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Sunday, January 6, 2013

Sunday Herb Roasted Chicken


 
Sunday Herb Roasted Chicken

Yes, we love slow oven roasted chicken and I do it several ways and over 2013 you will see several ways to cook it. As for today it was a simple herb crusted whole chicken. Here are the ingredients that you will need.

1 - 4 to 5lb Organic hormone/antibiotic free chicken
1 - fresh poultry herb bunch (rosemary, thyme, sage)
2 TBSP of unsalted butter (melted in microwave for 35 seconds)
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp each granulated garlic and granulated onion

Chop herbs to give you about 2 Tbsp worth and add it to the melted butter. Add the granulated garlic and onion and salt to the melted butter and place in the freezer for 5 minutes. You should be left with a still saucy butter mix but almost gel consistancy.

Run the handle of a wooden spoon under the skin of the chicken to seperate the skin from the meat.


Then take the butter mixture and run underneathe the skin and over the skin. This will make a nice herb crust on the outside and the meat with absorb a lot of flavor from the mix as well. Salt the cavity well and truss the bird with kitchen string for even cooking. use an oven thermometer and place in between the thigh and breast.
 

 Preheat the oven to 450 degrees then place the bird in a roaster pan with a cut up large onion and 1 cup of chicken stock. I also took a part of the onion and and some stems of rosemary, thyme and sage and stuffed the cavity of the bird.

Roast the bird at 450 for 30 minutes and then reduce the heat to 350. Roast until the internal temp reaches 165 degrees for the thigh and about 175 for the breast. Pull the bird and let sit on the counter with a foil tent for 15 to 20 minutes. This will make the bird nice and juicy. Carve and enjoy!


I baked a sweet potato added a 1/2 TBSP unsalted butter and 1/2 tbsp of maple agave syrup a pinch of salt and pepper and mashed it up with no skin. We split it and had about 3 oz of mash each. Which is about a 1/2 cup. we also took 1 piece of bacon from breakfast chopped it up and added it as a garnish to the sweet potato. only 22 calories added.
Total calories for the dish with 5oz of chicken was only 370 calories, with a glass of red wine it was 492. added a small salad for another 150 and you have a great flavorful and filling meal which leaves room for a little snack later! We are using the left overs for white bean chicken chili for tomorrow.


Eating right doesn't have to be bland food or nasty frozen dinners. You can do this yourself and make wonderful flavorful dishes. Yes I use butter, cream, salt and plenty of fresh produce etc and you can have incredible tasting dishing that are restaurant worthy! Try it out you will like it.





Chef Dave's Table: Healthy start equipment

Chef Dave's Table: Healthy start equipment

Healthy start equipment

 First lets start with a chat about equipment to help you in your eating and buying habits for 2013! I purchased 2 pieces of equipment to help me in my diet and buying for groceries.  First was a digital ounce and pound scale.  It's great for measuring how much to put on a plate for a portion control and only cost less than $20.  Well worth the  cost.  Second was this $85 vacuum sealer so we can buy in bulk and/or freeze extra left overs for another day. I bought a $10 package of skinless chicken breast which yealed 6lbs of meat or 7 large breast pieces.  The second picture is a vacuumed packed chicken breasts and a frozen non vacuumed packed that was put in freezer bag and frozen for about a month.  Which would you rather eat.  The vacuumed packed will last 2yrs in the freezer if needed. 
 
I encourage you to make a small investment, these two items cost me just over a hundred bucks but well worth the savings in thrown away food.  When I cleaned out our freezer I threw away a good hundred bucks worth of steak, pork, chicken and seafood due to freezer burn.
 
The scale really helps with good portion control so you actually know what you put in your mouth. The only way to better health, losing weight is watching exactly how much you eat and portion control is part of it.  I also recommend a good calorie counting app that you can get on all most any smart phone!  My wife Kate and I use FitnessPal. Its great for not just counting calories but tracks weight, fitness workouts and gives you a calorie limit daily which will vary on the amount of weight you want to loose. Try it, once you get into a habit it works.
 

Saturday, January 5, 2013

A Healthy New Year!

Every year we all make new years resolutions to be come healthier, exercise, eat better and drink less! Not sure if I want to drink less since wine is good for the heart but I do agree with exercise and eating better.
You don't have to give up on flavor, starve yourself or eat celery all day to loose weight or stay fit.  It just takes a little will power to get through the day and a little planning!
I personally have gained about 30lbs over the last 2 1/2 years and I am comitting to get back in shape eat healthy while not giving up in flavor or the good feeling of being content after a meal.
So in the middle of opening a few more restaurants this year, working some long 15+ hour days I'm going to be posting some good tasty healthy recipes, drinks, smoothies and yes even some exercise information. While I'm no expert at all and neither does my body show it...yet...but I hope to get back to a little healthy state ! 
I hope you join me on this adventure whether you are in shape or not but just want to enjoy life with good tasting food and a better way of life!
This picture is a stuffed pork tenderloin I made for New Years day. The dish was under 500 calories, lean and didn't skimp on flavor so I will be posting recipes like this throughout the year plus great lunch, breakfasts and snacks too!