Paleo Coconut Chicken with Spiralized Sweet Potatoes and Roasted Veggies
Monday's Menu:
Helloooo coconut! I used to hate the texture of coconut. You could not have paid me to eat it. It wasn't until about four years ago when I tried a recipe to make pancakes with no flour, using bananas and shredded coconut that drew me in. This changed my perception of it as well as my texture aversion. If this applies to you, give it a shot. You might change your mind!
I have to admit that when experimenting in the kitchen I am not always successful. I usually like to try new recipes and tweak them as I prepare them. It's normally safer for everyone that way. It becomes a version of how I would prepare something, only with inflated gutter bumpers keeping me moving down the alley like how bowling alleys set up bumpers for kids. My go to phrase is, "If it's terrible that's fine. We'll go get a burger (or order pizza)." Well, this past week I shocked myself. I totally winged it throwing this together for myself and ding ding ding! We have a winner! The best part is that not only is it simple, but that it was Paleo and Whole 30 approved.
Here's the easy and quick recipe for you to use as your base. Feel free to tweak it to accommodate your taste.
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Preheat the oven to 350 F to let it warm up. You'll want to have your chicken breast close to room temperature, but in all honesty I am not very good about doing this.
Roasted Vegetables: Starting with these as they need to roast 35-45 minutes depending on your oven and preference for how charred they can get. I like my roasted veggies a bit charred so I tend to cook them a little longer. Wash your vegetables and pat them dry. For this dinner I used what I had on hand: baby carrots, broccoli, and purple onions. You can toss them in olive oil or coconut oil if you'd like. I roast them oil free. Place them on a greased, foil lined baking sheet and let them roast away while you prepare the next two items. I season or salt them after they're out of the oven. For this dish I only used pink Himalayan salt.
Spiralized sweet potatoes: The Spiralizer is where it's at. I promise you. If you do not have one yet and love vegetables or need to find a way to incorporate more vegetables into your diet with less complex carbs, this is your ANSWER. Wash and peel your sweet potato. Cut off the ends and place it onto the Spiralizer. I used Blade B from my 3-blade Spiralizer. If you have the newer 4-blade or 5-blade ones, lucky duck! I can't bring myself to upgrade...YET. Spiralize your sweet potato with all of the awe and wander that I get watching the vegetable curl into curly fries/noodle shapes and think to yourself, "WHO thought of this genius idea?" Happens to me every time. I poured about 1 tbs of olive oil into my hands and hand tossed the sweet potatoes to coat them. I then added pink Himalayan salt and a dash of paprika. Place onto a 2nd foil lined baking sheet and wait...
Coconut Crusted Chicken: I like to use the thin sliced chicken breasts, or to cut a whole chicken breast in half length wise to make it a thin chicken breast. As usual I didn't use measurements but you can taste test your coconut coating prior to rolling the chicken in it.
Mix unsweetened shredded coconut with almond flour. Add in garlic powder, onion powder, pink Himalayan salt, paprika, and chili powder. Essentially you're making a Cajun tasting seasoning to mix with the shredded coconut and almond flour, and it's the perfect compliment to the coconut's natural sweetness.
Next, coat your chicken breast with one organic egg and dredge it through the coconut/almond flour mixture thoroughly coating both sides.
Place the coconut coated chicken onto a greased baking dish or greased, foil lined baking sheet with the Spiralized sweet potatoes. I baked mine at 350 F for 12 minutes on one side, then flipped them to bake another 3-4 minutes. You can check your chicken earlier to see if it's done by cutting into it and making sure there is no pink showing. Every oven varies, only you will know!
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While everything is in the oven I clean up the kitchen to lessen the mess after dinner. If you're like me, then a glass of wine is in order because it's X-day (any day of the week that ends with "day") and because you just made a delicious and easy meal for yourself! If it's just me to cook for, I typically roast some veggies and am done with it. I rarely exert the effort for more. This meal has changed my mind!
I hope you enjoy & share with your friends!
XOXO
