I was told by a friend, fellow runner, and nutritionist Carrie Weldy from Nourished Body and Soul that turmeric helps with inflammation. I can use all of the help I can get with this body right now, so I looked around online for ideas. I found a recipe by Rachael Ray here that sounded amazing! I wanted to make it gluten free, so I used quinoa instead of couscous. I also substituted capers for green olives, and used veggie broth for the sauce instead of the 2-3 tbsp of EVOO that it called for. EVOO is a good fat, but I prefer to use it in moderation. Here's how I made it:

Citrus Turmeric Spicy Chili Chicken with Chickpea Quinoa

6-8 skinless chicken tenders (or 2–3 boneless skinless chicken breasts)

Sea salt

1 lime

2 oranges

3 cloves finely chopped garlic

1tbsp EVOO

1 rounded tbsp turmeric

1.5 tsp ground cumin

4 bay leaves

2 three inch cinnamon sticks

2 jalapeños halved lengthwise

4 tbsp capers

1/2 can garbanzo beans

1 cup uncooked quinoa cooked according to pkg directions

1-2 cups vegetable broth

Handful of chopped fresh cilantro for garnish.

First, combine chicken, salt, juice of lime, juice of one orange, and half if the garlic in a small bowl or container. Cover and marinate for at least an hour, up to overnight if desired, in the refrigerator.

Once marinated, remove chicken from refrigerator. Heat EVOO in skillet on medium, add turmeric and cumin and sauté for a minute or two. Then, add rest of garlic, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and jalapeños and continue to sauté for 1-2 more minutes. Add a few tablespoons of veggie broth to thin out sauce. Add chicken, the marinade, and the last orange chopped into 1 inch pieces.

Simmer on low to medium until chicken is cooked all the way through- probably about 15 minutes. Remove jalapeños, chop, then add back into sauce along with the capers. Continue to cook on low for 5-10 more minutes. If the sauce is very thick at this point, add some more veggie broth until it is your desired thickness.

While the chicken and sauce are simmering, cook the quinoa according to package directions, then stir in garbanzo beans for last 5 minutes of the cook time.

Remove cinnamon sticks and bay leaves.

Serve chicken on top of quinoa, and top with cilantro.

This recipe smelled incredible, and tasted just as good! It had just a little bit of a kick to it, but not to much to bother someone really sensitive to spicy food. If you want to take some of that heat out, remove the seeds from the jalapeño before adding it to the sauce. I personally like spicy food, so I left the seeds in. It was great as left overs the next day, too!

I hope you guys get to try this one, because I was very pleasantly surprised at how good it turned out! You could also use couscous or brown rice if you prefer. Let me know how your turns out!!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Trails!

Stacey