15-Minute Pesto Chicken Breast

Ah…protein. It’s such a powerful debate in the nutrition world. To go lean or fatty? To eat meat or to not eat meat?

Either way, we need protein to survive. It’s made up of something called amino acids – building blocks of our bodies, that also provide energy. Naturally we can produce some amino acids, but the rest we get from food sources.

Chicken breast is a great example of a protein that you can prepare quickly and receive all of the nutritional benefits, but unfortunately not all home-cooked chicken is delicious AND healthy.

So here’s what you need to know:

• It’s lean, which can mean “bland” if you don’t flavor it correctly. At minimum, salt and pepper is necessary. Check out the recipe below.
• It can be loaded with anti-biotics (yes drugs) – something quite common for animals raised on large farms. Choose organic, antibiotic-free whenever possible.
• The average person really only needs 4-5oz. in one meal (think the size of an iPhone).
• It tastes great with lemon, salt and pepper for those days when there’s nothing else in the fridge.
• You can keep chicken breast moist by “tenting” it with a piece of tin-foil when doing a simple stove-top skillet-grill.

TRY THIS

Check out this Kale Pesto chicken breast. It’s all do-able in under 15 minutes. Oh and did I mention, the Kale Pesto recipe is also featured in our “Kale. All Day. Err Day.” book (free – for a limited time, here).

Ingredients

Steps:

1. Rinse chicken breast and pat dry with a paper towel.
2. Lightly salt and pepper each side, massaging the grains into the muscle fiber of the chicken.
3. Using the backside of a spoon, press 1 tablespoon of the Kale Pesto on each side.
4. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of coconut oil or ghee. Shake the skillet to disperse the oil.
5. Using a pair of tongs, add the chicken breast and cook for 2-3 minutes until you see slight charring. Reduce the heat to medium and place a piece of tin-foil over the chicken breast in a tent shape, so steam can escape. Cook for another 3-5 minutes until the first side has cooked through half way. Add water to the pan if it becomes too dry.
6. Flip it over and re-tent until thoroughly cooked (roughly 5 minutes).

Serves 2 – 4 (depending on the size of the chicken breast)

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Kale. All Day. Err Day.

If you like this post, checkout more nutritious and healthy living tips in our latest interactive book, Kale. All Day. Err Day. It’s enhanced and interactive for a super fun, learning experience. It’s filled with a great story all about kale, how-to videos, and recipes for the busy and the hungry. Did we mention, it’s FREE…for a limited time. Hurry – check it out here. (New book coming late 2016…)