Sometimes you are just hungry and need to eat lots of food. You know what I mean... that gnawing, angry beast in the pit of your stomach making you drool over anything and everything you just can't have? Yeah, that kind of hungry. So, you ask, what happens to a primal cave-couple like us when that intense hunger strikes? To the salad mobile!
Now don't stop reading, be reasonable. Salads CAN be filling. To be honest I never thought they were either until I stumbled across one magical ingredient; chicken. Or to be more exact, chicken thighs!
Again, keep reading. For the primal person (or really anyone) chicken thighs are much healthier than you think. We have been taught they aren't, that if you eat meats high in fat it doesn't get used and instead gets stored as, well, fat. There is truth to this if you are eating lots of inefficient-in-creating-energy but easy-to-access carbohydrates such as rice, bread, etc. But when you are on the primal diet (or active and not eating loads of crap), your body instead learns how to break apart fats for the same energy-creating purposes that carbs usually serve. Plus it's much more efficient and does not spike your blood sugar. I could go on, but long story short, thighs are fine, and as Eric and I have discovered so much better than breasts (we are talking about chickens here, get your mind out of the gutter!)
The first time we used thighs was after a long debacle at the grocery store. As I mentioned before I had always leaned towards the primal lifestyle without knowing it. The major different for me was my training. By training I mean years of being told that high fat content in meats was bad. Eric wanted bacon. I wanted turkey bacon. Eric wanted thighs. I wanted breasts (you heard it here first). Finally I gave in. The chicken thighs came home, got chopped into itty bitty little pieces, cooked, and devoured very very quickly. It was melt in your mouth. It was heaven. The bacon was too, but more on that later.
So, without further ado... the one and only primal salad!
Primal Salad
Sidenote: The best part of this meal is that it is quick.
- 4-5 slices cut into bits
- 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (2 inch pieces, salt and pepper)
- 1 avocado – peeled, pitted and cut into 1-inch chunks
- salad mix of your choice (we like baby spinach and arugula)
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts (again, you choose)
- 1/4 cup Trader Joe's goat cheese crumbles
In a pan over medium heat, cook the bacon “bits” until crisp. Remove and set aside, but save the bacon grease in the pan. Next, add the chopped and seasoned chicken thighs to the pan and sauté in the bacon grease (just do it, my next blog is all about this bacon crazyness). Cook the chicken and turn so that every side is browned.
When done, let cool for 5 minutes while you toss the salad mix, avocado, cheese, and bacon together. Drizzle the dressing your choice. Ours is 1 part balsamic vinegar, 2 parts olive oil, and a dash of mustard.
Now, everyone likes different things in their salads, and who am I to judge? Eric likes raw chopped red pepper, myself I prefer everything straight up without a lot of veggie mess. But I love cheese (yea yea I know), nuts (no jokes), and avocados... I guess that's one of the great things about salads, everyone can have what they want with minimal prep! I am giving you the basics here, the rest is up to you... I trust you, as long as you don't throw bread on the top. Maybe try an almond biscuit instead :)
modified from http://www.marksdailyapple.com
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