/4 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (also Colavita, artisan cold first pressed)

1 tbsp sliced Manzanilla olives (Spanish olives, they have the pimento stuffed inside)

1 clove of garlic, finely minced (use a microplane grater if you can)

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper

In a large mixing bowl add all your ingredients, except the tomatoes, greens, and herbs, whisk well. Add tomatoes and greens and toss with your clean hands, gently.  Plate up really pretty, slice up your chicken, sprinkle with a tiny bit of sea salt if you have it, and enjoy pure awesomeness (chicken recipe to follow).

Chicken:

 2 strips of thickly sliced bacon

1 chicken breast, halved

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Season your chicken generously with salt and pepper and coat with olive oil, let marinate for at least 30 min. remove from fridge and let stand 10 min, then wrap in bacon. Heat pan on high at least 3-5 min., until your pan is searing hot. Add about 1tbsp of oil to coat the bottom then add chicken to pan and sear on both sides at least 2 min. Pop pan into hot oven and cook for 15 minutes until breast is just done. Do not overcook; dry chicken breast is not awesome, at all. Remember you heated the pan and seared the breast, it was not a cold piece of chicken you put into the oven, and it will cook fairly quickly.