A little preparation goes a long ways with cooking & nutrition.
Lots of people claim to not be a great cook or hate cooking or lack the time. Sound like you? Batch cooking may be the solution! Carve out an hour of your week to do some batch cooking, and you can create meals or staples to carry you through the better part of the week. When you're short on time and hunger strikes, you'll be glad you took some time to plan ahead. You're also much more likely to stay the course with healthy eating if you've got some nutritious options on hand. Staples may include boiling some eggs for a snack or breakfast in a pinch, or grilling chicken to doctor up throughout the week. Accumulate some easy recipes that fit the bill and cycle through them to keep it fresh. Hearty soups are great batch meals in terms of keeping well and acting as either lunch or dinner. This Moroccan Chicken Soup recipe is a wonderful recipe to start your collection. It is low in sodium, yet high in flavor, protein, and fiber to satisfy and keep hunger at bay.
Moroccan Stew
Makes 6 servings, 1.5 cups each.
- 2 TBSP Olive Oil
- 1 lb bonesless, skinless chicken breast
- 1 1/4 cups chopped onion
- 1/2 TBSP ground cumin
- 1/2 TBSP ground ginger
- 1 tsp hot paprika
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups chopped zucchini
- 1/2 cup dry couscous
- 1 can chickpeas
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cut chicken into 1/2 inch cubes. Add to skillet and stir. Cooked until browned, then add onion, cumin, ginger and paprika. Stir and cook for 1 minute. Add broth to skillet and stir with wooden spoon, scarping any bits from bottom. Cover and bring to a boil. Add zucchini, chickpeas, and couscous to skillet. Stir and cover, returning to a boil. Lower heat and simmer 4 minutes. Add cilantro or parsley and season with pepper to taste. Cook for 1 minute.
