Wrap It Up! Chicken Salad Wrap Recipe

We've been going to a of hockey games since buying season tickets to the Phoenix Coyotes. Sadly, as any fan knows, arena food is a nightmare and most games start around dinner time. So what's a healthy eating fan to do? Make a protein rich, smart carb and healthy-fat laden, chicken salad wrap for the road! Matt and I will be better fed before we get there and you can do it too! Here's my favorite fall wrap recipe:

Thanksgiving Dinner Chicken Salad Wrap

Feeds 2-3 (I eat smaller meals so there’s usually some left over for the following day).

Prep time: 10-15 minutes

Cook time: 20-30 minutes

1 lb organic chicken breast

Organic flour wraps (I like white wraps because they wrap better and its one of the only "bad" white flour items I have in my diet - moderation! - but you can make them with any kind of wrap you prefer)

Rosemary to taste (we grow this so I use fresh but dried would work, a little goes a long way)

Pinch of salt/pepper

1 Tbsp whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp gravy mix (powdered)
1 Tbsp coconut oil (EVOO works too)

1 Tbsp mayonnaise

Dried cranberries

Crushed almonds

Spinach, lettuce, shredded carrot, bell peppers, onion, etc.

Mix rosemary, salt, pepper, flour and gravy mix on a plate.

Drag chicken breasts through the mixture until coated.

Add the coconut oil to a sauté pan until it becomes liquid (I keep mine in the fridge so it solidifies but you don’t have to, it might already be liquid), spread across the pan.

Pan sear the outside of the chicken until lightly golden brown.

Pre-heat oven to 350.

Cook chicken for 20-30 minutes on a rack (like in a roasting pan) on the center shelf.

Remove when center is white & juice runs clear.

Roughly dice/chop. Add to a bowl and stir in mayonnaise, cranberries & almonds.

Put veggies of choice in the center of the wrap, top with chicken mixture.

Wrap it tight using tin foil (tighter seal and easily peelable if you’re in the car, plus can be washed & recycled later!)

Enjoy warm or chilled.

If you want to eat cold chicken salad wraps don’t forget to allow for the extra time they need in the fridge.

Add it to wraps like this, top a salad with an ice cream scoop full of chicken, or eat as a side dish to something richer like baked butternut squash.

HINT: I like to mix up a batch of chicken salad and enjoy it from time to time over the next few days. This is especially great if you're seeing a game right after work and have minimal time to prepare dinner/drive or take public transportation to the arena. Pre-made chicken and pre-cut veggies assemble as a road-wrap in under 5 minutes.

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Organic Tailgate Goodies from Atlanta Falcons Fullback Ovie Mughelli

Good morning readers! Tis the season to start thinking about what we will create to wow and impress the taste buds of our friends and family, those dishes that will have them asking ‘can I get that recipe?’ and us responding with a sly smile and a wink of the eye as we protect our secret concoctions! Well maybe not all of us are so protective. One Greenie is fully willing to share his organic recipe, Ovie Mughelli.

We have talked before about Ovie and his amazing contributions to the youth of America through his Ovie Mughelli Foundation, as well as his strong eye on the planet. This is something that is rare in the world of football players, rare in the sense that it is infrequently discussed among the pigskin and gridiron talk but it is nice to see at least one player speaking out to share his love of the planet!

In an effort to reach a wide audience on all things Green, Ovie has decided to share his own recipe for Organic Chili with Charleston Spice. Not only will this be a yummy indoor winter meal, but all of you tailgaters can truly warm up by partaking in a bowl of this delicious chili! Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:
One 16 oz can each - black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans (organic)
1 lb pkg fresh organic whole kernel corn
3 plum tomatos, diced
1-2 lbs free range organic boneless, skinless chicken (or substitute as desired)
Two 16 oz cans organic diced stewed tomatos
2 T olive oil

Charleston Spice:
4 T chili powder
2 t cumin
½ t turmeric
1-1/2 t cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 T sea salt
1 T minced garlic
1 t granulated garlic powder
½ t coarse ground black pepper

Recipe:
Dice chicken into ½ inch cubes and lightly season with salt and pepper.
Sautee in olive oil and minced garlic until brown, remove from pan.
In a stock pot bring beans, tomato and corn to a slow simmer.
Add Charleston Spice, simmer 5-10 minutes.
Add cooked chicken.
Let sit on low heat about ten minutes.
Remove and enjoy with organic cheese or sour cream.
Serves 8.

Eat Healthy: New source for nutrition info and options

Hola, Jenn-folk! Melissa here. Jenn recently got a tip to check out the site below. Because it's a parent-oriented site, and, um, because I am one, she asked me to take a stab at reviewing it. Here goes!

Before I go too far here, I suppose I should admit that I am presently eating candy corn. And that my kids like a Happy Meal (and dislike most vegetables) as much as the next kid. But like any other parent, I aspire for my kids to be healthy and to learn how to keep themselves that way by making good dietary choices, at least most of the time. I also like to be in the loop on what ingredients and foods are considered -- by groups whose opinions I respect -- to be safe for consumption.

The nonprofit organization Healthy Child, Healthy World is looking out for kids, too, and to that end, it recently debuted a new section on its website called Eat Healthy. And it's jammed with information to help parents make informed food choices -- and tasty meals, too.

The Eat Healthy site's mission (in its own words):

"In a world of processed foods and lean budgets, it can be difficult to make the right choices when it comes to food. Healthy Child wants to make sure that families see the importance of organic foods, non-GMO, and nutritionally balanced eating while encouraging healthy habits."

This site is so packed with information and links that I can barely scratch the surface, but here are some of the key features:

• Interesting recipes: A sampling from the periodically-updated top level page includes Crispy Baked Taquitos with Black Bean Filling, Asian Style Shrimp Pilaf and Confetti Meatloaf. More are available by clicking on Eat Healthy's "Recipes" link.
• A sidebar linking questions along the lines of "What is bisphenol-A?" or "I think I have toxic mold in my house. What can I do?" to answers.
• Links (in the site's "Resources & Advocacy" section) to organizations like Center for Science in the Public Interest, Allergy Kids (raising awareness of food allergies affecting children) and Local Harvest (a site that allows users to track down fresh, locally grown produce anywhere in the country), to name a few.
• Practical tips-and-tricks articles such as "Low Cost Ideas for Eating Organic," "20 Creative Ideas for Healthy School Lunches," and "How to Eat Healthy When You're On the Go."
• Guides to what fish are safe to eat, what produce to buy organic, etc.
• Links to bios on and articles by a handful of "Healthy Eating Experts" who help shape the site's content.

My neighbor Julie, who in her pre-mom incarnation was a science writer, and an avid reader of books such as "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle," (both of which are incidentally mentioned as resources on Eat Healthy) was initially a bit turned off by the ad-heaviness of the site. But on further reading, she was happy to see the site's solid connections (via the broader Healthy Child, Healthy World page) to respected organizations like Environmental Working Group, as well as some of the practical "what to avoid" and "how to do this" kinds of lists.

For my part, I had two nits to pick. As I said, there are scads of information here, so it would be easy for readers to get a little overwhelmed (or possibly lost in linkland) unless they took it slowly. And I felt like the "Healthy Eating Experts" section was kind of like a bibliography -- something you maybe have to do to fulfill an obligation, but not the most scintillating use of online space.

On the whole, though, I'm handing out to Eat Healthy for giving those of us with grand and green nutritional aspirations for our kids the building blocks to make them a reality. (Whew...did I just split something there or what? But you know what I mean!)