Nostimo! I googled the word for ‘Delicious’ in Greek and nostimo it is! Written in greek would be νόστιμο. And this dish is not only nostimo but, as with every recipe on my site, is packed with well-fed nutrients, vitamins, minerals, healthy fat and protein! And, similar to WELL-FED Fish Taco Bowl, this has the added threptikós (nutritional) benefits of probiotics!
The full-fat, grass fed whole-milk, organic Greek (or regular, but why not go Greek since this is a Greek meal?) yogurt is where we get these gut-health providing, immunity boosting, health-healing probiotics.
I will write an entire blog just dedicated to the importance of probiotics, as well as understanding dairy (a1 or a2 milk, lactose tolerant people like myself <—- not every human stops creating lactase as some will tell you. Raw milk, yogurt, kefir!<— LOVE kefir!). As for now, I will briefly explain why we need probiotics in our meals and in our well-fed nutritious lifestyle!
Let’s start with our gut! Our digestive tract is obviously a very important component of our health, but what most do not know is that 80% of our immune system is located in our gut! Probiotics are GOOD bacteria that line the digestive tract and support your body’s ability to absorb nutrients and fight infection.
The enteric nervous system, located… you guessed it, in our gut, is often called our second brain! The enteric nervous system or ENS is comprised of a system of nerves that are embedded in the GI system. Something interesting is that 90% of the neurotransmitter serotonin is found in our gut and 50 % of our bodies dopamine is found in the gut! These neurotransmitters are typically thought of as being produced more so in the brain! And a side note to think about… antidepressant medications or SSRIs are designed to boost serotonin levels.
There is a great deal of communication and impact on our well-being going on between the gut, our brain and our entire body. And without making this blog/article entry become more full of medical-lingo (and therefore it might as well be written all in Ελληνικά) briefly I will tell you that without a healthy, strong gut, without the healthy GOOD bacteria, the lining of the gut can become broken down and inflamed, allowing toxins to leak into the blood stream and leading to an array of problems!
The best foods to naturally get healthy good bacteria, probiotics, into your diet include kefir and full-fat yogurt! There are more you can see from the infographic below!
So, getting some meals that include probiotics, naturally, is a great way to be nutritiously well-fed! Let’s start making out naturally healthy probiotic Tzatziki! We will need yogurt, fresh cucumber, dill, garlic, apple cider vinegar and olive oil. To start, peel and grate some fresh cucumbers. Cucumbers are so great for our health, including aiding in digestion and flushing out toxins! They go great with our probiotic yogurt!
Add fresh dill, raw garlic and fresh grated cucumber with a tsp of red wine or apple cider vinegar and olive oil to your probiotic, protein, plain whole-fat greek yogurt!
And just to let you know, dill and garlic, GREAT health benefits!
Set Tzatziki aside or in fridge to chill and allow ingredients to blend well for a great greek flavorful dill, garlic, cucumber yogurt tzatziki!
Next, you’ll need to combine the following spices and herbs: Oregano, Thyme, Basil, Onion Powder, garlic powder, sea salt and olive oil.
Spread over chicken breast. Line in an oven safe dish and place in preheated oven. Cook for 25 minutes. You can also skip the olive oil marinade and simply salt and pepper the chicken breast and toss on grill!
Next, the healthy vegetable rich as well as high protein tabbouleh! The quinoa makes this a complete protein and you can add any vegetables you like, here is how I like it! Raw Kale chopped, more cucumbers chopped, tomatoes chopped, bell peppers chopped, raw broccoli chopped, scallions chopped, fresh parsley chopped and raw garlic minced. Mix all together with quinoa and then squeeze fresh lemon juice or a touch of apple cider vinegar over mix. Finish with about a tbsp of Olive Oil.
When your greek chicken is ready, you can serve as is or cut up in slices. The final step, add everything to a bowl and enjoy!
Optional side items include feta cheese, kalamata olives, and hummus (I have a great homemade recipe that allows for a healthy hummus without unhealthy and unnecessary hydrogenated oils and any additional stuff)
Opa!!!!
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- 2-3 lbs Chicken Breasts or about 3 pieces
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp basil
- 1/2 tsp onion powder or dried minced onion dried minced works best
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp pink himalayan salt
- 1 medium to large cucumber peeled and grated
- 1 cup plain full-fat greek yogurt Fage 2%, Fage 5% is also good choices
- 2-3 garlic cloves sliced and/or minced
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp vinegar white, red wine or even apple cider will work.
- 1/2 tsp pink himalayan salt
- 1 tbsp fresh minced dill
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/2 cucumber diced
- 1/2 cup tomatoes diced
- 1/2-1 cup kale sliced/diced/chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley chopped
- 2 stalks scallions diced
- 1 garlic clove minced or sliced
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1-2 lemons juice squeezed for fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp pink himalayan salt
- 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles Add just a few crumbles to each served plate
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives Add about 4 to each plate
Ingredients
Greek Chicken
Healthy Protein Probiotic Tzatziki
Healthy Quinoa Tabbouleh
Optional Add-ons
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- Preheat oven to 400º F.
- Combine the herbs, spices, and salt in a small bowl. Brush both sides of chicken breasts with olive oil and then coat with herb mixture.
- Bake for about 25-28 minutes depending on thickness of breasts. Meat thermometer should read 160º F.
- After grating cucumbers you can place in paper towel to squeeze out extra water liquid if you prefer, however I find it doesn't add to much water to the end result. Add ingredients in bowl, ready to be served. Chill in fridge to allow for flavors to blend nicely.
- Cook quinoa as instructed on bag/box, usually 1 cup quinoa with 2 cups boiling water, reduced to low-medium until soft (or you're using leftovers from previous meals!).
- Combine all ingredients and stir together. Allow to sit for flavors to blend.
- Serve everything together with Healthy Tabbouleh to begin, adding chicken then a dab or more of Healthy Protein Probiotic Tzatziki. Top with a few crumbles of feta and a few kalamata olives.