Curried Chickpea Chicken Stew: Cooking Healthy with a Modified Kitchen
As some of you may know, I have been operating our home with a “remodeling in process” kitchen. Due to an unfortunate mystery leak from the back corner of our 30 year old refrigerator, we have a forced kitchen repair in progress. We decided it was due time to do some remodeling, so we have turned our unfortunate event into a blessing of a new kitchen. I have spent the past few months learning a whole new vocabulary as I have become educated in appliances, countertops, backsplashes, hoods, knobs and pulls, etc….the list goes on and on. We are approaching the demolition day and I am getting excited to see how it all turns out. In the meantime…I have been cooking in a small space that I set up in my laundry room and a tiny bit of available countertop space in the kitchen. I have had to be very creative with the recipes I have tried because most of my kitchen supplies are packed away in bins in the playroom.
So, in honor of “National Nutrition Month” I have been experimenting with healthy Crock Pot meals. My favorite one to date is Curried Chickpea Chicken Stew.
Ingredients
3 pounds boneless skinless chicken (you can use a combo of breasts and thighs)
1 Tbs olive oil
2 onions chopped fine
4 cloves garlic smashed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes undrained
2 (15 oz) cans garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
2-3 cups chicken broth
In a saucepan heat olive oil. Sauté onions and garlic until soft. Add salt, pepper, curry and cumin and stir on low until combined. Pour this mixture into crockpot. Add chicken, garbanzo beans, tomatoes and chicken broth. Cook on low for 8 hours or 2 hours on high followed by 4 hours on low. Remove chicken from crockpot and shred chicken. Place it back into the crockpot and stir to mix chicken and vegetables before serving. Serve over a scoop of brown rice, add some fresh or frozen cooked green peas for color and extra fiber and nutrition. Throw together a big green or spinach salad, warm up some Naan bread and put out a bowl of hummus and some plum chutney. Enjoy!!!
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken (you can use a combo of breasts and thighs)
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 2 onions chopped fine
- 4 cloves garlic smashed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 Tablespoons curry powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes undrained
- 2 (15 oz) cans garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
- 2-3 cups chicken broth
- In a saucepan heat olive oil. Sauté onions and garlic until soft. Add salt, pepper, curry and cumin and stir on low until combined. Pour this mixture into crockpot. Add chicken, garbanzo beans, tomatoes and chicken broth. Cook on low for 8 hours or 2 hours on high followed by 4 hours on low. Remove chicken from crockpot and shred chicken. Place it back into the crockpot and stir to mix chicken and vegetables before serving. Serve over a scoop of brown rice, add some fresh or frozen cooked green peas for color and extra fiber and nutrition. Throw together a big green or spinach salad, warm up some Naan bread and put out a bowl of hummus and some plum chutney.
A few other habits we have included in our routine that might help you adapt a healthier eating style:
Place a bed of spinach at the bottom of your bowl of stew.
Add a scoop of cooked quinoa to any stew or salad for added protein.
Sprinkle a few nuts or seeds on the top of salads or stews.
Put a dollop of plain greek yogurt in your salad or stew.
Have fun being creative with your food. Eating healthy is a positive step to living a healthier lifestyle.
What creative ways do you incorporate healthy foods into your diet?
