Today's guest blogger is Lori Molski of PureFreshDaily.com, which started as Lori's way to help others who are dealing with health struggles, food allergies, Celiac Disease and hypothyroidism. The transition was difficult due to her Mexican heritage, but she says it has benefitted her with extraordinary health. Lori’s personal experiences with food allergies inspired her to become trained as a Private Natural Foods Chef and Recipe Developer, which she has been doing for 15 years!
Lori has developed a number of recipes utlizing Garden of Life products, which she is excited to share on our Garden of Lifers blog!
Tomato & Pesto Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Artichoke Salad
There’s a secret to getting tender moist chicken breasts, and that is to marinate it in grated pear. You can do this in the morning before you leave for work. The chicken breasts pair up nicely with low carb artichokes, giving you a light satisfying meal. Need to eat nut-free? Try Garden of Life’s Raw Protein Powder as a nut replacement in the pesto recipe…It works perfectly!
SERVES: 4
TOTAL PREP TIME: After marinating, 20 minutes
TOTAL COOK TIME: 30 minutes for boneless, 40 minutes for bone-in chicken breasts
Ingredients for pesto
- • 1 cup fresh basil leaves (about 1 fresh bunch)
- • 1/3 cup pine nuts or 1 scoop Garden of Life Raw Protein
- • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese or dairy-free alternative, grated
- • 1/2 cup olive oil
- • pinch of sea salt, optional
- • 5 drops of fresh lemon juice
Method
Put ingredients into blender or food processor and pulse until creamy. Refrigerate until needed.
Ingredients for stuffed chicken
- 2 pears, peeled and grated
- 4 chicken breasts, skinned, marinated in grated pear
- ½ cup fresh pesto, divided (see recipe below)
- 2 tomatoes, sliced into 12 slices
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, optional or non-dairy alternative, divided
- sea salt or salt-free seasonings, to season/li>
- black pepper to season/li>
Method
Peel and grate pears. In a glass baking dish, place chicken with grated pears, covering breasts evenly. Cover and chill for a minimum of 4 hours. Wipe off grated pear from breasts.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make a horizontal slit into each chicken piece. Fill each breast with 3 tomato slices and 1 teaspoon of pesto. Arrange chicken breasts in a baking dish. Sprinkle chicken with parmesan cheese. Spoon a tablespoon of pesto on top of each piece. Bake for 30 minutes (boneless) or 40 minutes for bone-in. In the meantime, prepare the artichoke salad.
Ingredients for artichoke salad
- 2 bags of frozen artichoke hearts or 2 12-ounce jars of water packed artichoke hearts
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup pesto
Method
Defrost or drain artichoke hearts. Saute artichoke hearts in 1 tablespoon olive oil with the red onion for 5 minutes. In a bowl, toss ingredients to evenly coat artichokes with pesto. Plate salad along side chicken breasts
For more about Lori, check out www.purefreshdaily.com