Lemon Chicken with Lots of Veggie Sides

Tonight's dinner was definitely a nutritionist dream. Our plates were loaded with veggies thanks to the preparation I did on Saturday and some fresh items we had in the fridge.

We had a small garden salad with romaine lettuce, carrots, tomato slices, cucumber slices and topped with beets and a store bought low fat raspberry vinaigrette dressing. In addition, we ate beet greens soaked in lemon juice and olive oil, which I topped the chicken with. On top of all these vegetables, we also served mashed turnips. I added some low fat Swiss cheese to the mashed turnips to make them a bit more appealing. This was the first time either Johnnycakes or myself ever had turnips so butter, milk, salt and a little cheese was a welcome addition.

We also prepared a delicious lemon chicken breast. I pounded the chicken with a meat tenderizer to flatten the meat and poke holes in it for the lemon flavor to seep in. I marinated three chicken breast for an hour in the juice of one fresh lemon, some lemon pepper seasoning, two sprigs of fresh rosemary and salt and pepper. Johnnycakes grilled them in the backyard on our new grill until fully cooked.

The meat was soft and flavorful thanks to the little extra time we took pounding and flattening the meat. The veggies were a welcome treat and very filling. We both couldn't finish our entire meals and we felt great and healthy after all the vegetables. I also loved the way all the colors looked together on the plate.

A Veggie Explosion

I had a little extra time on my hands today and I had a ton of fresh veggies in the fridge from my trip to the Farmers Market last weekend. I hadn't had much time to do much with them yet so I decided to cook them up this afternoon while I had a few minutes to kill.

What did I prepare? Beets, beet greens and turnips.

I recently discovered beets. Johnnycakes always liked them and would load up on them at the salad bar but I always shyed away from them. My friend told me how she liked to boil them at home and that they were healthy so I decided to give them a try last summer. I am a new fan! They are so tasty, especially with salt and vinegar. I like to boil them and then peel the skin off while Johnnycakes prefers to roast them in the oven. Since I was in charge today, I boiled them. It really is a messy job to boil beets because everything, including the water, your hands, knife, cutting board and stove top get red juice on them one way or another. That sort of inspired my "Veggie Explosion" title because everything had a pink tint to it after I was done.

I had never prepared beet greens before but I had heard of them. All I did was throw them in a big pot with salt water and boiled them until soft. I then covered them in lemon juice and olive oil and have them chilling in the fridge.

I have also never prepared turnips. In fact, I don't know if I've even eaten them before but they look so pretty with that hint of purple to them. I figured I'd mash them with lots of salt, milk and butter in case I don't like them. It's sort of hard to not like something with that combination. I chopped them into fours and then microwaved them in salt water until they were soft (about 18 minutes). They gave off a pungent smell while they were cooking. When they soft, I mashed them up. I gave them a taste test and they weren't bad! They definitely have a distinct taste and are a little bitter.

I haven't really eaten any of my dishes yet and plan to incorporate them into meals in the next few days. My taste test of each dish leads me to believe that my veggie explosion was sucessful but I'll let you know for sure. In other words, you haven't seen the last of these side dishes!