From the surface this meal looks indulgent. Heck, it FEELS indulgent. Stuffed chicken and risotto? No way that can be good for you, right? WRONG.

This roasted red bell pepper and spinach stuffed chicken with creamy risotto IS actually healthy and I’m so excited to share all the deets to the recipe and some of my tricks for making some of your favorite things just a little bit healthier.

 

 

One of my favorite past times, aside from binge watching Billions (seriously cannot get enough), is finding traditional recipes that are not so healthy and finding new ways to make them much better for you. It’s like a challenge, and girl challenge accepted. I truly believe that life is too short to not eat the things you love (like risotto) but also that food should not only be delicious but also good for you, full of nutritional value and things that will fuel your bod and soul.  I also believe that life is about balance, so while I could eat chicken and veggies everyday of the week, that would get a little boring and food is wonderful and fun and sometimes you need a little cheese and wine and EVERYTHING IS GOING TO STILL BE OK.

To do this I have a few rules that I find helps for all your meals:

1. Swap out for healthier where you can

   I’m going to dedicate a full post to this soon, but the concept here is where you can and it won’t drastically impact the taste, swap out unhealthy things for healthier versions. Brown rice for white. Greek yogurt for creams. The list goes on and on (and if it doesn’t for you again I’ll unpack this one a bit more in a post coming soon).

2. Reduce/eliminate/avoid empty calories (add nutritional value where you can)

   Empty calories pain me. But they happen. So while I try to eliminate them, sometimes my best effort is to just reduce them. Dilute them. Having rice? Add squash and zucchini to put in some veggies into the mix without changing the flavor. Pasta? Same thing, put in as many veggies as you can to mix good with the bad. There are very few exceptions to this rule because nearly everything you put in your mouth should be doing something good for you.

3. Balance your food types and portions

   This one is another great and easy one. Make sure when you are planning out a meal you aren’t too heavy in any one area. What do I mean? Get in proteins, healthy fats, grains, veggies, etc. but don’t over do it in any one department. Try to have most food groups represented though in some way as it will round out the nutrition of your meal and generally make it healthier for you. And again, portions are everything. Unless you are my husband.

4. Get back to basics

   This one is REALLY important and something I’ve been getting better and better at lately. What I mean by this one is for each of the foods/ingredients think about where it comes from. Is it in it’s most natural form? Can you understand all the things/ingredients/processing that went into it? Has it been processed too much (RUN)? Foods are going to give you the best of their nutrients in their most natural form so cooking from scratch is key here and using basics together in the right way (like in this recipe) can make some really yummy things.

 

 

My husband LOVES my risotto. And I don’t blame him. I make GREAT risotto. I put asparagus in it, I add a little cream, top with parm. IT’S GOOD. So good I bet even Gordon Ramsey would like it. JK. PLEASE DON’T SEND HIM MY WAY. He would probably tell me a million things I’m doing wrong and it would totally kill my vibes in my version of risotto.

But it’s no secret that risotto is not the healthiest thing on the block. Arborio rice has a high starch content, not much nutritional value and typically risotto doesn’t have much else too it aside from broth and cream. So when my husband decided he liked risotto THAT much and started asking for it, I took it as a challenge to find a way to make it a little bit healthier than normal so we could feel a little less awful about eating something we both enjoyed. Because again, life is about balance ya’ll and I’m not totally giving up risotto.

This risotto is healthier because it’s made with brown rice, low sodium chicken broth, mixed with veggies, and only has a dash of cream. Still all the yums but with a lot more goodness and my husband didn’t even make a comment about the adjustments (honestly he was just happy to have risotto).

 

 

The best thing about this risotto (aside from everything)? Like wine, George Clooney, and Patrick Dempsey, it only gets better with age (seriously though have yall seen pictures of McDreamy lately?!). For some reason the left overs of this risotto get even tastier the next day, maybe because we are fondly remembering it as the meal the night before? I recommend adding a little broth, water or cream (gasp) when you heat it up to make it creamy again and YUM.

 

 

I haven’t even talked about this chicken but just trust me, its delicious.

 

Plan this for a weeknight meal, then the left over risotto for another night and you will be golden and happy and full and……….your welcome.

 

XO,

JESS

 

 

ROASTED RED PEPPER & SPINACH STUFFED CHICKEN & RISOTTO

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CHICKEN

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Chicken Breasts
• 2 Handfuls of spinach chopped
• 1 Roasted Red Bell Pepper (from a jar or go ahead and roast your own – I did!)
• 1/4 cup greek yogurt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• Black pepper
• Salt
• 2 Lemons

FOR THE RISOTTO

• 1 small-medium size yellow onion, diced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup brown rice (not instant – the real stuff)
• 1 zucchini cubed
• 1 squash cubed
• 32 oz Low sodium chicken broth
• Asparagus
• Dash of cream
• Parmesan

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Heat olive oil in a large pan on medium high heat
3. Saute onions until translucent
4. Add garlic and saute until garlic is fully aromatic and started to brown (be careful not to burn)
5. Add brown rice into the pan and toast for a few minutes stirring occasionally, careful not to burn the garlic
6. Add some chicken broth until rice is just barely covered, turn down heat to medium so it simmers
7. Over the next 45 minutes or so, you will slowly add in more chicken broth as it gets absorbed only enough to barely cover each time, stirring occasionally.
8. While the risotto cooks, add chopped spinach, red bell pepper, yogurt, 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice, garlic powder, 1/4 tsp black pepper and a pinch of salt to a bowl and mix until combined.
9. With a sharp knife, carefully create a pocket in your chicken breast
10. Stuff the breast with the filling closing with toothpicks to keep it closed and together
11. Season chicken with lemon juice, salt and pepper
12. Add olive oil to a pan that can go into the oven on medium/high heat
13. Once your risotto has been cooking for 15 minutes, saute chicken on each side for about 2-3 minutes to brown on each side
14. Don’t neglect your risotto this whole time, check that ish and stir and add broth
15. Once chicken is browned put the whole pan into the oven and cook chicken for 30 minutes or until cooked through
16. Once the risotto has been cooking for 35 minutes, add in zucchini and squash
17. Cook for about ten to fifteen more minutes, test rice consistency (should be just al dente), if nearly there, add asparagus and let cook a few more minutes
18. Once your chicken is done let it rest for a minute while you finish off your risotto
19. Lower heat on your risotto, add a dash of cream, generously salt and pepper to taste and if you are feeling frisky sprinkle some parm in and mix to combine.
20. Taste test for salt and pepper and serve chicken sliced over the risotto because together they are too good to be true and totally worth of an Instagram.

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