If it tastes good, eat it!

There's an old saying regarding healthy eating that says, "If it tastes good, spit it out!"  It's generally offered up tongue-in-cheek, but the laughs it's always gotten has been because it's almost true...at least as a lot of people see it.  However, that doesn't have to be the case.  In fact, it really shouldn't be the reality.

Eating is one of the great joys in life, and when you don't have good food to eat, you're far, far more likely to slip into bad eating habits.  After all, how many times can you eat something that you can't stand before that bacon cheeseburger starts to be impossible to push away.

However, if your favorite meal also happens to be healthy?  Well, how are you going to lose?

A couple of weeks ago, my house celebrated my wife's birthday.  I asked her what she wanted me to cook.  Whatever it was, I'd cook it for her.  I'm actually a pretty good cook, so this was something she might like.  Her request was my Italian baked chicken.  It's an easy dish that is healthy and tasty.  She wanted that on a night when I could have made anything she wanted.  Score one for healthy eating.

I didn't start this blog with the belief that I was an expert on jack.  I'm just a guy who lost some weight, put a bit of it back on, and now is taking it all back off.  I know what worked for me, and this philosophy is a big chunk of what worked.  Unfortunately, for me it's difficult to find recipes.

Yes, I know.  There are about 7.6 trillion healthy recipes on the internet.  A large chunk of them fall into the paleo/primal camp even.  Unfortunately, my own diet needs gets in the way.  I'm allergic to bell peppers and generally I hate mushrooms.  These are big ingredients in a lot of healthy meals, and I can't handle them.  What's a guy to do?

First, I'll share a few recipes here as I think about them to try and help you out.  If you're like me on the bell peppers, you probably already know what I mean.  I'll also share recipes here and there from other locations as I'm able.  At the very least, I'll share any cookbooks I pull them out of so you can snag your own copy.  (If you happen to do it through my Amazon store, so much the better, right?)

So, without further ado, here's the first disgustingly simple recipe, my Italian Baked Chicken

Italian Baked Chicken

Ingredients

• Chicken breasts (this recipe scales disgustingly easy, so there's not need to sweat the quantity)
• Onion Powder
• Garlic Powder
• Salt
• Italian Seasoning

Turn your oven on to 425 degrees. Take the chicken breasts (they need to be thawed) and place them in your baking dish.  I'm partial to a ceramic one, but that's merely a personal preference. Next, dust the breasts generously with onion powder.  Lightly dust with garlic powder.  Sprinkle a pinch of salt on each breast, then dust breasts with Italian seasoning.  Place pan in oven (don't sweat if it's not preheated).

I can't tell you how long it takes, mostly because I don't trust my ovens thermostat to save my life.  Instead, I use a meat thermometer and remove when the thickest breast hits 160 degrees internally.

This chicken has always been juicy and tender.  In fact, my mouth is watering just thinking about this...I may have to hit the leftovers in the fridge now!